River Belle Terrace Fantasmic! Premium - Experiences

[RoseColored97]

Hello! We some how were able to get the River Belle Terrace premium viewing. I tried looking through threads for information specific to the premium view but was not finding much. I know some people felt the view was not great but others enjoyed having a seated and reserved spot for the show. If you've been able to do this recently, can you please share any helpful tips or experiences or photos. Greatly appreciated!

 

[Jrog92]

Hello! We some how were able to get the River Belle Terrace premium viewing this morning. I tried looking through threads for information specific to the premium view but was not finding much. I know some people felt the view was not great but others enjoyed having a seated and reserved spot for the show. If you've been able to do this recently, can you please share any helpful tips or experiences or photos. Greatly appreciated!

How did you land a reservation? I was on this morning right at 6am and it looked like they never released them. What date are you going?

 

[DontSpamMe]

Hello! We some how were able to get the River Belle Terrace premium viewing this morning. I tried looking through threads for information specific to the premium view but was not finding much. I know some people felt the view was not great but others enjoyed having a seated and reserved spot for the show. If you've been able to do this recently, can you please share any helpful tips or experiences or photos. Greatly appreciated!

Fingers crossed for a table on the railing.

 

[GoingSince1990]

It’s definitely an inferior view compared to the reserved viewing areas up front. We were right by the railing and the people on the walkway between you and the show are a bit distracting. On the positive side, it’s a sheer pleasure to be able to sit in a chair as opposed to on the ground, and it’s nice not to have to wait in line ahead of time for the reserved area. For me, I would say the pros and cons pretty much balance out exactly.

 

[DebbieB]

Did it in 2019, loved it!

 

[Jrog92]

Hello! We some how were able to get the River Belle Terrace premium viewing this morning. I tried looking through threads for information specific to the premium view but was not finding much. I know some people felt the view was not great but others enjoyed having a seated and reserved spot for the show. If you've been able to do this recently, can you please share any helpful tips or experiences or photos. Greatly appreciated!

Still waiting on how you were able to land this reservation? What day is your reservation for? I've been spending all my time constantly refreshing to see if the reservations open up from 3am to 6am and have not once seen this reservation open up. Any tips? Can you please help others try to enjoy the experience too?

 

[RoseColored97]

How did you land a reservation? I was on this morning right at 6am and it looked like they never released them. What date are you going?

Still waiting on how you were able to land this reservation? What day is your reservation for? I've been spending all my time constantly refreshing to see if the reservations open up from 3am to 6am and have not once seen this reservation open up. Any tips? Can you please help others try to enjoy the experience too?

As a safety precaution, I am not going to state what day our reservation is for. Sorry if that's not helpful, but I work in law enforcement and posting exact location/time one is going to be is not a good idea for anyone.

I get up at 3am for work and it was on there right at 3:00am on the dot. The reservations for the premium dining have been dropping every day while logged into my Disneyland account on the site that I have looked (a total of 4 days). They are gone long before 6:00am in the times that I have gone back on to check.

Like you, my mother is not able to see any reservations until 6:00am which was really frustrating. For some reason some people/Disneyland accounts are able to access the site at 3:00am PST and others do not get access until 6:00am PST.

I have a 2 hour commute every day and am not on this site all the time. Apologies for not answering your question as quickly as you were hoping.

 

[RoseColored97]

Fingers crossed for a table on the railing.

It’s definitely an inferior view compared to the reserved viewing areas up front. We were right by the railing and the people on the walkway between you and the show are a bit distracting. On the positive side, it’s a sheer pleasure to be able to sit in a chair as opposed to on the ground, and it’s nice not to have to wait in line ahead of time for the reserved area. For me, I would say the pros and cons pretty much balance out exactly.

Did it in 2019, loved it!

Thank you for the replies! I'm excited for it. It's going to be different and special this time because we've only ever done Blue Bayou. I'm okay with a "lesser" view if it means a more comfortable and relaxed experience.

 

[Jrog92]

As a safety precaution, I am not going to state what day our reservation is for. Sorry if that's not helpful, but I work in law enforcement and posting exact location/time one is going to be is not a good idea for anyone.

I get up at 3am for work and it was on there right at 3:00am on the dot. The reservations for the premium dining have been dropping every day while logged into my Disneyland account on the site that I have looked (a total of 4 days). They are gone long before 6:00am in the times that I have gone back on to check.

Like you, my mother is not able to see any reservations until 6:00am which was really frustrating. For some reason some people/Disneyland accounts are able to access the site at 3:00am PST and others do not get access until 6:00am PST.

I have a 2 hour commute every day and am not on this site all the time. Apologies for not answering your question as quickly as you were hoping.

Sorry about asking for the date info, I just know that some of us are going for the same date range and it can vary when things opened up or not, down the very day.

It's very frustrating, especially for someone who has been planning and saving up for this trip for years. I can't understand what to even try to do to get anything if everything is gone by 6am and that's the earliest I can access reservations. No one seems to have any advice. Sorry again for asking for so much info, I didn't mean any harm. Thank you for your reply.

 

[RoseColored97]

Sorry about asking for the date info, I just know that some of us are going for the same date range and it can vary when things opened up or not, down the very day.

It's very frustrating, especially for someone who has been planning and saving up for this trip for years. I can't understand what to even try to do to get anything if everything is gone by 6am and that's the earliest I can access reservations. No one seems to have any advice. Sorry again for asking for so much info, I didn't mean any harm. Thank you for your reply.

No worries at all. A lot of people don't realize how easy it is to track/find people online through small details that seem insignificant. I just try to be cautious with the cases that we see all the time.

Have you looked into any of the other dining packages for Fantasmic?

Riverbelle Terrace standard dining is easier to navigate reservation wise because I believe you just book the regular Riverbelle Terrace restaurant and then request the Fantasmic package when you check-in. Granted, you don't get chairs to sit in but the viewing area is right at the fence and might even be a better option for viewing the show.

Blue Bayou is also one of the best experiences from the ambiance to the viewing area. The specific reservations for Blue Bayou Fantasmic have not dropped for the latter part of October from what I have been able to see. There will be some reservations available at 6:00am when they do drop regardless of if they drop for some people before 3:00am. Blue Bayou is able to carry a higher capacity throughout the day than the premium Riverbelle Terrace and so those reservations do not go as quick (though they will be gone within a few minutes of releasing).

 

[Jrog92]

No worries at all. A lot of people don't realize how easy it is to track/find people online through small details that seem insignificant. I just try to be cautious with the cases that we see all the time.

Have you looked into any of the other dining packages for Fantasmic?

Riverbelle Terrace standard dining is easier to navigate reservation wise because I believe you just book the regular Riverbelle Terrace restaurant and then request the Fantasmic package when you check-in. Granted, you don't get chairs to sit in but the viewing area is right at the fence and might even be a better option for viewing the show.

Blue Bayou is also one of the best experiences from the ambiance to the viewing area. The specific reservations for Blue Bayou Fantasmic have not dropped for the latter part of October from what I have been able to see. There will be some reservations available at 6:00am when they do drop regardless of if they drop for some people before 3:00am. Blue Bayou is able to carry a higher capacity throughout the day than the premium Riverbelle Terrace and so those reservations do not go as quick (though they will be gone within a few minutes of releasing).

As far as I can tell by this forum, BB Fantasmic hasn't dropped yet. We do want to try to go to regular BB regardless because it looks so beautiful and neither of us have ever been. But even the regular ADRs are being released early at 3am, there's no telling if anything will be left for me by 6am.

As far as Fantasmic, we have someone who really struggles with sitting on concrete. Unfortunately, the only option with chairs is the Premium Package. I've never seen any of the shows, parades, or fireworks. As a kid we were always exhausted by that time, so I really wanted to see some of the special shows this time. We can't visit very often, because it's just out of our budget, so it's rough knowing I likely won't have any chance to land a reservation. I've been on everyday, and nothing has ever opened for me before 6am. I must just be unlucky.

 

[ardanxela]

As far as I can tell by this forum, BB Fantasmic hasn't dropped yet. We do want to try to go to regular BB regardless because it looks so beautiful and neither of us have ever been. But even the regular ADRs are being released early at 3am, there's no telling if anything will be left for me by 6am.

As far as Fantasmic, we have someone who really struggles with sitting on concrete. Unfortunately, the only option with chairs is the Premium Package. I've never seen any of the shows, parades, or fireworks. As a kid we were always exhausted by that time, so I really wanted to see some of the special shows this time. We can't visit very often, because it's just out of our budget, so it's rough knowing I likely won't have any chance to land a reservation. I've been on everyday, and nothing has ever opened for me before 6am. I must just be unlucky.

I've used a dining alert MW before to secure a reservation at Lamplight Lounge. About a week before, tons of times were opening up and it took me a few attempts between the notifications and me actually being able to secure one. I realize the packages will be harder to get because there are not as many but maybe it's something you can look into. I recently was able to reserve the Plaza Inn Halloween Screams dining package by searching for a party of one instead of two. I ended up with two reservations within 10 minutes apart of each other so that will work for us. **for the dining alert I used it edits out the name...sorry**

 

[LisL]

We did this a few weeks ago. We got tables by the railing, which was great, however, they were not in the front of the terrace facing the river but on the left hand side (if you are looking at the river). This view was not perfect as there were some pillars, light posts and other tables/people in the way. However, it was a fun relaxing experience that my family (ranging in age from 8 to 72) thought was well worth it! We enjoyed watching the show with seats, without waiting, and without being in a huge crowd. We also really enjoyed watching the fireworks from the seats afterwards. When the show starts you can move your chairs or stand (assuming you are not blocking other people of course). The CMs were great, the food was good and we thought it was well worth the splurge.

A few other notes, tables are assigned before you get there. The hostess told me they are assigned based on reservation date, so lining up early is not necessary or helpful. We had a 12, 13 and 15 year old in our party who are not huge eaters. They ordered off the kid's menu and were charged the kid price and no one said anything. I would not have complained if we had needed to pay the adult price, but it was a nice surprise.

I was unsuccessful getting this dinning reservations 60 days out but I managed to get two reservations for 5 two days before we went using a notification site. I actually got lots of notifications for this package for the weekend we were there. So, if you did not get the reservation you want, don't give up, try the notification sites. Good luck!

 

[GoingSince1990]

We did this a few weeks ago. We got tables by the railing, which was great, however, they were not in the front of the terrace facing the river but on the left hand side (if you are looking at the river). This view was not perfect as there were some pillars, light posts and other tables/people in the way. However, it was a fun relaxing experience that my family (ranging in age from 8 to 72) thought was well worth it! We enjoyed watching the show with seats, without waiting, and without being in a huge crowd. We also really enjoyed watching the fireworks from the seats afterwards. When the show starts you can move your chairs or stand (assuming you are not blocking other people of course). The CMs were great, the food was good and we thought it was well worth the splurge.

A few other notes, tables are assigned before you get there. The hostess told me they are assigned based on reservation date, so lining up early is not necessary or helpful. We had a 12, 13 and 15 year old in our party who are not huge eaters. They ordered off the kid's menu and were charged the kid price and no one said anything. I would not have complained if we had needed to pay the adult price, but it was a nice surprise.

I was unsuccessful getting this dinning reservations 60 days out but I managed to get two reservations for 5 two days before we went using a notification site. I actually got lots of notifications for this package for the weekend we were there. So, if you did not get the reservation you want, don't give up, try the notification sites. Good luck!

Great that you could see the fireworks from your seats. We had probably among the best seats in the house for Fantasmic (railing, front of the terrace, facing the river) but we could not see the fireworks at all from our table, due to a tree.

 

[Astylla]

I'm here today on 8/30 and did the Premium River Belle package , typing this as I wait for Fantasmic to start.

First off service and check in was great, service was nothing short of wonderful.

Now on to the food..

First pic is a menu , I chose the salad and the steak and scallops. My entree would be a huge mistake.
The salad was fresh and loved the strawberries and pistachios together, really solid start. Also the bread basket and cornbread, DELICIOUS.

Then came my entree. I realized after ordering they didn't ask me how I wanted my steak prepared..then it came and I understood. It was basically a thin slice from a carving station buffet. The scallops had zero sear and were soft, and tasted and smelled fishy so I knew immediately that was a no go. "Steak" was awful , no seasoning, no flavor. Had maybe 3 bites total. Mashed potaotes tasted like instant I make at home. They were nice enough to substitute yummy veggies for the asparagus but that was the highlight.


Dessert came and..another disappointment. All the pics I've seen over many reviews has been a Malificent chocolate dragon over a dome and breathing "fire" on the plate.
I got a chocolate dome with fruity pebbles ( which I HATE), and a sickly sweet sauce that overpowered it all.
Last pic is what I was expecting.

So this was a HUGE miss for me.
I did tell the lead about it and she was sympathetic and will followup with an email with photos as well.
Just wanted to share my experience.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I'm here today on 8/30 and did the Premium River Belle package , typing this as I wait for Fantasmic to start.

First off service and check in was great, service was nothing short of wonderful.

Now on to the food..

First pic is a menu , I chose the salad and the steak and scallops. My entree would be a huge mistake.
The salad was fresh and loved the strawberries and pistachios together, really solid start. Also the bread basket and cornbread, DELICIOUS.

Then came my entree. I realized after ordering they didn't ask me how I wanted my steak prepared..then it came and I understood. It was basically a thin slice from a carving station buffet. The scallops had zero sear and were soft, and tasted and smelled fishy so I knew immediately that was a no go. "Steak" was awful , no seasoning, no flavor. Had maybe 3 bites total. Mashed potaotes tasted like instant I make at home. They were nice enough to substitute yummy veggies for the asparagus but that was the highlight.


Dessert came and..another disappointment. All the pics I've seen over many reviews has been a Malificent chocolate dragon over a dome and breathing "fire" on the plate.
I got a chocolate dome with fruity pebbles ( which I HATE), and a sickly sweet sauce that overpowered it all.
Last pic is what I was expecting.

So this was a HUGE miss for me.
I did tell the lead about it and she was sympathetic and will followup with an email with photos as well.
Just wanted to share my experience.

I did the regular not the premium but I agree that the dessert was not my favorite. It’s so pretty and fun to photograph but I enjoyed the chocolate pudding much more (it is seriously very good!).

I also had that salad with the regular package and it was very good, better than I expected.

My standard meal (done it twice and ordered the same main both times) was actually so much better than I was expecting. I’m sorry you main was disappointing. I personally would have sent it back and requested something else once I smelled the fishy scallops. I read another review that panned that particular dish. It’s too bad because they do a great job with their regular menu.

I hope you enjoy the show!! My fav!!

 

[Astylla]

I did the regular not the premium but I agree that the dessert was not my favorite. It’s so pretty and fun to photograph but I enjoyed the chocolate pudding much more (it is seriously very good!).

I also had that salad with the regular package and it was very good, better than I expected.

My standard meal (done it twice and ordered the same main both times) was actually so much better than I was expecting. I’m sorry you main was disappointing. I personally would have sent it back and requested something else once I smelled the fishy scallops. I read another review that panned that particular dish. It’s too bad because they do a great job with their regular menu.

I hope you enjoy the show!! My fav!!

I've seen fantasmic many times so this was a bonus and I enjoy most extra paid events/meals and this was one of the few I never did. And I've had the regular menu as recent as earlier this year and was awesome !

Unfortunately I lost my appetite due to the scallops and meat , really wish I went with another but it is what it is. Even the guests behind me asked if the "new York strip" was prime rib..because as a steak enthusiast myself it looks like no NY strip I've ever seen. Now if the menylu item changed they should advise guests so they can make their best judgement call.
I've worked hospitality and restaurants so politely asked to speak to a manager.
I assured her I understand it's not the servers choice what entees/dessert and presentation, just that it was not good.
She absolutely offered something which I appreciated and another server helping I mentioned how good the cornbread is so she brought me over a full fresh basket , that was super sweet and have that for the next few days

I'm just truly disappointed, as the dessert was even worse than the entree and nothing like I've seen. It had this super sticky sweet red sauce and the chocolate dome outside was too hard to melt properly and the fruity pebbles were...weird.
Like anything someday I'll give it another go.

Just wanted to share real time experience.

 

[Cal-Pie]

I'm here today on 8/30 and did the Premium River Belle package , typing this as I wait for Fantasmic to start.

First off service and check in was great, service was nothing short of wonderful.

Now on to the food..

First pic is a menu , I chose the salad and the steak and scallops. My entree would be a huge mistake.
The salad was fresh and loved the strawberries and pistachios together, really solid start. Also the bread basket and cornbread, DELICIOUS.

Then came my entree. I realized after ordering they didn't ask me how I wanted my steak prepared..then it came and I understood. It was basically a thin slice from a carving station buffet. The scallops had zero sear and were soft, and tasted and smelled fishy so I knew immediately that was a no go. "Steak" was awful , no seasoning, no flavor. Had maybe 3 bites total. Mashed potaotes tasted like instant I make at home. They were nice enough to substitute yummy veggies for the asparagus but that was the highlight.


Dessert came and..another disappointment. All the pics I've seen over many reviews has been a Malificent chocolate dragon over a dome and breathing "fire" on the plate.
I got a chocolate dome with fruity pebbles ( which I HATE), and a sickly sweet sauce that overpowered it all.
Last pic is what I was expecting.

So this was a HUGE miss for me.
I did tell the lead about it and she was sympathetic and will followup with an email with photos as well.
Just wanted to share my experience.

Sorry to hear about your experience. That is definitely not a steak. They did this a few years back at BB, the menu said New York strip, but it was really prime rib. The maleficent dessert you were expecting is the precovid option. Since reopening, it's been the fruity pebble dome.

 

[MonocularVision]

That chocolate dome dessert thing seems like it was made for Instagram consumption, not human consumption.

I substituted for the monkey bread (which I loved) but the rest of my family did not. Most of them were pretty unimpressed with the dessert.

 

[RoseColored97]

I'm here today on 8/30 and did the Premium River Belle package , typing this as I wait for Fantasmic to start.

First off service and check in was great, service was nothing short of wonderful.

Now on to the food..

First pic is a menu , I chose the salad and the steak and scallops. My entree would be a huge mistake.
The salad was fresh and loved the strawberries and pistachios together, really solid start. Also the bread basket and cornbread, DELICIOUS.

Then came my entree. I realized after ordering they didn't ask me how I wanted my steak prepared..then it came and I understood. It was basically a thin slice from a carving station buffet. The scallops had zero sear and were soft, and tasted and smelled fishy so I knew immediately that was a no go. "Steak" was awful , no seasoning, no flavor. Had maybe 3 bites total. Mashed potaotes tasted like instant I make at home. They were nice enough to substitute yummy veggies for the asparagus but that was the highlight.


Dessert came and..another disappointment. All the pics I've seen over many reviews has been a Malificent chocolate dragon over a dome and breathing "fire" on the plate.
I got a chocolate dome with fruity pebbles ( which I HATE), and a sickly sweet sauce that overpowered it all.
Last pic is what I was expecting.

So this was a HUGE miss for me.
I did tell the lead about it and she was sympathetic and will followup with an email with photos as well.
Just wanted to share my experience.

THANK YOU!! This is exactly the type of review I was hoping for.

All of us probably would have went for the steak, so we may need to reevaluate that. I think I heard somewhere that you can pick off the regular menu for the package as well. Hopefully that's true.

I thought the fruity pebbles looked off in a video I was watching. Fruity pebbles and chocolate?

Was your view of Fantasmic decent? I asked one of the CMs about seating and she said it was first come, first serve. However, that isn't what I've been hearing on the DIS.