Just did this party last night. For anyone going in the next couple of holiday weeks, as a heads up, they are letting people into the party early. 12/17, I have texts going back and forth with my in-laws who were sitting near Tomorrowland Terrace just hanging out until the time for the party.
6:51pm - In-laws: we are at the Terrace Already
6:51pm - Me: Did they let you in?
6:52pm - In-laws: no, just sitting outside on main street. They said we can't get in until 7:45pm and there will be plenty of room for the 300 people attending the party
7:09pm - In-laws: People are starting to line up, which seems silly. We are being silly and are in line.
7:11pm - Me: We are heading to the bathrooms by you
7:13pm - In-laws: Come now, they are moving in. They are starting the party now so people can see the fireworks (what they meant was so people can actually get to the fireworks viewing area)
So, we were inside the party probably around 7:20pm and were maybe the 5th table to be seated. I grabbed sparkling cider and Mickey Straw kabob plates for each of the kids then sent everyone up to the buffet. FYI, there are two identical sides to the buffet. There was a line for the right side while you could basically walk right up to the left side.
Brought a small Christmas treat box so my kids wouldn't make themselves sick. Took home some macaroons (which my kids decide they adore) and a few other things off of DS11's second plate before he made himself sick (my DS7 at Club Cool in Epcot is a completely different story).
We were ready to head out of there at 8pm. Had an escort down to the Plaza Garden viewing area. My in-laws and our stuff sat against the back edge of the viewing area. DH decided an hour was too long to wait, so we took the kids on the People Mover. 8:27pm I get a text from my father in law asking when we are coming back as it is getting "crowded". We were on our way back, stopped at the bathroom, then went back to the viewing area. The viewing area was nowhere near crowded relative to what was going on outside of the area. The CM's were impressive though. We sat down and played "chopsticks" while we waited. A couple next to us had playing cards they were playing. And we watched the hordes who didn't have spots in the hub try to merge and file out through the bypass. And this, is where the trouble is for those attending the party, and why the party started early. From 8:30-8:45, there was a huge bottleneck of people merging trying to get through the bypass. To the point my father in law looked over and asked, "why are all those people just standing there?" And I said, 'Because there's nowhere for them to go."
And then, 8:45pm-9pm, it was totally calm. The entire path behind the viewing area was completely clear. The walkway outside the area was clear other than the small standing room area. The CM's somehow got all of those masses out through the bypass.
Which, BTW, I pointed out the Bypass to my in-laws. They left out through it after the party and said they walked right onto the Ferry, while everyone else was still trying to get through Main Street.
And, HEA was amazing. Up until now, my favorite Disney show was World of Color at
Disneyland, but this is at least a tie. I don't know if I'd splurge on the party more than once (although all of my kids vote this was their favorite thing we did this week), but it was a really wonderful experience (and HEA was SO good). I just recommend, on a level 10 day, get to the garden by 8:30pm. If you have a
scooter or large stroller that you plan to push, get to the viewing area around 8pm.