One of my favorite things at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the Fantasmic Show. It is an attraction filled with special effects; fire, water, movies, characters and more. My family and I love it. A classic good versus evil type thing, although it can be too intense for some smaller children. It is, however on one of my list of things that we must do but from 2009 it will be harder to do. Harder, but not impossible.
From January 2009 the Fantasmic show will be cut from a nightly show to just two days a week. Monday and Thursday. This is rumored to co-incide with the new American Idol show schedule.
What does this means for visitors to Walt Disney World?
Firstly it means that if you want to see Fantasmic in 2009, you have a choice of Monday or Thursday. If you don’t want to see Fantasmic, then avoid Disney’s Hollywood Studios on those days as the crowds will be higher than on the other days.
Secondly, it means that the number of guests wanting to view Fantasmic will be heavy on both those days - seating is limited in the theatre and I would strongly recommend the Fantasmic Dinner Package. Basically it is dinner in a selected restaurant and seating in the theater. Please note that the seating is not guaranteed (Disney’s words, not mine) and you still are asked to line up an hour before the show. But it beats having to wait up to two hours before the show - and that is before they restrict the number of shows. I only expect the lines to get worse.
Lastly, if they retain the Fantasmic Dinner Package, it may become harder to get a slot. More people in the park on those days would mean more people booking dinners and possibly more people booking or trying to book the Fantasmic Dinner Package.
Two quick notes on the Fantasmic Dinner Package.
1. Currently you choose a restaurant - there is a choice of 3 or 4 - for dinner and once you have had dinner, you get a pass for the back entrance to Fantasmic. There isn’t much of a surcharge for the package (if any - when I last looked, we had a buffet meal and the meal and the Fantasmic Package were almost the same price).
2. As mentioned earlier, the seating is not guaranteed and not specifically allocated. If you turn up late and the seating area is full you are out of luck. Also the seating is not the best view. The view is fine, but it is not center stage. It is however the first block of seats as you enter the theater, which means you should be able to get out of the theater before the majority of the crowd. Another plus is that if you have a stroller, it is parked on the exit route from the theater, whereas if you enter through the regular line, you may have a slight detour to collect your stroller.
My concern with the reduction in hours is that Disney may change the Fantasmic Dinner Package. In Disneyland they have a Fantasmic Dessert Package which was $90 per person. - I sincerely hope that they do not follow that route. They may place a hefty $ premium on the package because it will become more popular.
Provided Disney do not raise the price of the dinner package greatly, I would still recommend booking that if you want to see Fantasmic. My touring schedule would, if possible, either have Fantasmic as late night entertainment for one evening and spend the day either in the pool at The Manor or doing another type of lazy day. If I has limited entries for Walt Disney World, I would consider spending the morning at one of the other parks and then going to Hollywood Studios for dinner and the show. For example visit Animal Kingdom in the morning and then head to Hollywood Studios for a 5.30pm dinner. When visiting the parks, we tend to have an early start (a.k.a being there BY opening time) to avoid the crowds and therefore end up with an early lunch and early dinner. Trust me, in conjunction with the fastpass system, it works - even at the busy times of the year.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios used to be called MGM Studios.