hello everyone! i am hoping someone has some info on the Fantasmic Dining reservations. I am new to Disney but have been trying to do a lot of research. my hubby came across the Fantasmic Dining reservations where you can make dinner reservations and then after you pay for your meal you get a pass to seats saved for you at the Fantasmic show. you have to get to the show only thirty minutes ahead of time. anyways i was wondering if anyone has ever done this? and if anyone knows if there are any other reservations you can make like this. i had never heard of this so i thought ther might be other things available at disney that is not highly publicized.

Welcome to the WDB!

The Fantasmic Dining Package has changed recently, so some info you'll find online might be a little outdated. What has changed is that now Guests are asked to go through the regular queue line for Fantasmic rather than being allowed to go backstage and circumvent the queue. Also, you need to be aware that you are not buying a specific seat (or even a guaranteed seat) for the show; rather, you will be seated in a roped-off section that is designated for those who had the FDP for that night. However...if you arrive too close to showtime, you might find that your seat has been filled by someone who didn't have the FDP. Cast members begin filling in the empty seats as showtime approaches, and if you aren't there you could miss out on the seating you thought you were reserving.

The biggest reason this is occuring lately is that Fantasmic shows were cut back significantly due to the budget constraints seen recently. Fewer shows each week means larger crowds on the nights when the show is performed. Larger crowds mean you need to arrive sooner...which takes away one nice feature of the FDP you mentioned. Instead of waiting until 30 minutes before showtime, now I recommend to my clients to show up 45-60 minutes ahead to guarantee that they will be seated. It's a conundrum whether the FDP is worth it now--on one hand, the shows are more crowded and seats are at a premium; on the other hand, if you're showing up early anyway, you might not need the FDP to get your seat.

Hope this helps!

One other thing to note is the reserved seating area isn't great. It is off to the side and not in the best viewing location. The fact that Disney has dratically reduced the number of shows makes it very hard to get into and very long waits. The old package was nice because you were able to enter through a different area.

First of all, Welcome to the Boards! We are glad that you decided to join.

I have done this before, and although the seats aren't bad, there are definitely much better seats to be had. I am not a fan of this particular option for dining. I would say just go about 60-120 minutes before the show, and get in line. I know it is a lot of time to wait in line, but in my opinion, this is one of if not the coolest effects show on property, and one of the top 2 closing shows to see.

The best area to sit is in the Mickey Mouse section towards the top, unless you want to get wet!