Though our reservation confirmation stated that check in for this dinner was at 8:00, when we arrived at the restaurant at about 7:45 there was already a short line of guests at their reception desk. So by 7:50 we were checked in and seated at a 2-top table in the second row of the patio area of the restaurant. The first row of tables was closest to the water (right up against the fence) so had the best view of Luminous, the nighttime fireworks show that takes place every night on Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon. I believe there were only 4 tables, which each sat 4 people, in this first row of tables. So as a party of 2, we were automatically relegated to the second row of tables. This row has a more obstructed view of the show, not just because of having to look around/over those seated in the front row but also due to the patio’s awning blocking the higher fireworks. But more on the view later.
Also note that all of the other tables on the restaurant’s covered patio behind these two rows of tables were not part of the Fireworks Dining Package. There was only a rope that separated the Package guests from the non-package guests. So basically only about half of this patio area (the tables closest to the water) is dedicated to the Fireworks Package, for which they charged us $81.00 per person, including tax and gratuity in March 2025. Note that as of May 2026 this price seems to have increased to $96.92 (which is nearly a 20% increase!)
But let’s talk about the food and beverages now, starting with a look at the special Dining Package menu…
Almost immediately after being seated, a server came to our table to take both our beverage and food order. Note that the package price includes unlimited beverages, however you are limited to those listed on the special menu.
We decided to try all three of Mimosas…
Blood Orange, Hibiscus, and Pomegranate Mimosas (currently priced at $15.50 each in May 2026)
These were all fine, so I would probably give all three mimosas a rating of 3. None of these really outshined the others.
At the same time that they brought the mimosas to our table, they brought this Shared Tangine…
Tagine (North African slow-cooked stew) with Olives, Preserved Lemon, Fragrant Couscous (currently priced at $13.00 on their menu as of May 2026)
Although there were only 3 ingredients listed in the menu description, there were several vegetables (zucchini, chickpeas, squash, red peppers, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and carrots I believe) in this dish. I also remember there being some golden raisins, which added a bit of sweetness. The lemon flavor was very mild, which for me was a plus since I’m not a big fan of “lemony” food. We enjoyed this and with a rating of 4, it ended up being our favorite of the evening.
Next we each got to choose two of their six available Small Plates options. Our first choice was the…
Spice Road Table Bread Service with Hummus, Chermoula, Marinated Olives, and Za’atar Pita Bread (currently priced at $11.00 on their May 2026 menu)
This was not very good. The pita bread was cold and the hummus was very blah. We gave the bread service a rating of only 2.
Our next choice was the…
House-made Hummus Fries (currently priced at $10.00 on their May 2026 menu)
I know there are many fans out there of these hummus fries but Don and I are not among them. These were again pretty blah and we agreed rated only a 2.
Our last two choices both contained meat and were an improvement over the first two, Choice #3 was the…
Chicken Bastilla with braised chicken, crisp filo dough, and almonds, served with Aleppo honey (currently priced at $11.00 on their May 2026 menu)
This was the dish I was most looking forward to trying, as it sounded delicious. Sadly, although the taste was pretty good, it was rather dry, which resulted in a rating from us of 3.
For our 4th and final choice we tried their…
Spiced Lamb Kefta served on a bed of Harissa Yogurt, Mint Chutney, Toasted Pistachios and Preserved Lemon (currently priced at $13.00 on their May 2026 menu)
Again this was not as good as it sounded and consequently only given an okay rating of 3.
And that just leaves the dessert…
Dessert Platter with assorted Baklava and Cookies (currently listed on the May 2026 menu for $11.00)
This consisted of a spiced cake and almond cookie, both of which were not good and rated only a 2. The baklava was the best dessert on this platter but still we gave it only an okay rating of 3.
The dessert was served about 10 minutes before the show started (promptly) at 9:00. Here are some photos so that you can get an idea of the view from our 2nd row table…
As you can see, all of my photos had some type of obstruction(s) like the heads of the people seated in the first row, the fence which surrounded the patio area, a large pillar and/or the overhang of the patio’s roof. Not a big deal, as the view was still decent, but it was not nearly as good as I had at the Fireworks Package dinner at the Rose & Crown a few years ago. Also I wanted to note that there was a large pillar which sat directly behind me. Knowing that that pillar already completely blocked the view of all the non-package dinner guests seated on the patio directly behind it, I decided to stand up in front of the pillar to try and get a few unobstructed photos of the show. However, one of the servers immediately came over and asked me to sit down.
And speaking of the servers, our service here was less than stellar. I think the only time we saw our server was when we first sat down and he came to take our order for both our beverages and small plate choices. He was not friendly or welcoming, but instead very curt and business like. Other servers delivered those beverages and food, quickly dropping them off at our table. No one returned to check and see if everything was good or if we wanted any other beverages. So I would have to say that this was the worst service we had during this trip.
Overall this experience was very disappointing. In our opinion the food, service and view of the show were not very good. We received $115.50 worth of food and beverages and paid $162.00 for this package for the two of us. When you account for the tax and tip (which were included in the $162 we paid), we paid only about $16 for the view of the show. With the price increase though, that package would now cost us $193.84. So in other words, the cost of the view is now about double what it was last year. That price increase along with the fact that we didn’t enjoy their food would prevent us from doing this experience again. I would instead recommend the Fireworks Dinner Package at the Rose & Crown, which was a great experience.
Taste of Disney 