I’m normally so cheap but this forum has sold me on the garden party! I HATE crowds, I feel our TP is pretty solid, and we plan on trying for extra FP’s this trip. I’m looking forward to relaxing in the back with a little elbow room. Our last two family trips we have (horror of horrors) left before fireworks! This time it is just me and DD. The last time it was just us we watched Wishes by Casey’s…she was so little! This will be our last WDW trip for a while so i’m feeling a little looser with the purse strings! Thanks for all the discussions it has really helped me plan!
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Sorry forgot to clarify that I was torn between EMM and the dessert party. Which if you knew me you would laugh because both are crazy expensive!!!
Good call! But before or after?
Before…thoughts? My thought was riding space mountain after😀 something we also have not done!
My own preference is the after party because you don’t feel rushed to get to the viewing area. Historically it has also been a lot quieter. But I’ve also successfully done your exact plan.
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Why does it feel rushed? I was thinking there would be fewer people in the park after…I had actually forgotten there was an “after” option!
It’s very busy and the clock is ticking for the fireworks. You see people leaving to get the best spots in the garden and start to panic.
Maybe that’s just me. I preferred getting a good spot with no rush or panic and then calmly gorging myself on ooey gooey cake for hours afterwards in relative tranquility.
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Ah! Thanks! I really appreciate the advice!!! That would work for us! With either one can you bring dessert to the garden area with you?
I’ve never seen anyone do that. I don’t know if there’s a rule against it.
(You wouldn’t be able to with the after party as you don’t get access to the good stuff till after the fireworks.)
I agree with @profmatt. The after party is much more relaxed. The before party was crazy crowded with long lines for the food.
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There was no after party when we went (in May)so we go our desserts before. We got there early, about 7:15/7:30, had no lines for food, and we had plenty of time to eat. Some odd CM was going around implying people should hurry due to Tinkerbell’s new costume, but we took our time and didn’t rush. We went down to the viewing area, picked our spot and relaxed. We watched the hub become packed and were so glad we were not in that mess with our 3 kids. I don’t typically do these extra events, but it was worth it to see HEA for the first time. We were able to get on BTMRR several times before closing, which we wouldn’t have been able to do with the after party. That was probably one of our favorite nights in Disney that trip.
Thank you so much! We usually leave MK for 5-6 hours starting around 11 because I don’t like crowds so we are hoping to get rides in after the party.
I think you made a really good choice. We haven’t been to WDW in a while, either, and aren’t staying as long as I’d like on this trip, so we got the HEA party, too. Our daily schedule is also like yours and we’ll miss the parade so that made it more valuable to us as well. Once you see the crowds, you’ll know for sure you did the right thing!
Thanks for the vote of confidence! I hope you have a great trip also!!
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