How long will I really wait for Fantasmic

[Cinderumbrella]

I know every guidebook on the planet says you need to be at Fantasmic 90 minutes before, but what is the real scoop. DS is 2 and won't sit still that long!

 

[edingerc]

She won't have to. They don't open the stadium that early... You'll be standing for quite a while. The alternative is to get one of the fantasmic dinners at one of the three restaurants in MGM that offer them, which guarentees a section for you, until the rest of the stadium fills.

 

[CarolMN]

Depends what time of the year you go. If you go when there are two showings, it is usually possible to walk in 20 -30 minutes ahead of the later showing. You may not get a seat, though.

Ask one of the MGM CMs earlier in the day you plan to go - they might abe ble to give you a good idea based on the recent trends.

Your two year old may not like Fantasmic - it tends to scare many young children as it is dark and loud at times.

Best wishes -

 

[tiggersthebest]

I would recommend the dinner package- we did that with my daughter and went to the reserved seating area about 1/2 hour before show time. the regular area was very full at that point. It wasn't the best seating because it is off to the side, not in the middle but not having to be there early was a big plus and my daughter and DH really enjoyed mama melroses anyway. We figured we had to eat so why not.....????

 

[CarnotaurDad]

I think it depends a lot on how many people are in your party, what the EMH park is that night (if any), how the weather is, and how many shows of Fantasmic there are that night (1 or 2).

We have found that showing up about 30 minutes before the show, we have just 3 people in our party, has been sufficient the last couple of times. However, we would not have been disappointed if we couldn't have made it.

If you have your heart set on Fantasmic, I agree that you should either go with a dinner plan or show up about 45 - 60 minutes early.

 

[gemini1029]

Yes,
We went about 90 minutes early and we were really surprised at how quickly it filled up. My sister and I like Illuminations better, so we probably won't go back to Fantasmic. we just didn't think it was worth the long wait.

 

[elastigirlfan]

We got there 2 hours before and there was already a lot of people there. We went the night after the night EMH at MGM thinking it wouldn't be as crowded. We were wrong - it was packed (I would have hated to have seen it during the EMH night - Yikes

Since you have a two year old, you can take turns with whoever you're with and take your two year old to do something in the park because I know that 's a long time to wait for a 2yr old. It is worth the wait though, the show is fantastic!!!

 

[DVCJEN]

For a good seat, if you aren't doing a dinner package I would plan on at least 1 hour before.

 

[jann1033]

i think it depends mostly on when you are going..in the off season ( Jan)we went about an hr early and had our choice of seats and there were still people arriving and finding seats up till about 10 mins till show time but like some have said it depends on how many and when you go,. if you have a large group and want to sit together i would get there ( off season at least )30-45 mins preshow ( there was a large section completely empty when the show started but i don't know if they would open that or if it is the dinner packages or why it was empty)

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We're going end of October and it just DH, DS2 and myself in the party. Another Question, once we get a seat, can DH or I take DS out and come back in, or are we "trapped"?

 

[jann1033]

no you aren't trapped, there are rest rooms and snack stand in the theather which is actually outside. i am sure you could come and go if need be as long as someone was there to keep your seats.

also with a 2 yr old,,,i was surprised how many little toddlers hated it( guessing the loudness and maybe the characters?) a number of people around us left with kids about your son's age so you might want to see how he reacts to the characters ect before you spent a lot of time waiting

 

[babieemelly]

We did the dinner package 2 weeks ago and got right in, but we saw people walking in at the very last minute and getting a seat. This was at the 9:00 show on a Friday night in July, so I think your odds are pretty good when it comes to getting a seat closer to the show.

 

[SueM in MN]

Since you have a two year old, you can take turns with whoever you're with and take your two year old to do something in the park because I know that 's a long time to wait for a 2yr old. It is worth the wait though, the show is fantastic!!!

no you aren't trapped, there are rest rooms and snack stand in the theather which is actually outside. i am sure you could come and go if need be as long as someone was there to keep your seats.

You don't have to stay in your seats the whole time, but your whole party needs to enter the attraction area together and stay inside the area once you have entered.
The amphitheater is an outside theater that seats close to 10,000 people. Once you get to a certain point in the queue, you are actually inside the attraction, but are not to the amphitheater yet. There is a large area (including restrooms and the snack bar) that are just in front of the seating area. You can leave your seat and walk around the area that is inside the attraction. If you go outside of the attraction area, you will not be allowed back in (even if the rest of your party is inside).
So, you can walk around to the restrooms and snack bar area.
It is very busy with a constant flow of people coming in and finding seats. Also, because there are so many seats, make sure of some landmarks if you leave your seats (with at least one member of your party holding the seats) so you can find them again.

This is one show that people are very worried about their children having problems with waiting, but it is one of the places I have seen the least unhappy kids. There is Disney music playing while you wait and there is a lot to see with all the people. We have been to Fantasmic many times with my DD who has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), once with a nephew with ADD and once with a 3 year old niece. We were expecting a hard wait, but were pleasantly surprised at how well the kids did. Since you are sitting for most of the wait, you can do things like eat snacks, play games, use thinngs like coloring books that you can't normally do while waiting for otherr attractions.

 

[HaleyB]

Fantasmic is showing only once per night for all of October. Depending on which week in October you should be OK 1 hour prior to show. Maybe even 45 minutes.

When there are two shows in a night the latter one is easier to get seats for, even 20 minutes prior to show, but this will NOT hold true for nights with only one show.

Some younger children find this show too much to handle after a long day.