Dessert Parties, are they worth it?

[gharter]

Thanks for starting this thread. We haven't done any of the dessert parties, but had the same questions.

 

[hulk51382]

This thread is great. Thinking about trying a dessert party for the first time in January. Does anyone know if you can use dining credits for these parties if you are on the dining plan?

 

[SJSloan]

This thread is great. Thinking about trying a dessert party for the first time in January. Does anyone know if you can use dining credits for these parties if you are on the dining plan?

No, you cannot use dining credits for dessert parties.

 

[reluctantredhead]

I've done many of the Dessert parties over the years. Whether they are worth it or not is totally subjective due to personal preferences. My opinions are as follows:

HEA - Only worth it for the view and only of you choose the Plaza Garden Viewing. Desserts are the worst of the bunch. Basically a couple of cheeses for the savory offerings. Terrace view is awful in my opinion as you are paying for a seat with a crappy view as well as unspectacular desserts.

Frozen/Illuminations - Decent food & drinks. Awesome views of Illuminations with seating. I've done this one twice as the Frozen version on nights that didn't require the alternate party location for bad weather. But the first time I did it was the prior Illuminations version that didn't include seating or the FEA ride opportunity and we had our dessert party in the Odyssey Building due to rain. But I still had a great time. The food is also better with the current Frozen version.

Star Wars - Have done multiple times since it began including the original version that was outdoors with no seating. Always enjoy the food & beverages at this one. Negative is the current show version is heavily Laser & Projections dependent & a lot less fireworks.



If your purpose is to score a seat you are paying way to much for the privilege at the ones that include seating. If you want to have some decent food for your $ I would choose either of the DHS ones or Frozen Illuminations. I've done the MK one multiple times going back to the Wishes version when it was fairly new and it is the only one I wouldn't choose to do again.

ITA!

We just did our second HEA dessert party, technically the Hallowishes dessert party, and I definitely agree that it has the worst desserts and fewest savory options...and unlike FEA and SW, it doesn't include alcoholic beverages. I'm not a big drinker ordinarily, but I'll have 1-1.5 drinks at the dessert parties since they're included in the cost (other than the bartender's tip ) and it really irks me that they charge around the same price or more for it as the others. The one small point I will disagree on is that we've done the terrace view twice now, and the first time our view was terrible (blocked by a big tree) and the second time our view was really good. For us, we desperately need the seats by this time of night, so we'll always choose the terrace view, but I agree that the reviews pretty much all say that the plaza view is better for watching the fireworks and castle projections.

We also really liked the Frozen party as well. It and the SW party have enough savory options that we're able to skip dinner and use the offerings there as a substitute.

We just did the SW party again last weekend and IMHO in terms of the food offerings and the view, it can't be beat. That said, we've never done JBJJ, but we have it booked for Christmas day and are really looking forward to it!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I have only done one at Epcot. I did not get the hype. It was nice, but I can do just as well finding a place on my own and the desserts were just Ok

No I do not even go to the Magic Kingdom at night so that one might be different. But the pricing has pretty much kept me away.

 

[North of Mouse]

The desserts are mostly just pretty sugary confections, so to us, the 'worth' in them was negative, and for a spot for the shows, have never had any problems finding our own.

If you want to spend the money, Disney is more than ready to take it! Just our take!

 

[FFMickey]

We've done many of them. We enjoy the desserts and the fact that we have a great view of the fireworks. We like to use the dessert parties as a break to sit and rest. The Illumination party only had high top standing tables. That was the only one we couldn't full "rest" up.

 

[MissionMouse]

This is one of the more common questions on this site. I think is due to the price. I think the price is high and people have concerns to spending this amount of money for a short duration event. You will not eat enough buffet sized desserts or drink buffet sized beverages to equate to the ticket cost. If you are trying to assure a location with a view with a low level of stress, but still with a level of uncertain placement/view these venues may fit into your plans if the budget allows. If you have an open budget you would not be posing questions of worth...you would book without regard and leave during it if it did not match your expectations without regard. So, if the budget allows, if you have small children and you have concern regarding their ability to view the event or you are looking to do something a little special for you family and/or friends to create unique memories then do it. You will then have your own experience to determine if you would do it again.

 

[ElizabethG]

I like them. The desserts are just OK, though. I like having the reserved spots. Some come with additional things. The MNSSHP had a reserved spot for both the parade and the fireworks. The Frozen Summer of Fun, a few years back, had three reserved things with it. The new Frozen one includes a ride after the fireworks.

We are going over the holidays this year and I have three parties booked (MK, Jingle Bell Jingle Bam, and Fantasmic).

 

[JerseyJanice]

I am a known curmudgeon on this topic. LOL! Fireworks are included in park admission so I just can’t see spending that much money on a supposedly better view. I think everyone agrees that the food is not worth it. The parties that include alcohol probably have the most material value.

You don’t need to spring for anything extra to get good views of Illuminations, Fantasmic or Rivers of Light. You can easily get a good view at any of these shows.

HEA and the Star Wars Show have limited views, but truthfully, I would rather do the California Grill brunch and see HEA from the rooftop deck than spring for a dessert party at MK.

If you hit rainy weather, turn that lemon into lemonade by seeing HEA that night. We got a fantastic spot in May in front of the Castle thanks to a downpour shortly before the show.