glassslippergirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2010
Hello, everyone. We just returned from a week in Orlando 3/23-30. I’ve read a lot of questions on this forum about spring break crowds and a lot of questions about dessert parties. As our spring break trip involved two dessert parties, I thought I’d write a just back report.
Background: We started planning the trip in January. DS5 “discovered” Star Wars over the holidays, much to DH’s delight. One day, as he and DH watched Empire Strikes Back, I mentioned that it might be fun for DS to ride Star Wars. The next day, DH texted me at work that he had booked our trip for spring break. I usually conceive of and plan our trips, and DH comes along to make me happy. So when DH did the booking himself, I knew he was excited. It was my job to plan from this point, so Star Wars became our focus. DH and I also each invited our parent for part of the trip, so DS had his grandma (DH’s mom) with him for our DHS and Epcot days and his grandpa (my dad) with him for the Epcot and MK days.
Spring Break Crowds: We stayed offsite and had 4-day Discover Disney passes. We planned one day in each park using Kenny the Pirate’s crowd calendar to plan which park for which day. His calendar called for “insane” crowds because it was the week before Easter. It may have been because of the way Easter fell this year, but we did not feel like the parks were “insanely” crowded. By comparison, our last trip was for Veteran's Day weekend in 2016, and at the F&W booths in Epcot, we could barely move through the sea of people. We went to the booths at the F&G during this trip, and the crowds were nothing like this, very manageable. And that, in general, is how I would describe the spring break crowds this year—very manageable.
Weather: I don’t think I’ve ever experienced better weather at WDW, and we’ve visited pretty much every time in the year. March has always been my favorite time of year in Florida. When I was a teen, I’d always get my worst sunburns in March because I’d forget to go inside. It was chilly (50’s) most mornings but climbed quickly into the 70’s. We would usually wear shorts during the day and jeans in the evenings and rarely needed a jacket.
Fast Passes: I made our FPs at 30 days and was not initially able to get FoP or 7DMT but was able to get them by trying daily (7DMT about 2 weeks out and FoP about a week out). Also, my mother-in-law originally planned to come for our AK and DHS days, but she had to change her plans. So, about a week out, I had to arrange for FPs for her to overlap with our FPs at Epcot. I was able to get overlapping times for Living with the Land and The Seas, but no more FPs were available for FEA. Again, my advice to others who can't get the passes they want is to keep trying. At lunch on our Epcot day, I was able to get a last minute FEA FP for her. It didn't quite overlap with our time, but when we explained the situation to the CMs, they honored her FP so we could all ride together.
Flight of Passage: OMG! It was awesome, probably the best theme park ride I've ever been on. It became DS's obsession, and we ended up riding three times on our AK day (rode at RD, rode with FP, rode at the very end of the night). Our FoP rides took most of the AK day, but we were able to hit EE and Kilimanjaro Safari with FPs and get a fourth FP for RoL. We saw RoL for the first time; it was okay.
Epcot: I've heard all the parents saying that their kids are bored with Epcot. We experienced this for the first time this trip. Even getting there minutes (literally five minutes) after RD, there was a two hour wait at TT. Soarin's line was better, but once we had done the headliner rides, DS was over it. He didn't even want to do the egg hunt in World Showcase, and he didn’t want to come back for the evening after our afternoon break. We did come back so that the grownups could eat at the F&G booths (which were excellent. Dragon Punch, Yum!), and DS loved Illuminations, but I don't think we will do Epcot again for a while without PH. It really is a shadow of its former self. The park needs some more headliner rides, and the FP restrictions need to be loosened. Too many choices are tier 1, so one FP a day has value at Epcot, and the others are really picking the best from the leftovers, which is disappointing and does make it difficult for a little one to appreciate what the park has to offer.
Star Wars Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party: Our splurge this trip was to hit two dessert parties. We had never been to a dessert party before, but since DS and DH are such huge Star Wars fans, and the inspiration for this trip was to introduce DS to Star Wars at WDW, we decided to give it a try. I was really impressed with this event. We checked into the party at 7:30 (right when it started) and received lanyards that had a map of Launch Bay on the back. This came in really handy later.
The selection of desserts was varied, and many had a Star Wars theme from the Storm Trooper and Darth Vader cookies to the colored chocolate designs on the rice krispie treats. There were three choices of mixed drinks including a rum punch, vodka lemonade, and margarita as well as a selection of beer and wine. My drink of choice was the margarita while DH preferred the lemonade. The line was long at the bar for the first 30 minutes or so then waned as guests had their fill, but the bar tender was on duty right until the last guest left for the fireworks. There were also cans of Coke products on ice to take as they like and a selection of coffee, tea, water, etc. The most unique and best tasting dessert of the night was a Nutella pudding that was freeze dried for each guest personally right in front of you. When the waiter took it out of the dry ice, he cracked it and put raspberry topping (there was also chocolate available, but the raspberry was better) it. I was also impressed that there was a selection of savory appetizers like red pepper hummus (so flavorful) and a black bean dip with flat bread, cheese and tomato or olive skewers, etc. Throughout the party, Storm Troopers visited and interacted with the guests, which made DS's night.
And as the party waned and we had our fill, we were encouraged to visit the exhibits in the Launch Bay (hence the map). We were able to meet Kylo Ren and Chewbacca with little to no wait (we had waited 30 minutes+ to meet BB8 earlier in the day).
People started lining up early to walk out to the fireworks, but we were assured there was no need. The wait staff also encouraged us to take something with us when we headed out. If you do this, I recommend taking it in a cup rather than on plate because you will be walking some distance, and as you head out, CM's give out bottles of water and a really neat present (Captain Phasma mug) for everyone in the party, so you will be carrying other things. The mug was an unexpected treat (we already have Boba Fett and R2D2 mugs that DH got years ago at SWW, so he was so happy to add to that collection).
Seating for the show was on the raised courtyard right in front of the screens in front of the Chinese Theater, so no one was in front of us. I am not a fan of floor sitting (I have long legs and just can’t get comfortable on the ground), but you could not beat the view (though a few of the bigger but lower fireworks were blocked by the screens). And the show was amazing! This splurge was, by far, worth the expense for us, as we all left talking about how amazing the whole experience was.
Happily Ever After Dessert Party Plaza View: We were huge Wishes fans. Last spring break, we had planned a trip with all days in MK so that we could see and properly say good-bye to Wishes. But a week before we were supposed to leave, DH had to have emergency gall bladder surgery, so our trip was put on hold. And since we never got to properly say good bye to Wishes, we decided to welcome in Happily Ever After for our family with a bang (get it—fireworks—bang!) Like the Star Wars party, the desserts left nothing to complain about. I loved the strawberry tart, the marshmallow s'mores tart, the Oreo treat. Probably because there were no alcoholic beverages, there were fewer savory treats (just some cheese squares and a fruit tray), and the lack of savory treats to offset the sweet just made the desserts seems sweeter and more overwhelming, I think. Even excluding the open bar, the selection of drinks was also more limited—just lemonade, water, sparkling cider, coffee, tea, and a guava passion fruit punch that was sickeningly sweet. There were no sodas, and at one point, they ran out of water bottles. We all really enjoyed the ice cream sundae bar, which was clearly there for the kids, but really appealed to three generations of our family (there was also one at the Star Wars party, but the toppings were more limited). But the event seemed short-staffed because we had to clear our dishes ourselves to make room at the table for the second round. At the SW event, waiters cleared for us several times. The timing was tighter at this party than the SW party, probably because there were no displays to explore. About 15 minutes before the show, we were escorted over to the plaza. Again, the expectation was ground sitting (which I am not a fan of). Here, I was surprised and disappointed about the ground sitting because we were not in the front row, and people in front of us were standing. Yes, I could have stood on the margins of the plaza but tried sitting and missed a lot of the lower projections on the castle. I was really looking forward to the first firework which looks from the projections like it comes from the castle itself, and I missed it because of our vantage. DH says that he missed most of the projections from his vantage on the floor—he was actually really angry about the seating situation. With a dessert party, one pays less for the desserts and more for the prime seating, and I was not impressed with the seating. Maybe I would have preferred terrace view, but I doubt it because of the angled view of the projections. I did like that a photo pass photographer was at this show, unlike the SW show, and she had a Happily Ever After sign for us to hold in the shots. That was a nice touch.
In the end, we all agreed that this event was not a splurge we would make again. Even though the SW dessert party cost more, we felt that it also gave more value for the money with the beverage choices (I’m thinking about sodas as well as open bar), adequate staffing, front row seating, and character interactions.
The Strangest Thing to Happen: In Epcot, I took DS into a companion bathroom. When we entered, I saw sunglasses left by a previous occupant. The bathroom was empty when we entered, so I figured I’d give them to a cast member when we were done. When I was using the toilet, someone knocked asking for the sunglasses. I said I would give them to her when I was done. A few seconds later, she asked if the sunglasses were there. I assured her that they were and I would get them to her shortly. A few seconds later, she said that she didn’t need to come in; someone could just hand them to her. Knowing that my son would open the door wide to reveal me in all my glory, I kindly suggested that she be patient and I would be there shortly. She knocked again a few seconds later, and I less kindly suggested she be patient. As she knocked again, I heard my husband, who was watching from a bench, come over and tell her to leave us alone. Understand that all of this happened in the time it takes to pee and wash one’s hands. DH looks a lot scarier than I sound because she did apologize when I handed them out to her. Those must have been some really important sunglasses.
Fun Fact: According to my watch, I walked 12-15 miles each park day. I usually walk 8-9 miles a day.
Side Trip: On our down time, DS enjoyed the hotel pool (which was too cold for the rest of us), and we spent way too much time at the Star Wars and Lego stores at Disney Springs. But we made one side trip to the M&M World store at the Florida Mall. It was a lot of fun with a wall of M&M varieties to try (paid, of course). And we are now the owners of not one but two M&M dispensers. What home is complete without that?
So on the drive home, DH, who again doesn't usually like to travel or plan trips, said that he might like to go back to WDW for his birthday in May. This was a complete surprise. It's still a big maybe, but we have three day tickets still active on our account from last year when we had to cancel because of DH's gall bladder surgery. The tickets are good for six months from first use, and the wheels are rolling. If we use some days in late May, they would still be valid in mid-November when my cousin is getting married in Orlando, so we could do another day then. Fingers crossed!
Background: We started planning the trip in January. DS5 “discovered” Star Wars over the holidays, much to DH’s delight. One day, as he and DH watched Empire Strikes Back, I mentioned that it might be fun for DS to ride Star Wars. The next day, DH texted me at work that he had booked our trip for spring break. I usually conceive of and plan our trips, and DH comes along to make me happy. So when DH did the booking himself, I knew he was excited. It was my job to plan from this point, so Star Wars became our focus. DH and I also each invited our parent for part of the trip, so DS had his grandma (DH’s mom) with him for our DHS and Epcot days and his grandpa (my dad) with him for the Epcot and MK days.
Spring Break Crowds: We stayed offsite and had 4-day Discover Disney passes. We planned one day in each park using Kenny the Pirate’s crowd calendar to plan which park for which day. His calendar called for “insane” crowds because it was the week before Easter. It may have been because of the way Easter fell this year, but we did not feel like the parks were “insanely” crowded. By comparison, our last trip was for Veteran's Day weekend in 2016, and at the F&W booths in Epcot, we could barely move through the sea of people. We went to the booths at the F&G during this trip, and the crowds were nothing like this, very manageable. And that, in general, is how I would describe the spring break crowds this year—very manageable.
Weather: I don’t think I’ve ever experienced better weather at WDW, and we’ve visited pretty much every time in the year. March has always been my favorite time of year in Florida. When I was a teen, I’d always get my worst sunburns in March because I’d forget to go inside. It was chilly (50’s) most mornings but climbed quickly into the 70’s. We would usually wear shorts during the day and jeans in the evenings and rarely needed a jacket.
Fast Passes: I made our FPs at 30 days and was not initially able to get FoP or 7DMT but was able to get them by trying daily (7DMT about 2 weeks out and FoP about a week out). Also, my mother-in-law originally planned to come for our AK and DHS days, but she had to change her plans. So, about a week out, I had to arrange for FPs for her to overlap with our FPs at Epcot. I was able to get overlapping times for Living with the Land and The Seas, but no more FPs were available for FEA. Again, my advice to others who can't get the passes they want is to keep trying. At lunch on our Epcot day, I was able to get a last minute FEA FP for her. It didn't quite overlap with our time, but when we explained the situation to the CMs, they honored her FP so we could all ride together.
Flight of Passage: OMG! It was awesome, probably the best theme park ride I've ever been on. It became DS's obsession, and we ended up riding three times on our AK day (rode at RD, rode with FP, rode at the very end of the night). Our FoP rides took most of the AK day, but we were able to hit EE and Kilimanjaro Safari with FPs and get a fourth FP for RoL. We saw RoL for the first time; it was okay.
Epcot: I've heard all the parents saying that their kids are bored with Epcot. We experienced this for the first time this trip. Even getting there minutes (literally five minutes) after RD, there was a two hour wait at TT. Soarin's line was better, but once we had done the headliner rides, DS was over it. He didn't even want to do the egg hunt in World Showcase, and he didn’t want to come back for the evening after our afternoon break. We did come back so that the grownups could eat at the F&G booths (which were excellent. Dragon Punch, Yum!), and DS loved Illuminations, but I don't think we will do Epcot again for a while without PH. It really is a shadow of its former self. The park needs some more headliner rides, and the FP restrictions need to be loosened. Too many choices are tier 1, so one FP a day has value at Epcot, and the others are really picking the best from the leftovers, which is disappointing and does make it difficult for a little one to appreciate what the park has to offer.
Star Wars Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party: Our splurge this trip was to hit two dessert parties. We had never been to a dessert party before, but since DS and DH are such huge Star Wars fans, and the inspiration for this trip was to introduce DS to Star Wars at WDW, we decided to give it a try. I was really impressed with this event. We checked into the party at 7:30 (right when it started) and received lanyards that had a map of Launch Bay on the back. This came in really handy later.
The selection of desserts was varied, and many had a Star Wars theme from the Storm Trooper and Darth Vader cookies to the colored chocolate designs on the rice krispie treats. There were three choices of mixed drinks including a rum punch, vodka lemonade, and margarita as well as a selection of beer and wine. My drink of choice was the margarita while DH preferred the lemonade. The line was long at the bar for the first 30 minutes or so then waned as guests had their fill, but the bar tender was on duty right until the last guest left for the fireworks. There were also cans of Coke products on ice to take as they like and a selection of coffee, tea, water, etc. The most unique and best tasting dessert of the night was a Nutella pudding that was freeze dried for each guest personally right in front of you. When the waiter took it out of the dry ice, he cracked it and put raspberry topping (there was also chocolate available, but the raspberry was better) it. I was also impressed that there was a selection of savory appetizers like red pepper hummus (so flavorful) and a black bean dip with flat bread, cheese and tomato or olive skewers, etc. Throughout the party, Storm Troopers visited and interacted with the guests, which made DS's night.
And as the party waned and we had our fill, we were encouraged to visit the exhibits in the Launch Bay (hence the map). We were able to meet Kylo Ren and Chewbacca with little to no wait (we had waited 30 minutes+ to meet BB8 earlier in the day).
People started lining up early to walk out to the fireworks, but we were assured there was no need. The wait staff also encouraged us to take something with us when we headed out. If you do this, I recommend taking it in a cup rather than on plate because you will be walking some distance, and as you head out, CM's give out bottles of water and a really neat present (Captain Phasma mug) for everyone in the party, so you will be carrying other things. The mug was an unexpected treat (we already have Boba Fett and R2D2 mugs that DH got years ago at SWW, so he was so happy to add to that collection).
Seating for the show was on the raised courtyard right in front of the screens in front of the Chinese Theater, so no one was in front of us. I am not a fan of floor sitting (I have long legs and just can’t get comfortable on the ground), but you could not beat the view (though a few of the bigger but lower fireworks were blocked by the screens). And the show was amazing! This splurge was, by far, worth the expense for us, as we all left talking about how amazing the whole experience was.
Happily Ever After Dessert Party Plaza View: We were huge Wishes fans. Last spring break, we had planned a trip with all days in MK so that we could see and properly say good-bye to Wishes. But a week before we were supposed to leave, DH had to have emergency gall bladder surgery, so our trip was put on hold. And since we never got to properly say good bye to Wishes, we decided to welcome in Happily Ever After for our family with a bang (get it—fireworks—bang!) Like the Star Wars party, the desserts left nothing to complain about. I loved the strawberry tart, the marshmallow s'mores tart, the Oreo treat. Probably because there were no alcoholic beverages, there were fewer savory treats (just some cheese squares and a fruit tray), and the lack of savory treats to offset the sweet just made the desserts seems sweeter and more overwhelming, I think. Even excluding the open bar, the selection of drinks was also more limited—just lemonade, water, sparkling cider, coffee, tea, and a guava passion fruit punch that was sickeningly sweet. There were no sodas, and at one point, they ran out of water bottles. We all really enjoyed the ice cream sundae bar, which was clearly there for the kids, but really appealed to three generations of our family (there was also one at the Star Wars party, but the toppings were more limited). But the event seemed short-staffed because we had to clear our dishes ourselves to make room at the table for the second round. At the SW event, waiters cleared for us several times. The timing was tighter at this party than the SW party, probably because there were no displays to explore. About 15 minutes before the show, we were escorted over to the plaza. Again, the expectation was ground sitting (which I am not a fan of). Here, I was surprised and disappointed about the ground sitting because we were not in the front row, and people in front of us were standing. Yes, I could have stood on the margins of the plaza but tried sitting and missed a lot of the lower projections on the castle. I was really looking forward to the first firework which looks from the projections like it comes from the castle itself, and I missed it because of our vantage. DH says that he missed most of the projections from his vantage on the floor—he was actually really angry about the seating situation. With a dessert party, one pays less for the desserts and more for the prime seating, and I was not impressed with the seating. Maybe I would have preferred terrace view, but I doubt it because of the angled view of the projections. I did like that a photo pass photographer was at this show, unlike the SW show, and she had a Happily Ever After sign for us to hold in the shots. That was a nice touch.
In the end, we all agreed that this event was not a splurge we would make again. Even though the SW dessert party cost more, we felt that it also gave more value for the money with the beverage choices (I’m thinking about sodas as well as open bar), adequate staffing, front row seating, and character interactions.
The Strangest Thing to Happen: In Epcot, I took DS into a companion bathroom. When we entered, I saw sunglasses left by a previous occupant. The bathroom was empty when we entered, so I figured I’d give them to a cast member when we were done. When I was using the toilet, someone knocked asking for the sunglasses. I said I would give them to her when I was done. A few seconds later, she asked if the sunglasses were there. I assured her that they were and I would get them to her shortly. A few seconds later, she said that she didn’t need to come in; someone could just hand them to her. Knowing that my son would open the door wide to reveal me in all my glory, I kindly suggested that she be patient and I would be there shortly. She knocked again a few seconds later, and I less kindly suggested she be patient. As she knocked again, I heard my husband, who was watching from a bench, come over and tell her to leave us alone. Understand that all of this happened in the time it takes to pee and wash one’s hands. DH looks a lot scarier than I sound because she did apologize when I handed them out to her. Those must have been some really important sunglasses.
Fun Fact: According to my watch, I walked 12-15 miles each park day. I usually walk 8-9 miles a day.
Side Trip: On our down time, DS enjoyed the hotel pool (which was too cold for the rest of us), and we spent way too much time at the Star Wars and Lego stores at Disney Springs. But we made one side trip to the M&M World store at the Florida Mall. It was a lot of fun with a wall of M&M varieties to try (paid, of course). And we are now the owners of not one but two M&M dispensers. What home is complete without that?
So on the drive home, DH, who again doesn't usually like to travel or plan trips, said that he might like to go back to WDW for his birthday in May. This was a complete surprise. It's still a big maybe, but we have three day tickets still active on our account from last year when we had to cancel because of DH's gall bladder surgery. The tickets are good for six months from first use, and the wheels are rolling. If we use some days in late May, they would still be valid in mid-November when my cousin is getting married in Orlando, so we could do another day then. Fingers crossed!
