Unexpected things happen in Disney World all the time.
That’s why we stress how important it is to be able to go with the flow and have backup plans in case “Plan A” goes off the rails. Yes, it’s frustrating to have something go wrong in Disney World, but there are ways to prepare ahead of time. For example, Disney recently canceled the second showing of ‘Fantasmic!’ in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which left many families disappointed. Here’s how to avoid that sad fate.
On February 24th, Disney World canceled the second, later showing of ‘Fantasmic!’ in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This is a massively popular show that usually fills up pretty quickly, especially on crowded days.
Show cancelations can happen for various reasons — staffing shortages, issues with the weather, technical difficulties, and more. Whatever the reason, Disney was not safely able to perform the show to their standards.
We often recommend waiting for the second ‘Fantasmic!’ show of the night to avoid some of those larger crowds, but this is a perfect example of why you need to be prepared for things to potentially go sideways.
Instead of picking just one night that you plan to see the show, give yourself at least two nights out of your trip to be able to see ‘Fantasmic!’ This way, if one of the shows gets canceled, you’ve already got a backup plan in place.
Not every night of the week has two performances either, so check your My Disney Experience App before your trip to see when shows are planned. There’s nothing worse than expecting there to be a second show and finding out too late there was only one, and it’s over.
Turn on those notifications for the My Disney Experience App, too! This way, if a notification like this comes through, you know right away and can switch gears.
Lastly, check the entertainment hours on the My Disney Experience App the morning of your ‘Fantasmic!’ day to make sure the show is still happening, AND there hasn’t been a time change! These things can happen, even if they don’t happen super often, and being prepared is the first step.
We’re always here to help you plan the best Disney World trip you possibly can and avoid disasters, so stay tuned to AllEars!
This is the one thing you MUST do to avoid family disasters in Disney World!
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What’s your favorite part of ‘Fantasmic!’? Tell us below!
I was there at the first showing on the 24th and they canceled the first one half way through “due to technical difficulties” and we had the priority seating. So they told us to pick another day to go see it at guest services and we will still have that priority seating.
We’re coming down to WDW in April and plan on seeing Fantasmic but if a Disney dinner is tied into direct access to seeing Fantasmic and production is called off because of technical difficulties (not weather related) what recourse does that Disney patron have with recouping a piece of the dining offer directly linked to the showing ?
Hi Rob. You’ll have to speak with Guest Services if that happens, but usually they’ll give you reserved seating at a different show on another night. If you can’t make it to that show, then let them know and see what they can do.
We were at Hollywood Studios in January with a Fantasmic pkg for the early show (littles needed to go to bed earlier than the late show would have accommodated). Around noon i looked at my MDE app—and the time had been changed to the 9:30 show! We couldn’t get it changed—so we didn’t get to see Fantasmic. We had park and dining reservations at the other parks that gave us no opportunity to go a different night. Bummer. Sometimes things happen with even the best planning.