I have a question. I keep seeing this option in my dining reservations, meaning it's still available for an ADR. We already had an ADR booked for character dining the night we knew we would be in Epcot, but when I mentioned this, DH said change it if I wanted to.
Is it worth doing the dining with the VIP seating for access to Fantasmic or are the crowds low enough that it wouldn't be an issue getting in?
I love it! I won't see Fantasmic any other way. It's just a matter of not wanting to stay in line that long and knowing that it's already taken care of and I don't have to worry about. Also we love Mama Melrose anyway so it's a win-win.
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It really depends on how many shows they have that night for Fantasmic. The VIP seating just guarantees you a seat at Fantasmic. They happen to be the best seats because they are in the very middle of the theater and are only for a certain number of people (600 I think). Fantasmic can fit 9,820 I think. Last night there was one Fantasmic show and it got to standing room only at 6:50 and got filled to capacity at 7:10 for the 7:30 showing. Not every show fills up that fast. Typically its get to standing room only about a 30 minutes prior to showtime and then 15 minutes before is usually when it gets filled to capacity. If you really want to see Fantasmic and want to know you have a seat, go ahead and do it the package. It really is worth it. Things might have changed since they started using fastpass+ for the show. But to the best of my knowledge, they were sitting dining package guests in the Mickey section in the middle of theater.
My friends and I did the Fantasmic Dining Package a couple of years ago. Unless it has changed, the section is on the right when facing the stage. Not bad seats but not the best either. It was nice not having to wait in line for a seat. We just walked right in. We were towards the front and moved over a few sections to get closer to the middle.
This was in November and we probably could have gotten away without the package. We were planning on eating at the Hollywood Brown Derby anyway so I just booked the package.
Thanks guys. Mandy I didn't even realize they would do fast passes for it. I guess when I was doing the fast passes for the day we were planning on being in HS, they were already gone. I just checked for a day we have nothing planned and there were fast passes for that day still available. So I booked one of them. I figure at least if we can't get in the day we were planning on being there, we can run back over the next night now. 
I've always heard that it's common knowledge that you'd better be at Fantasmic! EARLY if you don't do the dining package (or apparently now FastPass). Looks like you already solved your dilemma, but for others who may have the same question, we did have an experience during a supposedly busy time in late April 2012 when we walked in 20 minutes before the show and lucked into seats in the 3rd row center. The seats were WAY better than the reserved seats we had gotten for the show we went to in August 2010. Maybe it was a coincidence, but the show has been running for a while. Does anyone else get the feeling that it tends to be less crowded on average than it used to be or am I jumping to conclusions?
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Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.
The first/only showing of Fantasmic usually gets filled to capacity. When the glow with show hats debuted, it was a 7:30 show time. Standing room only at 6:50 and then full to capacity at 7:10. Usually it gets standing room only about 30 minutes before the show starts. The dining package gets the center Mickey section then also the one or two sections right beside it like Jafar. Then on the other side is the fastpass section.