Is Fantasmic! at DLR worth adding an extra day to my trip? My dates are in late Sept. and it looks like it they only perform it on the weekends at that time.
I’m going Mon. - Fri. to avoid crowds. Friday is the only night I can see World of Color due to Oogie Boogie Bash dates. I do not want to miss WoC since it is a DLR/DCA exclusive show.
I’ve seen F! at WDW multiple times, but have heard this version is different.
My budget isn’t a huge factor. However, I don’t want to “waste” money just to see one show.
I have only seen the DLR version and opted skip it at WDW since I have heard the DLR version is better. I have my doubts whether or not it “better” enough to warrant another day. I will let those who have seen both chime in on whether or not it is worth adding another day.
If you had to see only one, I would 100% recommend World of Color (although both are not to be missed in your lifetime).
The DLR version of F! is better than WDW, but not enough that I would recommend adding a day. The DL version has a little more heart and cohesive story, was recently updated with better effects, and has the benefit of blending in with the actual Park surroundings rather than a sterile arena. Downside is the seating. It’s nice to have designated seating at WDW vs. hard concrete at DL.
How about purchasing an Oogie Boogie Bash ticket instead so you can watch WOC earlier and see F! Friday night? Presumably that would be cheaper than an extra day.
My original plan was to attend an OOB night. However, I guess I’m spoiled by MNSSHP. At WDW there seems to be enough time to do a few rides and still see a couple shows. According to my TP, if I go to OOB every ride is 60+ wait time and the shows are stacked that the moment one ends you need to hustle across DCA to the next one.
I really wanted do GotG: MB during OBB to see the special overlay, but the ride wait is almost 90 minutes.
I feel like I’d have to commit to either doing 2 rides or seeing 3 shows for an extra $110. Or I can go over to the very less crowded DLR & ride anything with a 15 minute wait or less.
This is the first year of OBB?? Have you seen it? If the shows are really spectacular I could be talked into attending. Do they do WoC that same night? I thought it was the Villainous show instead.
I have never been to OOB and this will be the first year of Villainous. I’m assuming they will not do Villainous on the non-OOB nights but I’m not sure. Supposedly Villainous is really good though.
I think your plan of heading to DL is good, especially if those wait times are accurate. I think they oversell these events in California.
GotG Halloween overlay should be available to you on no party nights too, so if you don’t ride it at the party, you will have other chances. I would try for a FP. I cannot remember the trick to getting the fp though. It has been two years. I believe it goes down at 3pm? Then goes back up at 5pm? I want to say that the fps become available at 5pm, but not certain. Anyway, I do remember you have to jump on them right away, they will go FAST! If anyone has a better memory, feel free to chime in. The GotG Halloween (IMHO) is amazing and worth any hoops you have to jump through to ride it.
I’ve seen F! in DLR and WDW earlier this year. I’m probably in the great minority here, but I thought F! was better at WDW. The dedicated set in the amphitheater just seemed more grand. I actually left the show early at DLR to do PoC since there was no line.
For the record, I do think that just about everything else at DLR is better than its counterpart at WDW (PoC, BTMRR, Space, all of fantasyland, IaSW…), so I don’t think I have a bias here. Just my personal thoughts and experience. The shows are definitely similar enough that I wouldn’t go too far out of my way to see it. (But, if you’re just looking for a good reason to add a day to your trip, I’d be all for it )
So the original Fantasmic! gave me goosebumps & had markedly more heart than the WDW version. The newer Fantasmic!, while the effects are every bit as cool along the scale of the Rivers of America & the new expanded projections are very well done, it’s not as must-see to me as the former version was. And for the record, I tried to be really excited about the changes & have no objections to them each individually, but something about the sum of them makes the newer show just a bit less.
Add in that the show are is much harder to get in & out of & is much less convenient than WDW’s and it really makes it tough to absolutely recommend. Although, if in the budget, I do highly recommend a dining package to see it as that instantly makes for a much better experience. Just a note though that the non-premium dining packages require you to sit on the ground for the show. There’s one premium option at River Belle only that does have you sit for dinner an hour before the show on their patio and then stay in your seat for the show. I find this view of F! to be a little far back to really appreciate the scale of the effects (and another reason why the dining package always wins for us, because even with the cheapest Hungry Bear On-the-Go option we can get a fantastic view near the front & close-ish to the center to really appreciate the effects in your face).
And as for World of Color vs. Fantastmic! - as a show itself I do prefer F! to WoC, even the newer version of F!. But WoC with a FP is just so much easier to enjoy with less hassle than a F! FP and is still very awesome, so we end up seeing it way more often.
ETA what DCA are party specific: I’m almost 100% sure that the new Villanous will be for the party only. As for the GotG overlay … I hope it won’t become party specific as we love it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if on party nights it is pretty much just party specific. The last 2 years they have done FPs distribution differently. The first year FPs for the After Dark version became available at 3pm with the first return times being 5pm. Last year, rather than wait until 3pm for that distribution to begin, they just allowed distribution to flow from the start and once the time hit 5pm your FP was for the After Dark experience, with the notation on all FPs distributed that any time after 5pm would be the After Dark version.
I have to agree with this. Personally, the difference for me is the score. I got the soundtrack years ago - in the late 90s - and listened to the full track many times so it got ingrained in my brain. It is so well constructed and builds perfectly to the climax.
The new score is probably 89% exactly the same, but that 11% just throws me off since I’m so familiar with the “correct” way (I feel the same about Soarin’, by the way). I try to be objective about it, and I still feel like the climax is not quite as impactful the way it is now, but it’s impossible to know if that is just my bias for the original.
That said, the effects are much better and the show is very sharp.
I suspect the score has a lot to do with it for me as well. I bought a VHS of the show at DLR in 2001 or 2003 that had the score along with edited clips of the show that I watched over & over just because I loved the music so much. In the new score, the small changes, right from near the very start, and then echoed again at the end (both very impactful parts) threw me off & probably made a much bigger difference than any swapping out of characters that also happened.
A thousand times this for me. I have been known to cry whenever we’ve listened to Soarin’s old soundtrack and I most definitely cried the first time or two that I was lucky enough to ride Soarin’ over California this summer.
ABSOLUTELY! Fantasmic alone is worth the price of admission, it is a CAN’T MISS Disneyland experience! Fantasmic at WDW is not as good as it is in Disneyland. They have updated and improved Fantasmic (as if it could be any better) and it is incredible! You just have to bite the bullet in the off season and spend a weekend day in the Park so you can see Fantasmic and whatever fireworks show they have going on Main Street! DO NOT MISS FANTASMIC AND THE FIREWORKS SHOWS!
So I checked flights & such… It looks like my only expenses would be the extra night of hotel & 1 more day of admission. I had been debating going to OBB during the trip. However, after to listening to everyone here, I think I’d rather come in a day early to see F! and have even more time at DLR than go to OBB…
This would allow me to get “the lay of the land & etc…” before my “real” TP beings for the same budget as OBB. Thanks!
Thanks for posting this. I also have a trip planned for late September and had no idea Fantasmic wasn’t scheduled for weeknights. Luckily WoC is showing Wednesday night (9/25) while we’re there, so I should be able to squeeze in both.
Related question… is it possible to see the 8:40 Electrical Parade and before getting into position for the 9:00 Fantasmic? I’m assuming no, but maybe from near the start of the parade route?
FWIW, predicted crowd level for DL that day is a 2. And I’ll plan on getting FPs for Fantasmic. Although I’ve read that area can fill pretty quickly.
Not without being late for F! or leaving early from EP. The parade start time is gauged from the origination at IASW and is about 20 min long. So if you were to see the whole thing, you would be leaving IASW right when F! is starting and would somehow have to battle crowd control (which is very difficult during a parade and around F!) to get somewhere within viewing distance of F! Very risky if you actually want to see both.
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