MK "Happily Ever After" Dessert Party (Parties) Discussion

[GADisneyDad14]

2 questions.

Does this thing usually sell out before the actual date you go?

Do I need to have park tickets bought to add this to my plans?

I’m debating paying for something I can see for free but it’s celebrating a birthday so maybe

The seated Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party is a pretty small number of guests and is subject to sell out, sometimes quickly.

The Plaza Garden Dessert Party has a ton more capacity and doesn’t tend to sell out right away. But it CAN and DOES sell out sometimes, so best to be mindful of that when making plans. But the larger capacity is generally in your favor when it comes to selling out or not, and people changing plans later creating openings.

You do not need to have park tickets purchased to make a dessert party reservation (but of course you do need park tickets to actually attend the dessert party).

Hope that helps!

 

[ITALIANNYC]

The seated Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party is a pretty small number of guests and is subject to sell out, sometimes quickly.

The Plaza Garden Dessert Party has a ton more capacity and doesn’t tend to sell out right away. But it CAN and DOES sell out sometimes, so best to be mindful of that when making plans. But the larger capacity is generally in your favor when it comes to selling out or not, and people changing plans later creating openings.

You do not need to have park tickets purchased to make a dessert party reservation (but of course you do need park tickets to actually attend the dessert party).

Hope that helps!

Thank you very much, it did.

Lastly, do you pay upfront for this reservation?

I heard the plaza garden is better for the views..

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thank you very much, it did.

Lastly, do you pay upfront for this reservation?

I heard the plaza garden is better for the views..

Yes, you pay in full at the time of booking. There is a five day cancellation policy.

My opinion (as with most others on DIS) is the Plaza Garden is by far the better option for views. You really can't beat the front/center viewing angle and being able to see the castle projections.

 

[Meglen]

Really driving me nuts they havnt added any new dates in almost 2 months. I really need this party gonna be doing it for our first day special bday surprise for my son.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Really driving me nuts they havnt added any new dates in almost 2 months. I really need this party gonna be doing it for our first day special bday surprise for my son.

No kidding!!

 

[jimim]

I saw this thread come up today and went right to the app to book for June then saw no change and came here. And saw I wasted 5 mins of my life checking before reading the last post. Lol

 

[mississippi goofy]

bump

 

[Linkura]

One nice thing about the Plaza Garden dessert party is that the Plaza Garden East (in yellow below) is relatively close to the Main Street Bypass (the line in red).

The Bypass is ‘usually’ open during/after HEA, so you can potentially make a much quicker getaway to the front of the park than going down Main Street (which will be a zoo).

It’s still going to be a lot of people once you make it to the front gates/head to the bus stop, but the Bypass is a big benefit. Note that while it is usually open, sometimes it might not be, so just stay on your toes and have plan B in mind just in case.

Hope that helps!

View attachment 300481

Thank you! I still think I'm going to pass this trip. I can't see myself getting in bed earlier than 9:30-10 with 8pm fireworks and all of my mornings are early.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

And we continue to wait on 5/28+ dates.....

 

[10CJ]

So they have changed Once Upon a Time from 8:30 to 9:45 over Spring Break. I am a little disappointed since we are traveling with small kids. Not sure if we will be able to make it to 9:45.

I assume the reserved Plaza viewing area opens up after HEA? Is that correct? Just want to know what to expect in case we decide to stay.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So they have changed Once Upon a Time from 8:30 to 9:45 over Spring Break. I am a little disappointed since we are traveling with small kids. Not sure if we will be able to make it to 9:45.

I assume the reserved Plaza viewing area opens up after HEA? Is that correct? Just want to know what to expect in case we decide to stay.

Yes, it is no longer reserved after HEA. But in reality it stays pretty private as most people are heading in different directions and don’t really have a need to go in the garden.

Not a bad spot to sit/wait until OUAT or to just let the crowd die down a bit.

 

[10CJ]

Thanks!

 

[closetmickey]

Is OUaT a “permanent” or short time offering? HEA is on the July calendar but OUaT isn’t. Should I expect it to be added later? And how is it different from HEA? Just no fireworks? I’m confused!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Is OUaT a “permanent” or short time offering? HEA is on the July calendar but OUaT isn’t. Should I expect it to be added later? And how is it different from HEA? Just no fireworks? I’m confused!!

OUAT is a permanent offering. It’s on the schedule nearly every night.

It’s a projection-based castle show with a few small fireworks bursts. But mostly projections.

For some reason they don’t load OUAT times very far in advance. Eg, March dates were just added over the last few days. So it’ll eventually be added for July at some point (in all likelihood).

It’s a cute show showcasing a lot of Disney movies with great projections and music, although the projection element of HEA definitely overshadows this particular show (in my humble opinion).

We stop and watch if we’re around but it’s not a must see for us. I don’t like to dwell on Disney past, but I kind of preferred Celebrate the Magic, which was the predecessor show to OUAT.

Hope that helps!

 

[geekplusnerd]

Do they put up a separate event page for the July 3-4th dessert party? We went several years ago, but I think I remember never seeing dates on the normal page and it was a special event.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Do they put up a separate event page for the July 3-4th dessert party? We went several years ago, but I think I remember never seeing dates on the normal page and it was a special event.

I don’t ‘think’ so, but I’m not 100% sure. I know I just did the dessert party on 12/30, which was a special fireworks night, and it was bookable via the normal dessert party page.

But, both 12/30 and 12/31 were grayed out for quite awhile and then were eventually made bookable dates whenever they were later added. I think the same thing may have happened last year for 7/3 and 7/4 too (but again, I’m not 100% confident in that).

Sorry that’s not very helpful.

 

[kristin0216]

Great review! Thank you

 

[scottishgirl1]

I don’t ‘think’ so, but I’m not 100% sure. I know I just did the dessert party on 12/30, which was a special fireworks night, and it was bookable via the normal dessert party page.

But, both 12/30 and 12/31 were grayed out for quite awhile and then were eventually made bookable dates whenever they were later added. I think the same thing may have happened last year for 7/3 and 7/4 too (but again, I’m not 100% confident in that).

Sorry that’s not very helpful.

Last year 3rd and 4th July were grayed out from the 180 day point as I checked endlessly for them. I read somewhere recently that they made those dates available on approx 23rd June. I didnt see it myself as that is the day before we went on holiday and by that point had made other arrangements and I didnt check while we were there. I had totally given up by that time!

 

[SaintsManiac]

Here's hoping I can book for September 1st at the 180 mark. Yea right!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

And still we wait for 5/28+ dates..... waiting.... waiting....