Restaurant for fantasmic

[jackparts]

Looking for a restaurant to get dining reservations to see Fantasmic. Prefer buffet style as there are 11 of us and the wait time can be better used than to sit and be waited on. When I checked the reviews, the majority of the reservation restaurant reviews tell me that the better restaurants were sloooowwww and arrogant and the buffet restaurant was bad and cold food. Really want to see Fantasmic this time, every other time, we were turned away. I know that all reviews are subjective and depend on taste and attitude, we are chust good old pa, dutchies. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Robo]

Anyone have any ideas?

Don't bother with the Dining Package and just show up early enough to find seats without it.
(I'm not kidding.)
The reason Disney chose those 3 restaurants for participation in the Dining Pkg.
is that they are the least popular of the offerings at DHS.



No one can predict exactly how large the crowds will be or how early you should go to find a seat for Fantasmic! on any given day.
It has totally to do with the whim of the crowd at DHS on that day, and the general crowd levels.
How much time you wish to "invest" in waiting is a personal decision. We have never done the F! Dinner Package, and have always seen the show (dozens of times).

(Take all of these as "average" numbers, sometimes the crowd will be MUCH greater and the theater can fill up much sooner.)

VERY Busy days:
If you go to the first show of the evening (or "only" show that evening), if you arrive about 75-120 minutes before show-time, you can sit just about anywhere.
45-60 minutes before: Outside seats likely still available.
30-40 Minutes: will vary between seats at edges and rear of theater to SRO or even "closed" to further guests.

Yes, the lines can start forming over 2 hours before the show-time on a very busy day.

At about 90-120 min. before show-time, they will open the gates and begin allowing guests in line to approach the theater seating.

(See my maps. It is a very long ramp.)

They will continue with the lines of guests walking in until the theater is completely filled or the show begins, whichever comes first.

They will "hold open" the Dining Pkg. seating area ONLY for guests who have the Dining Pkg. voucher.

BUT, if the theater is over-crowded
then, at about 30-35 min. before show-time,
the CM's will cease holding the DP area open for DP voucher guests
and, at that time, begin to allow ANYONE
who still needs a seat to sit in (any seats left) the DP area.


Busy days:
If you go to the first show of the evening (or "only" show that evening), if you arrive about 75-120 minutes before show-time, you can sit just about anywhere.
60 minutes before: Good seats
25-35 Minutes: will vary between seats at edges and rear of theater to SRO or even "closed" to further guests. (The crowd of "last-minute" arrivals can be slow to get seated before show-time.)

Off-Season (not busy days):
You should be OK to enter by 30-50 minutes before, but you'll likely be seated to the outer edges, and/or way at the back.

Dining Package:
New Dining Pkg. Entrance was added in mid-Sept. 2009.
If you do the Fantasmic! Dinner Pkg. you still SHOULD enter by AT LEAST 35-45 minutes ("safer" at 45 minutes) before show-time and still be guaranteed "pretty good" seats (not my "first choice" area, but fine), regardless of crowd-levels. Remember, the DP is only valid for the first show of the evening, if there are 2 or more. If you do have DP and you spy some seats outside the DP "reserved" area, you are free to choose to sit anywhere outside that area you like, no problem.

If there are TWO Fantasmic! shows in one evening, the second one will have lower crowd level than the first one. You can arrive a bit later (generally, 45-60 minutes) and still find a seat.
(Some say less advance time will be needed, but I'm cautious.)


Be aware that the second show waiting area will LOOK like the show is "too crowded".
That's because they HOLD the 2nd crowd outside the theater while the CMs CLEAN it after the first crowd has exited.

Then, they will let those waiting together in that big group IN... all at once, and there will be PLENTY of room.

(The theater seats over 7,000 guests.)

When you enter the theater, there will be CMs along the way directing the flow of traffic, but you may (if you are early enough to have a choice) simply choose any open seats in the theater to be your own.
If you want to exit more quickly, choose a seat farther back and to towards audience-right.
If you want to be immersed in the show (and sometimes, immersed in water-mist, if the wind is blowing "in") choose a seat towards the front.

We like to eat our evening meal while waiting for Fantasmic! to start.
You can bring in items from the counter-service places in DHS, or they DO have concession stands at the rear of the theater serving "baseball stadium-type" food and drinks. Yes, even beer, sold strictly ONE-at-a-time, one-only-to-a-person, so a single person can't go and buy beer for other members of a group... all guests wanting to buy a beer must be present in-person at the counter.
We have a hot dog, maybe a pretzel, later some popcorn or cotton candy (Disney Health Food).
http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menu_fan.htm
Click above for the "menu."

But, nothing ALWAYS happens the same way at WDW.
I would be cautious about assuming anything, as WDW has been experiencing
unpredictable (sometimes record-breaking) crowds even over the past couple of years.

If its IMPORTANT to see a particular show, arriving a bit too early will be better than arriving a bit late.

If its not a really big deal to see a particular show, you may certainly arrive closer to show-time and just see if you get lucky.
Many folks do.

========================

 

[jackparts]

Never saw such a comprehensive answer to any question before!!. Truly, thank you Robo. I will take you advice.

 

[KS_Disney_Dad]

Looking into this as well and I agree what a great informative answer!

 

[DisneyFanJon]

When we went in 2010 the entrance for DP was the orange one, and the CM on the phone when I booked the package for this year said that was the entrance as well (by Beauty and the Beast). Maybe they use the entrance/exit differently at times of the year (went in September last time, same this time) ?

I think one thing worth mentioning is that the package lets you avoid the major crowding that happens going in and seating - first time I went in 2007 we were 50 mins from start and it was like Christmas in shopping mall at the regular entrance, and there was no seating and ended up standing right towards the back. In 2010, 40 mins out, the mass of people going in the regular entrance as more than heaving, the DP entrance was just a nice stroll down to the seating area.

The seats are not the "best" but the show does move around the entire facing area of the "stage" and we are not too fussy about where we sit, just want to see the show, so just avoiding the mass crowd at entrance/exit makes the DP worth it. For anyone with children I would imagine this would be massive factor, though you could avoid the mega crowding by getting in early and then waiting a little for people to get out in the initial throng.

We're also on the Dining Plan so it makes no real cost difference to us.

Last trip we went to the Brown Derby and Hollywood and Vine and loved both, it certainly was not our experience that the staff at any of them were arrogant and our waiter at Brown Derby was easily the best of the ones we had at WDW.

Just my own experiences.

 

[minnierocks]

We use the Fantasmic dining package every time we go. We really don't mind that the seats are off to the side and we like not having to line up two hours ahead of time. While we have not tried the Brown Derby, we have eaten at both Mama Melrose and Hollywood and Vine. We really like both...and we would go to either one again. Hollywood and Vine is my teenagers favorite and they were slightly disappointed last time when I told them that we were trying Mama Melrose. H&V is your normal buffet but every time we have been, the food has been good and fresh. My complaints would be that it is loud, it shares a bathroom with 50's Prime Time, so there is always a line and many unattended children at the buffet touching everything (but this is a problem at most buffets). Having said that...I would not hesitate to eat at H&V again. There was something for everyone...every day foods and some foods that were a little more adventurous. Mama Melrose was a good Italian restaurant and we had great service there. It was a little quieter and more relaxing. The menu options were great! I hope this helps.

 

[jackparts]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

 

[kgreen]

Just to be clear, if you are doing the fantasmic package, do you have to sit in the reserved section only? Or are you allowed to sit anywhere?

 

[Robo]

Just to be clear, if you are doing the fantasmic package, do you have to sit in the reserved section only? Or are you allowed to sit anywhere?

You can sit anywhere in the theater that still has open seats.

 

[Robo]

1- When we went in 2010 the entrance for DP was the orange one, and

2- the CM on the phone when I booked the package for this year said that was the entrance as well (by Beauty and the Beast).

3- Maybe they use the entrance/exit differently at times of the year (went in September last time, same this time) ?

1- Correct.

2- You can, as a general rule, safely ignore anything that a "CM on the phone" tells you about park operations.
Many phone CM's are not in Orlando, and many have never set foot in WDW.
The "phone CM's" have a stellar track record of being spectacularly incorrect in regard to park operations.
Caveat Emptor.

3- Just to keep things in perspective, the map above has been overseen by a WDW CM who works Fantasmic! seating (and frequently updates me about any changes.)
But, yes, anything at WDW can change at any time.
So, always check details when you are actually at the parks.

 

[mjp12831]

OP - your post regarding the summary of the reviews of MM and H&V are very accurate from my experiences at those places.

MM is awful. We had a bad meal a few years ago but decided to try it again as we didn't want to do H&V. Last year we were seated 1 hour and 30 minutes late, while my parents table (separate ADR's with same time) was only 30 minutes late. The staff didn't seem to care in the least bit and acted as if this was perfectly acceptable and normal operating procedure. Their red sauce is jar quality, and I found a hair in my food (which could happen anywhere, but when you stack that on top of everything it was literally the last straw). I'll starve before I go back.

H&V is like eating at a Golden Corral - buffet with low food quality and nothing special about the restaurant venue.

I've had 4 bad TS meals at WDW, and these were 3 of them.

We also did the F! package at HBD once - HBD is nice and the food is decent, but it's overpriced and I wouldn't likely return there because of that.

 

[DVCMikey]

I would say try Mama Melrose or the Hollywood Brown Derby. They are not buffet but pretty big places and the food is good. They do some fun stuff too with CM actors coming around talking to you and the kids.

 

[kgreen]

You can sit anywhere in the theater that still has open seats.

Thank you!

 

[goofyernmost]

Robo...Robo, he's our man.
If he can't answer,
No one can!

 

[2girlsmom]

OP, not sure when you are going, we went to F! in October last year (yes, slow season, mid October, WONDERFUL time to be at Disney!), show time was 7:30, we got there @ 6:30, and were center section 7 rows up from the front (definitely spray zone, but it wasn't too much). The theater was essentially empty when we got there. So season does make a HUGE difference, but I personally don't love any of the options with the dining package, so will likely always do as a walkup.