I joined up with assorted family members Sunday night for the "Fantasmic!" dinner package at Disney-MGM Studios. It's a pretty decent program -- unless you're fanatical about where you sit to watch the show.
I mention that only because I have a friend who is insistent on sitting dead center at every staged show he sees, and that's not an option with the "Fantasmic!" dinner package. But more on that in a moment.
My family chose to eat at Mama Melrose's, which is the Italian restaurant back by the Muppetvision 3-D exit and the Studios' Christmas shop. The food was tasty -- especially the desserts we tried (a cheesecake with hazelnut filling and a tangy orange flavor; and a chocolate cake with raspberry-chocolate ganache-like filling.)
Other dining options are The Brown Derby and Hollywood & Vine. Prices vary, depending on where you eat, and they really aren't any more expensive than the normal cost of eating dinner at a Disney sit-down restaurant.
Now onto "Fantasmic!" You have to arrive at an entrance gate near Oscar's Service Station (right by the main entrance) by 8:30. You are let in the gate, which winds around backstage behind the Beauty & the Beast show theater. (This path is used to help crowds exit "Fantasmic!")
As for the seating, if you are my center-obsessed friend, you will be disappointed. Dinner-guest patrons sit in the first two sections, far right. Actually, though, the view was better than I thought. The only notable drawbacks were some of the effect of the black-lit jungle animals was missed because of the angle we saw them; and after the showboat passes you by at the finale it seems like a long time until it completes its circuit.
The biggest benefit: We waltzed in half an hour before showtime and had seats waiting. The rest of the amphitheater was already just about full. And who knows how long those poor folks had been killing time there. Within 5 minutes of us sitting down, guests were being directed to the standing-room only.
If you are on limited time and don't want to spend an hour or 90 minutes just sitting and waiting, the dinner package might be a good way to buy yourself some extra time.
