Is Fantasmic too scary?

[gimpeaux]

I have read a great deal about Fantasmic at Disney-MGM Studios, including several descriptions that warn against bringing young or easily frightened children due to the succession of every known Disney villian fighting Mickey, e.g., accounts of 7-year-olds hiding their heads and crying. For those of you who have been there, what do you think?

 

[Jordan's MOM]

It is not that scary. It is a bit intense at times but the whole story line is a little hard for a small child to follow and they are mostly dealing with the special effects. We sat with a wonderful family we met before the show and they had a three year old that loved the show. Their infant daughter did cry from the loud noise. It is loud and there is firework type special effects. We think the show is a not to be missed. It would also not be hard to leave if need be during the show. Just try to sit on the end of a row. We have enjoyed doing the fantasmic package before but with the new pricing I am not sure that is such a good deal any more. There is more info on the main boards on that if you are interested.

Jordan's mom

 

[strawberryblonde]

Fantasmic is a must-see but I did not care for seeing the line ups of villians morphing into one another not just once but twice! Very dark parts mixed in with happy, pretty upbeat parts. My kids will do fine to hide their eyes during the villians so they can see all of the other stuff. If your child/ren can also take the intense parts in stride, it would be worth it. I don't know why they chose to dwell on the villians so much, wasn't necessary IMO. My DH video taped this years ago and got alot of footage. I was looking forward to seeing the "ending" again (my fave part). Well, he had videoed every long bit of the villians but cut off filming the lighthearted filmclips and only got a brief glimpse of the happy ending

 

[strawberryblonde]

Fantasmic is a must-see but I did not care for seeing the line ups of villians morphing into one another not just once but twice! Very dark parts mixed in with happy, pretty upbeat parts. My kids will do fine to hide their eyes during the villians so they can see all of the other stuff. If your child/ren can also take the intense parts in stride, it would be worth it. I don't know why they chose to dwell on the villians so much, wasn't necessary IMO. My DH video taped this years ago and got alot of footage. I was looking forward to seeing the "ending" again (my fave part). Well, he had videoed every long bit of the villians but cut off filming the lighthearted filmclips and only got a brief glimpse of the happy ending

 

[Synonymous]

According to my 5-yr old, it's too scary. She saw it last year, had to hide through a large portion of it, and has informed us that she's not going to it this year. The villains are very intense and realistic and the show is quite loud, with intense effects. She didn't like seeing Mickey in danger, either.

 

[Emilys_Dad]

My not-quite-5-at-the-time daughter loved it. We told her in advance that it's dark and loud and might be kind of scary, but it's only pretend and Mickey's going to be OK at the end.

She covered her ears several times and buried her head in my arms a couple of times, but loved the ending with all the characters and cheered like mad when Mickey emerged triumphant.

Don't not go because of potential scariness. Give it a shot, try to sit near an aisle, and leave if it becomes too much.

One more thing... it's a TREMENDOUS show. My wife and I also loved it, and are glad we saw it. I suspect that if Emily got scared and had to go, I would have taken her out and waited for Mommy, because Mommy REALLY dug it.

Have fun,
Kevin

 

[texmom]

My three kids, 9, 6, and almost 5, also loved it, EXCEPT for the fact that we sat "too close" to the front! LOL We were about 8 rows back, dead center, (I was so proud of those seats too LOL) and we got wet from the mist. It was the only time the entire trip that my kids used their rain ponchos Other than that, they were fine and the youngest just hid his eyes a couple of times. But all three of them put it on their "top 3" list for when we go back, as long as we sit farther back next time.

 

[beattyfamily]

My 6 year old likes it except for getting wet. My 3 year old has cried through it twice now. It's loud and dark and can be scary.

 

[Inlove4WDW]

Is GREAT!! A must see show!! I think the best tip are the EARPLUGS, with them the kids enjoy the show and Mommy is happy!!

ºoº Vero ºoº

 

[Synonymous]

Well, last night confirmed my "too scary" opinion. My now 5-yr old DD made DW take her out of the show during the Pocohantas portion, and she loves Pocohantas.

Yes, the volume is a big part of the problem. If your child is sensitive to loud noise, then you'll have to either try earplugs or skip it. It is LOUD.

But the intensity of the villains is also a huge problem for a lot of kids. They are projected in larger-than-life size on the water screens. Also, Jafar's snake is immense (and realistic) as it threatens Mickey, as is the dragon. These are incredibly impressive effects but, of course, that means that they seem incredibly real to little ones.

As always, you know your own kids best. I saw many young kids walking out after the show, apparently none the worse for wear. But DW also saw large numbers outside the theater with one parent waiting for the rest of the family to finish watching the show.

 

[KathyFP]

I have a 4 year old and she really likes it. We use it to talk about good vs evil and pretend vs real

 

[Ithastobe]

Too scarey for our 4 (will be 5 in Feb) year old, She was also scared in the Tiki room with the thunder and lightning - so you be the judge!!!

Why don't you try some of the dark rides, and see if you can find one of the villians during the day to get them used to it? You can always leave it it gets too much...