Seeking advice on LLMP and shows/entertainment

[LKing]

I guess Hollywood Studios has two evening shows - Fantasmic and Wonderful World of Animation. The times seem to be pretty variable.

Is Wonderful World of Animation something worth seeing? If so, how far in advance should we be there in order to get a decent view.

 

[BlueGreen5]

I guess Hollywood Studios has two evening shows - Fantasmic and Wonderful World of Animation. The times seem to be pretty variable.

Is Wonderful World of Animation something worth seeing? If so, how far in advance should we be there in order to get a decent view.

Wonderful World of Animation is essentially a projection show on the theater with a couple of pyro bursts. Not being huge on projection shows, we don't normally bother with it, so I can't speak to the crowds. But, if this was a once every couple of decade trip for us, I would want to experience it. I am almost certain Fantasmic is much more crowd-heavy, especially if there is only one show that evening.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I guess Hollywood Studios has two evening shows - Fantasmic and Wonderful World of Animation. The times seem to be pretty variable.

Is Wonderful World of Animation something worth seeing? If so, how far in advance should we be there in order to get a decent view.

It's nice to see but if I had to choose I would most definitely choose Fantasmic! As @BlueGreen5 shared, it's basically a projection show.

We went a couple of years ago and it was not crowded at all. We sat on benches along the side of the gardens and could see fine.

 

[LKing]

I also heard Remy breaks down a lot, so I'm concerned with rope dropping it and it's down.

Does WDW give MEP if rides go down?

 

[BlueGreen5]

Does WDW give MEP if rides go down?

Only if you have a LL scheduled when the ride goes down.

 

[HeiHei2018]

Does WDW give MEP if rides go down?

We got a return pass when we were on TSM and had to be evacuated. If a ride is down during your LL window, a MEP will automatically appear on the app. But I think, as others have said, there is no MEP if you are in the standby line.

 

[Lilvinmanl]

Thanks for this thread. I will eagerly be following along. I am a DLR vet (not as frequent a visitor as OP) heading to WDW in March. Made my dining reservations and planning our LLMP for two MK days and one Epcot day. We are staying at VGF and plan to watch fireworks from there one night. We also want to try watching from MK one night, so interested to see the reply that we can likely get a spot by arriving about 45 minutes before without any kind of dessert party (that would be great to not spend the time or money on the dessert party since we don't drink alcohol).

My single biggest concern about the whole trip is riding Frozen. We will be arriving from front of the park for EE (planning to arrive at 7:30 for the 8:30 open) and rope drop Frozen. We will plan to get LLMP for Remy Tier 1. I'm hoping we can book something like Pixar Shorts for 9:00 to then try booking Frozen a second time. Curious how possible this will be for 3 of us, as I think we would enjoy doing it twice.

Frankly, I'd prefer not to walk all the way back to Norway for EE RD and then all the way back to Soarin', but I don't want to risk not getting to ride Frozen with a short wait if we can't get LLMP day of. We have little kids, so SR Remy will not be an option (and not really feasible for us to RD International Gateway this trip). With the continued expansion of LLPP, I suspect day of availability for Tier 1 rides like Frozen will probably continue being tougher.

We rope dropped frozen in August 2024and ended up waiting in a 50 minute line. When we got off the line was only 20 minutes. We did not have EE tho

 

[LKing]

We got a return pass when we were on TSM and had to be evacuated. If a ride is down during your LL window, a MEP will automatically appear on the app. But I think, as others have said, there is no MEP if you are in the standby line.

Thanks. I was referring to if I booked a LLMP or LLSP and the ride went down.

 

[Uk145081]

For April, focus your LL on the newer rides (TRON, Cosmic Rewind, Flight of Passage) – those lines get insane. For shows, get to fireworks/Luminous spots at least an hour early, maybe more. Festival of Fantasy? 45 minutes should be fine unless it's a super busy day. Don't bother with LL for shows unless it's a very short window.

 

[LKing]

For April, focus your LL on the newer rides (TRON, Cosmic Rewind, Flight of Passage) – those lines get insane. For shows, get to fireworks/Luminous spots at least an hour early, maybe more. Festival of Fantasy? 45 minutes should be fine unless it's a super busy day. Don't bother with LL for shows unless it's a very short window.

Thank you!

My conference ends around 2 pm each day so we were planning on seeing the shows those evenings and then doing a separate park day (or days) for the attractions. We were thinking of doing Boma for an early dinner and then heading to EPCOT for Luminous. If we made a 6 pm reservation at Boma, would we have enough time to eat, drive our car to EPCOT and find a place to watch the show? Or should we do dinner earlier?

During Flower & Garden, is EPCOT significantly more crowded for Luminous on Friday nights? We're trying to figure out if we should do MK fireworks on a Friday night or Luminous.

 

[BlueGreen5]

Thank you!

My conference ends around 2 pm each day so we were planning on seeing the shows those evenings and then doing a separate park day (or days) for the attractions. We were thinking of doing Boma for an early dinner and then heading to EPCOT for Luminous. If we made a 6 pm reservation at Boma, would we have enough time to eat, drive our car to EPCOT and find a place to watch the show? Or should we do dinner earlier?

During Flower & Garden, is EPCOT significantly more crowded for Luminous on Friday nights? We're trying to figure out if we should do MK fireworks on a Friday night or Luminous.

Your experience may differ, of course, but -- setting aside NYE, the Christmas candlelight processional evenings, famous bands playing in the America band shell, and one-off ride openings, none of which are the case here -- I have never experienced EPCOT being "significantly" crowded. It's just so big that that's a hard feat to accomplish. Other than maybe the opening day, F&G by itself doesn't draw that much of a crowd to materially impact the crowd levels, IMO. Spring break would be a much bigger concern from a crowd perspective than F&G.

3 hours would be more than enough time for my family to eat, drive, park, and walk to get in a place to see the show. We're moderately quick eaters and fast walkers. If getting from Boma to your Luminous spot is your sole mission, I would estimate it'll take about 20 minutes to get from Boma to your car (depending on where you park at AKL), 15 minutes to drive to EPCOT, about 30 minutes to park and get into the park, and another 30 minutes to find the perfect viewing spot (plenty of reasonably decent spots will be easy to find in less time; I'm leaving you a little room for site selection here). Giving yourself 90 minutes after your meal should be plenty in most circumstances. And 90 minutes should be plenty of time to enjoy Boma without feeling rushed in most circumstances.

Another option, if you end up being really pressed for time, is to take an Uber/Lyft from AKL to Beach Club, and then walk in the IG entrance to EPCOT. You would then just take the AKL bus back to your car after the show. It's probably technically against the rules to leave your car at AKL for THAT long, but I've never seen or heard of them strictly enforcing parking time limits at AKL (and this would qualify as "strict" enforcement in my book...by like an hour or two, max...).

 

[elvispursley]

Another option, if you end up being really pressed for time, is to take an Uber/Lyft from AKL to Beach Club, and then walk in the IG entrance to EPCOT. You would then just take the AKL bus back to your car after the show. It's probably technically against the rules to leave your car at AKL for THAT long, but I've never seen or heard of them strictly enforcing parking time limits at AKL (and this would qualify as "strict" enforcement in my book...by like an hour or two, max...).

Unless you have an ADR or are staying at BC (or any of the crescent lake resorts, with the exception of Swan/Dolphin), you have a big chance of being turned away. I would not risk it if I were short on time.

 

[LKing]

Unless you have an ADR or are staying at BC (or any of the crescent lake resorts, with the exception of Swan/Dolphin), you have a big chance of being turned away. I would not risk it if I were short on time.

We don't plan on doing Boma as a walk in if that is what you are referring to. We are going to make a reservation. My ADR window is coming up this week. I just wanted to check to see what time I should make my reservation and if it was reasonable to do Boma and Luminous in the same night.

We're coming from California, so a 6 pm dinner is like eating at 3 pm for us.

 

[elvispursley]

We don't plan on doing Boma as a walk in if that is what you are referring to. We are going to make a reservation. My ADR window is coming up this week. I just wanted to check to see what time I should make my reservation and if it was reasonable to do Boma and Luminous in the same night.

We're coming from California, so a 6 pm dinner is like eating at 3 pm for us.

I was referring to the post that stated if you were shirt in time to catch a ride share from AKL and get dropped at BC. I fully u deratood that you have ADRs for Boma. We’re from Hawaii and the west coast so totally get the weird eating hours I just didn’t want anyone to think it was a smart idea to try and enter IG unless you’re staying at or have an ADR at the crescent lake resorts as there is a very high likelihood the guard will turn the ride share away.

Personally, I think 6pm for Boma is fine, especially if you check in for your ADR a little early. Maybe pay for your meal when your server takes your drink order so you don’t have to wait for them to return. I can’t see a buffet taking longer than an hour. Depending on how busy the Epcot is and where you park, you should make it there fine but I wouldn’t count on a terrific place to view it. But you should make it there by the start. If you’re worried, maybe bump your dinner by 30 minutes.

 

[BlueGreen5]

Unless you have an ADR or are staying at BC (or any of the crescent lake resorts, with the exception of Swan/Dolphin), you have a big chance of being turned away. I would not risk it if I were short on time.

Those were the pandemic rules. Ride shares frequently drop folks off at resorts now -- we probably took 15+ ride shares to different resorts in 2024 just to explore the lounges, sights, smells, etc. The only exception are the monorail resorts - they are still applying the rule you cited to prevent people from circumventing the TTC ride share drop off zone...at least at park open. After that, it's hit or miss whether they will enforce -- I've been dropped off at GF and Poly a number of times around lunch/dinner time without having an official reason for being there.

 

[R&RsMom]

Those were the pandemic rules. Ride shares frequently drop folks off at resorts now -- we probably took 15+ ride shares to different resorts in 2024 just to explore the lounges, sights, smells, etc. The only exception are the monorail resorts - they are still applying the rule you cited to prevent people from circumventing the TTC ride share drop off zone...at least at park open. After that, it's hit or miss whether they will enforce -- I've been dropped off at GF and Poly a number of times around lunch/dinner time without having an official reason for being there.

Epcot resorts are similar because of international gateway.

 

[BlueGreen5]

*shrugs* we are at Boardwalk or Beach/Yacht Club roughly once a quarter (not because of IG, but because we just love the crescent lake area) and have never been turned away or it even having been suggested that we are doing something wrong. I guess this is a perfect situation of YMMV! Now I can get sweaty palms the next time we Uber over there...

 

[Mouse Tracker]

I have a conference for the first three days. The conference ends before 3 pm each day, so we could go to a park for dinner and a show in the evening. We're thinking of doing fireworks and Luminous on these evenings so we have time to find a viewing location.

LLMP won't help you much on these days.

Staying off site (not knowing how far away or traffic outside the bubble) may be a disadvantage to "rope dropping" the headliners like AK-FoP, Epcot- Remy, MK- several options.

The good thing about your trip is the extra days. LLMP will help you in HS, MK. You might rely on LLSP in AK, Epcot (but if $ isn't a concern go for it LLMP). You'll be able to double up days to the parks too.

I predict getting parked and at the turnstiles as quick as you can will be the key to touring for you. Adding LL's as you go become harder to get (especially convenient return times)

 

[LKing]

LLMP won't help you much on these days.

We aren't planning on LLMP or SP those days.

Staying off site (not knowing how far away or traffic outside the bubble) may be a disadvantage to "rope dropping" the headliners like AK-FoP, Epcot- Remy, MK- several options.

We'll be at the Hyatt Grand Cypress. We'll have a 10 day ticket. We won't try for LLMP until somewhere around days 8-13 of our two week window. We'll only buy LLMP max of one day/park and we'll do what we can and won't worry about what we can't.

If we can see Luminous and fireworks on our half days, that will free up some time waiting for the shows on the full days when we have LLMP. I'm not sure if we will do Fantasmic. It would be on our DHS full day. We've seen it a dozen times in California since it reopened. I know it is different, but I'm not sure that it is worth waiting in line instead of seeing the rest of the park.

Adding LL's as you go become harder to get (especially convenient return times)

Are LLSP difficult to book in advance? We've budgeted for all of the LLSP with the exception of Rise.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

Are LLSP difficult to book in advance?

Reference to LLMP, adding more after initial 3