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

[Dan Murphy]

We've done both, Terrance and Plaza, both with young kids. We felt the Plaza was much bettrr. Better views, less pushing (none) to get a better view. Stand or sit by the fence at the bsck of the reserved area, great view, lots of space

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Okay, I've been following along with this entire thread - you probably know that @GADisneyDad14 - but now I don't remember all of the particulars of everything I read. I know this was discussed awhile back, but what was the general consensus of doing the dessert party during MNSSHP? We did the dessert party in June for HEA and loved it. We aren't doing it this June because we only have one park day (at MK) so we will use that time to continue with rides and we will watch the next night from Top of the World lounge as we are new DVC owners.

Anyway, we will be doing a very short trip in Oct (10/3-10/6). We will do a party and then, most likely, another park day at one of the other parks. Therefore we will be getting into MK at 4. We have my two boys (4 & almost 7 at the time), my DH who doesn't like crowds but I still managed to convince to become a HUGE Disney fan on his first trip in 35 years this past June, and myself.

I am the only one who has ever attended a party and its been years. I know the parade is a MUST DO! And everyone says the fireworks as well. But, I'm trying to decide do we want to give up prime touring time for both of those (thinking parade would be easier if we chose one because we can just grab a spot in Frontierland or Liberty Square), and if we do, do we want to spend the money for the secured viewing.

Was the consensus that it was or wasn't necessary for party nights? And if we do it, will that interfere with parade viewing? Is the fireworks show worth taking MK touring time away?

For more info purposes, we plan to attend on Thursday 10/4 if the party is offered that night and, hopefully, we will be back next year as well because our district's calendars are out for the next two school years and they both include this new semi-fall break (though I have tossed around the idea of 2019 being adult's only). Oh and we are trying to do this Oct trip as cheaply as possible, relatively speaking, of course.

Thanks, in advance, for reading all that (I tend to be wordy...lol) and for any advice/opinions.

Hey @ArielSRL - I somehow missed this post, I know it’s a few days old. Sorry!

So dessert party on a MNSSHP night....My opinion, it wasn’t worth it.

For one, who wants any desserts when there is abundant ‘free’ candy all over the park.

Secondly, it takes up too much valuable party time.

Thirdly, I don’t really think the reserved viewing is a ‘must have’ for a typical party night. It’s easy enough to find a good enough spot in the hub (generally speaking). The hub is still crowded, of course, but it’s not crazy HEA crowded (in my humble opinion).

The only benefit for the dessert party on our night was that it rained heavily on/off all night and the parade and fireworks were delayed. Having the Tomorrowland Terrace area to ride out the storm/delays was helpful. But obviously that was a unique situation.

All-in-all, I think it can work for some party touring styles, but it wasn’t really ‘worth it’ for how we like to enjoy MNSSHP.

Hope that helps!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

DW and I did this on 1/20. We were thankful for the tips I learned here. We headed over to the garden early and found a great spot on the back rail. The only thing that detracted from this location was listening to the CMs arguing with the guests who tried to plant themselves on the benches behind the garden for HEA. OUAT was before HEA, and I think being able to see both shows from the reserved location made it truly worth the money. I had not seen OUAT before, and it is a good show. The desserts were okay, didn't really add to the value for us. I would have preferred a cart with mickey bars, soda and popcorn in the garden plaza so we could get treats while waiting in the garden. It was worth it for the great view of both shows, and not having to deal with the crowds. I think the value definitely increases when OUAT is before HEA.

I was originally going to do this on the same night as DAH, but am glad that we switched. Getting out of the hub to go anywhere was impossible for sometime. Almost a complete standstill.

Back rail life is best, right?

Actually love that idea about putting a cart with Mickey Bars and soda/drinks in the garden. In some ways I’d almost rather have that than the current dessert offerings.

Thanks for the report!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I have not followed the thread in a while (no trips planned since 2 summers ago) but what seems to be the pattern for opening the event booking? We will be there late July >early August.

The pattern for opening the event to booking is no pattern, at the moment at least.

It was on a rolling 180 day pattern for a bit, but it’s off that now as dates haven’t been loaded past 5/27. A lot of summer folks are anxiously waiting...

Really tough to tell when they’ll be added, but I know a lot of people here (including myself) are watching.

Hope that helps.

 

[TristiK]

Just did my morning check and the Plaza viewing option is not showing at all. Tried to go through the Tomorrowland Terrace option and when you click on the Plaza option through there you get the Stitch ate the page. Hopefully that means they're loading dates past May??

 

[ml sumner]

I just checked and no dates yet, but saw the dates still grayed out.

 

[ArielSRL]

Hey @ArielSRL - I somehow missed this post, I know it’s a few days old. Sorry!

So dessert party on a MNSSHP night....My opinion, it wasn’t worth it.

For one, who wants any desserts when there is abundant ‘free’ candy all over the park.

Secondly, it takes up too much valuable party time.

Thirdly, I don’t really think the reserved viewing is a ‘must have’ for a typical party night. It’s easy enough to find a good enough spot in the hub (generally speaking). The hub is still crowded, of course, but it’s not crazy HEA crowded (in my humble opinion).

The only benefit for the dessert party on our night was that it rained heavily on/off all night and the parade and fireworks were delayed. Having the Tomorrowland Terrace area to ride out the storm/delays was helpful. But obviously that was a unique situation.

All-in-all, I think it can work for some party touring styles, but it wasn’t really ‘worth it’ for how we like to enjoy MNSSHP.

Hope that helps!

Thank you! And no problem on the delay in answering. We have awhile! Yes, I was leaning toward not booking so I’m glad to read your answer!

Now, do you think it’s worth it to watch the parade, the fireworks, and the shows? Or just a combo of them? What special MNSSHP entertainment do you like best?

 

[closetmickey]

Is this bookable on the MDE app or only on the website? Thanks!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Is this bookable on the MDE app or only on the website? Thanks!

Only on the website or by phone, I believe.

 

[Linkura]

I'm wondering if I should do this for my trip next month. If I did the fireworks at all, I would do the plaza garden party for crowd reasons and because I am short. My main concern are the crowds post-fireworks. The park is going to be closed after the fireworks, so no hiding somewhere else to do rides while I wait out the crowds. And I don't want to wait in the shops or on Main St for an hour for the Kiss Goodnight and dissipated crowds, as I have EMH or PPO breakfasts every morning and need to go to bed early for that. I'm staying at Pop. Just how nutty is the walk out and the buses upon a park close right after fireworks? I think I know the answer already (too nutty for me), but I thought I would ask anyway. I'm going to be alone and if I have an anxiety problem due to it, I can't rely on my family.

 

[ArielSRL]

This is where I confess that I just read the whole thread (not quite in one sitting, I had a few things to get done today!), so my recall from a few pages back is that most people did not find it worth it on Party nights, because the overall crowds were so low those nights compared to a regular park night. What people did recommend was if you aren't going to a party but are hoping to see HEA during a party week, to book the dessert party because the crowds in the Hub will be intense those nights.

I've never been to WDW during any of the party seasons, so this is just my summary of the thread and not my experience either way!

Thank you! I missed this! I knew it had been discussed but couldn’t remember the outcome of said discussion!

 

[quest4dl]

I just booked the Dessert Party w/Garden Plaza viewing for 3/26. I have a fastpass for Haunted Mansion starting at 7:20. I was going to give myself a half hour to get through the ride and then a couple of minutes to get to the check in area. Do I need to check in right at 7:45? I'm by myself, and I mainly booked this to get a good viewing spot - I don't care too much about the deserts (but would have some) or spending a lot of time in the dessert area.

 

[famgel]

I just booked the Dessert Party w/Garden Plaza viewing for 3/26. I have a fastpass for Haunted Mansion starting at 7:20. I was going to give myself a half hour to get through the ride and then a couple of minutes to get to the check in area. Do I need to check in right at 7:45? I'm by myself, and I mainly booked this to get a good viewing spot - I don't care too much about the deserts (but would have some) or spending a lot of time in the dessert area.

Just following

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I just booked the Dessert Party w/Garden Plaza viewing for 3/26. I have a fastpass for Haunted Mansion starting at 7:20. I was going to give myself a half hour to get through the ride and then a couple of minutes to get to the check in area. Do I need to check in right at 7:45? I'm by myself, and I mainly booked this to get a good viewing spot - I don't care too much about the deserts (but would have some) or spending a lot of time in the dessert area.

The first few posts on this thread described the timeline on my particular night.

I’m a bit of a contrarian and don’t like to get there early, or even on time. For a 9AM (oops, meant PM) HEA, I’d rather get to the party more like 8-8:15ish, grab a quick bite, bathroom break, then head over to the garden 8:30+. Some folks will like to build in more time, I personally just don’t like to wait around all that much.

One thing to watch is OUAT - if it’s before HEA, then I’d want to be more on time since I’d rather be in the garden in time to watch that show.

A lot of people will line up well in advance of the event start time, but I don’t think that’s really necessary unless you just really want to.

Hope that helps!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'm wondering if I should do this for my trip next month. If I did the fireworks at all, I would do the plaza garden party for crowd reasons and because I am short. My main concern are the crowds post-fireworks. The park is going to be closed after the fireworks, so no hiding somewhere else to do rides while I wait out the crowds. And I don't want to wait in the shops or on Main St for an hour for the Kiss Goodnight and dissipated crowds, as I have EMH or PPO breakfasts every morning and need to go to bed early for that. I'm staying at Pop. Just how nutty is the walk out and the buses upon a park close right after fireworks? I think I know the answer already (too nutty for me), but I thought I would ask anyway. I'm going to be alone and if I have an anxiety problem due to it, I can't rely on my family.

One nice thing about the Plaza Garden dessert party is that the Plaza Garden East (in yellow below) is relatively close to the Main Street Bypass (the line in red).

The Bypass is ‘usually’ open during/after HEA, so you can potentially make a much quicker getaway to the front of the park than going down Main Street (which will be a zoo).

It’s still going to be a lot of people once you make it to the front gates/head to the bus stop, but the Bypass is a big benefit. Note that while it is usually open, sometimes it might not be, so just stay on your toes and have plan B in mind just in case.

Hope that helps!

 

[quest4dl]

The first few posts on this thread described the timeline on my particular night.

I’m a bit of a contrarian and don’t like to get there early, or even on time. For a 9AM HEA, I’d rather get to the party more like 8-8:15ish, grab a quick bite, bathroom break, then head over to the garden 8:30+. Some folks will like to build in more time, I personally just don’t like to wait around all that much.

One thing to watch is OUAT - if it’s before HEA, then I’d want to be more on time since I’d rather be in the garden in time to watch that show.

A lot of people will line up well in advance of the event start time, but I don’t think that’s really necessary unless you just really want to.

Hope that helps!

Thanks! Also since it will be peak March break I'm thinking the park hours may be extended. In this case, do the fireworks still run at 9 or later?

 

[BK2014]

The Bypass is ‘usually’ open during/after HEA, so you can potentially make a much quicker getaway to the front of the park than going down Main Street (which will be a zoo).

Is the bypass only obvious if you're looking for it? For some reason during our January trip I didn't see it on 3 trips to MK.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks! Also since it will be peak March break I'm thinking the park hours may be extended. In this case, do the fireworks still run at 9 or later?

I would not expect fireworks times to change. Park hours probably, but fireworks no. Once the dessert parties are bookable, you’ll usually rarely see fireworks times ultimate change.

Hope that helps!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Is the bypass only obvious if you're looking for it? For some reason during our January trip I didn't see it on 3 trips to MK.

It can be easy to miss if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for. It’s also only open usually very briefly. If you wait too long after HEA, it could be closed already.

 

[ITALIANNYC]

2 questions.

Does this thing usually sell out before the actual date you go?

Do I need to have park tickets bought to add this to my plans?

I’m debating paying for something I can see for free but it’s celebrating a birthday so maybe