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

[123SA]

Thanks for the thorough review ErinF

 

[MagicalAdventures]

If December 12 is a Christmas party night, they won't have the regular dessert party.

Since that’s just outside the 180 day window, I wonder if they just haven’t loaded reservations yet (despite your +10 opening window).

Again relying on what I have gathered from others, it seems that this particular dining event isn't always released 180 days out and may only be released a few months out. I believe it has been a bit inconsistent in that regard. And as another poster noted, if the 12th is a party (MVMCP) night, it wouldn't be available anyway to non-party guests.

I was able to book 12/10 at 180+10. It doesn't look like there are any dates opened after the 10th right now.

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to reply. I think possibly it just hadn’t opened up for booking yet as I managed to do it today. Really pleased.

 

[closetmickey]

The more I read about the abundance of food, the more I am worrying about eating at Ohana at 4:20. I knew I should make an early ADR but wondering if we will still be stuffed by 8pm. Especially since we LOVE the bread pudding there. That’s A LOT of desserts in one night.

 

[Wdw1015]

I know that the answer to this is probably no, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to check. I am worried about my 4 and 7 yo being able to see - I cannot physically lift them and I don't want to block others anyway. Do children usually get a decent view and can they stand on the black iron fence, leaning back on an adult?

We just did our first party last night and I was worried about the same thing for my 8 & 12 year old. We went to the back gate around 8:30’ish and grabbed a spot with no problem. My 8 year old was able to sit the whole time and we didn’t have any issues.

 

[ErinF]

Thanks for the thorough review ErinF

You're welcome!

 

[disny_luvr]

I am so thankful for this thread in helping me both to watch for when bookings opened for my date and with general information about the dessert party. So now it's time for me to give back with my review.

We attended the before fireworks dessert party on Sunday, June 10th. We had never attended a dessert party so have nothing to compare to. Fireworks were at 9:15 with a 10pm closing for MK this night. I had been checking to see how full my party might be, as well as the after fireworks party, and it appeared that it was not close to being sold out through checking the website for availability. However, while we were waiting in line to check in, some people wondered over and were wondering what was going on with the lines. A CM that was helping a little with line control informed them about the dessert party and when they asked about attending, she said she didn't think there was availability except for maybe the after fireworks party. Also, where we were seated seemed to be almost completely full, so maybe it was sold out after all?

Anyway, check in time was 7:45 and we got in line about 7:35. It took about 15-20 minutes of waiting before we were seated. Everything was yummy, and we especially enjoyed the new egg rolls and the sauce you can get with them. My husband and I even thought the spinach dip was pretty tasty. My favorite was making an ice cream sundae with a brownie, this is my very favorite dessert in general. Below are my two younger kiddos with the new s'mores dessert. It's a marshmallow on a stick that's been melted a bit and then dipped in chocolate and rolled in graham cracker crumbs. They said it was great! We had skipped dinner so we could pig out at the party and so we did eat a lot!! In fact, my family was really taking advantage of all the food and going back multiple times that we were one of the last families to be escorted out to the garden. This was fine by me because I didn't want to rush them, I wanted them to fill up and I wanted DH to be happy and eating a lot was making him happy! I had also brought ziplock baggies with me and I saved crackers, grapes, sugar cookies, and rice Krispy treats that we munched on later that night and the next day. We also each took a water bottle that they had available with the drinks.

View attachment 329939

So, because we were one of the last to get to the garden, it was quite full, but it wasn't hard to find a spot at the back rail which is where I wanted us to be. I think it was about 8:45 or so when we got there. Here's a picture of what it looked like. (My phone says this picture was taken at 8:52.)

View attachment 329940

Seems pretty crowded, but I didn't feel squished by any means and you can see there's still some larger open spots. It was exactly what I wanted, a spot that was reserved for us without us having to hold it down for an hour or more and then be packed in like sardines with strangers. Not to mention the fact that my oldest son, who has special needs and was pretty anxious about the fireworks, could just sit on the ground throughout the fireworks with out been trampled. There was a really big open spot in the back corner right near where we settled with a photo pass photographer. I took advantage and got a great picture of DH and I.

View attachment 329985

Here are two of my favorite pictures I took during HEA.
View attachment 329956
View attachment 329955

Overall, we really enjoyed the before fireworks dessert party and are happy we did it. It was a bit of a splurge for us, but we definitely found value in it and would consider doing it again for a future trip. Hope this review helps others!

Thank you for your review. I’m glad you had a great time. I have been on the fence about canceling, but after reading your review, I think we will keep it. I actually just checked the availability for my party night, and there appears to be a lot of availability on the site (I can only plug in 49 guests, but there are still 49 spots for both the before and after parties), so I’m hopeful it won’t be too crowded. Only 9 more nights and I’ll be enjoying HEA...

 

[Dan Murphy]

I am so thankful for this thread in helping me both to watch for when bookings opened for my date and with general information about the dessert party. So now it's time for me to give back with my review.

We attended the before fireworks dessert party on Sunday, June 10th. We had never attended a dessert party so have nothing to compare to. Fireworks were at 9:15 with a 10pm closing for MK this night. I had been checking to see how full my party might be, as well as the after fireworks party, and it appeared that it was not close to being sold out through checking the website for availability. However, while we were waiting in line to check in, some people wondered over and were wondering what was going on with the lines. A CM that was helping a little with line control informed them about the dessert party and when they asked about attending, she said she didn't think there was availability except for maybe the after fireworks party. Also, where we were seated seemed to be almost completely full, so maybe it was sold out after all?

Anyway, check in time was 7:45 and we got in line about 7:35. It took about 15-20 minutes of waiting before we were seated. Everything was yummy, and we especially enjoyed the new egg rolls and the sauce you can get with them. My husband and I even thought the spinach dip was pretty tasty. My favorite was making an ice cream sundae with a brownie, this is my very favorite dessert in general. Below are my two younger kiddos with the new s'mores dessert. It's a marshmallow on a stick that's been melted a bit and then dipped in chocolate and rolled in graham cracker crumbs. They said it was great! We had skipped dinner so we could pig out at the party and so we did eat a lot!! In fact, my family was really taking advantage of all the food and going back multiple times that we were one of the last families to be escorted out to the garden. This was fine by me because I didn't want to rush them, I wanted them to fill up and I wanted DH to be happy and eating a lot was making him happy! I had also brought ziplock baggies with me and I saved crackers, grapes, sugar cookies, and rice Krispy treats that we munched on later that night and the next day. We also each took a water bottle that they had available with the drinks.

View attachment 329939

So, because we were one of the last to get to the garden, it was quite full, but it wasn't hard to find a spot at the back rail which is where I wanted us to be. I think it was about 8:45 or so when we got there. Here's a picture of what it looked like. (My phone says this picture was taken at 8:52.)

View attachment 329940

Seems pretty crowded, but I didn't feel squished by any means and you can see there's still some larger open spots. It was exactly what I wanted, a spot that was reserved for us without us having to hold it down for an hour or more and then be packed in like sardines with strangers. Not to mention the fact that my oldest son, who has special needs and was pretty anxious about the fireworks, could just sit on the ground throughout the fireworks with out been trampled. There was a really big open spot in the back corner right near where we settled with a photo pass photographer. I took advantage and got a great picture of DH and I.

View attachment 329985

Here are two of my favorite pictures I took during HEA.
View attachment 329956
View attachment 329955

Overall, we really enjoyed the before fireworks dessert party and are happy we did it. It was a bit of a splurge for us, but we definitely found value in it and would consider doing it again for a future trip. Hope this review helps others!

Great review, Erin, and great pictures of you and your family. Thanks much!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

@ErinF - Great review and pics, thank you for taking the time to stop by to share your experience, especially the time detail (very helpful to others).

Back rail life!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

My family did the after party this past Thursday. Overall, I didn't find it to be uncomfortably crowded. Now, it had rained for about an hour or two before the show so its possible perhaps some people didn't show up, but it was a good experience for our family. We were riding rides and didn't make it to check in until just at about 8:40. We found our spot at the rear left of the garden and had more than enough room even as others started joining in. Would I do it again now that we've seen the show....eh...maybe. If we just had extra funds to use, I'd do it again. If it came down to do the party or something else fun that we hadn't done before, I'd pick the something else. Haha. The desserts were average, but, we all know that we're not paying the price for the food, right? LOL.

Here's the view (panoramic, so slight distortion on here) from our spot at approximately 8:40 when we got there:

And here it was just before the show started:

Sorry for the delay, but wanted to say thank you for posting your experience with the After Party. Hard to tell from your panorama, but looks like you enjoyed a back rail spot too?

Anyway, thanks again!

 

[ErinF]

@ErinF - Great review and pics, thank you for taking the time to stop by to share your experience, especially the time detail (very helpful to others).

Back rail life!

You're welcome! Happy to help!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

The more I read about the abundance of food, the more I am worrying about eating at Ohana at 4:20. I knew I should make an early ADR but wondering if we will still be stuffed by 8pm. Especially since we LOVE the bread pudding there. That’s A LOT of desserts in one night.

It’s obviously subjective, but we don’t find the food at this event to be anything to write home about. We’ve done it for the reserved viewing. As such, we don’t worry too much about an ADR close to the party time.

That said, we haven’t tried the new menu. Though none of the new stuff looks appealing to me at all, and reviews I’ve read are mostly “not great” to “bad”.

 

[Wdw1015]

We did our first party last week on the 14th. We got in line around 7:30 with about 5 other groups. The cast member informed us there was going to be around 300 people there but not sure if that was just for the before party or also included the after party? Either way, he advised they were going to let us in a little early so we could get a head start which I thought was great. I didn’t look to see what time it actually was but I’d guess maybe 10 min early. We were led to our table and enjoyed several plates of yummy goodness. The new taco egg rolls were amazing! We didn’t eat dinner before going so I definitely had my fair share of those! We didn’t feel rushed at all. We headed out to the plaza area around 8:20 and grabbed our spot along the back rail thanks to the tips on here.

Lots of open space! We were able to sit and relax for a little while, there was a photopass photographer both in here and in the terrace where we ate which I thought was great.
This pic was around 9:00. Filling up but still plenty of space. You can see some people laying down with open space in front of us that never filled in.

The people in the very front stood up and there a few shoulder kids which I don’t understand but most people stayed sitting. As we were in the back, I leaned against the back rail while my kids sat. When we left, the cast member led us out the Main Street bypass so getting out was a breeze. It was very stress free and I would pay the money again in a heartbeat!!

 

[closetmickey]

We did our first party last week on the 14th. We got in line around 7:30 with about 5 other groups. The cast member informed us there was going to be around 300 people there but not sure if that was just for the before party or also included the after party? Either way, he advised they were going to let us in a little early so we could get a head start which I thought was great. I didn’t look to see what time it actually was but I’d guess maybe 10 min early. We were led to our table and enjoyed several plates of yummy goodness. The new taco egg rolls were amazing! We didn’t eat dinner before going so I definitely had my fair share of those! We didn’t feel rushed at all. We headed out to the plaza area around 8:20 and grabbed our spot along the back rail thanks to the tips on here.View attachment 330404

Lots of open space! We were able to sit and relax for a little while, there was a photopass photographer both in here and in the terrace where we ate which I thought was great.
This pic was around 9:00. Filling up but still plenty of space. You can see some people laying down with open space in front of us that never filled in. View attachment 330405

The people in the very front stood up and there a few shoulder kids which I don’t understand but most people stayed sitting. As we were in the back, I leaned against the back rail while my kids sat. When we left, the cast member led us out the Main Street bypass so getting out was a breeze. It was very stress free and I would pay the money again in a heartbeat!!

Glad you enjoyed it! When you left at 8:20 (we hope to stay until much later) were most doing the same or what portion were still enjoying desserts? Thank you

 

[Wdw1015]

Glad you enjoyed it! When you left at 8:20 (we hope to stay until much later) were most doing the same or what portion were still enjoying desserts? Thank you

I would say that 75% were still eating but since we were one of the first groups in, we were done earlier. Plus we had been in the park since 7:30 am for breakfast so we were ok with sitting and relaxing in the garden area for a little while before the fireworks!

 

[Lsdolphin]

We did our first party last week on the 14th. We got in line around 7:30 with about 5 other groups. The cast member informed us there was going to be around 300 people there but not sure if that was just for the before party or also included the after party? Either way, he advised they were going to let us in a little early so we could get a head start which I thought was great. I didn’t look to see what time it actually was but I’d guess maybe 10 min early. We were led to our table and enjoyed several plates of yummy goodness. The new taco egg rolls were amazing! We didn’t eat dinner before going so I definitely had my fair share of those! We didn’t feel rushed at all. We headed out to the plaza area around 8:20 and grabbed our spot along the back rail thanks to the tips on here.View attachment 330404

Lots of open space! We were able to sit and relax for a little while, there was a photopass photographer both in here and in the terrace where we ate which I thought was great.
This pic was around 9:00. Filling up but still plenty of space. You can see some people laying down with open space in front of us that never filled in. View attachment 330405

The people in the very front stood up and there a few shoulder kids which I don’t understand but most people stayed sitting. As we were in the back, I leaned against the back rail while my kids sat. When we left, the cast member led us out the Main Street bypass so getting out was a breeze. It was very stress free and I would pay the money again in a heartbeat!!

Your review was really helpful. Thank you!!!

 

[disny_luvr]

We did our first party last week on the 14th. We got in line around 7:30 with about 5 other groups. The cast member informed us there was going to be around 300 people there but not sure if that was just for the before party or also included the after party? Either way, he advised they were going to let us in a little early so we could get a head start which I thought was great. I didn’t look to see what time it actually was but I’d guess maybe 10 min early. We were led to our table and enjoyed several plates of yummy goodness. The new taco egg rolls were amazing! We didn’t eat dinner before going so I definitely had my fair share of those! We didn’t feel rushed at all. We headed out to the plaza area around 8:20 and grabbed our spot along the back rail thanks to the tips on here.View attachment 330404

Lots of open space! We were able to sit and relax for a little while, there was a photopass photographer both in here and in the terrace where we ate which I thought was great.
This pic was around 9:00. Filling up but still plenty of space. You can see some people laying down with open space in front of us that never filled in. View attachment 330405

The people in the very front stood up and there a few shoulder kids which I don’t understand but most people stayed sitting. As we were in the back, I leaned against the back rail while my kids sat. When we left, the cast member led us out the Main Street bypass so getting out was a breeze. It was very stress free and I would pay the money again in a heartbeat!!

Thank you so much for your review. I’m glad you had a great time!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us @Wdw1015, I've added your link to Post #1.

 

[Doug5984]

We will be doing the dessert party again on our next trip, we really enjoyed it - made watching the fireworks such a relaxing experience instead of 'fighting the crowd' before and after.

 

[closetmickey]

We were planning on trying to get on Space Mountain after the before dessert garden party-cutting back through the terrace restaurant as a shortcut. Do you think we will still be able to do that with the newly scheduled after party going on? Not sure of the exact route…
Thank you for the help!

Sorry to quote myself...just looking to see if anyone knows the answer to this.TIA!

 

[tlcdoula]

I am looking at booking one of the dessert parties on our last evening in the parks. The day I am looking at is Saturday December 8th the park closes at 9pm. With Fireworks scheduled at 9pm Am I missing that there is extra hours that evening or do I assume they will extend the park hours.

With the After Fireworks Dessert party how does it work if the park is closing right after fireworks?