Hey, where's everyone going? Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party is held at the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant, which is used more like "flex dining space" these days, and not so much as a restaurant.
Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party has two seating levels. This seating area is for "Plaza Garden Viewing" guests. The name comes from the fact that you have a reserved firework viewing area down in the "Plaza Garden" location, a few hundred feet from the dessert party seating area.
After you check-in, a seating attended will take you to a specific table — which will be your table for the duration of the event. (This is the "Plaza Garden Viewing" seating area for the dessert party portion of the event.)
There's probably room for around 150-175 guests in this area. The tables are moderately spaced... that is to say, I didn't feel "too" close to those guests sitting next to me. While more guests did show up right about mid-way through the event, it didn't really feel crowded. (This is the "Plaza Garden Viewing" seating area for the dessert party portion of the event.)
There's acutally a good amount of light in this seating area, so it's not spooky at all. (This is the "Plaza Garden Viewing" seating area for the dessert party portion of the event.)
All the dessert buffet lines are at the back-end of this photo... near where the normal Tomorrowland Terrace food ordering counters would be. (This is the "Plaza Garden Viewing" seating area for the dessert party portion of the event.)
This balcony seating area is ONLY for "Tomorrowland Terrace Viewing" versions of this event. The pricing to sit in this section is a little higher than the "Plaza Garden Viewing" version. You get all the same desserts and beverages, AND you can stay seated right here on the balcony. It offers a unique view of all the fireworks and the castle.
Because of the support columns, there's a little less seating in this area (which might explain why the "Tomorrowland Terrace Viewing" version of the dessert party sells out first. The tables here are also "reserved". A seating attendant will take you directly to your table after you check in.
The exclusive balcony seating area is resrved for guests that purchased the "Tomorrowland Terrace Viewing" version of the Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party.
All of the buffet photos we're showing here were taken at the "Plaza Garden Viewing" version of the dessert party. There's a "warm dessert station" in the center and the two buffet tables to the left and to the right of the center table, have the same desserts on them — so it's a "mirror" setup.
The mirror, or "same on both sides of the center" station setup helps keep the lines to a minimum for most of the night. Since everything is the same on the right and the left of the center station, just walk-up to where ever there's no people!
The buffet line at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Partyworks works just like a buffet line at any of the Disney restaurants. At the far left and right side of the main buffet, there's plates and silverware. Guests can pick up a plate and work their way to the center, where there's a featured "warm dessert item" that both sides can access. The left and right sides feature the same dessert items.
Here's a look at one of the buffet tables at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party. There's around 6 items on each of the tables. Most of the items have name tags and tongs for grabbing the items.
Here's a look at another one of the buffet tables. There's six items on this table as well, but not all of them have name tags. On the night I went, three of the items were new to the dessert party, and the attendant said they didn't have name tags yet. She told me what the unnamed desserts were though.
This is one of the "plate, utensils and napkins" tables at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party. There's two of these tables — one on the far left and one on the far right of the main buffet line.
This is the cookie decorating table. There's some cookies on the taller table and some icing and sprinkles on the lower table. I believe, guests... (especially short young guests), are encouraged to ice and decorate their own cookies. This cast member was great by the way... (sorry I didn't get a shot of your nametag). She was totally "on" and interacting with everyone for the whole event.
There's many beverage options at the party. Here's a look at the Sparkling Apple Cider station. Kids love this station (and some adults too I suppose), because they can drink out of a blue plastic flute. If any of the adults in the party are drinking wine, they're drinking out of a clear glass flute.
There's quite a few juice options at the party. From left to right there's Milk, Water, Tea, Lemonade, Raspberry Lemonade, and POG Juice. (There's quite a few Disney POG Juice fans out there.)
Here's a look at the "adult" beverage station at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Dessert Party. There were six wine, sparkling wine and beer options on the night I attended. Wine is served in wine glasses, the sparkling wine is served in long stem glass flutes, and the beer is served in pint glasses.
The adult beverage options all have name tags.
The beer was served from a chilled can (i.e. there's no beer "on tap"). They had Bud Light and Blue Moon, which is a Belgian-style Wheat beer with a hint of orange.
There was an Argentina Red called Zolo and a Chardonnay made with organic grapes called Veramonte. (These are all basically day wines... probably $10 a bottle at your local store and close to $30 a bottle in a Disney restaurant.)
The Lady of Spain Brut (a Spanish sparkling Cava) is served in the fluted glass along with the 2022 Saracco Moscato. The Saracco is probably $15 per bottle at your local store and $40 at a Disney restaurant, so if you're trying to drink your money's worth at the party — the Saracco is the way to go.
Most of the dessert (and beverages) have little name tags in front of them so you can tell what they are. The center station on the buffet line features a "made fresh warm dessert" — on the night I attende it was a Caramel Apple Crepe.
Here's a look at some of the name tags at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Dessert Party. In addition to the main desserts, there were some cookie and assorted fruits available as well.
In addition to the main dessert items, there were assorted cruncy bread pieces and various assorted cheeses on the buffet as well. The cheese was all in "cube" form.
Here's a look at some of the dessert items name tags. In cases where something like "Firehouse Doughnuts" might not be self-explanatory — there's a larger description of what those are.
Oh hey little ghost topped dessert.
This is one of the layered desserts at the party and really... there's five elements layered in a plastic cup (six, if you count the edible eyes).
All the little Ghost Cups are waiting to be eaten at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party.
That one ghost on the left seems to be looking up. I wonder what he's looking at?
I wish there was a name tag around these somewhere — I can only assume they were Chocolate Mousse Ghost Cups. They were really tasty. I think I ate three of them.
These cool icing designs were over at the cookie decorating station. The table is a little shorter than the adult tables, so kids can interactively (with a cast member's help and guidance) put icing and sprinkles on a sugar or chocolate chip cookie.
The scariness of the scary icing face is offset by the happiness of the happy Mickey sticker.
I think this is that Oogie Boogie character in icing form.
Okay, this one I know — it's a hidden Mickey made out of icing and sprinkles!
And this is what a Mike Wazowski (from Monsters, Inc.) cookie looks like, when it's 106°F outside, at 10pm at night. The cookie artist did an amazing job with all the details, she really did — but that royal icing just can't take the heat and humidity. Hang in there Mike.
The Icing & Spinkles Hidden Mickey was so cool, I took another photo of it.
I'm not really sure how you would eat this. Maybe I'm over thinking a table decoration. Oh I know, you could put a sugar cookie in the center, outline it with white icing, add the ears and then put sprinkles on the icing. Well shoot, now I have to go back and try that.
Hello Bubbly! It wasn't that long ago — that the Magic Kingdom was a "dry" park. So for me, this still feels like a special treat. Pictured here is a flute of "The Lady of Spain Brut" (a Spanish sparkling Cava).
Since even the "adult" beverages are "all you care to enjoy" for the duration of the event... I polished off two "Lady of Spain" bottles over the course of an hour. Hey, I it was hot out — I was rehydrating.
POG Juice is a combination of Passion fruit, Orange, and Grapefruit juice — and while Disney didn't create this drink, they have certainly popularized it over the years. It's been getting harder and harder to find though, so having and endless supply here at the dessert party, is kind of cool.
On the left is a flute of "The Lady of Spain Brut" (a Spanish sparkling Cava) and on the right is a flute of POG Juice.
Hummmm... a sparkling Cava and POG Juice — hey ghosty, are you thikning what I'm thinking??? If we mix them both together... we'll have a POG Mimosa!
If you combine either one of the sparkling wines and the POG Juice — you'll have a custom made POG Mimosa! Personally, I went with the Cava and not the Moscato, which probably has a bit of sweetness and fruit profile of it's own.
Orange chairs, purple skies, and a bottomless, golden glass full of Lady of Spain Brut, in the middle of the Happiest Place on Earth — it doesn't get any more magical than this! Honestly though, just kicking back, cooling off, and drinking booze on a Disney patio with the sights and sounds of MNSSHP going on all around you — is part of the fun in experiencing the Not So Spooky Dessert Party.
This is the Devil's Chocolate Pudding cup from Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party.
The Devil's Chocolate Pudding cup combines a layer of chocolate crumbles with a milk chocolate mousse and a caramel mousse with a couple of orange crispy pearls.
This is the Cookies 'n Cream Cheesecake Mousse. Somewhere in the center of that cup there's a hidden portion of Cheesecake Mousse, surrounded by chocolate cookie crumbles and topped with something like a shortbread crumble (and a couple of red crispy pearls).
The Chocolate Dipped Strawberries (for me anyway) are one of the desserts I look forward to at any of the Disney Dessert Parties. It's a great flavor combo and they always use juicy, "two-bite" sized strawberries to dip in that chocolate. They also have green "white chocolate" drizzle, which is the Halloween design twist.
Now, I thnk the strawberries and chilled, and truth be told, it's not creamiest, high-end chocoalte — but — it's usually still 90°F outside at 10pm... and I've always found that the chocolate has this almost "fresh dipped" texture to it. (Not because it was "just" dipped, but because the chocolate is right at that "just thinking about turning to liquid" temperature.)
I have a certain amount of empathy for these poor Firehouse Doughnuts. So the Firehouse Doughnut is made with Ricotta (a whole milk cheese), and because the ricotta adds fluff and lift, there's no need for yeast in the dough. They're a quick Doughnut to make and have a mild sweet flavor that pairs well with just about everything. But — you have to eat them fresh... like "just" out of the deep fry oil fresh. So if you get a couple "right" as they're bringing them out, they're great.
These Firehouse Doughnuts (made with ricotta cheese) are covered in sugar and cinnamon, and are paired with a strawberry sauce — that you don't have to put on a plate like this if you don't want to... the sauce is optional. It seemed like it would make for a good photo at the time — but the sauce is a little sloshy.
This is a Headless Horseman Cupcake and it's one of many desserts from Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party.
The Headless Horseman Cupcake was new to the dessert party, and it didn't have a name tag yet... but (if I'm remembering it correctly) was a chocolate cupcake with cookies and cream icing and topped with an edible white chocolate coin that had a Headless Horseman printed on it.
This is a Key Lime Tart cup from the dessert buffet line at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party.
The Key Lime Tart was really cool because instead of being lime green, the key lime filling was purple!!! I really liked this dessert cup for the contrast in flavor that it brought to the party. Many of the items used chocolate in one form or another, and the key lime cup offered a tangy, sweet and creamy change of pace.
This is the Butterscotch Pudding cup topped with Caramel Corn from the Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party buffet.
The heat (it was still 90°F out at 10pm), altered the pudding state of this little cup. It was more like butterscotch heavy cream — but honestly, that wasn't a bad thing. I still really liked the flavor. Much like the Key Lime Tart, the butterscotch flavor was a break from the mostly chocolate line-up.
This cute little dessert was new to the party and didn't have a name tag yet. If memory serves me right, I think this was a hazelnut cream cup.
Here's a trio of desserts from Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party. The desserts are all-you-care-to-enjoy for the duration of the dessert party (i.e. you can eat as many as you want).
This little Pumpkin Spice Cake was also new and didn't have a name tag. Judging by the color of the Buttercream Frosting, I'd say it's Princess and the Frog themed.
The cute little pumpkin spice (or maybe carrot spiced) cake had a nice cream cheese layer in the middle with green and purple butter cream on top. The heat of the night also caused this one to deflate and slide around a bit, but — at room temperature, the cream cheese and butter cream are going to have more flavor than if they were chilled. All things being equal, I'll take this tasty sloppy cake over a pretty tasteless cake any day!
Here's some Chocolate Cake Push Pops from Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party.
The Chocolate Cake Push Pops (also did not have a name tag) follow a similar format to many of the other desserts at the party. Chocolate cake layered with a filling (in this case, butter cream), and a couple of crispy pearls on top. What made this different was the way you ate them. You pretty much just have to stick one end in your mouth and push the cake on in.
It's interactive! The Cake Push Pops are really fun... and I have fun watching guests try and figure out how to eat them! All in one giant mouthful push is the easiest way to go. A half-push for just the top layer can get messy.
Awe, it's a Chocolate Ghost Cup! I'm not sure if this one had an official name tag either, but it's pretty easy to tell just by looking at it, there's multiple layers of chocolate goodness in there.
The Chocolate Ghost Cup is a layered dessert that starts with a graham cracker style crumble on the bottom, followed by a dark(ish) chocolate pudding, some milk and dark chocolate crispy pearls, a layer of milk chocolate mousse, a marshmallow meringue... and two candy eyes naturally.
The (almost) made to order, warm, "feature" dessert of the night was this Caramel Apple Crepe. The table in the center of the main buffet line always had a cast member in place making these throughout the night.
The Caramel Apple Crepe featured a folded crepe with caramel apples inside the folds... then the whole thing is topped with caramel drizzle and toasted pecans. The name tag does mention something about "sweet cream"... I'm not sure I ever saw or tasted any of that... unless it's folded into the crepe with the apples? Did I mention that I polished off two bottles of sparkling wine?
There's a couple different kinds of fresh fruit on the buffet line. Pictured here are a couple different varieties of grapes, some cantaloupe and pineapple cubes, and a couple of strawberries.
Here's a closer look at some of the fresh fruit pieces. Hey, how did that one strawberry get chocolate all over it? Oh well, I'll have to eat it anyway.
A really nice addition to the dessert buffet line is a couple of cubed cheeses and some crispy bread. I particularly liked the cripsy olive bread (pictured here) because it was a little salty. The savory flavor and textures are totally different than all the other desserts. Honestly, I started eating those cripsy olive bread pieces like they were chips!
Eating something a little savory between all those different desserts made it easier to actually taste the sometimes subtle differences in each of the sweet items. I tried to keep a couple of those bread crisps on the table all night.
Poor little melting cookie "Monster" Mike Wazowski — he looked great, for about 30 seconds — but because it was still 90°F out at 10pm, he started running a bit. Somewhere under all that royal icing is a sugar cookie.
This is the view from the "Tomorrowland Terrace Viewing” version of Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party (the slightly more expensive version). Some nights, guests stay in their seats, some nights, they stand up against the rails when the fireworks start. Either way, there's enough room for everyone to be no more that "one person deep"... if you move around slightly.
The view of the castle from the Tomorrowland Terrace Viewing version of the dessert party isn't quite a "head on" view of the castle — but it provides a very unique offest viewing angle. You can see all of the fireworks from the Tomorrowland Terrace patio, and it's great just being able to stand up from your dessert table and get a "one person deep" front-row view — just seconds before the fireworks start.
If you're looking at the castle and follow the railing and slide down to your left (still inside the private "Tomorrowland Terrace Viewing" area — you'll get a great view of the castle — framed up with trees and hills and a little reflection pond as well.
The "Plaza Garden Viewing" area is blocked off well in advance of the fireworks and the entire area (which is protected by a low iron fence) is just for dessert party guests. All the entrances to the area have this little sign posted and cast members stationed next to them, to ensure than only dessert party guests are entering the area.
So, what does the "Plaza Garden Firework Viewing" area look like? It looks like this. It's actually a very large area that will comfortably accommodate everyone that attended the dessert party.
Here's a view of the Plaza Garden Viewing area from a different angle. There are a couple of iron fence planters in the center, but they shouldn't obstruct anyone's view too much.
In this photo of the Plaza Garden Fireworks Viewing area, you can see the iron gates all along the far side of the railing. These are closed off two hours before the fireworks begin and the entire area is cleared just for dessert party guests.
In this photo of the Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party Plaza Garden Firework Viewing area (that's a lot of typing) — the castle is just outside of the frame (far right) where the blue light is emanating from. You can see one of the lower castle spires in the back.
I'd say based on the tables and chairs in the dessert party area, there's probably a 175(ish) person limit to the Plaza Garden Viewing version of the Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party. This area is large enough to accommodate that number without feeling crowded or too packed together.
So, what kind of view of the castle do you get from the Plaza Garden Viewing area at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party? A pretty great unobstructed view actually. It's a little off-center, and those light poles are everywhere (but you're going to have those out in the general guest area as well).
This slightly wider photo of the Plaza Garden Viewing area at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party is interesting because it shows a bit more of the space available inside the area. There's enough room to "be" somewhere and swing your arms around without hitting another guest. You won't get that outside this area. Just beyond the low iron gate is a crowd of "packed-in-tight" guests.
Some guests are sitting on the ground in this photo of the Plaza Garden Viewing area at Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party — but most everyone stands up once the show begins.
I wasn't really trying to go for some of those "beauty" fireworks photos here — these are more for showing what the viewing is like in the "Plaza Garden Viewing" area, which is available only to guests that attended the Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party.
I'm standing in the back of the fence protected " Plaza Garden Viewing" area — and aside from the light poles, you get a pretty great view of the castle and the fireworks. And I got this spot just by walking into the area five minutes before the fireworks started. There's still some empty standing room off to the right of the area.
Oh, thanks for turning the lights on. Now you can see what the guest spacing is like in the Plaza Garden Viewing area. This area is just for guests that attended Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party and the "Plaza Garden Viewing" version. Guests who attended the "Tomorrowland Terrace Viewing" version — are watching the fireworks from their chairs over at the desert party's balcony.
Oooooo... purple and orange!
You can easily see the projections on the castle from here and the music is piped in with speakers that are all over the place.
I don't remember there being so many spot light beams — oh well, they're pretty, as long as there's smoke to catch the light — and there's plenty of smoke.
These are the mid-height fireworks.
Here's some of the taller fireworks.
May the wind not be blowing in your direction on the night you attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.
The "perimeter" fireworks (from say, more than 10 years ago) used to be a little more spread out around the castle. Now though... that pink firework on the left hand side of this photo is about as wide as they get.
Dark and spooky! The fireworks view from the "Plaza Garden Viewing” version of Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party.
There's a couple of high fireworks!
I guess the tree on the right might be a little obstructive — but I don't know — I think it looks cool with lights and lasers coming out of it.
Here's a "grand finale" photo of the fireworks from the "Plaza Garden Viewing” version of Disney's Not-So-Spooky Spectacular Dessert Party.
It does appear that (some guests) stayed seated for the fireworks show — which there is room to do in the reserved "Plaza Garden Viewing" area. You can't do that in the "general guest" areas — just look at that sea of people just past the low iron gates of the protected area.