Hiya, Jennifer!
Welcome to planDisney! Thank you so much for reaching out to us hEAR with this great
Disneyland Resort planning question!
I love Fantasmic! so much. And I'm so excited for you that you were able to get a
Fantasmic! Dining Package at
Blue Bayou Restaurant; talk about the ultimate dinner + a show combo! You are correct that check-in is any time between 8:00 and 8:45; most Guests do try to check in on the early side so they can sit closer to the front vs. arriving later and having to fill in where there's space available.
Aside from just the check-in time, it does feel like this dining time will be cutting it very close to the show's start. I'd hate for you to miss a minute of Mickey making magic, but I also don't want you to rush through dinner, either! If this were me, I'd stop by
Blue Bayou earlier in my Disney day and tell them what's going on to see if they could get your party seated a bit earlier, or, possibly switch your showtime from the 9:00 o'clock to the 10:30 P.M. If you don't have time to stop by before your reservation, ask at check-in or with your server.
Bonus Tip: If you do switch to the later Fantasmic! showing, you'll be able to catch the 9:30 P.M. fireworks from wherever you'd like; if you stay for the first show, the fireworks will start minutes after Fantasmic! ends which might not give you enough time to get to another location. The projections that are shown on Sleeping Beauty Castle are also shown on the same cliffs of the Fantasmic! stage, so you won't completely miss out... but, the current fireworks show is
Believe in Holiday Magic which ends with snowfall on
Main Street U.S.A., and that's truly a seven-weeks-out-of-the-year treat.
I'm so sorry for the last-minute pre-planning panic, Jennifer, but I'm going to wish for some extra pixie dust and that it all works out. Be sure to follow the
official planDisney Panel Instagram account for even more tips and tricks. And if you have any more
Disneyland Resort planning questions, We're All Ears!
~Kristen N.