Hi Nicola!
Welcome back to planDisney, and thank you for sending me this follow-up question!
If you are making your reservation for a lovely dinner at
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano, I would recommend booking your table for no later than 6.15pm for the 8.30pm show. That gives you plenty of time to enjoy your meal without being rushed, and then make your way over to the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater for Fantasmic! On select nights there are two shows - 8.30pm and 10.00pm, so I would make my dining reservation for no later than 7.45pm for the 10.00pm show.
Showtimes can be seen on this
calendar.
It's worth noting that you can book a meal for
any time during the day of your Fantasmic! show - so you might prefer lunch at any of the 5 restaurants, or even breakfast at Holly & Vine. You will still receive your seating voucher for the show, and can enjoy a day at the park until the show starts.
If there is no availability for your chosen restaurant, I definitely recommend trying an earlier time, or one of the other restaurants. Keep trying, as guests often cancel or change their dining arrangements, even on the same day. If the show is cancelled due to bad weather your dining reservation still holds, so if you choose to change your plans, please remember to cancel your table up to 2 hours beforehand to avoid any no-show charges.
As a reminder, the 5 restaurants included in the
Fantasmic! Dining Package are 50's Prime Time Cafe, Hollywood & Vine, Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater or The Hollywood Brown Derby.
Every restaurant is just a few minutes walk from the entrance to the VIP seating area - accessed next to Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage (marked as number 59 on this
Disney's Hollywood Studios guide map).
Enjoy the show, and if you have any other questions you are very welcome to send them to us!
Sue