2019 Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Thread. Now with extra BAM!
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FastPasser.
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The normal routine for DHS and Epcot dessert parties has been to clear the party venue of all Guests fairly quickly so that party equipment and food can be removed ASAP.
yulilin3
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you can't see any of the projections which are about 85% of the show. The fireworks is a small portion and the lasers also are aimed toward hollywood blvd so it's not even a decent place to watch the show from
lvcourtneyy
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youd have a terrible view if any at all from the party area
lvcourtneyy
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I had booked it way before they announced the AP discount and had to go to guest relations to get a refund of the difference, they weren’t able to help when i called
lvcourtneyy
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So we attended the party last night and for reference, we attended it the 1st year they had it and then again last year so this was our 3rd time. All complaints aside, I really did enjoy it and the HS dessert parties are my favorite of all of them and the ones I find the most value in.
Our reservation time in MDE was for 7:30 pm with JBJB starting at 9. With a change in viewing area this year, we went over at 5:30 to see where and when we would check-in.
My biggest complaint with events like these is that it seems like every year, someone’s trying to reinvent the wheel and it makes everything so confusing. I know people move on and different people are in charge from year to year but it just seems there has to be at least one person from the year before who can come in and simplify it.
Anyway, we were told they wouldn’t check us in until 6:30. We came back at 6:15 and they were checking in a couple already so I would say between 6 and 6:15 look to check in. There’s a sign by candy cane striped ropes directly across from the entrance to 50s Prime Time which is where you check-in. They wrote our table number on our lanyard and warned us that we would be si
We were told to come back at 7:15 for the seating area to open. I asked if the first group to check-in could meet the character early like last year and was told no.
Came back to the same area a few minutes before 7 and were told the area wasn’t open yet. Then the man who checked us in saw us and said “Hey you were in one of the first 10 to check in right? You belong in here.” He let us in and there was a line of 4-5 groups already to meet Chip and Dale.
Chip and Dale arrived to start meeting about 7:10. The line moved quickly but they didn’t have the seating area opened afterwards and they also didn’t have a line set up so it was just a huge group of people waiting to go in.
The tables were all 4 tops, two rows on each side of the area. We were table 40 of 60 on one side, not sure how many were on the other side.
They opened the seating area at 7:20ish and it was just mass chaos of people rushing in.
They had people on both sides as you walked in with trays of drinks that were the Holiday punch, rum and lemonade to take as you found your table which was nice.
There was a bar set up in the middle of the seating area.
(can’t get the picture to rotate on my phone sorry)
The Holiday punch and Hot Chocolate martini were my favorites but we tried all 4 specialty drinks and all were good. They were making them strong last night! There were two bartenders and the lines moved quick. One served me problem and the second time I went to the other side and played 20 questions about my age (I’ll be 30 in a few months
). You could also get bottles of water from the bar.
A little further down from the bar was a table of self-serve non-alcoholic drinks. There was some kind of juice-sprite specialty drink, juice, hot chocolate, coffee and cans of soda free for the taking.
There were 3 different tables of food set up plus the liquid nitrogen station and then the set up was replicated (so two identical of each table).
I seem to have lost some pictures somehow including the one of the “sweets” table but it had a Yule log cake, cookies, assorted cheesecake bites, gingerbread cookie bars, chocolate fondue, bread pudding and some kinda blondie thing and a man with ice cream at the end for the top.
The highlights for me were the pretzel bread with warm cheese fondue and the chocolate fondue lol but nothing we had was bad.
If you weren’t in the first 10 families to check-in, there was a lit up sign with your table number on it that gave you a time to go up and meet Chip and Dale but no one seemed to be going around making that happen and the other couple at our table weren’t interested in meeting them so I’m not sure how it worked.
We headed over to the viewing area at 8:15 because we couldn’t possibly eat or drink anything else. They were coming around to the tables to give out the ornaments so we went to the check-in area to tell them we were going to the viewing area and they got our ornaments for us. They are identical to last years.
The viewing area is the platform directly in front of the Chinese theater, unchanged from last year. We were the first ones to the viewing area and no one else came over until about 10 minutes later and then they walked everyone else over at just about 8:30.
There’s a small ledge in the back of the viewing area that we chose to sit on last year and this year and it worked out well. Last year it seemed much emptier and everyone sat for the shows which was even nicer but this year it was much more crowded and everyone stood but everyone moved forward so it was still easier to see in the back.
The Wonderful World of Animation Show was at 8:35 and JBJB at 9. It was nice to have a good spot for the animation show since we’d never seen it before and it’s all projection based.
I know there’s a lot of criticism that the viewing is too close for JBJB and I can see that point but I find it to be a good spot personally. The show is primarily projections with some fireworks more than a fireworks show and the fireworks are on the sides of the theater and viewable from wherever you stand. The projections are much harder to see from far away (especially as a short person) so I enjoyed my viewing.
Our reservation time in MDE was for 7:30 pm with JBJB starting at 9. With a change in viewing area this year, we went over at 5:30 to see where and when we would check-in.
My biggest complaint with events like these is that it seems like every year, someone’s trying to reinvent the wheel and it makes everything so confusing. I know people move on and different people are in charge from year to year but it just seems there has to be at least one person from the year before who can come in and simplify it.
Anyway, we were told they wouldn’t check us in until 6:30. We came back at 6:15 and they were checking in a couple already so I would say between 6 and 6:15 look to check in. There’s a sign by candy cane striped ropes directly across from the entrance to 50s Prime Time which is where you check-in. They wrote our table number on our lanyard and warned us that we would be si
We were told to come back at 7:15 for the seating area to open. I asked if the first group to check-in could meet the character early like last year and was told no.
Came back to the same area a few minutes before 7 and were told the area wasn’t open yet. Then the man who checked us in saw us and said “Hey you were in one of the first 10 to check in right? You belong in here.” He let us in and there was a line of 4-5 groups already to meet Chip and Dale.
Chip and Dale arrived to start meeting about 7:10. The line moved quickly but they didn’t have the seating area opened afterwards and they also didn’t have a line set up so it was just a huge group of people waiting to go in.
The tables were all 4 tops, two rows on each side of the area. We were table 40 of 60 on one side, not sure how many were on the other side.
They opened the seating area at 7:20ish and it was just mass chaos of people rushing in.
They had people on both sides as you walked in with trays of drinks that were the Holiday punch, rum and lemonade to take as you found your table which was nice.
There was a bar set up in the middle of the seating area.
(can’t get the picture to rotate on my phone sorry)
The Holiday punch and Hot Chocolate martini were my favorites but we tried all 4 specialty drinks and all were good. They were making them strong last night! There were two bartenders and the lines moved quick. One served me problem and the second time I went to the other side and played 20 questions about my age (I’ll be 30 in a few months
). You could also get bottles of water from the bar.A little further down from the bar was a table of self-serve non-alcoholic drinks. There was some kind of juice-sprite specialty drink, juice, hot chocolate, coffee and cans of soda free for the taking.
There were 3 different tables of food set up plus the liquid nitrogen station and then the set up was replicated (so two identical of each table).
I seem to have lost some pictures somehow including the one of the “sweets” table but it had a Yule log cake, cookies, assorted cheesecake bites, gingerbread cookie bars, chocolate fondue, bread pudding and some kinda blondie thing and a man with ice cream at the end for the top.
The highlights for me were the pretzel bread with warm cheese fondue and the chocolate fondue lol but nothing we had was bad.
If you weren’t in the first 10 families to check-in, there was a lit up sign with your table number on it that gave you a time to go up and meet Chip and Dale but no one seemed to be going around making that happen and the other couple at our table weren’t interested in meeting them so I’m not sure how it worked.
We headed over to the viewing area at 8:15 because we couldn’t possibly eat or drink anything else. They were coming around to the tables to give out the ornaments so we went to the check-in area to tell them we were going to the viewing area and they got our ornaments for us. They are identical to last years.
The viewing area is the platform directly in front of the Chinese theater, unchanged from last year. We were the first ones to the viewing area and no one else came over until about 10 minutes later and then they walked everyone else over at just about 8:30.
There’s a small ledge in the back of the viewing area that we chose to sit on last year and this year and it worked out well. Last year it seemed much emptier and everyone sat for the shows which was even nicer but this year it was much more crowded and everyone stood but everyone moved forward so it was still easier to see in the back.
The Wonderful World of Animation Show was at 8:35 and JBJB at 9. It was nice to have a good spot for the animation show since we’d never seen it before and it’s all projection based.
I know there’s a lot of criticism that the viewing is too close for JBJB and I can see that point but I find it to be a good spot personally. The show is primarily projections with some fireworks more than a fireworks show and the fireworks are on the sides of the theater and viewable from wherever you stand. The projections are much harder to see from far away (especially as a short person) so I enjoyed my viewing.
StarWarsMomofGirls!
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Hey There!!!! Great review of this! We are going soon! I can't wait. Also, I am behind on everyones' tr's including yours. I will get back to them eventually.
I am looking forward to this as well!
Good to know!
Is it bad that I kind of want to NOT be one of the first 10 families, so that I can get the lit up sign?
I have heard this is a good spot. I think I will try and see if we can do the same!
SaintsManiac
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Thank you for the review! I’m even more excited!!!
lvcourtneyy
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lvcourtneyy
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thank you! Oh I am so behind on my own reports and everyone else’s! Once we get home, I’m gonna try my hardest to catch up lol!
The sign will be on your table either way! It’s your table number and then has a time on the bottom to go up to Chip and Dale!
Definitely recommend it! Especially for the girls-if they stand on the little ledge they’ll be closer in height to the adults around them and have a better time seeing!
StarWarsMomofGirls!
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I am sold on that spot now! Def going to try and get there early-ish to get in so we can try and get over to the area a little early! It will be Black Friday when we do this, so I am sure the park will be packed!
MediumSizedMermaid
Earning My Ears
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- Aug 17, 2019
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Looking at maybe doing DHS in the evening on 12/9. Fant is at 8 and JBJM is at 9. Do you think it's possible to do both?
Yes,...but you will probably not be able to get a great viewing spot for JBJB. I would position myself at the back of the Fantasmic theater near the exit for a quick getaway. F! Is 30 minutes so you should have plenty of time to get to JBJB if you can be one of the first out of there. A lot of people will probably be trying to do the same thing so just stay ahead of the masses.
FastPasser.
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Nice review Lvcourtneyy. I share some of the same frustrations as you. I'm a former JBJB party CM and had worked it more times than I can count since it began, last year was my last year.
The Disney management CM revolving door doesn't lend itself to consistency from year to year. And some of the non-server staff are working it for the first time and just know what they've been instructed to do that night. They probably won't work it again for weeks.
For a 7:30 party start time they generally start pre-checking Guests in at about 6:30 but that's just an approximation and it can be earlier or later. It depends on whether the check-in staff is setup or not.
Unless you want to be one of the first to do the meet and greet, which is no big deal because everyone gets a time to meet the characters, there's really no advantage checking in too early. You'll just wait around for no reason. For a 7:30 party Guests are usually let in at 7:15 so I would check in no earlier than around 7pm.
The Disney management CM revolving door doesn't lend itself to consistency from year to year. And some of the non-server staff are working it for the first time and just know what they've been instructed to do that night. They probably won't work it again for weeks.
For a 7:30 party start time they generally start pre-checking Guests in at about 6:30 but that's just an approximation and it can be earlier or later. It depends on whether the check-in staff is setup or not.
Unless you want to be one of the first to do the meet and greet, which is no big deal because everyone gets a time to meet the characters, there's really no advantage checking in too early. You'll just wait around for no reason. For a 7:30 party Guests are usually let in at 7:15 so I would check in no earlier than around 7pm.
Last edited:
Linda67
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Thanks!
SaintsManiac
Wait for it.
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Yes. From the confirmation email:
Cancel
- There is a 1 day cancellation policy. Full price will be charged / forfeited if Guest cancels within 1 day or no shows for the reservation.
Interesting that JBJB and Fantasmic have the same start time through November and then in early December there are dates when Fantasmic starts an hour earlier. I assume Disney tries to split-up the crowd during busier times by having competing shows. I guess you could call it Disney’s unofficial crowd calendar projecting when they are anticipating lower attendance.
Very detailed review of JBJB! Dessert Party and show posted by Josh on easywdw if you were looking for even more information.
https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/r...m-dessert-party-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/
https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/r...m-dessert-party-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/
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