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Mickey’s Very Merry Dessert Party Review

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You already know about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which I reviewed last year. However, did you know that you can also book a Very Merry Dessert Party for a seated view of the fireworks and a dessert buffet? My mom and I booked this add-on experience on my most recent trip, so I thought I would do a review in case anyone else is considering it.

Very Merry Dessert Party

Very Merry Dessert Party

Anyone who has ever visited the Magic Kingdom knows how crowded it gets for the fireworks. It’s not unusual at these special events to stake out a spot for the parade and/or fireworks 40 minutes or more in advance. In fact, that’s what my mom and I did last year. So, this year we decided to spring for Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Dessert Party! Basically, you get a reserved seated fireworks viewing area and a tasty spread of sweets!

Party Food

Unlike at the Oogie Boogie Bash Dessert Party where you are given a plate of food, at this one there’s a whole buffet to select from! My mom remarked that she really liked this one since she wasn’t limited to eating whatever items they gave everyone. There was an apple caramel crepe that was tasty! I also enjoyed the chocolate covered strawberries and some cinnamon doughnuts! There was a mini key lime tart that surprised me as I don’t typically think of key limes for Christmas, but it was a nice reminder that I was in Florida.

There was also a variety of beverages to enjoy! They had a nice sparkling apple cider as well as some hydrating water. I tried the sparkling wine as I typically like champagne, but it was just ok. My mom got some juice and water. They had plenty of beverage options.

The only complaint I can come up with is the fact that there are so few savory/salty items. They had some cheese and crackers, but everything else was sweet. So, this is definitely for the folks with a sweet tooth!

The View

We headed over to the Tomorrowland Terrace after waiting over an hour to meet the Seven Dwarfs. So, having a seat for the fireworks show was amazing after that! We checked in early, around 8:40 to ensure we got a table by the railing and we got an amazing view! Everyone is seated at the Tomorrowland Terrace with a view of the castle, but those who arrive early get the prime spots. So, I encourage you to arrive 20-ish minutes earlier than they tell you to for the best spots. You are free to come and go, so you could pick out your table and come back later.

I also have to say how nice it was to just sit and take in the show/view without a bunch of people pushing up on me. I was reminded just how nice this was when we left the terrace to get a spot for the second parade and was surrounded by pushy people.

Is the Very Merry Dessert Party worth it?

The Christmas Party is already an expensive separately ticketed event. Then, you add another $100+ for this dessert party. So, it’s a very expensive evening. It also takes time away from the party to sit and enjoy your treats. It also doesn’t leave any stomach space for the party exclusive treats. However, you can see an obstructed view of the parade and castle stage show from this area. Plus, the cookies they give out at the party come individually wrapped, so you can take some with you. My mom and I really enjoyed this experience and highly recommend it if you like desserts and want to sit down.

Have you ever done the Very Merry Dessert Party? What did you think?

Disney Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios Review

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I’ve just returned from a trip to Orlando to celebrate the holidays. One of the special events I was able to experience was the new Disney Jollywood Nights held at Hollywood Studios.

Disney Jollywood Nights

Disney Jollywood Nights

For years, Walt Disney World has had one Christmas themed add-on event: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. You can read my review of last year’s event at that link. Then, this summer they announced that Hollywood Studios was getting its own special event for the holidays! It was sold as a glam holiday themed after hours event, so it’s shorter than the other party in duration but also includes small crowds.

I purchased tickets for my mom and I as soon as they went on sale. Then, I eagerly awaited the event, until I saw the meltdown on social media from the first event. I was hesitant to go after seeing reviews, but decided to go ahead with the plan since we already had the tickets. Thankfully, Disney made a few changes after the first night and subsequent nights didn’t sell out. So, this is my experience of the December 4th event.

Rides

One of the reasons we were content to attend the party after the negative reviews was the low wait times for rides. We ended up riding only ride, however it was the best one. A virtual queue opens up at 8 PM for Rise of the Resistance. So, I joined right at 8 and got group number 5! My mom had never been on this ride, so I was very excited to be able to get us on this ride. While she’s not a Star Wars fan, she really enjoyed the ride. So, that was a nice way to kick-off the party.

I periodically checked the app throughout the night and noticed that most rides had low wait times. However, it was chilly and I wasn’t too interested in riding rides at that point. Plus, we had other things we wanted to do.

Characters

Initially, there was only a handful of special character meet and greets. The lines for those meets were really long. So, for the second event and onwards, Disney added some additional characters to the line-up. While at the party, my mom and I were tickled to meet a few rare characters!

Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket switch out during the party. So, we got in line first to see Jiminy, but then he switched out with Pinocchio. I was equally excited to meet both characters, so I was happy to meet Pinocchio. We came back later in the night and got in line again while Pinocchio was meeting and he switched out with Jiminy. So, we ended up being able to meet both of them during the party! I’d say we waited about 20 minutes each time and felt it was a good use of party time since you can’t currently meet either character in the US parks.

We also attempted to see Donald Duck in his special outfit, but he switched out and we saw Daisy instead. While I appreciate the short waits between character breaks, it was mildly annoying to get in line and not know for sure who we were going to meet.

I did appreciate the fact that the event came with free picture downloads. So, we didn’t have to worry about how my cell phone would perform in the low lighting or draining the battery.

Jollywood Nights Shows

Disney made and put on two special shows just for the event. We were lucky enough to catch both of them! We watched the second showing of the night of Disney Holidays in Hollywood. It was a cute little show that we both enjoyed. My mom remarked that it appeared that most of the budget went towards making this show and she might be right.

We caught the last show of the night of What’s This? Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing Along. This show appeared to have a much smaller budget. I applaud the actors in the show as they did a great job. It was neat seeing the big Jack puppet on stage. However, no one in the crowd was singing along and it came across a little awkward.

Holiday Entertainment

Just for the event the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! nighttime show returned. I had seen this show previously when it was offered to regular park guests years ago. So, it was neat to see it again. However, it would have been nice to see it with a regular park ticket. It was nice to end the event with a nighttime fireworks show, like a regular park day.

Room for Improvement

Given the public backlash on this event and the inability to sell out the event, I wonder if it will return next year. If it should return, I imagine it will need to change drastically. For starters, it would be nice to have beverages and some food included, like other parties. Additionally, there needs to be more stuff going on around the park. Parts of the park were crowded while other parts had nothing going on and were empty.

Is Disney Jollywood Nights worth it?

If you have already purchased tickets to this year’s event, I say go for it! My mom and I had a good time at this event. We enjoyed meeting the characters and seeing the shows. It was also really nice to see everyone’s glamorous outfits for the event. It seemed like it would make a good date night activity for couples.

So, have you attended this event? What was your experience like?

Behind the Seeds Tour at Epcot Review

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When my husband and I visited Walt Disney World last month, we booked a new to us experience, the Behind the Seeds Tour at Epcot! Today I will review it and let you know who I think it’s good for and who should maybe skip it.

Behind the Seeds Tour

Behind the Seeds Tour

For those who don’t know, the Behind the Seeds Tour at Epcot is a backstage look at The Land Pavilion! The Land Pavilion is where the Living with the Land ride and Garden Grill Restaurant is located. Having eaten at Garden Grill a few times and ridden the ride even more times, I was excited for a walking tour to see how Disney grows its own food!

I booked this tour 60 days out when I made our advance dining reservations. We paid $35/each. Thankfully, this was prior to Disney’s most recent resort wide price hikes. As of this writing, this tour has gone up in price and varies from day to day. It now starts at $39 and goes up to $45, depending on which day you select. There doesn’t appear to be a discount for children.

Very Informative

This one-hour walking tour is information heavy. The tour started out with a look at how Disney is fighting pests. Then, we moved on to the actual greenhouses. It was neat to see the ride from the other side. Boats rode by as we looked at squash and tried some cucumbers grown there! It was neat to see all of the different varieties of plants being grown, from coffee to vanilla beans! We even saw a picture of some Mickey shaped cucumbers they are working on.

Our guide was very knowledgeable about plants in general as well as what was in the greenhouses currently. We got to see the last of the pumpkins being grown and they were beginning to hang up the Christmas lights. The guide explained that the tours vary a little bit depending on the time of the year since they grow some food for the Epcot festivals here. So, it has a repeatability factor if you enjoy learning about different seasons.

Hands On Learning

There were a few other interactive aspects to the tour. The tour not only includes the four greenhouses, but also the fish farm. We learned about the fish and then got to feed them. They gathered everyone around the tank and we all put the food in at the same time. The fish went wild to get the food! It was neat.

We also got to pass around some spices to smell. It was fun to try and guess which spice we were smelling. The tour ended with a little picture session in front of the Mickey shaped tree.

Is the Behind the Seeds Tour worth it?

For $35, it was a neat experience. The new price hike gives me pause on value. $45 sounds a little steep to me, but I would probably still do it at least once. That being said I do not recommend this tour for children. It was a lot of information and I don’t think people with short attention spans would enjoy it. I suppose that’s why there’s not a discount for children.

Our group was mostly adult couples (think late twenties and up). It’s a good time for anyone interested in plants or seeing how Disney grows its own food. For thrill seekers, it’s best to spend time riding the rides. I also must point out that’s an hour long walking tour with most of that time spent standing or walking. So, if standing and walking for an hour doesn’t sound doable, it maybe best to avoid this one. Although, it is wheelchair accessible if that is of concern to you.

Have you done the Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot? What did you think of it?

Plaza Inn Character Breakfast Review

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During my September trip to Disneyland, I enjoyed the Plaza Inn Character Breakfast with my mom on our Disneyland park day. Here are my thoughts on it to help others decide if it’s worth it.

Plaza Inn Character Breakfast

Plaza Inn Character Breakfast

Plaza Inn is a quick service dining spot for lunch and dinner. It’s known for its fried chicken. However, during the AM hours it hosts the only in park character dining at the resort! The Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park as it’s called guarantees you will meet Minnie Mouse along with other random characters while eating from a buffet of breakfast food. It’s currently $46/adult and $27/child.

The Food

I find character meals with buffets to be mostly about the characters. The food here was ok and pretty basic, to be honest. I enjoyed the bananas and caramel on French toast the most. The biscuit and gravy was ok, better than some other theme parks attempt at biscuits. The Minnie waffle was just like a typical Mickey waffle, but having Minnie was a nice touch. Personally, I would have liked a little more variety of food here, but it was sufficient and nothing tasted bad. It was just simple food to fuel your park day.

The Characters

This is where this meal really shines! This meal is truly a random characterpalooza. We started by getting our picture taken with Minnie Mouse before we even entered the restaurant. Then, we met Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Pluto, and Dale! Finally, I was shocked to meet Max! My mom didn’t actually know who Max was and thought it was “a little Goofy.” Hahahaha! Once she learned who he was, she was happy to meet a new (and somewhat rare) character.

Two of the girl mice from Cinderella were also going around, but they skipped our table each time. So, we didn’t get to meet them and there really wasn’t anyone we could tell about this. So, that was a bit of a bummer. My mom assumes it was because we were two adults. I think they just couldn’t tell that hadn’t seen us yet.

Nonetheless, I loved meeting all of these random characters during one meal! It was lots of fun to see who would come out next.

Is the Plaza Inn Character Breakfast worth it?

As with any character dining, this is an expensive meal. However, it is the only in park character dining option at Disneyland. Sidenote: if you are visiting DCA and want a character meal, I highly recommend Storytellers Cafe Brunch Disneyland Character Meal at the Grand Californian. We booked this meal around 9:30 AM. This gave us time to enjoy the early park entry as resort guests and ride several rides. Then, we had a late breakfast (or lunch for us Easter Coasters) here. That worked out well for us. If you want to meet several characters, this is the meal for you. If you prefer more unique foods, you may want to look elsewhere. Also, if you are on a tight-budget this probably isn’t the place for you.

Christmas in Orlando Theme Parks Guide

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It’s hard to believe but it’s already time to discuss Christmas in Orlando theme parks! I feel like I just did my Fall in the theme parks post, but the parks tend to kick-off the holiday season immediately after Halloween. So, it’s time to breakdown what you can expect if you visit between now and the end of the year.

Christmas in Orlando

Christmas in Orlando

It goes without saying that the theme parks go all out for the holiday season! I love visiting during this time of the year as I’m a huge Christmas fan (who isn’t?). I also enjoy the typically cooler temperatures that can be found in November and December. So, here’s a look at what you can expect at each theme park.

Christmas at Walt Disney World

You can expect to see holiday decor at every theme park and resort on property. I love seeing the uniquely themed trees around the property. Disney Springs also has some amazing trees!

You can experience the holidays at Animal Kingdom and Epcot with a regular park ticket. Animal Kingdom has a menagerie of animal puppets that I hope to see this year! Beginning November 24th, Epcot has the Festival of the Holidays with food booths and special holiday storytelling in select country pavilions. Additionally, they have the massively popular Candlelight Processional with celebrity narrators each night. A dining package may also be purchased to guarantee a seat at the show.

Magic Kingdom has decorations up. However, there’s also a separately ticketed event called Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which I reviewed last year. The first party of the year is tomorrow night, November 9th. I love eating cookies and seeing the toy soldiers march down Main Street.

New in 2023, Hollywood Studios is hosting Jollywood Nights. Its first night is November 11th. Not much is known about this event. However, it seems like a highly themed after hours event. I will be attending next month and will know more about it after that.

Christmas at Universal Orlando Resort

Universal Orlando was late in announcing their holiday plans this year. However, I wrote an entire guide to the holidays at Universal Orlando last year. The highlights include a parade with balloons like the ones seen in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Additionally, there’s the highly sought after breakfast with the Grinch and Universal Holidays Tour. Don’t miss the holiday tribute store or themed trees at the resorts! The holidays kick-off at UO on November 17th and end December 31st.

Christmas at SeaWorld Orlando

Last, but certainly not least is SeaWorld Orlando. I posted a Christmas at SeaWorld Orlando Review last year outlining what you can expect here. Once again, you can partake in the festive activities with a regular park day ticket with special food booths and entertainment. The Christmas Celebration at SeaWorld begins November 10th and is mainly available on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the season.

Where are you headed?

As you can see, there’s not a bad place to experience the holidays in Orlando. So, where are you headed?

You can view my other seasonal theme park guides here: