they need to fix reserved seating for fantasmic

[bluegrizzlies1]

We love the reserved seating for fantasmic but they need to change how to check in . They need to either first call gets to pick there seats or do internet and buy the seats and pick your seats. This would save them time and we wouldn't have to stand around waiting .

 

[dsny1mom]

The system you are asking for is the system that was used for the Balcony, with the exception of a few months one year. Seats were assigned based on who called in first. If they could do it this way for the Balcony I don't see why it can't be done for Riverside. I soooo agree with you on this. Half of the perk is being able to stroll up 30 minutes before show time and get a decent seat. The waiting in advance to get one's seat assignment is one of the reasons we won't do Riverside again.

dsny1mom

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

Hassle for the cast members and customers just pick your tickets up and then when the show starts show your tickets and get your seats pretty simple.

 

[kailuagirl]

We've never done it, but in my opinion, I think it's crazy to have to get there and wait and wait for it. If you've bought a reserved seat, you should have a reserved seat and be able to not show up so far in advance and be able to enjoy other things.

 

[InLikeSin]

We've done this just recently and I really agree, it would have been so much simpler to choose a seat asignment when we called to purchase the tickets. If you have to pay for the seats in advace why can't you chose them in advance also? We payed a lot of those tickets and they should be bending over backward to make it easier/more enjoyable for us.

 

[RangerPooh]

Is this for Riverside or balcony? We've had mixed reviews with both. We've done balcony many more times than Riverside but it's usually first called in, first assigned seats. But with Riverside we've experienced getting to chose your seats based on check in that day, pre-assigned seats based on when purchased, and random free for all. A conistent system would certainly be nice.

 

[DanT]

any other venue for concerts, ball games etc....have seating charts online when you purchase the tickets.
How hard would it be to at least have the seating chart online so you could pick your seat when you call...
Or just put the whole deal online, pay for tickets pick your reserved seating right there on the spot. It is not like Disney does not have an online presence.

We did reserved seating for fantasmic about 2 weeks ago. And we got in line about 6:30. We were 2nd in line. We got in line because it was so busy there wasn't much fun in trying to battle the crowds. It was moving like a snail's pace everywhere in NOS and Frontierland.
So we got some snacks and just waited. Actually had a good time watching the crowds, talking to the CMs and talking to some nice folks in line. Actually the folks right behind us in line were Disers from Canada....
We had FPs for HMH and Indy that we had gotten at around 8:30am and we finally used them after 9pm Fantasmic and 9:25 fireworks.
We had a great time, and would probably do the reserved seating again, but it would be nice to have a "REAL" reserved seat at the time of ticket purchase.

 

[dsny1mom]

Hassle for the cast members and customers just pick your tickets up and then when the show starts show your tickets and get your seats pretty simple.

There is no hassle for customer or CMs when you are assigned a seat when you purchase. In fact it is less time consuming for both to assign seats at the point of sale.

The reason they don't just have you select your seats right before the show is twofold. First some people take more than a few seconds to select the seats they want. They ask questions and hem and haw so it could take well more than the whatever minutes before the show starts you are required to be there to get all seated. The other reason is the presumed value of having "reserved seating" would drop as many people would arrive an hour or more ahead to wait to get front row seats. The Riverside seating check in line would have a long line of paid customers waiting hours in advance if seats were assigned the time seating took place, and this would further clog up the area that is already jam packed with people. The way they currently explain the system makes it seem as if there is no real wait for your party as only one person has to line up for seat assingments but in reality it is still a hassle.

The system they used for the balcony was perfect. Your seats were assigned when you paid for the event. You showed up 30 minutes before the show and were shown to your seats. The best seats were assigned to those that called in first. No need to wait for anything. This is the way it should be handled IMHO.

dsny1mom

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

"The system they used for the balcony was perfect. Your seats were assigned when you paid for the event. You showed up 30 minutes before the show and were shown to your seats. The best seats were assigned to those that called in first. No need to wait for anything. This is the way it should be handled IMHO."

They need to go back to this thanks.

 

[Crazy4Pooh]

I think we were the people in line after Dan T (thanks for the chat). We also lined up early because it was so busy no sense battling crowds. We wish they had a different system also, like when you call assign seats based on your reservation. I think any seat would be good. I enjoyed standing and visiting as the alternative of sitting on cement for 3 hours. We would do it again.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

If they do show Fantasmic! during December, we will probably opt not to do the priority seating this time around. That's partly because I'd rather spend the extra money on other special events (AG, Holiday Tour, etc.), but mostly because I don't want to have to stand in line for a seat for a couple of hours as opposed to sitting for a seat for a couple of hours. The dessert box was great when we were there last time and we were in the third or fourth row and it was okay, but for the money I wish we had been in the front row. Barring assurances of the front row, I think I'd be just as happy on a blanket on the ground for the money we'd save for all four of us. I can see taking a small blanket and sitting around with my book or iPhone Kindle while DH takes the DD's on Pooh, Jungle Cruise, and the Treehouse. And, perhaps that's the problem. If they booked the seats ahead of time and people knew they couldn't get front row in the reserved area, they would probably be less likely to buy reserved seats at $50 a pop.

 

[DanT]

doing the blanket routine is fine for groups of 4 or more...that way one or two folks can hold down the fort while others do rides etc for several hours (3 or more to get a front row seat). For 2 of us it was not an option. I do not come to DL to sit 3 hours or more for Fantasmic or for the fireworks.
I come to DL for the rides and other entertainment that does not require marking time for 3 or more hours...
again for bigger groups that can "spell" each other on "blanket duty" I think it is a reasonable option.
For us the reserved seating was a great treat...and waiting in line was not a big deal since we knew what we were getting.

I do wish that the seating was assigned at the time of the reservation like it used to be with the Balcony seating....

 

[HydroGuy]

Is this for Riverside or balcony? We've had mixed reviews with both. We've done balcony many more times than Riverside but it's usually first called in, first assigned seats. But with Riverside we've experienced getting to chose your seats based on check in that day, pre-assigned seats based on when purchased, and random free for all. A conistent system would certainly be nice.

Balcony seating no longer exists since they built the dream suite above POTC.

 

[HydroGuy]

doing the blanket routine is fine for groups of 4 or more...that way one or two folks can hold down the fort while others do rides etc for several hours (3 or more to get a front row seat). For 2 of us it was not an option. I do not come to DL to sit 3 hours or more for Fantasmic or for the fireworks.
I come to DL for the rides and other entertainment that does not require marking time for 3 or more hours...
again for bigger groups that can "spell" each other on "blanket duty" I think it is a reasonable option.
For us the reserved seating was a great treat...and waiting in line was not a big deal since we knew what we were getting.

I do wish that the seating was assigned at the time of the reservation like it used to be with the Balcony seating....

I need to add that of all the times I have been to DL I have never had to wait anything like 3 hours to see fireworks or Fantasmic. I do not want someone reading this for the first time and thinking it is normal. It isn't. I do not know what happened to DanT so can comment specifically on his "3 hours" comment. Others should know that his experience has not been our experience.

For us the most we have ever waited for fireworks was 1 hour and that was for a spot int he hub during the very busy 50th anniversary summer in 2005. The last few years we have waited 20-30 minutes for decent spots in the hub.

For Fantasmic we did wait 2 hours when our children were small for an early show. That was for a great seat down front. The last 4-5 times we have waited 35-45 minutes for the late show and had great spots almost every time.

FWIW Fantasmic did get much busier this past summer with the show changes and new dragon. And Halloween fireworks were reportedly busy because they were special. But this will all calm down over time.

 

[DanT]

we have never waited that long for F or Fireworks, but some folks do.
When we were there 2 weeks ago, folks had blankets on the curbs, and on benches in the hub at 6-6:30 just sitting there waiting for the FW show and holding spots for their families/friends. Same thing at NOS/Frontierland. Blankets on the ground around 6-6:30 for F.
that is what I was commenting about. Some folks do this to get a good seat for either. Not I. Just not worth it to me.
You are correct that this has a lot to do with the first time ever Halloween fireworks show and with Murphy finally showing up for F at the end of the summer, folks are still packing in to see all the new stuff to do with the dragon at F.
This last time at DL was the worst I have ever seen for crowds, and I have been there at every time of the year for just about ever.
I was even there the day Fantasyland reponed, and the castle draw bridge was lowered. It wasn't even as crowed for that as it was 2 weeks ago in the hub...

 

[HydroGuy]

we have never waited that long for F or Fireworks, but some folks do.
When we were there 2 weeks ago, folks had blankets on the curbs, and on benches in the hub at 6-6:30 just sitting there waiting for the FW show and holding spots for their families/friends. Same thing at NOS/Frontierland. Blankets on the ground around 6-6:30 for F.
that is what I was commenting about. Some folks do this to get a good seat for either. Not I. Just not worth it to me.
You are correct that this has a lot to do with the first time ever Halloween fireworks show and with Murphy finally showing up for F at the end of the summer, folks are still packing in to see all the new stuff to do with the dragon at F.
This last time at DL was the worst I have ever seen for crowds, and I have been there at every time of the year for just about ever.
I was even there the day Fantasyland reponed, and the castle draw bridge was lowered. It wasn't even as crowed for that as it was 2 weeks ago in the hub...

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[jacs1234]

I totally agree with the original poster. We are flying from Austalia so we've booked ps's for fantasmic. We want to make sure we get one good experience watching it while we're there. I'm nervous about it though because we would like front row seats for our 4 children and if we could have chosen it at the time of booking I'd be really relaxed and happy about it.

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

I totally agree with the original poster. We are flying from Austalia so we've booked ps's for fantasmic. We want to make sure we get one good experience watching it while we're there. I'm nervous about it though because we would like front row seats for our 4 children and if we could have chosen it at the time of booking I'd be really relaxed and happy about it.

Just so you know I lined up at 7pm and there were people already in line. I could have had front row but it was not center stage it was off to the left so we opted for second row center.

If I picked again I would have got front row even if it meant to be off to the left. We could see in the 2nd row BUT with kids I would do front row you never know who will be sitting in front of you.

 

[ttig34]

Do you still line up by the churro cart to choose seats? I thought someone had said they changed it to the area down below where the seating is. Just want to make sure that I stand at the right place if I decide to get the seating.

 

[DanT]

the line formed by the cement post behind the Churro Cart(towards the Tom Sawyer raft loading are) , that is the top of the railing going down the steps. A bit later they moved the check in desk to inside the seating area in front of the Churro Cart to get us out of the crowds.