MK "Happily Ever After" Dessert Party (Parties) Discussion

[MommaBerd]

Hi, I booked the party for Wednesday Dec.6. The helpful reviews made it such an easy decision. This will be our first time watching Happily Ever After. There will 4 adults price wise and 2 kids. The fourth adult is my 10 year old son. I will be attending with my 52 year old aunt. She has Parkinson's, multiple digestive issues and has down syndrome. She will be in a push wheelchair. I had a couple questions someone might be able to answer.
I would just like to confirm we can take some desserts home. My aunt is a very slow eater and her stomach can not tolerate rich foods. She might be allowed to have two little desserts and ice cream. She will be there with her great nieces and nephew who will attempt to eat everything at least once. my aunt will be disappointed on her limitations and will want to push herself. I know she would handle it much better if she knew she could take a few with her and take bites of them over the course of few days. She doesn't make the correlation that she eats to much she will be sick later on that night with stomach issues.
My second question is the sitting for the wheelchairs. Will they allow her three nieces/nephew to stand/sit by her. If she comes out with only a few minutes before show time will they still accommodate her in that section. she is a very slow eater.
I had read that bathrooms are very close to the viewing area and getting to and from the viewing area is easy. My children always seem to have to go at the last minute. This is one of main reason for us booking the dessert party.

Regarding taking food with you - I don't think anyone will even question you. Any leftover food from the parties will be thrown out, so there is no reason NOT to take it. I mean as long as you aren't first in line and boxing up all the mini cupcakes! I would, however, bring some kind of ziplock bag or container for the items. We did the Pirates N Pals cruise last November and the CMs were practically begging us to take the leftovers with us!

 

[kmc8826]

D8 and I are going tomorrow night; I am so excited. D8 knows we are going to WDW soon but not when, so when she finds out about this she will be thrilled. We went in May with our entire family, did Pirates and Pals and while loved it were disappointed missed projection part of show. Rest of trip had a hard time getting good enough view for littles to see whole castle. Hoping the plaza view will be just what we need and she can finally see and enjoy the show.

 

[LucyBC80]

Here's a thought... They could give you a little to-go container so you could take a few desserts with you to the garden plaza, wouldn't that be great?

 

[Jenn504]

Thanks, good to know about us being able to be next to her. I firgure one would be able to since she is in a push wheelchair but wasn't sure about all 5 of us.
I will have to remember to bring a little container. I think a cookie or two little cupcakes would make her happy. I can see her not wanting to leave if she is still eating something. I can just tell her she can finish later. She very much has that little kid personality. Sweets are a treat for her and she will be the proverbial kid in a candy store. Thanks

 

[jaysmom4285]

If you want to give her a little more time, get there as early as they'll let you in, and wait until five minutes before the fireworks to go to the viewing area. There's really no point in getting there earlier, as the space isn't crowded, and you might as well sit and enjoy the desserts as long as you can. When we did the dessert party, they made an announcement fifteen minutes before the fireworks that they were taking people to the viewing area, and we really weren't done. A CM told us to take our time and someone would escort us over when we were ready. And there are bathrooms right behind the Tomorrowland Terrace, so you can time a pit stop for just before you go to the viewing area.

 

[horse11]

Does any one know if it is a first come first serve as far as getting a table or are there assigned seating?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Does any one know if it is a first come first serve as far as getting a table or are there assigned seating?

I'm assuming you're asking about the Plaza Garden version? It's first come, first served. The CM will escort you to a table but it's not assigned or anything, they're just taking you to any open table.

The Tomorrowland Terrace version isn't assigned either (it used to be awhile ago).

Hope that helps!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Here's a thought... They could give you a little to-go container so you could take a few desserts with you to the garden plaza, wouldn't that be great?

I was there last Sunday and the CMs did give to go cups and little brown boxes to several families.

 

[1GoldenSun]

I've never even given the slightest consideration toward doing a fireworks dessert party until I read this review. We aren't really fireworks kind of people; we usually just catch a glimpse of them between attractions but have never bothered to stand in place to watch and have certainly never gone to the trouble of "staking out" a location.

But those desserts look amazing! And it might be nice to actually watch the entire fireworks presentation from beginning to end just once, and from a good viewpoint. One of the reasons we never watch them is because we aren't willing to cram in with so many others.

Do these parties tend to sell out? We live relatively nearby so I'd rather do this kind of last-minute, when I'm sure the weather will be good.

 

[Gehrig1B]

Just booked for New Years' Eve! No need to fight for a spot now in all that humanity!

 

[horse11]

I'm assuming you're asking about the Plaza Garden version? It's first come, first served. The CM will escort you to a table but it's not assigned or anything, they're just taking you to any open table.

The Tomorrowland Terrace version isn't assigned either (it used to be awhile ago).

Hope that helps!

I was asking about the Tomorrow-land Terrace option. We went in May 2016 and it was first come first serve as far as getting a table. basically we lined up around 45 minutes before check in if I recall correctly to get a great table. I was just checking to see if this is how they are still doing it.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I was asking about the Tomorrow-land Terrace option. We went in May 2016 and it was first come first serve as far as getting a table. basically we lined up around 45 minutes before check in if I recall correctly to get a great table. I was just checking to see if this is how they are still doing it.

Ahh, got it. We did the Tomorrowland Terrace version back in April and tables were first come, first seated. It appeared they were fillling tables left to right if facing the castle. We got there (purposely) late and were given a table almost all the way to the right.

Everyone has their preferences/methods but lining up 45 minutes before check-in (which is already 1 hour and 15 minutes before showtime) defeats my main rational for booking a dessert party to begin with. That's also one of the benefits of the Plaza Garden version... really no material advantage to getting there early.

 

[horse11]

Ahh, got it. We did the Tomorrowland Terrace version back in April and tables were first come, first seated. It appeared they were fillling tables left to right if facing the castle. We got there (purposely) late and were given a table almost all the way to the right.

Everyone has their preferences/methods but lining up 45 minutes before check-in (which is already 1 hour and 15 minutes before showtime) defeats my main rational for booking a dessert party to begin with. That's also one of the benefits of the Plaza Garden version... really no material advantage to getting there early.

Yeah that was a bummer but we did get a great spot. My main goal was not to have to fight crowds. Standing in a nice quite line talking to our guests and each other was much more enjoyable than holding a spot in the crowd for fireworks. We did that one year for the Motorcade Parade at Hollywood Studios and that was awful. I might consider the Plaza Garden this time however it was really nice have a great spot to sit down comfortably with no one in front of us. Plus right up to the beginning of the show my son was wearing out the floor to the deserts lol!! At the last minute he was able to go back to his seat, enjoy his treats and watch the show.

 

[ArielSRL]

Yeah that was a bummer but we did get a great spot. My main goal was not to have to fight crowds. Standing in a nice quite line talking to our guests and each other was much more enjoyable than holding a spot in the crowd for fireworks. We did that one year for the Motorcade Parade at Hollywood Studios and that was awful. I might consider the Plaza Garden this time however it was really nice have a great spot to sit down comfortably with no one in front of us. Plus right up to the beginning of the show my son was wearing out the floor to the deserts lol!! At the last minute he was able to go back to his seat, enjoy his treats and watch the show.

Just FYI, with the Plaza viewing you don't fight crowds either and you get a much better view. We showed up maybe at 8:15 for the desserts and got escorted over at about 8:35 for the show. Plenty of room and never did anyone block our view. And we stayed near the back and had two kids in a stroller.

 

[martymcflyy85]

Are the entrance to the plaza viewing and the terrace viewing at the same place? Or are there separate entrances for whatever viewing you paid for?

 

[TJDisneymama]

so, what happens when HEA is over and Once Upon a Time is starting 20(ish) minutes later - can we stay in this viewing area or are we kicked out, or is it opened up to the public for OUAT?? Is OUAT even worth staying for? I'm a bit confused about what it even is....I know it's mostly a projection show....but I thought once HEA started they would do away with OUAT. Aren't they similar, with all the projections??

(FTR, this will be my first time seeing HEA, I've only seen Wishes)

 

[Traveliz]

so, what happens when HEA is over and Once Upon a Time is starting 20(ish) minutes later - can we stay in this viewing area or are we kicked out, or is it opened up to the public for OUAT?? Is OUAT even worth staying for? I'm a bit confused about what it even is....I know it's mostly a projection show....but I thought once HEA started they would do away with OUAT. Aren't they similar, with all the projections??

(FTR, this will be my first time seeing HEA, I've only seen Wishes)

You can stay but it's also opened up to others.

Liz

 

[Lesley Wake]

Do these parties tend to sell out? We live relatively nearby so I'd rather do this kind of last-minute, when I'm sure the weather will be good.

Depends on the time of year and the party. Right now it is sold out for a week in advance. During party season, there are also limited nights to do it, so I discovered it does sell out further in advance, especially nights with evening EMH.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

so, what happens when HEA is over and Once Upon a Time is starting 20(ish) minutes later - can we stay in this viewing area or are we kicked out, or is it opened up to the public for OUAT?? Is OUAT even worth staying for? I'm a bit confused about what it even is....I know it's mostly a projection show....but I thought once HEA started they would do away with OUAT. Aren't they similar, with all the projections??

(FTR, this will be my first time seeing HEA, I've only seen Wishes)

OUAT is a cute projection show with a lot of Disney classics. Great music, good memories. It's worth seeing (IMHO) if you're around, but I'm not sure I'd go totally out of my way to see it... meaning... if you'd rather be riding rides it's an easy skip. But if you just want to slow down and enjoy the evening/more time in the hub, it's worth it.

 

[kmc8826]

D8 and I did the party last Saturday night. While we were shown to a table our group of 2 did not share a table with anyone else. My only issue was that when we went out about a half hour before we were in front of the VIP area and could see perfectly. Right after the show started a probably 7 foot basketball player VIP was escorted and came up with his kid on his shoulders and stood right in front of us. Myself and the mom standing next to me went crazy because our view was entirely blocked. The first quarter of the show was then spent with us trying to get the attention of a CM. One finally escorted us and anyone else who wanted too to the VIP area. I guess they can't tell a VIP to not do something?!? It worked out but was a wrinkle I didn't see coming. Guess something to keep in mind as possibility.