Disneyland used last night's AP Anniversary party as a test of the new Fantasmic Fastpass system, and I have notes to share from my experience. It is safe to assume everything will change before this rolls out to the public in 3 weeks, but here's what we saw:
There were three viewing areas last night, Red (which we were told was the "best" area), Gold (on the east / Frontierland side of center) and Blue (on the west / Haunted Mansion side of center).
I used Google Maps to create a rough map of the seating areas. As far as I could tell, the colors corresponded to which of the three water screens you could see, but had to bearing on how close to the water you were.
The good news is that the standard "sitting" areas were all still sitting during last night's show. I was a little worried when we got there and saw a LOT of people standing against the front rail, but as I walked around during the show I saw they were indeed sitting.
The note in the AP event flyer said 5000 tickets were available last night. To ensure there were people in all 3 sections, CMs told me that distribution was not first-come, first-served, but a random assignment of one of the three areas. We got red tickets. I heard that they did not run out of tickets before distribution ended, but I do not know that for sure. I'd love to hear from someone who knows for certain one way or the other.
The tickets said to return between 9:30 and 10:15 for the 10:30 show. Since the only performance of the parade was scheduled for 9:30, we decided to watch the parade from Main Street, and then head to Fantasmic.
The tickets did not have a return location printed on them. We were told by the CM who gave us the tickets to line up by Pirates of the Caribbean. By the time we got to the show, there was no line, and CMs were giving completely different and conflicting instructions about where the red section ticket holders were supposed to enter the viewing area.
When we finally got into the correct viewing section, the only area open was the upper terrace in front of Cafe Orleans. We initially had a great view of a tree, but moved to one side of the area to get a better sightline on the center water screen.
The view from our assigned area, once we shifted to (mostly) avoid the tree on the right.
Once my group got situated in our assigned area, I left them to go see what was going on in the other areas. The CM managing our section gave me a Fastpass ticket when I left the area so I could get back in. Someone who was just entering was upset that she had to surrender her ticket, because she wanted to save it as a souvenir. The CM told her that they had to collect them, and could not give them back after the show, because managers would be counting the tickets so they'd know how many people had been in each area.
The view from behind the keel boat dock. If you were willing to brave the smoke, you could have a spot on the rail.
I walked down to the old keel boat dock, which was standby viewing last night, and there was absolutely NO crowd. There were about 20 people on the keel boat dock itself, which is now a smoking area. If you were willing to put up with chain-smoking neighbors, you could get a great view of the show from there. I admit, it annoys me that this is a smoking area during the show, and I hope that changes once Fantasmic Fastpass rolls out.
I kept walking towards the edge of the blue standing area, and got a perfect spot between the raft dock and the keel boat dock, right on the water. When people saw me standing there and realized the CM wasn't telling me to move, about a dozen ducked under the rope marking the edge of the blue section and came to stand around me.
The view from the standby section near the keel boat dock.
Before the show started, CMs said the bridge over Pirates was being held for overflow Fastpass (in case a section ran out of room before it ran out of tickets), *or* standby - they didn't know which yet, and weren't letting people stand there. I asked after the show, and it turned out they used it for standby viewing.
So, that's what we saw. Here's what we don't know:
- How many viewing sections there will really be once this rolls out. As I detailed in the Fantasmic Fastpass Guide when this news first broke, there are at least 6 different ways to see the show now. Last night's 3 viewing areas will certainly be broken into smaller chunks to accommodate the various dinner packages.
- How to guarantee a spot in the "sitting" area, other than by purchasing the Blue Bayou package.
- The difference in viewing areas for River Belle vs. Aladdin's Oasis vs. Hungry Bear dining packages. Disney has said the Hungry Bear dessert package comes with a separate viewing area. I suspect it will be on or near the keel boat dock, in the area that was all standby last night.
I would LOVE to hear from everyone who saw the show last night. Did you get a Fastpass ticket, or just go standby? Where was your viewing area, and how was the view? What was your experience getting into your viewing area? What are your thoughts on improvements for the system?
Adrienne
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