Fantasmic dining, worth it or not?

[Siddex]

Hi,

Planning a full day at Disney Studios in May and was obviously gonna go and see Fantasmic at the end of the day. After reading through a few trip reports was wondering to go with the Fantasmic dining packages at one of the restaurants to get the guaranteed seating.

Dont really fancy queuing up for a hour or more to get decent seats (have 2 children to entertain!).

What do you reckon? And if its a go, which restaurant?

Thanks in advance.

Mark

[twinkletoes]

Like yourself, we didn't want to queue for Fantasmic, and hadn't seen Fantasmic on previous visits, for this very reason.

So on our last trip, we booked the Fantasmic package and dined at Hollywood & Vine, which was a really good buffet.

The seating for the show was very good, and all in all, well worth it :thumbs-up

[tessdog]

Def book the dining package, we all had a gerat meal at Hollywood and Vine and Fantasmic was fantastic .....
xx

[BlueCandyFloss]

I would defo reccommend getting the dinning package it saves alot of time and hastle. We like to go to Hollywood & Vine as its buffet so theres lost of choice and good quality.

[disney dave]

hi, we did the dining package with H&V too, very good buffet, and
lot better than joining the line to get the good seats

[florifan]

we have done this a couple of times and eaten at Hollywood and vine, heard poor reports about Mama Melrose and Brown derby is more expensive

I think it is worth doing this package as it doesn't cost extra and saves a lot of queuing :thumbs-up

if you want to see the menus look at www.allearsnet.com under the dining section

[mobeckwith]

mama melrose was great when we were there.mo

[carys]

Definately and it doesn't cost any extra ! We always use H and V.

[Stacey]

hi hope you enjoy the fantasmic dinner package,
was wondering what sort of food they serve as i am alittle fussy and would love to do this when we go in december

[gala]

I did not like the package at all, mainly because of the very poor seats that come with the package. Some people say that the seats are fine, but we have done Fantasmic 11 times in total and only ever sat in those seats with the package. I think that the view is very poor. We always go early and have seats in the centre of the auditorium. However I realise that this would be a long wait at busy times and especially in the summer heat or with young kids. It isnt for us.

Margaret

[barryk1]

hi
you do nt really have to queue for seats , just get there a little bit earlier , normally about 1 to 1 1/2 hours before show time to get reall good seats but I have been 1/2 before and got ok seats , there is usuall plenty going on to keep the kids happy ( mexican waves etc )
Baz
we did the package once at the Brown Derby and found it expensive

[Jaybeez]

We have been to Fantasmic twice without using the package and have got seats near the centre both time, we didn't queue up early either. The second time we went we were some of the last people that arrived, so our section had loads of empty seats. When the lights went down we just moved to a row where there was no-one in front of us. :wavey:

[sijen]

we've been twice and eaten at hollywood and Vine both time - the food was scrummy and I'd definately do the same again !!!!

Jen

[ccarcher]

We had a reservation for this back in August with Mama Melrose, but as the kids were getting tired we ended up giving it a miss

just wondering whether to book it again for our up and coming trip in March

[susieb]

fantasmic is amazing but it is very late for young children. I dont think, for all it's wow factor, we will do it on our second trip.

[lov2dis]

Am I the only person here who thinks Fantasmic is extremely overrated? :zzz:

In response to the OP though - if its something you plan on seeing, and if you are wanting to eat TS - then you might as well book the package.

[pyeds]

did a package with h&v meal was nice but the seats for the show were awful, not sure if we would do it again

[susieb]

i also thoughts the seats were a bit poor, they are NOT the best, you are just guaranteed a seat thats all and its in an area which is to teh side, not in the centre.

[Siobhan]

We did it in 2006 with Mama Melrose which my husband and I enjoyed (kids didn't) but because of the location of the seats and the fact the there were better seats available just before the show started (it was a bit drizzly) we decided not to repeat it in 2007.
In 2007 the weather was much better and 40 minutes before the show we got seats on the extreme right of the theatre which were poor to say the least, we could see 2 Mickey's during the finale (Steamboat Willie and Sorcerer) so needless to say this year we are going to book the Fantasmic package at H & V to appease the kids.

[Floridafan]

OK - have done Fantasmic loads and loads but never done the dining package. Does anybody know what time you have to eat by? And should I make an ADR? We have always gotten there early and got really really bored (I mean - one Mexican wave, perhaps two - is fun..... after the 17th Mexican wave everybody loses the will to live). Then we've always had the munchies (nothing to do, you see) and had to buy expensive, soggy pizzas from the roaming sellers. I think this might work for us. Can't say I recall H&V - whereabouts is it? (Need to refresh the old grey matter before I go - it's been 5 years after all!).

[CHIP]

we have done it twice with the brown derby and once with mama melrose .IMO the brown derby was better by far ,more expensive,but a much nicer meal and a less frantic atmosphere.We have two kids 11 & 6 .We do it as package because we will be eating a meal in the 'world' any way and if it stops us from having to wait as long for the show, why not ? My DS was a little bit scared of the dragon ,but had just been on the TT and thought that was great !! (go figure? )

[sdl811]

Newbie alert.....Where do i book up for the H & V package?? and how soon can i book it.

[radun10]

Newbie alert.....Where do i book up for the H & V package?? and how soon can i book it.

You book it through Disney Dining tel 0014079393463. You can book up to 180 days in advance - and it is important to book early. Fantasmic package, particularly at H&V, does get booked up quickly.

We did it in 2006 and have already booked again for May this year. The reserved seating area is to the right of the arena - but we though the view was fine, and it did mean we didn't have to get there too early

[Louisa Jane]

Can I just clarify then, if I want to book the fantasmic package, I have to ring exactly 180 days before I want to go, then if I wanted to book another ADR for the following night, I have to ring the next day etc etc - I'll be on the phone to America every day!

[Nickynoonoo]

I have a table booked at H&V for 4.10ish (best time available when I called 170 days in advance) what time should I aim to get to the reserved seating area?

[BarryandCaron]

we have done this a couple of times and eaten at Hollywood and vine, heard poor reports about Mama Melrose and Brown derby is more expensive

I think it is worth doing this package as it doesn't cost extra and saves a lot of queuing :thumbs-up

if you want to see the menus look at www.allearsnet.com under the dining section

We have done the package twice; once at H&V - it was OK and last year Mama Melrose - absolutely awful. We're doing it again this year at H&V.

You can find all the menus here (http://www.thedibb.co.uk/dining-menus.php) on the Dibb :thumbs-up

Can I just clarify then, if I want to book the fantasmic package, I have to ring exactly 180 days before I want to go, then if I wanted to book another ADR for the following night, I have to ring the next day etc etc - I'll be on the phone to America every day!

Yes, that's right unless you are staying at a Disney resort then you can book at 180 days plus the next ten. You could wait until 180 days for your last one and get them all together, depends what you want and times etc.

I have a table booked at H&V for 4.10ish (best time available when I called 170 days in advance) what time should I aim to get to the reserved seating area?

I'd say get there half an hour before depending on the time of year. The last twice we have seen it in August it was really crowded and people were standing at the back.

Caron

[debs2028]

We did it last year at H&V but to be honest was not impressed with H&V a bit like a canteen. We did enjoy Fantasmic and it was nice not having to wait for an hour plus. We sat at the very back and although it was at the side had a very good view with the added advantage of being first out the staduim and on our way!!! :)

[piglets pal]

hi there

we went to the fantasmic show and did the Mama Melrose option and we were really impressed as i had read the food was not fab but we really found the opposite !

cannot remeber what adults ate apart from cleared all three courses !!LOL !
kids had pasta x 2 and 1 x had fish which was salmon with rice !! beautiful food kids got lots of attention and the server that we had was outstanding seeing to the kids making it a really memorable meal and we would def do it again for us it was the ease off eating (going to need to do that anyway) not worrying about hanging about for ages before.

it worked really well for us

[lannie2502]

Can someone please explain what exactly is Fantasmic? May be a silly question

[welshwiz]

Can someone please explain what exactly is Fantasmic? May be a silly question

More info HERE (http://www.thedibb.co.uk/disney-studios-fantasmic.php)

[Siddex]

Hi,

I did book it in the end. Got an ADR at Hollywood & Vine on Thursday 22nd May at 16.40. It was the only time they had left if we all wanted to sit on the same table.

So it does indeed look like it books up fairly quickly.