How late can you show up for the MK Fireworks dessert party?

[DizBelle]

Between FP+ reservation, dinner dining reservation, and the fireworks dessert party, our schedule is a little tight and we may not be able to show up to the dessert party until 8:15 or so. Would we be let in or could we be turned away?

 

[Robo]

Between FP+ reservation, dinner dining reservation, and the fireworks dessert party, our schedule is a little tight and we may not be able to show up to the dessert party until 8:15 or so. Would we be let in or could we be turned away?

If you mean arriving at 8:15PM for a 9:00PM fireworks show, that will work.

BTW, if they turned guests away for being "late" after those guests have already paid for a very, very expensive event,
Disney would be setting themselves up for some serious problems.

 

[Robo]

That said, if you are booking the experience that offers viewing from INSIDE the Tomorrowland Terrace,
your late arrival will surely guarantee that you will be seated at a table with
a very poor view of the fireworks.
(You'd need to stand along the rail to see the show.)

 

[ppjluvsdvc]

I think you can be let in up until the fireworks start. Are you doing the Terrace or Plaza Garden viewing? I have debated all of this myself. We went in June to the plaza viewing Dessert party - garden viewing at about 8:15pm and I felt totally rushed and would not do that again. We are planning on this again in March and I am having our dinner pretty early as I don't think you can get you money's worth if you come immediately after dinner. I know that I could not really enjoy the desserts enough - too full. If you are in the garden viewing area you can not bring anything with you to that area.

 

[DizBelle]

That said, if you are booking the experience that offers viewing from INSIDE the Tomorrowland Terrace,
your late arrival will surely guarantee that you will be seated at a table with
a very poor view of the fireworks.
(You'd need to stand along the rail to see the show.)

We're doing Plaza Garden viewing - which we did last year and the view was fantastic.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Sure. You can go and just pick up your band probably as late as 8:45 if you wanted to, and they will walk you down to the area.

 

[Lydia S]

If you are in the garden viewing area you can not bring anything with you to that area.

So, they don't let you take any of the desserts with you?

 

[Robo]

We're doing Plaza Garden viewing - which we did last year and the view was fantastic.

I agree, but in your original question you didn't mention which version of the party you had booked .

 

[MermaidMommy]

We got to the Dessert Party (Plaza Garden viewing) around 8:15. By 8:20, the chocolate covered strawberries and the sparkling cider were gone, and we were told that they wouldn't be replenishing those. That was disappointing for the amount of money we paid. Just a heads-up, in case those are important to you.

 

[FelisLachesis]

We got to the Dessert Party (Plaza Garden viewing) around 8:15. By 8:20, the chocolate covered strawberries and the sparkling cider were gone, and we were told that they wouldn't be replenishing those. That was disappointing for the amount of money we paid. Just a heads-up, in case those are important to you.

And then there's the flip side, of Disney having too much food and then throwing away uneaten desserts and undrunk cider after the party.

Sure, they could just have more desserts there, but then they'd have to raise the price another $5-$10, and it's already getting quite expensive.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We got to the Dessert Party (Plaza Garden viewing) around 8:15. By 8:20, the chocolate covered strawberries and the sparkling cider were gone, and we were told that they wouldn't be replenishing those. That was disappointing for the amount of money we paid. Just a heads-up, in case those are important to you.

That's not cool, those should have definitely been stocked for the whole party

 

[AngiTN]

We went after 8:00 at the end of August. There had been a very bad storm that night and we weren't sure we were going at all. We waited till we knew the weather was going to clear. It didn't clear the area until 7:45. We called for a Minnie Van and arrived at MK at 8:07, for a 9:00 HEA. It would have been about 8:15 by the time we walked in and got checked in for the event. We did the Plaza viewing option. We did have time to enjoy all the desserts we wanted and they weren't out of anything.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Between FP+ reservation, dinner dining reservation, and the fireworks dessert party, our schedule is a little tight and we may not be able to show up to the dessert party until 8:15 or so. Would we be let in or could we be turned away?

I'll echo other posters... you're fine. We've done several dessert parties recently and actually TRY to be there closer to 8:30. We're not that into the desserts... so really just sit for a few minutes, maybe grab one or two things, quick bathroom break, then out to the Plaza Garden to get ready for the show. Arguably not the best use of $ but it works for us.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

So, they don't let you take any of the desserts with you?

They were offering people to-go coffee cups when we were there in August, but I heard a CM specifically tell a family they could not bring desserts to the garden (I believe they had asked for containers).

 

[MeeskaMooska13]

Do you recommend the Plaza viewing standing party or the Tomorrowland Terrace sitting party?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Do you recommend the Plaza viewing standing party or the Tomorrowland Terrace sitting party?

My strong preference is the Plaza Garden version. This link may help: Review: Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing

I'd realy only recommend the Terrace version if you have to have a table/to be seated and don't mind an off centered fireworks view and potentially obstructed view of the lower castle projections.

 

[MeeskaMooska13]

My strong preference is the Plaza Garden version. This link may help: Review: Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing

I'd realy only recommend the Terrace version if you have to have a table/to be seated and don't mind an off centered fireworks view and potentially obstructed view of the lower castle projections.

Thank you!!

 

[MermaidMommy]

And then there's the flip side, of Disney having too much food and then throwing away uneaten desserts and undrunk cider after the party.

Sure, they could just have more desserts there, but then they'd have to raise the price another $5-$10, and it's already getting quite expensive.

No, having sufficient food --that people have paid for, by the way -- wouldn't necessitate them raising the price at all. Those desserts aren't all that high-quality, and don't cost anywhere near what the party costs. There's no excuse for them running out of items halfway through the party and not replenishing them. It's either poor planning or just Disney being cheap.

 

[FelisLachesis]

No, having sufficient food --that people have paid for, by the way -- wouldn't necessitate them raising the price at all. Those desserts aren't all that high-quality, and don't cost anywhere near what the party costs. There's no excuse for them running out of items halfway through the party and not replenishing them. It's either poor planning or just Disney being cheap.

I work as an inventory manager, and looking at the supply side of inventory is right up my wheelhouse. Disney would love nothing more than to have exactly the right amount of each dessert every night, so that no one complains about running out, and there's no leftovers. Everybody wins! However, predicting that exactly is neigh impossible. They know about how much people want every night from seeing what people wanted previous nights. They have averages, but an average is just that, an average, it's not telling me what the next group will want precisely.

Having sufficient food means that you get dessert. It doesn't mean that you get to have the full spread given to you from start to finish. It's like with hotel reservations. The fine print says that all Disney promises you is a room, they don't even promise you the resort you picked and paid for until you're actually in said room. The dessert parties are the same way. They have never promised that they'll continually have chocolate cake and ice cream and sprinkles. They say that it's offered.

If 20 people at the party suddenly want to load up on the chocolate covered strawberries, what can we do? If 2 tables of 8 all want a 3rd glass of sparkling cider, what can we do? They can also say "sorry, we're out of x, but please feel free to try any of the other desserts." They can't, or won't, spontaneously make more key lime tarts because a table took them all.

There's no way for Disney to know exactly what people want until they get there, and by that point, there's no way to shuffle the supply. Even doubling the inventory still is no guarantee. It's more likely everyone will get what they want, but you'll get that weird night every once in a while where something would still run out. In this case, there's also the increased chance that desserts will get tossed night after night after night, which is wasted supply, which is wasted money. That's where they'd raise the price a few bucks to make up for the increased inventory.

And Disney's not being cheap, they're protecting their profit margins. Food thrown out is money lost.