Back in December, the viewing procedure for Fantasmic! changed – instead of first come-first serve, where people could stake out spots hours in advance (and many did just that), it changed to a Fastpass system, similar to the way World of Color is done at Disney California Adventure. There are different viewing areas set up around the Rivers of America, and a Fastpass allows access to one of them.

Fastpasses are distributed along Big Thunder Trail, near the exit of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. You can only get one per day, but they do not count against any existing or future Fastpasses, so you can get another attraction Fastpass immediately, or if you hold an attraction Fastpass already you don’t have to wait until it’s valid to get a Fantasmic! Fastpass.

There are also Fantasmic! Dining Packages available, which offer premium viewing options. Participating locations are Blue Bayou and River Belle Terrace (dinner), Aladdin’s Oasis (Grab and Go meal), and Hungry Bear Restaurant (dessert).

We had wanted to do the dessert package but it was not available because the Hungry Bear Restaurant is closed for refurbishment, so we chose to dine at Blue Bayou. There were five of us, and we made a reservation (credit card guarantee required) several weeks in advance. Our restaurant seating time was 8:00, which meant we’d be seeing the 10:45 show. Most of us had run the Star Wars half marathon that morning, so we were a little tired and a little concerned about staying awake. 🙂

Blue Bayou offers a three-course menu for the dinner package for $61, plus tax and gratuity. Choice of appetizer (soup, salad, or shrimp cocktail), entree and dessert, plus beverage. A bread basket with sourdough dinner rolls and cheese biscuits is also included. The entree choices are the same as those on the regular dinner menu.

Our meal began with the bread basket. The “cheese biscuits” were quite popular at our table. I wouldn’t call them “biscuits”, though – they were still more like bread.

As an appetizer I ordered the Blue Bayou Salad with tomatoes, caramelized pecans, and cranberries. It also comes with blue cheese, but I requested that it be left off. While nothing special, it was still a very nice salad.

Lee and most of our tablemates tried the New Orleans Gumbo with chicken, Andouille sausage, Tasso ham and served with Cajun-style dirty rice. Everyone enjoyed that.

As an entree Julie and I ordered the Herb Panko-crusted Rack of Lamb. I thought the serving of lamb was small, and mine was a little tough, even though it was not at all overcooked. I probably would not get it again.

I was surprised that the Surf and Turf was available as part of the dinner package menu. Lee and Mike both ordered that and said it was very good – the lobster was tasty and the steak was well-prepared.

Joelle had the vegetarian option: Portobello Mushroom and Couscous Macque Choux , which she really enjoyed. She likes mushrooms, and there were a lot more of them than she was expecting, which made her happy.

My dessert was excellent- I had the Chocolate Hazelnut Cake. One of the best chocolate desserts I have ever had in a theme park. Creamy, chocolatey, but not too rich – it was very good.

Lee loves Creme Brulee, so ordered that for dessert. It must have been pretty good, because I was never even offered a bite. 🙂

Mike tried the Apple-Cranberry Galette, and also gave it a thumbs up.

Lee and I hadn’t dined at the Blue Bayou in a number of years, but this was a much more pleasant experience than we’d had the in the past. We had good service, and the food was significantly better than on previous visits. It’s still very expensive, but at least this time I felt that I received value for my money. Considering the normal menu prices, the $61 wasn’t really that bad a deal for the Fantasmic! package, especially if you ordered the Surf and Turf.

After we paid, our server gave us our Fantasmic! Fastpasses.

We also received a Fantasmic! seat cushion – the Blue Bayou dining package is the only one that includes these. Since the viewing area for Blue Bayou requires sitting on the ground (and I believe the viewing area for all of the dining packages is that way), this was a very nice added benefit.

Our Fastpass ticket advised us to arrive between 10:15 and 10:45 for the 10:45 show. By then the crowds from the first show had cleared out. Plus, it didn’t appear there were really that many people waiting to see the second show anyway. It was a little unclear where we were supposed to go to enter the viewing area. Though once we got there, we were really pleased to find that we were right at the center, looking straight at the stage area on the island. There were just a couple of rows of people seated in front of us, and as the viewing area is on a slight incline, we had no problems seeing anything. As it turned out, the area we were in never filled up – there were maybe another dozen people who came in after we did, and our section was less than 1/2 full. I don’t really think that’s right – I would’ve had no problem with allowing standby people in once it got close to showtime.

Because of the previous hassles in getting a spot for Fantasmic! we hadn’t seen the show in a couple of years, and we’d never seen it from such a prime location! It was really great to be able to see everything so well. Usually my view of the smaller floats (the monkeys and princesses) has been obstructed, but I could see all of that this time. This was much better than the viewing that they had for the old dessert package, which was more off to the side. Though with the dessert package we had real chairs to sit on.

My understanding is that the viewing areas for River Belle and Hungry Bear (though that one is not currently offered, as the restaurant is undergoing refurbishment) are to either side of the Blue Bayou, so viewing from those areas should be excellent as well. Guests are required to remain seated for the show in those areas, though some of the other Fastpass viewing areas are standing only.

Mike, who is not local, and therefore not a frequent visitor to Disneyland, had these thoughts about the Dining Package:

I think it was worth it, especially if you don’t make it to Disneyland very often. First of all, eating at the Blue Bayou, the food was good and it was a very iconic experience. Along with that you get to see Fantasmic! in its original park, without the hassle of worrying about a Fastpass. And, you get the cushion as well as great seats. Sure people have to balance out budgets when going to a place like Disneyland, but in my mind, the value is there.

And Julie commented:

I found the meal to be a little pricy for what I got, but I’m a quick service kind of gal.

Overall I found this to be a positive experience, and I would do it again, though I’d really like to try the dessert option once it becomes available (hopefully in April). But I will bring my Blue Bayou seat cushion. 🙂 Because we saw the second show I’m not sure that our experience was typical, as I believe there’s much more of a demand for the first show. And many guests who do not have Fastpasses are in the area trying to determine where they can go to watch the show from a Standby area. Jason tried that recently, and describes it here:

Jason:

I finally made it out to the Rivers of America to experience Fantasmic with the new Fastpass system in place. I did not have a Fastpass since they were already distributing for the late show when I passed by the machines so I had to use the Standby area for the first show.

The Rivers of America area had no signage or indicators of what was going on. Guests seemed confused. Some were trying to go under the ropes as they used to and cast members were spending their time moving them out. From what I saw there were no signs to help guide you to a spot. For example the Standby area I used had nothing at all. There was a barrier set up and a cast member standing there checking Fastpasses. If you had a Fastpass you went down the walkway on the right. No Fastpass and you could go on the left to Standby but this was not well-communicated.

I was disappointed to see so much open space in the Fastpass and Reserved areas. Many areas looked to be less than 3/4 full. I am really curious how attendance has been at Fantasmic! with the new system. It appears to me that fewer people are seeing the show now, but this is based on a couple walkthroughs and seeing a lot of open spaces.

The Standby area I used was on the far side and stretched from the exit to the smoking area toward the Harbour Galley. This is just down from where I frequently used to watch the show from – near the Tom Sawyer Island dock. The view from here is extremely poor. You are way off to the side. The Fastpass area next to me had quite a few openings so it was frustrating to have a poor view and see a lot of open space with a better view.

About half way through the show I decided to go for a walk and see what else I could see. I was surprised to see a large of guests being allowed to stand in the walkway in front of the Haunted Mansion. The view from there was better than the Standby area I was originally in. I also walked around to New Orleans Square and there was a small Standby space there too. As I walked I took a look into the reserved and Fastpass areas and many had quite a few spaces available.

Overall my first impression was not positive. I hope to get there early enough some day to try Fastpass to see if that improves the experience. I do not see myself shelling out the money for the reserved spaces though, so guess my chances of seeing the show from a prime location have gone down substantially for the time being.

Since neither Jason nor I have experienced Fantasmic! using a regular guest Fastpass, we can’t comment on whether or not there is still excellent viewing available to guests who do not purchase an additional package. I hope that it is. I like the fact that there are packages available now, since it gives more options to people who are not frequent visitors, and doesn’t require them to spend several hours of what might be their only day at Disneyland staking out a spot for Fantasmic!. I don’t think that the packages should be the only way to get a decent viewing spot, though.

If any of you have experienced Fantasmic! at Disneyland under the new system, please let us know what you think of it by leaving a comment using the comment form below.

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