Frozen Signature Dining and Behind-the-Scenes Package Review

DisneyMountainWoman

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Hey just got back for Disneyland. We ran the Disneyland 10k. So much fun but I want to write a specific review on the Frozen Signature Dining and Behind-the-Scenes Package since I had such a hard time finding out more info on it. We booked it because I was pregnant and I could not do a lot of the things I normally do in the park like all the rides I love and drinking :P

To start off they have you check in at
Carthay Circle Restaurant. There they give your schedule and your lanyard with a pin. It starts off with the 2:30 pre-show which is the same for everyone else who gets a Frozen package. I loved meeting Oalf and have as much slushies as I want. I am not going to write much about this because there is plenty information about the pre-show. I would suggest everyone at least do that, it was wonderful to sit down and relax esp after running that morning.

We next met up at 5:20 for them to take us down to the theater for 5:30 show. We had the reserved seats in the middle the second part of the theater. That way we could see all the special effects. We had one of those lovely tour guides that do stuff for the fun tours like keys of the kingdom. He chatted with all of us and gave us some great history. When we got to our seat they had a bottle of water for us and a special program given to only us and the media. Very cool. And the show begun very quickly, we did not need to wait around. That was nice.

Ohh my gosh can I say I looove this show. They tech they use is fabulous, the actors/actress voice are spot on! I love the little cute jokes they do, they guy who plays Oalf is my fav!

Next when the show ended they told us to wait around or take this chance now for a the bathroom. Once it was cleared out they switched the background to this special frozen dinner package background.
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They also sad sadly no more pictures :( We had to put our phones/cameras away. But they did bring a photo pass person with us so she took a couple of pics for us and it was included in the package at no extra charge.

Next they had the backstage manager come out and chat with us and we were able to ask her a ton of questions. One question was what happened with the snow screen where it went on and on for ever then froze. She said one of the doors was having a hard time coming down, so they just played the snow till the end of the clip. We asked her about other technical issues too and she talked about since this is the most complicated play they have done here they are still working out the kinks. She talked about the curtains on the wall how they were specially made for the show to make them as reflective as possible to show scenes on them. She talked about a test Broadway for Frozen happening in Denver. More people asked questions, but for the life of me I cannot remember. Sorry but I only had 3 hours of sleep, I ran a 10k that morning and I am pregnant, so I only remember so much for it.

Next we moved over to the area they brought out Anna and Elsa's costume.They are even more beautiful in person. The amount of details is amazing! They had Tony Award winner Clint Ramos make them. They are each hand made for each actor/actress. They have two different crews they switch out, so that is over 1,000 hand made costumes. They also talked about how Elsa's dress does that amazing transformation and it is an old theater trick, where it is folded up and then they have to unpin it to let it drop. I love how they mix old and new technologies to make something soo amazing. We really, really wished we had pictures of those costumes.

Next they talked about another new tech trick they are using with spot lighting, where they where a senors and the spot light will flow them where ever the actor goes. So it makes some of the scenes like Anna turning to ice possible.

Then we moved to backstage. It was really cool! We saw a Frozen sign, signed by all the cast members and then saw the old Aladdin sign, signed by the cast members. Next we saw hanging up a couple of old props from Aladdin including Abu! Then we moved farther in and saw baby sven. Soo cute! Then we saw big Sven, the detail is amazing. It is not made from real fur. We learned the same people who made the puppets from Lion king also made these puppets. Then we saw some backstage people, they were nice. We saw all the doors and different props like the cakes, which look good enough to eat. We walked on stage and saw the drop away doors and the mechanics of the stage with it rotating. We find out when one of the pixels goes out on the back screen they can just replace! Imagine being able to do that with your TV back home. Also showed us all the tracks that brought everything out. Also showed us the gates that were made for the ice palace that still hangs up there but they decided not to use it. So it just hangs there right now. Also talked about the history of Hyperion stage. We took pics of us on stage with the photo pass person. Then we headed out for dinner.

Next post I will talk about our dinner!
 
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Thanks for sharing! This sounds like a great experience, especially if you love Frozen.
 
what is the price pp for this? I'm considering it for DH and I in Nov.
 

Abu (the monkey) was not a character in the Aladdin show at the Hyperion, so I'm curious what you saw backstage when you said you saw Abu!
 
Abu (the monkey) was not a character in the Aladdin show at the Hyperion, so I'm curious what you saw backstage when you said you saw Abu!

Ohh never seen Aladdin so did not realize they never used it. It could be like the gate we saw that they never used for the show. Or my memory could be going bad it was some other Aladdin prop :P I was running on three hours of sleep.
 
Okay next dinner.

We went back to the restaurant. Our tour guide pointing out some historical details along the way and then said goodbye. They took us upstairs to our own private backroom and greeted us with champagne. They also had sparkling cider for those of us who could not drink alcohol. Mom said this was better champagne not the cheap stuff, mid range. Then we were able to pick out our tables. We checked out our special menu.
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We then picked out which entree we wanted and ask about dietary restrictions. I have an onion issue, it is not bad, but I mentioned it. So we had my dishes served with sauces on the side so I can dip and check out what would work for me and or not. I went with the Filet and mom went with the Fish which was a sword fish.They also asked us what we would like to drink and we found out something surprising, unlimited wine was included. One was a Chardonnay and was Merlot but tasted like a Cab. I forgot to take pics of the wine, probably because I could not drink it. But I was able to taste it. We a can be picky about wine, so mom was worried she might not like it, but the Merlot was great. Again they gave us good wine. We thought it tasted similar to Seven Deadly Zins which is what we get when we do not want to splurge on our fav Prisoner. We then had the manger come around with the sous chef come to each of our tables and explain the menu to us and how each one the dishes was inspired by different parts of the show. That was lovely. Next they had bread for us to munch on while we waited for food.

Our first course: Cauliflower Espuma, Golden Ostra Caviar
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The Cauliflower was whipped to perfection. It was to remind us of snow and the caviar of the sea. Mom ate the caviar thinking it was berries, she does not like caviar, but this was good caviar so had very little salty fishy taste that my mom hates. With the cauliflower she actually liked it.

Second Course: Chilled Red Shrimp.
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Mom described it as a dance party in her mouth.

Third Course: Wagyu Beef Ravioli:

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Okay lets ignore the fact that technically you cannot have real Wagyu in USA or at least that is what my dad had always claimed when we have gone to restaurants with it. Ravioli were freshly made, with tender beef inside. Mom just came back from Italy, the Raviloli was as good as there! The The mushrooms were flavor and paired great with it. Also we started eating this before I got a picture so ignore the presentation.

Fourth Course: Herb Crusted Filet Mignon

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Okay ignore the plating, as the night went on we forgot to take pic before we would start eating. Okay this was to die for steak. It barely need to be cut, it melted in your mouth. It has been a while since I had such good steak. I had 2 different sauces to dip the steak in, which it did not need but made it over the top!

Mom had this: Swordfish
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It melted in my moms mouth. So easy too cut no fishy taste at all. You can tell it was very fresh and as people who use to live next to the Sea (DC area) but moved inland (Colorado) we appreciate more now fresh fish since we only get frozen fish.

Dessert: White Chocolate Semi Frio
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Okay I have to say this dessert does not look super special but in fact it is! You see the cup the waiter is holding, they poor the warm ganache on top of the cotton candy and you watch it melt before your eyes! It is suppose to symbolize Elsa melting the snow away. It was such a cool effect we all were going a little crazy over it.

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This is what it ended up looking like. The flavor combination of ice cream with a chocolate ganache center with berry sauce and the cotton candy mixed in was amazing! I am not sue how to describe it, I have not had that kind of dessert before. Oalf was white chocolate too and yummy.

2nd Dessert: Okay I forgot what this was called.
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So it was my birthday and this trip was my birthday present from my parents. So I was wearing my birthday button and they gave me a 2nd dessert for my birthday. That was soo fabulous and we did not think that was going to happen since dessert was already included. The waiter choose a lighter dessert he said on purpose since we already had 5 course meal. It was a dessert parfait with yummy fruit and a caramel topping. The dessert was perfect ending.

Service: A++

We had two servers serving us, never did we going wanting. Always quick to refill water or the wine. They were soo attentive and friendly. Talking to us about all sorts of things. We talked a lot about my pregnancy because one of the waitress on just had a baby that day! So they were a little hyped up on baby and loved the fact I was 5 months pregnant. The manger was always close by too, seeming to want to make sure everything was handled to perfection. Do know they take their time there since it is a nice restaurant. You are not rushed in any way. We ended up leaving around 10 so it was a 2 hour meal.

Another nice perk, we ask the waiter about tip and we found out tip was included already in the package. Nice!


Overall Value/Experience:
So the price is really expensive at $299 a person. But we did the calculations when we have gone to other high end restaurants like this one with 5 course meal and unlimited wine we have easily spent over 200 per person not including tip. And we had special service from with the chef even coming out, explaining everything in the menu. Then you need to included the pre show package part with unlimited slushies and popcorn with one drink, lots of photo opportunities including Olaf and you never can discount the value of having a place to sit in air conditioning. Also need to add in photos, water, program and lanyard and pin we received as part of the package. Then add on the VIP seats and then add on the special behind the scenes tour we think we think got our value out of the package. We would do this more then once? Nope but for a special occasion for people who love theater or frozen and foodies this was great. Also I would not bring kids on this trip, we had one family in the group and the boys were bored it seemed and left dinner early. This is an adult only thing for sure. Mom and me felt like VIPs it was wonderful, we looved it and do not feel like Disney overcharged at all even though it did feel that way in the beginning. We were worried we would not get our moneys worth out of it.

Let me know if you guys have any more questions for me to answer :)
 
Thank you for the detailed and informative review, seems to be a great experience.
...Let me know if you guys have any more questions for me to answer :)
A few questions:
  • How long was the "behind the scenes" part of the tour?
  • How many guests were on the tour?
  • Where was your table located in Carthay?
  • Did you have a private table or seated with the tour group?
  • What time did Carthay Circle Restaurant close?
  • What time did Disney California Adventure close?
 
Thank you for the detailed and informative review, seems to be a great experience.

A few questions:
  • How long was the "behind the scenes" part of the tour?
  • How many guests were on the tour?
  • Where was your table located in Carthay?
  • Did you have a private table or seated with the tour group?
  • What time did Carthay Circle Restaurant close?
  • What time did Disney California Adventure close?

1. I would say about an hour and a 1/2
2. We had the biggest group they ever had, since it was a holiday, Saturday night and a running weekend at 15ish
3. 2nd floor back room, our group had the whole room to ourslevs and we each had our own table.
4. Private table
5. 10ish we were the last group and they did not rush us out.
6. Not sure we went strait to bed after dinner.
 
...2. We had the biggest group they ever had, since it was a holiday, Saturday night and a running weekend at 15ish
It might have been the last (or close to the last) package.
None of the special Frozen packages are on the upcoming schedules, I hope they return.
 
It might have been the last (or close to the last) package.
None of the special Frozen packages are on the upcoming schedules, I hope they return.

Wait are they not doing this anymore? I have not seen them saying they are stopping it. If they are I am glad I did it then.​
 
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Thanks for posting. Sounds like a wonderful experience to me considering the duration and all that was included. You would pay that alone for a dining experience of that quality here in the UK. So it's got me sold when we next visit.

What a super gift from your parents. Congrats on your pregnancy! What a nice story to tell your child when older. How he she had this experience also for free! I hope little one enjoyed semi freddo. That is to die for when done with skill! Sounds like yours mirrored your day. Perfect!
 

Wait are they not doing this anymore? I have not seen them saying they are stopping it. If they are I am glad I did it then.​
They're not. On the daily schedule that was printed for 9/2-9/8 it says that the Frozen pre-show packages are only available through 9/5. And the page on DL's site redirects to the show times with no way to book.
 
I saw the Frozen packages listed (but not clickable) on the site. Is this a glitch? Or is there rumor of them coming back soon?

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