Fireworks Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing?

[HoundDog83]

Hey Everyone! I was so impressed with the last batch of responses, I thought I would throw another one out there.

My family (Wife, 6 month old, 4 year old, and 7 year old) and I are visiting DW May 12th through the 18th. We are staying on property (Boulder Ridge Villas - Wilderness Lodge) and have tickets to the parks for 6 days (we did NOT buy the Hopper tickets).
We had planned to be at MK Sunday and again on Thursday, with Wednesday as an open day for whatever Park we wanted. On Sunday we have Dinner reservations at CRT (I have learned some of the acronyms). Because of the late reservations I'm sure we will miss the Happily Ever After show.
Thursday is my 7 year old son's birthday but we hadn't planned on staying out too late because I'm sure we will all be tired form the week and have an early flight out in the morning. However it is his birthday, so I was considering the Fireworks Dessert Party with Plaza Garden Viewing to help celebrate. I've heard its easier to get out of the park that way, and my wife is claustrophobic - so the HUGE crowds worried me especially with the stroller and kids.

Any advice at all? I'm not sure what options I have really. Sunday wont work without rescheduling CRT and the only other day we had planned to be at MK is the night before we leave.
Any glimmer of hope would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jaysmom4285]

We've done the Plaza view dessert party a few times to avoid crowds. We often go to WDW in early December and we don't buy MVMCP tickets, so there are only three nights a week when we and the rest of the non-MVMCP guests can see HEA. Needless to say, it makes for an very unpleasantly crowded, jam-packed beyond belief hub area those three nights, something we are not willing to endure. I don't honestly know how it would be in May, when HEA is running all nights of the week, but I think it always fairly crowded. The dessert party can be pricey for a family, but it does assure that you have an uncrowded viewing area with a perfect view of the fireworks and the castle projections, with minimum standing. If HEA is at 9, you can get into the dessert party between 7:30 and 7:45, or anytime after that. You can stay and enjoy the desserts as long as you want while comfortably seated at a table. We never see the point in going over to the viewing area early, since that just involves more standing, so we go over about 5-10 minutes before HEA . A CM will escort you, and another CM is monitoring the entrance to the fenced viewing area. There has always been plenty of room to move around and sit on the ground or stand where you want. Some will move to the front rail to watch, but it's still easy to see over them, since everything you're looking at is elevated. When HEA is over, most people will leave the park in a virtual tidal wave of humanity. We just hang out in the viewing area until most of the crowd has dispersed, and then we can leave at our leisure.

 

[jaygatsby]

If it's in your budget (for plaza garden its $60, less for younger kids), I would definitely do it. It reduces stress so much by not having to worry about finding a good spot, making sure everyone can see, and crowds. Ask on the CMs working the party for a to-go box. It's hard to eat as much as you want to while you're there, so it's nice to bring some of the desserts home!

We did it on NYE. It was great because we didn't have to worry about finding a spot. There's plenty of room for strollers. We and many others even brought blankets sit down on the grass to watch! Then after it was over we just stuck around in the garden for a little bit. By the time we left most of the crowds had dispersed and we had no trouble leaving!