Is Illuminations FP worth it??

[travelbuffnj]

Leaning toward getting a FP for both Illuminations and Fantasmic as DH hates waiting in line. I remember not enjoying Fantasmic last time we were there but not sure if it was due to crowds or not? It was packed!

Would appreciate any feedback, thanks in advance!

 

[Lids]

For Fantasmic our group is leaning towards the dining package plan. We are on the dining plan and think this maybe the best option. Plus, it means we do not have to use a FP for the show.

Interested to hear what others have to say.

 

[CAS239]

For Fantasmic I'd use a FP to avoid the line. Only time we've used a FP for it we used up our original 3, then got Fantasmic as the 4th one. I wouldn't use it as my tier 1

For Illuminations I wouldn't waste a FP on it as theirs so many good spots to watch the show from. Unless I got it as a 4th or more FP, I wouldn't bother with it.

 

[richmo]

I wouldn't bother with an FP for Illuminations. As I've said in other posts, one of my favorite activities at Epcot is to walk World Showcase with just the torches going until about 5 minutes before Illuminations starts, then watch the show. The main thing with Illuminiations is that if you feel the wind/breeze in your face as you face the lake, go somewhere else. That can even happen in the FP viewing area.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

It is not worthwhile if you would rather have a FP for Soarin or Test Track. Considering that if you choose an Illuminations FP you can't have either of those as well.

There are too many good places to watch Illuminations without the pass. You don't wait in line for Illuminations. You don't even need to wait around to "claim" a viewing area unless you want to be right up close to the front. But if you are not interested in the rides, you might as well use one.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I'd never done Illuminations FP. More often than not we won't in the future. However, we did FP+ for the 6:00 show on NYE and it was one of the best FPs we ever had. If it's REALLY crowded, and you don't want to worry about staking out a good spot 30 minutes or more in advance, and you can live without using the FP for TT or Soarin'......it can be worthwhile.

 

[PSUGuy]

We're going to give this a whirl in Oct/Nov. Food and Wine seems to make good viewing spots get taken more quickly than otherwise and like a previous poster said it's fun to walk around WS in the semi-dark before the show. With a FP+ we'll do that and still have an acceptable spot for ILL.

Bill From PA

 

[elizabethswan]

we did the fp for illuminations just over a week ago. it was nice but not worth giving up soarin for imo. the location was by one of those 2 gift shops, one of them is called traders i think, not too far from mexico. the plus side of this was that we stood at the railing directly in front of the globe with no obstruction. if crowds are light and soarin ( my fav ride) is not an issue, then you could go for it but not worth giving up soarin. also, test track has single rider line so you don't really need it for that and since the system only lets you choose one of these three, i'd go with soarin.

 

[silenttuba]

I used a FP for Illuminations when I went in November 2013. The spot was great, and it was nice to having to turn up super early to get an excellent view. However, at that time, legacy FPs were still available, and there were no tiers. My 3 FP+ that day in Epcot were Illuminations, Test Track, and Soarin'. Given the current tier system, and how many good places there are to watch Illuminations, there's no way I'd use a FP+ on it now.

 

[travelbuffnj]

Thank you all!!

 

[disnut8]

I would never do an Illuminations FastPass as there are tons of spots at the back of World Showcase just fifteen minutes before showtime (even during busy weeks). And after Illuminations, you can simply take a nice walk (and bathroom breaks) to the front of the park, head to the buses or your car and get out in less than ten minutes. Seriously, ten minutes is the longest I've waited for a Disney resort bus after exiting after Illuminations and viewing from the back of World Showcase.