Fantasmic gets cut to just 2 shows per week

[MousDad]

Take this for what it's worth, but through a friend of a friend (She works as a Snow White face character, as well as on Kali and Expedition Everest). She informed me that the 2 nights a week will only be through April and it is the result of needed refurbishment as well to focus the crowds on American Idol.

How could they do a refurb that is extensive enough to require 4-months and still be able to run the attraction 2X a week? That part doesn't make sense to me.

Neither did AI at first. But I'm wondering if they aren't going all out the opening months of AI to get it rolling. The only way I can see them cutting Fantasmic out and using AI as the closing show is if they are bringing in past winners/finalists from the TV show to do 5 night sets. Sort of a crowd draw to get the attraction going. This would also justify using the Fantasmic stadium.

 

[jt04]

Take this for what it's worth, but through a friend of a friend (She works as a Snow White face character, as well as on Kali and Expedition Everest). She informed me that the 2 nights a week will only be through April and it is the result of needed refurbishment as well to focus the crowds on American Idol.

Exactly as I deduced Dr Watson, exactly as I deduced

 

[jt04]

I just wanted to add one more point to this amazing thread.

Disney has approved and construction is about to start in earnest on the major refurb of DCA. As usual WDW will be helping to subsidize another WDC project as well as having to finance WDW's own 40th anniversary additions. All that is happening is management is "managing" in times of economic slowdowns with inflation. It's all temporary IMO as management is at least willing to make the necessary changes. Leadership in action in my opinion. It's a beautiful thing.

And pulling the characters out of the Liberty Tree Tavern is not about budget cuts, it's about the triumph of reason. Of course, Pumbas said it much better than I could!

"Well can you tell them that doom and gloom is rife and all because of a few vertically challenged people in character out fits no longer stalk dinner tables, and that a measure that would save all of $2.50 a night has been seen to signal financial ruin is just around the corner." --Pumbas Nakasak

 

[MousDad]

I just wanted to add one more point to this amazing thread.

Disney has approved and construction is about to start in earnest on the major refurb of DCA. As usual WDW will be helping to subsidize another WDC project as well as having to finance WDW's own 40th anniversary additions. All that is happening is management is "managing" in times of economic slowdowns with inflation. It's all temporary IMO as management is at least willing to make the necessary changes. Leadership in action in my opinion. It's a beautiful thing.

And pulling the characters out of the Liberty Tree Tavern is not about budget cuts, it's about the triumph of reason. Of course, Pumbas said it much better than I could!

"Well can you tell them that doom and gloom is rife and all because of a few vertically challenged people in character out fits no longer stalk dinner tables, and that a measure that would save all of $2.50 a night has been seen to signal financial ruin is just around the corner." --Pumbas Nakasak

I didn't understand it the first time he said it.

 

[jt04]

I didn't understand it the first time he said it.

It's the funniest thing I ever read on this forum. I can't stop laughing. He's very nuanced don't you know.

 

[mls]

True according to the advance dining cast members... I had been trying to book a dining & Fantasmic package for 2 weeks now. I finally got an answer to the scheduling issue on 7/19. The package was only available 2 nights each week during our stay. She said that they were doing it for January and wasn't sure past that. Hopefully it's just for off-peak season.

 

[RiversideBunny]

Fantasmic has been a nightly show since opening.

I think it was in late 2001.
Fantasmic was not shown on many nights because the park closed early.

To the best of my memory.

 

[Lucky]

It's interesting in any case to see the divergent reactions to some of these cost-cutting moves. Some of us see them as self-defeating cost-cutting moves that will cut revenue more than they'll cut costs. Some see them as necessary cost-cutting, and who cares about Fantasmic or Pocahantas anyway. And then the real pixie-dust inhalers are celebrating, because if Pocahantas closes that means they need the space to start building Beastly Kingdom. (Yeah, right.)

 

[disney9752]

Fantasmic has been a nightly show since opening.

i'm not so sure about that, seems back in 98 or 99 when it opened it was only select nights & additional shows were added according to attendance. next we will be complaining that spectro was done every night since 91 when it came along & that fireworks have been shown in mk evernight at closing since 71. just watch out if things are getting cut now, it could be more coming soon.:hammer:

 

[coasterphil]

RnR and ToT along with the other attractions will still be open and those are pretty much what the average guest cares about.

Fantasmic not being there for 5 nights will only effect the people who love Fantasmic and only go to DHS to see Fantasmic.

Fantasmic! appeals to the average WDW guests, so I really don't get why you keep downplaying it's popularity. Guest counts at the show itself and at the entrance gates in the final hours of park operation prove that.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

RnR and ToT along with the other attractions will still be open and those are pretty much what the average guest cares about.

Fantasmic not being there for 5 nights will only effect the people who love Fantasmic and only go to DHS to see Fantasmic.

Exactly. I don't get it how many people here are saying, that there is "nothing to do" in the evening without fantasmic. First of all, there is the possibility that you spend quite some time of the day not at DHS at all but are a park hopper or spend some time in your disney resort, especially in summer during the hot early afternoon or just because you have a beautiful hotel you don't want to see for sleeping only. So if you arrive in the afternoon or evening there is still a lot to. ToT, RRC, GMR, Muppets 3D, Star Tours. Or all fastpasses were already gone when you came in the park so, instead of waiting in line for 40-90 minutes during the afternoon or early evening you go late in the evening with less than 10 or even none. I enjoyed Fantasmic not that much anyway. Quite overhyped, I expected more.

 

[Vernonpush]

Exactly. I don't get it how many people here are saying, that there is "nothing to do" in the evening without fantasmic. First of all, there is the possibility that you spend quite some time of the day not at DHS at all but are a park hopper or spend some time in your disney resort, especially in summer during the hot early afternoon or just because you have a beautiful hotel you don't want to see for sleeping only. So if you arrive in the afternoon or evening there is still a lot to. ToT, RRC, GMR, Muppets 3D, Star Tours. Or all fastpasses were already gone when you came in the park so, instead of waiting in line for 40-90 minutes during the afternoon or early evening you go late in the evening with less than 10 or even none. I enjoyed Fantasmic not that much anyway. Quite overhyped, I expected more.

But without F! then the waits will be quite long since there are now (about)10,000 people who aren't watching that show, standing in the queues.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

But without F! then the waits will be quite long since there are now (about)10,000 people who aren't watching that show, standing in the queues.

The capacity of the Fantasmic-theatre is 10.000?

 

[Lucky]

Fantasmic! is a mixed-media show presented one or more times each evening when the park is open late. Located off Sunset Boulevard behind the Tower of Terror, Fantasmic! is staged on an island opposite a 6,900-seat amphitheater. By far the largest theater facility ever created by Disney, the amphitheater can accommodate an additional 3,000 standing guests for an audience of nearly 10,000.

(from Touringplans.com)

 

[wdwmagic]

i'm not so sure about that, seems back in 98 or 99 when it opened it was only select nights & additional shows were added according to attendance.

The show was certainly nightly when it opened. The press release from that time even states it.
http://www.wdwmagic.com/fantasmic.htm
I dont have any record of the show ever not being nightly. I could have missed it, but doing the updates on the site over the last 10 years, it never came my way that the show was not nightly.

 

[shoppingnut]

If it was cut back in late 2001 that was simply because of 9/11 and no one being at the parks. But I remember being there the first week of december 2001 and recall it being on every night. F is a very popular show, if it wasn't why is it that you need to get there at least 1 hour prior to ensure that you get a seat.

I remember prior to 2001 MK was open every night during the summer to midnight, spectro played twice a night and sometimes they even did fireworks twice a night.

It's totally nonsense that the park has enough other things to do without F, because most of it is shows that don't go beyond 5:30p like Indie and LMA. BPB and HSM I have no interest in whatsoever, bring back a normal afternoon parade. Idol is just another show which if I see it once that will be it. And Pixar Place, give me a break, it's one ride TSM which is going to be packed all the time because it's a great ride. I don't see the wait time ever being below 60 mins. Prince Caspian is a crock, see it once and you're good. I don't go on ToT or RNR, so not much left in HS. HS is really a 1/2 day park at this point for me without F.

 

[PKD]

The show was certainly nightly when it opened. The press release from that time even states it.
http://www.wdwmagic.com/fantasmic.htm
I dont have any record of the show ever not being nightly. I could have missed it, but doing the updates on the site over the last 10 years, it never came my way that the show was not nightly.

MK didn't have nightly fireworks for a while from 2001 till Wishes debuted in 2003.

The same can be said for Fantasmic, as it also didn't play nightly during that time. I don't think it only ran for two nights, but it wasn't a full 7 days a week.

I believe Illuminations was 7 days a week, but I can't recall during that time.

 

[wdwmagic]

MK didn't have nightly fireworks for a while from 2001 till Wishes debuted in 2003.

The same can be said for Fantasmic, as it also didn't play nightly during that time. I don't think it only ran for two nights, but it wasn't a full 7 days a week.

I believe Illuminations was 7 days a week, but I can't recall during that time.

MK was certainly not nightly until Wishes like you say.

Illum was 100% every night.

Fantasmic I am not sure about. The press releases indicate nightly, and I have never heard of it not being nightly - other than perhaps the immediate few days after 9-11. I would be ineterested to know for sure when it didnt run.

 

[markjohns1]

It's totally nonsense that the park has enough other things to do without F, because most of it is shows that don't go beyond 5:30p like Indie and LMA. BPB and HSM I have no interest in whatsoever, bring back a normal afternoon parade. Idol is just another show which if I see it once that will be it. And Pixar Place, give me a break, it's one ride TSM which is going to be packed all the time because it's a great ride. I don't see the wait time ever being below 60 mins. Prince Caspian is a crock, see it once and you're good. I don't go on ToT or RNR, so not much left in HS. HS is really a 1/2 day park at this point for me without F.

So you're saying that DHS is a half day park because you don't like many of the attractions there, or the "great ride" has too long of a wait time? With that kind of logic, you could argue that any park is a "half day park," MK included. What if I said I only liked roller coasters? I would be then willing to ride three attractions at MK. There's a short day! The fact of the matter is that if you partake in all that DHS has to offer, it is easily a full day park even without Fantasmic.

 

[Vernonpush]

So you're saying that DHS is a half day park because you don't like many of the attractions there, or the "great ride" has too long of a wait time? With that kind of logic, you could argue that any park is a "half day park," MK included. What if I said I only liked roller coasters? I would be then willing to ride three attractions at MK. There's a short day! The fact of the matter is that if you partake in all that DHS has to offer, it is easily a full day park even without Fantasmic.

Can I skip Sounds Dangerous?:lol: