tell me about fantasmic

[jessg]

So tell me about fantasmic the good the bad and the ugly
...

 

[rwdavis2]

Try googling for a video if you've never seen it. It's the best way to actually get information about it.

 

[wdw&sonny]

The good: Wonderfully magical collage of music, fireworks, live stage, video projections portraying Mickey fighting Disney Villains.
The bad: always crowded. Plan to get there early, use FP or a dinner package.
The Ugly: fighting the herd to get out afterwards.

 

[BrianL]

It's AMAZING! It's my favorite show at WDW. The music is a highlight. It its very worth doing. It is usually crowded. If there are 2 shows on a night, the second one will be much less crowded. The pre-show, if they do it, is awful. Just get some snacks and try to ignore it. Leaving will be a sea of people, but goes pretty quickly really.

Enjoy!

 

[minnie mum]

Most of the information you need can be found here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/hollywood-studios/fantasmic/

Be sure to expand each section for added info. We really like this show, and usually see it every visit. We have only waited in the standby line once and haven't done that again- not a good experience when it's hot. We prefer to do the F! Dining package, since we want a TS meal every day anyway. This means we are guaranteed a seat with a great view (center section), and only need to arrive a bit more than 30 min before show time.

FP is the other option, and is usually available as a 4 th or 5th FP into the afternoon.

The only ugly can be the exit, as 7,000 people all try to get out as quickly as possible. It used to be a mass stampede for the buses. Now, I expect ( haven't seen this yet) it's everybody heading to see the fireworks.

 

[SydneyFalco]

You'll find lots of raves for it, but I can't miss the chance to be "Mr. Negative". The wife and I were not impressed. Maybe it was just the effect of too much hype, but we found it lackluster, with a disjointed book and not much punch. Nothing adds up to anything; it's a lot of vignettes and water effects. (Maybe it's we're just not too in love with water effects?)

Getting in and out was a pain, as was waiting for the boat to go the dinner afterwards. And that's even counting the amazing thing that happened when we asked a CM about the best place to sit because we had a dinner reservation and wanted to get out quick. She ushered us into the reserved seating -- so cool -- but it didn't really help with the exodus.

So tell me about fantasmic the good the bad and the ugly
...

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Worth seeing at least once. I have seen it dozens of times now, so usually skip it. However, it involves a lot of water effects, some fireworks, some cool effects like displaying moving video on walls of water, lighting the lake on fire, etc. Good Music - love Mickey at the end.

As others have said, crowds are awful. Getting a good seat is difficult and they are not comfortable seats. Getting out after is enough to make a grown man cry (really). Wow betide the poor fool who tried to catch a bus back to a resort right after the last show - but that's true enough with any fireworks show at Disney.

go at least once in your life.

 

[jessg]

Thank you guys!

 

[Dis703]

It's our absolute favorite of the closing shows. We've never had to get there all that early for a seat, but getting out can be a slow process with the crowds. It's outdoor seating so we usually plan to be there a half hour ahead and grab snacks while we wait.

 

[Parker Clan]

It was an amazing show. I will say we went in August and being packed like that was torture... We were dripping sweat the entire show. But again, really great show-I would do again in a cooler month!

 

[kevgraub]

I had read somewhere one time about a small path you can take to exit out more quickly (I'm thinking it is off to the far left as you exit). Is that open anymore?

 

[DisneyMom111]

We love Fantasmic. I am in the minority in that we love sitting in the front row! Most will say higher up is better but we snuck in at the last minute one year and ended up in the front row and it was awesome! Only once did we get wet from the water spray in probably 5 times sitting in the front. You can feel the heat from the fire on the water and you really feel like you are part of the action. But as others have said, worth seeing at least once, it's a fun show.

 

[ZoZo]

You'll find lots of raves for it, but I can't miss the chance to be "Mr. Negative". The wife and I were not impressed. Maybe it was just the effect of too much hype, but we found it lackluster, with a disjointed book and not much punch. Nothing adds up to anything; it's a lot of vignettes and water effects. (Maybe it's we're just not too in love with water effects?)

Getting in and out was a pain, as was waiting for the boat to go the dinner afterwards. And that's even counting the amazing thing that happened when we asked a CM about the best place to sit because we had a dinner reservation and wanted to get out quick. She ushered us into the reserved seating -- so cool -- but it didn't really help with the exodus.

I agree with this - I was definitely underwhelmed with Fantasmic. After all of the hype, I was surprised that I didn't like it - but it just wasn't interesting to me. And it sure didn't help that we had to get there so early (even though we did the Fantasmic dinner package at MM, we still felt we needed to get there about 45 minutes before show time). All three of us (myself and my two adult friends) were just sort of "Meh??"

But lots of folks love it - I say give it a try if you haven't seen it before! You never know what you'll like - I always recommend that everyone try everything at least once; don't skip it based on feedback you see here.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Good, bad and ugly mostly reviewed above.

Another good is that literally all the seats are good. With the triple water screens showing the same videos and the layout of the staging, all views are good.

On the other hand, a bad may be the seating again. However this time it would be the lower, closeup seating. If seated there, depending on the strength and direction of the wind, you may get somewhere between damp and soaked. May be nice on a hot July evening, not so nice on a chilly January evening.

 

[Sevey13]

If you haven't seen it, see it to say you have. It is easily my least favorite of the night shows. It was very, very dated. Not that I mind classic movies, but all the featured elements (the Pocahontas scene, etc.) came from the '90s Disney Renaissance. Nothing beyond 1998. There wasn't really any special scenery involved, so no reason they can't swap that section out every few years. There was a long section where it's just villains screaming really loudly and I was just thinking, "this can be over now." I was very disappointed. Wanted to enjoy it, but given the time investment to get in, get a seat, wait, watch the show, and get out it isn't worth it to me, mind you I saw it solo so I was able to walk efficiently in, find a nice seat in an an area already pretty full (perk of being solo), and I was also able to walk efficiently out of the theater at the end unencumbered by other people. I won't do it again unless I am outvoted.

 

[CounselorX]

It's not 100% terrible but it's my least favorite night time show. Then again, I love fireworks, and it has the weakest fireworks of them all.