timing of fantasmic/illuminations

[findmewdw]

We are planning on seeing Fantasmic our first night at WDW. Would it be possible to get to Epcot to view Illuminations right after Fantasmic? If so, please give me directions to get there fast and where to view Illuminations. We wanted to start our trip with a bang!

 

[Lora]

From what I can tell, Fantasmic is at 8pm during your visit. There will be a huge crowd of people leaving the park when it's over. I don't remember how long the show lasts, but I'm thinking it's maybe about 30 minutes?? I don't honestly see how you can get from one to the other fast enough. The quickest way would be to walk from MGM through BW to the International Gateway. The walk in normal circumstances may take about 20-30 minutes depending on your pace. (There are boats, but they're much slower and you usually have to wait around for them.) You could maybe get out of MGM and get to BW in time to see the fireworks from Illuminations from the bridge. I think they go at about 9:05 and 9:12 or so(????). The are 2 sets that you can see from the BW. The only way would to get to Epcot would be to leave Fantasmic early and run all the way to Epcot.