Appropriate age for Fantasmic

[Rlock]

Will be in Disney in May!

Have heard wonderful things about Fantasmic. Will it be OK for my 4 and 2 year old DS's? They are pretty adventurous and enjoy shows, but I'm not sure if this will freak them out too much.

Would love opinions.

 

[tink2]

We took our then 2 1/2 old daughter in Nov. 01. Though she hid her face in my shirt for a lot of the show- witch, dragon, snake, etc, she really liked the rest of it. She did Ok- she just hid her face if there was something she was afraid of. It is a pretty intense show. I think it depends on your sons' personalities- you know them best. If you do take them, I would talk to them and explain that there would be some parts that they may not like. Good luck!!!

 

[momof2sons]

We have seen Fantasmic 4 times. Our youngest son seen it for the first time when he was 3. Although it was a bit scarry at times, we just reinforced it was a show and everything will be okay. He also hide his face when he was frightened. It is a great show. And in the end Mickey wins. Last year he was 4 and wasn't afraid at all. (Preshow bring snackes, watermister fans with water turned off, something to entertain them while you wait for the show to begin.) If you don't already have misterfans you can find them cheaper at Kmart or Walmart than at the parks.

 

[NotUrsula]

Most of the big "scary" scenes in the show are based on Sleeping Beauty and Fantasia. My DS finds "the Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Night on Bald Mountain" to be the scariest Disney flicks, and he's not crazy about Fantasmic for that reason.
However, we do find that he's OK if we sit toward the back of the theatre, so that the figures do not appear so very large.

 

[BevS97]

my dd at 4 has seen some snippets on the WDW videos, and made it quite clear that she did not want to see the show. We left her at the kids club at the Yacht and Beach Club one evening so that we could see it, and having seen it, I was glad we hadn't taken her.

Since then, a friend of ours has loaned us his video of the show, which she watched, and now she thinks she might like to see it next time (when she will be 6), but she's still quite wary of the snake and the dragon.

If you have broadband, there is a video
here which you may like to watch with the kids first.

Bev

 

[Rlock]

THANKS for the informative responses, and the video site!

 

[Jessie The Cowgirl]

DS was 3 1/2 when we were last in Disney. We took him to Fantasmic and he just loved it!!!! He was terrified of the Snow White ride, but adored Fantasmic. To this day, he still talks about it. He's looking forward to seeing it again in June. I can't wait to see what he, now at 6 1/2 yrs. old, thinks of it!

 

[skiwee1]

My DD saw it for the first time at age 1 1/2 and loved it. She has seen it 4 times since then and still loves it. I think it depends on the child. This same DD was scared of POTC at first but liked Fantasmic.

 

[Synonymous]

My DD5 demanded to leave when we were there in November. We had taken her previously, when she was 4, and she didn't like it but was okay as long as she could hide behind something at the scary parts. This time she just said "I wanna get out of here!" My Wife took her out, and reported that there were many other families bailing out.

The show is VERY loud, which is enough to freak out some kids by itself. The villain scenes are pretty intense. They project pictures of pretty much all of the Disney villains, in huge size, on screens of water (you have to see it, it's pretty cool). The villains all talk about what they are going to do to Mickey. I think this is what gets my DD more than anything, the idea that Mickey is in danger. ("This will be the END of Mickey Mouse!" etc.) Jafar turns into a huge snake on stage, which searches for Mickey and scans the audience with eyes that project beams of light. The dragon from Sleeping Beauty also appears on stage. Again, it is huge, realistic, and pretty scary (also extremely cool, but that's off topic.) It breathes fire, that ignites and spreads across the water at the bottom of the stands. It is very close- you can feel the heat of it.

I'd say think about how your child reacts to the scary parts of the movies, explain in full what they're going to see, and be ready to make a fast getaway if they freak out.

 

[Whosemom]

My kids were 3, 5, and 11 mo when we saw it, and all were fine. My oldest is our scardy-cat, and she was ok. I think the reason it went over well is that we talked about it beforehand (just preted, dark and loud etc) and that dh and I were so into the special effects, and how they did it. (oh look sweetie, they are shining a movie on that water) so it took the "real" edge off of it. It was a big favorite of the whole trip!

Come to think of it, the only time I've ever been unpleased w/ Disney staff was after this show. They put the rental strollers away during the show and you get to carry your tired tots to the front of the park. UGH. They told us to take all our stuff out of the stroller because we could just grab any rental stroller and go after the show. big fat liars ewwwww makes me mad still. next time it won't be so bad with one to carry, dh and I can take turns. but then it was the full diaper bag and everything. LOL I'm ranting aren't I?

Micki

 

[SpikeLover]

My 4 year old daughter loves Fantasmic.

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

DS4 didn't like it at all - but loved Haunted Mansion!
He thought the villains were trying to hurt Mickey and freaked!
It really depends - I thought my DS would like it! You may just want to prepare them with as much information a head of time about the show (also try www.wdwig for a description of the show) and be prepared to leave if you have to.