Which is better? EMM or Dessert Party

[bigeyedfish]

We are going to EMM at DHS over MK. I thought the rides at DHS (Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers, and Toy Story Mania) would appeal more to my boys. Since TSL is newer and reportedly pretty busy I thought this would be a great way to avoid using FPs and avoid the crowds. GL!

 

[glocon]

You are so lucky that you get to even do one of those... whichever you choose, I’m sure you’ll have a great time!!!
We’ve never done emm, but have done the swgdp, and we loved it- but we love the sw movies too.

 

[TheMick424]

You are so lucky that you get to even do one of those... whichever you choose, I’m sure you’ll have a great time!!!
We’ve never done emm, but have done the swgdp, and we loved it- but we love the sw movies too.

We feel very lucky for sure. It is definitely a splurge and I have a little anxiety about spending that kind of money on something that isn’t really necessary. We are typically very frugal, including eating most breakfasts in our room and packing our lunches. But I was hoping to do something extra special for this trip.

 

[Lorelei18]

What are the dates of your trip? I love your question because I would consider the same. We are going the week right before Easter and I have the HEA Garden Dessert Before Party booked. We did this last year the qeek before Christmas and I was so glad that we did. We tend to go during busier times when MK will open at 8am some days to the general public and we get in a lot of rides ropedropping those days. But, of all of the holiday special activities we did that week, my DS12 favorite thing he said was the dessert party. For me it was up there as well, the hub can get so packed in certain days that they actually start telling people no more people can come into the hub about 30-45 minutes before fireworks and need to go through the bypass to townsquare to look for a spot. So, for HEA, I guess it depends the dates you are going and if you have seen it before. It is my favorite WDW night show. But it is best seen from the hub because the entire show has projections on the castle front. If youve seen it before, or genuinely feel like no one in your family will care about seeing it, or if you are going at a less crowded time, then i wouldnt worry about the dessert party. We were one of the first people to check into our dessert party when we did it and I my kids, DS5, DS8 and DS12 really enjoyed the dessert buffet. So, like others seem to be saying too, it depends on your priorities.

 

[TheMick424]

What are the dates of your trip? I love your question because I would consider the same. We are going the week right before Easter and I have the HEA Garden Dessert Before Party booked. We did this last year the qeek before Christmas and I was so glad that we did. We tend to go during busier times when MK will open at 8am some days to the general public and we get in a lot of rides ropedropping those days. But, of all of the holiday special activities we did that week, my DS12 favorite thing he said was the dessert party. For me it was up there as well, the hub can get so packed in certain days that they actually start telling people no more people can come into the hub about 30-45 minutes before fireworks and need to go through the bypass to townsquare to look for a spot. So, for HEA, I guess it depends the dates you are going and if you have seen it before. It is my favorite WDW night show. But it is best seen from the hub because the entire show has projections on the castle front. If youve seen it before, or genuinely feel like no one in your family will care about seeing it, or if you are going at a less crowded time, then i wouldnt worry about the dessert party. We were one of the first people to check into our dessert party when we did it and I my kids, DS5, DS8 and DS12 really enjoyed the dessert buffet. So, like others seem to be saying too, it depends on your priorities.

We’ll be there 2/23 to 3/2. From what I’ve read, crowds are predicted to be heavier over the race weekend and then lighter during the week, but I have no experience with that time of year. We usually go the last week of April but moved up our trip because of the Easter holiday.

We’ve never seen HEA, SWGS, Pandora or Toy Story land.

 

[Lorelei18]

We’ll be there 2/23 to 3/2. From what I’ve read, crowds are predicted to be heavier over the race weekend and then lighter during the week, but I have no experience with that time of year. We usually go the last week of April but moved up our trip because of the Easter holiday.

We’ve never seen HEA, SWGS, Pandora or Toy Story land.

And it sounds like you arent opposed to waking up early. We havent seen TSL yet either, and we know we want to do FoP for sure. Our family will plan to get to the parks an hour before opening time and rope drop, and hope to get fastpass for a second ride. My kids arent really obsessed with riding rides consecutive multiple times however. As for SWGS, it is good, but we've always gotten a good spot to watch about 20 min before the show (hint, look at Robos map). This is at crowded times. We grab dessert and wait. That one is so much easier to see without camping out for an hour or more. As for TSL EMM i considered it, but we always eat lunch at Sci Fi when we are there, and also wouldnt want to waste 9-10am touring time when the park isnt super crowded yet in order to eat breakfast. Id be paying a lot for 5 people just to get a few extra rides on SDD. So for us, the HEA dessert party just feels the most "special". But Ive never done the other dessert parties. So if you are looking to do something extra special as a family, at least for us, we consider it to be. I guess in my mind too looking back, when we did it, it felt like special family time after a day of running from ride to ride.

 

[glocon]

It’s a hard choice- both would be fun.

 

[sandy77d]

We have done both - EMM at MK twice, and Star Wars dessert party at HS. We prefer EMM to dessert parties. Here are my thoughts:

The two EMM events we did at MK were great! We loved being in the park when it is not very crowded and riding the rides, especially SDMT, over and over. The breakfast was good and it was a great way to start the day. By mid-day, we were ready for a break from the park. The first time we did it, it was our last park day and our 3rd MK day of that trip and we left the park around 3pm and did not return. The second time we did it, it was our only MK day so we left for a break mid-day, then returned later in the day. It is always hard to get SDMT fast passes, which is what makes this worthwhile for us.

We liked the Star Wars dessert party, but I have a hard time saying this was worth the cost. The Star Wars dessert party was great because we got a shorter line to meet Chewbacca and we liked trading with the Jawas. The desserts were good, but nothing really memorable. The location for the fireworks/projection show was nice, but I think we would have been just as happy to find our own spot.

For our next trip in December, we decided to do EMM at TSL and no dessert party. We do not have FP for SDD, so EMM is the best way to experience Toy Story Land without the crowds. I wish they would have an EMM for Pandora.