International Dinner IllumiNations Dessert Reception & Good Morning Gathering???

[Jaime]

Please could you tell me more about International Dinner IllumiNations Dessert Reception & Good Morning Gathering? We are a group of 4 adults and a 3,4,5,& 6 year old. We are planning to make ADR's for both of these for December and would love to know more.

What characters usually attend? The CM told me classic characters...but does that mean chip&dale or mickey&minnie?
Is the food good?
Is there a long wait?
What extra's do you recieve if any?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Jaime]

Has anyone been to these??

 

[disneyscrapper]

I can not help with the Good Morning Gathering, but would highly recommend the International Dinner. We only waited a few minutes to be seated, and once at our table, our server was there to take a drink order. We were invited to visit the buffet when ever we were ready. The food, which had offerings from each of the Countries in the WS, was very good and enjoyed by everyone in our group of 10. There was entertainment during dinner with appearances from Minnie and Goofy. Since there was not a lot of guests, we had the opportunity to dance with the characters and enjoy 1 on 1 time with both. After dinner we were invited to take a family portrait with the characters that was put onto our photo pass card. The highlight of the evening was the coffee and dessert buffet on the lagoon with an unobstructed view of Illuminations. The desserts were to die for! We all received a limited edition trading pin to commerate the evening.

 

[Jaime]

Wow...that sounds great! It sounds perfect for both the adults and the children! I thought it was more of a adult thing but dancing with the characters our dc will go crazy! What a nice experience.

Thank you so much!

Anyone do the breakfast?

 

[Jaime]

Anyone

 

[5 Disney Fans]

I booked the International Dinner Reception for this summer so I haven't been yet. I can tell you though when we called to make the reservation we were told it is no longer an international buffet. The food is now served family style and it consists of turkey, flank steak and fish. I forget what the side dishes are. The woman said there is a storyteller for the kids and some characters will show up and there will be photo opportunities. (Sorry if my details are sparse but I spoke to the reservation person a couple of months ago). Dessert is set up buffet style though and the dessert buffet will remain up until after the fireworks so guests are free to stay and eat while the park clears out.

As for the b'fast I am sure you can count on Chip and Dale being there... those chipmonks are EVERYWHERE! LOL

 

[Jaime]

I would love to read about your experience when you get back...can you pm or email me? We go in Dec.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Please could you tell me more about International Dinner IllumiNations Dessert Reception & Good Morning Gathering? We are a group of 4 adults and a 3,4,5,& 6 year old. We are planning to make ADR's for both of these for December and would love to know more.

What characters usually attend? The CM told me classic characters...but does that mean chip&dale or mickey&minnie?
Is the food good?
Is there a long wait?
What extra's do you recieve if any?

Thanks for the help!

We just did the Illuminations dinner last week. Mickey, Minnie and Goofy were there that night.

The food was OKAY. Quite a few options, but nothing TOTALLY AWESOME. The show they had during dinner was cheesy, but the kids LOVED it... all the clapping and dancing around.

We did not have a long wait at all, everybody was very friendly.

After dinner the kids can get their pics taken with the characters.

After you are done with dinner and the pics they lead you down to this outdoor patio to watch Illuminations and they have tables set up with desserts of all kinds. That was the best part...they were DELICIOUS!!

We all had fun, but wouldn't need to do it everytime.

(that's the only GG experience we did.)

 

[Jaime]

Wow...it would be great if Mickey was there too...
We are on the dining plan...and are using our TS's for it...I think it will be fun and a little more relaxing then other dining expereinces.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

This sounds really nice! Do you have to be a part of a Grand Gathering to book it? And if not does anyone know the price? Thanks!

 

[5 Disney Fans]

You do have to be part of a grand gatherings to book this. You have to get a grand gathering's number first and then call and reserve the dinner. I don't know the price off hand because we are using table service credits.

 

[Suzepoo]

Is it not a buffet anymore with chefs cooking in front of you??? Did you happen to order beer/wine/alcohol?? Just want to find out if it is available to purchaser during dinner and how expensive drinks were. THANKS!!

 

[disneymom06]

We did the dinner in April. It was still buffet and the food was great. I believe that the price was $60 an adult. We used 2TS credits each. While everyone had a great time, especially the children, I found it VERY rushed. We did arrive early but rushed would be an understatement. We were not able to get our picture taken with the characters,we did wait on line, but were told that we had to get to the show now. I do have some other families picture in my camera? The view to Illuminations was spectacular but because the weather was iffy, they had the dessert inside before the show and nothing outside. I was looking to linger over a cup of coffee as the crowds cleared. No luck. No one really got dessert which is something else that we were looking forward too.

It was a nice event but weather will play a part in the experience.

 

[Suzepoo]

Thanks so much for your review...did you notice if there was a bar offered? If so, did you order anything and how expensive was it? I'm sorry you felt rushed....I can't really recall a time I've been to Disney that wasn't, haha. Again, thanks so much for your help!

 

[AARCLUKSCH]

We are doing this during our trip at the end of November. It sounds wonderful. Can anyone tell me where exactly the reserved seating is for Illuminations?