Wishes Dessert AND/OR Electrical Parade?

[LaurenPlock]

I'm looking for some advice. I bought tickets for the Wishes Dessert for our family of 3 when we're at MK in July. We've never done the dessert (party?) before, so we're a little confused as to what to expect. My thought with booking it was that it would be a nice end of trip celebration to do while watching the fireworks, we wouldn't be fighting crowds, generally just a good way to relax after a fun, busy, (HOT) week in the parks.

SO HERE'S THE PROBLEM:

It hadn't occurred to me that by booking these reservations, there is a good chance we'd miss the Electrical Parade and the show before Wishes. I know there have been other threads about trying to do both, or seeing the parade from Tomorrowland, but the general consensus it seems is that it's an obstructed view from afar. Our daughter will be 2.5 when we go, and this is her first trip to Disney. Originally, I wasn't too concerned about missing the light parade, but the other day we were watching Disney Jr. together and the clip of the Mickey, Minnie, and Doc McStuffins light up floats aired, and she GASPED in excitement. It totally caught me off guard.

Have I made a huge mistake? We're only spending one evening in MK (we'll have another day there, but hopping to HS for the night) so at this point there's not another time to catch the parade. (Do they ever add parades?)

So in summary, my questions are:

1. Is the Dessert Party worth it? What was your experience?
2. Would you skip the Electrical Parade? If you had a 2yo?
3. Are the parade times ever changed or added to? (I have the same question about EMH.)

TIA for any assistance you can offer me! This is my first time actually "planning" the trip for our family, and these boards have been an awesome resource.

 

[john398]

Aren't there 2 ELP in busy times? ie 1 before wishes and 1 after wishes?

I would think if so you could catch the one after wishes

 

[LSUfan4444]

I would not do the Dessert party and MSEP before the party. One of the best parts about the party is sitting down and relaxing before wishes. Get some dessert, chat, relax, take a photopass pic, then watch wishes.

 

[drstrangelove]

I'm looking for some advice. I bought tickets for the Wishes Dessert for our family of 3 when we're at MK in July. We've never done the dessert (party?) before, so we're a little confused as to what to expect. My thought with booking it was that it would be a nice end of trip celebration to do while watching the fireworks, we wouldn't be fighting crowds, generally just a good way to relax after a fun, busy, (HOT) week in the parks.

SO HERE'S THE PROBLEM:

It hadn't occurred to me that by booking these reservations, there is a good chance we'd miss the Electrical Parade and the show before Wishes. I know there have been other threads about trying to do both, or seeing the parade from Tomorrowland, but the general consensus it seems is that it's an obstructed view from afar. Our daughter will be 2.5 when we go, and this is her first trip to Disney. Originally, I wasn't too concerned about missing the light parade, but the other day we were watching Disney Jr. together and the clip of the Mickey, Minnie, and Doc McStuffins light up floats aired, and she GASPED in excitement. It totally caught me off guard.

Have I made a huge mistake? We're only spending one evening in MK (we'll have another day there, but hopping to HS for the night) so at this point there's not another time to catch the parade. (Do they ever add parades?)

So in summary, my questions are:

1. Is the Dessert Party worth it? What was your experience?
2. Would you skip the Electrical Parade? If you had a 2yo?
3. Are the parade times ever changed or added to? (I have the same question about EMH.)

TIA for any assistance you can offer me! This is my first time actually "planning" the trip for our family, and these boards have been an awesome resource.

The castle show and the electrical parade are usually run twice in the summer, before and after the fireworks. I would check to see if they are on for 2x that night. If so, I would sleep late or nap ,and do both. The desert party is really for adults. Pretty good treats and a wonderful place to watch the fireworks. It is way to far to enjoyt he cstle show or the parade though. However, we watche the fireworks, then walked over and got a parade spot. Watched the castle show and the parade before we left. Have a great time. All the best!

 

[Pamnkevin]

Do not miss the parade. My fondest memory of my children at the parks were how in awe they were during the parade. Seemed like all the characters payed her special attention too...I'll never forget it. She was 1.5yrs and my son was 4. We did the dessert party a different day and it was nice and relaxing, but if I had to choose, the parade would win. If you think they can stay up late for the later parade...do that. If not, cancel the desserts

 

[BLLB]

We watched the MSEP while we were at the Dessert Party. Not an up-close view but acceptable.

 

[surferdave]

Do not miss the parade. My fondest memory of my children at the parks were how in awe they were during the parade. Seemed like all the characters payed her special attention too...I'll never forget it. She was 1.5yrs and my son was 4. We did the dessert party a different day and it was nice and relaxing, but if I had to choose, the parade would win. If you think they can stay up late for the later parade...do that. If not, cancel the desserts

I'm with you, especially if the OP's daughter already reacted to the floats on television like that. Seeing it close up and interacting with the glowing characters beats the Dessert Party.

I found that from the Terrace, you can only really see the tops of the floats and you can only hear the droning, repetitive, maddening melody of the parade music instead of the variations that come with each part of the parade.

 

[LaurenPlock]

Aren't there 2 ELP in busy times? ie 1 before wishes and 1 after wishes?

I would think if so you could catch the one after wishes

Currently MDE only shows one parade starting at 9pm. Our dessert party reservations are at 9:15, and Wishes is slated for 10pm. I called Disney to confirm all of this, and she said that's what's in her system too, but that those times are always subject to change. It does seem weird to me that they would only have one parade considering it's an Extra Magic Hours night.