“Frozen Ever After Dessert Party” with Fireworks Viewing and After-Close Attraction Ride

[FastPasser.]

I don't believe that at the end of November they don't have their timetable all set for Jan.

Not being there anymore I can't address the upcoming dates but I do know exactly when the Sept through Dec dates were ready and when they were approved. You would be surprised. Of course I couldn't divulge it on here at that time.

They know that whenever they come out with the dates, the parties will be booked out.

But not all parties are sold out. All CMs working the FEA, SW and JBJB parties have the ability to look up what the Guest count is for those parties weeks in advance and they do vary. It's also on the pre-party briefing sheet. Whenever I was at the FEA party, which was often, I was one of the CMs who prepared the space that was being used for that party, it was not always the same size space. While it may appear to be the same size, it isn't. There's one setup for sold out parties, which is the most common setup, and one for smaller parties.

 

[CERS]

Not being there anymore I can't address the upcoming dates but I do know exactly when the Sept through Dec dates were ready and when they were approved. You would be surprised. Of course I couldn't divulge it on here at that time.
But not all parties are sold out. All CMs working the FEA, SW and JBJB parties have the ability to look up what the Guest count is for those parties weeks in advance and they do vary. It's also on the pre-party briefing sheet. Whenever I was at the FEA party, which was often, I was one of the CMs who prepared the space that was being used for that party, it was not always the same size space. While it may appear to be the same size, it isn't. There's one setup for sold out parties, which is the most common setup, and one for smaller parties.

I guess the only party that actually does sell out always is HEA. However, I do not get why they don't put it up every day like the rest. For example, why don't they put it on a single night on Christmas week?

I mean, the most crowded week of the year, were it makes the most sense to spend more in a Dessert Party, so you're less crowded, and they don't open a single date? HEA, F!, JBJB, RoL, even Fantasy in the Sky - New Year Countdown has it on both shows on Dec 30th and 31st, yet Epcot has no dessert party on Dec 25th or any date after, probably until mid January. It is just weird that they lose an extra money opportunity like that.

They WOULD sell out if available on those dates, that's for sure.

 

[FastPasser.]

I guess the only party that actually does sell out always is HEA. However, I do not get why they don't put it up every day like the rest. For example, why don't they put it on a single night on Christmas week?

I mean, the most crowded week of the year, were it makes the most sense to spend more in a Dessert Party, so you're less crowded, and they don't open a single date? HEA, F!, JBJB, RoL, even Fantasy in the Sky - New Year Countdown has it on both shows on Dec 30th and 31st, yet Epcot has no dessert party on Dec 25th or any date after, probably until mid January. It is just weird that they lose an extra money opportunity like that.

They WOULD sell out if available on those dates, that's for sure.

All good points and while they may not be making money on the very small FEA dessert party, it's my guess that the Events Group is generating more income on the larger private and seasonal events they're putting on all over WDW this time of year. Couple that with there's only so much trained PEO party, serving and catering staff available, it's my sense that the FEA party drops on the event hierarchy list. And after all, they did lose me this season.

Trust me, from an economic sense, Disney knows exactly what they're doing when it comes to scheduling the parties.

 

[Lisa F]

Sorry, but I disagree. If that was the case, they wouldn't be able to come out at the end of August with dates for the party for the next 4 months (Sep thru Dec). I don't believe that at the end of November they don't have their timetable all set for Jan. They know that whenever they come out with the dates, the parties will be booked out.

fastpasser, before retiring, worked for that department so my guess is that he has some clue what he's talking about

I do believe that Epcot has the MOST "extra" parties going on as there are SO many locations for them to have them that does not impact the average day guest's schedule, SO many locations where you can see a good view of illuminations. I feel like I hit the jackpot when the "island" near the international gateway bridge is open to guests but it is often booked up for a private party.

My guess is that it doesn't make sense to release them on a month by month basis and about a month before the next third of the year is when they have the next 4 months set. They may know the January schedule but may be working on April.

of course as a January person I wish every month they would release dates for the next month 4 months out but it's never happened that way in all the time I've been watching (last February the dates did not work for us but we have a longer trip this January and hoping either my first choice or backup will work!)

 

[5DisneyNuts]

I guess the only party that actually does sell out always is HEA. However, I do not get why they don't put it up every day like the rest. For example, why don't they put it on a single night on Christmas week?

I mean, the most crowded week of the year, were it makes the most sense to spend more in a Dessert Party, so you're less crowded, and they don't open a single date? HEA, F!, JBJB, RoL, even Fantasy in the Sky - New Year Countdown has it on both shows on Dec 30th and 31st, yet Epcot has no dessert party on Dec 25th or any date after, probably until mid January. It is just weird that they lose an extra money opportunity like that.

They WOULD sell out if available on those dates, that's for sure.

Not sure about Christmas week, but having just been there for Thanksgiving week, we saw a ton of private events, weddings, VIP reserved sections, etc. taking up a lot of the prime spaces.

 

[FastPasser.]

Not sure about Christmas week, but having just been there for Thanksgiving week, we saw a ton of private events, weddings, VIP reserved sections, etc. taking up a lot of the prime spaces.

Yup, there are events at some, or all, of those locations every night, and not just at Epcot. But they're not really taking away prime spaces from day Guests because they are designated and primarily event venues at night and the "Park Event Operations" department uses them over whenever they're needed. Day Guests are able to use them during the day.

 

[Lisa F]

Yup, there are events at some, or all, of those locations every night, and not just at Epcot. But they're not really taking away prime spaces from day Guests because they are designated and primarily event venues at night and the "Park Event Operations" department uses them over whenever they're needed. Day Guests are able to use them during the day.

I would guess that with how big epcot is, staffing is the bottleneck, not real estate.

 

[FastPasser.]

I would guess that with how big epcot is, staffing is the bottleneck, not real estate.

In addition PEO staffing is needed every night at DHS, AK on most nights. Even the MNSSHP and MVMCP parties rely on PEO staff. Then on select days or nights add DS, BW, CR, CS, FWR and TL to the list.

 

[CMNJ]

You know this party has never appealed to me as I’m not a huge Illuminations fan. However once the new night time show they announced debuts I may just have to give it a try!

 

[Amunet]

Welp, fastpasses were this morning and I decided to go with reserving FEA as my tier one. We only have two park days and one is Animal Kingdom, since we have not been to the park since before Pandora opened. I'm really hoping that this party happens on the one day I have for Epcot I chose a Sunday since they all seem to be on a Sunday with the exception of an odd weekend where the party isn't scheduled at all.

 

[Lisa F]

Welp, fastpasses were this morning and I decided to go with reserving FEA as my tier one. We only have two park days and one is Animal Kingdom, since we have not been to the park since before Pandora opened. I'm really hoping that this party happens on the one day I have for Epcot I chose a Sunday since they all seem to be on a Sunday with the exception of an odd weekend where the party isn't scheduled at all.

I am hoping that the dates will be released in the next couple of weeks... you should be able to switch over frozen to another Tier 1 within the time between the 60 and 30 day window without any issue... I have been messing around with my FPs and there is plenty of Soarin' and TT available.

 

[Amunet]

I am hoping that the dates will be released in the next couple of weeks... you should be able to switch over frozen to another Tier 1 within the time between the 60 and 30 day window without any issue... I have been messing around with my FPs and there is plenty of Soarin' and TT available.

That's good to hear, thabk you

 

[Lionkingluver]

Hi! I have a quick question for you all. I was wondering if the Dessert Party has reserved seating? I made two separate reservations, one for 2 people, and one for 1 person. Can I leave it as is and we will be able to sit together? Or do you recommend canceling both of them to try to get them all together on one full reservation? But that runs the risk of someone else snatching them up before we can get the reservations back. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[MulanMom]

I've been patiently checking to see if any dates open up for Christmas week past 12/24. Since we're about 3 weeks out and those dates have not been opened, is it likely the dessert party won't be made available to regular day guests for the remainder of Christmas Week? Has anyone had the experience of a dessert party posting dates only a week or two out? TIA!

 

[Amunet]

I don't work for Disney, these are just what I would do.

Hi! I have a quick question for you all. I was wondering if the Dessert Party has reserved seating? I made two separate reservations, one for 2 people, and one for 1 person. Can I leave it as is and we will be able to sit together? Or do you recommend canceling both of them to try to get them all together on one full reservation? But that runs the risk of someone else snatching them up before we can get the reservations back. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Thank you so much for your help!

If it were me, I would speak to customer service (the number for reserving parties and tours) to see if they can make sure to sit you together.

I've been patiently checking to see if any dates open up for Christmas week past 12/24. Since we're about 3 weeks out and those dates have not been opened, is it likely the dessert party won't be made available to regular day guests for the remainder of Christmas Week? Has anyone had the experience of a dessert party posting dates only a week or two out? TIA!

I've been stalking the party since August and I haven't seen any parties be added to a date that was not previously selected.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Anyone wanna give up their spot on December 10th?
If so let me know.
I've been stalking and I'd love to not have to search while on my trip.

 

[kniquy]

Just back from our trip and wanted to report on our experience. We did this party on Thursday 11/29. We arrived at check in just a few minutes before 8:30 and noticed that there were many people already seated and getting their treats. I thought the party started at 8:30 but my guess is that they started checking people in early. We were a party of 3 DH, DD and myself so we knew we would likely be seated with others. We were seated with a mother daughter couple (Hi Sandy and Jan if you read this!!) They were super nice and I don't think we could have been seated with a better couple. They were deep Disney fanatics just as we are. There are people who enjoy going to Disney and then there are those who have an appreciation of the history of what Disney means. So needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed sharing our table with these ladies and hearing all their stories. Having done the HEA garden party, this one blows the HEA party away. We felt that it was more relaxed. You are shown to your table and then are free to get up and get as many desserts as you would like. Having an hour to enjoy your treats was really nice compared to HEA where we felt rushed to get our desserts so that we could stake out our spot in the garden. The selection of food was much better as well. We especially enjoyed the cheese fondue and the warm desserts were amazing. Overall a great selection of options. There were many beverage choices from coffee, tea and hot chocolate to cans of soda, lemonade and jambo juice. They had a few alcoholic options. I tried the margarita but it tasted a little strong.

Just prior to the fireworks starting they handed out snow flake glasses - so all the fireworks looked like snowflakes. Super cool to use. We had a table right up against the fence so no obstructed view at all. I would imagine even the second row of tables would still have an amazing view. Illuminations was great and it was nice to see it one last time. After the fireworks ended they held us in the dessert party area for a little bit until some of the masses headed out. They guided us over to the Frozen ride. We kind of held back and were some of the last guest to get on the ride and were able to ride with our new party of 5.

We all felt that the party - from the treats and drinks, to the relaxed feeling of having our own seat, to the perfect view of the fireworks and then finishing off our night with the Frozen ride -- the party is well worth what you pay and we would definitely do it again in the future. I think one of the highlights was walking through a pretty much empty park after our ride.

 

[Michiel]

Still no dates beyond December... Anybody else checking daily?

 

[canyoncam]

Still no dates beyond December... Anybody else checking daily?

Me looking for first week of February.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Just back from our trip and wanted to report on our experience. We did this party on Thursday 11/29. We arrived at check in just a few minutes before 8:30 and noticed that there were many people already seated and getting their treats. I thought the party started at 8:30 but my guess is that they started checking people in early. We were a party of 3 DH, DD and myself so we knew we would likely be seated with others. We were seated with a mother daughter couple (Hi Sandy and Jan if you read this!!) They were super nice and I don't think we could have been seated with a better couple. They were deep Disney fanatics just as we are. There are people who enjoy going to Disney and then there are those who have an appreciation of the history of what Disney means. So needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed sharing our table with these ladies and hearing all their stories. Having done the HEA garden party, this one blows the HEA party away. We felt that it was more relaxed. You are shown to your table and then are free to get up and get as many desserts as you would like. Having an hour to enjoy your treats was really nice compared to HEA where we felt rushed to get our desserts so that we could stake out our spot in the garden. The selection of food was much better as well. We especially enjoyed the cheese fondue and the warm desserts were amazing. Overall a great selection of options. There were many beverage choices from coffee, tea and hot chocolate to cans of soda, lemonade and jambo juice. They had a few alcoholic options. I tried the margarita but it tasted a little strong.

Just prior to the fireworks starting they handed out snow flake glasses - so all the fireworks looked like snowflakes. Super cool to use. We had a table right up against the fence so no obstructed view at all. I would imagine even the second row of tables would still have an amazing view. Illuminations was great and it was nice to see it one last time. After the fireworks ended they held us in the dessert party area for a little bit until some of the masses headed out. They guided us over to the Frozen ride. We kind of held back and were some of the last guest to get on the ride and were able to ride with our new party of 5.

We all felt that the party - from the treats and drinks, to the relaxed feeling of having our own seat, to the perfect view of the fireworks and then finishing off our night with the Frozen ride -- the party is well worth what you pay and we would definitely do it again in the future. I think one of the highlights was walking through a pretty much empty park after our ride.

Great review, thanks for sharing!

Still no dates beyond December... Anybody else checking daily?

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