MK Before or After Fireworks Dessert Party?

[KSR0330]

We did the before fireworks dessert party last year and loved it. We stayed in the plaza viewing area as everyone exited the park and then watched the castle projection show. This year, I'm wondering if doing the after dessert party would be better. Would we have time to have dessert and then head back out for the projection show?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

My first question is when would this be (if you don’t mind sharing) and do you know for sure OUAT (the projection show) will be after HEA? Sometimes it is scheduled before HEA.

 

[KSR0330]

My first question is when would this be (if you don’t mind sharing) and do you know for sure OUAT (the projection show) will be after HEA? Sometimes it is scheduled before HEA.

Yikes! I didn't know they sometimes do it prior to the fireworks. Is there a schedule somewhere?

 

[Rach3975]

Unfortunately, OUAT isn't scheduled until about 2 weeks ahead of time. We did the after party on 11/3. We booked it thinking that if hours stayed the same we'd probably see OUAT at 8:30, HEA as scheduled at 9, then go to the dessert party. We knew they might extend the hours and show OUAT later, and we weren't sure what we'd do. In the end, Disney surprised us with secret option #3. Hours didn't get extended (9 pm close) but they still showed OUAT at 9:45. It worked out fine for us. We watched HEA at 9, went to the after dessert party, had time to go through the buffet line twice, and were still out just in time for OUAT at 9:45. When we first arrived I asked if they could seat us near the railing so I could watch OUAT as we ate. They told me they couldn't (since they needed those bigger tables for bigger parties) but that we could exit to watch and then come back if we wanted to.

 

[Elle23]

We have done the before once and the after once. Honestly, by the time the fireworks were over, we were tired and done and didn’t really enjoy the after party very much. It almost seemed anticlimactic to us.

Of course other people’s experiences may vary, but that’s how it was for us.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We have done the before once and the after once. Honestly, by the time the fireworks were over, we were tired and done and didn’t really enjoy the after party very much. It almost seemed anticlimactic to us.

Of course other people’s experiences may vary, but that’s how it was for us.

I was wondering about this. I’m kind of split.

I know I’d be tired and want to head out but on the flip side we always wait a bit for the crowds to clear before we leave. I hate being stuck in that mad rush out. So I figured eating while waiting...?....

It’s probably moot either way.
All that sugar that close to bed will have me up all night anyways

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We have the after party booked and I feel like I'll probably regret loading my kids up on sugar that late, but we'll be waiting a long time for a boat back to WL if we leave immediately post-fireworks anyway.

 

[KSR0330]

Thanks for all of the input! I think I'll try the after party. We'd also wait to leave the park, even if OUAT if before HEA, so it makes sense.

 

[Sarahslay]

We did the before fireworks dessert party last year and loved it. We stayed in the plaza viewing area as everyone exited the park and then watched the castle projection show. This year, I'm wondering if doing the after dessert party would be better. Would we have time to have dessert and then head back out for the projection show?

I have done the before once and the after 3 times now, and I enjoy the after party far more than the before. Two of the three after parties I went to weren't sold out and we only had a few other families around, but even on the one that sold out it was way less crowded than even a not sold out before party. I was able to see the projection show from one of our tables during one party, and after one party my youngest and I were able to eat and then go down and watch the projection show from outside the plaza.

 

[ArielSRL]

We have the after party booked and I feel like I'll probably regret loading my kids up on sugar that late, but we'll be waiting a long time for a boat back to WL if we leave immediately post-fireworks anyway.

Just fyi: we rarely wait long for a boat back to WL at the end of the night. Easily the least busy form of transportation leaving MK at closing.

 

[chimoe]

We did the after party this year. I noticed the food was less than when we did the before party last year. There was only 5 options vs 7.

Maybe they run out of desserts and the after party gets what’s left?

 

[Rach3975]

We did the after party this year. I noticed the food was less than when we did the before party last year. There was only 5 options vs 7.

Maybe they run out of desserts and the after party gets what’s left?

Maybe it was a universal change, not an after vs. before? Recent reviews I'd read mentioned the marshmallow station, but they told us they no longer do that. I don't have a complete list of what was at the after party 2 weeks ago, but there were several bars/cakes (at least 3 kinds), a Mickey mousse push pop, cookie dough, chocolate covered strawberries, cheese, fruit, cheeseburger egg rolls, spinach dip, decorate your own cookies and cupcakes, some sort of cheesecake mini, and ooey gooey toffee cake.

 

[glocon]

We did the after party specifically to avoid the mad crush of humanity leaving the park after the fireworks. What backfired on us was the weather. There was lightning in the area and the show kept getting postponed- probably starting an hour late. I wondered if you were at the before party, could you just stay there while waiting for the weather to clear or do you have to leave after a certain amount of time. We did go in July so storms were the norm- I just didn’t think to factor that in.

 

[Twitterpaited]

I can not eat sweets so late because of acid reflux, so there is no way I would do the after party. After the fireworks, we went against the crowd and rode a couple of rides until closing as the crowds cleared out. The downside of the pre-party, though, is you are missing out on some park time for rides.