Should I book Fantasmic! dinner package or not?!?!

[JustinS]

In July I will be going to WDW with my gf (so we'll have a party of two). In planning out our dinners, I'm trying to decide between Mama Melrose (for the purpose of the dining package) or 50's Prime Time. Now, if I do choose 50's Prime Time, do you think I will have any problem getting a party of 2 into Fantasmic!? How early should I go to the theater to sit??

 

[danny1649]

Both dining spots for Fantasnic dinner package.I say since you want a good dinner anyway , You will get good great seats for show . You can still get a deceits seat.without package.

 

[soniam]

Both dining spots for Fantasnic dinner package.I say since you want a good dinner anyway , You will get good great seats for show . You can still get a deceits seat.without package.

Actually, only Mama Melrose has the F! package. You could also get it at Hollywood Brown Derbey or Hollywood & Vine.

 

[hiroMYhero]

In July, there will be two Fantasmics each night. Plan on the 2nd Fantasmic and you won't even need a FP. Arrive 30 minutes before the 2nd show.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Fantasmic is performed twice nightly in July at 9 & 10:30. You won't need the dinner package if you attend the 2nd showing so you can dine when and where you want. You can arrive just few minutes before showtime and still get great seats. It's been years since we've seen the theater more than half full in mid summer for the late show.

Another benefit is that the attraction lines are the shortest of the day from 9 to 10 pm. It's not unusual to be able to ride Toy Story 4 times for example.

 

[Rivergirl2005]

I prefer the the F package. I love the seating area with it, Front and center it's whether you wanna pay a little extra...I'm all for it personally!

 

[thegales]

A minor word of caution if you do the Dinner package. If the Fantasmic show is cancelled after you sit down in the theater (such as due to weather), you do not get the seating benefit to a future show. You are just out of luck. That happened to us, and we were somewhat annoyed. (Disney made the right call in cancelling, the rain/lightning was so bad, they let us out via a backstage area that dropped us right at the entrance. It would not have been pretty if we were still in the Fantasmic seating area at the actual time of the storm. Our annoyance changed to thankfulness.)

However, a future night, we went back and had no issue getting seats and seeing the show. Because of this, in the future, we will just have dinner where we want and just try to attend Fantasmic without the Dinner Package.

 

[jerseygal]

I prefer the the F package. I love the seating area with it, Front and center it's whether you wanna pay a little extra...I'm all for it personally!

I also would do the Fantasmic package, lunch last December at Hollywood Brown Derby. Extremely pleased with the quality of the food and since it was December decided it would be better doing package. Seats were GREAT!

 

[CAS239]

It's not hard to get into Fantasmic. And it's real easy to get it as a 4th or 5th FP.

The only time imo one should do the dining package is if you're already planning on eating at one of the restaurants in the park. If you're not, there's no need to go out your way to do it.

So since you already plan on eating in the park, then you might as well do the package. If it's the first showing and you want full range of seats to pick from, I recommend showing up 1 hour before showtime

 

[aretha30]

We go in August every year and we either do the second showing of Fantasmic or we get it for our 4th or 5th FP+. We are usually hopping over and don't get to the park until 5 or 6 and still have no issues. Eat where you want to eat, you should be fine to see Fantasmic.

 

[Robo]

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 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.



There is sometimes a "pre-show" (such as it is) that can help pass the last 30 minutes before show time.

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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.)

--------------------------------------

 

[LSUfan4444]

In July I will be going to WDW with my gf (so we'll have a party of two). In planning out our dinners, I'm trying to decide between Mama Melrose (for the purpose of the dining package) or 50's Prime Time. Now, if I do choose 50's Prime Time, do you think I will have any problem getting a party of 2 into Fantasmic!? How early should I go to the theater to sit??

You won't have any issues getting in, but I think the F! dining package is a pretty solid meal and honestly, I just like the food better than than 50s PT.

 

[Dan Murphy]

You won't have any issues getting in, but I think the F! dining package is a pretty solid meal and honestly, I just like the food better than than 50s PT.

Agreed.

Keep in mind though, that with the triple waterscreens and the seating style of the venue, that really almost all the seating is good seating. Probably the only potentially bad seating are the closer, upfront rows where you may get wet (or drenched) depending on the direction and strength of the wind. In July, if a warm evening, that might not be too bad. A cool evening or cooler times of the year, maybe not so good.