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

[Cluelyss]

Our Disney Cruise is returning 6/30/19, and we're debating what to do for July 4th week. One of the options, of course, is WDW.

So, we are considering the dessert party.
We would be staying onsite, so we could make 7/3 reservations at 180+3, or +4 for July 4.

How hard would it be to get the dessert party for 5?
We've seen HEA once, and for that, we would definitely choose the garden for the better view of the projections. I think I've read the shows are different for 7/3 and 7/4. For these shows, is the terrace seating an inferior view to the garden?

How do you make arrangements for the allergy offerings for the dessert party?

Thanks!

It will not be hard to get if you are booking as soon as it opens. Just note that the last 2 years, the dessert parties for the 3rd and 4th did not open right at the 180 day mark. So be prepared to stalk if needed!

I’ve done the holiday fireworks from the terrace (before GV was an option) and while there are certainly not the projections in this show that HEA has, I would still pick the garden. Out view was slightly obstructed by the overhang, which annoys me when paying a premium. I will say, however, that either view is better than the alternative of being down on Main Street! We had a friend that worked in the Plaza Ice Cream Shop the year we went, and after enjoying our desserts and waiting for the show, DH thought he’d “pop down” to say hi. He could not even get around the corner from TT to take the dozen or so steps to the Plaza....that’s how backed up the Main Street crowds were! I’ll take a slightly obstructed view over that ANY day! But if given the option, garden view will stil be the better view.

 

[redheadk]

If you've done the After Party, about how long after the fireworks did the party last? I know there can be some variability but we currently have the Before party booked and are planning to just stay put in the garden, watch OUAT, and let the worst of the crowds ease up before leaving. Wondering if we could just spend the same amount of time eating our desserts after the party during that time rather than before.

 

[DisFam4]

After Fireworks Dessert Party Saturday 9/22:
Sorry for the delay, catching up around the house after 2 weeks down south...
So we got to the check in at 7:10 and immediately went to the Garden area after waiting for 2 other groups to check in. Got set up in an area toward the back left, but not all the way toward the end. Here are the photos of the area at 7:15pm:


While it was somewhat empty, there were more people than I thought there would be at that time. This is the same areas at 7:35:


As you can see it is filling in, with another 25 minutes to go until the fireworks. Still a lot of green area toward the right when you first enter with the left side filling in more (I guess more people read here, lol)

This is now at 7:51:


To be continued....
(only allowed 10 photos)

 

[DisFam4]

With the fireworks set to go off in 10 minutes this should be just about everyone, and while it may look "crowded" most everyone is still sitting down. They then made an announcement that the fireworks would be delayed for 10 minutes and when they did that they started the announcement with music and everyone stood up as if the fireworks were starting..... So it is apparent that we will all be standing. The last set are right at 8:07, 2 minutes before they started:


And this was my sitting down at 7:15 view, and my view when everyone stood up and moved forward while I sat leaning against the back rail view:


This was taken during the fireworks with my phone at waist height - sorry for the quality - but you can see where there is about 12 feet from where I was to the next person in front of me, with a perfect view of the castle (at least from eye height, maybe not a kids eye view lol)


The fireworks ended at ~8:25/8:30ish and we went straight to the dessert area (first ones there actually) so that we could get a table against the edge to see the castle for OUAT. There are 4 tables against the rail with a view of the castle, albeit somewhat blocked a bit by trees, but still a good enough view to see whats going on and to view the fireworks at the end.

We then went up and got our drinks, coffee, POG juice and some water and put them at the table and then went for the food.... The tables started to fill in but never got past 1/2 full, with a lot of empty tables. Never had to wait more than 30 seconds to get anything if you went for food or drinks after the initial run on the food, which that itself was a very quick line anyway. This pic is at 8:42:

Sorry that I did not get any pics of the savory (too busy shooting up the sugar, lol)
So - the desserts. Overall they were OK, with a couple really good and some meh...
So From myself, DW, DD20:
Really good - cheesecake!!! chocolate covered strawberries, ooey gooey toffee(but we thought it was better at LTT)
OK, not bad - macarons, strawberry tarts, pineapple cups, smores, build your own cookie/brownie/cupcake
Meh - Mickey oreos, red velvet cupcakes

Savory:
Really good - actually all of it for us, we enjoyed the: Spinach dip, cheese/crackers, fruit and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the cheeseburger egg-rolls (took some with us togo)

I do not have a timestamp on when I left the area but I think it was around 9:20pm and we were one of the last to leave with maybe 6 other people still there. At no time did we feel rushed to leave by any CM's, aamof one came over to clear some of our plates and said that she was not rushing us out, and to take our time. I could tell that it was time to go as did the others that were there and we all left at around the same time. They did run out of the egg-rolls, but everything else was still stocked right up till the end.

You could not really see from the pics, but Main St. was PACKED and shoulder to shoulder. I couldn't really see it either as I was laying down on the grass taking a snooze waiting for the fireworks LOL!
I absolutely loved this party, and would do it again in a heart beat. We love HEA and my wife said that this was the best display of ALL of the HEA's that we have seen. From the visual perspective of seeing the entire castle from basically straight on, to no crowds at all. The key even for this party is to hang toward the back, there was still some empty rail space to lean on as everyone moves forward and you have all the room around you still.

Sorry for the long posts, please lmk if I can answer anything I did not cover here.

 

[Lsdolphin]

With the fireworks set to go off in 10 minutes this should be just about everyone, and while it may look "crowded" most everyone is still sitting down. They then made an announcement that the fireworks would be delayed for 10 minutes and when they did that they started the announcement with music and everyone stood up as if the fireworks were starting..... So it is apparent that we will all be standing. The last set are right at 8:07, 2 minutes before they started:
View attachment 354557 View attachment 354558 View attachment 354559

And this was my sitting down at 7:15 view, and my view when everyone stood up and moved forward while I sat leaning against the back rail view:
View attachment 354560 View attachment 354561

This was taken during the fireworks with my phone at waist height - sorry for the quality - but you can see where there is about 12 feet from where I was to the next person in front of me, with a perfect view of the castle (at least from eye height, maybe not a kids eye view lol)
View attachment 354563

The fireworks ended at ~7:25/7:30ish and we went straight to the dessert area (first ones there actually) so that we could get a table against the edge to see the castle for OUAT. We then went up and got our drinks, coffee, POG juice and some water and put them at the table and then went for the food.... The tables started to fill in but never got past 1/2 full, with a lot of empty tables. Never had to wait more than 30 seconds to get anything if you went for food or drinks after the initial run on the food, which that itself was a very quick line anyway. This pic is at 8:42:
View attachment 354564
Sorry that I did not get any pics of the savory (too busy shooting up the sugar, lol)
So - the desserts. Overall they were OK, with a couple really good and some meh...
So From myself, DW, DD20:
Really good - cheesecake!!! chocolate covered strawberries, ooey gooey toffee(but we thought it was better at LTT)
OK, not bad - macarons, strawberry tarts, pineapple cups, smores, build your own cookie/brownie/cupcake
Meh - Mickey oreos, red velvet cupcakes

Savory:
Really good - actually all of it for us, we enjoyed the: Spinach dip, cheese/crackers, fruit and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the cheeseburger egg-rolls (took some with us togo)

I do not have a timestamp on when I left the area but I think it was around 9:20pm and we were on of the last to leave with may 6 other people there. At no time did we feel rushed to leave by any CM's, aamof one came over to clear some of our plates and said that she was not rushing us out, and to take our time. I could tell that it was time to go as did the others that were there and we all left at around the same time. They did run out of the egg-rolls, but everything else was still stocked right up till the end.

You could not really see from the pics, but Main St. was PACKED and shoulder to shoulder. I couldn't really see it either as I was laying down on the grass taking a snooze waiting for the fireworks LOL!
I absolutely loved this party, and would do it again in a heart beat. We love HEA and my wife said that this was the best display of ALL of the HEA's that we have seen. From the visual perspective of seeing the entire castle from basically straight on, to no crowds at all. The key even for this party is to hang toward the back, there was still some empty rail space to lean on as everyone moves forward and you have all the room around you still.

Sorry for the long posts, please lmk if I can answer anything I did not cover here.

We are thinking of doing the After Party on 10/20 which is a Saturday with park open until 11:00 pm. I am worried that we will have a terrible time trying to fight through the crowds when the fireworks end to get back over to the dessert party.

 

[DisFam4]

We are thinking of doing the After Party on 10/20 which is a Saturday with park open until 11:00 pm. I am worried that we will have a terrible time trying to fight through the crowds when the fireworks end to get back over to the dessert party.

It can be very crowded getting out and over to the Terrace. What we did was just to tell each other to make your way over to the Terrace walkway where you checked in - if we got split up. We did get split up making our way there but our DD20 arrived right behind us by 30 secs. We did leave immediately after the FW because we wanted a specific table to be able to view the Castle to see part of OUAT, but if that's not an issue, then you can wait a few minutes for it to die down a bit.

Again, not sure how many or the ages of those in your party. But if you are fine with getting split up on the walk over, then just meet up there. Of course if you have kids, that could change things a bit.

 

[haileymarie92]

After Fireworks Dessert Party Saturday 9/22:

We were there 9/22 as well! We were to the far left on the rail. We did the before party, though. We checked in right at 630, ate and drank and were done/full by 7. So we headed down to the viewing by your first pic at 715.

We really enjoyed having the garden area and not having to stand in the mass of crowds. The view was great and we stayed after the show and relaxed a bit while we waiting for Main Street to clear.

 

[Cloe Colton]

With the fireworks set to go off in 10 minutes this should be just about everyone, and while it may look "crowded" most everyone is still sitting down. They then made an announcement that the fireworks would be delayed for 10 minutes and when they did that they started the announcement with music and everyone stood up as if the fireworks were starting..... So it is apparent that we will all be standing. The last set are right at 8:07, 2 minutes before they started:
View attachment 354557 View attachment 354558 View attachment 354559

And this was my sitting down at 7:15 view, and my view when everyone stood up and moved forward while I sat leaning against the back rail view:
View attachment 354560 View attachment 354561

This was taken during the fireworks with my phone at waist height - sorry for the quality - but you can see where there is about 12 feet from where I was to the next person in front of me, with a perfect view of the castle (at least from eye height, maybe not a kids eye view lol)
View attachment 354563

The fireworks ended at ~7:25/7:30ish and we went straight to the dessert area (first ones there actually) so that we could get a table against the edge to see the castle for OUAT. We then went up and got our drinks, coffee, POG juice and some water and put them at the table and then went for the food.... The tables started to fill in but never got past 1/2 full, with a lot of empty tables. Never had to wait more than 30 seconds to get anything if you went for food or drinks after the initial run on the food, which that itself was a very quick line anyway. This pic is at 8:42:
View attachment 354564
Sorry that I did not get any pics of the savory (too busy shooting up the sugar, lol)
So - the desserts. Overall they were OK, with a couple really good and some meh...
So From myself, DW, DD20:
Really good - cheesecake!!! chocolate covered strawberries, ooey gooey toffee(but we thought it was better at LTT)
OK, not bad - macarons, strawberry tarts, pineapple cups, smores, build your own cookie/brownie/cupcake
Meh - Mickey oreos, red velvet cupcakes

Savory:
Really good - actually all of it for us, we enjoyed the: Spinach dip, cheese/crackers, fruit and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the cheeseburger egg-rolls (took some with us togo)

I do not have a timestamp on when I left the area but I think it was around 9:20pm and we were on of the last to leave with may 6 other people there. At no time did we feel rushed to leave by any CM's, aamof one came over to clear some of our plates and said that she was not rushing us out, and to take our time. I could tell that it was time to go as did the others that were there and we all left at around the same time. They did run out of the egg-rolls, but everything else was still stocked right up till the end.

You could not really see from the pics, but Main St. was PACKED and shoulder to shoulder. I couldn't really see it either as I was laying down on the grass taking a snooze waiting for the fireworks LOL!
I absolutely loved this party, and would do it again in a heart beat. We love HEA and my wife said that this was the best display of ALL of the HEA's that we have seen. From the visual perspective of seeing the entire castle from basically straight on, to no crowds at all. The key even for this party is to hang toward the back, there was still some empty rail space to lean on as everyone moves forward and you have all the room around you still.

Sorry for the long posts, please lmk if I can answer anything I did not cover here.

So you got to the area about an hour ahead of the fireworks? I'm doing the After dessert party 10/7 and the fireworks are at 9 and our check in time is 8

 

[DisFam4]

So you got to the area about an hour ahead of the fireworks? I'm doing the After dessert party 10/7 and the fireworks are at 9 and our check in time is 8

Our fireworks were at 8 and we arrived at 7:15, so 45 minutes before. We had a choice of anywhere in the area at that time. At about 7:30 it started to fill in more.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Wonder what’s up with the 10 min delay lately? We had the same 10 min delay last week, 9/20.

 

[Lsdolphin]

It can be very crowded getting out and over to the Terrace. What we did was just to tell each other to make your way over to the Terrace walkway where you checked in - if we got split up. We did get split up making our way there but our DD20 arrived right behind us by 30 secs. We did leave immediately after the FW because we wanted a specific table to be able to view the Castle to see part of OUAT, but if that's not an issue, then you can wait a few minutes for it to die down a bit.

Again, not sure how many or the ages of those in your party. But if you are fine with getting split up on the walk over, then just meet up there. Of course if you have kids, that could change things a bit.

There will be three of us but one will be using an ECV. I'm wondering if we should just do the before party instead.

 

[rxbeth]

If you have a stroller, do you park it at the Tomorrowland terrace?

For the after party, if you were taking a bus, how busy were they by the time you came out?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

If you have a stroller, do you park it at the Tomorrowland terrace?

For the after party, if you were taking a bus, how busy were they by the time you came out?

Been awhile since we had a stroller, but I'm pretty sure they had us park strollers outside the Tomorrowland Terrace while eating (I think, I'm not totally sure on this). But you can bring your stroller into the Plaza Garden.

Buses will be generally the same no matter when you leave the park.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

@DisFam4 - Epic review of the After Party, thanks so much for taking the time to share your detailed experience and pictures.

We did the After Party on 9/20 (which I need to do a more detailed write-up) and had a generally similar experience. We arrived late (on purpose) - around 7:45pm for an 8pm fireworks. The garden was rather crowded at that point and we could pretty much only fit in to the right. It was borderline getting me down how crowded it was (still better than the alternative though). But, you are right... with everyone seated / sprawled out, it's not quite as crowded as it seems. When the show started and people stood, there was more ground space.

Anyway - thank you again!

 

[dachsie]

If you've done the After Party, about how long after the fireworks did the party last? I know there can be some variability but we currently have the Before party booked and are planning to just stay put in the garden, watch OUAT, and let the worst of the crowds ease up before leaving. Wondering if we could just spend the same amount of time eating our desserts after the party during that time rather than before.

You can’t see OUAT with the after party. That was disappointing to me. I will type a review when I get home either tonite or tomorrow. I went on the 22nd

 

[dachsie]

With the fireworks set to go off in 10 minutes this should be just about everyone, and while it may look "crowded" most everyone is still sitting down. They then made an announcement that the fireworks would be delayed for 10 minutes and when they did that they started the announcement with music and everyone stood up as if the fireworks were starting..... So it is apparent that we will all be standing. The last set are right at 8:07, 2 minutes before they started:
View attachment 354557 View attachment 354558 View attachment 354559

And this was my sitting down at 7:15 view, and my view when everyone stood up and moved forward while I sat leaning against the back rail view:
View attachment 354560 View attachment 354561

This was taken during the fireworks with my phone at waist height - sorry for the quality - but you can see where there is about 12 feet from where I was to the next person in front of me, with a perfect view of the castle (at least from eye height, maybe not a kids eye view lol)
View attachment 354563

The fireworks ended at ~7:25/7:30ish and we went straight to the dessert area (first ones there actually) so that we could get a table against the edge to see the castle for OUAT. We then went up and got our drinks, coffee, POG juice and some water and put them at the table and then went for the food.... The tables started to fill in but never got past 1/2 full, with a lot of empty tables. Never had to wait more than 30 seconds to get anything if you went for food or drinks after the initial run on the food, which that itself was a very quick line anyway. This pic is at 8:42:
View attachment 354564
Sorry that I did not get any pics of the savory (too busy shooting up the sugar, lol)
So - the desserts. Overall they were OK, with a couple really good and some meh...
So From myself, DW, DD20:
Really good - cheesecake!!! chocolate covered strawberries, ooey gooey toffee(but we thought it was better at LTT)
OK, not bad - macarons, strawberry tarts, pineapple cups, smores, build your own cookie/brownie/cupcake
Meh - Mickey oreos, red velvet cupcakes

Savory:
Really good - actually all of it for us, we enjoyed the: Spinach dip, cheese/crackers, fruit and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the cheeseburger egg-rolls (took some with us togo)

I do not have a timestamp on when I left the area but I think it was around 9:20pm and we were on of the last to leave with may 6 other people there. At no time did we feel rushed to leave by any CM's, aamof one came over to clear some of our plates and said that she was not rushing us out, and to take our time. I could tell that it was time to go as did the others that were there and we all left at around the same time. They did run out of the egg-rolls, but everything else was still stocked right up till the end.

You could not really see from the pics, but Main St. was PACKED and shoulder to shoulder. I couldn't really see it either as I was laying down on the grass taking a snooze waiting for the fireworks LOL!
I absolutely loved this party, and would do it again in a heart beat. We love HEA and my wife said that this was the best display of ALL of the HEA's that we have seen. From the visual perspective of seeing the entire castle from basically straight on, to no crowds at all. The key even for this party is to hang toward the back, there was still some empty rail space to lean on as everyone moves forward and you have all the room around you still.

Sorry for the long posts, please lmk if I can answer anything I did not cover here.

I think we chatted with each other before the party. I was on back fence next to the guy from Australia and you were on the other side of him!

 

[dachsie]

We were there 9/22 as well! We were to the far left on the rail. We did the before party, though. We checked in right at 630, ate and drank and were done/full by 7. So we headed down to the viewing by your first pic at 715.

We really enjoyed having the garden area and not having to stand in the mass of crowds. The view was great and we stayed after the show and relaxed a bit while we waiting for Main Street to clear.

lol. I must have been standing next to y’all too

 

[Cluelyss]

Been awhile since we had a stroller, but I'm pretty sure they had us park strollers outside the Tomorrowland Terrace while eating (I think, I'm not totally sure on this). But you can bring your stroller into the Plaza Garden.

All correct

 

[dbb727]

Been awhile since we had a stroller, but I'm pretty sure they had us park strollers outside the Tomorrowland Terrace while eating (I think, I'm not totally sure on this). But you can bring your stroller into the Plaza Garden.

We did the before party on Sept 17th and I brought our double stroller right up into Tomorrowland Terrace, not sure if I was or wasn’t supposed to but nobody at the checkin nor the CM seating us said anything about it. I was honestly too hot, sweaty and tired to think differently. We were seated pretty close to the food so I didn’t have to navigate any other tables or many people so it wasn’t an issue thankfully.

 

[DisFam4]

I think we chatted with each other before the party. I was on back fence next to the guy from Australia and you were on the other side of him!

Yes! That was us, so nice to meet you. I hope you enjoyed the MNSSHP's, how did the first and second ones compare....

For the desserts we sat at the furthest tables against the wall with a view of the castle (partially obstructed by trees) but enough to see some of the projections and the fireworks of course.