Disney’s Hollywood Studios

By Magic Maker® Heather Straight

Lights. Music. Pyrotechnics. Dancing. Lasers. Giant animatronic dragons. Video projected on massive screens of water. Good triumphing over evil.  The Fantasmic!  Show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ in Florida and Disneyland® Park in California are nighttime extravaganzas that are the very best of Walt Disney World® Resort and Disneyland® Resort entertainment and showmanship, and a highlight of every vacation for my family.  No matter how many times I see the show, I never fail to get goose bumps and tear up at the crucial moment when Sorcerer Mickey…well, I won’t give away the ending, but it’s a spectacle you don’t want to miss.

The shows are so popular that it can be tough to get a seat for the action.  People begin lining up to grab a spot 60-90 minutes before show time (even longer during peak travel seasons). You can avoid the line and have a tasty meal by taking advantage of a Fantasmic! Meal Experience.

Walt Disney World Resort® Dining Options

At Walt Disney World® Resort, Fantasmic! Show plays at the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater in Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ to packed crowds.  There are bleachers for sitting and some standing room at the back when the seats have all been filled (which they do for nearly every show!).  There are no bad seats here, but if you want to guarantee yourself a seat without a very long wait in line before the show, then a Fantasmic! Meal Experience is the way to go.  You’ll enjoy lunch or dinner and then get a voucher to enter the Reserved Section of the amphitheater. The restaurant choices are:

• Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano – available for lunch or dinner, and only 1 Table Service credit on the Disney Dining Plan.
• Hollywood & Vine – this buffet meal is available only for dinner, and is also just 1 Table Service credit on the dining plan
• The Hollywood Brown Derby – this signature dining experience is available for lunch or dinner Fantasmic! packages, and is 2 Table Service credits on the Disney Dining Plan (or 1 credit on the Deluxe Dining Plan)

We’ve tried a Fantasmic! Meal Experience at all three restaurants; my kids’ favorite was the Hollywood & Vine buffet, but my husband and I really loved the ambiance and amazing food at The Hollywood Brown Derby (it makes for an excellent romantic diner option). These packages are very popular, especially during peak seasons; your Magic Maker can help you reserve one 180 days prior to the start of your Walt Disney World® Resort vacation. A credit card hold is required.

Disneyland® Resort Dining Options

The original home of Fantasmic! Show, the show is performed right in the middle of the action at the Disneyland® Park on the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.  There is no seating available here, just first-come, first-served standing room only (although if you arrive early enough to stake out a spot right in front, you can sit on the ground and still see the show).  If you want a chair, then the Premium Seating Dessert Package is for you.  At $60 per person, this is one of the most decadent things you can do to enhance your Disneyland® Park experience!

After you check-in with a Cast Member at a podium just across from Haunted Mansion® Attraction (we were directed to “look for the churro cart!”), you’ll be led to reserved, elevated seats front and center, with unobstructed views of the Rivers of America.  After you make yourself comfortable, another Cast Member will bring each of you a huge box filled with desserts.  Ours included mini key lime pie, cheesecake, fruit tart, and brownies, cookies, chocolate truffles, a selection of cheeses and crackers, and fruit.  It was so much food that even after I stuffed myself to bursting, I still had over half leftover to take back to the hotel (which I may have eaten for breakfast, but I’ll never tell!).  The Cast Member will also offer you all you can drink hot chocolate, coffee, hot tea, bottled water, or Coke products, and he or she will continue to serve you throughout the show.   Our view of the show was spectacular, and we felt extremely pampered.

Disneyland® Resort also offers dining packages for the wildly popular World of Color show that takes place in front of Paradise Pier at Disney California Adventure® Park.  We opted for the picnic, which you can pick up for lunch or dinner.  You have a choice of several different meals that are conveniently packed into boxes and a souvenir reusable bag, and they have a great picnic area with tables and chairs.  They also offer two table service options for the World of Color package:

• Ariel’s Grotto: 3-course dinner (great seafood choices, although the character don’t appear during dinner)
• Wine Country Trattoria: lunch or dinner

All of these options include a ticket for the World of Color Viewing Area, and the prices range from $15.99 to $39.99.  Your Magic Maker can reserve one of these packages for you 30 days prior to your Disneyland® Resort vacation.  Full payment is required at the time of booking for both the Fantasmic! Show and World of Color packages.