Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam OR Fantasmic?

[ChChChip and Dale]

I will be taking my wife to Disney World this November for her first trip ever. She is a HUGE Disney fan, but her folks couldn't afford the time off for the trips when she was a kid. I on the other hand was blessed with a couple trips sprinkled throughout my life. Long story short, my problem is...

Looking at the times it will be improbable to see JGJB (8:30pm) following Fantasmic (8:00pm). I have nostalgia and certain love for F! and would love to share that with her. BUT I love making new memories have also never seen JGJB, and my wife loves only one thing more than Disney...and that's Christmas. We probably won't be able to make it back to DHS specifically for catching up on the one show we miss this go around so...

Which would you recommend we aim for in our plan?

 

[CERS]

Well, you like to squeeze things up? Because Fantasmic being at 8 and JBJG at 8:30, actually you could:
- Get a seat in the back of the anfitheater, close to the exit.
- Fantasmic will last around 22 to 25 minutes.
If you get out as soon as Fantasmic is over, and head over to the Chinese Theater, you should arrive just in time for JBJB or as it just starts.

If your wife is a Disney Fan though, I believe she'll appreciate Fantasmic more, mainly because it is something you can only see at Disney, features live actors, all the characters, plus fireworks. If she's never seen it, I would tell you to pick that one. Even if she loves Christmas, she'll have Christmas all around for the entire stay either way, in every park, in every resort.

JBJB I haven't seen it live, but on youtube it's just not so impressive. You have plenty of fireworks shows in WDW (HEA, Illuminations, Holiday Wishes), but Fantasmic, well, there is only 1 Fantasmic.

 

[slpeters]

We saw both last year and very much preferred JBJB, but then again F! really left us cold--it was really the only one of the nighttime spectacles we didn't enjoy, and people seem to like it so maybe it was just us....

 

[WanderlustNZ]

We saw both last year and very much preferred JBJB, but then again F! really left us cold--it was really the only one of the nighttime spectacles we didn't enjoy, and people seem to like it so maybe it was just us....

No, not just you. It’s not that we didn’t enjoy F!, we just found it a bit ‘Meh’.
This trip we are looking forward to trying JBJB as I’ve watched it on You Tube and it looks fun and festive. I’m not at all worried that we’ll miss F!.
OP, since everything will be new and fun for your wife anyway and it sounds like she will enjoy either, I think you should just pick the one you most want to see.

 

[xlsm]

Because it's the holidays, I'd go with JBJB - I think it's cute and fun. I love Fantasmic, but we enjoy it less and less each time we see it. When I saw it for the first time in 2001 it was the most spectacular thing I'd ever seen, but now, it doesn't have quite the same wow factor. It's really hard for me to tell you to skip it, b/c it still holds the nostalgia factor for me, and we still see it every other trip or so.

 

[crazyash83]

Well, you like to squeeze things up? Because Fantasmic being at 8 and JBJG at 8:30, actually you could:
- Get a seat in the back of the anfitheater, close to the exit.
- Fantasmic will last around 22 to 25 minutes.
If you get out as soon as Fantasmic is over, and head over to the Chinese Theater, you should arrive just in time for JBJB or as it just starts.

If your wife is a Disney Fan though, I believe she'll appreciate Fantasmic more, mainly because it is something you can only see at Disney, features live actors, all the characters, plus fireworks. If she's never seen it, I would tell you to pick that one. Even if she loves Christmas, she'll have Christmas all around for the entire stay either way, in every park, in every resort.

JBJB I haven't seen it live, but on youtube it's just not so impressive. You have plenty of fireworks shows in WDW (HEA, Illuminations, Holiday Wishes), but Fantasmic, well, there is only 1 Fantasmic.

I think im gonna use this strategy when I go in 5 weeks

 

[kittyab]

If you don't have time go see the show you have not seen before.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Well, you like to squeeze things up? Because Fantasmic being at 8 and JBJG at 8:30, actually you could:
- Get a seat in the back of the anfitheater, close to the exit.
- Fantasmic will last around 22 to 25 minutes.
If you get out as soon as Fantasmic is over, and head over to the Chinese Theater, you should arrive just in time for JBJB or as it just starts.

If your wife is a Disney Fan though, I believe she'll appreciate Fantasmic more, mainly because it is something you can only see at Disney, features live actors, all the characters, plus fireworks. If she's never seen it, I would tell you to pick that one. Even if she loves Christmas, she'll have Christmas all around for the entire stay either way, in every park, in every resort.

JBJB I haven't seen it live, but on youtube it's just not so impressive. You have plenty of fireworks shows in WDW (HEA, Illuminations, Holiday Wishes), but Fantasmic, well, there is only 1 Fantasmic.

Perhaps a silly question, but how does one go about getting a seat at the back? If you arrive early-ish, can you just choose a seat back there, or do the CMs funnel people down to fill in all available seats? If I wanted to sit in the back, what would be the latest I should aim to get there?

 

[SeeDisney]

I would try to both. Since your gf is a deep hearted Disney Fan, Fastasmic would be a better choice. It's pure Disney. Then when Fastasmic is over (sit at the back rows more on the right side), move, walk, very fast, quickly right over to Jingle Bam and you will then see it there. When I was there last, I sat right smack in the middle, four row, to watch Fastasmic, then when Fastasmic was over, we all move, sooo fast, walked sooo fast and briskly and made it to watch Star Wars firworks and were able to watch about 90% of fireworks. Just sit back row, middle section or anywhere towards the right side of Fastasmic. both are VERY VERY GOOD!

 

[ars0525]

Glad I am not the only one underwhelmed by Fantasmic. Sat thru the whole thing & was like well that was ok. I've gone back another time to give it a shot & had the same feeling. I like parts of it, but overall it's just not a must do for me. I am going to see the JGJB this year! I didn't last year so it's my to do now.

I think you could try to do both but it may be rushed & depend on crowds how quickly you can move between locations. I would do the JGJB since that's seasonal & Fantasmic will be there.

 

[cruiserkaren]

I’m also one that’s not in love with F! JBJB however, we loved! If she loves Christmas it would get my vote.

 

[dachsie]

I would do JBJB as you will probably make another trip to Disney and can see Fantasmic then but you may not be there at Christmas next time

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Another vote for JBJB. We saw Fantasmic last night & really wish we'd chosen the Star Wars fireworks instead. Neither of us cared for it at all. One & done for sure.

 

[supitscarrie]

I'll also be going in November, and I'm going with JBJB over Fantasmic - mostly because I've seen Fantasmic before, and much as I enjoy it, it's not like it's going anywhere. JBJB is only around during the holidays.

 

[Klayfish]

Perhaps a silly question, but how does one go about getting a seat at the back? If you arrive early-ish, can you just choose a seat back there, or do the CMs funnel people down to fill in all available seats? If I wanted to sit in the back, what would be the latest I should aim to get there?

Yes, the CMs do try to funnel people, so you may have a hard time getting a seat in the back. You could get to the theater fairly early and "hang out" at the top until the section starts to get full and then go get a seat toward the top. Or we just make sure our seats are easy access to the exit. Our kids actually like to sit on those little benches at the very, very bottom, right in front of the lagoon. As soon as the finale starts, we start heading for the exit. We watch the finale as we're walking out, it's still a good view doing that. Then we can easily make it to JBJB. We may miss the first 2 minutes, depending on how quickly we walk, but still get there for the overwhelming majority of the show.

So yes, you can definitely do both.
EDIT: To weigh in on the JBJB vs Fantasmic question, I like them both but if someone has seen neither, I'd definitely recommend Fantasmic. JBJB is neat in that they play songs, have some fireworks. But the story line is very poorly written, IMO, and the show seems "forced". They'd be better off just playing music and doing fireworks, or rewrite the show.

 

[1GoldenSun]

I've seen both, and much, much prefer JBJB.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

It'd be really tough to squeeze in both. I'd advise against trying.

To me, if you're going during Christmastime, then you should see JBJB. You can see Fantasmic anytime of the year. JBJB is unique to the time you're visiting.