We did this in January as part of our wedding/honeymoon trip, as it was a splurge. We loved it, it was possibly one of our favourite experiences we've ever done on a Disney trip.
We checked in at the Wave at the Contemporary, and grabbed a seat in the lounge area. It was a really cold night, so they started us off with a warm buttered-rum apple cider topped with a maple foam - it was so amazingly delicious! Apparently this is not the normal drink served at this point, but they changed it up due to the weather...
They also served a small cup of butternut squash soup here, which was also fantastic! Our guides then led us to the monorail where we had our own car. Next stop was the Polynesian. I've heard that this portion is sometimes held outside, but again, it was extremely cold the night we did this so it was moved inside. There were high-top tables set up and no assigned seating. We ended up standing at a table with an extremely friendly couple from California. Each place setting had a lei, and we each brought a Mai-Tai - which was very strong, but very good!
We also had three small plates at this stop - a beet salad, a spicy tuna roll and pork belly. I don't eat fish, so I didn't try the tuna roll, but my husband loved it. The pork belly was amazing (a common theme on this night)
This stop also included entertainment from a ukelele player. Eventually, we were loaded back onto the monorail to head to the Grand. At the Grand, we were assigned seats at a table at Citricos, and offered a choice of red or white wine. Our main entree was surf and turf (we were not given any options, it was plated with both halibut and a beef short rib). As mentioned above, I don't eat fish, but my husband did not complain about eating my piece of halibut - he thought it was great. The short rib was so good, fall-apart tender and delicious.
Once we finished up our meal, we headed downstairs to the Tea Room where we were handed a glass of sparkling wine and a cheese/charcuterie plate. I'm typically not a huge fan of things like these (I have very simple tastes), but I enjoyed the brie and the meat selections. We spent a fair amount of time here, chatting with some of the people in our group.
Our guides took us back upstairs, where we posed for a group photo before once again boarding the monorail and heading back to the Contemporary. Most nights this portion is held outside, but they had sectioned off a seating area inside for us. They had coffee, tea, hot chocolate (and Kahula/Frangelico/Bailey's to add to it yourself), along with cans of pop (or soda for you Americans
). There was also a selection of desserts - chocolate flourless cake, citrus cake and strawberry shortcake shots.
Right before the fireworks started, they handed us blankets to wrap up in before heading outside to watch the show. They also pipe the music in. As we were leaving, they gave us boxed chocolates to take home.
Overall, it was a really great night, and we were so happy we did it. The night we did this, it was all adults - I would think teenagers might be bored at times, and I'd have a hard time justifying the cost without the alcohol.
I don't know if this is something we will do on every trip, but it's definitely something we would both do again in the future! Hope this helps!
