Fantasmic! Superthread - Or Everything You Need To Know About Fantasmic at Disneyland

[Geemo]

DahliaRW thank you for the link
http://www.mouseplanet.com/10859/Fantasmic_Fastpass_at_Disneyland
It really helps to know how Disney has the program setup.

I'm taking 3 grandkid and 1 DIL to DLR in March. For 5 people, all above 10years old gets expensive for a Meal-FP to Fantasmic!

Juju81 gave a really nice review of the River Belle Terrace. But $41.99 per person is over my budget.

I'd like to hear opinions for the On The Go Meal at Aladdin's Oasis, as well as the Non-meal FP's for Fantasmic!



Geemo

 

[MaleficentRN]

Arrgghh!! I am so confused!

Someone please clarify. If I do a F! dining package at BB or RBT I will get a Fastpass and walk on my own to a reserved area that I stand in.
If I do the dessert party at HB, I am escorted to a reserved area that I sit in.
If I do just on my own Fastpass, that I pull in the morning, I get to go in earlier than standby and can pick where I stand, barring the special reserved areas.

 

[demare]

Arrgghh!! I am so confused!

Someone please clarify. If I do a F! dining package at BB or RBT I will get a Fastpass and walk on my own to a reserved area that I stand in.
If I do the dessert party at HB, I am escorted to a reserved area that I sit in.
If I do just on my own Fastpass, that I pull in the morning, I get to go in earlier than standby and can pick where I stand, barring the special reserved areas.

The link above describes it pretty we'll, but basically it is this:

BB-you get a pass (not sure I'd call it a FastPass) to a specific area that you sit in-on the ground. You are given a souvenir cushion.

RBT-you get a pass to a specific area that you also sit in, no cushion.

Desert--you are escorted to a reserved area after the desert party, that you stand in.

Aladdin-you are give a FastPass to a colored area, and you go to that designated area and stand.

FastPass-there are different colored areas, similar to WOC...you go to the designated area, standing only.

From my understanding, there is only ground seating now, and it is only in the BB and RBT reserved areas.

 

[StyledSugar]

I know it says that you can have any menu item for the BB package but does that really include the Surf & Turf too?

Is the appetizer that's included the gumbo or salad?

 

[travelingmom4]

We'll be there the first weekend this is happening. We planned on dinner at BB, so for us, why not just do the F! FP and dinner at the BB, kwim? Hopefully it means a smaller reserved area with less people (sort of like WOC preferred dining). Time will tell...

I'm curious if you had to line up early, even with the BB "fastpass"? And how your experience was in general?

 

[travelingmom4]

I booked for January 10th, first show.

Can you give us a report on that option, and if it worked well with good views? Did you have to line up early anyway, to get goods view in your area? Trying to figure out what to do for our trip!! (Not until July but already SO excited!!)

 

[travelingmom4]

Just back from three days at Disneyland. My 6 year old DGD and I did the RBT dinner package for F. The food was good--I had chicken she had Mac and cheese. Nice sitting outside under heater and watching the action around us. DGD said it was "fancy." We both liked our meals. Service was great too. Got our FP and returned at 7 for 7:30 show. No problem lining up--most yellow jacket CMs knew what they were doing. One we asked did not, so just ask a few to find out answer. Got in right away--line moved quickly. I brought blow up camp cushions so we didn't have to sit on cold, damp pavement. We were second row back from fence. Great seats. When show started DGD scooted in front of me for unobstructed view of show. Her first time for F--loved it!! After show deflated cushions and stowed in backpack. Easy and comfy. I bought then on Amazon for $6 each. Nice alternative to BB-DGD doesn't like that restaurant much--go figure!

I think the FP system is much better than old system. More organized--limits number of people in the area so leaving was easier too. Also people can move around that area. Crowd level that day was 7 so fairly crowded. Seems Disney has worked out the kinks with this.

Thanks for the review!!

 

[DahliaRW]

I know it says that you can have any menu item for the BB package but does that really include the Surf & Turf too?

Is the appetizer that's included the gumbo or salad?

Yes, I had the surf and turf.

And yes, gumbo or salad was the appetizer. I think the shrimp cocktail was available too, maybe for an upcharge, I don't remember for sure.

 

[DahliaRW]

I'm curious if you had to line up early, even with the BB "fastpass"? And how your experience was in general?

We ended up moving our package to the 3rd night the FP was available due to the rain. We used regular FP the first night.

For the BB package, the return time on the FP was for 30 minutes before show time. We returned right around then, got in, and were about 2-3 "rows" back from the railing seated pretty much dead center. Could see perfectly fine and had a great experience with very little wait time until the show started (WAY easier than when we used FP and has to mill around waiting for us to be let in, and then stand for an hour, and then stand during the whole show with not a great view).

 

[StyledSugar]

Yes, I had the surf and turf.

And yes, gumbo or salad was the appetizer. I think the shrimp cocktail was available too, maybe for an upcharge, I don't remember for sure.

Excellent! Thank you!

 

[travelingmom4]

We ended up moving our package to the 3rd night the FP was available due to the rain. We used regular FP the first night.

For the BB package, the return time on the FP was for 30 minutes before show time. We returned right around then, got in, and were about 2-3 "rows" back from the railing seated pretty much dead center. Could see perfectly fine and had a great experience with very little wait time until the show started (WAY easier than when we used FP and has to mill around waiting for us to be let in, and then stand for an hour, and then stand during the whole show with not a great view).

Thanks for your experience! of course this is my first choice but got to get hubs on boards. 1/2 hour wait sounds right up my alley!!

 

[theworldneedscolor]

I'm hoping to book the Blue Bayou package for a Wed or Thurs night in early May. Does anyone know if they will still be running Fantasmic nightly then?

 

[HydroGuy]

I'm hoping to book the Blue Bayou package for a Wed or Thurs night in early May. Does anyone know if they will still be running Fantasmic nightly then?

I have not checked but I doubt it.

This might help:

"Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

 

[cdhheidi]

Just checking, though I probably already know the answer.... my son is strictly tube fed, hasnt eaten since he was 9 months old and is now 18 yrs old. We are going to DL in May of this year to celebrate his graduation and actually reaching his 18th birthday (he wasn't even supposed to live to BE born!). Anyway... we are hoping to see Fantasmic... but reading up on it it looks like we will be required to purchase a meal for him in order to get the FP even though he won't be eating it? I don't suppose anyone knows of a way around this? He will also be in an ECV due to his disabilities...

Thanks for your help!

 

[HydroGuy]

Just checking, though I probably already know the answer.... my son is strictly tube fed, hasnt eaten since he was 9 months old and is now 18 yrs old. We are going to DL in May of this year to celebrate his graduation and actually reaching his 18th birthday (he wasn't even supposed to live to BE born!). Anyway... we are hoping to see Fantasmic... but reading up on it it looks like we will be required to purchase a meal for him in order to get the FP even though he won't be eating it? I don't suppose anyone knows of a way around this? He will also be in an ECV due to his disabilities...

Thanks for your help!

OP here. I wish I knew the answer but I do not. Disney seems to excel at handling situations like yours and until someone else has a better suggestion, I would suggest you call or email Disney guest services. Here is a link on the DLR website where you can start:

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/guests-with-disabilities/

If nothing else I am bumping your post with the hope that someone else has more specific advice to give you. If you get a good answer to your question from Disney it would be great if you could post that back here so we can all learn from it. Have a magical visit to DLR with your family and special needs son!

 

[cdhheidi]

OP here. I wish I knew the answer but I do not. Disney seems to excel at handling situations like yours and until someone else has a better suggestion, I would suggest you call or email Disney guest services. Here is a link on the DLR website where you can start:

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/guests-with-disabilities/

If nothing else I am bumping your post with the hope that someone else has more specific advice to give you. If you get a good answer to your question from Disney it would be great if you could post that back here so we can all learn from it. Have a magical visit to DLR with your family and special needs son!

Not bad for a holiday... I received a phone call response this afternoon and she spent a lovely 20 minutes on the phone answering all my questions, helping me with all kinds of issues. She contacted all the restaurants for me so we could choose whichever one we wanted to go to, and all the managers said that we just needed to let them know when we made our reservations that only 3 of our party of 4 would be eating and they would make sure we got 4 FP/reserved seating passes. I was VERY pleased with the interaction, she made sure I was well informed on both parks regarding how to get the DAS, what was involved, how the rides would work with and without it if we so chose, etc. And gave ma phone number and name in case I had any other questions or issues to discuss so that would have a wonderful trip. (she even researched if they were planning on special "ears" for the Diamond celebration, as my older son collects them... he LOVES his Golden ears from the 50th and would be thrilled to get something special this time around too!).

 

[HydroGuy]

Not bad for a holiday... I received a phone call response this afternoon and she spent a lovely 20 minutes on the phone answering all my questions, helping me with all kinds of issues. She contacted all the restaurants for me so we could choose whichever one we wanted to go to, and all the managers said that we just needed to let them know when we made our reservations that only 3 of our party of 4 would be eating and they would make sure we got 4 FP/reserved seating passes. I was VERY pleased with the interaction, she made sure I was well informed on both parks regarding how to get the DAS, what was involved, how the rides would work with and without it if we so chose, etc. And gave ma phone number and name in case I had any other questions or issues to discuss so that would have a wonderful trip. (she even researched if they were planning on special "ears" for the Diamond celebration, as my older son collects them... he LOVES his Golden ears from the 50th and would be thrilled to get something special this time around too!).

Thanks so much for posting your experience. Glad things are being addressed. Sounds like Disney is doing a great job!

 

[dnamertz]

I just found out Fantasmic now has a FP system and I'm not sure I like the idea. I won't personally experience it until our trip in June, so my opinion now is only based on speculation, but it seems this will mean more waiting (waiting to get the FP section we want and then waiting to get into our section before the show starts). We've always gone to the 2nd show of the night, so for us there was never more than an hour wait. We'd get to the New Orleans Square area just as the first show is ending and as people left the first show, we'd easily come in behind them and get great spots sitting on the ground in the center pretty close to the water (what appears to now be the blue section)...and at that point there was less than about one hour until the 2nd show started.

Now, I'm going to have to try to be at FP machine at the time that they are giving out blue section passes, which will probably mean waiting in that area until blue FP's come up. Then, judging by the WoC show, it will probably require lining up with your FP's at least an hour before the show starts.

Hopefully I'm wrong. As I plan our June trip, can I hear from people who have used the new FP system? What time are blue FP's usually available (1st or 2nd show)? What time are you having to line up to get into your section before the show and how easy is it to get a good spot once they let you in? Again, I'd like to hear experience for the 1st or 2nd show.

 

[StellaD]

We just did the BB fastpass tonight and it was fantastic. Amazing view of the show. From reading on here I knew to go a little ahead of my time and ask for waterside. We are so glad we asked for that-it was wonderful. When we checked in with our kids we were asked if we wanted kids or adult menus for them. I let them know they were 11 and they said they would do kids menus from all kids 12 and under. We were thrilled since we figured on $61 each for them and got to pay kids prices. My kids much preferred the kids menu and loved the cute Mickey dessert. We also did the lemonade with the light up cube. So fun.

 

[SplashMo]

Anyone know how long the FP are lasting at the FP machine? Also if they are different colors?