When did Fantasmic change?

[lbgraves]

I was really excited that DH found a home video of the show online since ours didn't come out too great but it was different in some parts than what we saw last week. There was Jungle Book instead of just the green monkeys without the other animals and Peter Pan battled Captain Hook on his pirate ship. Some of the other parts were the same. Just curious how often they update the show. TIA!

 

[meeko_33785]

Those scenes are from the Disneyland version. In the MGM version, they were replaced with the Lion King and Pocahontas sequences.

 

[lbgraves]

OK, thanks for the info. The kids still enjoyed watching it & DD was humming the main music all night!

 

[disneymania10]

We haven't been to fantasmic for a few years. Tired of waiting 90 minutes for the show. We didn't really enjoy the pochahantas part of the show. Is that still in it? What changes have they made? Thanks.

 

[SueM in MN]

The Pocohontas part is still in the show as of April.
I guess whether or not you think waiting for it is a personal thing. We think it is worth the wait personally, even though we are waiting with an impatient person with many special needs. Since they start seating about 1.5 hours before the show starts (for the first show only, when there are 2 shows), much of your wait may be sitting on benches in the outdoor theater, listening to Disney music (there are bathrooms and a snack bar inside the theater area).
If you don't want to wait, an option is doing the Fantasmic dinner package. You make arrangements before to eat at one of the specified MGM restaurants and get a ticket that lets you use a separate entrance and seating area. I think they start seating about 30 minutes before the show begins.

 

[bicker]

The hardest part of the wait, for me, especially since losing weight, is the hard, sometimes cold (especially in January), seats! Any ideas to address this (other than gaining our weight back )?

 

[mathgeek]

I usually take a couple of towels from the resort in my backpack to sit on or use as a blanket to stay warm.

To me, Fantasmic is always worth the wait!

 

[bytheblood]

We did the H&V dinner package and it was well worth it. We really enjoyed the buffet at H&V and we got great seats for the show in that area. We could have sat anywhere, but it was great.

I would have waited the 90 minutes for it, however. I personally thought it beat Illuminations, Wishes and Dreams.

 

[BonnieA]

The hardest part of the wait, for me, especially since losing weight, is the hard, sometimes cold (especially in January), seats! Any ideas to address this (other than gaining our weight back )?

A few years ago I bought a couple inflatible seat cushions from ebay. They cost me about $5 each but were well worth it. They fold up like a poncho to about the size of a wallet. I carry them in my waist pack and blow them up (just a few blows) to sit on while waiting. I've used one at illuminations and fantasmic while waiting.
If you can't find inflatible seat cushions, perhaps a blow up neck cushion (like the kind you use on airplanes) might work. But I wouldn't blow one up too much as it is not made to support weight like a seat cushion and might develop a leak.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I haven't seen Fantasmic in a few years as well. The wait to get a seat, and all the people saving rows plus the long slow departure has kept us away.

If WDW could do a better job with the saving seats and departure sequence, people would return more often.

 

[bicker]

Last (ten) times I've been to Fantasmic! it didn't seem to me like Disney needed to do anything to get folks to return to see the show more often!

 

[disneymania10]

I agree the show is great and would like to see it again, but the 90 minute wait is tough when all your doing is looking at water/stage while sitting on hard seats. Plus, the last time we went we were one of the early people in, but the cast members were trying to put the people who waited the longest to get in early to the farther ends of the bleachers. I didn't really think that was right since we had been on much longer than people who joined the line. At least they should give the center seats to the earlier arriving guests to be fair. Is this seating arrangement still happening or maybe it was a fluke that night?