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On my last trip to Walt Disney World, I had the opportunity to try another new experience that I’ve never tried before: Epcot’s nighttime spectacular dessert party. The dessert party is themed after the well-known Disney movie Frozen. It includes a viewing of Epcot Forever in a reserved seating area, desserts, snacks, and a ride on Frozen Ever After.
Check-in was located next to the left side of the Port of Entry gift shop. I recommend checking in about 35 minutes before the dessert party opens as the line starts to build up. Once you check in, they give you a wristband. The wristband will allow you to get back into the party if you leave. Since the party doesn’t open until around 8:00pm, there was enough time to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour at the Mexico pavilion. I returned at 7:45pm, and they began letting guests into the seating area at 8:00pm.
Each group had a reserved table, which a host or hostess will guide you to. I was at table number 3, which was right up along the water, so we had a great view of the show.
Once we were seated at our table, I went to check out the dessert tables. Two of the tables on one side of the Port of Entry shop had cupcakes, cookies, donuts, and more.
The other three tables on the other side of the Port of Entry shop had drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), ice cream with a toppings bar, and a station for trying liquid nitrogen frozen ice cream.
They had a menu out at the check in table so you know what to expect once you get inside. If you have a teen that isn’t as adventurous when it comes to eating, there were plenty of options for things you might find at home, such as ice cream, cupcakes, and donuts.
I decided to try a few new things that I hadn’t tried before, and I wrote down what I thought of them. First, I decided to try Elsa’s Blueberry Push Pop. It was tart at first, then had a very strong blueberry aftertaste. Be careful when eating it as it is easy to drop parts of the push pop and it can make a mess.
The Frozen cupcakes weren’t anything special, just your average cupcake. The blue icing didn’t have much flavor and the sunflower was a very hard fondant. Overall, it wasn’t a bad cupcake, but it wasn’t anything to get excited about.
Next, I had the cheesecake-filled cream horns. The outside was crunchy and very buttery and the inside tasted like cream cheese, not cheesecake.
The lime kettle chips were essentially kettle chips with added vinegar. If I had these without knowing what they were, I would have guessed more of a salt and vinegar flavor than lime.
The Lemon Blueberry Parfait had a lemon base with some whipped cream and a few blueberries on top. The lemon was very strong at first, but mixed well with the whipped cream. The blueberries didn’t contribute much flavor to the dessert.
The Honeymaren’s Assorted Carolines were a soft, buttery, cookie-like outside with a little bit of icing. The inside was a chocolate ganache. The icing was hardly noticeable and added almost no taste. This was probably my favorite of the new desserts I had tried that night.
The elf juice, a special non-alcoholic drink for the winter season dessert parties, is a mix of lemonade, Granny Smith apple syrup, and Sprite. The taste of the apple syrup was extremely strong and overtook the taste of the lemonade and Sprite. The flavors did not mix at all, and my family and I all agreed that it was not a good drink. There were other Coca-Cola products available in a cooler off to the side of the table such as Coca-Cola, Sprite, and Diet Coca-Cola. There was also a bar across from the drinks table with a bartender serving a few alcoholic drinks for the adults.
After finishing the desserts, there is a lot of empty time before the show starts. My sister and I went to see the Epcot Experience and had enough time to watch it a second time if we wanted to. After waiting at our table for about an hour, the show finally started. Once the show finished, cast members guided everyone from the dessert party to Frozen Ever After.
The park was closed by then, so it was a little weird seeing the queue empty. After the ride, the cast members let us wander towards the front of the park. It was a little odd seeing cast members out sweeping their stations and vacuuming some of the booths, which took away from some of the magic. We also had some time to take some pictures in front of Spaceship Earth with no one around.
In all, the dessert party was a great experience. The cast members working the stations were friendly but didn’t interact with the guests very much. There were plenty of items to choose from, and you get a great view of the show. I would do it again if given the opportunity.
James is a teen currently in high school from Maryland. He loves all things Disney and has been going to Walt Disney World in Florida with his family every year since 2007. He and his family are DVC members at Bay Lake Tower.
