“Frozen Ever After Dessert Party” with Fireworks Viewing and After-Close Attraction Ride

[limabeanmom2003]

We did this last night. It was a total bust. And I have some advice for people that book this... don't do it near the end of your trip.

The weather has been somewhat rainy so it was no surprise it was held inside. However... it was incredibly packed in. I literally could not get from my seat (Table 10) without asking people to get up from other tables. And I'm not big... the table layout was just about as dumb as possible. That alone made for a bad experience. I know why it has to be inside, but come on! Find somewhere that can accommodate the party size. It's also a lot more people than I thought... 12-ish tables of 10 people.

Now why you should NOT do this last or near the end of your trip. Frozen was down. I know it's down a lot, so keep that in mind. They offered soarin as an alternative but my kids are both too short. They offered to let us rider swap, but that's no fun. So yeah... no ride for us. They also gave people fastpasses for frozen until the end of the month, but we are leaving today. So no luck for us. They told us "thanks for understanding".

I thought the viewing location was nice and luckily not raining. But that plus some okay desserts (the brownie was good) was no way worth what we paid. Oh well, I booked this for dec 28, but going to cancel it. I was hoping the desserts at these parties would be tastier than typical club level desserts, but they are pretty comparable (meaning they are good/decent but not great).

Your experience may/will vary, and I'm sure it's nicer when rain isn't predicted.

This is terrible and unacceptable. They need to find an indoor venue that accommodates the attendees and compensate you better for the ride being down. Soarin or Test Track FP is not enough. Fix the ride so it doesn't break. If it breaks down and the guests can't ride it (which is a huge component of this event IMO) they need to offer some sort of refund.

 

[FastPasser.]

They need to find an indoor venue that accommodates the attendees

There isn't a venue available that is close enough to both the FEA ride and the viewing area. Assessments of the alternate venue do vary and are somewhat subjective.

they need to offer some sort of refund.

That's fair. How much should it be?

 

[anomamatt]

This is terrible and unacceptable. They need to find an indoor venue that accommodates the attendees and compensate you better for the ride being down. Soarin or Test Track FP is not enough. Fix the ride so it doesn't break. If it breaks down and the guests can't ride it (which is a huge component of this event IMO) they need to offer some sort of refund.

I don't think Disney knows what the word "refund" means. They have the almighty FastPass currency! (said kind of in jest, but it does seem to be how WDW operates for guest recovery).

The indoor venue could likely accommodate everyone, if they used a different table layout... they need to think about people in the corner tables being able to get up from their seats, not just "is there enough room to sit without people hitting chairs".

I did get a call back in response to my email to guest communications. It sounded like they took my issues seriously, which is all I really wanted. I didn't think about it, but he (the CM) mentioned it's a safety issue to have tables so close together. He said it will be taken seriously, and I have to hope it is.

I didn't ask for a refund, nor did I ask for anything... He did offer a FP for each of us for a future visit (which I accepted) and an offer for VIP seating for illuminations (which I declined). I thought the latter was ironic, because the illuminations viewing was the best party of the party for us (great location and cooperative weather). The anytime FP... eh, I guess they are trying to do something, but the best part is that he said FEA (and pandora rides) were excluded. Made me laugh since FEA was the ride we were supposed to get. But really, I just wanted them to take my feedback seriously and I hope they will.

And I did cancel our 12/28 reservation for this... so I guess that's my refund. Less money spent for that trip. =)

 

[limabeanmom2003]

I don't think Disney knows what the word "refund" means. They have the almighty FastPass currency! (said kind of in jest, but it does seem to be how WDW operates for guest recovery).

The indoor venue could likely accommodate everyone, if they used a different table layout... they need to think about people in the corner tables being able to get up from their seats, not just "is there enough room to sit without people hitting chairs".

I did get a call back in response to my email to guest communications. It sounded like they took my issues seriously, which is all I really wanted. I didn't think about it, but he (the CM) mentioned it's a safety issue to have tables so close together. He said it will be taken seriously, and I have to hope it is.

I didn't ask for a refund, nor did I ask for anything... He did offer a FP for each of us for a future visit (which I accepted) and an offer for VIP seating for illuminations (which I declined). I thought the latter was ironic, because the illuminations viewing was the best party of the party for us (great location and cooperative weather). The anytime FP... eh, I guess they are trying to do something, but the best part is that he said FEA (and pandora rides) were excluded. Made me laugh since FEA was the ride we were supposed to get. But really, I just wanted them to take my feedback seriously and I hope they will.

And I did cancel our 12/28 reservation for this... so I guess that's my refund. Less money spent for that trip. =)

When word spreads that an event is not being run/managed properly they will see a decline in sales and they won't get repeat attendees. Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[limabeanmom2003]

There isn't a venue available that is close enough to both the FEA ride and the viewing area. Assessments of the alternate venue do vary and are somewhat subjective.
That's fair. How much should it be?

Anything really to show that they care about the experience their guests are having. It could be $10 in Disney cash.

 

[123SA]

I'd like to email about my experience. What is the email address?

 

[anomamatt]

I'd like to email about my experience. What is the email address?

WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com

 

[p44nmun]

I apologize in advance for this question, I scanned through but couldn't find the answer. How far in advance do they open up booking for this? We did Star Wars last year but I don't remember. We are going in March. I hope it's better than Star Wars Dessert Party though, that was way too crowded and not a good experience for us.

 

[FastPasser.]

I hope it's better than Star Wars Dessert Party though, that was way too crowded and not a good experience for us.

Some guests think that the SW venue is too crowded, but most don't have an issue with it. That's also the case with the weather back-up location for the FEA party at the Norway pavilion. Some guests have, but most guests have not expressed that it is overcrowded. The normal location lagoon-side is not crowded at all.

 

[p44nmun]

Some guests think that the SW venue is too crowded, but most don't have an issue with it. That's also the case with the weather back-up location for the FEA party at the Norway pavilion. Some guests have, but most guests have not expressed that it is overcrowded. The normal location lagoon-side is not crowded at all.

I should have been more specific, I meant crowded in that we waited in line for food for about 10min, plus a line for drinks for 20min. In fact, things were so bad that a wonderful CM saw us and asked how he could make it better. Without answering, he whisked us away to a line for chewbacca that only tour people were in, and we immediately got to see him.
So was the dessert party worth it for us? No. Was the service awesome? Yes. That's what I meant by too crowded. One server at the bar, a line across the room for a drink.
With that being said, I was wondering, per my original post, when I should start stalking the website for open reservations for a march 2018 trip? Thanks

 

[FastPasser.]

when I should start stalking the website for open reservations for a march 2018 trip? Thanks

That's a million dollar question and I for one am clueless when it comes to stuff like that.

 

[BFD]

So, I got an email today saying that the time of our dessert party booked for 9/8 was changed from 8 to 9. Any idea why this is? How will that work with Illuminations, is it still at 9? Not a big deal, just curious.

 

[bethbuchall]

So, I got an email today saying that the time of our dessert party booked for 9/8 was changed from 8 to 9. Any idea why this is? How will that work with Illuminations, is it still at 9? Not a big deal, just curious.

IllumiNations is at 10:00pm Fridays and Saturdays right now.

I got my email today, for Saturday today, too. I've been waiting, since I noticed a while ago that they had the wrong time.

 

[karrit2000]

So, I got an email today saying that the time of our dessert party booked for 9/8 was changed from 8 to 9. Any idea why this is? How will that work with Illuminations, is it still at 9? Not a big deal, just curious.

Fridays & Saturdays during the F & W Festival EPCOT stays open until 10PM with Illuminations starting at 10PM. I got my notification today too. I was wondering when they were going to notify me officially.

 

[danikoski]

With that being said, I was wondering, per my original post, when I should start stalking the website for open reservations for a march 2018 trip? Thanks

The dessert parties are kind of weird in how they open the reservations. It's not 180 days like ADRs. December's dates just opened, so you are looking at 120 days...some have been 90 days. It's just a matter of checking a lot. People do post on the DIS boards when the dessert parties open, so keep an eye out in December/January.

 

[Jamye666]

Has anyone noticed that the September calendar of dates hasn't been available for the past two days? I am still trying to get a reservation for the end of this month and there is nothing listed for September now.

 

[shannonstar]

Has anyone noticed that the September calendar of dates hasn't been available for the past two days? I am still trying to get a reservation for the end of this month and there is nothing listed for September now.

Many of the extras are greyed out. People are thinking that parts of the system are down due to Irma Prep. I called about this for November and it is currently not bookable. The CM mentioned that it was odd and likely not full, but to call back in a few days.

 

[Rickat96]

I have a reservation for December 15 for 6 of us, its our last day (also have MVMCP dessert party and HEA on too) Crowds, weather, etc WILL not spoil my fun. If FEA is down no big deal-if the lines are long-oh well, no biggie- I plan to enjoy my time with my family.

FastPasser- I'll be looking for you!

 

[FelisLachesis]

Has anyone noticed that the September calendar of dates hasn't been available for the past two days? I am still trying to get a reservation for the end of this month and there is nothing listed for September now.

The previously open dates are reopened again. No new dates have been opened, though.

 

[FastPasser.]

Crowds, weather, etc WILL not spoil my fun. If FEA is down no big deal-if the lines are long-oh well, no biggie- I plan to enjoy my time with my family.

What a great attitude.

FastPasser- I'll be looking for you!

I choose to do the FEA parties about once every other week, but I will make every effort to be there on Dec 15th to meet the person with that great outlook.