Which dessert party? FEA or Garden Plaza?

[MomtothreeEs]

I don't think we can do both dessert parties due to scheduling. Frozen Ever After Dessert party and regular Happily Ever After (not the MVMCP) are not on the nights I want them to be on!!!! Ugh. Which one would you do?

 

[JZCubed]

I don't think we can do both dessert parties due to scheduling. Frozen Ever After Dessert party and regular Happily Ever After (not the MVMCP) are not on the nights I want them to be on!!!! Ugh. Which one would you do?

FEA:
http://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/review-frozen-ever-after-illuminations-dessert-party-at-epcot/

Happily Ever After:
http://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/review-happily-ever-after-dessert-party-review-at-magic-kingdom/

 

[Babsy]

I just booked FEA for Nov and I'm thrilled!!!!

Obviously, it would be my choice. You get to sit, have your dessert party AND ride The Frozen ride without needing a FP+. It all sounds good to me!

 

[Felicis]

I chose HEA, as, with fewer nights for HEA to happen when I am going (MNSSHP is on the other nights), I figured it is likely to be more of a jam on the nights it is on. Factoring in my DD being short (as kids are), I figured it was a reasonable extravagance.

 

[StephenM84]

I picked HEA because during our week long trip they only have 2 nights where its not a party night. I know those two nights will be a zoo during the fireworks so I wanted to make sure my kids had enough space to enjoy the show.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you love Frozen and want that FEA ride after the fireworks, do FEA. Otherwise, there are so many good spots around the lagoon that you can snag on your own with minimal wait times and less crowds. If you want a great view of HEA without having to save a spot and then still have to contend with crowds of people do HEA.

For reference, my DS9 cannot handle crowds. For Illuminations, we have no problem simply finding a spot before the show. The only way we can see HEA, however, is by doing the MK dessert party.

 

[MomtothreeEs]

Thank you for all the replies! We've never attended Illuminations, so I'm glad to hear that the crowds are a bit easier to manage. When we saw Wishes a few years ago, we were very overwhelmed by the crowds, and it wasn't even a "busy" day for MK. It was scary to keep track of our kids!

I know my DD would love the Frozen themed stuff, but based on your comments, I think we'll do HEA instead.

Thanks so much everyone!

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

Just so you know, you can get a fast pass for a great viewing place for Illuminations.

 

[Lisa F]

I would do HEA. easy wdw has reviews of both and although they do a nice job with both, you get a LOT more value out of the viewing of HEA than FEA... which is probably why they added the frozen ride at the end, to sweeten the deal in a park where there is tons of good viewing for the fireworks already.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I just booked HEA for November, and I'm really excited about it!!!!

 

[Yorkieal]

We're looking at one of the Magic Kingdom dessert parties as we really want to see the fireworks but DD is very small and will inevitably get someone exceptionally taller plonked directly infront of her. Can you sit down on the grass in the 'standing' option? And with the capacity of each party (the standing and seating), are the areas a LOT less crowded than being in the general hub area?

More significantly, I see it's 'all you care to enjoy' on desserts and beverages. Does this include the cider? Therefore is it 'as much as you can drink'?! Or is it a case of them conveniently ignoring you once you've had a couple of drinks? I'm not planning on getting steaming drunk but wouldn't mind 5 or 6 to get our moneys worth....?

 

[gillep]

We're looking at one of the Magic Kingdom dessert parties as we really want to see the fireworks but DD is very small and will inevitably get someone exceptionally taller plonked directly infront of her. Can you sit down on the grass in the 'standing' option? And with the capacity of each party (the standing and seating), are the areas a LOT less crowded than being in the general hub area?

More significantly, I see it's 'all you care to enjoy' on desserts and beverages. Does this include the cider? Therefore is it 'as much as you can drink'?! Or is it a case of them conveniently ignoring you once you've had a couple of drinks? I'm not planning on getting steaming drunk but wouldn't mind 5 or 6 to get our moneys worth....?

When we did the plaza garden viewing party we all stayed seated in the grass, except for the people in the very back who stood, not sure if this is normal, or just how people on our night choose to arrange themselves, but it worked out great. On our night it really wasn't too crowded at all, there were a fair number of people but we were all able to stretch out a bit and I didn't feel squished in at all.

The cider is non-alcoholic sparkling cider, and they had it set up on a table when you entered, so you could have as much as you wanted, you just had to go grab it.

 

[Yorkieal]

The cider is non-alcoholic sparkling cider.

Ah. I see. Not worth bothering then.