? about Wishes Dessert Party

[KCMiller]

I posted this on another board, but it was suggested that I ask the wise and wonderful people on this board for their advice:

Quote:
Originally Posted by KCMiller
A quick question for those who have been there - my parents who will both be in wheelchairs are coming with us next weekend, and I'm a bit concerned about the whole 'standing at the railing' thing - is there any handicap area to keep people from standing directly in front of my parents and blocking their view? I know they'll be able to see the fireworks high up, but believe me, my Mom especially spends too much time at events like this looking directly at other peoples behinds - if that's the case, then it won't really be worth the cost, but if they can actually sit in their chairs and experience the fireworks without anyone standing in front of them, it would be a truly magical experience, and well worth the costs.

Pictures or other details would be most appreciated!

Thanks,

KC

I do not know specifically how it would be handled, but I imagine that if you speak to a CM as soon as the party begins, they will accomodate your parents by maybe marking off a section of railing. Perhaps they can reserve it with a sign, so your parents can get right up to the rail at the appropriate time. I do remember there being plenty of rail space when we were there, so it was not a problem wiith anyone being on the second row.

If you post this on the DISablities board, they may have more direct experience with this- and can advise whether you should call ahead with your family's needs, or just wait till you get there.

So any advice would be appreciated, especially if you've been to this party and can tell me first hand what your experience was!

all the best,

KC

 

[Disneyadore]

I only can tell you what we saw. Long before Wishes starts people go over to the railing. The first "row" fills quickly and than people start building a second "row" by standing on the chairs.
The one lady in a wheelchair that we noticed was sitting in her WC behind all the others.
We were only once at the party so I don't know if this is common for every night.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

First thing; have them note the chairs on the reservation. It might have been pure luck (allthough I doubt it), but we had them note on our ressie we were a party of 2, with 2 wheelchairs. We got a table right up front. Because the actual buffet part can sometimes be difficult to get to from there with all the business, our waitress from the get go offered to go get us anything we would like if we felt like it would be to crowded to get something ourselves. I happened to make a joke about how good the chocolate covered strawberries were, something along the line of being able to eat a whole plate of them. Sure enough, CM came back within a minute or two with a whole plate full of them.

They will not rope of any HA watching spots. Basically it's first come, first serve. Having said that; with a table up front, you can easily be aware of when the first folks start gathering at the railings (depends a bit, some folks will be earlier than others so it'll be a wait and see thing, as you can't predict the other folks at your party). At that moment, simply wheel up to the railings. There will be plenty of space at that moment to find a perfect spot with space to move. I do find that the railing isn't at the most perfect height, though. No problem for folks using an ECV or powerchair but the railing is a bit high up for those in a manual chair. My friend did fine, but I could see the combination "small person + low manual chair" perhaps resulting in having to crane up a bit in order to watch over the railing.

We had about 1.5 lines worth of people on average. However, many folks will want the best spot. So it can get crammed more at some places than at others. Basically it simply means you need to get a spot at the railing before folks start building the second line. For us it was about 10/15 minutes out. Not bad at all, when you consider you can do that while snacking on something and no need to do so 1 hour beforehand for many other spots when not doing the party.

For us, it was worth it, as an 'extra'. Not something we will do as the standard when wanting to see Wishes. It is nice, it's an OK viewing spot, the view of Tinkerbell is , the desserts are lovely, but it is a bit pricey when compared to what it gets you.

Oh, and check out your 'neighbours'. Do not, I repeat; do NOT think it is nice to have a neighbour that is installing 101823 camerapieces in order to make The Perfect Shot. Somebody decided to become my neighbour and obviously wanted to make The Perfect Picture, acting like The World Greatest Photografist. I can't tell you how annoying it got having to repeat and repeat bascially telling him 'get out of my face with your camera and/or face'. Even with that, I've got more pics with him and/or his camera in it than not. Sheez. Wanting to get great pictures I can understand, but stake out your spot early enough and respect others privacy.

 

[KCMiller]

Thanks for the info - anyone else have any observations?

TIA,

KC

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I have been twice to the party. There is no special area or handling of wheelchairs within the actual dessert party. The make accomodations at your actual table so that the wheelchair is right up to the table. My mother actually got out of her chair to get the desserts, and there were a few stairs. Not sure if there was a ramp on the other side.

When it came down to the actual fireworks, if you want to bring up the wheelchairs you will have to get there first. They did not move anyone (CM's) for this reason either time I was there. The view was great no matter where we stood. Have a great trip.

 

[dclfun]

Oh, and check out your 'neighbours'. Do not, I repeat; do NOT think it is nice to have a neighbour that is installing 101823 camerapieces in order to make The Perfect Shot. Somebody decided to become my neighbour and obviously wanted to make The Perfect Picture, acting like The World Greatest Photografist. I can't tell you how annoying it got having to repeat and repeat bascially telling him 'get out of my face with your camera and/or face'. Even with that, I've got more pics with him and/or his camera in it than not. Sheez. Wanting to get great pictures I can understand, but stake out your spot early enough and respect others privacy.

OMG! I must've had the same guests next to me last December at the MVMCP castle stage show. We had gotten there early to stake out our spot and were close to the front. The guests next to us stood up once the show started, blocking all the children seated behind them, took continuous shots and put their dang camera and butt in front of my face to get their perfect shot. I had my 2 year old grandson on my lap and we could not move to another location by the time we realized what they were planning....so make sure the person standing next to you does NOT have a huge SLR with many lenses, lol. Unfortunately people who are initially in the front and are seated often decide to stand up once the fireworks begin which I find to be very rude unless they cannot otherwise see ( which is usually not the case with fireworks). It really is first-come/first-served here, so take the advice of goofieslonglostsis,get there early,and don't hesitate to ask a CM for help with delivering the food goodies so that you can maintain your location.---Kathy

 

[KCMiller]

Well, I wanted to come back and let you know how it all went, and honestly, I was not all that happy with our experience at the Wishes Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace. I didn't take any pictures, because it just wasn't special enough to warrent it. I had to speak to the manager before we were even seated, because despite my phone calls and assurances that my parents wheelchairs would merit a good location, when I got there, I asked to see the floor plan, and they were literally assigned to a table BEHIND the buffet line, with another row of table and the buffet line and then ANOTHER row of tables between them and the railing. So that was how we started, with me having to have that taken care of, which the manager did, but reluctantly and loudly. She didn't seem to understand that stacking a wheelchair AND a scooter between two other tables and behind the buffet cart was just going to be a hassle for everyone, but putting them at a table far over to one side, next to the railing would work better. Sigh. I know she meant well, I hope I guess. I uess she thought that we could manuever two chairs between all those table easily - why, I can't imagine.

The night was very hot, which of course didn't help appetites. The desserts were fine, nothing very special, frankly. There was NO milk for the coffee, only non dairy creamers. There was plenty of everything, which was nice, but the whole thing felt VERY rushed. And the view, while nice, wasn't any better than it would have been had we staked out a place on Main Street - as I anticipated, people crowded up to the railing, and if my DS and DD hadn't stood up, blocked some space and stood firm, my parents would have only seen people's backs and the fireworks over the heads. There was a 'glitch' during the show, and it stopped right after Tinker Bell flew over, and an announcement came over the loudspeakers that the show was cancelled, which was quite deflating! We lingered a bit to allow the crowds to die down, and then they made another announcement that the fireworks were just delayed. We waited another 15 minutes or so, and they resumed, but you could tell they were missing something.

If the weather was cooler, or if you really don't want to watch the show from the crowd on Main Street, or if you really, really like desserts, this is a nice thing, but we won't be doing it again. On the other hand, we came back the next night to see the fireworks show from the beginning, and we LOVED it - we realized that we missed a BIG part of the show the night before, so we were very glad to see the whole thing.

KC

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Well, I wanted to come back and let you know how it all went, and honestly, I was not all that happy with our experience at the Wishes Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace. I didn't take any pictures, because it just wasn't special enough to warrent it. I had to speak to the manager before we were even seated, because despite my phone calls and assurances that my parents wheelchairs would merit a good location, when I got there, I asked to see the floor plan, and they were literally assigned to a table BEHIND the buffet line, with another row of table and the buffet line and then ANOTHER row of tables between them and the railing. So that was how we started, with me having to have that taken care of, which the manager did, but reluctantly and loudly. She didn't seem to understand that stacking a wheelchair AND a scooter between two other tables and behind the buffet cart was just going to be a hassle for everyone, but putting them at a table far over to one side, next to the railing would work better. Sigh. I know she meant well, I hope I guess. I uess she thought that we could manuever two chairs between all those table easily - why, I can't imagine.

The night was very hot, which of course didn't help appetites. The desserts were fine, nothing very special, frankly. There was NO milk for the coffee, only non dairy creamers. There was plenty of everything, which was nice, but the whole thing felt VERY rushed. And the view, while nice, wasn't any better than it would have been had we staked out a place on Main Street - as I anticipated, people crowded up to the railing, and if my DS and DD hadn't stood up, blocked some space and stood firm, my parents would have only seen people's backs and the fireworks over the heads. There was a 'glitch' during the show, and it stopped right after Tinker Bell flew over, and an announcement came over the loudspeakers that the show was cancelled, which was quite deflating! We lingered a bit to allow the crowds to die down, and then they made another announcement that the fireworks were just delayed. We waited another 15 minutes or so, and they resumed, but you could tell they were missing something.

If the weather was cooler, or if you really don't want to watch the show from the crowd on Main Street, or if you really, really like desserts, this is a nice thing, but we won't be doing it again. On the other hand, we came back the next night to see the fireworks show from the beginning, and we LOVED it - we realized that we missed a BIG part of the show the night before, so we were very glad to see the whole thing.

KC

Too bad you didn't enjoy it. Just so you know, we were told all area's were considered wheelchair accessable, and all the tables were when we were there. And for anyone with a future problem, you can NOT ask for specific seating here. It is done on a first call in basis vs. table size. Seating is arranged prior to the event so your table is "set" when you get there.

With that being said, OP I am really sorry that you didn't enjoy it and at least you know next time that it isn't for you and can either save or use the money elsewhere. We on the other hand, loved it both times. I think my mom (who is in the wheelchair) was just happy to sit and watch all around her withough anyone hitting her or the chair.

 

[mom3sonstt]

We were there June 8. I was on a scooter which they had me park in an area off to the side (no problem - I can walk - just not for very long). There was another family with a scooter that pulled a chair up to the railing. The CMs told them that they couldn't do that because that defeats the purpose. They explained that "mom" couldn't stand that long. A CM went and got a wheelchair for them (which "mom" did not sit in - "son" did ).

I don't understand about their not being milk for coffee only non-dairy. The night we were there there was milk in the beverage area with the lemonade and other drinks. I guess getting it out of the large dispenser isnt as easy as the individual containers - but I would have thought it could be done.

I didn't notice anybody standing on chairs. I did notice another family pull a chair up closer - not by the rail but closer than the first row of tables. Nobody said anything to them - but they did it as the fireworks were just about to begin and everybody had already staked out their spots.

We didn't feel rushed - but we were early in line so were one of the first few groups to be seated. That said, in June more people were hurrying through the desserts and getting a spot by the rails than they did in November - but maybe in November there were fewer people at the party.