Fireworks dessert party recommendations

[blakefamily]

We have never done a fireworks dessert party and I have been looking at both HEA and FEA. For HEA, I am looking at the plaza/garden view and wondering if anyone can give me pros of dessert before or after fireworks ? Also Info on FEA, that one is more $$ wondering if worth it in comparison ? We have seen illuminations once before , 4 years ago and we were able to just snag a spot for the 3 of us and had a great view. HEA is always such a crowded mess, thats why i am leaning more towards a dessert party for it. Tips and advice are greatly appreciated 2 more months to go!! for what its worth, MK closes at 8pm the day we are going. crowd level 6 i think for a saturday. Epcot would be a sunday, similar crowd level, closing at 9

 

[ellbell]

I have done the HEA dessert party twice. Once before the after party started and once after it it started. I didn't like it the second time because everyone who had booked the after fireworks party got the best seats. If I do it again I will choose the after party. I think it's well worth it.

I've never done the FEA party but you do get alcohol and a ride on FEA without having to wait in line. Illuminations isn't my favorite so I don't bother.

 

[Spanky]

We are doing the After fireworks party this month. The park is such a congestion after the fireworks end plus the long lines for the resort buses I thought it made good sense to do the party allowing the park to empty out and the bus lines to go down. Plus you will still be in the hub area to see the kiss goodnight show. My party is two adults - not sure the After fireworks party is best choice for families with small children.

 

[WaterLinds]

If it helps at all, when I considered them for our next trip I focused on where the value of each part is—for HEA the party’s main value is in the viewing area (and therefore there’s no alcohol, food options are more limited, etc.), for FEA it’s more the party experience itself (since you can find good viewing options elsewhere).

Our group contains people who would not do well watching HEA in the mad crush of the hub (one adult with claustrophobia, two kids with mild special needs that just make life unpredictable). For us the choice was dessert party or not watch the projections (maybe catch the fireworks from elsewhere). A few of us saw them last time, and the rest didn’t seem that interested, so we’re currently not planning on the dessert party. We have FEA booked because we haven’t seen Illuminations and it’s our last chance, plus I think we will all enjoy the larger menu idly the ride, if we’re still awake then. I keep second guessing all this, but I think this makes sense for this trip, and if we go back in a few years maybe we’ll try HEA again.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We have done the before party three times now, the most recent about three weeks ago. We prefer to eat earlier. Even though the area for viewing was pretty full, and we left the desserts pretty close to HEA time, we four senior adults were happy with the views we had.

 

[gap2368]

I have done the HEA dessert party twice. Once before the after party started and once after it started. I didn't like it the second time because everyone who had booked the after fireworks party got the best seats. If I do it again I will choose the after party. I think it's well worth it.

I've never done the FEA party but you do get alcohol and a ride on FEA without having to wait in line. Illuminations isn't my favorite so I don't bother.

I have done the before 6 or so times and had the before one booked for April trip and then I was thinking of changing it to the after one since it did seem like the grassy area was kind of full when I went down. ( so I am I correct this is where you view the fireworks then go get your desserts)

We are doing the After fireworks party this month. The park is such a congestion after the fireworks end plus the long lines for the resort buses I thought it made good sense to do the party allowing the park to empty out and the bus lines to go down. Plus you will still be in the hub area to see the kiss goodnight show. My party is two adults - not sure the After fireworks party is best choice for families with small children.

this is one of the main reasons why I changed to the after I will sit and relax while everyone else waits in the long bus lines then slowly leave after I eat my desserts

 

[Gina Starr]

As others have stated it depends on the reason you are booking the party. For the party part I preferred FEA. We are an adult couple but really like the ride and we were happy to not have to use a fp for it. I thought the food options were better too. However I really don’t like Illuminations and actually find it kind of boring. (Sorry!!)
The HEA party’s main appeal is the reserved seating for the fireworks. We did the terrace view before the show. My husband loves the fireworks shows and would be fine finding a spot two hours before hand. I really hate that though and don’t want to spend more than 15 minutes waiting around so the HEA dessert party worked for us but food and drink options weren’t as good.
I will add in that now I am gluten free I don’t see the value in any dessert party at all

 

[jaysmom4285]

We've done a few of the before Plaza view parties for HEA. The most recent one in December was our first since the after party was added. We found that the viewing area was fairly full, more so than when it was only the before party, but there was still adequate personal space to be comfortable - which cannot be said for the cheek-by-jowl mobs that are jammed together outside the reserved viewing area. We didn't go to the viewing area until about ten minutes before the fireworks, as we preferred to relax over the desserts and stay seated for as long as possible. There were no spots left along the back rail, which is a favorite viewing spot for many. But we aren't fussy about where we stand, and if it had been important for us to have a particular spot, we would have been there earlier. Anywhere in the viewing area is a good view. Most people were sitting on the ground when we arrived, and most stood for the fireworks, so that freed up space. For us, the real value is in the reserved and non-crowded straight on viewing space for HEA, with some desserts thrown in.

I will add in that now I am gluten free I don’t see the value in any dessert party at all

Gina Starr, I'm not gluten free, but I have seen in other posts that, if you let them know this in advance, they will prepare a special plate of desserts that will accommodate you.

 

[bluedolphin32]

We did the HEA dessert party last May when our kids were 9, 7, and 4. It was really nice not having to jockey for space and we all had a great view. The desserts were only offered before at that point. Everyone else got there really early to eat and run to the lawn. We were running late, but not too late. We had sort of the end of the dessert selection, but still there was plenty to eat, and we still got a good viewing spot. We are not frequent visitors, so it was worth it to me to pay for the experience and really get to enjoy the show, instead of being annoyed with the people in the outside crowd smushed next to me, and tall people blocking our view. We are not a tall family. I'd certainly do it again the next time we go (which may not be for a few more years)!

 

[Mzpalmtree]

We just did the FEA party on Sunday and it was fantastic! We were all kind of full because we had made a faux pas and had eaten an early dinner at Ohana but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. It was wonderful to end the day sipping cocktails along the water while watching the show and the ride just seemed somehow more fun! I haven’t done a dessert party at MK, but I can definitely recommend the FEA party!

 

[deedubb]

We have started doing the HEA one a couple of times each trip. The hub is just too crowded now with the projection show of HEA. This past trip, we did one before and one after party. I loved doing the after party. We got to the plaza garden about 20 mins before the fireworks. It was actually pretty crowded but we stayed at the very back, closest to the entrance to the garden. Great view, and lots of room there as most people seemed to crowd around the front for some reason. As soon as the show ended, we high-tailed it out of there before the mass of humanity started to make their way to the park exit. I think we were the second party to be seated. We had a lot of time to eat and by the time we were ready to leave, it was a nice walk to the park exit, vs the usual insanity of trying to avoid being trampled.

The addition of the cheeseburger spring rolls is great, and we love the ooey gooey toffee cake. We had a big TS lunch, skipped dinner, and the party filled us up.

I will be booking the after party from now on.

 

[wendlle]

I've only ever done the before party because they never had the after one when we did it. But I'd choose the before anyway because we have young kids and it is already so late for them.
I prefer the Garden View, you get a much better view of the projections on the castle and they also let you take some deserts with you when it's time to go to the "lawn"
We sat up the back of the "lawn" which was less crowded, you have to stand once the show starts as everyone in front of you does.
I'm planning on booking it again for our trip later this year, my main reason is because now we have kids I can't stand being in a huge crowd for so long waiting. I'd rather pay the money and be comfortable.

 

[Countrywife45]

Has anyone done the Pirate voyage one? I am traveling with an 8yo and 10 yo grandsons in July.....thoughts on the best one for them. We have never done any, this is their second trip and its just the 3 of us. I am planning it for the night the older one turns 10, he will birthday in Disney

 

[lisa cameron]

Has anyone done the Pirate voyage one? I am traveling with an 8yo and 10 yo grandsons in July.....thoughts on the best one for them. We have never done any, this is their second trip and its just the 3 of us. I am planning it for the night the older one turns 10, he will birthday in Disney

Totally LOVED pirates and pals. Best money we spent during our trip. No crowds since right outside of the park, tons of food, 3 characters and some some games and humor on the boat ride. Highly recommend for family with kids, especially boys!

 

[sjberg79]

We did the Pirate and Pals fireworks cruise in December and agree, def worth the money spent! The view of the fireworks was awesome! We went for my son's 5th birthday and my son went dressed as Captain Hook and Captain Hook really spent extra time with him, for a villain he sure was nice! The food though... I was not impressed by the food. Ours had cupcakes, pretzels, some fruit, chocolate coins, some freezer burnt ice cream bars and some drinks. Not much else. If I was paying that money expecting a huge dessert spread, I would have been disappointed. My son is obsessed with Peter Pan so I was paying for the experience and fireworks, for us the food was just a bonus. Maybe we just had a bad food night though! I still had a good time!

 

[blakefamily]

I have booked the HEA desserts party with plaza viewing, I did not select the after as they just extended park hours for that day to 11, so thinking we will go get desserts and make our way to plaza garden area and sit on ground and eat our desserts while waiting for fireworks , which show they start @ 8, then we can maybe go do a few more rides after the fireworks ? As opposed to doing the after party and missing the chance for additional rides. Thoughts ??

 

[DavidNYC]

We did our first dessert party this past november for HEA on a non-party night. Boy was it worth it - it was mobbed. The desserts were perfectly fine - nothing remarkably special (although that toffee cake was really good) but avoiding those crowds was great. I'd never do Illuminiations as it's very easy to get a good viewing spot even close to show time. It's just not worth the money for the party itself.