WDW Daily News

By: Disney DestinationsSeptember 13, 2019

Are your Clients looking to add a sweet ending to their day in the parks? Each of the four theme parks at Walt Disney World® Resort offers a variety of dessert parties that each include exclusive viewings of their park’s nighttime shows and spectaculars. Check out the details below!

Seasonal Dessert Parties

RESERVATIONS NOW AVAILABLE: Disney’s Hollywood Studios® – Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Dessert Party (Nov. 8, 2019-Jan. 5, 2020)

Everyone’s favorite elves are returning once again this holiday season for the popular holiday nighttime spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and they’re hosting a fabulous dessert party to go with it! First, your Clients can head over to Echo Lake to enjoy an array of holiday-themed snacks, decadent desserts, beer, wine, and specialty alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. On the menu this year are items including warm cheese fondue with pretzel bread, roasted onion dip with kettle chips, winter-spiced trail mix, Yule log cake, caramel apple verrine, and more. There will also be festive holiday cookies and assorted beverages such as a gingerbread martini and hot chocolate. While Guests are taking part in the festivities, there will even be a special VIP guest available for character greetings.

Before the show, your Clients will be escorted to a reserved viewing area to enjoy Wonderful World of Animation – a beautiful projection show that takes Guests on a journey through more than 90 years of Disney and Pixar animation – followed by “Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!,” a Santa-sized spectacular jam-packed with holiday music, fireworks, special effects, and dazzling state-of-the-art projections.

This festive dining experience will occur nightly Nov. 8, 2019 –Jan. 5, 2020. The event will start 1.5 hours prior to each night’s showtime. For more information and to book your Clients, visit Disneyworld.com/dine, or call 407 WDW-DINE (407 939-3483).

Magic Kingdom® Park – Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace (Select Nights Nov. 8-Dec. 22, 2019)

If your Clients are celebrating the holidays with Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, they can sweeten their night with this holly-jolly dessert party! During this party, your Clients will get to take in the incredible sights of Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Show, exclusive to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. On the menu is a bountiful buffet featuring holiday-themed cupcakes and desserts, chocolate-dipped strawberries, ice cream, a selection of cheeses, seasonal fruits, and a variety of beverages like specialty Christmas drinks, sparkling cider, signature lemonades, hot chocolate, coffee, and tea. Just like the other dessert parties at Magic Kingdom®Park, your Clients can enjoy a special viewing area at Plaza Garden or reserved seating at Tomorrowland Terrace. 

Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Dessert Party occurs during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party on select nights Nov. 8-Dec. 22, 2019.   

Magic Kingdom Park – Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace (Select Nights Aug. 16-Nov. 1, 2019)

And don’t forget – the spooky season is in full swing at Walt Disney World Resort and Magic Kingdom Park has been transformed with Halloween decorations and festivities. On select nights, your Clients can descend upon the park for a spirited evening during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Here Guests can go trick or treating, meet special characters, watch the popular Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, and enjoy this year’s brand new nighttime Halloween fireworks: “Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular.” Similar to the regular fireworks dessert party, your Clients can enjoy either reserved seating at Tomorrowland Terrace or a special viewing area at Plaza Garden. This party includes chocolate-dipped strawberries, cupcakes, ice cream, seasonal fruits, cheeses and other ghoulish goodies created daily by our master pastry chef. Sparkling cider, signature lemonades, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate will also be served.

Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party occurs during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party on select nights Aug. 16-Nov. 1, 2019.  

In-Park Dessert Parties at Walt Disney World Resort

Epcot – Frozen Ever After Dessert Party at Epcot World Showcase

Your Clients can enjoy a delightful end to their magical day with delectable desserts and spectacular fireworks viewed from a special area, followed by a musical boat ride at Frozen Ever After. Now through Sept. 30 your Clients can bid farewell to IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth before it ends its 20 year run to make way for an all-new, limited-time spectacular, “EpcotForever,” debuting Oct. 1.   

Magic Kingdom Park – Fireworks Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace 

Your Clients can feast on delectable desserts before or after enjoying the spectacle of Magic Kingdom fireworks from the comfort of either Tomorrowland Terrace with reserved seating or Plaza Garden right in front of Cinderella Castle. This dessert party occurs nightly throughout the year.  

Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park – Rivers of Light: We Are One Dessert Party

Guests can enjoy a delightful dessert party before soaking up the sights and sounds of Rivers of Light: We Are One from a reserved seating location at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. 

Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party

Star Wars fans can enjoy special themed treats, a souvenir stein, and an exclusive viewing area of the popular “Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular” fireworks show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with this out-of-this-world dessert party!  

Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Fantasmic! Dessert & VIP Viewing Experience

Your Clients can indugle in a delicious dessert experience while enjoying some of the best seats in the house. They can pick up a box of freshly-prepared snacks before heading to a VIP reserved seating area for Fantasmic! Then, they can sit back and enjoy their treats while watching the nighttime extravagant musical where the forces of good and evil battle it out in Mickey’s dream.  

Additional Spectacular Sweet Spots at Walt Disney World Resort

In addition to the fabulous dessert parties around our parks, we have a few additional sweet dining experiences at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Seven Seas Lagoon near Magic Kingdom Park! 

• Ferrytale Fireworks: A Sparkling Dessert Cruise (Select Nights through February 2020)
• Pirates & Pals Fireworks Dessert Voyage
• Celebration at the Top – Savor, Sip, and Sparkle at California Grill (Select Nights through November 2019)

Note: All showtimes, experiences, and menus listed above are subject to change without notice.

Disney vacations are almost like an art form. The more you practice, the better you get. This is why seasoned Disney travelers have all the expertise that allows them to avoid the common mistakes that rookies make in the parks.

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Last month at the D23 Expo 2019, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Bob Chapek unveiled new details around Epcot’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, a family-friendly “storytelling coaster” that will feature a groundbreaking ride system with vehicles that rotate 360 degrees and can even do a reverse launch. Today we’re happy to share a closer look at this out-of-this-world ride system.

Paradise Gardens Park at Disney California Adventure® Park is celebrating the return of one of its most fun and colorful seasonal experiences, Plaza de la Familia!

Plaza de la Familia honors the beloved Pixar film, “Coco,” and the everlasting bonds of family with picturesque arts and crafts activities, mouth-watering Mexican food and inspiring live entertainment!

¡Así es! “A Musical Celebration of Coco” also returns this year with its cast of storytellers to entertain Guests with beloved songs from the film performed by singing host Mateo and the Grammy® Award-winning Mariachi Divas. You will be transported to the land of the dead with appearances of authentic folklórico dancers and townspeople from “Coco” joined by the adventurous Miguel, who is brought to life in a whimsical style inspired by Mexican folk art!

New this year, you have the opportunity to take photos and make new memories with Miguel when he appears between shows at a beautiful artistic mural entitled “Recuérdame” (“Remember Me”). Named after the iconic song from the film, the evocative mural depicts the themes touched on by the Storytellers of Plaza de la Familia in their show, and celebrates Miguel’s beloved family in Santa Cecilia and the Land of the Dead.

At Paradise Garden Grill, you can sample delicioso, traditional Mexican dishes, including Traditional Tamale Plate with chile red pork tamales with golden rice and black beans, and Tacos de Estilo Callejero: a trio of sirloin beef tacos with pickled vegetables, golden rice and black beans. Another option is Tortitas de Papa – vegan crispy potato cakes with sautéed spinach, ranchero salsa, golden rice and pickled onion salad. For postres, try Pan Dulce Concha, traditional house-made Mexican sweet bread filled with dulce de leche.

Check out the spot we recently created with our friends at Pixar!

You can celebrate the everlasting bonds of family at Plaza de la Familia now through Nov. 3, 2019!

If you are visiting Walt Disney World® Resort this holiday season, they can “roar in” the New Year. That’s because Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park will be open until midnight to celebrate New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31, 2019.  

Throughout the night, you will find special New Year’s Eve-themed food and drinks, while DJs in Asia, Discovery Island and DinoLand U.S.A. will keep the party pumping! 

As midnight approaches everyone can gather around Discovery Island and Asia to watch a special New Year’s Eve countdown on the iconic Tree of Life. Energetic music and lighting displays will welcome in 2020.

You can also get into the fun with special pin trading opportunities, plus a limited-edition New Year’s Eve pin available beginning that evening. Subject to change and based on availability. 

The park’s New Year’s Eve celebration will cap off a thrilling season of all-new holiday experiences at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. You can check out the festive new décor in every land, enjoy unforgettable winter projections on the Tree of Life, get into the holiday spirit with their favorite characters in DinoLand U.S.A. and more. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a place you will want to visit this holiday season! 

Family fun is in the making at Disney’s Riviera Resort, the newest Walt Disney World® Resort, under construction now and projected to open Dec. 16, 2019. Today, we’re sharing a sneak peek at one of the most whimsical features of the resort – S’il Vous Play.

For young Guests, the S’il Vous Play interactive water play area will be the perfect place to splash and have fun in the sun. Drawing inspiration from the grand public fountains throughout Europe, this fanciful fountain will feature several beloved characters from the classic 1940 Disney film “Fantasia.”

Inspired by the “Dance of the Hours” in “Fantasia,” S’il Vous Play celebrates music, art, dance and storytelling with a creative fountain that features whimsical animals as they frolic and play in the water. Your Clients will find an elephant filling a dump bucket with his trunk while hippos and ostriches dance and play, and hippos splashing water into decorative bowls and basins. 

Guests may even spot the playful references to the animated film’s classical music, which featured the works of many European composers. In fact, S’il Vous Play’s charming musical references expand the artistic theme throughout the resort.

In the midst of these delightful characters,  little ones are sure to find S’il Vous Play especially enchanting! 

Early this summer we introduced you to a new look for some of our Walt Disney World® Resort buses, as the sensational six: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto hit the roadways.  

As we roll on into September, we’re super excited to share even more buses featuring characters from some of the most beloved Disney films are joining the fleet. Now you will be able to enjoy a ‘Hakuna Matata’ journey with Simba from Disney’s “The Lion King,” experience a whole lot of laughs with Mike and Sully from “Monsters, Inc.,” or see how far they’ll go with Moana – as these new designs full of character and fun hit the roads around Walt Disney World!

If that wasn’t enough…in the coming weeks keep an eye out for buses featuring characters from Disney’s “Frozen” and many more. 

And, similar to the buses featuring the sensational six, these buses have those new blue seats and laminate floors throughout. Some of the buses will also have USB charging ports conveniently located between seats, so guests can re-charge your devices and not miss a moment of capturing and sharing their Disney vacation memories. 

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party nights have returned to Magic Kingdom® Park, and this year, one event wowing Guests is the brand-new nighttime fireworks show, “Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular.”

Today, we’re excited to share that our Disney Parks Blog partners will live stream “Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular” on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019 at 10:10 p.m. ET. And, you can watch it right here on Disney Travel News!

In the new show, Jack Skellington from Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” comes to tell a “not-so-scary” story about how anything can happen on Halloween night. Jack’s ghost dog, Zero, flies off carrying everyone along on a trick-or-treat adventure, where Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy find themselves drawn into a mysterious haunted house. They encounter dancing skeletons, waltzing ghosts and a whole series of troublemaking Disney villains along the way.

To tune in, simply visit Disney Parks Blog on Sunday at 10:10 p.m. The live stream will be posted at the top of the page at that time. In the meantime, check out a behind-the-scenes sneak peek above!

Of course, you can also catch “Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular” in person by attending Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

We recently announced a new “Beauty and the Beast”-inspired lounge coming to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Today, we’re excited to share the official name as well as menu details. 

Located on the second floor of the lobby, this re-imagined lounge will be called Enchanted Rose and will celebrate the magic and romance of Disney’s popular live-action movie. Featuring four unique spaces inspired by Belle and the Beast, you will find charm and elegance around every corner. The lounge includes a chandelier inspired by Belle’s flowing ball gown as well as a formal library that will showcase classical baroque designs and French furnishing. A garden room will take its inspiration from the enchanted forest surrounding the castle, and an outdoor patio will evoke the romance of Beast’s garden terrace. 

Enchanted Rose will feature a delicious menu with a variety of shareable bites. Guests can snack on an artisanal cheese selection with pine nut bread and raisins or enjoy an exquisite dish of white sturgeon caviar served with egg timbale, crème fraiche, and chives. 

In addition, you could try the Mini Smoked Short Rib Sliders with glacier blue cheese and onion marmalade on brioche buns. Or if seafood is more their style, you can order the Espelette Pepper-Spiced Shrimp or Octopus a la Plancha with black olives, blistered tomatoes, and fingerling potatoes. There’s also the Crab and Gnocchetti Gratin, which comes with jumbo lump crab, gnocchetti sardi, robiola bosina mornay, and citrus breadcrumbs.

Other options include truffle fries as well as a house-made flatbread pizza featuring charred broccolini, seasonal mushrooms, fennel sausage, ricotta salata, and tomato confits.

On the beverage menu is a variety of beverages including cocktails and martinis as well as spirits, beer, cider and even a few non-alcoholic options for guests of all ages. Featured cocktails include beverages such as the Island Rose with grapefruit and rose vodka, lime, orgeat, pineapple, bitters, and rose water. You can also sip on the Lavender Fog (dry gin, crème de violette, English breakfast tea, vanilla, and cream) or the Garden Daisy (tequila, midori, lime, egg white, and cucumber). The lounge will also be pouring an extensive collection of wine and Champagne by the glass. 

Non-alcoholic options include a Garden Cocktail (non-alcoholic spirit, lime juice, agave nectar, and soda)  as well as the B&B (fresh-brewed iced tea, lemon, blueberry, and basil) and the Rosemary Cooler (Odwalla lemonade, vanilla, and rosemary).

Enchanted Rose will open this fall at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Stay tuned for more details!

Let the countdown begin, as we’re 100 days away from The Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm has officially kicked off the countdown, with a teaser that focuses on the duel between Kylo Ren and Rey, which we saw in the recently released trailer from D23. The brief teaser was shared with the following caption.

“100 days until the saga ends… #TheRiseOfSkywalker is in cinemas 19 December!”

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