Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Wishes Dessert Party at the Magic Kingdom


It seems each visit to Walt Disney World we try something new, something we haven’t done before. This habit to experience something new is the reason we viewed the Hoop Dee Doo Review, joined in Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, and took in the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage.




And since Disney doesn’t lack for new experiences, during our last visit we gave the Wishes Dessert Party held at the Magic Kingdom a try. Some background may be helpful. Wishes is the almost nightly fireworks display held at the Magic Kingdom. Sometimes the theme of Wishes changes depending on a nearby holiday, such as Hallowishes near Halloween and Holiday Wishes near Christmas, etc. Wishes is also not JUST fireworks. It IS fireworks and music and narration and a story with a beginning, middle, and end, and it includes a real life Tinkerbell flight and special lighting on Cinderella’s Castle, the park’s icon. Wishes is a huge draw. Guests will come to the Magic Kingdom just to see Wishes.



So, a few months ago, Disney added a special Wishes Dessert Party where guests could enjoy reserved seating to see Wishes and enjoy a dessert buffet. We decided to give it a go!



The Wishes Dessert Party is held at the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station.  This is normally a seasonal restaurant that you can access either from Tomorrowland—just before Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club—or from the Plaza Courtyard—turn right at the end of main street and walk past The Plaza Restaurant—The Terrace Noodle Station will be next on your left.


Guests of the Wishes Dessert Party are asked to check-in 1 hour before Wishes.  Once you check-in, you are escorted to your assigned table.  We had table 220, which was one of the best tables.  The view was front row center!  After you have your table, you can help yourself to the dessert buffet as often as you like.  Cast Members swiftly remove plates, cups, and dishes from your table.

 The desserts are a mixture of cakes, cookies, pastries, chocolate covered fruits, mousse, cheesecakes, etc. Drinks ranged from soda to lemonade to hot chocolate. There was plenty and it was all delicious. The husband enjoyed the mango cream “shooters” and I enjoyed the chocolate covered strawberries. As I said, all good and plenty.




When Wishes begins, the lights dim and you are sitting exactly in the area where Tinkerbell makes her flight at the beginning of Wishes. From this location, you can see, hear, and experience all that Wishes has to offer.



When Wishes has ended, guests begin to leave the area. We noticed that the dessert buffet was still open during this time, so I’m not sure the exact “ending” time of the event.



A nice touch was the Photopass Photographer on hand to capture a photo of your family with Cinderella’s Castle in the background.


 Here’s what we really thought:


• The desserts were great.

• Our table was great.

• The view was great--got some great photos of the Castle.

• I was hoping for a fireworks photo with the photographer but he said that the guests didn’t want flash during the party so he wouldn’t be taking those photos.

• The other guests at the party stood up and stood in front of us when Wishes started and somewhat blocked our view, especially for the boy, so then we stood up to see. The whole point was to have this relaxing experience viewing Wishes. If we were going to stand and watch, we could have done that in the park without paying extra for the dessert party.

• If you plan to go to the Wishes Dessert Party you have to give up watching the nightly parade, as the parade is usually happening during that 1 hour before Wishes. We could see the tops of the Electric Parade from the Terrace Noodle Station and could hear the music, so we saw parts of the parade. It is too bad guests have to make that choice.



All in all we don’t regret experiencing the Wishes Dessert Party, we just won’t be doing it again. To us, it’s not so great that we have to repeat the experience.


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