Which dessert party is best...after February 1st 2020?

[TheMick424]

In your opinion, which dessert party is the best after 2/1/2020? Debating trying one this trip, but still unsure. Which would you recommend and why?

 

[Azred]

I have done all of the dessert parties at all four parks. It all depends on which theme you like and what you want to see. At MK you have the choice of either sitting under the overhang from the restaurant or sitting out in the garden area in the open. I have done both and prefer the seating under the overhang. Get there early though and be one of the first ones so you can get a table up along the railing and get a good view of the castle. A EPCOT you get the Frozen theme desserts. If the weather is bad, they take you to a second floor room inside of the Norway pavilion and then prior to the show will escort you to the viewing area. You also get to ride Frozen after the park has closed. With the Star Wars dessert party it starts off inside and you also get a meet and greet with one of the Star Wars characters. There is also Storm Troopers walking around. Prior to the fireworks and show they escort you to a viewing area in front the the old Great Movie Ride. At AK the viewing area is in the middle. This is probably my least favorite dessert party. Not because of the food but not much of an experience there for Rivers of Light. Also depends on whom is doing this adults only, kids, interests, etc.

 

[TheMick424]

I have done all of the dessert parties at all four parks. It all depends on which theme you like and what you want to see. At MK you have the choice of either sitting under the overhang from the restaurant or sitting out in the garden area in the open. I have done both and prefer the seating under the overhang. Get there early though and be one of the first ones so you can get a table up along the railing and get a good view of the castle. A EPCOT you get the Frozen theme desserts. If the weather is bad, they take you to a second floor room inside of the Norway pavilion and then prior to the show will escort you to the viewing area. You also get to ride Frozen after the park has closed. With the Star Wars dessert party it starts off inside and you also get a meet and greet with one of the Star Wars characters. There is also Storm Troopers walking around. Prior to the fireworks and show they escort you to a viewing area in front the the old Great Movie Ride. At AK the viewing area is in the middle. This is probably my least favorite dessert party. Not because of the food but not much of an experience there for Rivers of Light. Also depends on whom is doing this adults only, kids, interests, etc.

This will be 2 adults, DS 13 and DD 11. So 4 adult tickets, which makes it pretty pricey.

 

[SamFaniam]

I think the overall best experience is the Star Wars dessert party. The party is held at Launch Bay with character interactions with storm troopers and a wide variety of food and beverages including lots of savory options. They now have assigned tables, which is a big improvement over the previous party where there wasn’t enough seating. There are opportunities for meet and greets during the party, and the viewing area for the show is pretty great.

I have not done MK with plaza viewing only, but we have done the terrace party. We enjoyed that, but I think the view was a little bit distant and you miss some of the projections.

We enjoyed the illuminations party, but did not care for the seating. They were just two of us that evening and we were sat at a table with two very grumpy ladies who clearly didn’t want to be there with us. Kind of left a bad taste in my mouth for that experience. Also, the night we were there the frozen ride wasn’t operational, so that element was left out. They didn’t give us a fast pass to come back the next day, but we did this on our last night.

 

[glocon]

In our experience the fireworks at the MK are the most crowded and miserable to try and get seats for. So my vote goes to one of the MK dessert parties. We’ve only done the garden viewing one, not the terrace, and liked it. We’ve done the SW dessert party twice, and did the Illuminations Dinner at Rose and Crown. The SW one is our favorite, but the MK one is more valuable as far as seating goes. The crowds are insane there. If you do the after party at MK, some of the crowds leaving the park will have died down so it will not be as difficult to leave then as well.

 

[WDWLODGE]

In our experience the fireworks at the MK are the most crowded and miserable to try and get seats for. So my vote goes to one of the MK dessert parties. We’ve only done the garden viewing one, not the terrace, and liked it. We’ve done the SW dessert party twice, and did the Illuminations Dinner at Rose and Crown. The SW one is our favorite, but the MK one is more valuable as far as seating goes. The crowds are insane there. If you do the after party at MK, some of the crowds leaving the park will have died down so it will not be as difficult to leave then as well.

I will 2nd glocon's comments. We have done all of the dessert parties except the one at AK. The SW party was definitely the most enjoyable. We liked the interaction with the Storm Troopers, short lines to meet Chewy & BB8, the offerings were pretty good, we all got a souvenir mug, and there was a ton of space in the viewing area, although it is a little too close for prime viewing.

Our experiences viewing HEA @ the MK from the general area has always been over crowded and that can sometimes make it less enjoyable. For that reason alone we almost always book a dessert part @ the MK now. The Terrace viewing is nice because you have seats and if the weather is rainy you are under cover. If there is 1 negative to the Terrace View, it is that you are off to the side. Whereas if you do the garden view you are pretty much centered. We slightly prefer the garden view which is also slightly cheaper than the terrace view. Because we don't have to deal with the mass of people, the MK party is our favorite to book.

 

[Rusty2rules]

I've done the Castle fireworks with the garden viewing, the Star Wars party, and the Illuminations at Rose & Crown. Personally, I'd do the Castle one again in a heartbeat. I thought it was great. I liked the Star Wars party, as well. But, like a previous post said, the Castle fireworks can get so crowded, it's nice to know you've got a place reserved. I will never, ever do the party at Rose & Crown again. Ever! When it was time for the show it was a mad dash for the viewing deck. I had a better view when I watched from the bridge on another night than I did that night. I have nothing good to say about my Rose & Crown experience. For what it's worth, I'm going again next year and I'm seriously considering doing the Castle fireworks dessert party again if that tells you anything.

 

[glocon]

I've done the Castle fireworks with the garden viewing, the Star Wars party, and the Illuminations at Rose & Crown. Personally, I'd do the Castle one again in a heartbeat. I thought it was great. I liked the Star Wars party, as well. But, like a previous post said, the Castle fireworks can get so crowded, it's nice to know you've got a place reserved. I will never, ever do the party at Rose & Crown again. Ever! When it was time for the show it was a mad dash for the viewing deck. I had a better view when I watched from the bridge on another night than I did that night. I have nothing good to say about my Rose & Crown experience. For what it's worth, I'm going again next year and I'm seriously considering doing the Castle fireworks dessert party again if that tells you anything.

When we did the Rose and Crown Illuminations dinner, we stayed in our seats at our table. Everyone did. Maybe something has changed since July?
Or did you just eat at R&C and not do the Illuminations dinner?
We would definitely do R&C again!

 

[Crystal824]

I like the Frozen dessert party best, followed by Star Wars, then Animal Kingdom, then MK. At MK, I have only done the Garden view since they have offered both. I did do the Terrace view many years ago when that was the only one they offered. This rank is based on the actual party. I agree that if you are only trying to avoid mass crowds the MK party might be the best value. I personally found the HEA Garden party more crowded than the others and the food wasn't as good. It also didn't offer any of the fun factors that some of the others offer ie. ride on Frozen Ever After (Frozen) and meeting characters at SW).

 

[Rusty2rules]

When we did the Rose and Crown Illuminations dinner, we stayed in our seats at our table. Everyone did. Maybe something has changed since July?
Or did you just eat at R&C and not do the Illuminations dinner?
We would definitely do R&C again!

I did the Illuminations dinner several years ago, so hopefully something changed since then. I just know I'll never do it again. One of the worst experiences I've ever had at Disney, if not the worst.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

FWIW, starting 2/1 the Tomorrowland Terrace and After Fireworks dessert parties at MK will have beer/wine available (the Plaza Garden “before” version will not). Likely not a material influence in the “which dessert party is best” topic, but something new.

 

[TheMick424]

FWIW, starting 2/1 the Tomorrowland Terrace and After Fireworks dessert parties at MK will have beer/wine available (the Plaza Garden “before” version will not). Likely not a material influence in the “which dessert party is best” topic, but something new.

I agree, and the comments here seem to back that up. I do think that for people like my DH, the addition of beer/wine to some of the MK parties would help to improve their value proposition. I'm still thinking about booking one, but not sold yet.

 

[mrd7896]

i don't bring much to this discussion aside from I tried the terrace viewing party at MK and was a bit disappointed..i think it's great to get a non-crowded spot (when we were there it was very very empty..we must have gotten lucky on that specific night) and have some desserts as well but the view itself wasn't great and the main point of it was to get a prime viewing spot.

I'm so up in the air on if i would do another one again.
IF i would do another it would probably be the SW because you get more of an added experience to it. I have friends that have done frozen and they love it but 99% because of the ride and we wouldn't want to pay extra for that since it doesn't make the most sense with my family.

If MK had just one more factor that you get by booking a dessert party i'd throw my money at it left and right.

 

[instlouis]

If lessening stress from your vacation is a priority, I think MK with Garden View is the best. It is so nice to relax and not worry about claiming a spot among the masses 60-90 minutes early. Food is good and it is a great viewing area; we were able to sit on the artificial grass both times we have done it with nobody standing in front of us.

As we had a DD7 during the Frozen craze, the Frozen dessert party was probably my personal favorite as she had to do the Frozen ride but I could go the whole day and not have to worry about getting in line for it and could use the Tier 1 fastpass on TT or Soarin'. Also being seated at your table with a great view of the fireworks, good food and the drinks sealed the deal. Your kids seem to be older so if Frozen is not a priority ride for them, I would go with MK.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

I can only attest to my experience at the After Fireworks Dessert party. Had a good experience. Had first choice to viewing area, which shares the location with the "Plaza Garden" view party. Afterwards, went to our dessert location, which wasn't crowded. The only thing they couldn't keep up with was demand for the cheeseburger spring rolls. But they had lots of other goodies, including the ooey gooey toffee cake. So if you were trying to decide among the three HEA parties, that's the one I would choose.

However, I would really like to try the FEA and Star Wars parties some day as I think both of those actually offer better value (even with the addition of alcohol to HEA).

 

[jina]

We did SW and HEA in 2018 and just did Frozen tonight. We will never do any other than Frozen from now on. Why?

-Assigned table on the water w a chair to sit in- best view of the show. No need to move to a viewing place unlike HEA garden and SW- this is why we love it above all others
- DD10 loves Frozen so the theming and getting to ride FEA was a bonus

Having said that, HEA is a better show w the castle overlays so if you would only see iHEA via party I’d pick HEA first but oh boy, tonight’s party was magical. We had the best time getting to know the mom and her 5yo daughter who were seated with us- such a great way to end the day.

 

[rajak73]

I can't comment on the AK one as that is one we did not do, but if I rated in order the other 3:
1. Star wars, nice desserts, savory options, good drinks
2. MK party, good, nice viewing area
3. Frozen, least favorite of the 3, didn't think the dessert options were as good, but the plus was, got to ride the Frozen ride with no wait.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I liked the food and the character experience at the Star Wars the most, but I think the special viewing of HEO from the garden area is the best. We are doing the Frozen experience in November, and I think the viewing area there should be excellent. ROL experience was just OK, we had dinner at Tiffins.

We have done the MK experience the most times, probably 5 times, and that’s because of the crowds. The special area to view is most appreciated in that park.

 

[rajak73]

We have done the MK experience the most times, probably 5 times, and that’s because of the crowds. The special area to view is most appreciated in that park.

Probably the best reason to book the dessert party. I don't have to stake out a spot 2 hours in advance. And the Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake is just a plus!

 

[Rusty2rules]

Probably the best reason to book the dessert party. I don't have to stake out a spot 2 hours in advance. And the Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake is just a plus!

I know that's why I booked both my Castle and Star Wars dessert parties. The food was just icing on the cake (pun intended).