Is Fantasmic Pkg worth it???

[Wendy5055]

I currently have the following ADR's...(yes the ADR Saga continues!!!!). My question is that we currently have a CRT ADR on 29th, would it make more sense to book the Fantasmic Package??? How good are the restaurants included w/Fantasmic? What is the time frame I should try to get an ADR for?

8/28 - Arrival Day
6:40pm Sci Fi Diner (may change due to flights)

8/29 - MK Day
7:30am Ohana Breakfast
6:50pm CRT (been there done this..DD6 willing to trade for Chef Mickey!!)

8/30 - HS & Epcot Day
7:30am Chef Mickey Breakfast (no dinners avail. )
12:50pm Princess Storybook Lunch
6:00pm Coral Reef Dinner w/Diver

8/31 - AK Day
8:35am Donald's Safari Breakfast
1:00pm Yak & Yeti
7:15pm Hoop De Doo Review - Cat 3 (YES!!! I caved... )

9/1 - Open Day & Departure Day
8:05am Crystal Palace Breakfast

Any thoughts??? We may arrive very late on 28th and may not require the ADR on 28th...I thought I should schedule and ADR on the 29th for lunch just in case??? I just know that the closer we get, the less there will be. I should know in a couple of weeks what our flights will be.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

It depends.

All seats in the theatre are decent so if you are there when it is really crowded it probably is. If you are there at a slower time, maybe not so much.

I was checking out Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package for our yet still imaginary trip and with the package prices revet to a pay on price type of thing. For us, we will most likely be paying about $11.00 for our seats at Fantasmic (based upon what we would order - and Tyler will be 10 by then so will be an adult even though he probably won't eat like on).

We will probably be on the DDDP so it won't matter to us for that time but if I were paying OOP I might be concerned. We missed Fantasmic last time around (and we were there for 13 days!) and it is our favorite nite time show so it is important to make sure we get there in the future.

 

[brown eyed girl]

I might be in the minority but I wasn't crazy for Fantasmic. We did the Brown Derby package, had to eat at 3:15 and then we sat all the way on the right side and had the worst view in the house. I thought that because we had the package we would be given better seats like for instance the center but no we were directed to sit on the side and I was annoyed with that.

 

[Abharmagic]

IMO- Yes, I think the reserved seats are good- I guess if you are looking for front and center you should not do the dinner package, but front and to the right is what you get instead. I really don't think there's a bad seat in the place- to the right, left, center, what have you there's not really an obstructed view the way the theater is set up.

 

[beattyfamily]

My opinion, after doing the package many times and then finally doing it a few times without is that the package is not necessary in the off season. It 'might' be a good idea during peak season or on/near a holiday or maybe on a EMH night.

My experience is with the end of August, Sept, Oct, Nov and beginning of Dec.

I was able to enter the stadium at 1 hour before and get a great seat in the center, half way back and I got to eat where and when I wanted to.

If you do the package, they will give you a small range of ADR times to pick from and they will be VERY early times. As a rule, though, they will not give you an ADR time any closer than 2 hours before the show. You will need at least 1 hour, more like 1 1/2 hour to eat and then time to walk to the stadium and then the long walk to your seats. The package seats are guaranteed but not preferred. They are to the far right. If it rains and the show is canceled you are out of luck. Even with the package, those seats are first come, first served and you should enter no later than 30 minutes before.

Hope this helps.

 

[SunnieRN]

We are going in Sept during free dining which makes me wonder if the section reserved for the fantasmic pkg will be more crowded then the regular section. Can you enter the stadium through the regular seating area and if there are no seats in the center move to the fantasmic special seating area?
thanks

 

[beattyfamily]

We are going in Sept during free dining which makes me wonder if the section reserved for the fantasmic pkg will be more crowded then the regular section. Can you enter the stadium through the regular seating area and if there are no seats in the center move to the fantasmic special seating area?
thanks

I don't think so. You could do it the other way around though. There is a special entrance for the package people with CMs working the entrance and they are the ones who take your voucher. They want package people to enter through the special entrance for some reason and not coming through the main entrance.

If you enter (through the package entrance) and see lots of great seats, then you can move to the better seats.

I did Fantasmic the end of August and the beginning of Oct during free dining and still got a good seat without the package.

 

[Wendy5055]

But what makes Fanstasmic so great? It is just another fireworks show???

 

[danielle.st]

But what makes Fanstasmic so great? It is just another fireworks show???

No, it's more.
If you go to Youtube you can see clips of it.
It's a show with characters and a storyline.

 

[brown eyed girl]

Wendy, and I can only speak for myself, with all the hoopla I read about Fantsmic so out of this world, must see I was let down. Personally, I enjoyed the fireworks and spectromagic and my blocked view of Illuminations more. Fantasmic has a lot of smoke and lasers and if you have very small children it might even scare them. We are going to Disney in a few months and I'm skipping Fantasmic. However, I'm glad I went because knowing me I would have been mad at myself had I not gone last time out because everyone says its a must see. I saw it once, and that was enough. JMO.

 

[KatMark]

Fantasmic is second to us after Wishes (we have seen Illuminations so many times and it has not changed at all). We have done with and without the package. When we do the package, we always do Mama Melrose (we refuse to go to Hollywood & Vine after two terrible experiences) and we have only done Brown Derby once (for lunch) and we were not thrilled with the food and have not yet gone back to give it a second chance because we do not want to use two table service credits each for it. We are doing the package this year because we have friends traveling with us and we want to be sure to get in, get decent seats and sit and relax before the show (it was very crowded the first week of September last year and every seat was taken during the first show from what people told us); we went to the second show without the package and it was still very crowded.

 

[Wendy5055]

Thank you for the info. We will probably skip it since the menus did not thrill me at all. I think we would rather do a character meal for DD6.

I really was wondering what all the hype was about...

 

[beattyfamily]

But what makes Fanstasmic so great? It is just another fireworks show???

Oh, I thought you were asking if the dinner package was worth doing, not if Fantasmic was worth seeing.

I don't think the package is necessary but we LOVE Fantasmic. It is a family tradition. It's actually my DD's favorite over Wishes, Spectro and Illuminations.

It's a show with water walls, the lake catches fire, some fireworks and footage of Disney movies (shown on the water walls) and characters like Melificent, Evil Queen, old Hag, Pochahotes (sp?) among others and of course, the main star, Mickey! Mickey has a dream and the villians try to take over it. Good vs. Evil.

 

[melouche]

we did the fantasmic package ...we ate a mama melrose and with the fantasmic package we each got an appetizer included in the package..
we ate at 5:30 and after dinner did a couple rides then just went thru the special entrance with no waiting..we noticed that people were in the regular line starting at about 6:45 for the 8:30 show
i would do the dinner package again to avoid waiting in a long line.....
there is enough waiting in lines at wdw so if i can avoid one that's what i do

 

[tarheelmjfan]

My opinion, after doing the package many times and then finally doing it a few times without is that the package is not necessary in the off season. It 'might' be a good idea during peak season or on/near a holiday or maybe on a EMH night.

My experience is with the end of August, Sept, Oct, Nov and beginning of Dec.

I was able to enter the stadium at 1 hour before and get a great seat in the center, half way back and I got to eat where and when I wanted to.

If you do the package, they will give you a small range of ADR times to pick from and they will be VERY early times. As a rule, though, they will not give you an ADR time any closer than 2 hours before the show. You will need at least 1 hour, more like 1 1/2 hour to eat and then time to walk to the stadium and then the long walk to your seats. The package seats are guaranteed but not preferred. They are to the far right. If it rains and the show is canceled you are out of luck. Even with the package, those seats are first come, first served and you should enter no later than 30 minutes before.

Hope this helps.

We didn't book the FDP, because we wanted to eat later than the times they offered. Instead, we booked HBD @ 6pm. We're planning to go to the 2nd show @ 8:30. How late can we show up & still get a seat? I'd rather not wait an hour, unless absolutely necessary.

But what makes Fanstasmic so great? It is just another fireworks show???

Fantasmic is my favorite nighttime show. My DH & DS don't like it as much as I do, but they don't really like any of them.

 

[beattyfamily]

We didn't book the FDP, because we wanted to eat later than the times they offered. Instead, we booked HBD @ 6pm. We're planning to go to the 2nd show @ 8:30. How late can we show up & still get a seat? I'd rather not wait an hour, unless absolutely necessary.

Not sure cause I always go to the first showing but this is what I've heard/read on many occasions.

The second showing is always less crowded than the first one unless maybe if it's a EMH, it may then be as crowded as the first showing.

They do not open up the stadium as early as for the first show because they need to clean/clear it out. I believe they only open it up at about 30 minutes before. Not 100% sure though.

My educated guess, you should be able to get a pretty good seat if you enter at 8:00p.

Hopefully, someone who's done the second showing can chime in and give a firsthand account.

 

[SunnieRN]

I don't think so. You could do it the other way around though. There is a special entrance for the package people with CMs working the entrance and they are the ones who take your voucher. They want package people to enter through the special entrance for some reason and not coming through the main entrance.

If you enter (through the package entrance) and see lots of great seats, then you can move to the better seats.

I did Fantasmic the end of August and the beginning of Oct during free dining and still got a good seat without the package.

Thank you so much! I am so excited to see the differences between the disneyland version and the disneyworld version!
I think with the two babies the main reason we decided to do this was to be able to sit for sure and not to have to wait for such a very long time!!
Thanks again!

 

[bmderd2]

I went ahead and booked Mama Melrose for our July trip. We tried Hollywood and Vine last time and were very disapointed. I just dont want to have to wait 2 hours with 4 kids...

 

[Tiggr924]

If you have never seen Fantasmic then I would definitely recommend it. We loved it but opted not to go last year because it conflicted with other things we had planned like EMH. But, I don't think the Fantasmic package is worth it. Personally, we aren't fans of any of the restaurants on the list. We prefer to eat elsewhere (not at that park) and then see it.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Not sure cause I always go to the first showing but this is what I've heard/read on many occasions.

The second showing is always less crowded than the first one unless maybe if it's a EMH, it may then be as crowded as the first showing.

They do not open up the stadium as early as for the first show because they need to clean/clear it out. I believe they only open it up at about 30 minutes before. Not 100% sure though.

My educated guess, you should be able to get a pretty good seat if you enter at 8:00p.

Hopefully, someone who's done the second showing can chime in and give a firsthand account.

Thanks for all your help. 30 minutes prior to the show was what I was thinking. Hopefully, we won't have a problem w/o having to eat too early, or wait in line a long time.