This was the 5th time that I had attended this party, with the first time being in 2017. Since that time the party has gone through some changes. The 2018 party was the best for the better variety of food. In addition to the usual mini-desserts, fruit, cheese and crackers they also added some savory items that year, like the popular Cheeseburger Spring Rolls. That was the year they also served Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake with the option of adding vanilla ice cream, which made it just like the Liberty Tree Tavern dessert. And to my surprise, they didn’t increase the price. I still paid $59 (plus tax), just as I had done in 2017. But then after attending again in 2019, I took a few years off and by the time I returned in 2024 they had added wine and beer to their dessert party offerings. This change had actually happened in Feb. 2020 and with the addition of alcohol they of course increased the price to $79, which I thought was reasonable. But then in April 2024 (during the very busy week after Easter) I paid $102.34 (plus tax) per person for 7 adults. Ouch! Though I was disappointed that they had again gone back to the basics for food, I was happy with the wine selection offered (particularly our family favorite Saracco moscato). And the private area for viewing the fireworks, though more crowded than my previous experiences, was not nearly as bad as the surrounding area. This was prime Spring Break/Easter Break time and the parks were swamped with people. So not only did we have a little more breathing room to watch the fireworks but the Plaza Garden is ideally located for viewing the castle projections and the fireworks. Therefore, I decided that this was worth the high price to do the party again on this trip. This time though we had a 3 year old with us so opted to attend the dessert party before the fireworks instead of after, like I had always done previously.
That’s it for the background, now on to our 2025 Party experience. The fireworks show (Happily Ever After) was scheduled for 8:30 that evening so check in for the pre-reserved and pre-paid Dessert Party was to start at 7:00 for those of us going to the party before the fireworks. We arrived at the party’s check in desk (located at the entrance to the Tomorrowland Terrace restaurant) at about 6:45 and they started checking people in a few minutes after we got in line. By 6:50 we were seated at our pre-assigned table, which was located in a smaller area on the left rather than the main dining area where I had always been seated previously. In this area they had a second bar set up which served the same beer and wines and also most of the desserts, cheese, fruit and crackers were available here. There were a few things though that you had to go across the hallway to the main dining area for. All of the non-alcoholic beverages were only served in the main area and also the crepes, cookies and brownies.
Here are some photos that I took of the offerings that could be found in our area…
The fruit and cheese was quite popular with our group. Most of us listed them among our favorites. The chocolate covered strawberries were favorites of both Andrew and Jake. All of this was also available at last year’s party.
Next the table of mini-desserts…
There were 8 different mini-desserts. Three of them were among the 9 that were offered at last year’s party.
The Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cupcakes and the Rice Crispy Treats (both on the left) were good and among my favorites. Andrew tried the Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Mousse (shown on top right) and said it was tasteless. I was disappointed with Mini Silk Pie (bottom right). It looked so good but it was just okay.
Other desserts I was disappointed by were the bottom two in this photo, Chocolate-Caramel Tarts and the Cannoli. The Devil’s Chocolate Mousse (top left) was quite good though and a favorite of both Allison and me. I don’t think anyone tried the Key Lime Blueberry Mousse.
Here is a photo of the wine and beer station that was located in our area…
We were happy to again see the Saracco. It’s a sweet sparkling wine that goes well with desserts, but even better with cheese and fruit. Actually all of the wines were exactly the same as what was served last year.
Here’s a photo of my plate of desserts…
Next a photo of the brownies and cookies that were only being served in the main dining area…
The cookies were served at last year’s party but I don’t think they had brownies then.
Like last year, there was a station where they were making these tasty Caramel Apple Crepes …
One of our favorites from the 2024 party that was missing was the Firehouse Doughnuts that were filled with ricotta cheese and rolled in cinnamon-sugar, and served with strawberry topping. Sad they were gone,
Just like last year there were large dispensers of strawberry lemonade, POG (Passion fruit, Orange & Guava) Juice, Minute Maid Lemonade, Milk, Water, Gold Peak Iced Tea, and Joffrey’s Coffee (both regular & decaf) available for their non-alcoholic beverages.
So overall the food and beverages were pretty much the same as in 2024 but there were one or two less desserts offered. And the price was exactly the same in March 2025 as it was in April 2024, $102.34 (plus tax) per person for the 6 adults. The price for Lucy (Ages 3 – 9) was $55.39 plus tax.
And speaking of Lucy, she fell asleep in her stroller shortly after we were seated for the party. We asked if we could get a To-go box for her and were told yes so we just let her sleep until it was time for the fireworks. However, we were done eating and ready to move to the Plaza Garden area to stake out a spot before 7:30 but we had to sit and wait quite awhile for a castmember to bring a box. We were told that our party had to enter the Plaza Garden area together so we couldn’t leave one person stay behind for Lucy’s box. Consequently when we finally got out to the garden it was filled with the Post-Fireworks Dessert Party guests who they had started letting in at 7:30. All of the spots closest to the front perimeter fence (with the best view) were taken.
Also of note, unlike all of the previous times I have done this event, castmembers were patrolling the perimeter of the Plaza Garden and not allowing any of the party guests to be right next to the gate until right before the start of the show. Once they dimmed the lights around the castle we were all required to stand (as usual) but then people from the back rushed up to the gate and butted in front of people who had been staked out there (as close as allowed) for a long time. I had never seen this happen before so I think it was likely caused by the new rule they were enforcing regarding the gate. And I’m not sure what that rule accomplished.
But anyway, our group of 7 still had a decent position for watching the show. Here is one photo so you have an idea of our view…
As always, the show was wonderful. It was so special to watch my granddaughter react to seeing it for the first time. Moments like that are priceless!
And in case you were wondering if we will be doing this again during our upcoming trip, the answer is YES!
Taste of Disney 