Villians Sinister Soirée

[patrickpiteo]

How's this? (In my best Bette Davis voice......) "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." I'm glad someone sponsored KTP. I look forward to his report.

LOL yup I can hear her on the last part of the GMR.

 

[patrickpiteo]

How's this? (In my best Bette Davis voice......) "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." I'm glad someone sponsored KTP. I look forward to his report.

Think he said Captain Jack sponsored him

 

[ktlm]

I'll give you the full report for sure!!

You should hear them "I like the balance between sweet and sour"... "I like how they added texture by incorporating..." "there's a nice crunch to it but it's missing a creamy element"...

Let's just say that wait staff is often entertained when we're eating out! LOL!!

Sounds like your kids have seen one too many episodes of Top Chef, Master Chef, and Master Chef Jr.! I can relate, DD loves all those shows. I like that they have made her brave enough to taste different things. I do have a feeling based on the desserts here that they might get spit out in a napkin- although this is the kid who to my surprise absolutely loves bread pudding, so who knows! I did see someone post that their child was given something other than the apple- it surprised me because usually the alcohol is cooked into the dessert which eliminates all the alcoholic properties. I hope that is the case because I think DD will want to try the apple- although I am expecting that the rhubarb will not be well received. Last week I saw a table full of adults taste a rhubarb pie at a restaurant after another friend was raving about how wonderful it was. It was hilarious. I don't think they will be trusting his dessert preferences again.

I'm glad to see that Kenny is going and am excited to see his review. Whoever sponsored him has my thanks!

Hopefully, we will see some more reviews tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I'm locked in either way, as this party is now what DD seems to be most excited about this trip. We had to buy a stuffed raven yesterday to perch on her shoulder in her Malificent costume, now I just need to figure out what to use to clip the thing on (it has a nice flat wire loop at the bottom- any ideas?) Such a turnaround from 2 years ago when I had to beg her to take a picture with Cruella with me at DL!

 

[Itinkso]

How's this? (In my best Bette Davis voice......) "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." I'm glad someone sponsored KTP. I look forward to his report.

I think everyone who has benefitted from mesa's FP+ thread should chip in a few cents each to sponsor him for the Soirée. We all know he really, really wants to go!

Can you imagine Kenny and mesa together at the Soirée, in costume? Zingers flying everywhere... oh, wait... I mean pistachio mousse and poisoned apples! Now that would be a bumpy ride!

 

[patrickpiteo]

Awfully quite in here.. Anticipation???

 

[stampinot]

Awfully quite in here.. Anticipation???

Can't wait

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Sounds like your kids have seen one too many episodes of Top Chef, Master Chef, and Master Chef Jr.! I can relate, DD loves all those shows. I like that they have made her brave enough to taste different things. I do have a feeling based on the desserts here that they might get spit out in a napkin- although this is the kid who to my surprise absolutely loves bread pudding, so who knows!

EXACTLY! LOTS of Chopped episodes, actually!! I'm curious to see what they think of the desserts... I'll report back, especially with anything particularly entertaining that they might say...

 

[jlosee]

We were at the early seating tonight and could see some changes already being made from what I read in previous reviews.
After the fireworks we were escorted by staff over by Sleepy Hollow to the CRT once it was open and had our invitations checked then moved into the lobby at about 10ish. Anastasia and Drizella came out to met us and mingled until the upstairs seating was ready. Once upstairs the Queen of Hearts was at the to of the stair well. Hook and Frollo also rotated around the whole room meeting each table. I am not sure where the QOH went as she left and wasn't seen the rest of the night even before all the guests were sat. Maybe she had one too many of the Queen's apples.
Lady Tremaine then got the show started an the rest of the villains came out and worked the room. All were exceptional and spent enough time with each table and were very friendly with my wife dressed as Minnie and myself as Indiana Jones. They do have handlers that work areas, and try to stay in the background, so if you want a picture with 2 people in it, you do need to ask. They won't offer but will gladly do it. We really only became aware of the handlers because the table before us insisted on asking for autographs despite being told no by 3 different cast members and eventually. It put the Villains in an awkward spot and slowed things down especially with Dr. Facilier. The Queen handled it best letting her know that she signed her card and that she should be grateful for that. Anastatsia and Drizella did sign in the lobby for any child that asked.
That aside, the Cast members serving us were very attentive, refilling both water and Hook's punch multiple times for us. We also were asked if we need anything else multiple times and received extra crackers for some of our cheese. Our server also made asked us if we were done eating both of our courses before removing as single dish off our table. As with most things Disney, if you ask nicely and it makes sense we usually have no problem. We didn't feel rushed but the early show may not have been sold out. Alot of 4 top tables only had 2 people. I am not sure if they would fill a 4 top with 2 couples but might on busier nights. We were offered boxes and bags and also told what we could take and couldn't take by our wait staff. The chalice and candle on the table had to stay but I tried. I had to settle for a personalized menu with your name on the top that I liked.
People actually were staring to leave on their own before Lady Tremaine sang one last song and politely asked us to get out. As host, Lady Tremaine had a harder time meeting each table but would still take a picture with any that she missed before you left. We also saw several villains circle back to make sure they met a guest that may have been in the restroom.
Overall it was an enjoyable night but I would recommend the second booking whenever possible. We were told that was what we booked on the phone but our invitation was for the first seating. We were still able to do a lot but with a parade, fireworks and a stage show, your time goes fast if you start in the set aside area at 8 and then leave the party at 11:15 after most characters are done for the evening. Jack and Sally still had along line after midnight as did the dwarves around 11:45. Overall with light rain and attendance we still got a lot done and had a great night but I can see that anyone with young ones in tow would struggle to really enjoy the whole night. Disney is also learning and some of the logistics are rough but I can see they really are trying to make it a special night for everyone and looking to get better with each night.

 

[speedo]

We were at the early seating tonight and could see some changes already being made from what I read in previous reviews.
.

Thank you for the review!

 

[Linda67]

Thank you for the review!

I second that - thanks so much

 

[tsme]

We were at the soiree last night for the first.seating. we watched the parade in the reserved seating area which was nice. Then decided to ride some.rides thru the fireworks. Around 9:45 we.decided to start walking from frontier land to the castle. We arrived at the walkway behind the Castle after the last firework. It wasn't opened yet & were directed by a cm to the front of the castle. She said that's where we had to meet up for party. So we fought, literary, a sea of people going the opposite direction from us to the front. In the.front we.were told to.go to the reserved seating area.& someone would escort us.to the.castle. we pushed thru the crowd again to that area, spoke to a.cm.who told us no. We were then directed to the other side (right if you're facing the castle) of the castle & to take.the first left. Well the first left was blocked.off, that cm told us to keep going around.til the back of.the.castle, which is where we were trying.to.get.to in the.beginning!! Needless to say by the time.we.reached.the.castle we.were all aggravated. Once check in everything went smoothly. The characters were very good. However because.of our run around the castle & thru the crowds.we were.exhausted.& were.too tired to really enjoy it. We.also didn't care.for the.desserts. I wouldn't pay to do it again. It's not worth it imo.

 

[sanapp]

That's to bad that you didn't enjoy yourself. Do you think you would have enjoyed if more if it wasn't for the run around. Did anyone trick or treat after the soiree. I am just wondering if any of the lines are closed by that time. I am also wondering how much space is in the reserved viewing area. Did everyone get up to the rope?

 

[Mommy2Corinne]

We were there last night at the early seating (had originally scheduled the later one but was worried that the kids wouldn't make it). It was awesome!!!!! Just a couple of quick things because we are heading out the door to AK, but I will post more later:

Parade viewing was amazing. We all had tons of room to spread out. I think everyone who wanted to had a spot by the rope...there was that much room. My daughter had at least 15 characters come right over to her and interact with her during the parade. She was loving it!

They were giving away free bottled waters and suckers throughout. There were about 3 PhotoPass photographers in the area, but they disappeared for a while when it started drizzling. We did eventually get our shot though. My daughter was asked to pretend like she was holding something from between her fingers. Maybe a spider? I will update this once I get a chance to view it.

After the parade a few people left the area so there was even more room. We moved back a bit and found a spot along the rear of the rope right in front of Walt's statue. We had a stroller with us. We spread out and sat in the ground. There was NO ONE in front of us. We had maybe three groups of people off to the sides of us (some others were along the sides of the rope towards the front). It.Was.Awesome.!!! We watched the projection show (which gets me every time, and it was the most amazing view).

Then we stayed put for the fireworks. I'm so glad we did. Again, we were literally spread out like we were having a picnic. My husband laid down at one point. The people outside of the ropes were crammed in like sardines all around. Having that much room to ourselves was priceless IMO. And the view...I know that people have said that it is obstructed (and maybe it is a little bit), but we thought it was great!!!!! Some fireworks were behind the castle, but even those it was just the middle that was blocked...they burst around the sides if the castle, and it looked beautiful. There were lots of fireworks that were all the way above the castle too. And the 360 degree ones of course were so cool. We loved watching the projections on the castle and the color changes as the fireworks went off. Honesty...it was an amazing spot. I think the naysayers might be being a tad overly picky on this issue. The view (which was very good albeit not 100% perfect) coupled with the ability to spread WAY out was priceless to us.

Afterwards the CMs escorted us to the castle. It was a little chaotic (we had to wait for the crowd to disperse before they moved us, but they didn't really do a good job of explaining what was going on so a lot of people were confused). We made it though. They walked around and checked everyone in outside at the same time (I'm not sure if this is because we were running a little late because the parade was delayed a bit because of the drizzle?) and then let us all in to mingle downstairs. The stepsisters came around and joked with everyone for awhile. They did a good job of moving around the crowd, and they were hilarious. Then they ushered everyone upstairs.

And then...to be continued...I really need to head out the door now.

 

[sanapp]

Thank you for the quick update! So happy to hear you were happy with the viewing location! Enjoy AK and I look forward to your post later today

 

[Linda67]

We were there last night at the early seating (had originally scheduled the later one but was worried that the kids wouldn't make it). It was awesome!!!!! Just a couple of quick things because we are heading out the door to AK, but I will post more later:

Parade viewing was amazing. We all had tons of room to spread out. I think everyone who wanted to had a spot by the rope...there was that much room. My daughter had at least 15 characters come right over to her and interact with her during the parade. She was loving it!

They were giving away free bottled waters and suckers throughout. There were about 3 PhotoPass photographers in the area, but they disappeared for a while when it started drizzling. We did eventually get our shot though. My daughter was asked to pretend like she was holding something from between her fingers. Maybe a spider? I will update this once I get a chance to view it.

After the parade a few people left the area so there was even more room. We moved back a bit and found a spot along the rear of the rope right in front of Walt's statue. We had a stroller with us. We spread out and sat in the ground. There was NO ONE in front of us. We had maybe three groups of people off to the sides of us (some others were along the sides of the rope towards the front). It.Was.Awesome.!!! We watched the projection show (which gets me every time, and it was the most amazing view).

Then we stayed put for the fireworks. I'm so glad we did. Again, we were literally spread out like we were having a picnic. My husband laid down at one point. The people outside of the ropes were crammed in like sardines all around. Having that much room to ourselves was priceless IMO. And the view...I know that people have said that it is obstructed (and maybe it is a little bit), but we thought it was great!!!!! Some fireworks were behind the castle, but even those it was just the middle that was blocked...they burst around the sides if the castle, and it looked beautiful. There were lots of fireworks that were all the way above the castle too. And the 360 degree ones of course were so cool. We loved watching the projections on the castle and the color changes as the fireworks went off. Honesty...it was an amazing spot. I think the naysayers might be being a tad overly picky on this issue. The view (which was very good albeit not 100% perfect) coupled with the ability to spread WAY out was priceless to us.

Afterwards the CMs escorted us to the castle. It was a little chaotic (we had to wait for the crowd to disperse before they moved us, but they didn't really do a good job of explaining what was going on so a lot of people were confused). We made it though. They walked around and checked everyone in outside at the same time (I'm not sure if this is because we were running a little late because the parade was delayed a bit because of the drizzle?) and then let us all in to mingle downstairs. The stepsisters came around and joked with everyone for awhile. They did a good job of moving around the crowd, and they were hilarious. Then they ushered everyone upstairs.

And then...to be continued...I really need to head out the door now.

Thanks for the review - enjoy your day at AK!
Looking forward to part 2

 

[ktlm]

Thanks for all the reviews! So excited, so excited, so excited!!!

I'm so glad I caved and booked this. Tsme, sorry you had a rough time. Between your report and Mommy2Corrine's review, that lets me know that we will definitely just stay in place through the fireworks! I'm excited because although we have been to MVMCCP a bunch and MNSSHP once, I'm not sure DD has ever let me actually just stay in one place and watch the fireworks. Usually, we are in some character's line while they are short during the fireworks (prince/princess line inside most times)! This time I can just tell her we have to stay put because we paid for our spot and we are being led to the party after! Shouldn't be an issue, because we are focusing on the entertainment and villians party that night, and then we are going to go back to MNSSHP party another night to hit a bunch more characters, soak up the atmosphere, etc.

Okay, here is a silly question. How are the bathrooms at CRT when you first get in there for the party? I know they are not big- we have had long waits during lunch! Does everyone make a big rush for them? I anticipate that after being in the parade area for 2 hours, DD is going to be rushing to get to them when we get to CRT.

 

[patrickpiteo]

We were there last night at the early seating (had originally scheduled the later one but was worried that the kids wouldn't make it). It was awesome!!!!! Just a couple of quick things because we are heading out the door to AK, but I will post more later: Parade viewing was amazing. We all had tons of room to spread out. I think everyone who wanted to had a spot by the rope...there was that much room. My daughter had at least 15 characters come right over to her and interact with her during the parade. She was loving it! They were giving away free bottled waters and suckers throughout. There were about 3 PhotoPass photographers in the area, but they disappeared for a while when it started drizzling. We did eventually get our shot though. My daughter was asked to pretend like she was holding something from between her fingers. Maybe a spider? I will update this once I get a chance to view it. After the parade a few people left the area so there was even more room. We moved back a bit and found a spot along the rear of the rope right in front of Walt's statue. We had a stroller with us. We spread out and sat in the ground. There was NO ONE in front of us. We had maybe three groups of people off to the sides of us (some others were along the sides of the rope towards the front). It.Was.Awesome.!!! We watched the projection show (which gets me every time, and it was the most amazing view). Then we stayed put for the fireworks. I'm so glad we did. Again, we were literally spread out like we were having a picnic. My husband laid down at one point. The people outside of the ropes were crammed in like sardines all around. Having that much room to ourselves was priceless IMO. And the view...I know that people have said that it is obstructed (and maybe it is a little bit), but we thought it was great!!!!! Some fireworks were behind the castle, but even those it was just the middle that was blocked...they burst around the sides if the castle, and it looked beautiful. There were lots of fireworks that were all the way above the castle too. And the 360 degree ones of course were so cool. We loved watching the projections on the castle and the color changes as the fireworks went off. Honesty...it was an amazing spot. I think the naysayers might be being a tad overly picky on this issue. The view (which was very good albeit not 100% perfect) coupled with the ability to spread WAY out was priceless to us. Afterwards the CMs escorted us to the castle. It was a little chaotic (we had to wait for the crowd to disperse before they moved us, but they didn't really do a good job of explaining what was going on so a lot of people were confused). We made it though. They walked around and checked everyone in outside at the same time (I'm not sure if this is because we were running a little late because the parade was delayed a bit because of the drizzle?) and then let us all in to mingle downstairs. The stepsisters came around and joked with everyone for awhile. They did a good job of moving around the crowd, and they were hilarious. Then they ushered everyone upstairs. And then...to be continued...I really need to head out the door now.

Thanks for the review can't wait to go ..

 

[budafam]

Question... will we be okay to show up for the parade & fireworks just before they begin? I don't mind if we even miss some of it (might even skip the parade completely since we'll be back for it next month).

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

How much time is there actually between the parade and fireworks? Is there time to run for a snack or even a ride? A ride is probably pushing it too much, but maybe SH for a waffle, but then I wonder will lines be horrible then. How about after the fireworks and before the earlier soirée? Would there be time to do a Fantasyland attraction? And what if you show up late to the soirée? Anyone who has been to the soirees seen people come in late, or leave early? My biggest struggle with making my moms up is if I want to miss out on the rest of time in the park…

 

[Shivatopia]

Off topic question, but your wording caught my eye. Should I bring cash to tip our table server at this event? or is tipping not necessary?

According to the event description, it says that gratuity is included.

Re the included gratuity - is anybody else curious exactly how much, either flat amount pp or a %. Would bet not near 18% of $99

CRT always adds gratuity to the price of your meal, but of course if you had a great experience there, you are more than welcome to tip more when you are there. I am also curious to know how much the servers get from the amount we pay. As it is all traceable, it shows up on the CMs paychecks as taxable tip income. So if you want to give your server a special "kicker" for making your experience magical, I am sure they will not decline an additional cash tip. =P