My first thought is you will need to be prepared that you’ll have paid for the dining package to have them tell you to find a spot at the back of a standby section wherever they might have space or be told they have no space arriving late.
For the show dining packages, DL will not guarantee space if you show up later than the show start and they may even have verbiage on the pass they give you at the dining location that states you need to be at the section 30 min in advance for them to honor your reserved space.
The entrance for the dining package is across from the Haunted Mansion exit all the way on the opposite side of the River form the hub. And you’d be navigating a park with the parade moving through it and closed walkways with traffic flow being re-routed. So you’re looking at it taking on the longer side of 7-10 minutes to move around.
Then, the parade starts up by it’s a small world so even watching at the closest point to Rivers of America (the hub), you’ll have to wait at least 10 min for the parade to reach the hub AND then it will be another 20 minutes for it to pass so even though you would have the 5 min walk from there, you will NOT make it to Fantasmic before it starts AND be able to get to watch the full parade.
You can watch closer to the start of the parade (I can point out an area where you can try to look for a spot for the best chance to jump up from the parade & be in position to huff it over to the far side of ROA, BUT even that walk will take 10 min alone so you’re still likely not making it to the viewing area in time for the show to start, let alone before they’re willing to accommodate helping you find a spot within the reserved dining section).
I would pick which one out of Paint the Night or Fantasmic to prioritize seeing earlier & and then use that optional late show either night to slot in the other.
Both are good options.
If you choose Paint the Night first, you will have to camp out for 45 min at least for a spot to see the parade AND be in a spot you can watch fireworks or easily maneuver to a good fireworks viewing location. I personaly would watch the parade from somewhere near it’s a small world and watch fireworks on the facade. Alternatively you can watch from Town Square and move up to the end of Main St once the parade passes. But you will be a salmon swimming upstream going the absolute wrong way & having to make a left turn to get to Fantasmic to get there. So even though I like watching projections the most from Main St. I would not pick it if my next move is Fantasmic.
Then for later Fantasmic you will need to cancel the earlier dining package and either try to standby late Fantasmic (which shouldn’t be an issue). OR you can look for availability for dinner at Rancho with a dining package for the later show. On the later Fantasmic dining package, if they don’t have a huge population of dining package reservations, they may combine the sections so you’ll be more center if you do this. But Fantasmic is in a very dark corner of the park so that is easily the one show that if we do late my younger kids are sleeping through.
Alternatively, you can keep your dining package, but instead of squeezing in the parade, settle into your dining package spot to watch Fantasmic and then fireworks immediately after from the same location. Then get a spot in Town Square for the 10:30 parade. The parade will start from this end for the later show and you’ll be right next to the park exit, so you can be on your way out the door just as soon as it passes. And if your kids easily made it though the earlier Fantasmic & fireworks, will more likely be engaged for the parade and with a quicker exit if at any point you just need to call it and leave.
