Is Fantasmic worth getting a dinner package?

[heathjh]

Thinking about Mama Melrose w/ Fantasmic package.
Would I be better off leaving the park for dining? Is Hollywood Brown Derby really worth 2 credits?

I was really hoping they would get some good table service in Hollywood Studios with all the great new changes. Star Wars character dining would be a huge hit!! Dining with Jessie and Woody would be another great experience. Even a villains dining would be exciting.

 

[only hope]

I can’t speak to the use of credits as I’ve never done a dining plan- I’m local. Do they take more credits for the package vs just regular dining? If so, I’d say it’s not worth it. If it’s the same and you want to eat at one of those restaurants anyways, then yes it is. Out of pocket cost, at least a few years ago, was only a $4 increase at Hollywood and Vine; we were already planning on eating there for a birthday so we did the package.

The thing about Fantasmic though is it’s easy to get a good seat. Just show up 30mn early (on normal crowd days) with or without a fp. The only seats that are somewhat subpar are those on the very edges and at the bottom. But really, no seat is horrible.

A sit down in Toy Story Land was announced. No character dining in Black Spire Outpost because that would break the immersion.

 

[Canoook]

If you really want to do Mama Melrose I'd say sure, but Fantasmic doesn't need a dining package for good seats. You can even get great ones without it, just gotta show up 30-45 minutes early for great seats or 20-30 for good ones

 

[Ross Kratter]

The Hollywood Brown Derby is very good, on par with many of the other signature restaurants across property.
That said, all the Fantasmic dining packages do is seat you in one particular section. While that is one of the center sections of the amphitheater, there are truly very few poor seats. You can arrive within 45 minutes of showtime and still get a very good seat most nights via the standby line.

 

[texasgingerbread]

You don't need a dining package for Fantasmic. Eat wherever you'd like and book your last FP of the day for Fantasmic or arrive a bit early.

 

[SMRT-1]

A bit of a warning given the unpredictable nature of Florida weather...

We got the dining package on our last trip. As it got close to showtime, it started to rain. Eventually, they announced that show was not going to happen, and then did a 2-minute "preview" with a few lasers and stage pyrotechnics. After the show, I asked a CM what the cancelled show meant for our paid dining package, and his response was "The show wasn't cancelled. You saw a 'modified version' of the show."

 

[Scubadaddy32]

Thinking about Mama Melrose w/ Fantasmic package.
Would I be better off leaving the park for dining? Is Hollywood Brown Derby really worth 2 credits?

I was really hoping they would get some good table service in Hollywood Studios with all the great new changes. Star Wars character dining would be a huge hit!! Dining with Jessie and Woody would be another great experience. Even a villains dining would be exciting.

We booked the Fantasmic package at Mama Melrose. I'd heard a lot of mixed reviews about it, but much to our surprise right before we arrived the Dis guys ate there and gave a favorable review, and I had to agree. That included Pete, who is pretty critical of most Italian restaurants considering he's an Italian. I had the NY Strip and Mac which was very good. We had a standard Caesar salad for an app. My wife had a seafood stew dish of some sort and we were both impressed with as well as it being a 1 dining credit service restaurant.
That being said, Brown Derby is one of our favorite signature meals and we've had 3 or 4 really good meals.
I forgot to mention, the Fantasmic Dining section is right in the middle for Fantasmic. I think it's a better section than the standard FP section, if memory serves me right.