??? Is Fantasmic Dinner Package Worth Booking?

[kmdisney]

I will be making our ADR's tomorrow morning (with the rest of the world :brick and was thinking about booking an ADR at Mama Melrose's with the Fantasmic package.

I just talked to a CM and she said I would need to book dinner for around 4:30 p.m. I was also going to book lunch at Sci-Fi that day (my favorite restaurant), but I would have to make lunch around 11:15 or so in order to have dinner so early.

With that being said, is it worth it to book dinner with the Fantasmic package or should we just eat dinner at a normal time and stand in line for the show? :shrug:

 

[wdwwdeagle]

This is (almost) exactly what I had to do for our next trip.

We are at 50s prime time for early lunch at 11 am, and then our "dinner" reservation is at H&V (MM was booked, unfortunately) at 3:50 pm on the F! pkg. with F! being shown at 6:30.

I decided to go ahead and do it because we are going to be there on a VERY busy day, and I knew the crowd for F! would be massive. Also, we did the dinner package last year and thought it worked out well. I don't mind the location of the seats, and you don't have to wait in line nearly as long, so I figured we have to eat anyway, why not get the special seats thrown in. We just have to adjust our meals for the day.

My plan is to eat a very light breakfast (like maybe a yogurt), so we'll be hungry for lunch that early, and then stall as much as possible when we get to H&V for our "dinner" so that we can stretch our actual dining time to about 4:30 or so. We'll see how it goes since it's a buffet. I'm actually hoping they're backed up and we don't get seated on time!

So I guess the short answer is, it may depend on how busy it's expected to be that day to determine whether it's worth it.

 

[sissa216]

I will be making our ADR's tomorrow morning (with the rest of the world :brick and was thinking about booking an ADR at Mama Melrose's with the Fantasmic package.

I just talked to a CM and she said I would need to book dinner for around 4:30 p.m. I was also going to book lunch at Sci-Fi that day (my favorite restaurant), but I would have to make lunch around 11:15 or so in order to have dinner so early.

With that being said, is it worth it to book dinner with the Fantasmic package or should we just eat dinner at a normal time and stand in line for the show? :shrug:

We did Mama Melrose's with the Fantasmic package last year.
I hadn't planned on it, but when I called to make ADR's, the lady on the phone said I may as well- it was still one credit on the dining plan, and this way we got appetizers as well (like the old plan).

 

[Master Yoda]

It all depends on how valuable your time is. Personally I do not want to sit and wait an hour or more for a show like Fantasmic if I have another option like a dining package.

 

[karenatwdw]

The show is great, we found none of the restraunts were worth our using credit on dining plan or the cost we are not even going to eat at this park except snacks.

 

[captain marvel1]

i go for the MacDonalds approach or get a sub from publix and keep it in your ice cooler.

 

[techiegsy]

It also depends on how keen you are to get a good veiw, the Fan! dining plan seats are right on one side. This may not be a problem for you, but when I tried to book it I missed out, they fill up quick!!

 

[disney4life2008]

Never did it. But I always get a PHENOMENAL SEAT. Nothing like Fantasmic and hot fresh popcorn and pop.

 

[amaley01]

We visit Disney in Jan/Feb during "relatively slow season". We only did it for the first time in 2006 with an early ADR time at Mama's which left all of us hungry after the show, long line ups for snacks & a huge crowd exiting the park (and cranky girls).

So after that we don't bother, seating was good with or without.

However now that the show is only twice a week that may change :lookaroun

 

[JillC LI]

We were at the World last week. I had initially booked the Fantasmic dinner package for our trip with a 3:30pm dinner time (the only time available when I called 90+ days out). However, due to travel issues, we realized we would be unable to get to the park before 5:30 so I had to cancel the dinner package. Instead I changed our dining reservation at Brown Derby to 8:30pm AFTER Fantasmic but without the guaranteed seating. To be safe, we got on line at 6pm for the 7:30pm show, and we had perfect seats dead center of the stage. I noticed that people who arrived over the next HOUR still got seats just as good as the side section that was reserved for the dinner packages so we really didn't need to be there as early as we were. After the show we had the most wonderful dinner at the Brown Derby. The grapefruit cake was all I'd heard it would be!

However, if you decide to do the dinner package, you could always book the 3:30 time and consider it your lunch then have a light dinner around 8:30pm instead of eating lunch at 11am. Just an idea.

 

[kmdisney]

Thanks everybody....after the "All Day Struggle" yesterday making ADR's, I finally decided to do lunch at Sci-Fi and do a counter service at DHS for dinner and then just wait in line for a seat at Fantasmic.

For the trade off, I also was able to make an ADR for CRT breakfast on my daughter's birthday. :sohappy:

 

[JillC LI]

We did lunch at Sci Fi for the first time last week as well - we all loved the experience! Enjoy!

I think that as long as you get to Fantasmic early, you won't have a problem with seating. And it's not like you have to stand on line for the whole time. I got on line at 6pm, and was sitting in the arena by 6:15pm for the 7:30pm show, so yes we were waiting, but we were comfortable.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

The only time this is remotely necessary is during the busiest times of year.

I've NEVER had a problem getting a seat for Fantasmic when I arrive 5 minutes prior to showtime.

 

[petersenjp]

The only time this is remotely necessary is during the busiest times of year.

I've NEVER had a problem getting a seat for Fantasmic when I arrive 5 minutes prior to showtime.

We were down there last Jan, and arrived 15 minutes before the show and they had closed it down. January is a light time of year, so I really just think its all luck.

 

[disneygirl76]

I will be making our ADR's tomorrow morning (with the rest of the world :brick and was thinking about booking an ADR at Mama Melrose's with the Fantasmic package.

I just talked to a CM and she said I would need to book dinner for around 4:30 p.m. I was also going to book lunch at Sci-Fi that day (my favorite restaurant), but I would have to make lunch around 11:15 or so in order to have dinner so early.

With that being said, is it worth it to book dinner with the Fantasmic package or should we just eat dinner at a normal time and stand in line for the show? :shrug:

I don't know... i had the same thoughts you do about having to eat dinner so early. We've gone ahead and booked it but I was surprised at how early dinner is. We are going to do it this time. I hope it is worth it! :sohappy:

 

[disneyfankev]

just tried booking 1/24 with no luck pkge completely filled

 

[armyfamilyof5]

We love Mama Melrose Fantasmic package!

After our first horrible experience trying to balance 40 pound toddler twins while standing during the entire Fantasmic we decided to book this our next trip....since then we have done it twice and LOVED it! The meal includes an app., entree' & dessert w/non alcoholic drink (my teen always has a smoothie), all for one price (and we love the food!).