VIP Seating for Fantasmic!

I love Fantasmic! I think it’s one of Disney’s best displays of imagination and pyrotechnics. What I don’t love is having to wait in line over an hour to get seats for it though. This post is to help you get around that long line. A great way to enjoy preferred seating for the Fantasmic! show at Hollywood Studios (without using up a FastPass+ reservation) is to take advantage of the Fantasmic! Dining Package. For the price of dinner you can also grab VIP seating passes for (dare I say it?) the best nighttime fireworks show at Disney World.

The Fantasmic! Dining Package allows guests to choose from 3 different restaurants and receive a fixed price lunch/dinner which also includes admittance into the VIP seating section for the Fantasmic! show that evening. The three restaurants include The Hollywood Brown Derby, Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano, and Hollywood and Vine. I have the prices and courses listed below for each restaurant.

The Hollywood Brown Derby – $56.99/adult and $16.99/child
Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano – $37.99/adult and $12.99/child

• Appetizer
• Entree
• Dessert
• Non-alcoholic beverage
• VIP seating voucher

Hollywood and Vine – $35.99/adult and $19.99/child

• All you can eat buffet
• VIP seating voucher

Your Magic Your Way Dining Plan can also be used to purchase a Fantasmic Dining Package. Both Mama Melrose and Hollywood and Vine will each count as 1 table credit while the Brown Derby counts as 2 table credits as it is a “Signature experience”. You will receive your voucher at the end of your meal.

RESERVATIONS

Advance Reservations (like for every other restaurant) are highly recommended and can be made up to 180 days in advance. Your reservation must be guaranteed with a credit card and a $10 cancellation fee will be charged if you don’t show up or if you don’t cancel within 24 hours of your reservation time. You can book the Fantasmic! Dining Package online or calling 407-WDW-DINE. Remember that you need to book the Fantasmic Dining Experience specifically. A reservation at one of these restaurants alone will not get you a VIP voucher for the Fantasmic! show. Separate admission to Hollywood Studios is required and is unrelated to the dining package. Just a point of note, IF the Fantasmic! show is cancelled due to bad weather then your voucher is invalid and you will not be issued a new one.

SHOW TIME

Arrive at the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater 30 minutes in advance of the Fantasmic! showing. Check the Times Guide for the night’s show time. This is much better than having to wait 60 to 90 minutes for regular seating while standing in line before being admitted into the amphitheater. On days with multiple Fantasmic! showings the VIP voucher is good for the earlier showing.

A separate VIP entrance to Fantasmic! is located on Sunset Boulevard next to Beauty and the Beast. The VIP reserved section is in the middle of the amphitheater. Just remember the VIP voucher won’t get you a reserved seat for Fantasmic! just access into the reserved section itself. Inside the section is first come first served for seating. There aren’t really any bad seats BUT the first two rows of all sections do have the potential to get you wet from splashes.

Is A Disney Refillable Mug Worth The Money?

Disney offers a refillable mug program called Rapid Fill. This allow guests to purchase mugs with embedded RFID chips that enable them unlimited drink refills at Disney owned resorts for 1 day, 2 days , 3 days or the length of your stay. These mugs are included in all Dining Plans but in case you aren’t choosing to go the dining plan route you can still purchase Rapid Fill mugs by themselves. Although this sounds like a great idea, I wanted to take a look at the cost breakdown to see if this is a good deal for you and your family.

First here are some details. The mug holds about 16 oz and can be used for “free” refills at any Disney resort self-service drink stations that serve fountain drinks, coffee, hot and iced tea, and hot chocolate. Unfortunately, they won’t get you refills for milk or juice. You can purchase these mugs at all Disney resort food courts, quick service restaurants, and pool-side bars. Just tell the person ringing you up the amount of days your want the mug good for and they will activate the mug. They are also available for purchase in the parks but they will only allow free refills in the resorts, not in the parks.

Cost Breakdown

Now for the cost. Disney offers a tiered pricing model for the mugs based on the number of days you want to use it for. The 2015 pricing structure is below…

• $8.99 for 1 day
• $11.99 for 2 days
• $14.99 for 3 days
• $17.99 for length of stay

To compare this to buying drinks as you go, I will be using the example of buying a soft drink at Disney’s current price of $2.99 a cup. This is the part where you have to know about yourself and how many sodas you will be drinking at your resort. On my last stay to Disney I opted to purchase a refillable mug. We were staying for 8 days and I selected the “length of stay” option. For someone who is a self-proclaimed Diet Coke addict I think Disney was on the losing side of this transaction 😉 Here’s why…

• You will need to drink at least 3 drinks for the “1 day” mug to make sense (3 drinks/day)
• >= 4 drinks over 2 days for the “2 day” mug (2 drinks/day)
• >= 5 drinks over 3 days for the “3 day” mug (1.67 drinks/day..haha)
• >= 6 drinks for stays greater than 3 days for the “length of stay” mugs

So as you can see, I had my mug for 8 days and had at least 3 Diet Cokes per day (it was probably more than that but that’s my little secret). It would have cost me $71.76 if I were buying drinks as I went but instead I only spent $17.99. Which means I saved over $50!

But if you’re staying for 3 days and only plan on drinking 1 soft drink per day then I wouldn’t recommend purchasing this, unless you really like the mug!

How To Get Your Drink

• Place the mug on the drink filling station grate underneath your drink of choice. There are Rapid Fill LCD screens built into the drink dispensers and it will let you know if your mug isn’t sitting correctly under the spout.
• Hit the button for your drink (i.e. the Diet Coke button like at a gas station).
• As your drink is filling the LCD screen will display how many days you have left on your mug for free refills
• ***Side note*** The dispensers are programmed so that you can only fill up your mug every 2 minutes. So no cheating 😉

Mug Info

The mug is yours to keep after purchase but you won’t be able to use it for refills on your next vacation. You need to buy a new mug each trip. Like I said above, there is an RFID chip embedded in the mug itself. It’s this RFID chip that interacts with the self-service drink stations to see if the mug is valid or not. An important thing to note is that Disney counts a day as midnight to midnight, not 24 hours from the time you purchase the mug. So with this in mind I would not recommend buying a 1 day mug at 11:45 pm! Your mug will stay active until midnight the day you check out. Also, your mug will not work at the water park self-serving stations. Disney sells water park specific refillable mugs…go figure. Lastly, do not use these mugs to re-warm your coffee. RFID chips + microwaves = disaster!

There is always the cheaper route of just bringing your own beverages with you from home or the grocery store. Check out my last post on how to stock your fridge without needing a car!

Where to Dine With Your Favorite Character at Disney World

Who doesn’t want to eat with Mickey Mouse! Eating with your favorite Disney character can be an awesome experience for you and your kids. You are able to grab a meal and interact with your favorite Disney characters while stuffing your face. You can snag autographs and pictures with your favorite Disney princess or Mickey himself without having to wait in a standby line or use up a precious Fastpass+ reservation. Just remember you’re trading a pretty penny for the experience.

Here is how dining at one of these restaurants usually plays out. The characters continuously make circles through the dining area (following a predetermined route) stopping at each table to say hi, stand for photos, and sign autographs. They make there way seperately through the restaurant (for example Handy Manny will come by while Jake is still a few tables behind him). They usually have a “guide” that helps them to each table and make sure that they see everyone. After being seated at your table your server will usually give you a heads up on how long it will be before the next character makes his way to your table. This gives you a good time frame on whether or not you can make it the buffet line and back without missing anyone.

The only exception to this rule is at Be Our Guest Restaurant. Technically Disney does not classify this as a Character Dining meal as no characters actually come by your table. BUT the reason I put this on my list is because The Beast does do a walk through of his castle (aka restaurant) and waves to all of his guests throughout the dinner service. After you are finished eating and are leaving you do have the opportunity to go into The Beast’s room and meet him and take pictures. Just a side note that The Beast does not sign autographs as his hands (uh paws?) are too large to hold pens.

In my list I name the restaurant, the characters who will appear, the type of dining experience (menu, buffet, or family style) and a general pricing index, along with a character to diner ratio so you can see how many other patrons will be sharing your experience. In other words, the more patrons to characters the longer it takes them to get to your table.

I wanted to put together a table that listed out all the restaurant Character dining experiences so you can compare the experiences for yourself. Please note that the prices I have listed are subject to change. Prices do increase during peak attendance times of the year.  I do not include tax or gratuity in my prices. Also, I only list the meals at these restaurants that are actually character meals. For example, Tusker House offers breakfast, lunch AND dinner but I only list breakfast and lunch as these are the only two meals where characters appear.

Before I get to the dining info, I wanted to mention some tips to make your character dining meal more enjoyable. First, make sure you have all of the items you want autographed and your pens out and ready before the characters get there. And second, have your kids sit on the the side of the table that is closest to where the characters will be passing by. This makes it alot easier for pictures and hugs. Lastly, it does take a while for all the characters to make their way to all of the tables. Make sure you give yourselves 45 minutes to an hour for the meal.

MAGIC KINGDOM

RESTAURANT NAME	CHARACTERS	PRICES	TYPE OF DINING	RATIO
Cinderella’s Royal Table	Cinderella and Princess Friends	B – ($45/$30), L – ($49/$31), D – ($55/$34)	Fixed Menu	1:26
Crystal Palace	Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tiger, Eyeore	B – ($45/$30), L – ($49/$31), D – ($55/$34)	Buffet	1:89
Be Our Guest Restaurant	The Beast (does not circulate)	D – ($15 to 29.99 adult)	Menu	does not circulate

EPCOT

RESTAURANT NAME	CHARACTERS	PRICES	TYPE OF DINING	RATIO
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (World Showcase – Norway)	Princesses	B – ($44.72/$26.62), L-($45.79/$27.68), D – ($51.11/$27.68)	Family Style and Menu	1:54
Garden Grill (Future World)	Mickey, Pluto, Chip ‘n Dale	D – ($37.97/$19.10)	Family Style	1:46

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

RESTAURANT NAME	CHARACTERS	PRICES	TYPE OF DINING	RATIO
Hollywood and Vine	Handy Manny, Sofia the First, Jake, Doc McStuffins	B – ($31/$17), L – ($35/$19)	Buffet	1:71

ANIMAL KINGDOM

RESTAURANT NAME	CHARACTERS	PRICES	TYPE OF DINING	RATIO
Tusker House Restaurant	Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Goofy	B – ($39/$16), L – ($30/$17)	Buffet	1:112

RESORTS

RESTAURANT NAME	CHARACTERS	PRICES	TYPE OF DINING	RATIO
1900 Park Fare – Grand Floridian Resort and Spa	B – Mary Poppins, Alice, Mad Hatter, Pooh / D – Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, the 2 step-sisters	B – ($26.99/$14.99), D – ($44.72/$21.29)	Buffet	B – 1:54, D – 1:44
Cape May Cafe – Beach Club Resort	Goofy, Donald, Minnie	B – ($28.75/$15.97)	Buffet	1:67
Chef Mickey – Contemporary Resort	Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto	B – ($35/$19), D – ($40/$20)	Buffet	1:56
Garden Grove – WDW Swan Hotel	Rafiki, Timon, Goofy, Pluto	B Weekend Only – ($24.99/$15.99), D – ($30/$14)	Buffet	1:198 (but not usually this high)
Ohana – Polynesian Resort	Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, Pluto	B – ($28.75/$15.97)	Family Style	1:57

Be Our Guest Restaurant Lunch Counter Service No Longer a FASTPASS+ Option

So of course, after I post all about getting hard to get dining reservations Disney is changing it up on us again. This time the change is focused on lunch time dining at Be Our Guest Restaurant. In the past, guests have been able to obtain FASTPASS+ reservations to schedule a window of time that they could grab a counter service meal. Guests who were not able to grab one of these passes could stand in (usually a super long) line to see if any spots opened up through out the lunch service. The Be Our Guest Restaurant lunch service runs from 10:30 AM until 2:30 PM.

Now Disney is swapping the FASTPASS+ option for making this counter service meal into a Advance Dining Reservation option just like other sit down meals. This is the first time in my knowledge of Disney using a reservation system for counter service meals.

This new system will open up for reservations starting February 25th. Once guests make their lunch reservation on www.mydisneyexperince.com (or by calling 407-WDW-DINE) they will be able to pre-order their meal through a link that will be sent to them through their confirmation email. The option will be available through their My Disney Experience profile under “My Reservations”. You can make your menu selection anywhere from 30 days to 5 min before your arrival to dine. Please note that pre-ordering your meal is not required. You can still make your selection upon your arrival.

If you are still wanting to eat dinner in a sit-down experience at Be Our Guest then you still can make your normal dining reservation as you would have before. But there is no pre-ordering meals for the dinner service.

Lastly, the dinner service is still the only time when the Beast will be available to greet you. He does not visit each table like other character meals but will walk through the restaurant at certain times and wave at all of his guests. He then resides in a side room that you can go through after your meal and stands for pictures (but no autographs…his hands are too big!)

What do you guys think of this new change? Love it? Hate it?

Discount at House of Blues (Downtown Disney location)

Have you ever heard of Restaurant.com? It’s a website where you can purchase gift certificates for certain restaurants at discounted prices. The certificates never expire so no need to know your travel dates beforehand.

Currently there is a certificate available for Crossroads at House of Blues located in Downtown Disney. The value of the certificate is good for $50 at the restaurant but the cost of the certificate to purchase it from restaurant.com is $20. The requirement is that your restaurant bill total is at least $100 before tax in order for you to use the certificate. The good thing about this deal is that any alcohol you order does also count towards your $100! 18% minimum gratuity will be added to your check based on your full amount, before the voucher. So after all is said and done you are saving $30 off of at least a $100 tab before tax. (30% off!!!)

Here is a link to the Crossroads at House of Blues Menu with prices.

Tip: For the remainder of your $50+ tab, that you will be responsible for after the voucher has been applied, use discounted Disney gift cards that we chatted about in my previous post!