Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Your excellent guidebook also served as a seat cushion while seated on the
ground waiting for the show to begin. Make future editions thicker for greater
comfort.
The best seats in the house are at the water's edge. For adults, it is really not ne-
cessary to have an unobstructed view of the staging area because most of the action is
high above the crowd. Children standing in the closely packed crowd, however, are able
to catch only bits and pieces of the presentation. The best elevated view can be had from
the bridge over the Pirates of the Caribbean queue.
Probably the most painless strategy for seeing
Fantasmic!
is to attend the second
show. Usually, the second performance follows the first by about 90 minutes. At the
second
Fantasmic!
fewer people are in the park and viewing conditions are less crowded.
If you let the crowd for the first show clear out and then take up your position, you should
be able to find a good vantage point, as a Salt Lake City reader found:
During the first showing, I perused the shops in New Orleans Square and then
found a place to sit for awhile. When the show was almost over, I worked my
waytoPiratesandstationedmyselfinfrontoftheentrance.Whentheshowwas
over and the crowd started to disperse, I worked my way down to the riverfront
and into prime seating where I was able to watch the fireworks and the second
showing of
Fantasmic!
Another good strategy is to board the train as the first show is concluding and disem-
bark in New Orleans Square.
Rain and wind conditions sometimes cause
Fantasmic!
to be canceled. Unfortu-
nately, Disney officials usually do not make a final decision about whether to proceed or
cancel until just before showtime. We have seen guests wrapped in ponchos sit stoically
in rain or drizzle for more than an hour with no assurance that their patience and sacrifice
would be rewarded. Unless you can find a covered viewing spot, we do not recommend
staking out vantage points on rainy or especially windy nights. On nights like these, pur-
sue your own agenda until 10 minutes or so before showtime, and then head to the water-
front to see what happens.
You can view
Fantasmic!
from a special reserved viewing area located near the Tom
Sawyer Island raft dock. To make reservations, call 714-781-4400. The price for the
dock-viewing area runs $59 for adults and $49 for children ages 3-9. A dessert box is in-
cluded, but be aware of this Petaluma, California, family's experience:
Wedidthereservedseatingfor
Fantasmic!,
andthatwasprettymuchawasteof
money.Afterpickingupourticketsearlierintheday,westoodinlineatthedes-
ignated spot at 7:50 p.m. for the 8 p.m. opening of first-come, first-serve seat-
ing. Somehow every seat was taken by the time we got to the front of the line at
8:15p.m.,exceptforfourseatsintheveryback.Whentheshowbeganat9p.m.,
we had a terrible view of the show between the light pole and people's heads in
front ofus.Note that they serve hotcoffee/chocolate andgive adessert box,but
