Would Fantasmic Scare My 5 Year Old?

[ColleenLovesMinnie]

We are planning our Aug trip and because of Free Dining thought this time we would plan an ADR at Hollywood and Vine as part of the Fantasmic package. We have never seen this show before; I have heard it may be scary to young children? Does anyone have any experience with this? I am also hearing not great things about the H&V buffet - I'm thinking of switching to Mama Melrose's or scrapping the whole thing altogether if it may scare my 5 yo DD. Any input is greatly appreciated!!

 

[spoiltrotten12]

Our DD was 1 when we went to see it back in February. She was fine with it, but it does depend on your child and whether she likes fireworks/loud noises etc.

 

[TDC Nala]

Is the kid scared of fire? If she is, I might try it but sit in one of the back rows. I have friends who wouldn't even try to bring their son because he was afraid of fire.

 

[SueM in MN]

It depends on the age of the child. A child under 3 might be more afraid of the drak, sudden noises, fireworks and fire. An older child might be more afraid of the idea of the "bad guys" being after Mickey.
When we went to see it with my niece and her 4 year old, we told the little gilr before it started that we were going to be able to see what Mickey was dreaming when he fell asleep. We told her at first, he would have nice dreams, but then the "bad guys" would try to make him have bad dreams. We told her that near the end, Mickey would tell the bad dream to go away (he would take out his wand and say "Get out of my dream. This is my dream.") and it would be good again. She understood that very well and understood that nothing in Mickey's dream could really hurt her (or him). There were some points where she was scared, but she would hide her eyes and be better in a few minutes. A couple times she said she wished Mickey would hurry up and tell the bad dream to go away (A couple times, she even said "Mickey, this is what you do. Go "Poof" with your wand and say "Get out of my dream. This is my dream.").

Her mom was glad we had discussed it ahead of time and it has come in handy at home when she has had a bad dream and woke up, she told her mom "I was just like Mickey - I told the bad dream to get out."

 

[SueM in MN]

Is the kid scared of fire? If she is, I might try it but sit in one of the back rows. I have friends who wouldn't even try to bring their son because he was afraid of fire.

Just FYI -
You can sit toward the back, but the back 2 - 3 rows are for guests traveling with wheelchairs/ECVs or people with special needs and their guests.

 

[ReggieB]

It could, Malificent turns into that big scary dragon, if your 5 year old hasn't seen Sleeping Beauty much it might freak them out. It looks awesome by the way! I think I have the plot right, I know some baddie turns into a dragon or snake. Sorry, being a bit vague, someone else could confirm this for you! Mickey is in peril at various points, which might upset some kids. We took DS when he was 4, he enjoyed it. Again it's down to that "you know your own kid" thing.

 

[Hannathy]

When my son was 2 1/2 he thought it was loud but we just covered his ears, wasn't afraid but didn't like the loud noise. I don't like having to wait so long!

 

[Raevyn_Wolfe]

My now four year old has loved it this past January and in 2004 when he was 2.
Depends on your child, but at four and a avid fireworks lover he had no problems near the very front.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Our just turned five DD loved it. We were toward the back,80% toward the back and at the most left of the reserved section so that might have helped make it less overwhelming. We did point out the feet coming out of the huge snake sections to reassure her that the snake was pretend. That was the only part she needed reassurance that it was pretend.

 

[petrymom]

DD was 5 in 2005 when we saw it. We ate at H&V and would say the experience was average.
DD was the BIGGEST chicken when we were at Disney. She hated the 3-D movies - crawled under her chair for Honey I shrunk the audience just in time for the mice scene.... She cried during the Stitch ride.

BUT she LOVED Fantasmic!!! She was in the front row and even got wet. It is a great show. If you are worried, sit back a ways.

Have a great time!!!!

 

[PA Princess]

Our dd turned 5 on our trip last June/July. She was afraid of the characters - well not the face characters. She said it was creepy that someone was inside and could see her and she could not see them. Made sense to us, so we just avoided characters upclose. We were not certain how she would handle Fantasmic since it is filled with characters, but we had never been so we thought we would try and one of us would take her out if needed. We had the dinner package at Mama Melrose (which we liked), and I am happy to say that we all enjoyed Fantasmic enormously. The light up toys the kids had (we brought ours from another trip) gave dd great comfort during scary parts, she liked knowing the characters had to stay where they were and could not wonder over to her, and we made sure to explain the story line before and during the show. We also had a 6 month old infant and the noise did not bother her - she watched some and slept some. I must say that we did not try this show when our sons were 5 and 6 because ds5 would have been greatly bothered by the whole story line - he was always very sensitive to bad guy stories. Hope you find our experience helpful as you try and figure out what is best for your dd. Fantasmic was a real highlight of our trip last year.

 

[liamandcaili]

My DD was three when she first saw Fantasmic, and she loved it. After seeing the show, Mickey was her hero because he got rid of all the bad characters she doesn't like. She had seen most of the movies featured in the show though, so she knew the characters. I would think it would be scarier for children who haven't seen the movies and don't know that the villains never win.

That being said, I did see Fantasmic shortly after it arrived in WDW and they kept having technical difficulties with it. The night DH and I saw it, the show stopped just when the huge dragon appeared and it seemed like Mickey was in real trouble. All these children left crying and screaming that Mickey was dead. We were glad we weren't parents yet.

I should add that this was about eight years ago.

 

[miss_deville]

I have a 5-year-old daughter and was wondering about Fantasmic's fight potential too. I love the idea of explaining the plot to her before we go, but I have to ask: What is the plot of Fantasmic? Thank so much!

 

[Tanya90210]

I too was wondering about it, thanks for all the great answers... luckily my DD loves Fireworks... we will just have to sit in the back because we aren't sure how DS 6mo will react... better safe than sorry...


As far as the dining thing, I'd say go with you gut... we are going in aug during free dining too... I chose to do Mama's because hubby loves italian food and they have stuff for me there too :-D

 

[Dislifer]

Just don't sit too close and I'm sure your child will be okay!

 

[ColleenLovesMinnie]

Thanks for the input everyone! We'll probably stick with our plan and see the show - I think my 12 yo DS would really enjoy it. For those of you suggesting sitting towards the back, do you know where the reserved seating is for the Fantasmic package? I'm hoping we have the option of sitting more towards the back since I think the noise may be a factor. We may switch our ADR to Mama Melrose (if there's any left!) since I'm not getting good vibes about H & V.

Thanks again!

 

[Lizzybee]

My DD was 6 when we saw Fantasmic for the first time. She hated ITBAB and refused to go into Honey I Shrunk the Audience. She had no probs with Fantasmic though, in fact I think it's her favorite. She loves it. Honestly we have always sat in the 2nd or 3rd row center and have never even seen any kids around us be upset by anything...oh my DD7 (at the time) was upset once. The dragon didn't appear and she was mad. It was Spring Break 2005 and they were doing 3 shows a night so maybe it was a technical thing.

 

[kldmom2000]

I think it depends on the child. When we took our 2 DD's at ages 26 months and 4 yrs, we saw Fantasmic. Mind you, my 4 year old was terrified in the parks of the characters and indoor rides, but she LOVED Fantasmic! She begged to go back and see it a second time-but we never got a chance to.... my 26 month old who LOVED the characters and indoor rides @ the park was a bit uneasy @ Fantasmic.... they both said they want to see it when we go in the fall~they'll be 4 and 6 this time.

 

[karenloo]

I just wanted to put in a good word for Hollywood N Vine. We did the Fantasmic dinner package there last month and we enjoyed the buffet. Not exactly gourmet cuisine but such a large variety that we all found something we liked (myself, hubby, and three sons ages 16, 12 and 9). There's also a children's buffet section with chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, etc. that my two younger kids enjoyed, along with the ice cream and dessert section. As for Fantasmic, I agree with what others said - you have to decide if your own child will be OK or not. Trip before this, we saw it when our youngest was three and middle son was seven and they both completely enjoyed Fantasmic. The story line is very basic... Mickey has good dreams that get interrupted by the villains and he eventually banishes the bad guys and all is right with the World again. The effects are amazing. The downside to sitting too close is you may get wet, which would be fine if it's hot but not great when it's cooler. The reserved seating area for the dinner package is in the upper right section of the stadium (facing the staging area). We sat in the top few rows this past trip and had a perfect view, plus we had an easy time getting out after the show. If you think your child can handle the loud noises and scary moments, as long as he's reassured the good guys always win in the end, then go and have a great time!

 

[SueM in MN]

I have a 5-year-old daughter and was wondering about Fantasmic's fight potential too. I love the idea of explaining the plot to her before we go, but I have to ask: What is the plot of Fantasmic? Thank so much!

It's what I wrote in post #4.
Mickey is asleep and having good dreams. The dreams are scenes from past movies, some projected on water screens, some with performers on the stage. The villians try to take over his dream (they start showing up in the images on the screens) and give him a nightmare. There are some scenes with Mickey in danger, being chased by the giant serpant from Aladdin and the dragon from Sleeping Beauty. It ends when Mickey realizes he is in control of his dream and takes over again.