[wdwjeff]

Hi,
We're going 7/1-7/7. I have 2 DD, ages 7 and 10. I've heard that Fantasmic is great, but that the best way to do it is a preferred seating dinner ressie. Does anyone know about the quality and cost of doing this at the buffet at Hollywood and Vine? Is it worth it? Should we do another restaurant instead? Should we not bother with preferred seating, and just wait in line for the show? And, lastly, what is the show all about and how long does it last? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[tigger]

It is worth it but get there early.

We went a year ago Dec. I remember that we showed up an hour before show time and just got sets. It was packed (also plan on taking up some time exiting).

The show is well worth it, a little hard to explain in a few word. Mickey saves the day with help of other Disney characters. :p

Great show, lots of cool special effects.

We sat by a couple that winters in Orlando. They came in just for the show, said that they had seen it a number of times. I too will go back on my next trip to Orlando.

Can't speak to the package deals. There are lots of great deals have to find the one that meets your needs.

[mickey]

I have tried to book the Fantasmic dinner package several times, but we are always there when Fantasmic is shown at 7:00 PM, so we would have to eat at 4:00 PM, which is just too early for me. There is no additional cost to do the Fantasmic dinner package, other than the cost of the normal meal. You can also eat at Mama Melrose's, Hollywood and Vine or Brown Derby (I think). The only problem with it is that you have to be in your seat 45 minutes early, and you can still get a pretty good seat an hour before the show, so you don't gain much, and they don't save your seat. Things may be different after the stadium renovation though. Good luck.

[Michael Darling]

Stadium rennovation?

[mickey]

Originally posted by Michael Darling
Stadium rennovation?

Ummm, yah. I am pretty sure that it will be closing after the Easter Break, and they will double the size of the stadium. The plans were made a while ago, so I don't know how the change in park attendance has altered those plans. They need to expand it though, tough to get in any time of the year. I have always gone an hour and a half early during non-busy times and still get a bad seat. Can't imagine going when the number of people in the parks is three times as great.

[Michael Darling]

I know one of our members (Hmmm... wonder who?) is going to yell at me for saying this, but I'll say it anyway. I have seen Fantasmic once and I wasn't all that impressed with it... (Oh, boy, my e-mail box is about to get flooded!) I don't see why so many people watch it every night... When I saw it I saw all the people and I was like "****o! That's a lot of people!"

I've been listening to the music lately, and it's starting to grow on me... maybe when I see it again in June I'll be more impressed...

[wdwjeff]

When will the renovations be complete? Any guesses?

[Goofette]

Originally posted by mickey

Ummm, yah. I am pretty sure that it will be closing after the Easter Break, and they will double the size of the stadium. The plans were made a while ago, so I don't know how the change in park attendance has altered those plans. They need to expand it though, tough to get in any time of the year. I have always gone an hour and a half early during non-busy times and still get a bad seat. Can't imagine going when the number of people in the parks is three times as great.

Any new news about the Rennovation?

[mickey]

As far as I can tell right now, the expansion plans have been put on hold. In fact, they have been only running one Fantasmic show per night for most of the last year, so I guess that they are assuming that demand is down. I will post an update as soon as I find out more.

[diamarch92]

The show is incredible but we weren't too impressed w/ H&V. There were 18 people in our party - 11 under age 7 - we had called ahead for priority seating & still ended up waiting almost an hour. We ended up having less than 45 minutes to eat & get to the show which is not very close to H&V. It probably took us 10 minutes to get to there. The manager did walk us because of the long delay in getting seated. He took us through a back gate & we were seated with 5 minutes left to show time. Too stressful.

I would suggest either making a very early reservation or trying another restaurant. The food was so-so.

Have fun!

[newkrew]

This is a must see. I have seen the Disneyland version which is a bit different than WDW but they are both wonderful shows.

We waited about an hour before showtime and had great seats. No dinner, just walked in. That was last May.

I love the show soooooo much that we never miss it at Disneyland and we will see it again this May at the world. I hope this news about renovention is not going to shut the show down.

Have fun on your trip.:)