Rockin Roller Coaster or Fantasmic! FP?

[bettymae1121]

Touring Plans has crowd level 3 predicted for HS that day (trip is in 3 weeks so TSL not a factor). I currently have a FP for RRC (is that the abbreviation?) but we are also thinking of staying for Fantasmic that evening. I don't want to do a dinner package as we really want to try Sci-fi and that's not an option for the package.

If we do standby for RRC, how bad of a wait time should we expect (we are not rope dropping, expect to get to the park 11ish)? If we keep the FP how early would we want to show up for Fantasmic to guarantee a seat (doesn't have to be a great seat)? Only one show scheduled that night as far as I know, if that matters.

I already checked, FP for Fantasmic are still available.

I loath waiting for shows or parades (been there, done that, so over it), if I have to wait for one or the other I'd rather wait for the ride, but that said I don't want a 2 hour wait for it either, especially if it turns out that Fantasmic isn't a sell-out crowd that night (so to speak). Traveling with a young kid so single rider line is out, we'll want to ride together as a family.

It's probably one of those "pick your poison" scenarios but I thought I'd check here for some feedback before deciding. TIA!

 

[Robo]

Get same-day FP+ for F!

You should arrive at least 45 min. early to F!
If that is not something you are willing g to do,
then you will be gambling with being able to see F!

If that's OK, have at it, and have fun!

 

[Elle :)]

I would use my FP on RnR. Personal preference because I don't like holding up my FP all day (you can't try for a fourth if you have one for Fantasmic). You could probably try getting a FP for Fantasmic as your 4th.

 

[Robo]

Guests don't really wait in line for the first (or only) F! performance of the evening.
The CMs open the theater an hour or more before show-time.
Guests at that time will simply walk slowly through the very long pathways to the theater and file in to find a seat.

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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

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.)

 

[Wish Upon A Starbucks]

Use FP on RNR then later in the day you can pick up a FP for fantasmic. Search one person at a time.

 

[bettymae1121]

If we keep all the FPs we currently have, we should use our last FP by ~ 3 PM or so, think we'd have a decent shot at getting Fantasmic as a 4th FP? I realize nothing is guaranteed in life but this might be our best bet. Seeing F isn't one of those critical "OMG our entire trip will be RUINED (ruined I say!) if we don't see this!" type things. I'd rather skip it myself but DD has seen a few clips and seems interested, so I thought it was a least worth looking into.

 

[Tksolomom]

I would definitely keep RnR. You don’t save much time with the F! Fastpass as you normally have to go early even with the FP. I would bring some snacks to eat while waiting

 

[Robo]

If we keep all the FPs we currently have, we should use our last FP by ~ 3 PM or so, think we'd have a decent shot at getting Fantasmic as a 4th FP?

Better than even odds, yes.

 

[bettymae1121]

Better than even odds, yes.

I can live with that!

If we can't get a FP then we'll try stand by, if it doesn't work out...oh well. DD can stand to learn a bit about disappointment and rolling with the punches.

Thanks everyone!

 

[MouseLover]

When are you going? Who is in your party?

Our strategy (3 adults) is FP for Tower of Terror, single rider line for RnR, and 4th FP (or wait) for Fantasmic. In my experience, 2nd showings of Fantasmic are often added (spring break or June). Also F! gets rained out sometimes -- RnR won't.

 

[bettymae1121]

When are you going? Who is in your party?

Our strategy (3 adults) is FP for Tower of Terror, single rider line for RnR, and 4th FP (or wait) for Fantasmic. In my experience, 2nd showings of Fantasmic are often added (spring break or June). Also F! gets rained out sometimes -- RnR won't.

4/24 is our HS day, Touring Plans is predicting level 3 crowds. Party of 3, two adults and one child age 6 (tall enough for all rides). Have FP for RnR, Star Tours and ToT with ToT being the last one at 2:50. I have my doubts on if DD will want to ride ToT, she's tall enough but I'm not sure if it's just too much for her (that ride eats adults for lunch). If it turns out to be a no-go we can always cancel ToT earlier that day to try and snag F! FPs.

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

We had the dining package and we still had to get there early to pick out the best seats. Our DD was 6 and we didn't want to sit behind anyone tall so she could see. So, I definitely think you would save more time with RNR FP as no matter what you will need to arrive early to pick seating. That said we try to see Fantasmic every trip, while not amazing like DL's, it is a good show.

 

[Wish Upon A Starbucks]

4/24 is our HS day, Touring Plans is predicting level 3 crowds. Party of 3, two adults and one child age 6 (tall enough for all rides). Have FP for RnR, Star Tours and ToT with ToT being the last one at 2:50. I have my doubts on if DD will want to ride ToT, she's tall enough but I'm not sure if it's just too much for her (that ride eats adults for lunch). If it turns out to be a no-go we can always cancel ToT earlier that day to try and snag F! FPs.

Keep in mind that you need to use two tier 2 FP before you get another tier 1. So if you skip or cancel TOT you will not be able to get F! Until you use a second tier 2.

 

[bettymae1121]

Keep in mind that you need to use two tier 2 FP before you get another tier 1. So if you skip or cancel TOT you will not be able to get F! Until you use a second tier 2.

Ugh that's right, forgot about the tiers....

 

[Wish Upon A Starbucks]

Ugh that's right, forgot about the tiers....

You can just tap out the TOT and not ride. Or switch it to something like muppets last minute and just tap out.

 

[Jeremy Nolen]

Couple of thoughts as we FP'ed Fantasmic earlier this month:

1) they way over-issued FP for the performance. We showed up ~15 minutes before start and were seated in the overflow seating (#4 on the map above.) We actually would have gotten better seats if we had shown up stand-by at the same time! So in that sense, the FP saved us nothing - we probably needed to show up 30 min before start to actually get OK seats, at which point we should have just stand-byed it.
2) I was kind of underwhelmed by the performance. I hadn't seen it before, so wasn't sure what to expect. Like a lot of WDW shows, it's just a bunch of incomprehensible imagery and clips from various Disney movies, tied together by the thinnest of narratives. The images-projected-on-water is a cool effect, though.

 

[Robo]

they way over-issued FP for the performance. We showed up ~15 minutes before start and were seated in the overflow seating (#4 on the map above.)
1. We actually would have gotten better seats if we had shown up stand-by at the same time! So in that sense, the FP saved us nothing -
2. we probably needed to show up 30 min before start to actually get OK seats, at which point we should have just stand-byed it.

1. You could have chosen to sit in standby if you saw better seats there.
2. More like 45 min. on most nights.

In general, if seeing a specific performance is important, arriving earlier will take care of most problems.
OTOH, if seeing a given show is only of passing interest, you can show up later. You might get lucky.
Many do.