Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party

[FBandA]

Having trouble finding info about Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party anyone with experience, is it worth the 49.00, do they offer drinks and where is it located. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[ArwenMarie]

I haven't done it, but just to note, it does not offer seats.

 

[soniam]

I think the dessert options have changed since we did it in late July. There was champagne, prosecco, and sparkling apple juice, as well as tea, water, lemonade, hot tea, and coffee. They had 5 or 6 dessert choices, as well as ice cream bars/Popsicles and fruit. The desserts included flambéed churros and flambéed donuts, both with ice cream, shortbread cookies, and chocolate/coffee mousse. There were 2-3 others, but I can't remember what they were. One was probably a cheesecake.

It was in front of the gift shop at the front of World Showcase, between it and the lagoon, nearest the Future World side, not the International Gateway side. The tables were high bar tables with no chairs, so standing only. The view was really good.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Yes, sparkling wine included.

And the big thing to remember is that there are no chairs. You eat and view while standing. It is a very good view from that area, though.

 

[ltweety444]

So the 4 adults in our party can stand. But I have a 4 and 8 year old. Is the party spread out enough to put a small towel on the ground and let them play or is it really crowded?

 

[pixarmom]

We did the Illuminations Dessert Party in March and loved it. A few disclaimers: we love special events, Epcot and Illuminations. So going in, we assumed we'd like this better than the Wishes Dessert Party because we prefer Illuminations/Epcot over Wishes/MK generally. We don't love desserts, but thought this would be fun.

The day of the party, weather was poor. So they had to move dessert service part of the party inside to the Odyssey building. Shortly before Illuminations, we brought our desserts and drinks out to the viewing area. We don't mind standing one bit - that seems to be a big issue on these boards, but is not for us. We didn't hear anyone at the party complaining about the standing either. It was a happy, festive bunch on the night we attended!

The desserts included apple cobbler, some other fruit based dessert, blue velvet cupcakes with sparkly frosting (we loved those), tiramisu, ice cream (scooped with toppings, no mickey bars or popsicles) and several other items. I can't remember them all, but our impression was that Illuminations offered far less variety than Wishes but far better quality. At Illuminations, it was less crowded near the food tables and we saw less plate loading than at Wishes.

We loved the viewing location. And again, we had a festive bunch. While waiting for Illuminations to begin, kids (ours included) were dancing with the glow cubes from the tables in the Odyssey building and a CM near the FP location started a follow-the-leader dance thing with his glow wand. During the show, some of the dancing continued. Very fun.

In response to the question regarding the kids, our 8-year-old opted to sit (both inside the Odyssey building and outside) while eating his desserts and was perfectly content. Other kids did the same and he made a few friends (who became dancing companions!)

So we loved the Illuminations Dessert Party. We know there are many places to view Illuminations and we know the party isn't necessary for a good spot. It's just convenient and festive. We certainly didn't eat anywhere near $50pp in desserts or drink enough to make it worth it from a food consumption standpoint. But we were staying CL at WL at the time and the combination of appetizers in the club lounge and the desserts were so filling that we ended up not eating a traditional dinner. The price tag was easier to tolerate because we didn't spend $40pp on dinner that night. It was a fun experience and we'd definitely book the party again!

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We love it too. We are also event people. We polished off a bottle of the cheap stuff ourselves (back and forth and back and forth). I took some of the Kahlua fried donuts back to the room. There is plenty of room to mingle and kids to spread out. We are heading back September.

 

[JenniferinFL]

I was actually a bit disappointed when we went. They had really trimmed down the dessert offerings when we went. There were two kinds of cupcakes, baklava, tiramisu, chocolate chip cookies and a cobbler. That was it. No fried donuts, just plain vanilla ice cream. They did have churros, but, something was wrong with them. They weren't sweet at all! I've had the churros at Disney plenty of times, but, these ones were bitter with no sugar on them. Just odd.

I would look for a more recent trip report to see what they are serving. There is standing room only at tall tables that more than likely your 4 year old wouldn't even be able to see over. It isn't something I would bring my 4 year old to. The 8 year old would probably be fine. I would try to get the Tomorrowland party instead.

 

[Nanajo1]

Are the Dessert Parties booked thru Disney dining? How far out can you book?

 

[amagalski]

Thanks for the info. Hate to do $49 pp for kids too!