They made it clear to us that they would escort us down to the viewing area whenever we were ready.Other than getting the wristband, do you need to attend the dessert part of the party? Could I just go straight to the Plaza viewing? We are going on a the Christmas Party night and don't really care about the desserts, just want the priority viewing because we get miserable when people are on top of us.
Well let me know what they say. I have also done the Star Wars Dessert Party. It seemed that with it there was more of an accommodation to make sure everyone could see. I remember disabled and kids in front others in back plus other room further back. When letting into the Garden it was definitely once you are in you are on your own. I have thought about addressing the issue with Disney but will probably just let it go. I am looking at it as a sunk cost at this point but do feel bad about it. I was really hoping my other 2 girls would have a similar experience to what D9 and I had in August.
The delay with check in I think had to do with people insisting they had a reservation and Disney not being able to find a record of it. Instead of the CM trying to handle the line while someone else looked they were trying to solve the problem. That held it all up. A lady in back of us got in the line because it was so long she thought it must be a line for a character...maybe people like that were ahead of us too.
I think there were definitely more people in the park as compared to August. Earlier that day we had been at MK and finally left without using our Pirates FP because the line was clear backed up into the walkway. In August it was not like that; it was also rainy and that cut the overall crowd. The CM told me that the party last week was sold out; I assume most all the parties sell out given how hard it is to book but perhaps they have added the number of guests. I couldn't tell how many people were seated as compared to August since most had left by the time we were seated but I do know that the food was mostly gone and not being replenished. They had closed the desserts on the one side and only had it open on the one. They weren't making the plates for the kids anymore either...I just asked for a bunch of mickey straws. (Shallow enough I at least wanted a couple of those to take home).
Other than getting the wristband, do you need to attend the dessert part of the party? Could I just go straight to the Plaza viewing? We are going on a the Christmas Party night and don't really care about the desserts, just want the priority viewing because we get miserable when people are on top of us.
Some experiences appear to be different above, but from the times I’ve done it (including the dessert party during MNSSHP back in Sept) there’s really no reason you have to go to the dessert part. They’ll take you to a table, but after that you can do whatever you want - including leaving. I’ve never used the escort to get over to the garden... just walked over myself.
As always, YMMV!
I’m glad we did it considering this is a holiday week, but I wouldn’t book it again. Some ask if it’s worth it. I don’t think any Disney meal/food event is ever really going to be worth it for the dining aspect. The viewing area most definitely is when you have holiday crowds. We were so spread out it was great. Everyone was friendly and kind to each other. Overall it was a good experience.
We went last night. It was supposed to start at 8:45 but they were letting people in at 8:15 so we decided to go ahead and go on in. I think getting there early is one of the keys to making it better. When you walk up the ramp the plaza garden viewing is to the right side and the terrace viewing is to the left. There is a cast member who checks you in a a podium on the ramp. You just go up and give your last name and she finds your name on the piece of paper and marks it out. Then another cast member comes down and welcomes you to the party and walks you, giving you a brief description of what is available. We had 5 people so she helped us find a table that had 5 seats. She gave us a good tip, which is to go ahead and grab your sparkling cider as you walk in and that way you can set it down on your table and its a good way of marking your seat. That way someone else doesn't grab your table as you are up getting your food. That cast member also gives you a bracelet (the paper kind like you get at the hospital) which is what you use to get access to the plaza garden viewing area.
We thought the food was amazing. But we are not used to eating fancy food either (we are country folks), so it was just wonderful for us. My favorite was the smores. My wife saw they had cheese and she got excited and said "I'm in heaven." My 11 year old son was eating everything available and said "Its so good I want to pass out." Even my teenage daughter (who is hard to please) said "I threw up a little in my mouth, and it tasted good." We all busted out laughing when she said that.
When you are done eating, make sure you use the bathroom after before you go down to view the fireworks. There is a bathroom right there near the tables where you eat. Because we got there early, we were done eating before 9 and so we went and flagged down one of the cast members and he walked us down to the plaza garden viewing immediately. There was a lady at the gate, checking to see if you had your paper wrist band on, before she let you in. I was glad that we ate early and was able to be one of the first ones in. We went straight to the back fence and just sat down and rested (listening to that wonderful Christmas music in the background). My kids laid down in the grass and we took some pictures of the castle. There was plenty of room to move around and we struck up a conversation with another family who also was on the back rail.
I think at Disney (and pretty much everywhere) there is always this "see and do" mentality. In other words, you see someone else do something and you do it too. That's why (being one of the first ones there) we purposely sat down or laid down in the grass. Others were doing the same and then eventually once the place filled up, pretty much everybody was sitting down. And they stayed that way during the fireworks. It was awesome. Some people even brought blankets to sit on. People were generally nice in that if they saw you sitting down they would try not to stand in front of you. There was a couple of rogue people who stood up. And this one lady kept driving her scooter back and forth making people have to move to get out of her way. She eventually got off the scooter and walked over to stand. And of course there was the one guy who put his kid on his head and stood right in front of me. But it wasn't a big deal as I just asked my wife to scootch over a little so I could move out from behind him. I do think the back is still the best and I don't think the front would have been any better because if you decided to stand up right at the front of the fence you'd be blocking all those people behind you that are sitting down. Also, at the front of the fence there is just a lot of hustle and bustle going on with people going back and forth and there is a lot more of a chance of someone getting in front of you there. So yeah, get there early and get to the back fence for the best experience.
I purposely did not tell my wife how must this costed, as I'm sure she would have freaked out and it would have taken away from her enjoyment of the experience. I wanted to do this as a once in a lifetime thing for my family. And by them not having to worry about how much it costed and thinking about "getting their money's worth" they were able to just be free and happy and focus on having a good time. And we made memories that will last forever.
I'm glad you posted this as I just booked the dessert party for our May trip and some of the most recent posts had me a little concerned! We are looking forward to the party and I hope it's not super crowded and chaotic.
My family is also attending a HEA dessert party in May, too I hope it's not too crowded.
Thanks very much for your review - it has convinced us to go for the garden viewing instead of the terrace that we were considering for our next visit.Wow! I loved reading your review! It made me smile, thanks for sharing!
Oops - read the quoted review in your reply and replied to that - should have gone to the original - doh -Wow! I loved reading your review! It made me smile, thanks for sharing!
I️ enjoyed your video so much! What a wonderful tripWe loved the Garden Viewing. For us, the key is to not try and get up front. Get to as far to the back of the viewing area as possible and pick something with a good sightline. You'll have more room and a better view than the people who are in the front of the area.
Im sure there are plenty of pics out there but this video (6:40 mark) is from our July trip and we were some of the last people in the viewing area and had an absolutely perfect view.
Can someone please confirm if this includes Mickeys XMas parade viewing area with the dessert package?
I have seen it mentioned in other threads that last year during the Xmas party people would then have access to an area that was exclusive, less crowded area for parade viewing.
TIA!!