And it is with great sadness but fond memories that I start the report of our final dining adventure -
Symphony in the Sky Galactic Dessert Party
We checked in around 7:30 pm for the Dessert Party and received our wristbands with a pull off tab to claim our Chewbacca Stein. The dessert party is held in the area stage left or to the left of Grauman's Chinese Theater when you face it. It is a set up of several stations full of cleverly named menu items beginning with an impressive molecular gastronomy with a wow factor that uses liquijd nitrogen to flash freeze chocolate hazelnut mousse with a dark side and light side sauce choice (dark chocolate sauce or a raspberry sauce), a bar with a selection of four cocktails, an ice cream cart selection including Mickey Bars and Ice Cream Sandwiches, canned soft drinks and bottled waters, punch and lemonade options, a hot beverage station with coffee in decaf and regular, hot tea and cocoa options, a station of a mixed up wonderful bread pudding with assorted toppings, a sweets table of bite sized desserts and a savory station which was a very nice touch. You also receive a Chewbacca Stein ($16 value)
The area is full of about 18 bar height tables with dark red table cloths and an electric candle for ambient lighting. I really do wish there was some seating. For the price of this event, at $69 per person it seems unreasonable to have to stand the whole time or to have to sit on the ground or leave the party area to find a seat.
I asked and I was told it is a fast set up and tear down party and they shut off the area around 4:30 to set up but it felt insulting to pay that much money and not have a seat. I was told they don't bring in chairs or stools to accommodate the fast set up - but from a place built on the inspiration of a man noted for saying "It's kind of fun to do the impossible." I think it should be possible. Let's do the impossible and give the people paying this fee a place to park it! I rarely out and out just complain and try to find the best in things but this really felt unreasonable. If I remember photos correctly the Osborne Lights Dessert Party has seating and I am sure it was a fast set up and tear down too.
Btw you may not have noticed but I really think you should be able to sit down at this party - So now that my whining is done we can move on to the food and atmosphere -- it did look pretty. And the geek in me loved the fun spread and creative names.
The party area had a pretty ambiance. And the safe candles with an electric LED glow cube in it did give it a kind of romantic feel and hubby and we found a table and claimed it right on the edge of the rope and started making the rounds. During the party it was fun to him along w the DHS soundtrack from My Fair Lady and Oklahoma and more.
Only about half these tables were filled so this event may have a pricing issue where people simply are not willing to pay the price point for it, a publicity issue where people don't know about it, or a lack of interest which is a shame because despite my one issue the stations were fun and the CMs were helpful and friendly and the fireworks display was remarkable!
The first station upon entry was the chocolate hazelnut mousse truffle that was flash frozen with liquid nitrogen then fractured and served in a bowl with light side or dark side sauce. To be fair I chose the light side and Jess the dark side so we could try both. It was an impressive start with a real cool vibe and Scifi factor. Great for the event. Had I only one wish it would be that instead of a storm trooper on this display that they had Han Solo Frozen in carbonite! How funny would that be?
I think this was more flash than favor tho. It was cool and edgy but it tasted like dipping dots and softened quickly. It was more the technique and wow factor that is the attraction than the actual taste of the dish. It tasted ok - more chocolate than hazelnut and I preferred the raspberry sauce. Dark chocolate was too much for me! It gets an A for presentation and a B+ for taste.
Love the table set up so it looks like it's an AT AT carrying the dishes.
This is the savory table which included "Smoked Sea Salted Quarter Ration Biscuits" - a drop biscuit that I really liked. It was warm and soft and I appreciated some savory options. I also really enjoyed the C3PO Cheese Cracker which reminds me of the traditional southern staple at holidays - the cheese straw. It is cheddary and salty and has a tiny pepper kick. It is dry and crumby and I liked it. It is also shaped like C3PO so that is pretty awesome. Other selections included mozarella and tomato sabers, cheddar and olive sabers, fruit sabers of grapes, strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon. I didn't waste stomach space on fruit but had one olive and cheddar and one mozzarella and tomato saber and they were nice but nothing noteworthy except the skewers were super fun and fancy.
We had a split decision on the scorched pesto crisps - I liked the garlicky savory bite and they had a soft favorful middle that I thought was yummy but Jess thought them soggy and bland and said they were not supposed to be soft as it says right in the name, crisp.
The sweets table was loaded with mini desserts including mini versions of the BB8 Droid lemon cupcake and the dark peanut butter chocolate Darth Vader cupcakes. I liked being able to sample these in bite sized options. I thought the BB8 one was a nice tart little bite but didn't care for the candy rocks on top of it. The BB8 edible topper tasted like white chocolate. I liked the dark fudge chocolate Vader cupcake and took a bite of the topper and enjoyed the peanut butter infused chocolate. Pretty darn good.
This was a blue panna cotta with crisp pearls. It was cute and fun but maybe it's because I am allergic to penicillin that is made with mold but I had trouble getting past the pale blue color that I found unappetizing so it was a one bite and done treat for me.
I loved the Pistachio cherry bites below and really liked the tart and bright citrus financier! In fact I had two each of these. I don't really recall the "Death Star Chocolate Cake" There were also crisp rice treat Bon bons that were fine and cute. Rather ordinary so they did not get more than a bite of tummy space.
And my favorite in the display was the Darth Maul eclair! How hilariously fun are these??
They were tasty too.
The star of this Star Wars themed event was this massive and amazing bread pudding!
I seriously could have fallen face first into that hilariously huge dish of salty sweet goodness!
In our family I am the designated drinker and Jess is the designated driver so I did my best but I detest, loathe, despise coconut and cannot imagine why anyone would want to drink something that tastes like sunscreen so I can only review three of these beverages. Perhaps had we both been drinking we would have minded the lack of chairs less.
So let's start with "The Force" I am firmly convinced they created and named this drink so everyone who takes the first sip will shake their head and say "whoa! The Force is strong in this one!" I was shocked by how boozy this was and I read a few other reviews so I know I was not alone In this. If you are looking to recoup the cost of this experience then I would say here is the place to do it! I swear it was half Pomegranate lemonade and half Jim Bean! I managed half of it before I was thinking "I need some scorched pesto crisps in me to balance the sugar and booze!" Here is a pic of the very forceful Force.
It feels really weird to say I found a cocktail that was too strong at WDW. It's like saying "These fabulous shoes have too much of a clearance price. Charge me more. "'or "No, thanks. I would rather not be upgraded to a Savannah suite at AKL. Just drop me off at one of the furthest out rooms at an All Star Resort for the same price." But I swear it was true!
I cannot find the photo of the Correlion Smugglers Coffee or Juicy Jakku cocktail but they looked like the above cocktail only green or the color of creamy coffee. The Juicy Jakku was vodka and green apple lemonade and was also pretty strong but didn't knock me back like Jim Bean in The Force. The last was a pretty basic iced coffee with Baileys.
For kids and non drinkers we had the Padawan Punch, a blood orange lemonade and the base of the Jakku cocktail, Ewok Juice, the green apple lemonade. I did hear a few kids tell their dad they thought it was silly that it was green and called Ewok juice because Ewoks are not green (though Endor is green). They suggested it be renamed "Yoda Soda" and I thought it was cute.
We also had the usual generic Disney Ice Cream treats and I love me a Mickey bar and we split one as we watched the fireworks.
And of course the true star of the show is the Symphony in the Sky Fireworks. They're amazing and shot from inside the park so they are close and it feels intimate. I am a humongous Star Wars Nerd so loved it and its artistic and cool and I wish I could have seen it twice. They actually crest Dagobah in fireworks! Seriously cool!
Soooooo.... Would I do this again? Maybe for a special occasion but I think the big perk you're purchasing at a Fireworks dessert parties is a comfortable and uncrowded place to enjoy the fireworks and the desserts are a nice perk to make it a nicer experience. It was nice. I was glad I did it but I won't spend the money on this one again without seating. We all know that Disney is a vacation that bites back and is hard on the feet and takes a LOT of walking so it is a deal breaker for us. It doesn't mean we didn't enjoy it. It just means we will likely spend that money elsewhere in future trips.
And that is it. My first trip report and dining review is done and I hope that somewhere along the way I have given you some info that will help you.
And now all together now - those of you around my age will remember
Now it's time to say good bye to all my company -
M I C --
see you real soon
K E Y
Why? Because we like you!
M O U S E
Thanks for traveling with me!
