Fantasmic Dining Package & Tickets

[MandyJ72]

Hi all - Im new to this forum and hope you can help!

Going back to Disney in the summer (3rd time) but need some advice as my parents are coming out for 11nights as well (we are going for 3 weeks).

Firstly tickets - I have read (on another forum I think) that if you are staying in a Disney hotel you need to have the Magic Your Way tickets to use the extra magic hours and not just the normal Premium or Ultimate tickets - is that true? We are staying in AK for 1 week before moving to I-Drive and I was gonna get us the Ultimate tickets but am not sure now!!

Secondly - Fantasmic - My dad is not the most patient of people (don't worry - he won't be doing many rides and is only planning on coming into Disney a couple of days to see the parades and stuff) - he really wants to see Spectromagic and Fantasmic but the idea of sitting waiting for Fantasmic for 2hrs to get a good seat is his idea of hell and, to be honest, he won't do it.

They are coming out on 5th July and will probably be there for Fantasmic during the following week - i.e. high season. I have seen these Dining Packages where you get the reserved seating - I don't mind paying for a "nice meal" before hand as it will make it a special night for us all (me, hubby and 2 kids + parents) but I believe the cordoned off area is right off to the right hand side - is that true?

Does anyone know what the viewing is like from there? We have seen it twice before and always sat bang slap in the middle and sat for the 2hrs needed to get these seats - I don't mind it but Im just worried if we all go in and get seats that if Mum & Dad try to get in an hour later they won't be allowed in - even if they say they have been in before and only went out for food.

What do you think? Is the package seating area any good?

Thanks for any advice you can give - trying to make it all run smoothly for dad as it took a lot of convincing him to come on this holiday (we know he will love it but just got to watch out for little things that will annoy him!) - we are planning on doing the whole Disney thing whilst in the hotel and then the other 2 weeks foing other things and going further afield whilst coming back a couple of times with mum & dad (and to keep the kids happy).

Thanks
Mandy
x:wave:

 

[bob0012]

The extra magic hours are limited to resort guests only, reguardless of ticket option. You have to show your valid room key to participate.

As far as the fantasmic seating, the reserved seating is off on the side, and you'll get much better seats by waiting. That said the meals offered are pretty good, and the show is still great.

 

[MandyJ72]

Thanks for that - I had a funny feeling we would get better seats by waiting (may have to convince him to chill a bit more!!)

As for the tickets - we we will be staying in the hotel for the week (and that's when we are planning on using the extra hours as we have spare hoppers from previous trips for the rest of the trip) I take it it doesn't matter what tickets we have? don't have to my the MYW ones?

Mand
x

 

[coltow]

My feeling is that in the summer the Fantasmic package is a must. It'll save you the 2 hour wait. If facing the show the section is to the right. We were there mid-July last year and arrived at the gate 45 minutes before the show. It then takes a few minutes to walk to the stadium and we had 2 toddlers. We probably arrived in our seats at about 30 minutes before the show and our seats were just fine. We were able to sit at the end of a row and there was no one sitting directly in fornt of me and my son, so we had a truly excellent view.

We had our dinner at Mama Melrose and the kids did very well there mainly because of the pizza. Depending on the age and food preferences your kids have will help you decide on which of the 3 restaurants you choose. To me, Brown Derby is more for adults. We went to Mama Melrose for dinner because we had ate at Hollywood and Vine for breakfast that morning.

 

[kennygman]

We usually grab a bite to eat just outside and carry it in about 60 minutes early, then sit in the Sorcerer Mickey section about 6-10 rows up. This way we don't get wet with the water cannons.

 

[Monty]

A lot of people seem to think that centre section seating is best for Fantasmic. I personally don't think there's a bad seat in the amphitheatre. So long as you don't have someone huge sitting right in front of you [like me ], the show is great!

 

[hiddenmickey75]

I'll agree with monty and say that in the half dozen times seeing fantastic never had a bad seat and 5 of those were preferred seating to the right and great seats. I have also sat in the middle but would never wait in that line again. We have always eaten at Hollywood and Vine which has the most variety in my OP and the best food.

 

[bob0012]

I agree, there isn't a bad seat, but a lot of people prefer sitting in the middle.

And no, as long as your staying on site what kind of ticket you have doesn't matter. You have to show your room key to get in for morning magic hours and to pick up your wrist band for the evening magic hours. One important thing is if you don't have park hopper, the park with the magic hour has to be your park of the day.

 

[bayoutinkbelle]

Welcome to the forum! :wave:

We had our dinner at Mama Melrose and the kids did very well there mainly because of the pizza.

I did the Fantasmic package at MM with my then 12yo son and I ended up wasting my money. Wasn't happy with the selection for the package at all. If it wasn't for the pizza, I would really have been bummed because it's the one thing that appealed to my son.

This past October, a friend and I did the H&V package and it was a much better deal, IMHO.

 

[kennygman]

I like the center section for video taping

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

Welcome to the forum! :wave:



I did the Fantasmic package at MM with my then 12yo son and I ended up wasting my money. Wasn't happy with the selection for the package at all. If it wasn't for the pizza, I would really have been bummed because it's the one thing that appealed to my son.

This past October, a friend and I did the H&V package and it was a much better deal, IMHO.

I agree - DD & I were disappointed in the food offerings for the Fantasmic package @ MM. I would do it again because the reserved seating was worth it, but I would eat at either of the other two choices.

 

[RAZORBRAD]

ok so are you sayin that you dont get the full menu to choose from on the fantasmic package at MM.

 

[Nansafan]

We have done the Fantasmic Dinner Package both at Mama Melrose's and Hollywood and Vine. We are from Chicago and the California Italian cuisine offered at MM's is Ok in our opinion. Chicago like New York and Boston have some of the best authentic Italian food in the US so we are real pizza snobs. We prefer eating at Hollywood and Vine since there is a much bigger selection and with a group of 10, everyone can find something they like. MM has a smaller menu but when we went, you could order anything on the menu for the Fantasmic Dinner Package. You can see fine in those seats also. We have sit on the left, center and right and every seat is good IMHO.

 

[december]

Just pick a night with 2 shows, and go to the 2nd one. We were there July 9-14 last year. We did MGM on Monday, July 10. We rode rides during the 1st Fantasmic (shorter waits because everyone is at Fantasmic!), then went to the 2nd show about 40 minutes before showtime. We had our choice of seats. We wanted to get a little wet and sat dead center about 4 rows up.

FYI: There isn't a dinner package with the 2nd show, but you really don't need one.

 

[bayoutinkbelle]

ok so are you sayin that you dont get the full menu to choose from on the fantasmic package at MM.

That is correct. You get a special Fantasmic menu that only has a few (don't remember how many) entree choices. One is pizza, thank goodness.

If someone has had a different experience, please let me know. But I know that the menu I was handed was different from the menus I saw at other tables.

 

[DisneyMarg]

One other vote for the package. We enjoyed it for the first time last spring. Dinner at Hollywood and Vine was great and then it was painless to get into (and out of) Fantasmic. Our seats on the right suited us just fine. The previous time we did the "wait for the middle" thing and I would definitely go the package route next time.

I guess it just depends on how picky you are about the seats vs how much you mind waiting around for them.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

That is correct. You get a special Fantasmic menu that only has a few (don't remember how many) entree choices. One is pizza, thank goodness.

If someone has had a different experience, please let me know. But I know that the menu I was handed was different from the menus I saw at other tables.

Yep, limited menu for the package at MM (Check it out in the menus on AllEarsNet...)

 

[Mori Anne]

MM is :hurl: . Sorry for all those who like it, but I wasn't the only one in the rest. not liking my meal (and I am far from picky!!)

H&V is fabulous. There seems to be something there for everyone. My only complaint is that they didn't have a "toppings" bar when we went .

My family and I sat in each of the locations for fantasmic and I honesly prefer the "reserved" seating section. I have great video footage from it. I do, however, recommend sitting as far to the left in the section as you can, but all in all, like others, I feel that there are NO bad seats. The show is set up that all viewing areas can see everything.

Have fun!!!