Which fast pass would be best...

[Lindaapple]

... for mid may, Beauty and the Beast (wanting to see first showing- 11:00 I believe) or Fantasmic (don't want to sit where we will get wet). I realize that many people will say that neither will need a fast pass, but were our little ones prefer shows over rides and we have already decided on the other two fastpasses and have one left over and are wondering which would be most beneficial. Thanks!

 

[Robo]

You'll be able to get BOTH.

They offer so MANY Fantasmic! FPs that you'll very likely be able to get one as the 4th, 5th or 6th FP within the last couple of hours, or so, before the F! start-time.

So, advance-book FP for B&B, then get a FP for F! day-of.

 

[Robo]

What a FP+ for F! offers is more CHOICE in seating.

If you DO get a F! FP+, you can choose to sit in either the FP section (virtually the entire left half of the theater) or the Standby section (virtually the entire right half of the theater.)
So, whatever section has the better seating at the time you arrive, you can go there.
Without a FP, you can only choose a seat in the Standby section.

There is a very good chance that you can get a FP+ for F! as a 4th or 5th FP of the day because they issue SO MANY of them (enough to cover nearly the entire left half of the seating.) On many nights, it is possible that you can gat a FP+ for F! as you are walking to the theater.

As to when to arrive at the theater, I'd get to there 45-60 minutes before the show-time.
Even WITH having a FP or Dining Pkg. reservation, don't wait too late.

On busy nights, the CMs can stop holding the reserved sections within 20-30 minutes before show-time, and turn over any available seats to waiting walk-in guests.

Guests who learn how to take advantage of the various available "tools" and timing strategies will be able to take more control over their WDW experiences.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Map Below-
Arrows indicate the center of the seating.
Shaded areas:
(First or Only F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red= Dining Package Reserved
Blue= FP+ Reserved
Purple= Can be either FP+ or Dining Plan Reserved, depending on needs.

(Second or Third F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red, Purple, Blue= FP+ Reserved
(Although much of the outer Blue will likely be used for Standby.)

 

[Klayfish]

Right, you've had a lot of posts about FP+ shows. There's nothing wrong with doing that if you want, but many of the answers you get will be that it's really up to you because you don't need them anyway. FP+ for shows in many cases really doesn't save you any time. Even with a FP+, you'll want to show up early pretty much like standby so that you get a "good" seat...or with a show like Festival of the Lion King there really isn't a bad seat in the house anyway.

For this one, if I had to pick one (and again, neither needs it anyway), I'd agree with getting Beauty and the Beast.

As for getting wet at Fantasmic, the only rows that sometimes can get wet are the very, very front benches. Even then, it's only if the wind is blowing in. My kids love sitting in those rows as they think it's fun to get sprayed (it's like a mist).

 

[piratepride]

I'd wait and get the Fantasmic w/ a 4th FP.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Right, you've had a lot of posts about FP+ shows. There's nothing wrong with doing that if you want, but many of the answers you get will be that it's really up to you because you don't need them anyway. FP+ for shows in many cases really doesn't save you any time. Even with a FP+, you'll want to show up early pretty much like standby so that you get a "good" seat...or with a show like Festival of the Lion King there really isn't a bad seat in the house anyway.

For this one, if I had to pick one (and again, neither needs it anyway), I'd agree with getting Beauty and the Beast.

As for getting wet at Fantasmic, the only rows that sometimes can get wet are the very, very front benches. Even then, it's only if the wind is blowing in. My kids love sitting in those rows as they think it's fun to get sprayed (it's like a mist).

This. Completely.

We had a Fantasmic fastpass and showed up fifteen minutes before the show and the fastpass section was full. We managed to get a good seat in the standby section (but we were only two people).

Easter week we got in line for Finding Nemo and the fastpass line was huge. The standby line was quite short. We got a front row seat in the standby line ( I know some don’t like front row, but we do).

B and the B does have a designated center section for fastpasses, but we arrived thirty minutes early for standby and most of the center section of the fastpass section was already full.

To me, show fast passes are the worst use of fastpasses. You still have to show up super early for a good seat, and you can never get the best seats because they are reserved for guests with disabilities (except for Fantasmic, which has disability seating in the back due to stairs). We used a fastpass for FOTLK and showed up first in line and waited and still couldn’t get first three rows anywhere because everything was reserved for disability and VIP guests.

You can get Fantasmic fastpasses easily, but they aren’t in the best section. For the best section, I’d reserve a dinner package or do the dessert party. Those are the best seats.

 

[Lindaapple]

What a FP+ for F! offers is more CHOICE in seating.

If you DO get a F! FP+, you can choose to sit in either the FP section (virtually the entire left half of the theater) or the Standby section (virtually the entire right half of the theater.)
So, whatever section has the better seating at the time you arrive, you can go there.
Without a FP, you can only choose a seat in the Standby section.

There is a very good chance that you can get a FP+ for F! as a 4th or 5th FP of the day because they issue SO MANY of them (enough to cover nearly the entire left half of the seating.) On many nights, it is possible that you can gat a FP+ for F! as you are walking to the theater.

As to when to arrive at the theater, I'd get to there 45-60 minutes before the show-time.
Even WITH having a FP or Dining Pkg. reservation, don't wait too late.

On busy nights, the CMs can stop holding the reserved sections within 20-30 minutes before show-time, and turn over any available seats to waiting walk-in guests.

Guests who learn how to take advantage of the various available "tools" and timing strategies will be able to take more control over their WDW experiences.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Map Below-
Arrows indicate the center of the seating.
Shaded areas:
(First or Only F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red= Dining Package Reserved
Blue= FP+ Reserved
Purple= Can be either FP+ or Dining Plan Reserved, depending on needs.

(Second or Third F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red, Purple, Blue= FP+ Reserved
(Although much of the outer Blue will likely be used for Standby.)

Thank you! Your maps are amazing!