No Fantasmic FP at 60+4?

[princessebird]

Today was my 60 day FP booking. My daughter very much wants to see Fantasmic. We thought we would do shows and then Star Tours and TSM with FP and then use our last FP for Fantasmic (DD7 doesn't want to do ToT or RnRC). Color me shocked when there were no FP available for Fantasmic at 60+4. Does this seem right? It seems like every other night of our stay has FP availability, but, of course, we can't change up our plans at this point. Does this bode poorly for being able to get in on stand-by? Should I book a dining package to be safe?

 

[SaintsManiac]

Probably a glitch. MDE is a mess, as usual. I see it available 30 days out.

 

[princessebird]

Probably a glitch. MDE is a mess, as usual. I see it available 30 days out.

Thanks. It weirds me out that I could get it for 60 days out but not 60+4.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

We just returned from a 4-day trip and got FPs for Fantasmic. I would not do this again. FP seating is all the way at the far end. It took FOREVER to get out at the end of the show and we completely missed the fireworks. We ended up going back another night to see them. People arriving 5-10 minutes before the show got seats just like ours, but at the other side near the exit.

 

[Robo]

We just returned from a 4-day trip and got FPs for Fantasmic. I would not do this again.

1. FP seating is all the way at the far end. It took FOREVER to get out at the end of the show and we completely missed the fireworks. We ended up going back another night to see them.
2. People arriving 5-10 minutes before the show got seats just like ours, but at the other side near the exit.

1. Sorry, but that is incorrect, if we are discussing the OVERALL FP+ areas. (See below.)

2. Where you where seated and where those other guests were seated (both of you on "outside sections") was a function of WHEN you arrived, and the overall number of guests who attended that show,
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What a FP+ for F! offers is more CHOICE in seating.

If you DO get a F! FP+, you can choose to sit in either the FP section (virtually the entire left half of the theater) or the Standby section (virtually the entire right half of the theater.)
So, whatever section has the better seating at the time you arrive, you can go there.
Without a FP, you can only choose a seat in the Standby section.

There is a very good chance that you can get a FP+ for F! as a 4th or 5th FP of the day because they issue SO MANY of them (enough to cover nearly the entire left half of the seating.) On many nights, it is possible that you can gat a FP+ for F! as you are walking to the theater.

As to when to arrive at the theater, I'd get to there 45-60 minutes before the show-time.
Even WITH having a FP or Dining Pkg. reservation, don't wait too late.

On busy nights, the CMs can stop holding the reserved sections within 20-30 minutes before show-time, and turn over any available seats to waiting walk-in guests.

Guests who learn how to take advantage of the various available "tools" and timing strategies will be able to take more control over their WDW experiences.
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Map Below-
Arrows indicate the center of the seating.
Shaded areas:
(First or Only F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red= Dining Package Reserved
Blue= FP+ Reserved
Purple= Can be either FP+ or Dining Plan Reserved, depending on needs.

(Second or Third F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red, Purple, Blue= FP+ Reserved
(Although much of the outer Blue will likely be used for Standby.)

 

[Lisa Lisa]

Thank you for the clarification, Robo. We got there about 20 minutes before the show, and being new at this, we allowed ourselves to be directed to the far end of the theater.

 

[cmwade77]

My guess is that the showtimes for Fantasmic! Haven't been fully set for your dates yet. The easiest way to see if that is the case is to see if dining packages have been released for your dates, if they haven't, then that is probably why FPs aren't available.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Isn't F! still a tier 1?
If you got a FP for TSM then that was the tier 1 selection so that is why F! is not available.
You can easily get F! as a 4th and beyond.
Don't worry about it.

 

[cmwade77]

Isn't F! still a tier 1?
If you got a FP for TSM then that was the tier 1 selection so that is why F! is not available.
You can easily get F! as a 4th and beyond.
Don't worry about it.

Nope, Fantasmic! Is tier 2.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Nope, Fantasmic! Is tier 2.

Yeah I just went to look it up lol.
So it does seem odd.
But really its not that big of a deal to get one or not.

 

[princessebird]

Update: I went and booked a Fantasmic dining package just as a back-up (and to confirm that Fantasmic was running). But it appears that my inability to get a Fantasmic FP yesterday was tied to the "modify" problem in MDE. In my early morning booking frenzy, I inadvertently selected an incorrect choice. Instead of canceling it, I tried to modify it. And I got this for Fantasmic: There are no more FastPass+time for this experience, but standby may be available. I took it at face value that there were, in fact, no more FP available (because that same note appeared for SDD). This morning, I was able to modify it and book Fantasmic. I'm guessing that if yesterday I had canceled the FP that I had inadvertently booked, I would have been able to have booked Fantasmic yesterday, but I didn't think I had to do that.