Hi, Erin!
If your family has a
Fantasmic! Dinner Package booked and you are "paying for" your Package through the use of your Disney Dining Plan Table Service entitlements, then you should be just fine.
When you are seated at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano, your server will see that you are using Dining Plan entitlements while on the Fantasmic! Dinner Package, and will tell you all about the complimentary appetizer--per Guest on the plan--at that time. In fact, I think it seems too good to be true (even though we've enjoyed this little perk for several years now), so I ask as soon as we are seated if this is still available. We booked a party of 11 on our most recent extended family trip in July, just so that we could enjoy some fantastic appetizers; it was quite a hit!
Again, at the time of this writing, this is a perk that the folks at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano have decided to offer to Guests, so it's tough to find any information about it through Disney Dining. I confirmed that this is a perk that is being continued as recently as February, 2013, so be sure to arrive hungry!
Send more questions as you think of them, Erin; I love to help!