pics of "waiting on blankets" for Fantasmic?

[nonzerosum]

I'm just trying to prepare myself for what sounds like a long and painful wait for F!, so does anyone have pics of the sea of blankets that they would be willing to post? I'm thinking that once I see how bad it is, I'll want to spring for the dessert pkg. Only problem is we are 4 adults and 2 kids and that sounds $$$$$!

 

[HydroGuy]

I'm just trying to prepare myself for what sounds like a long and painful wait for F!, so does anyone have pics of the sea of blankets that they would be willing to post? I'm thinking that once I see how bad it is, I'll want to spring for the dessert pkg. Only problem is we are 4 adults and 2 kids and that sounds $$$$$!

You do have other options than blankets and long waits. On nights when Fantasmic shows twice the later showing does not require a long wait because it happens about an hour after the first showing. An hour wait is the maximum you can do. We usually do 40 minutes for the second show.

You are aware that Fantasmic is down until the end of May?

 

[mvf-m11c]

Here is my picture of the sitting area right next to the roa during september of last year. I believe it was taken around 7. It was crowded that day, but it is during the time when Murphy made its debut that month.

You can get a blanket and just spread out your area right in the sitting area and have at least one person watching the area while the other members of your group can go on rides or get food.

 

[DisneyNic]

Do they not let you sit on the stairs anymore?? It kind of looks like from that picture that the stairs are part of the roped off area that you can't sit in. The stairs were always our favorite places and the best places to sit.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Certain sets of stairs are reserved for VIP's. I worked the VIP sections a lot for fantasmic this past fall.

 

[Belle Ella]

Here is my picture of the sitting area right next to the roa during september of last year. I believe it was taken around 7. It was crowded that day, but it is during the time when Murphy made its debut that month.

You can get a blanket and just spread out your area right in the sitting area and have at least one person watching the area while the other members of your group can go on rides or get food.

I bet I'm in this photo somewhere. I was there that weekend and I'm pretty sure we saw the first Fantasmic! every night that weekend.

If you want to stake out a spot for the earlier show I recommend taking turns with 1 at the blanket and the rest of the group off at rides (and remember to bring a book or something to read ) We did that and it worked perfectly for us. Not to mention I don't mind waiting out on the ROA. It gives me time to relax

 

[IBLarsen]

We did have a long wait the first week of Oct last year for the first showing, but our kids would not be able to stay awake for the 2nd unfortunately. We did take a blanket and we had taken the kids' handheld games for them to play and took cards and snacks/drinks for the kids. We also took some light up bracelet/necklaces for the kids. I know it seems like a lot, but really all very small stuff and we already had drinks/snacks with us through the day anyways, so the coulple extra things were no big deal, but kept the kids happy. We ended up spending our entire time talking to the couple in front of us and they were so incredibly nice, it passed the time quickly.

 

[specialks]

We waited long last Sept but got the second "blanket row" center. My mom and I waited while my husband took my girls on rides. As the time got closer we took a few turns taking the girls on Pirates and through the Tarzan treehouse. If you have young ones the early show is kind of your only option unless they are night owls. Another plus for parents with young ones -- there is a bathroom over in New Orleans Square that is pretty easily accessible.

 

[nonzerosum]

This is great info and thanks so much for the photo. The visual was great for my DH. Love the DIS!

 

[brymolmom]

I have a follow-up question...Do people remain sitting on the blankets during the show or does everyone stand up??

 

[Belle Ella]

I have a follow-up question...Do people remain sitting on the blankets during the show or does everyone stand up??

You view the show seated. And keep in mind that if you have strolers with you, you will be required to move them to a designated stroller 'parking' area or collapse them if them possible.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I bet I'm in this photo somewhere. I was there that weekend and I'm pretty sure we saw the first Fantasmic! every night that weekend.

If you want to stake out a spot for the earlier show I recommend taking turns with 1 at the blanket and the rest of the group off at rides (and remember to bring a book or something to read ) We did that and it worked perfectly for us. Not to mention I don't mind waiting out on the ROA. It gives me time to relax

This seen above is an example of what we saw last year at about 1630 in the afternoon. By 1900 you could hardly move around the ROA area and the smell of all those people crammed together after a 85 degree day was interesting at best.

Jack

 

[HydroGuy]

I have a follow-up question...Do people remain sitting on the blankets during the show or does everyone stand up??

You view the show seated. And keep in mind that if you have strolers with you, you will be required to move them to a designated stroller 'parking' area or collapse them if them possible.

Belle is correct as it pertains to the area in the picture near the water where blankets are allowed. No standing is allowed here during the show.

Further to the right of the excellent photo above is the area behind the planters and that is the standing only area.

 

[MsTiauna27]

I saw Fantasmic for the first time in December 2009 and everyone was standing up. So does summer time and winter time operate alot differently?

 

[mvf-m11c]

I saw Fantasmic for the first time in December 2009 and everyone was standing up. So does summer time and winter time operate alot differently?

If you are right next to the railings of the roa, they never let anyone stand up during the show, except people have to stand up next to the area of the rafts to toms sawyer island loading area and the area around the mark twain/columbia loading area.

 

[HydroGuy]

I saw Fantasmic for the first time in December 2009 and everyone was standing up. So does summer time and winter time operate alot differently?

Same year round. I can only guess you were in the standing area towards the back and it seemed liked everyone was standing. But in the section near the water no one is allowed to stand during the show.

That is one of the reasons why this area is in such high demand. You can sit while waiting for the show to start. In the standing section they do allow you to sit before the show starts but it is often not a comfortable place to sit with lots of people around you standing.

 

[MsTiauna27]

Same year round. I can only guess you were in the standing area towards the back and it seemed liked everyone was standing. But in the section near the water no one is allowed to stand during the show.

That is one of the reasons why this area is in such high demand. You can sit while waiting for the show to start. In the standing section they do allow you to sit before the show starts but it is often not a comfortable place to sit with lots of people around you standing.

Well I was sitting in the cafe area that has outside seating (it was right next to pirates of the caribbean). I watched the show from that area. From where I was everyone in the front looked like they were standing but maybe I was mistakened.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Just a few points of clarification:

* In the seating area, you can have people in wheelchairs and/or children in strollers if you take the back row. This way, you are not blocking anyone that is seated during the show and you can still be in the seating area.

* You do not have to sit pre-show. You can stand all you want until about 5 minutes before the show starts. Then, sitting is VERY strictly enforced.

* If you do not mind standing, you do not have to camp out for hours. Many, many, many nights we have gone to Fantasmic! about 20-30 minutes prior to showtime and found a standing spot "within the ropes."

* If you want to sit, but do not want to "camp," the 2nd show is your deal. If anyone wants more details on how to do this easily, post and I'll go into further detail.

- Dreams

 

[23bw]

You do have other options than blankets and long waits. On nights when Fantasmic shows twice the later showing does not require a long wait because it happens about an hour after the first showing. An hour wait is the maximum you can do. We usually do 40 minutes for the second show.

You are aware that Fantasmic is down until the end of May?

Ditto on the 2nd showing of F!
We were there over the past Christmas holiday and the park was packed. Prior to this trip, we have only seen bits and pieces of the show because we never could find a good spot for viewing. People were camped out for the first showing hours ahead of time. If you have young kids, I can understand the desire to catch the first show but to me that's a lot of time I could be doing something else. Instead we inched our way (literally) into the Fantasmic area around the tail end of the first showing and took care of any snacks and bathroom breaks. Right after the first show ends, everyone clears out and you have prime real estate for your choosing. Even up to 30 min before the 2nd showing, there was still some sitting space in the front section.

While we sat and waited, we had some concerns everyone would stand up when the show starts. But nope....everyone remained seated and we enjoyed the show (almost) as much as the folks who had priorty seating a few feet away from us.

 

[KCmike]

Not to scare you but we had waited for a very long time and sat in the second row behind several families who were right at the railing and when the show started everyone stood up. Also everyone crowded together which was rather uncomfortable. This was in June of 08.