One of the major shows that eluded our family for years at Disney World was Fantasmic. Hollywood Studios nighttime show is located back in a secluded stadium of the park that brings together good versus villains in Mickey Mouse’s dream. Our family has seen it at Disneyland, but never opted to stay in Hollywood Studios late enough to see the show.

So for my father-in-laws 60th birthday celebration, we decided to not only see the show, but also get FastPasses for preferred seating as part of a dining package.

We selected to dine at Hollywood & Vine, since we had never eaten there before. The dining experience is an all-you-can eat buffet with a large selection of dining options. Dinner costs $35.99 for adults; $19.99 for children, and includes your VIP seating voucher for Fantasmic.

Shortly before our dining reservation, my oldest son really wanted to go on the Studio Backlot Tour, which also was going on the last round of departures for the evening. So my wife and I elected to dart the three of us over to the Streets of America while the rest of our party proceeded towards Hollywood & Vine.

We quickly entered the queue and requested to go beyond everyone in the preshow, so we could get directly onto the tram. Long story short, we made it through the entire Studios Backlot Tour, and then ran as fast as we could back to Hollywood & Vine, sometime after the rest of our party already started eating.

While everyone in our party was starving, I, however, for some reason was really not that hungry. So I kindly requested if there was a way for me to not have to pay to eat, but still “buy” my ticket to Fantasmic. Apparently this was new ground for our cast member, as he had to talk with a manager, and getting that accomplished took an extremely long time. So much so, that I eventually forced myself to gorge on the meal I was bound not to purchase but was required to upon walking through the doors of Hollywood & Vine.

The good thing was the food was all VERY good, with a large selection of options, and an excellent dessert bar, which included a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit, a personal favorite.

Following our meal, it was time to make our way towards the stadium for Fantasmic.

Guests with the VIP tickets are directed towards special sections at the center of the stage, while everyone else goes towards the outskirts. In reality, I am not sure if there really is a bad seat in the house, as it appeared every seat could see the entire stage just fine. With no roof overhead, there is not anything that would prevent blocking of the stage, other than maybe the person in front of you.

Like many aspects, I personally enjoy the Disneyland version of Fantasmic compared to that of Hollywood Studios. While the show is still good, some of the special effects tended to mask ever seeing what was happening, in particular the dragon at the end. The Disneyland version also uses several big ships, including a giant pirate ship.

Below is the full video of the Hollywood Studios Fantasmic show. While none of the water screen scenes videoed to well, the camera has trouble focusing on them, the character portions turned out pretty good.

Have you seen both the Disneyland and Disney World versions of Fantasmic? What did you think?

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Source: InACents