MNSSHP HalloWishes Dessert Party - Post tips, helpful hints, and chit chat

[pilferk]

We have a reservation for the 10/13 desert party. Haven't decided if we are keeping them for sure, but so far, it sounds like it might be worth it.

We have ours for tuesday, the 13th, too!! From the sounds of things, i think we are keeping ours.

 

[pilferk]

Thank you so much for this review!! I was so worried about trying the party next year after hearing how crowded it was but this seems to make it so much better!! Not being all cramped for parade and fireworks. I hope they continue this into next September!!! How soon did you buy tickets for this?

They went on sale Aug 17th.

 

[crostorfer]

Was there an exclusive photopass shot in the parade viewing area?

 

[Primrose]

I'm glad my review has been helpful so far! Thank you everyone for the nice feedback. I can try to upload some pictures also, but I do not want the thread to get moved to a different spot as I think someone said it could.

I will try to answer everyone's questions:

Thanks so much for the review! Can you tell me what time you got out of the dessert party? Would we have time to do the trick or treat trails after the dessert party? I'm starting to question if there would be time before the parade. Thanks!

The dessert party ended around 10:30, so we had about an hour of eating. Many people left directly after Wishes. It seems like for the most part you can come and go as needed from the party area during the dessert time. I think you definitely will have time to do the trick or treat trails after. There are several really close by in Tomorrowland that seemed comparatively empty. I think most people had finished trick or treating by 10:30, so the lines appeared noticeably shorter. The skull cup of candy thatthey give you is also pretty full. I ended up pouring mine into my treat bag and decided that was enough candy for me to bring back home.

Thank you SOOO much! That was amazingly helpful!

So, just to be clear: They are NOT escorting you from the parade viewing spot to the dessert party? That, actually, sounds perfect to us. Lets us take our time getting over to TT for 9:35 (assuming the parade ends around 9:15).

This makes me think we're going to keep our ressies, too.

As far as I know they didn't actively escort anyone, but I could be wrong. Even if there was an escort, it was definitely not mandatory as myself and my family did not participate. I also preferred walking over at my own pace. When we arrived at Tomorrowland Terrace, there was a CM with green and red light sticks who waved us over when she saw our lanyards. It was definitely not hard to find.

Thank you so much for the great review!

What are your thoughts on entering the parade viewing area closer to 8:45 than 8:15. DH does not like to sit around and wait much, he is impatient! He normally skips the parades and fireworks at MK as the crowds are too much for him to handle. I booked this desert party especially for DH to have a reserved spot for both areas. He does not need front row, just a little elbow room. Wondering if we could even navigate through the crowds to enter the reserved area a little closer to the arrival of the floats??

I think getting there later would be fine. The area was really spacious and did not feel crowded at all. Myself, my sister and my dad stood curbside while my mom leaned against the fence in front of one of the pumpkin people behind us (by choice). There was nobody between us. It definitely provided more than enough elbow room compared to regular parade viewing. The parade officially started at 8:35 pm, so I think they closed off the streets at that point. So, it might be difficult to cross from Main Street to the parade viewing area after that time but hopefully not impossible!

Thank you for the review! How many people do you think in total were in the parade viewing area and at the dessert party? was the line at the dessert buffet really long? if they don't let you in until 9:35, that doesn't seem like much time to get food and eat before the 10pm firework show. I will be very interested to read continued reviews on this. We also will already be in the park during the day and have BBB at 4:10 and then a fpp for 7DMT to get to right after. I really don't want to walk all the way back to the entrance to "check in" for this. Hopefully they will improve that process. We will be entering the park around 2pm that day and I'd love to be able to stop and get the lanyards on the way into the park or somewhere in the park in the evening.

That is a good question. Maybe there were about 50 people in the viewing area and possibly a few more at the dessert party. It certainly did not feel crowded at all, so its possible that I am lowballing or overshooting. Edit: My sister thinks it was about 80-100 people. I felt that we had enough time at the buffet before Wishes. I waited for about 5 minutes to get the dessert. The line appeared long, but I think that is because the area is relatively small. It moved quickly and we were happily eating before we knew it. The CMs also constantly restocked empty platters which was awesome! Getting the lanyard was the worst part of the experience for us, so I am hoping for your sake that the process also improves.

Was there an exclusive photopass shot in the parade viewing area?

Not an exclusive one that I saw, but there was one for everyone with the pumpkin arrangements and the castle in the background. We were able to slip in and get a photo with no wait before the parade started.

 

[Milenami]

Hi everyone,

I was at last night's dessert party so hopefully I can provide some insight.

In terms of checking in for the dessert party, it was a little bit disastrous for my family. We spent the day in MK so around 3:30 pm we started to head towards the front of the park from Tomorrowland to get our wristbands and lanyard for the dessert party. We didn't see any place to get wristbands along the way and things were pretty disorganized on Main Street at this point (rain, many people leaving/coming, changeover of CMs), so we went into Guest Relations. Guest Relations told us that we would need to head back to Tomorrowland to get our wristbands. They said that we would need to check in at Tomorrowland Terrace just before the dessert party started, which we knew was inaccurate because we would need our lanyards to get into the parade viewing area. We went back to Tomorrowland and got our wristbands, but the CMs there also had no idea about where to check-in and receive our lanyards for the dessert party. They redirected us again to Tomorrowland Terrance, but there were no CMs there when we passed through. Finally, I decided to Google search (which I should have done in the first place) and found that I needed to go to Will Call. So, we finally exited the park and finally found the right CMs. We told the CMs in charge of the dessert party that nobody else working in the park knew where to find them. They said that we were only the second group to check in and that there had been some debate about where they should do the check-in, which probably contributed to the confusion. I'm sure check-in will be easier at later parties and we saw CMs passing out lanyards at the entrance to the parade spot, so there were probably multiple opportunities to check in that we just weren't aware of. This whole process is probably easier if you are only coming to the park starting at 4 pm.

The parade viewing spot made the package worthwhile in my opinion. It was located right in town square and there was enough space for almost everyone to have a curbside view. We arrived there around 8:10 pm, but I'm sure that we would have still had a good view had we arrived a little later. It only took us about 5 minutes to get from the Haunted Mansion to the parade spot, with a stop in a very empty Starbucks along the way. It was a little challenging to get around the Main Street and Castle crowds, since the first Hocus Pocus show started at 8 pm, but it obviously didn't hold us up too much. The area was spacious and I have never been so close to a parade before, so I really enjoyed it. We had a great view of the Headless Horseman and the characters made sure to interact with us during the parade. The only thing that I found annoying was that the spot was at the tail end of the parade route, so we didn't see any floats until about 9:00 pm. Phineas and Ferb and some dancers with candy came out in between, but it still felt like a long lull.

In terms of getting from the parade spot to Tomorrowland Terrace, we had no problem at all. There was no herding that I saw. The parade ended at about 9:15 from the spot where we were, and the dessert party didn't start until 9:35. My sister and I tried to squeeze in a quick character meet and greet with Mickey before heading over, but we decided against waiting since the line was 20 minutes. I do think that would be doable though, we just didn't feel like standing in line. Main Street was pretty much cleared out by the time that we had to walk through to get to Tomorrowland Terrace, so it again only took about 5 minutes. People were moving closer to the castle for Hallowishes and the next Hocus Pocus show which started at 9:20. We had to wait on a short line to get in to the dessert party, but the CMs working it were very nice. We were able to see some of the Hocus Pocus show as we waited, but the view wasn't great.

The dessert party itself was a great experience. I tried each dessert on the buffet and they were all delicious. They had vanilla cupcakes with candy corn icing, mummy chocolate cupcakes, ghost meringues, little cups of dirt with gummy worms, tiramisu, candy corn panna cotta (which actually tasted like Mango and was awesome), rice krispie treats, spider whoopie pies, white and dark chocolate strawberries, witches fingers (which were pretzels dipped in chocolate and possibly peanut butter), mickey oreos which had some type of panna cotta on top, and more. My favorites were the cups of dirt and chocolate covered strawberries. The cupcakes were also really good There was also fruit and some cheese/crackers and an ice cream sundae cart, which I did not try but it definitely looked good. We all got a glass of sparking cider when we checked in, but there was no special toast that I saw. We also all got skull cups with candy inside. The view of Hallowishes was pretty great and it was nice to not have to fight the crowds and stand in one spot for hours. People were really nice about trying not to block one another as well. I was really pleased with the experience.

Overall, I think the dessert party was worthwhile and in some sense saved our night. The crowds were pretty heavy and I think we would have found it stressful to not have a reserved parade and fireworks area, especially since we had already been at the park all day. Not having to line up for the parade gave us a chance to ride the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion, whereas we would have needed to worry about staking out a spot far in advance otherwise. After the party, we walked on Space Mountain, Peter Pan, and Small World. We probably could have done a few more rides, we just weren't up for running around the park anymore. We left right around 12. We felt that our experience was full, but we didn't do any treat trails, see the Hocus Pocus show, or meet any characters which I know many people prioritize. The dessert party is kind of a 2 and a half hour commitment, which is worth it if your priority is seeing the parade and fireworks. It was our first MNSSHP, so for us it was important to experience the parade and fireworks in full. If you aren't sure that you will definitely want to see the entire parade and fireworks, then I wouldn't recommend the party. However, I think you could definitely arrive to the parade later than we did and take some time before heading over to the dessert party, which could make the experience fuller.

Anyway, I hope this information is somewhat helpful and I am happy to answer any other questions that people have!

Thank you for the great review... what time should we be at the viewing area in order to see the headless horseman?

 

[Sbunit]

i was wondering if seating is preassigned/reserved at the fireworks viewing, or is it first come first pick? Thanks!

 

[patrickpiteo]

i was wondering if seating is preassigned/reserved at the fireworks viewing, or is it first come first pick? Thanks!

No seating just standing room only

 

[PAdislover]

No seating just standing room only

I believe at the dessert party there is seating. Obviously for regular fireworks there is no seating. I also wonder if tables were assigned at the party. Also do people stand along the trail for wishes like the regular dessert party at the terrace?

 

[patrickpiteo]

I believe at the dessert party there is seating. Obviously for regular fireworks there is no seating. I also wonder if tables were assigned at the party. Also do people stand along the trail for wishes like the regular dessert party at the terrace?

Yes there should be at the dessert party. I was only referring to the parade.

 

[BNM6959]

Is it feasible to watch the 8:00 Hocus Pocus stage show before heading to the parade viewing area?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Does anyone else like reading that her favorite was the cup of dirt lol that made me smile

 

[pilferk]

i was wondering if seating is preassigned/reserved at the fireworks viewing, or is it first come first pick? Thanks!

I'll let Primrose, or other attendee, answer for sure, but:

We were told tables were assigned when we booked our ressie. We were also told about checking in at "Will Call" after 4 PM to get our lanyard, which seems to be hit and miss information in terms of being relayed to folks by the ressie CMs.

At "regular" Wishes dessert parties, they are assigned (and seem to be assigned by how early you book, with tables closer to the rail being assigned first).

 

[Brocktoon]

Our plan is to trick or treat from 7 to about 8:15 (maybe even a tiny bit later, assuming the parade hits town square for 9), then check in at the parade viewing area. Then, stick with the dessert party offerings til Hallowishes is over. After Hallowishes, we want to ride POTC and HM (assuming we don't have enough time to do HM before hand, while trick or treating) and get our "magic shot". Then we want to catch the LAST showing of the castle show (AT midnight) and make our way to the resort bus for the night. We might stop by the dance party at some point, as they are usually a ton of fun

We have zero interest in most of the meet and greets with the characters. If we stumble on one with very little wait, we might jump in to line.

Pretty similar to my plan as well. I'm figuring to hang around and check out the Halloween merch and trick/treat til the 1st parade. After Hallowishes catch rides til the last castle show.

As of now there's only reviews from the 1st night party, but based on the crowd reports and knowing that I'm going during Halloween week I'm very happy that I booked the dessert party!

 

[nkereina]

i was wondering if seating is preassigned/reserved at the fireworks viewing, or is it first come first pick? Thanks!

Also wondering this, and wondering if people rushed to stand at the railing when Wishes started like they do during a normal dessert party? If that happened, could Hallowishes still be viewed from your seat or did you feel compelled to stand too?

 

[jpeden]

I believe at the dessert party there is seating. Obviously for regular fireworks there is no seating. I also wonder if tables were assigned at the party. Also do people stand along the trail for wishes like the regular dessert party at the terrace?

Tables were assigned based on when you did your reservation. For example, I called ours in at the earliest possible time the day reservations opened, and we have table 303 for two, which was as close to the rail and dead center in front of the castle. We went to the rail to watch fireworks but could have easily sat down the entire show.

Are you referring to the line for food or the line to get in?

We skipped the parade viewing and checked in at the terrace around 9. Since it didn't open until 9:30, we got our badges at the terrace and went over and rode Buzz as it had a five minute wait - BIG MISTAKE. Once we got back (around 9:20) the people who had viewed the parade made it over to the terrace and the line was down the entire ramp. We still got in and got plenty of desserts but the line to get in and the line at the buffet was a bit of a madhouse (I think it was simply the number of people vs the limited space at the buffet to be honest).

Overall my wife and I thought the party was a great value since the party was packed out. Maybe not if it had been empty, but Tuesday's crowds made it worth it. The desserts were good and plentiful. Also, I've seen a number of people talk about 3-4 levels deep worth of crowds at the 2nd parade in Frontierland. We walked up to the curb at town square at 11:00 and sat down - hardly any crowds there until about 5-10 minutes before the parade actually made it up there. Maybe the secret is out about Frontierland.

 

[PAdislover]

Tables were assigned based on when you did your reservation. For example, I called ours in at the earliest possible time the day reservations opened, and we have table 303 for two, which was as close to the rail and dead center in front of the castle. We went to the rail to watch fireworks but could have easily sat down the entire show.



We skipped the parade viewing and checked in at the terrace around 9. Since it didn't open until 9:30, we got our badges at the terrace and went over and rode Buzz as it had a five minute wait - BIG MISTAKE. Once we got back (around 9:20) the people who had viewed the parade made it over to the terrace and the line was down the entire ramp. We still got in and got plenty of desserts but the line to get in and the line at the buffet was a bit of a madhouse (I think it was simply the number of people vs the limited space at the buffet to be honest).

Overall my wife and I thought the party was a great value since the party was packed out. Maybe not if it had been empty, but Tuesday's crowds made it worth it. The desserts were good and plentiful. Also, I've seen a number of people talk about 3-4 levels deep worth of crowds at the 2nd parade in Frontierland. We walked up to the curb at town square at 11:00 and sat down - hardly any crowds there until about 5-10 minutes before the parade actually made it up there. Maybe the secret is out about Frontierland.

Thanks for the info. I booked at about 6:50 am (central time) the day that the dessert party was released do hopefully we get a good table.

 

[kmn952]

A surprising amount of people stayed sitting. It wasn't bad

Also wondering this, and wondering if people rushed to stand at the railing when Wishes started like they do during a normal dessert party? If that happened, could Hallowishes still be viewed from your seat or did you feel compelled to stand too?

 

[kmn952]

We loved the party

 

[NicholeB630]

Primrose do you think doing the Dessert party made the night much more enjoyable because of the crowds. I really want to do the Halloween party next Sept and the reviews from Tuesday are really making me nervous that it won't be a good time. DH doesn't love crowds and we have two little kids. But we would happily pay extra for this party. DH main pet peeve is rude people and being jammed packed like cattle for fireworks ect. But being in our own space with less people for parade sounds so nice and for the fire works!!! My kids would love it. If we arrived at parade viewing area at 8:00 do you think that is plenty of time to get a space right on the curb for 4 people? It really sounds like a fun thing to do. Also from what i've read seems like doing the trick or treating after the party seems like a good idea, like you said less people in lines and there are stops near the party when it lets out?

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

We loved the party

Looks good!
I apologize if you posted more, I scrolled back and didn't see anything.
Did you watch the castle show? And if so, what time did you catch it? That is my only schedule concern.