My 10yo son and I ended up deciding to do this last minute a couple of weeks ago, and we really liked it!
Because it was day of, the only available reservation was 5:15, so we grabbed that. We got there about 5:20 - and then came the only downer part of the evening, it was about 15 minutes before we could actually order our food. There were only three parties ahead of us, but it seemed like they were pretty confused about the process, and there was only one person to check in those of us who were there for the F! dinner. We finally got up front and got our order placed, though - I ordered the riblets, and my son ordered the BBQ chicken. He was not thrilled about the kale salad and grain medley sides, but I told him to just give them a chance. (My understanding is that you can substitute from the regular menu, but I wanted to get some real food into him!) We waited another five minutes or so for our food to be ready, then pretty easily found a table overlooking the water (it was about 5:45 by this time). I thought my food was
great. 10yo, true to his word, wasn't loving his sides, but he said his chicken was delicious - and we both really liked the Blue Sky soda - nice to get a break from ubiquitous coke products!
After that, he convinced me to use an anytime FP we'd gotten earlier in the day to ride Splash (against my better judgment, as the sun was going down! - the things we do for our kids!), then we went and changed our t-shirts and put on sweatshirts (because... Splash), and then headed over to Pooh Corner for dessert to snack on while we waited for the show to begin. Got back to Harbour Galley around 7:45, and managed to find the Hungry Bear line. Though we had trouble hearing what the CMs were shouting to everyone gathered, folks all passed along the information so we could all get into the right areas for our respective reservations. They brought the Blue Bayou folks in to their seating area first, then came back for us. We ended up being seated right up against the railing - one of the last groups to get that spot, they started the second row just 2-3 families after us. My back had been acting up, so I was a little worried about sitting on the ground from then until F! ended at 9:30, but it quickly became clear that there was no problem with standing up, stretching against the railing, etc., before the show started. After a bit, my son and I each took bathroom breaks, with the other person holding the seats (no one around seemed to mind), then we Facetimed with my husband (who had stayed home with our little one who got sick last minute!
) as it got dark. At about 9:02, there was an announcement that due to unforeseen circumstances, the show would be delayed - I think we all got a little worried that delayed might mean canceled - but then it did start just a bit after 9:05.
Regarding Fantasmic! itself - my son, despite being only 10, can be a little cynical - but just a few minutes in, he exclaimed, "If anyone is in
Disneyland right now and NOT watching this, they're crazy!!!" (I resisted the urge to point out that we were able to watch it the way we were only due to his mother's awesome planning....) When the show ended, he said he was really tired and didn't want to stay for the fireworks. I had heard that it might be a real challenge to swim upstream at this point, but we managed to make our way out of the viewing area and through New Orleans Square without too much effort. We actually enjoyed looking at the Mickey's Mix Magic projections as we worked our way towards the monorail, but both agreed that we wouldn't have had the energy to stay and watch the whole show.
Wow, I got chatty there - all in all, I guess that's my way of saying I'd recommend Fantasmic!, and the Hungry Bear meal option in particular! Have fun!!!
