Dessert & Fireworks! What’s better than that combo?

If you are familiar with Disney’s fireworks displays or any of their evening entertainment offerings, you know that they go all out…EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!  Once you’ve seen fireworks at a Disney destination, every other one you watch in the future will seem “meh!”

I’ve seen all of Walt Disney World’s nighttime entertainment at one time or another.  But, three years ago, I began experiencing them in a whole new way.  The Disney Dessert Party!

If you haven’t done this on a past Disney vacation, you should definitely do one in the future!!!  Time is precious when you are visiting a Disney park, and having a prime viewing location waiting for you was so worth it to us.  Plus, the food selection was great too!

This post is going to be focusing on the Fireworks Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing.  This is located at Magic Kingdom for Happily Ever After!!!

Believe it or not, even after 4 trips to Walt Disney World with our kids, they have yet to really watch a fireworks show.  We’ve seen some fireworks from behind the castle, from our resort windows, and as we’ve been walking out of the parks.  But, never have we picked a viewing location early & enjoyed them from beginning to end while our kids were with us.  This was for many reasons: my son hated loud noises when he was younger, they were too tired, or it was raining.

Sure, I’ve seen them as a kid myself & many times as an adult!!!  Every time…I LOVE THEM!  The music is phenomenal & makes you feel so many things.  As many a Disney fan will tell you, they get tears in their eyes while watching a Disney fireworks display!  I am one of THOSE people.  It’s that Disney magic!  And after experiencing “Happily Ever After” during this trip, I got emotional just THINKING about sharing this with my son & daughter.

My most recent visit to Walt Disney World was this past May, with just my husband.  We were celebrating his 40th birthday &  we always try to do NEW things when we are without the kids.  We decided we would check out this particular dessert party, so we would know if we wanted to do this with our kids the next time we go as a family!  After experiencing it, the answer is most definitely YES!

There are three different options to choose from:

1. The dessert party at Tomorrowland Terrace with viewing in the Plaza Gardens (we did this one)
2. The dessert party at Tomorrowland Terrace with table and chairs that you stay at for the fireworks
3. Viewing the fireworks from the Plaza Gardens, followed by a dessert party at Tomorrowland Terrace

(Note: They also have dessert parties for special events like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party & Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.  The party would be similar, but there could be additional seasonal offerings on the buffet & the special event fireworks would be what you see instead of Happily Ever After.)

SO…here are the details of the dessert party we attended!

The party starts 90 minutes before that evening’s fireworks show.  For our evening, Happily Ever After started at 9:00 pm.  So, we needed to arrive at 7:30 pm.  As always, we chose to get there a bit earlier.  People can arrive later too, if they so chose.  However, getting in line earlier meant we were one of the first groups to be seated.

Check-in is located at the Tomorrowland Terrace.  There were two lines.  Be sure you are standing in the correct one.  You give them your name & they give you wrist bands.  They walk you around the buffet area & bring you to a table.  You can stay as long as you would like & eat as much as you want!

There were so many delicious options on the buffet, including:

• Chocolate-dipped strawberries
• Disney character-themed desserts
• Hand-scooped ice cream
• Create-your-own cookies and cupcakes
• Ooey gooey toffee cake
• Action station s’mores
• Savory snacks, like house-made eggrolls and spinach dip
• Fresh fruit, cheeses & crackers
• Sparkling cider
• Hot chocolate
• Signature lemonades
• Coffee
• Tea
• Water

If you eat a late lunch on the day of your dessert party, this TOTALLY could be enough for dinner.  I loved the cheeseburger eggrolls with special sauce & the fruit!  Chocolate covered strawberries are also a favorite of mine, so I would have been happy with just those…but of course we tried almost one of everything between the two of us.

One of the main reasons I loved arriving there early was that as soon as we were done, we were able to head to the Plaza Garden Area.  There are bathrooms nearby too.  We just chilled out in the Plaza Gardens, enjoying the beautiful sky during the sunset, and posting pictures from throughout our day at Magic Kingdom.

It slowly started filling up with people!  We chose to just sit in the middle of the area, but quickly moved to the front once we saw the people pouring in!  When we go with our kids, we will start by sitting right in the front!  Once the fireworks start, you will most likely need to stand to see the projections on the castle.

Happily Ever After!  What can I say to describe this spectacular spectacle?  Heartwarming.  Emotional.  Beautiful.  Unforgettable.  A must see at least once.  As the song says…”Reach out and find your happily ever after!”

 

 

Prices can always change, but at the time of typing this…tickets were $69 plus tax for adults & $41 plus tax for children (ages 3-9).  This was for the Fireworks Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing.

I have also done the Star Wars Dessert Party at Hollywood Studios & the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party at Epcot.  However, I won’t write about those ones.  I had went to the Stars Wars Dessert Party when they first started having them, and they have since changed it all around.  And, IllumiNations is ending after the summer.  I’ll have to go to the new dessert party to see if it changed at all!