When should I view F! and Paint the Night for Dapper Weekend?

[Katems]

Hello, Dapper Weekend is brand new to me and I didn't even know it existed. But that's the weekend I'm stuck with. Fantasmic and Paint the Night are both showing on Saturday and Sunday (April 21-22) with two showings per night. Paint the Night is also showing once on Monday evening, April 23. I'm wondering which would be best for fewest crowds...

Which F! would be best? Saturday or Sunday? First showing or second showing?

Which PTN would be best? Saturday, Sunday, or Monday? If the weekend, which showing, first or second?

Do you recommend any of the dining packages for these events? Besides preferred viewing, are these areas also less crowded while watching, or do they cram just as many people in the area as they allow in the non dining package areas?

I'm also wondering what the crowds are like AFTERward...like after the first showing do people disperse throughout the park and it's easier to move? My concern is that after the last showing EVERYone rushes for the exit and it's a mob scene. I was thinking it would be better to ride rides during the first shows and watch the second shows? But maybe it would be better to watch the first show and ride during the second show? After the second PTN the park closes so then there WILL be that mass exodus. But DL doesn't close until midnight on the weekend so after the 10:30 F! there will still be park time available...

Help! Thank you!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I'd do Fantasmic! on Saturday, definitely do a dining package if you can; it's a HUGE difference in experience. You can sit on the ground rather than standing smashed together, and the view is much better. The second showing is always much less crowded, and sometimes they lump all the dining packages together for that one. You can also go to the first showing and then just stay in your spot for fireworks.

I'd do PTN on Monday or the second showing on Sunday. I imagine the first show on Sunday will be a disaster with the Dapper crowds.

 

[Katems]

Thanks. I called and River Belle was booked, BB was so expensive I didn't even ask, but I got a Hungry Bear for 4:00 on Saturday the 21st. I forgot to ask if I could choose my seating for F!, but I see on my app I am scheduled for the first showing. Think that's okay?? I'm a little confused about sitting on the ground...where will I be that people won't be STANDING in front of me?? And if sitting, won't we all be at the same level and won't the show be BELOW us on the water?? Sounds...not good?? But I don't think I'm understanding this well.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You can ask for the second show when you pick up your F! meal, if that is what you prefer. See my answer to you in the other thread to explain about the seating situation in the dining package sections. All viewing in the F! Dining Package sections is seated -- no one will be standing in front of you. The show will be in front of you on the water and on TSI. Even if you sit in the front row at the railing (which is my personal preference), you won't be super high above the water. You will be looking straight in front of you to see the show, not down below you at the water. Try looking for recent videos on YouTube (make sure you are viewing F! at DL, not WDW) to get a better idea of what you will be looking at. If you see lots of heads of guests seated on the ground in front of the camera, the person filming was in a dining package section seated further back. If there are no heads at all in front of the camera, just water and the show, the person was probably right up at the railing. If there are lots of people walking by and the view is from much farther back, the person was probably filming from the patio at RBT.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

We sat in the Hungry Bear section for the first show recently. The section starts at the rail, and everyone in the section has to sit, so no one will be standing around you. You can either sit up at the rail or a little further back - the ground slopes up a bit. We prefer the rail; here’s a shot from through the rail about in the middle of the HB section.

 

[millie0312]

I don’t know about Dapper Days but I know that when we did HB dining we all sat in our section. We got there an hour early (in December on a weekend) and there were quite a few in front of us in line and we ended up in the second row of seating. We brought a blanket to block off our seating so we didn’t have a problem with that luckily and it was nice to not sit on the cold hard ground. I wouldn’t think of doing F! without dining now. We subbed out the regular food for the dining package food and our family was happy. Our seats were still good, but with young kids I wouldn’t want to sit in the back though. If you get to the seating area 45-1 hour early you will likely get your choice or close to it for seating and we brought a blanket and snacks so even my youngest at 3 was totally fine (we brought several types of food and shared). We chose to go to the 1st showing (if you eat early you can take your assigned first show or ask for the second) due to scheduling desires (we wanted to watch the fw from the area which ended up cancelled anyway lol), but my experience is that the second showing of anything is always less crowded. The old F! we did the second showing and found it much less crowded. I don’t have a photo of the view from the seared second row, but the whole seated area is level but people stagger themselves and we’ve always had good luck with people making sure they move a bit so our kids can see (were not pushy and make sure our kids are polite, we’ve just always had really nice people in front that make sure the kids can see). The water is a little lower then the seating, but the stage is a little higher then the seating. There could be a part of two that’s blocked but most of the performance moves so it’s blocked for a second and I find the viewing to be ok. I think one of the Dis vets has some shots in the F! Thread has photos from the viewing area seated. When the show is over I let my kids stay until it’s cleared out mostly because it is crowded and like any other show and there’s a lot of people in a small area leaving- just take your time leaving and head to the rides after and you should be fine. As for PTN it’s new to DCA so I’ve heard the dining isn’t perfect, and somewhat cramped, but who knows as time goes. The parade route in DCA is long, so you should be able to get a decent spot without too much waiting for either show, but again the second show is likely to be less crowded (although it’s new so it’ll be crowded). Hth