Dining & Dessert Parties at 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

This holiday season, Walt Disney World is bringing back dessert parties during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. This post shares details about the dining options available to event guests, along with the quality of these viewing locations for watching the Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks. (Updated September 14, 2023.)

Before delving into the dining options at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, let’s discuss dessert parties. There are two options this year, the Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing and the Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace.

These upcharges within the upcharge event (or upchargception, as some might call it) offer a variety of holiday-themed drinks and desserts prepared by Magic Kingdom pastry chefs, a selection of cheeses, seasonal fruits, signature lemonades, hot chocolate, coffee and tea, as well as a glass of sparkling wine or sparkling non-alcoholic cider. Here are the details about each of the Christmas dessert parties.

September 14, 2023 Update: Walt Disney World has announced the return of Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks dessert parties during the 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, including pricing and the date that Advance Dining Reservations will open for the dessert parties.

Starting September 28, 2023, dessert party reservations will be bookable for MVMCP event dates starting November 9, 2023.

Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace

  • A bountiful buffet of holiday treats at Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant
  • Awe-inspiring views of Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks from a reserved seating area

This separately priced experience takes place during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in Magic Kingdom park—held select nights November 9 to December 22, 2023.

Dessert Party 2023 Dates

  • November 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 26, 28 and 30
  • December 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 22

Dessert Party Details

  • Location: The dessert party is held at Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant at Magic Kingdom, with fireworks viewing from a seating area on the restaurant’s terrace
  • Time: Check in at the entrance to Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant one hour before the fireworks begin; view the park calendar for showtimes
  • Price: $114 (including tax) per guest ages 10 and older; $69 (including tax) per Guest ages 3 to 9

For both dessert parties, tickets are required for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party on the same night, and not included in the price of the dessert party.

Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing

Before Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks show, dessert party guests enjoy the aforementioned spread of cheeses, pastries, and drinks at a table decked with boughs of holly.

As showtime nears, Cast Members will escort you to a prime standing area in the East Plaza Garden for priority viewing of the Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks.

Dessert Party 2023 Dates

  • November 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 26, 28 and 30
  • December 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 22

Dessert Party Details

  • Location: Dessert party held at Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant at Magic Kingdom, with fireworks viewing in the Plaza Garden
  • Time: Check in at the entrance to Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant 1.5 hours before the fireworks begin; view the park calendar for show times
  • Price: $99 (including tax) for Guests ages 10 and older; $59 (including tax) for Guests ages 3 to 9

We are not fans of the dessert parties during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party for several reasons. First, they’re more money on top of an already expensive event. Second, they eat up valuable party time; you’ll already have a difficult time doing everything, and attending a dessert party only makes that more difficult.

Finally, they simply are not necessary. Neither of the reserved viewing areas are ideal spots for viewing the fireworks–there’s no advantage to watching in these locations as compared to an uncrowded, off-center spot elsewhere in the park.

This is not a matter of frugality. If you gave me the option of viewing the Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime fireworks from Tomorrowland Terrace or the Plaza Garden for free, I would decline. They simply are not great locations, and the lower crowds during these events makes fireworks viewing easier than a normal night in Magic Kingdom.

On the plus side, the projections during Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks don’t add much to the show, and there’s no wow-moment like the Jack Skellington puppet in the Halloween show. Nevertheless, these viewpoints are not ideal. You can easily stake out a better spot for the Christmas fireworks 15 minutes before showtime.

In short, you should only do the dessert party if you really want Christmas-themed desserts. In that case, why not just buy them at various locations around the park? You’d come out ahead both in monetary and time cost.

Alternatively, do the dessert party on a different night in Magic Kingdom. While we’re still not huge fans of these dessert parties from a cost-benefit perspective, the value calculus is significantly better. Fireworks viewing is more difficult on a normal night (so you actually benefit from the reserved viewing areas), and the opportunity cost is lower. This is especially true during November and December, two of the busiest months at Walt Disney World.

With that said, our general perspective is that the popularity of the dessert parties is driven almost entirely by scarcity coupled with the FOMO machine and not an honest and logical assessment of value for money. Only a few hundred people can do these dessert parties in a park that sees tens of thousands of daily visitors.

With the dessert party info out of the way, here’s a look at the other dining options available during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom…

Most counter service restaurants are open during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, with relatively reasonable hours. Our strong recommendation would be eating an early dinner, ideally before the event starts.

If you’re planning on doing character meet & greets–particularly the popular ones–you really should consider dining around 4 or 5 pm, so you’re done and can queue up early for your first character. It’s unfortunate that Walt Disney World doesn’t take a page out of the Bob Evans playbook and do early bird specials!

Alternatively or additionally, secure spots for the first Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade and send a runner to grab food. Multi-tasking during downtime scores you serious savvy strategist points, which are currently trading at 1.77 Shrute Bucks (it’s a tough economy, but beet futures have been resilient).

You won’t be the only one with this idea, and the most popular option for that is Casey’s Corner, by a longshot. You’ll see dozens of frightened fathers precariously perching trays of hot dogs while weaving through the crowds, careful not to drop their precious cargo–valued at dozens of Schrute Bucks. Now that oughta be an Olympic sport!

Point being, Casey’s Corner can be an easy and efficient option, but it’s also busy. Nevertheless, it’s what we recommend if you’re watching Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade from Main Street. Sleepy Hollow is the closest alternative, and the line there can be just as bad–but far less efficient. Pecos Bill is too far away, and Columbia Harbour House usually closes early. Cosmic Ray’s can be a good option, too.

Another recommendation here is to use Mobile Order–and make it far in advance. A lot of people will have the same idea to eat pre-parade all at once, making lines long–and pushing Mobile Order return times out into the future (and beyond the parade start time).

Alternatively, there will likely be a couple of table service restaurants open during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party:

  • Be Our Guest Restaurant – Indulge in delectable French-inspired prix fixe fare inside Beast’s Castle in familiar royal settings (plus a spooky one) from Beauty and the Beast. 
  • Cinderella’s Royal Table – Dine inside Cinderella Castle during this one-of-a-kind experience inspired by the classic fairy tale.

Advance Dining Reservations are highly recommended for both of these restaurants during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. These dining experiences are separately priced and are not included in the ticket price for MVMCP.

As with the dessert parties, we don’t recommend doing table service meals during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. There are simply too many other great things to do at MVMCP–it’s unlikely you can do all of the regular entertainment in a single night–to justify putting precious time towards a lengthy, sit-down dinner. It’s just not worth taking the time from the regular awesome entertainment of the Christmas party to do this.

Ultimately, our take on all of the dining options during the 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party essentially comes down to the cost in dollars, but more importantly, in time. Both table service dining and dessert parties consume at least an hour, if not more. On a normal night in the park, there’s not much opportunity cost to this–the downtime is nice.

Moreover, the dessert parties would normally offer upside via reserved viewing. None of that is true during the hard ticket events. Eat before you arrive, or stick to counter service and try to multitask while waiting for something else. It’s always true that time is money at Walt Disney World, but that adage is even more pronounced during these pricey special events!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Are you planning to do one of the dessert parties during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party? What about a table service dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table or Be Our Guest Restaurant? Will you instead do a counter service meal before the party starts, or strategically while waiting for the first parade? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of the dessert parties or anything else here? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!

9 Responses to “Dining & Dessert Parties at 2023 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party”
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