Dessert Party Recommendations

[lovethesun12]

Hello all! I'm trying to decide between one (or both) dessert parties and wanted some opinions.

Our party will include myself, husband, 6 year old boy, and at that point almost 4 year old girl and we are going mid-July.

I am trying to decide whether we will do one dessert party, two, or none.

The first we are considering is the dessert party with plaza garden viewing. We definitely want to see the MK fireworks, and I'm thinking with two young kids this is probably the best option. My vision of this is similar to when we are waiting on the grass at a resort for a movie - we could sit on the grass for a bit and/or the kids play a little around us while we wait and it will not be very crowded. Is this realistic? Or is it much busier? Also, my husband doesn't really like desserts but he loves low crowds, lol.

The second I'm considering is the frozen dessert party for Illuminations. My daughter loves Elsa/Anna. This is the one I'm really not sure about though because we also love Akershus & Coral Reef, and will most likely have a FP+ for the frozen ride anyway. We only have one day at Epcot, so I was thinking Akershus breakfast and Coral Reef Dinner. But looking at images I think my kids would definitely prefer the atmosphere of this one all of us would prefer the food choices and plus it's the last time we will get to do Illuminations. (and again, my husband doesn't love dessert).

Budget-wise Disney of course is already a splurge in itself . We are dining most nights and these could be worked into the budget but for the second probably at the expense of coral reef since we aren't huge eaters anyway.

Let me know your thoughts and which options you would (or wouldn't) choose.
Thanks!

 

[glocon]

HEA is definitely worth it in my opinion. We too are doing it this upcoming trip. It is a zoo out there in MK without it! So crowded and hot, and if you want a decent spot to view it, you have to stake that spot out 1-2 hours in advance... we would rather ride rides then view the show then have dessert while everyone else heads out of the park. HEA is a two thumbs up.
Illuminations not so much. You can see Illuminations from so many places without much waiting before the show, so the time save is just not there like with HEA.
At least that’s been our experience.
We did absolutely LOVE the SW dessert party and are considering that again this year...

 

[CinderellaDream]

We have never done the Illuminations dessert party but we LOVE the HEA plaza garden version. Our experience is just as you described - kids get to play on the grass while adults sit and relax waiting for the show to start. We’ve had instances where we sat for the entire show and times where standing was required. Our personal favorite was sitting along the back fence of the garden with no need to stand. I absolutely recommend this dessert party if funds allow.

 

[unrequited23]

We just did the HEA plaza garden viewing and it was so chill. Plenty of room for the kids to play, the area by the back fence stayed open, super close bathrooms during the actual dessert party, plus there was a good amount of non-dessert items for my family. (I believe my 4 yr old may have eaten his weight in cheese and crackers.) We decided to do it spur of the moment day of...I think I booked it at 3:45 pm. YMMV for last minute bookings as it was super bowl Sunday when we were there.

 

[mmouse50]

Done both - personally I prefer the Frozen over the MK. The plaza viewing is well worth the dessert party though but I have a hard time trying to see everything - the castle projections going on the same time as the fireworks I feel like I am constantly moving my head up and down to get it all in. As for being crowded - it can get a little crowded closer to the showtime but being back towards the back fence is a great place to be.

Frozen - to me it is worth it not having to worry about getting a fast pass for the ride or standing around the lagoon for a period of time to be able to see illuminations. Sitting at the table and grabbing the ice cream or the nitro popcorn (my grandkids loved that) plus the other snacks is a relaxing way to end the day at Epcot.

But I must say that I prefer Illuminations over the Castle Projection show - I am one of the few that just love fireworks.

 

[lovethesun12]

Done both - personally I prefer the Frozen over the MK. The plaza viewing is well worth the dessert party though but I have a hard time trying to see everything - the castle projections going on the same time as the fireworks I feel like I am constantly moving my head up and down to get it all in. As for being crowded - it can get a little crowded closer to the showtime but being back towards the back fence is a great place to be.

Frozen - to me it is worth it not having to worry about getting a fast pass for the ride or standing around the lagoon for a period of time to be able to see illuminations. Sitting at the table and grabbing the ice cream or the nitro popcorn (my grandkids loved that) plus the other snacks is a relaxing way to end the day at Epcot.

But I must say that I prefer Illuminations over the Castle Projection show - I am one of the few that just love fireworks.

Thanks! At first I was 100% leaning towards HEA mostly but now I'm strongly considering Illuminations too. My kids LOVE fireworks! Hard to decide =)

 

[#1eeyoregirl]

We usually always do the one at MK every trip and we did the Frozen Ever After the first time last year. FEA is now our must do for as long as they offer it! We found the food a lot better (they had some savory options as well as desserts and adult beverages). Even though you can easily find good spot to view the Epcot fireworks, I was still very pleased with the reserved spot they have for the party. The best was being able to ride Frozen after park closing with maybe only a 5 minute wait.

 

[Nevada Jen]

I love dessert parties anyway but I planned the frozen one also so I could free up a fast pass.

 

[Soph&HanMom]

I have done both parties every trip.

If I had to choose I would do the HEA plaza view especially with little ones. My experience is that there is plenty of room, the kids play in the plaza garden and the garden is relatively crowd stress free. Out in the hub our experience has been stake a spot, defend the spot, get packed in like sardines and hold the kids up because they can't see in the crowd.

After the fireworks we wait in the plaza garden until the crowd disperses. There are a couple of savory items, fruit and cheese for your husband at the party.

Now if the budget allows Frozen Ever After dessert party is my favorite for the food,drinks, and atmosphere. Nothing beats ending the day sitting at a table next to the water having cocktails and watching Illuminations. I have only ever done this party with a group of adults and we have all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The ride at the end is a special treat and I love walking through a relatively empty park to a non packed bus back to our resort.

 

[Vickie1016]

We have done both (me, DH & DD 13) as well as Star Wars dessert party over the past several years (all mid-July trips).

HEA garden view was great! No need to deal with the crowds, no need to save a spot ahead of time. The night we went, it was overcast & raining prior to the start of the fireworks. BUT we were covered, eating our desserts & cheese & crackers. When we were finished, the rain stopped. We put a disposable poncho on the grass & sat until the fireworks started. It was a great view & we felt well worth the $$.

Frozen Dessert Party was AMAZING. The selection was wonderful, the DD loved the nitro popcorn. There were storms in the area all day, so the party was inside above the Frozen ride. Even tough it was inside, the area was set up very nice. The CM walked everyone over to the viewing location - could not get a better view & spot! Afterwards, the CM lead us back to the ride. We had an amazing time! We also did not need to FP the Frozen ride so we used it for TT.

Star Wars dessert party, in our opinion, is the BEST, but DD & I love Star Wars. The food is both savory & sweet ( the nitro frozen nutella is to DIE for). The viewing location has changed from when we attended two years ago. (Last summer, we were able to find a great viewing spot about 10 minutes before the start of the show.)

I guess this did not help much, as we liked all three. Your choice will depend on your preference of desserts offered and the individual show/fireworks. There are threads dedicated to each which all have many helpful reviews! Happy Planning!!

 

[tjmw2727]

We have done several dessert parties and I would definitely do the two you are considering, FEA is our favorite of all the parties.

On your Epcot day can you skip Coral reef? I agree with you that two sit down meals along with the savory and sweet treats of the FEA dessert party is a lot. For reference we ate at Via Napoli for late lunch and wished we were more hungry for desserts and treats at FEA.

Personally I would keep Akershus for breakfast and then do a light counter serve lunch and then FEA. If your choosing between coral reef and FEA dessert FEA dessert wins for our family hands down!

Enjoy

 

[lovethesun12]

We have done several dessert parties and I would definitely do the two you are considering, FEA is our favorite of all the parties.

On your Epcot day can you skip Coral reef? I agree with you that two sit down meals along with the savory and sweet treats of the FEA dessert party is a lot. For reference we ate at Via Napoli for late lunch and wished we were more hungry for desserts and treats at FEA.

Personally I would keep Akershus for breakfast and then do a light counter serve lunch and then FEA. If your choosing between coral reef and FEA dessert FEA dessert wins for our family hands down!

Enjoy

Thanks for responding! I'm so torn because Coral Reef is kind of a must do for us. I'd probably skip Akershus first. My kids LOVE the fish tank at our local restaurant. When we went to Coral Reef last year they loved it and were blown away. It was also DH's favourite restaurant.

We could probably do a light lunch there instead maybe and skip akershus? We aren't on the dining plan.

 

[lovethesun12]

Also is the FEA dessert party often late posting? I was looking to add it and there no dates for June or July, but tons for Feb through May.

 

[mom2aprincenprincess]

Do you all recommend the HEA dessert party with garden viewing or the party at Tomorrowland Terrace? Which has the best view?

 

[Tiki_Sara]

We did HEA Garden Viewing and it was well worth it just for the amazing view of the projections and fireworks. If I am honest, the drinks and food weren't amazing or anything and the atmosphere was a bit frenzied as people attempted to eat and drink (and stuff into bags) as much food as they could before taking their viewing position but as a one-off experience, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not the type of person who would line up on Main Street hours before to get a good view so this was great.

We also did the Frozen desert party at Epcot. Food and drink was much, much better (includes alcohol if that's important, the MK one doesn't) and it was just generally of a higher quality and the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Your assigned table is your viewing point for the fireworks so it is nice not to have to move and then afterwards you have your private ride on the Frozen attraction, which is really fun.

If I *had* to do another one again, I'd definitely choose Frozen but for that view of HEA alone, well, the MK one was something I would recommend. The view is definitely better in the Garden, but you do have to move and then stand.

 

[TheMick424]

For those of you who have attended dessert parties before, does the addition of alcohol (starting February 1, 2020) to some of the HEA parties change your opinion on which you prefer? I wish they would have included it for the Before Garden Plaza version, but doesn’t look like that will be the case. I am torn on which are worth trying, given the new pricing.