The Fantasmic! experience at Disneyland has undergone a complete make-over. No longer are guests allowed to park their blankets and bottoms on the grass for hours before show time, or to stand around clogging up the walkways.
There are now three options, and as of this writing they were being firmly implemented
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1.) You may get a Fantasmic! FastPass ticket. The distribution point is along Big Thunder Trail by the petting farm, and is quite a hike from the front gate, so if this is needed hustle back there early in the day. Tickets are distributed until 1 hour prior to show time, or until they run out. On a slow day in January, when I was there, the tickets were gone prior to 3:00 pm. You are duly warned.
3.) You may book a dining package. This is similar to the World of Color program at California Adventure, where you receive a dining area FastPass by eating from a Fantasmic! menu at select locations.
The most expensive option is at the Blue Bayou, which is where I ate to try out the new experience. There was a varied menu to choose from, and the meal comes with starter, entree and dessert for $61.00 per adult and $23.00 for children (at the time of this writing).
The location is dead center and you will feel the water spray. However, it's awkward sitting on the concrete and folks shifting around in an even not terribly crowded space were having to be cautious to not step on hands or elbow other guests. The biggest drawback is that you are viewing the show through fencing. I understand why Disney did this, as that area is always such a colossal mess during show nights, and the crowd situation leaving the area after the show was noticeably less congested than previously.
