WOC v Fantasmic

[cgh]

We haven't seen either, and are thinking of doing one of them this year with our 3 1/2 year old son. If you had to choose one for a 3 yo which would you do? We would eat at Carthay circle to get the central viewing area.

He does get scared of things too-so I didn't know if one was less scary or they are both equally as scary/intense.

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

For a 3 yr old, I feel like they may enjoy seeing characters in Fantasmic rather than appreciating the physics and engineering of WOC. I saw them both for the first time on the same night. Both were good but WOC left me in awe, and Fantasmic made me feel like a kid.

There are some dark themes in Fantasmic.

 

[DLR29]

Both are very loud. Like PP said, Fantasmic can get a little scary and WoC isn't scary at all. But I would also agree that a 3yo will probably be more enthralled by the characters for Fantasmic than the projections and colors of WoC.

 

[cyclenut]

We haven't seen either, and are thinking of doing one of them this year with our 3 1/2 year old son. If you had to choose one for a 3 yo which would you do? We would eat at Carthay circle to get the central viewing area.

He does get scared of things too-so I didn't know if one was less scary or they are both equally as scary/intense.

Fantasmic. A 3yo might have trouble seeing WOC as it is standing only and even if they can see, they might not appreciate it as much.

Fantasmic has much more live action and live characters. You sit down so even small children can see and most of the action is a little higher up too so the sightlines are much better.

There are dark scenes in Fantasmic with fire and scary things, much like a Disney animated feature. It is all resolved at the end.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

while I do see the points that all posters have given, and even though I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE F!...i have to say that I would not take a 3 1/2 yo to it....my grandson is a scaredy cat and at 3 he saw F! on youtube all the time and we always talked about "murphy" (the dragon)..and he was soooo excited to see it especially because he loved Peter Pan and everything surrounding it...but when it came time and we were watching it he got so scared of the loud cannon going off on the pirate ship and how close it got to us and the ginormous size of Murphy along with the fire and all that..so Im not sure that would go over well with him...

as far as WOC I would definitely try and get that one because everything is sooo colorful and vivid as well as showing up things that Im sure hes well acquainted with and alot of the music is very soothing...definitely try and get as close as you can so he will be able to see it

 

[furb & dez]

Fantasmic!

I'd rather watch paint dry than suffer through WoC (Waste of Cash) ever again.

 

[KateDrake]

I'm going to vote for WOC, just because F! is quite a bit more frightening for little kids. We took my DD3 to both last year, before she'd turned 3, and she absolutely LOVED WOC. It has a lot of the Pixar characters and is more focused on the modern Disney classics like Aladdin, Little Mermaid, etc. I felt like she knew those characters better than some in F!.
Also, F! is pretty dang scary. It has some awesome special effects, but they are pretty frightening for kids. DD was terrified of Ka, even though she loves Jungle Book. And all the villains in F! are a bit much. It does have a happy ending, but she asked to leave several times during the show. Also, the live characters are a mixture of older and newer movies, so depending on what your kid likes to watch, they may not know some of the characters. It's not like there is anyone really obscure, but kids who only watch stuff from the modern era might not know who everyone is.
Just my two cents! Both are fantastic, you really can't go wrong. And so much of it depends on the individual child and what they will enjoy!

 

[chrissiecutie]

My DS saw F! for the first time at 3 1/2 & he wasn't scared at all. But he's generally pretty fearless.

I would lean towards F! but my advice is to not set your son up to be scared. Don't show him YouTube vids or pictures that may be scary. Most likely he'll be too excited about the rest of the show to really pay attention to the "dark parts" Keep in mind this is Disney "scary".

And if you still think he would be scared (only you can know best how he would react) then maybe talk about the characters shown in the scary parts. Take the "scary" out of them.

I personally can't think of what those scary parts might be....but something like "ooh look at that cute purple dragon. Wow! It's just like 4th of July" etc...you get my point. Distraction works well too! Perhaps you run to get a bucket of popcorn so he can be more excited about the popcorn during the scary parts?? Just ideas....

 

[KateDrake]

And if you still think he would be scared (only you can know best how he would react) then maybe talk about the characters shown in the scary parts. Take the "scary" out of them.

I personally can't think of what those scary parts might be....but something like "ooh look at that cute purple dragon. Wow! It's just like 4th of July" etc...you get my point. Distraction works well too! Perhaps you run to get a bucket of popcorn so he can be more excited about the popcorn during the scary parts?? Just ideas....

Good ideas Chrissie! I think it really depends on what scares your child. My DD3 has ice in her veins when it comes to rides (she's super upset about the Matterhorn height change) and loves Space Mountain, can't wait to ride Screamin', etc. But she's scared of the stretching room in the Haunted Mansion. So it's hard to tell what they are going to be scared by. I thought she'd love F!, but she talked about Malificent and the dragon for weeks afterwards.

I forgot to mention earlier that while you do have to stand for WOC, it's really not too bad. We held my daughter through the whole thing, and were just fine. If you can get a spot by the fence, that works great because they can sit on the rail. F! definitely has the advantage there, because you get to relax and sit down!

 

[cgh]

Last year he though Peter Pan too dark and scary as was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Jungle Cruise was fine). Frank in Cars (the tractor) was scary but he was able to watch that movie a couple times. He now won't watch any TV because there was something 'scary' on it but we only ever let him watch shows on the DVR like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Chuggington. (not watching TV has been going on for 3 months or so). (watching on my computer is fine though). I can't fathom at all what was scary that he could have seen.

I made a reservation with Carthay Circle and we can decide on the fly based on how he's doing on rides. (I'd like to get him on Pirates and maybe Haunted Mansion this time and maybe that would be a good gauge?.

 

[erocrobro]

I took my boys (10, 7, & 5) to Fantasmic this week because we really didn't want to mess with the crowds and the wait to see WOC. I gave them the option and that is the one they chose. I was glad they did! It was an incredible show, and they haven't stopped talking about the dragon. We had no problem finding a spot 15 minutes before the show and we had a perfect view. We went on our last night in the parks, so it was nice that the boys felt like they got a chance to wave goodbye to all of the characters before we left. They also thought it was funny that they had been running around the stage area on Tom Sawyer Island all day and they didn't know that the dragon was right below them!

 

[Started With a Mouse]

Our young children both loved Fantasmic the best. We saw the early WOC showing, then the late Fantasmic. To prepare them, we watched it on youtube, so they could see the "pretend" scary parts, they knew they were coming. Seeing Mickey, Peter Pan/Capt Hook battle, Princess medley and especially all the characters on the Mark Twain the end was pure magic for them.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Distraction works well too! Perhaps you run to get a bucket of popcorn so he can be more excited about the popcorn during the scary parts?? Just ideas....

that wont work if you are up front sitting down...theres no way you could get out in order to go get it

Last year he though Peter Pan too dark and scary as was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Jungle Cruise was fine). Frank in Cars (the tractor) was scary but he was able to watch that movie a couple times. He now won't watch any TV because there was something 'scary' on it but we only ever let him watch shows on the DVR like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Chuggington. (not watching TV has been going on for 3 months or so). (watching on my computer is fine though). I can't fathom at all what was scary that he could have seen.

I made a reservation with Carthay Circle and we can decide on the fly based on how he's doing on rides. (I'd like to get him on Pirates and maybe Haunted Mansion this time and maybe that would be a good gauge?.

your son sounds EXACTLY like my grandson...when he was 2 he broke down and threw himself on the ground because he was scared to ride the Mark Twain, freaked out at Peter Pan because it was too dark and jumped up and screamed in my arms to take him out of the castle walk thru....we did take him on pirates at 3 and he was so scared he wouldnt ride it anymore...i could feel his little heart beating hard...however, we went in Oct. and Dec. that year and HMH was up so he went through it and was fine...although i think if it was the regular HM he would have been scared to death...

 

[rtfelt]

I'd rather watch paint dry than suffer through WoC (Waste of Cash) ever again.

You crazy? I love, love, love WOC!!!

 

[Carolynleanne]

My vote would be for Fantasmic. Even I had a hard time seeing things atWOC and I'm 5'6. Fantastic has lots of princesses and other characters, but there are a few scary parts with the villains.

 

[furb & dez]

You crazy? I love, love, love WOC!!!

I just might be crazy confused, but either way, WoC is still a total yawnfest.

 

[chrissiecutie]

Last year he though Peter Pan too dark and scary as was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Jungle Cruise was fine). Frank in Cars (the tractor) was scary but he was able to watch that movie a couple times. He now won't watch any TV because there was something 'scary' on it but we only ever let him watch shows on the DVR like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Chuggington. (not watching TV has been going on for 3 months or so). (watching on my computer is fine though). I can't fathom at all what was scary that he could have seen.

I made a reservation with Carthay Circle and we can decide on the fly based on how he's doing on rides. (I'd like to get him on Pirates and maybe Haunted Mansion this time and maybe that would be a good gauge?.

Alright...here it goes...have you given any thought to just skipping both altogether??

I hate to be the one to say this, but from what you've said here, it doesn't seem like either would really work. If he's afraid of Peter Pan & Mr Toad, well...why risk it?? KWIM?

I can only tell you that if this were my son, then I would skip both and use the time to go on more rides. No sense tramatizing the poor kiddo. Or maybe if you are traveling with another adult (sorry, I didn't see if you were or not) then maybe one of you can watch the show one night while the other takes your son on rides or something. Then switch another night, so you both get to see it.

IMO- F! or WOC just isn't a MUST for a young kid, especially if they are easily frightened. Wait a few years...and hey, maybe they will have figured out the WOC seating by then!

 

[Started With a Mouse]

About the Waste of Cash comment. We actually felt the same way.

 

[cgh]

Alright...here it goes...have you given any thought to just skipping both altogether??

I hate to be the one to say this, but from what you've said here, it doesn't seem like either would really work. If he's afraid of Peter Pan & Mr Toad, well...why risk it?? KWIM?

I can only tell you that if this were my son, then I would skip both and use the time to go on more rides. No sense tramatizing the poor kiddo. Or maybe if you are traveling with another adult (sorry, I didn't see if you were or not) then maybe one of you can watch the show one night while the other takes your son on rides or something. Then switch another night, so you both get to see it.

IMO- F! or WOC just isn't a MUST for a young kid, especially if they are easily frightened. Wait a few years...and hey, maybe they will have figured out the WOC seating by then!

Oh, yes, most definitely. What really prompted all this in the first place is he watched parts of fantasmic on my computer and wanted to see it. (but, realistically, I know that watching a little bit on the computer is different then being there in person). We are also staying for a week and have 6 day hoppers and this would be at the tail end of our trip. It's after bedtime-so it would be a special treat (with fireworks). We skipped it all together last year, but I'm hoping things will be better in a couple months. If there was one that I thought that we could do, I'd have him watch it a few times on youtube so he knows what to expect.

And with Peter Pan and Mr. Toad- I took him on Mr. Toad first and he was fine in it but said it was 'too dark' and he didn't want to do it again. I did Peter pan a couple days later and he said it was too dark. (but other dark rides he was okay on).

I definitely won't be dragging him to something just because I want to see it.We'll have other years to come back.

 

[HydroGuy]

The thing about Fantasmic is with a 3 year old you are going to want to go to the 9PM show so he does not fall asleep. That means a 2-3 hour wait to get a good viewing spot.

For WOC you will need 90 minutes for a good viewing spot to the first show.

Bottom line is it will require a lot of waiting to get a good spot for both shows if you see the early shows.

WOC is not as scary as F!. If the 3 year old tends to get scared then WOC is a better choice.

ETA: If you cannot take the time to get a good viewing spot then it may be best to skip both.