Villians Sinister Soirée

[monique5]

Yes, exactly. When you enter the roped off reserved area (you enter from the right side if facing the castle) keep going until the end, or almost the end on the opposite side. You will see straight down the route where the parade comes with no one in front of you. You will see the parade head on and again from the side as it turns to go around the hub right in front of you. The characters come right up, face to face with you at the rope. A lot of people entering the reserved area stop right in front of the castle, but there are people lined up there across the street. Even though I was slightly farther away for the Villains castle show I felt my view for that was also better as I could see over everyone's heads who were crammed in the castle forecourt area across the street. I could see the whole stage without any heads in my way. It was one of the later areas to fill in on the rope but I think it had the best views. When the fireworks were going off I went back to lean against the railing behind me in the hub center.

Thanks!

 

[mguilford1]

I need some quick advice!! I have tickets to the Oct. 21 party and the 2nd seating of the soiree. It is Husband, Granddaughter & me. I have a chance to get 3 more tickets for the Oct. 30 party! What do you think? should I go for it!? We wont be in WDW again for a long time.....We also have a 10 day ticket but the first 5 days parks will be pretty busy!

 

[JenniBugInPink]

We attended the second Soirée at 11:45 on October 2nd and had an amazing time. The reserved area was worth every penny of the price for the Soirée. It seemed like everyone (and there were two Soirees that night) had ample space at the ropes. It's the first time I have watched a parade or show without someone pushing me from the side, the back, or trying to wiggle in front of me right before the show starts. There were Photopass photographers inside the reserved area for the entire time doing the poisoned apple magic shot and other cast members were dispensing bottles of water. We were able to watch two separate Villains Castle shows, the Boo To You Parade, The Castle projection show and Hallowishes with great unobstructed views. Thanks to a tip from Kenny The Pirate's website I watched the parade head on as it came from frontierlamd and then from the side and had lots of interaction with the characters and people in the parade (and got some great pictures). The Soirée was excellent as well. We got pictures with every villain there including the ones who were just downstairs like The Queen of Hearts. Lady Tremaine realized she had not met everyone on our side of the restaurant and even though she had finished (and told everyone to "get out") she announced she would be staying on to make sure everyone got a picture and to meet with her. Even leaving the castle and Magic Kingdom that night I didn't feel rushed at all. We stopped to take lots of pictures in the empty park and street and every cast member wished us a cheery "good night" or "Happy Halloween" on the way out. There was a bus ready to take everyone back to our resort (they even moved the bus stop from the end up to number one so we wouldn't have to trudge all the way down the line) which I really appreciated after a long night. I would highly recommend this splurge if your budget allows it. Particularly the later party which added an extra hour or more to our party time and afforded us ample time for many pictures and meet and greets between the fireworks and the Soirée.

Hi! We went that night as well. Were you in costume? We were the Haunted Mansion Ghosts. We loved the Soirée as well, and really thought it was worth the money. We had a great time, and your write up was terrific!

 

[donnamk123]

I need some quick advice!! I have tickets to the Oct. 21 party and the 2nd seating of the soiree. It is Husband, Granddaughter & me. I have a chance to get 3 more tickets for the Oct. 30 party! What do you think? should I go for it!? We wont be in WDW again for a long time.....We also have a 10 day ticket but the first 5 days parks will be pretty busy!

I would, we love the party!

 

[Dream Finder]

Has anyone gotten a diabetic meal at the soirée? Wondering if there were actual desserts or the standard no-sugar-added sorbet and berries.

Hey guys, I'm bumping this question since I also would like to know. I am attending the party on the 28th and DH is Diabetic. Can we expect "custom" deserts or the standard replacements that we have seen before? TIA

 

[WDWBelle]

Hi! We went that night as well. Were you in costume? We were the Haunted Mansion Ghosts. We loved the Soirée as well, and really thought it was worth the money. We had a great time, and your write up was terrific!

Thank you for your kind words! I remember your costumes very well- they were fantastic and I heard a lot of people commenting about them. I was Belle (well one of three Belles I saw at the reserved area or the party that night- popular choice) and I was with the Evil Queen. We had a wonderful time and wearing a costume really added to the camaraderie and made it even more fun. Everyone that night seemed very friendly and we agree with you that it was definitely worth the money.

 

[crostorfer]

We attended the Soiree on Friday, and did the early seating.

I would have paid $100 per person just for the VIP viewing area. That alone makes the package worth the price. We were absolutely thrilled. After entering, quite a few people stopped at the rope in front of the castle. A small contigent of us marched right over to the far side, facing the pathway towards Liberty Square. Turns out, all of us over there were Disboards members, LOL. We all knew they were the best seats in the house.

I will say, though, that my only criticism of the viewing area is that they need many, many more CM's in the area to try to control the situation. I felt so sorry for the two girls in there. They were literally jumping like spiders and zipping back and forth to try to keep people out of the roped off area. Every 30 seconds someone tried to get through the rope. They'd wait until the CM's were explaining what the viewing area was for to another guest, and they'd just try to plow their strollers right on through. I don't think most of the average guests had any idea about the Soiree, they probably turned a combined hundred people away from the rope, or kicked them out of the area completely. A lot of people tried to sneak in unnoticed, but they were mostly all caught. We, and the family of Flora, Fauna and Merriweather the fairies next to us, felt like we had to defend our space with force. We kind of formed a human wall.

The Soiree itself was lovely, although I have to say that the apple would be 100 times better if it were served warm, with a cinnamon-fruit filling, rather than cold with a cherry middle. I enjoyed the Maleficent pistachio mousse the best, but I thought the cheese plate was better than the desserts. It was delicious. The characters were absolutely wonderful. We had to pleasure of attending the same party as the large man with a beard dressed as Drizella, (if you were at MNSSHP Friday, I'm sure you saw him). He was AMAZING, and the very loud squeals he received when he walked in and the sisters saw him was priceless.

We were really, really worn out after the party was done, so that, and the fact that the park was VERY crowded, kind of put a damper on our overall enjoyment of the party as a whole, but that is for another thread. As far as the Soiree itself, we would ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, 100% do this again for the same price point. The VIP viewing area, and the fact that we walked away with several bags full of goodies, was worth every penny.

 

[LCoulter]

Hey guys, I'm bumping this question since I also would like to know. I am attending the party on the 28th and DH is Diabetic. Can we expect "custom" deserts or the standard replacements that we have seen before? TIA

I would like to know too so I'm bumping this question too.

 

[JenniBugInPink]

Hey guys, I'm bumping this question since I also would like to know. I am attending the party on the 28th and DH is Diabetic. Can we expect "custom" deserts or the standard replacements that we have seen before? TIA

I would like to know too so I'm bumping this question too.

This reply is too late to help, but...

Since this was a plated dessert, I actually contacted dietary services to see if there would be sugar-free desserts available for my Type I diabetic husband. I was pretty tired of seeing the same old sugar-free cookies at every dessert event we went to. This event was expensive and I thought he deserved to have something nice too, for a change. He was served a plate of three (maybe 4?) sugar-free desserts that was quite nice. I don't know if this was because I contacted someone, or if this is standard for the event. In a manner similar to the way they handle allergies, the chef came out before the food was served to check and see what our needs were, and then checked with us after the food was served to make sure that everything was okay. I really didn't want that big a deal made out of it, but I was glad that for once my husband got sugar-free desserts that were like everyone else's regular desserts.

I'd be interested to know what other people's experience was without contacting dietary services. I hope that they received the same sugar-free desserts that my husband did without all the falderal.

 

[JenniBugInPink]

Thank you for your kind words! I remember your costumes very well- they were fantastic and I heard a lot of people commenting about them. I was Belle (well one of three Belles I saw at the reserved area or the party that night- popular choice) and I was with the Evil Queen. We had a wonderful time and wearing a costume really added to the camaraderie and made it even more fun. Everyone that night seemed very friendly and we agree with you that it was definitely worth the money.

I agree about the costumes! We had so much more fun than we ever dreamed, and thanks for your nice words, too!

If you've (general you) ever thought about dressing up, I can't recommend it highly enough. Husband and I are not young anymore, and I have to use an ECV, but we had such a good time dressing up that I want everybody to try it!

 

[LCoulter]

This reply is too late to help, but...

Since this was a plated dessert, I actually contacted dietary services to see if there would be sugar-free desserts available for my Type I diabetic husband. I was pretty tired of seeing the same old sugar-free cookies at every dessert event we went to. This event was expensive and I thought he deserved to have something nice too, for a change. He was served a plate of three (maybe 4?) sugar-free desserts that was quite nice. I don't know if this was because I contacted someone, or if this is standard for the event. In a manner similar to the way they handle allergies, the chef came out before the food was served to check and see what our needs were, and then checked with us after the food was served to make sure that everything was okay. I really didn't want that big a deal made out of it, but I was glad that for once my husband got sugar-free desserts that were like everyone else's regular desserts.

I'd be interested to know what other people's experience was without contacting dietary services. I hope that they received the same sugar-free desserts that my husband did without all the falderal.

Thank you for the reply. It will be interesting to see what others experienced.

 

[ckb_nc]

Managed to snag 11:25pm ressie on 10/24 for 2. Yeah!!!! So excited

 

[Bentoch]

I need some quick advice!! I have tickets to the Oct. 21 party and the 2nd seating of the soiree. It is Husband, Granddaughter & me. I have a chance to get 3 more tickets for the Oct. 30 party! What do you think? should I go for it!? We wont be in WDW again for a long time.....We also have a 10 day ticket but the first 5 days parks will be pretty busy!

Having just done this Friday I think I would say it depends on what you value more, having a preferred viewing area and easily being able to take pictures and interact with villains or $99. Seriously though I thought everything about the experience was just fine but I personally wouldn't pay that much for it. However, my girlfriend loved it because she wants as many character pictures as possible on our trips and for her being able to sit and eat instead of standing in a line to take pictures, it is worth every penny.

 

[tiriggs1]

I need some quick advice!! I have tickets to the Oct. 21 party and the 2nd seating of the soiree. It is Husband, Granddaughter & me. I have a chance to get 3 more tickets for the Oct. 30 party! What do you think? should I go for it!? We wont be in WDW again for a long time.....We also have a 10 day ticket but the first 5 days parks will be pretty busy!

I loved the Soiree. I think that once during the trip would be enough. 2 MNSSHP... yes. 2 Soirées... no. That will give you an extra $300 to buy fun treats and souvenirs!

 

[tiriggs1]

I need some quick advice!! I have tickets to the Oct. 21 party and the 2nd seating of the soiree. It is Husband, Granddaughter & me. I have a chance to get 3 more tickets for the Oct. 30 party! What do you think? should I go for it!? We wont be in WDW again for a long time.....We also have a 10 day ticket but the first 5 days parks will be pretty busy!

Another fun event.... Pirate Voyage Cruise at Contemporary Resort. Meet Hook, Smee, and Peter Pan. Dessert and snack table at the event too. Watch Wishes fireworks from the lake. Just an idea Maybe add 2 more character dining reservations to your trip. $300 can make a lot of magic happen!

 

[Cluelyss]

Attended the soirée on Thursday. Completely agree that this is a wonderful event....the reserved viewing area was spectacular, and the character interactions were amazing. However, I did want to report that my 2 children were NOT given the plated villains desserts. They were offered their choice of ice cream and maybe a brownie (can't recall what the second option was, as both my kids went with the ice cream). It was nothing special, just a bowl of vanilla ice cream, I don't even think it had sprinkles. Was a little disappointed since the kids' tickets were the same price that they didn't get the same desserts. Honestly, they probably wouldn't have liked most of them, but DH and I would have been happy to help them out!!! Hope everyone still to attend has a great time, it was well worth the price tag!!!

 

[Luvchefmic]

Glad to hear another report that it was worth it. Wonder why that happened with your children's desserts though weird

 

[LilIrishBlessing]

Adding my review as well. Attended Thursday which was a sold out party night. Viewing area for the parade was great and not crowded. OK view of the villains stage show and fireworks. Parade view where it turned from Frontier land was great. Downstairs in the castle was the stepsisters and the Queen of Hearts. Upstairs when we went was Jafar and Captain Hook. You could take pictures with all of them. Hook and Jafar came to our table prior to lady tremaine starting the show. Once she came in she did some intros then the villains came out. Dr faciller maleficent, cruella, Queen and step sisters. They all came to our table. The food plate was good and we were offered to doggie bag (and assured cruella had injured no dog in its making). Desserts came out and were also good. We really enjoyed the not so poisonous punch and the gave my toddler some in a regular cup with a lid on it after watching him share my husbands. They also brought us an empty plate for him but that I had to request. Poison was endless refills as well as water. Any dessert could also be doggie bagged. The dragon cups with candy, light up stirrers and poison apple glow cubes were all ours to take and they even provided a plastic bag and napkins for them. We thought the rendition of royals was hysterical. There were a lot of suits patrolling the room but non intrusive. We did not feel rushed at all and all in all had a great time.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Somebody tell me how close the headless horseman gets to you at the preferred area. I don't mean reach out and touch or feel his breath ( although that would be AWESOME ) but from a photo point of view. No one seems to mention this part of the parade at all.

 

[mesaboy2]

Somebody tell me how close the headless horseman gets to you at the preferred area. I don't mean reach out and touch or feel his breath ( although that would be AWESOME ) but from a photo point of view. No one seems to mention this part of the parade at all.

I assume HH sticks pretty close to the center of the street all along the route, for benefit of both horse and guests.