Magic Kingdom Pre/After Fireworks Dessert Parties - Review

As part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, Disney recently began offering new additions to its Enchanting Extras Collection: Enchantment dessert parties. Disney Enchantment Dessert Parties are special events offered at the Magic Kingdom that coincide with the showing of the brand the new fireworks spectacular, Disney Enchantment. Dessert Parties themselves aren’t new, but these parties are the first at Magic Kingdom since the new fireworks show debuted. Guests are given an option of a Pre-Party or After Party. In other words, guests can purchase a ticket that grants access to desserts before the fireworks or after. “Dessert” is defined at these events as the typical sweet treats you’d expect, but it also includes juice, coffee and various alcoholic beverages. In addition to dessert, and regardless of whether choosing the pre- or post-fireworks option, guests are given a special place on the lawn to watch the fireworks, eliminating the need to stake out a spot hours in advance. Tickets run about $107 for adults and approximately $65 for children ages 3-9 and do not include a park ticket. (Guests still need to buy a park ticket and make a park reservation to attend.) 

I recently bought tickets for my spouse as part of our anniversary. (He is a BIG dessert fan, so I thought it would be a nice surprise.) Wanting to avoid the rush of guests leaving the fireworks to get to their cars/buses, I opted for the Dessert After Party, the thought being that we would have some desserts and drinks, let the park clear, and have the opportunity for good pictures/shopping on the way out. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way, and you’ll understand more of why below.

How does it all work?

You check-in for the event at Tomorrowland Terrace (which is currently closed and seemingly only being used for this event). The check-in process is relatively painless and the cast members were super friendly and informative as they affix a wrist band to your arm. Since we did the After Party, we were able to leisurely make our way to the special viewing spot, which is monitored and marked by cast members holding glowing devices, any time before the fireworks began. The viewing location (at least for our event) is located on the lawn to the right of center, directly in front of the Plaza restaurant. It is not an unobstructed view (for those looking for that perfect picture), but you could definitely see the castle. In spite of the Pre and After party guests sharing the same viewing spot, the location never seemed overly crowded, and we were able to grab a spot without incident. Interestingly, Enchantment is a bit different than its predecessors in that the projections are not limited to the castle alone. Instead, Enchantment has projections all down the buildings on Main Street as well and, while you could see some of them, the viewing location did not offer the full effect in that sense. In other words, the viewing location is not perfect, but if staking out a spot to watch the fireworks stresses you out and you don’t mind having an off-center, partially obstructed view, then this event fits that bill.

After the fireworks end, cast members lead you back to Tomorrowland Terrace where you are checked in again and introduced to a server that shows you to your reserved table and explains the dessert party setup. Basically, there are two sides to the dessert stations, offering mirrored dessert options. Then, off to one side is a “bar” where wine, beer and champagne are pre-poured and waiting for the taking. In another area, on its own table, are juice and coffee options.

How was dessert? 

Apparently, Disney really likes mousse, because almost every dessert offering (with the exception of some bomboloni and strawberries) was in mousse form. While I like a good mousse, when I think of dessert, I think of more than mousse and though some of the mousses were pretty good, it underwhelmed given the price tag. Heck, I would have even been happy with an assortment of cookies over an assortment of mousses…but that’s me.  

Arguably, the degree of underwhelming could have been off-set with a good beverage. I can’t be the only one that thinks “dessert” can mean a good buzz, after all. Not to sound too snobby, but the wines and beers offered were really basic so, while I could have drank my money’s worth…I didn’t really want to.

Final verdict.

Leisure Mouse gives this a solid “Meh”.

Ultimately, we made one visit to the dessert table and called it a night. In fact, we weren’t even at the Dessert After Party long enough to reap any of the crowd-avoiding benefits. It feels like these parties are a great way to ensure you have a spot for the fireworks, but the premium seems to end there. Had it been $20 - $30 cheaper, it might have hit that sweet spot between what was offered and what was expected. That said, the show was beautiful, the cast members ran the event like a well-oiled machine and I couldn’t have asked for better company. So we will still call it a (slightly overpriced) win.

Have you been to a dessert party lately? Share your impressions in the comments!