I've been listening to the soundtrack to Happily Ever After a lot recently, so I thought it was about time I shared my review of the Happily Ever After Dessert Party! The Magic Kingdom replaced their long standing fireworks show "Wishes" with a new nighttime spectacular - "Happily Ever After" back in May. In October when I took my Disney trip, this new show was still incredibly popular, with guests standing shoulder to shoulder and filling the hub and Main Street from over an hour before show time.
I considered skipping the show that trip, because crazy crowd levels like that really get to me, but I wanted to see it so bad! When I heard there was a dessert party viewing option, I looked in to it and after thoughtful consideration, that was ultimately what we decided to do. This is my review! (You can click on any of my pictures to make them bigger).
There were two different times for the dessert party on the night we chose, which was a Wednesday night. We opted for the earlier time, which was 7:45pm and chose Plaza Garden viewing over Tomorrowland Terrace. I had read that while you can continue sitting at your dessert table with your food and drink during the fireworks on the terrace, the distance and angle of your viewing is not ideal. Plaza Garden had better reviews in terms of firework viewing, and it is also the cheaper of the two dessert party viewing locations.
I had heard that check in started an hour before, so we presented ourselves at Tomorrowland Terrace at 7:15pm. There was a short line when we arrived which soon got much longer. They started checking people in shortly after 7:15pm so we didn't have to wait long. I was glad we got there when we did so as not to be at the back of the long line.
The check in process was very formal, after the hostess crossed our names off the list, a waiter in a vest and bow tie came over and showed us to our table. The table was round with seats and had a tablecloth and small candle in the middle. He explained the various food options and said we could help ourselves to as much as we'd like. He then said that we could head over to the viewing area whenever we wanted, but we would need to see the hostess for an escort. Once we decided to leave he said we could not return to Tomorrowland Terrace. He recommended that we leave by 8:30pm because the fireworks started at 9pm.
By 7:30pm we were at our table getting our food. We took a look at all the delicious desserts and I tried most of the offerings, going back for seconds of some of my favorites. There were only a couple things that I disliked (I'm picky) but plenty that I loved! My favorites were the pineapple delight (it was almost a mini Dole Whip), the macaroons, and the strawberry tart. I thought they had a good selection including some healthier options like fruit and a selection of cheeses for a savory alternative. We got a couple of glasses of the sparkling apple cider which was delicious! This night was pretty chilly so I also got a hot chocolate which was included. I could also have gotten tea, coffee or lemonade.
At 8pm over half the guests had left, which I thought was a waste. I didn't want to rush the dessert portion of the evening because if I intended on waiting an hour outside for the fireworks, I could do that without the dessert party. It got pretty empty and we felt obligated to leave, but I wasn't really ready yet so we stayed. The staff were great at coming around and clearing used plates. There was also a PhotoPass photographer coming around with props taking pictures, so we flagged her down and got a good picture.
At 8:30pm We were done eating, made a stop at the restroom and then had the escort take us over to the plaza. That was very difficult! There were people EVERYWHERE and it was hard to just cross Main Street from Tomorrowland Terrace to the hub. Most people as you'd expect were right up against the railings of the hub, trying to get as close as possible. I didn't think it was necessary to squash in like that, there was so much space in our reserved area of the hub. Many people sat down and spread out while they waited. I thought the spot we were in was just fine.
The fireworks started and it was truly magical! Happily Ever After is incredible! We had a good view, a decent distance away, and central to the castle being in the hub. The music is beautiful, the projections are unbelievable and I love how the projections tied in to the fireworks! We also had a neat view of Tinkerbell when she came out at the end.
The only down side was that at times my view was obstructed by parents putting their kids on their shoulders in the section before our reserved viewing in the hub. There was nowhere for me to move at that point where those people with kids were not obstructing my view. That was a real bummer but I don't know how it could be avoided. Cast Members can't really walk around telling them not to and that could happen where ever I'm viewing, dessert party or not. Hopefully as the show gets more crowded, that will be less of an issue.
When the fireworks ended we still had to fight our way out of the Magic Kingdom. Words cannot describe that experience. I won't go into detail because this is a review of the party, but those crowd levels made me glad we opted for the dessert party for our first viewing. Am I glad we experienced this? Yes! It was perfect for our first Happily Ever After experience, the food was great, and it was a fun evening. Would I do it again? It depends. I wouldn't say no right off the bat, but I wouldn't go as far as to say "absolutely!" either. We did experience one more dessert party later in the trip that I preferred over this one, but that's comparatively speaking.
The dessert party is currently priced at $59 per adult for Plaza Garden viewing, or $79 per adult for Tomorrowland Terrace viewing. The food and drink are the same, the difference is simply the firework viewing area. If you are planning on or considering the Happily Ever After Dessert Party, I would definitely suggest checking in 30 minutes early, because if we had checked in at 7:45pm, I reckon we would have had just 30 minutes to enjoy the party which would have truly been a waste. It's much nicer to sit back and enjoy it (we had 1 hour) than to rush your food down and get outside.
I hope you enjoyed my review and that it helps you with your Disney vacation planning!
