A few weeks back,  Disney announced a new dessert party being added to Magic Kingdom for fireworks viewing. The idea here is to view the Happily Ever After fireworks first and then AFTER the fireworks, come to the Tomorrowland Terrace for a dessert buffet. Back in March, we did the regular dessert party for Happily Ever After and were pleasantly surprised. You can read that full review here. The price in March was $59; recently this changed to $69 ($41 children) for the garden viewing location. It’s the same price whether you want dessert before the fireworks or after. In addition to this new time for the dessert party, Disney stated new items were being added to the dessert spread: egg rolls, Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake, s’mores, and spinach artichoke dip.

Our view for fireworks was in the Plaza Gardens East. Check-in begins 1-hour before fireworks begin. Sitting around and waiting for the fireworks was interesting to say the least. We witnessed plenty of great viewing still available on Main Street with arriving 60-minutes early. In our past review of the fireworks dessert party, we raved about eating dessert and arriving to the viewing area just minutes before the fireworks began. Having the dessert party afterward feels moronic and ruins half the value of not having to wait for a good spot. You’re still waiting around, and there are better spots available if you’re going to wait this long anyway. That being said, there were folks from the “before” dessert parties already in the viewing area when we got there, so one has to wonder if they even ate anything or just went straight over. The one benefit of the “after” event is not having to worry about eating until after, allowing you to pick a more premium spot in this area that is generally less congested than the public viewing spaces.

Happily Ever After is still an amazing fireworks show. Above you see the view from the private area, which is solid, but not the best view of the show given the presence of a number of light poles and trees in the area. Afterward, we were escorted up into Tomorrowland Terrace to begin the dessert buffet. Here, we would have a full hour to enjoy all of the food and beverage offerings.

One major positive is the lack of people doing the ‘after fireworks’ party, at least this early in its existence. We found plenty of tables available and weren’t forced to sit on top of other people. Another positive was the lack of lines for the food stations, but again, this will likely change over time.

Ice cream is available. A Cast Member will scoop it for you and then you can add all the toppings your heart desires.

You can create your own cupcake, or brownie, which we did. Fun, interactive, tasty, and fun for the whole family.

Who has a watermelon with seeds in it, honestly? You’d be hard-pressed to find a non-seedless watermelon nowadays.

Last time we raved that the dark chocolate strawberries were fantastic, and surprise… they still are. Pick-up one, two, or ten.

We were handed a non-alcoholic sparkling cider when coming up into the dessert area, but there’s a table full of the glasses. Feel free to take as many as you would enjoy.

A wide assortment of other beverages are available as well, from coffee, to bottled water, and more.

An array of beverages are offered: coffee, tea, water, milk, iced tea, lemonade, and the famous POG (passion, orange, guava) juice.

Now, let’s check out the new stuff.

This is the Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake from Liberty Tree Tavern and it’s almost as good as from the main restaurant. Only difference here is that it’s unlimited.

What’s in the metal tin of mystery?

Eggrolls!

They were pretty good with a nice crunchy exterior and a warm filling.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip. It’s as exciting as the picture makes it seem. There’s plenty of crackers to choose from and overall the dip is fine. The Egg Rolls are a better use of your stomach space.

Finally, s’mores! There’s a Cast Member roasting marshmallows on sticks for you. They then roll them in chocolate and graham cracker before giving it to you to eat. It’s fun, tasty, and easy to eat.

Was it worth it?

There’s a double-edged sword with the “after fireworks” dessert party. As previously stated, part of the appeal of the regular dessert party was not needing to worry about early arrival for fireworks and just being able to stroll down from the terrace at your leisure. The same viewing area is used for the before and after dessert parties making for one slightly more cramped viewing area now. We still arrived early and didn’t feel the special section was needed for that early arrival. There’s still some value to be found in the dessert parties on peak attendance days perhaps, but there was little value in attending on a lighter crowd night like the one we attended on.

I would recommend the after party just for the ability to get in the viewing area before most, giving a slight edge over the guests coming from the earlier event, but keep in mind that this will hinder the opportunity to ride attractions at the Magic Kingdom after the “park dump” following fireworks.

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Topher Wallace