Dessert parties

[FrancoFun]

I know that dates/times for dessert parties are not posted too far in advance, however...

If you had the choice of doing Wishes, Illuminations, or the Star Wars dessert parties (assuming they were all available at some point during a 7-day trip in July), which would you choose and why? I have never done a dessert party and am rather a newbie to WDW (only having visited once before), so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

 

[madchatter]

I know that dates/times for dessert parties are not posted too far in advance, however...

If you had the choice of doing Wishes, Illuminations, or the Star Wars dessert parties (assuming they were all available at some point during a 7-day trip in July), which would you choose and why? I have never done a dessert party and am rather a newbie to WDW (only having visited once before), so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

Difficult to say without knowing more about your likes and interests. I personally LOVE Wishes and I prefer to see it straight on. The dessert party is off to the side and not the best view in my mind. I enjoyed the Wishes party recently but if it were my second visit and not something I'd do often, I'd rather see it from elsewhere.

The Star Wars party I thought was a good value and an excellent view of the show. We enjoyed it a lot but we are big Star Wars people. The Star Wars show is not as good as Wishes as a show in my opinion. But the view at the party is preferable at Hollywood Studios.

I found things to eat at both but I'm not a big sweet eater.

I have not been to the Illuminations Party so I can't provide any input there.

If you have specific questions I might be able to provide additional info.

Enjoy!

 

[FrancoFun]

Difficult to say without knowing more about your likes and interests.

Honestly? We really like Disney but are not huge fans of any one single thing. DS10 likes Star Wars, but his favourite thing about Epcot is the World Showcase... We have never seen any of the fireworks shows at WDW (we have seen fireworks at DLR). That's part of why I feel like it might be difficult to choose. We are planning to park days at Epcot and one each at AK, HS, and MK.

 

[soniam]

Star Wars. Great show and great party, even though Wishes is my favorite show. We have done all 3, and it's the only one that we have done twice. We are planning to do it for a 3rd time this summer.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I would like to do Illuminations party in July. We have done the others and enjoyed them. We also did Jingle Bam one this past December.

When do you think the dates will be open for July?

 

[whiporee]

I'd do Wishes, if for no other reason than to avoid Main Street and The Hub in the pre and post show aftermath.

The Star Wars party was good, but the show is underwhelming to me. A lot of projection of scenes I've already seen a bunch of times.

 

[d-train]

Having done each of them, and if I had to choose just one, I would choose the Star Wars party - great food, neat Chewbacca gift, and amazing show!

I usually book the Wishes party on a trip too - love being out of that crowd in front of the castle... the party is nice too, but being out of the crowd at MK...great!

 

[ama_george]

I'm so glad you asked this! I could have typed your original post, it is so similar to my situation. We are going over spring break and I've only been once, actually just last summer! But we were talking about booking the SW party or not and I think I'm convinced!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I LOVE Illuminations, but I wouldn't do the dessert party. There are so many fantastic spots to watch Illuminations around the lagoon. In fact, I think there are better spots than the dessert party location (we really like Italy).

We didn't do the Star Wars party because it wasn't offered when we were there, but the show was FANTASTIC. My DS9 and I did have a bit of a hard time seeing it though (I'm kind of short!), so if we were going to see it again, I would book the party just to get a good spot.

We just did the Wishes dessert party with Plaza garden viewing on our last trip and it was really wonderful. The desserts were delicious and the view from the garden was fantastic. Direct view of the castle and no jostling crowds in the viewing area. We stood by the back rail and we were essentially the only ones there. I've seen Wishes numerous times and this time was the absolute best.

I would say, if budget allows, do both!!

 

[madchatter]

I LOVE Illuminations, but I wouldn't do the dessert party. There are so many fantastic spots to watch Illuminations around the lagoon. In fact, I think there are better spots than the dessert party location (we really like Italy).

We didn't do the Star Wars party because it wasn't offered when we were there, but the show was FANTASTIC. My DS9 and I did have a bit of a hard time seeing it though (I'm kind of short!), so if we were going to see it again, I would book the party just to get a good spot.

We just did the Wishes dessert party with Plaza garden viewing on our last trip and it was really wonderful. The desserts were delicious and the view from the garden was fantastic. Direct view of the castle and no jostling crowds in the viewing area. We stood by the back rail and we were essentially the only ones there. I've seen Wishes numerous times and this time was the absolute best.

I would say, if budget allows, do both!!

That view does sound great. We saw it from Tomorrowland Terrace and it was at an angle. This might be worth doing again.

 

[FrancoFun]

Hmmmm. I'd say that budget likely doesn't allow both. Not if we want to do a few of the table service meals on our "to-do list" (we're a family of 3, and aren't doing a dining plan as by my calculations we will come out ahead going OOP). Hmmmmm!!! What to do?!

Since the dates aren't out at the 180 ADR date, how do you know when to book?

 

[Newsies]

I honestly loved the Wishes dessert party. There was a great selection of really cute and yummy little treats (personally, I was a big fan of the white chocolate tinker bell wing cupcakes and the oreo mousse mickeys) and enjoyed the unique view of Wishes where Tink flew right over us. Wasn't anything super spectacular, but a fun and different way to spend an evening without battling Wishes crowds.

 

[minoh]

I was just wondering if either of these shows/dessert parties was worth it, as well. So this thread is really helpful for mulling it over

 

[FrancoFun]

I was just wondering if either of these shows/dessert parties was worth it, as well. So this thread is really helpful for mulling it over

I am glad that I started the thread to get some more info. In the end, I have purchased tickets for the Wishes dessert party for our MK day in July. I hope we find it enjoyable and worthwhile.

 

[Keyser]

I have only done one of these (Wishes) - it was good: desserts were good (but wish they included soft drinks), nice to not fight crowds. But, the view, while good, was "off center". And, Tomorrowland Terrace was rather full, so we didn't have the greatest view. We were able to move from our table to a spot nearer the railing (not blocking anyone's view or anything - this was an empty area of the terrace at the far right - that gave a nice view. Glad we did it, but we've also had good views (probably better in some ways) when fighting the crowds (and there will be a fight with crowds) on Main Street.

I wouldn't go for Illuminations, only because there are so many good spots to watch from, and so many ways to get good snacks around World Showcase. You can even get fastpasses for a good viewing location. I expect the desserts are good there, but I wouldn't pay just for that.

Star Wars I found it harder to get a good view, and I think the party might be worth it for that reason (I understand it gives a nearly ideal view of the show). If you drink alcohol, I understand it includes alcoholic drinks, which is a plus for some (but a waste for us). The desserts look really good, also. So, that one would be my vote, but not from having seen it.

 

[nicolej92]

We did the Illuminations one and weren't thrilled. The desserts were average, and the spot had a very "lakey" smell to it that I didn't notice when viewing Illuminations from other spots. I'm not a fan of weird smells, so I feel like I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have.

I would still like to try the Wishes one.

 

[J and R's mom]

I am glad that I started the thread to get some more info. In the end, I have purchased tickets for the Wishes dessert party for our MK day in July. I hope we find it enjoyable and worthwhile.

Good choice!

We have done all three. Here's my vote:

1) Wishes--I like that we can SIT while eating. The garden view is a bonus as well now.

2) Illuminations--We relished all the space around us while we watched the show. But you do have to stand for this one.

3) Star Wars--This was my #1 of ALL time when we went back in May 2016. BEST fireworks show we had ever seen at Disney (not counting specialty nights). BUT...they have changed the show and location of the desserts since then--although the viewing location is the same. We did the Jingle BAM show in November 2016 and were not fans. I know the new regular show is different than the holiday show, but eating in one spot and then being herded through crowds to get to the viewing location was NOT an enjoyable experience. It kind of ruined the mood, really. We like to still enjoy the refreshments during the show. Can't do that when moved from one location to another.

 

[drea21]

I've done Star Wars and wishes and would say hands down Star Wars. We did the garden viewing of wishes and thought the view and space in the garden was great, but the party itself was pretty awful. We were PACKED in, literally squeezing between tables as you walked back and forth to the buffet, it seemed like an overstuffed cafeteria, the lighting, the noise, ugh. I would consider doing it again because I loved the garden viewing and how much space there was, but I would seriously get my wrist band and skip the desserts and just go into the garden when it was time.

Star Wars on the other hand was awesome (and I'm not a Star Wars fan, haven't seen a single movie) it was more like a cocktail party (I did find the included cocktails to make it a much better value also!) the lighting, the desserts, the view, all amazing!