fantasmic and parade fast pass?

[Kim Bonetti]

Is it necessary to get a fast pass for Fantasmic? What about the parades? Last time I was at Disney was 15 years ago and everything has changed. I'm overwhelmed just looking at the WDW site and seeing all the new stuff and trying to figure out what I'll need a fast pass for and which I don't. Its just my hubby and me this trip....kids are grown. Were not big on thrill rides, we both tend to get motion sickness, my hubby worse then me. I have lots of time to plan, we were originally planning to go in May 2019, but might have to put it off another year depending on finances. My plan is to familiarize myself with the parks and research each one , pick where we want to have our dinners, what rides and shows are must see's and make up a game plan. I want to get a map of each park and space out my fast passes so we don't have to run from one end of the park to the other. This will be my hubbys first trip to Disney and my 5th. Last time I was at Disney there were no fast passes for parades and shows and we had no problem getting seats at Fantasmic or watching the parades. I do plan on getting a dining plan, but we might have to buy our dinner one night, since I plan on using 2 dining credits at another park for dinner and will be a credit short, so I was thinking of the 50's prime time cafe for dinner, but then I saw that some restaurants have a VIP dining plan that gets you a VIP seat for Fantasmic...is it worth it? Thanks.

 

[mergatroid]

Depends on your time management but I'd say not really. The fireworks can be watched from many places if you grab a spot, using a FP means a little less crowded in a reserved area. For Fantasmic we've only ever used a FP on a day when we've only gone for 2 hours or so, mainly to see Fantasmic. Otherwise we use our FP's for other stuff and queue for Fantasmic about 90 minutes before the show starts and have always easily got in.

 

[GVentola]

Only Magic Kingdom has a parade right now, Festival of Fantasy, in the afternoon at 3 PM every day. They don't give FastPasses for that; just stake out a spot ahead of time. There's also "Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play It!" (at Magic Kingdom on Main Street), which you may see moving down the street like a parade, but that's technically more a street party than a parade. No FastPasses available for that either.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

If you get a FP for something at the end of the day in the parks, realize that means you won’t be able to get 4th or 5th fastpasses... as you can’t get additional FP’s till your first three are gone.

I think they set that up for the tubes that don’t know any better... it’s at least hundreds of people that aren’t taxing the system as hard all afternoon.