Wonderful World of Animation and Fantasmic in one night?

[yenlee]

I’d like to see Wonderful World of Animation at 9:00 but I’m not willing to sacrifice Fantasmic at 9:30 in order to do so. Is it reasonable to do both? I’m especially interested in responses from people who have done this or attempted this this summer.

I’m leading a large group that is not fast but not especially slow. I’m thinking: we watch the show from as close as possible to Sunset Boulevard and then hustle on over to Fantasmic, possibly even before WWoA is over. That should be enough time to make it to F! by 9:30.

To add bit more, I don’t care where we sit at Fantasmic but I definitely don’t want to stand, and getting shut out entirely would be a disaster. I know that those things are possible in general, but I also know that the parks haven’t been that busy lately, so does anyone happen to know if Fantasmic has been going to standing room only lately?

 

[123SA]

When is your visit? It's hard to answer this without knowing the general crowd level.

Also, Fantasmic isn't always scheduled at 9:30.

Example:
tonight Wonderful World of Animation at 9:00, F! 9:30
tomorrow both are at 9:00pm

 

[scrappinginontario]

When one is at 9:00 and the other is at 9:30 you may make it but, it is definitely not guaranteed. Many will have the same thought you do so if your group is not fast many will pass them during the walk. Also, the walk from where you can see to Fantasmic is further than many realize due to the distance once you enter the walkway to the theatre.

I think you biggest deciding factor will be time of year and recent guest experiences. Hopefully others will share that soon. I don’t remember the last time we saw F! When the theatre did not fill to capacity.

 

[yenlee]

When is your visit? It's hard to answer this without knowing the general crowd level.

Also, Fantasmic isn't always scheduled at 9:30.

Example:
tonight Wonderful World of Animation at 9:00, F! 9:30
tomorrow both are at 9:00pm

Oh, thanks for pointing that out. I just assumed F! would be at 9:30 tomorrow night. (Rookie mistake!) Although I’m bummed about having to miss WWoA, I’m mildly relieved that it’s one less thing to worry about.

 

[yenlee]

Just wanted to follow up to let people know: Despite the kind warnings given here, I tried to swoop in to Fantasmic at 8:45 last night for the 9:00 show, and we ended up in the bad limited view area by the snack bar, and frankly, we were lucky to even get that. So I would say that even if WWoA and Fantasmic are a half hour apart, I would say it’s nearly impossible to view both (at this summer’s crowd level).

(I took a gamble because I felt like the park wasn’t that busy. It was my only real failure of Disney leadership in an otherwise perfectly executed trip.)

 

[ellbell]

I've done both in one night but it was a night with 2 showings and the second was at 10. We ended up waiting in line for quite some time but I think 9:30 would have been pushing it.

 

[LKing]

Would having dining package seating for Fantasmic make it reasonable to do both shows in one night?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Would having dining package seating for Fantasmic make it reasonable to do both shows in one night?

Possibly, depending on the timing of the 2 shows but, there is no guarantee there would still be seats for Fantasmic after Wonderful World of Animation.

Tonight WWoA starts at 8:45 and has a runtime of 12 minutes. Fantasmic starts at 9:30.

I would anticipate it taking 6-8 mins (if you're towards the back of the crowd) to get to the Fantasmic theatre. By this point it's 9:05 so your should be able to enter and hopefully find a place in the Dining Package area but, it's not guaranteed. It really depends too on what time of year you're visiting and, when each of the shows starts. Both of these shows have various start times so you'd need to check your date.

 

[lanejudy]

Would having dining package seating for Fantasmic make it reasonable to do both shows in one night?

As I recall, the reserved dining package seating area is opened to the public about 10 (maybe 15?) minutes prior to the show.

ETA: the website recommends arriving at least 25 minutes prior to the show for the dining package seating.