Watching Fantasmic and the Fireworks in one night?

Josh Q · Post by **Josh Q** » Oct Fri 24, 2008 4:07 pm

I'm putting together some podcast episodes and one of the topics being discussed to be talked about is How to watch Fantasmic and The Fireworks in the same night?

I know that Fantasmic is closed till possibly November 7th right now but if I remember correctly the show times used to be 9 and 10. With the fireworks at 9:25 weather permitting.

Now here's my question I know that I've done it where I've watched the fireworks then ran over to the 10 o'clock Fantasmic.

This would not work for say a family with kids usually.

Has anyone had an experience doing this successfully where you watched both Fantasmic and the Fireworks from in front of the castle in one night? If so what was your strategy?

wxwiz · Post by **wxwiz** » Oct Sun 26, 2008 4:41 am

I think showtimes are 9 and 10:30 for fantasmic when the park is open until midnight. You can watch the fireworks from the rivers of America as they have the fireworks soundtrack pumped in, but I have watched fireworks in front of the castle and gone to the rivers of America for fantasmic at 10:30 and got a decent, but not front row seat for that.

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Oct Sun 26, 2008 4:57 pm

I have done both Watching Fantasmic and the Fireworks from NOS and seen Remember then over to Fantasmic. Both have their good and bad points.

Fantasmic First:

good:
-You can leave the parks at a reasonable time, if you have children.
-Depending on the time of year you will be slightly warmer.
-You can pick out a spot early and get right where you want.
-You won't have to fight the crowds to get to Fantasmic
-If Remember is canceled you wouldn't have thousands of guest flocking to Fantasmic

Bad:
-You can't watch the Fireworks from the front of the castle, duh
-Trying to get out of NOS or FL is very difficult, you have to follow the crowd
-You have to get your seat planned and occupied at least 2 hours before Fantasmic
-More children at the earlier show, and they get cranky sitting there for hours on the hard pavement

Remember first:
Good:
-You get to see the fireworks from your favorite spot, again camping out
-When you go to NOS or FL you won't have as many families, so usually more space

Bad:
-You have to fight the crowds to get to NOS and FL
-You may not get to your favorite spot for Fantasmic
-In the winter months it is COLD, especially when you sit there and at remember for several hours

Josh Q · Post by **Josh Q** » Oct Sun 26, 2008 5:52 pm

Thanks! That helps a lot. I knew of my experiences but needed some feedback from other people. Check out the site and podcast soon. It's part of CoasterHeaven.com. The site is down temporarily but will be up by Tue Oct 28th

Again thanks for the feedback!

Akyriel · Post by **Akyriel** » Oct Thu 30, 2008 4:28 pm

My recommendation is to watch the fireworks first and enjoy the less crowded version of Fantasmic late night.... If you time things perfectly... you can see the fireworks in front of the castle and if you immediately go thru Frontierland... once they let you in... you pretty much can get a front row seat in front of Harper's Mill for Fantasmic... I've done this many times. I think they funnel the early Fantasmic out through Adventureland now so i'm always going to Fantasmic from Frontierland.

Of course that's when I don't buy the Priority Seating ticket for Fantasmic which i normally do anyway... it's so worth the money to eat Club 33 dessert and be able to relax on your way to the reserved seating area...

Josh Q · Post by **Josh Q** » Oct Thu 30, 2008 5:38 pm

Ya that's what I always do. Watch fireworks then go to the late night Fantasmic. I've never done the Priority Seating though. I've always thought that it would be a waste. But you seem to really like it! Awesome Thanks!!!! Do you think that the Priority Seating is good for family's say two adults two kids between ages 4-9?

Akyriel · Post by **Akyriel** » Oct Fri 31, 2008 7:06 am

Josh Q wrote:Do you think that the Priority Seating is good for family's say two adults two kids between ages 4-9?

If you can swing the cash -- absolutely! The benefits of booking the priority seating are enormous:

No waiting for hours on pavement for good seats - so you can maximize your time in the parks
Guaranteed seating for Fantasmic right on the Rivers of America
Desserts and sodas from Club 33
Comfy seats to watch the show

I've probably seen the Fantasmic show dozens of times in my visits to the park and nearly half of those have been booked with priority seating. I've been booking it since back when they let you sit on the balcony outside the Disney Gallery and you had to get up at 2AM to get in line at the Guest Relations office to get tickets. Anyone else remember those days? haha

So ya i'm a huge fan of the priority seating. Especially if you have young kids who will get bored sitting around waiting for the show to begin.

billville · Post by **billville** » Oct Fri 31, 2008 10:33 am

And how much is priority seating nowadays?

Akyriel · Post by **Akyriel** » Oct Fri 31, 2008 10:51 am

The last time I paid for priority seating the cost was around $65 per person, but that may not be accurate anymore... Call Disney Guest Services to find out exactly when and how you can book the priority seating for Fantasmic... for some reason the proceedure changes all the time so any advice from me would likely be inacurate at best. I will be booking for DL5 meet in February so when I call I will update on the current price/proceedure.

grumpyutboi · Post by **grumpyutboi** » Nov Sun 23, 2008 7:12 pm

Yea watch the fireworks first and then go to the late showing of Fantasmic. We did Fantasmic first one time then did the fireworks show, we got stuck at the same spot for the fireworks show and missed some of the fireworks. No the grumpy family runs to POTC and INDY cause no one is there.

blinkereye123 · Post by **blinkereye123** » Dec Wed 17, 2008 10:42 pm

Happy Holidays folks. Actually, I wwas wondering if anyone ever tried to do the
trifecta: Fantasmic, Remember, AND DEP.

I know it sounds impossible, but if you grab a spot closest to the entrance of DCA
you can catch the EP in its entirety and then dash!!! back into the main park in time
to see Remember in all its glory. As the crowds begin to shift, head back towards
FL, maybe grab a bite along the way, and stake out a seat for the last viewing of
Fantasmic, (trying not to get your head handed to you as the walkways file out to
the parking lot.

Anyway, it may seem undoable, but if you've got only a couple of others with you,
it might just be worth the attempt.

Later. Peace.

Post by **Dr. Ravenscroft** » Dec Thu 18, 2008 2:29 pm

blinkereye123 wrote:Happy Holidays folks. Actually, I wwas wondering if anyone ever tried to do the
trifecta: Fantasmic, Remember, AND DEP.

I know it sounds impossible, but if you grab a spot closest to the entrance of DCA
you can catch the EP in its entirety and then dash!!! back into the main park in time
to see Remember in all its glory. As the crowds begin to shift, head back towards
FL, maybe grab a bite along the way, and stake out a seat for the last viewing of
Fantasmic, (trying not to get your head handed to you as the walkways file out to
the parking lot.

Anyway, it may seem undoable, but if you've got only a couple of others with you,
it might just be worth the attempt.

Later. Peace.

I believe catching DEP at the start, then beating it back to the front is a better solution, I did that back in June. My brother and I caught the DEP at the beginning of the show and after it we took the pathway around GRR and beat the parade to the entrance plaza. Then we went to Disneyland before the hoards.

Josh Q · Post by **Josh Q** » Dec Tue 23, 2008 6:14 pm

I believe catching DEP at the start, then beating it back to the front is a better solution, I did that back in June. My brother and I caught the DEP at the beginning of the show and after it we took the pathway around GRR and beat the parade to the entrance plaza. Then we went to Disneyland before the hoards.

I totally agree. If you catch the DEP in the back by the time it hits the front you can leave while all those people are still watching!

purple figment · Post by **purple figment** » Jan Tue 06, 2009 2:54 pm

My husband and I did the trifecta back in April. We started back at the Paradise Pier area to watch the Electrical Parade. Then we hoofed it past Grizzly River Rapids way into DL. We got to the front of castle viewing area shortly before the fireworks. I am not in great shape, and must have been really huffing and puffing, because a cast member felt sorry for us. He found us a great spot for photos. Then, we made our was through Frontierland to a really nice spot in front of the island for viewing Fantasmic. (This spot was suggested by a cast member earlier in the day.)
There was no time for the food stop that blinkereye suggested. It was certainly ALOT of running around. It wasn't the ideal situation, but was well worth it. We were there at the end of April. It was still off season and Sunday was the only day that ANY of the evening shows were playing. Being that we are from Michigan, we weren't sure if we would pass through California again any time soon. The shows were not only fabulous, but significantly different than the shows in Florida.

Akyriel · Post by **Akyriel** » Jan Tue 06, 2009 2:57 pm

ya i very much prefer the DL version of Fantasmic to the WDW version