MK "Happily Ever After" Dessert Party (Parties) Discussion

DavidNYC said:

LOL! We were that group 10 feet away! I remember when I stood I tried to make sure I wasn't in front of the scooter and I remember the kids running around playing right next to us.

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How thoughtful! Your group didn’t block our view at all! That left side was the place to be.

Do you think it would be worth trying to book the plaza gardens dessert party for the 1st of January. I’d rather not spend the extra money as Ive already booked the jingle bell jingle bam one on this trip but I’m thinking it may make watching HEA a far more pleasurable experience or would the gardens area all be rammed?
Thanks for any advice.

So just as a follow up, we have BOG dinner at 6:25 and the After party which shows 8:00 pm booked for Saturday, December 01. WDW is showing HEA at 9:00 pm. What time should we check in (party of 5) for the party? If BOG dinner is running near 8:00 do we need to rush it up? And we check in at Tomorrowland Terrace even though we are eating dessert after the show, right?

Thanks,

theostwalts said:

So just as a follow up, we have BOG dinner at 6:25 and the After party which shows 8:00 pm booked for Saturday, December 01. WDW is showing HEA at 9:00 pm. What time should we check in (party of 5) for the party? If BOG dinner is running near 8:00 do we need to rush it up? And we check in at Tomorrowland Terrace even though we are eating dessert after the show, right?

Thanks,

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They start your check in at 8 but if you are a little past that you should be ok but your may not have your perfect spot for the fireworks

pl71 said:

My mom had a scooter and I had my 5 year old son with us. She backed it up against the rail. My son ran and spun around the plaza for the first 30 minutes until more people showed up and he played with a couple little girls in the group next to us. Most people were sitting on the ground and it was nice to be able to sit and use the rail as a backrest.

We loved the experience and would do it again. My family HATES crowds. I absolutely could not watch HEA on Main Street. The desserts were just a nice bonus and it was such a nice way to let the crowds die down as the park emptied.

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DavidNYC said:

LOL! We were that group 10 feet away! I remember when I stood I tried to make sure I wasn't in front of the scooter and I remember the kids running around playing right next to us.

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Finally getting back online to post here (trying to avoid real life as long as possible since getting home on Sunday). HAHA, we were the group with the two little girls, @pl71 ! They had sooo much fun playing with your son and they're still talking about that evening (including playing with him) as one of their favorite parts of the trip. @DavidNYC -- Your group may be the one that I slipped next to for a few minutes in order to take photos of the chaos down Main Street. Agreed about the poles (particularly those with wreaths), but my initial hunch was right and I didn't really notice them once the show started. Prior to the show, I was a bit worried seeing all the equipment for the television filming and was happy to see they got that all move away in plenty of time.

We had a great experience at the party. In 2017, my husband and I attended HEA the same week between Jersey Week and Thanksgiving week on a non-party night. We were out in the Hub crowds and it was awful. We dealt with it, but said there was no way we'd bring our young daughters into that mix this year. So, we booked the HEA Party -- right before the After Party was announced. Like many here, we then worried about the increased crowds (and I've been glued to this thread, particularly since party season began). We were so pleasantly surprised the evening of 11/11, as the dessert party crowds really weren't as bad as we had anticipated (especially in left rail area slice of paradise). We arrived to check in for the Before Party around 7:00; there were 50 +/- people ahead of us waiting to check in and we were still among the first tables sat. We appreciated being brought to a table instead of having to find a table on our own (although the Terrace was still empty enough that it wouldn't have mattered at that point). We had plenty of time to eat; we assumed that we'd need to bring food with us over to Garden in the interest of saving time, but that wasn't the case. We had set our expectations for the food low, based on what I'd been reading here and elsewhere, but it was fine and we actually enjoyed a few of the items (and we're not a huge fans of Disney food, in general, being spoiled by amazing and diverse restaurants where we live). After HEA, we hung out in the Garden so that we could let our girls dance off some more energy and let the crowds disperse. We ended up staying there long enough that it made sense to wait a bit longer to watch Once Upon a Time; we're so glad we did, as none of us had ever seen it and it was so cute.

Overall, a two thumbs up experience for both of our five-year-old daughters -- and the three adults (my mom was with us) were very satisfied and floating on a sappy Disney high for a long time afterwards.

We did the before party with plaza garden viewing on the 10th. The food was great, we all found more than a few things we really enjoyed and my son loved the sparkling cider and the smores on a stick. lol And having so much space with nobody elbow to elbow while looking over at the packed hub was outstanding. And, we were standing right next to my daughters favorite singer at the moment (camila cabello, but it's too bad my girls weren't with us! LOL) so we loved it!! Definately money well spent for us and I'd recommend it if you are looking for something special that gets you a great fireworks spot without feeling like packed sardines for a long time.

After getting home on Sunday, I'm finally able to post about my Dessert Party experience. We booked the Before party for 11/18, and boy was I glad I did this! MK was packed!!! Not only was it Dapper Days, but I think the Thanksgiving crowds were starting to make their way into the parks. I mean, you know you're in trouble when IASW is showing a 60 minute wait. Our ticket said that check-in began at 7:30pm, but I wanted to get in line a little early, so we headed over there around 7:15pm. People were already being seated in the dessert area and being shown the buffet, so I'm not really sure what time they actually opened up. Once we were seated we never once felt crowded while getting our plates filled, even with all of the tables in our area being spoken for. We took our time eating, but since we were seated so early we found ourselves being full by about 7:50pm, which is when we decided to walk to the garden area. There were already a few folks in there, but we were able to grab a spot against the rail towards the back left. We sat and relaxed as we watched the massive crowds gathering in the areas all around us. It was then that I realized my money had been well spent! I di notice that a lot of the folks in the garden sat towards the right of the castle, which left a lot more space in the area where we were standing. Enough that everyone in front of us actually sat down to take in the fireworks! We had what I would call a perfect view of the castle...it was perfect. Last year I wasn't able to enjoy HEA because of being one of those poor souls on Main Street, and it left an even worst taste in my mouth given the fact that they had just taken Wishes away. I can now say that HEA has stolen my heart, especially since I was able to see it the way it was meant to be seen. The icing on the cake was my mom's face after it was over. This was my surprise to her for just being the wonderful person she is, and she had tears in her eyes as she was thanking me. I'll definitely be booking this again when we go back next year!

We have booked the seated Terrace before party. It says 7pm and HEA is shown as 8pm that night. What time should we actually go to the check-in? At 7 or is earlier better? If so, when? Thanks for your advice.

marylizcat said:

We have booked the seated Terrace before party. It says 7pm and HEA is shown as 8pm that night. What time should we actually go to the check-in? At 7 or is earlier better? If so, when? Thanks for your advice.

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I've only done the Plaza Garden parties, but from our experience, they almost always start checking people in for both parties before the official check in time, sometimes as much as half an hour. Earlier would be better.

I did the before Plaza dessert party on 19/11. Booked it because it was my family's only shot at seeing HEA and didn't want to face the fireworks crowds on thanksgiving week.

Was mostly a positive experience. Check in was seamless, the desserts were nice although I'm a bit boring so my favourite was the ice cream! I do think they're a bit stingy with the drinks though. I understand no alcohol (although I understand it less these days at MK) but it's a bit tight to not have any coke products out when you're charging this much.

Plaza viewing space great apart from the dad who still insisted on putting his kid on shoulders even though they'd have a clear view without doing so. Wasn't a big deal though, one of the benefits of Plaza is its easy to shift around a bit.

Overall its not something I'd do on every trip but if you're looking for the most stress free approach to seeing HEA then I can't think of a better way/

Great recent reviews, thank you. After experiencing the crush in the hub the last few times we have seen HEA, I think we are ready to move on to trying the party.

I decided that since this is our first (and likely only) trip that we would make seeing the fireworks a priority. We booked theAfter Party on 1/29! Woot!

Review of 11/24 Before Party:

This was a 10 PM fireworks night so our check-in time was 8:30. We walked by the TT desk at around 7:55 and heard a CM telling someone they wouldn't be checking anyone in until 8:30, maybe a few minutes before. We split up, DH took DS to Tomorrowland Speedway FP and I took DD to PM. Peoplemover had a bit of a wait and broke down a few times so DH beat us there at 8:20 and checked in. He was able to get wristbands for DD and I too, which was good because by the time she and I got there at 8:32 the line to check in was huge and not moving quickly.

All the food was fresh and refilled often. We hadn't eaten dinner so I had about 6 cheeseburger eggrolls and some fruit first. I don't recommend this plan but hey it's vacation. All the non-alcoholic drink options were great- POG AND sparkling cider AND coffee. Winning.

It took me a few plates to find the sticky toffee pudding but that was delightful as always. We used the to-go coffee cups for drinks for all 4 of us but whoever is putting desserts in ziplocs is braver than I am because everything was covered in icing so we left with ziploc empty.

DD decided she wanted real dinner so I put in a mobile order at Casey's and DH grabbed it while the kids and I headed to the garden around 9:20. It was pretty full. The whole back fence was taken except for one spot that another group had just left so we took that one. There were a lot of people sliding in at this point so I felt a little stressed holding spots for the 40 minutes because my kids would not sit still with me after 3 plates of dessert, go figure.

The garden wasn't packed full but it was full enough that I would have felt rude moving anywhere. Maybe 12-18 inches to the people in front of us?
In order for the kids to see we had to hold them on our hips the whole time. I got the raw end of that deal with the 55 lb 7 year old.

Oh! One tip we heard from the cast- you can use the buffet at the lower part for the TT viewing people. That one was way less crowded.

I think it was a good enough value for what we got but I am not doing it again. My arms are still sore so I'm just going to wait until everyone's a little taller before we see HEA again. Thanks for all the advice on this thread!

Anyone here tonight, hello from the back row!

QueenElinor said:

Seriously?! That woman is an embarrassment to her momma!

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There were only about a quarter tray of macarons when we went last March and they NEVER replenished them. I actually took photos, it was the worst dessert party we had ever attended for food. I truthfully felt bad for the CMs, people were not happy. Maybe that's what happened... Maybe another guest wiped them out.

Elle23 said:

Anyone here tonight, hello from the back row!

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How'd it go???

ConnecticutNonna said:

There were only about a quarter tray of macarons when we went last March and they NEVER replenished them. I actually took photos, it was the worst dessert party we had ever attended for food. I truthfully felt bad for the CMs, people were not happy. Maybe that's what happened... Maybe another guest wiped them out.

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Well, they are tasty, but come on..... I feel as if sometimes people leave their manners behind at WDW because they're in pursuit of the perfect trip, or maximizing the value, or something. No excuse to behave like it's Black Friday at Best Buy, people!!

I'm paying for the dessert party to get away from the crush of the crowds, to find rude behavior iN the dessert party is disappointing. Hopefully, it was just a one-off.

We did the After Party on Saturday, 12-01-2018. We had an ADR at BOG for dinner and arrived at the check in about 8:10 pm for a 9:00 HEA. Check in went smooth. They had two lists and we told them we were there for the After Party. They checked us off, gave us wrist bands and escorted us to the Plaza Garden. There was still plenty of room and the view was great. Main Street was mobbed since this was a Saturday and one of the few nights for HEA since MVMCP was going on several night of the week. After the party a cast member came and escorted us through the crowd (the best that she could) back to Tomorrowland Terrace for the desserts. The food and drinks were plentiful and they did a good job of keeping things stocked up on the night we were there. I would say the food was good but not outstanding. The main reason I would do this again would be for the view and ability to enjoy the show without the crowd. It was nice to relax while the park cleared out some. We had a chance to catch a few rides after since the park was open until 11:00 that night. Overall we were satisfied with the experience.

QueenElinor said:

Well, they are tasty, but come on..... I feel as if sometimes people leave their manners behind at WDW because they're in pursuit of the perfect trip, or maximizing the value, or something. No excuse to behave like it's Black Friday at Best Buy, people!!

I'm paying for the dessert party to get away from the crush of the crowds, to find rude behavior iN the dessert party is disappointing. Hopefully, it was just a one-off.

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There was the report of a party where they ran out of food a while ago. Honestly for what this thing costs, they should not blame the guests for taking too much food - they need to have enough food to replenish for the entire party. I remember that report and it really did seem like a mess up on Disney's. Unless guests are taking entire multiple trays of food, taking a ziploc container or two home should not impact supply at the entire party. Sounds like more of a miscalculation on Disney's part. The difference between people feeling like there is enough at the party and not is WAY more than a half of a tray of macarons... they should have way more than that available as extra.

There is always going to be rude behavior by others, the question is whether it impacts you. Getting out of the crowds lessens the impact on you but people are people. I just ignore weird stuff I see. Disney should plan for this reality when they are charging $70 for $15 worth of desserts... there is room in the budget to have another tray or two of macarons in the back in case people are doing this OR making containers/taking items to go against the rules. The stuff that packs well/travels well that people would be inclined to take is probably also the easiest to have extras of (things like the cheeseburger egg rolls not so much). It is probably better customer relations to have another $0.50 per guest worth of macarons ready to go if people are taking them with them.

ConnecticutNonna said:

How'd it go???

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It was fine. We did the after party. I’m not sure I would do the after party again because by that time we were just ready to go. I think between the 3 of us, we ate about $5 worth of food, if that. That’s not Disney’s fault though. No complaints on the offerings.

The fireworks viewing area was pretty full, but we still had room to sit around before it started and stretch out. I am very glad we had the reserved area because it was a very crowded night.