We just got back from an awesome three-day Disneyland adventure. Most of it was great and some of it was amazing!! The one big disappointment we had, however, was “Dinner in the Stars” at the Tomorrowland Skyline Terrace. I read all the reviews I could find before I spent $89 x 2 for us to experience it, and I didn’t read anything glowing but there wasn’t anything bad either. We figured we would go for it because (a) it was our last night and we knew we’d be tired; having a place to sit sounded great… (b) as frequent visitors, we like to try different things and (c) watching fireworks from there seemed like a great option.
First, the pros to the experience: the view of the park was great; the service on the terrace was wonderful; the unlimited non-alcoholic beverages were a plus; there were a couple of cute things included – a choice of Darth Vadar cup (plastic) or Grogu sipper, and a “specialty drink” with a glow cube; and it was nice knowing we could come and go and our table would be saved.
Now my rather extensive list of let-downs.
First, it was terribly disorganized at the beginning. They had two places to check in and both were very difficult to find. We waited to check in, then we waited to order our choice of food at the window, then we waited to pick up our food at a different window. We were surrounded by others who didn’t know where to go or what to do either – we all had lanyards so we commiserated! Our check in time was 6:40 and it was about 7:10 before we sat down to eat.
Next, we had to carry our tray of food, “specialty drink” (a choice of a pineapple concoction or a lemon fizzy drink), and our choice of dessert from the Tomorrowland Terrace restaurant through the crowd and all the way to the ramp by Pizza Planet, then all the way up the ramp to our table on the second floor. It was bizarre - we felt like we were wandering around Tomorrowland with a plate of food. As I mentioned, once we actually got to the terrace there were many CM’s who were very nice and helpful, but getting to that point was a nightmare.
Next, the food was boring at best. There were only three choices - roasted chicken with rice, a pork cutlet sandwich, or a vegetarian pasta dish. There were two kids’ choices – chicken fingers or pasta. I had the roasted chicken and it was fine, but the rice was a little dry and nothing was remarkable. The whoopie pie for dessert was super cute but didn’t taste that good. The specialty drink was too sweet for my taste but it was colorful and I liked the glow cube. Drink choices on the terrace were fine - the usual soft drinks, plus water and coffee and hot chocolate.
Next, the chair was aluminum and not comfortable. Probably didn’t help that the back of my legs stuck to it every time I tried to stand up!
Next, the idea of coming and going was nice but it was actually not quick or easy to go up and down the ramp more than a couple of times. The closest bathroom was in Space Mountain, so that was a bit of a walk (remember we were on the second floor!). And we actually got a little bored after an hour and decided to go down to shop and wander around while we waited for the 9:30 fireworks. So in the end we were probably on the terrace for an hour total.
And last, it was not a good place to watch the fireworks. They did pipe the music in which was great, and we could see all the fireworks well. But we couldn’t see any of the projections or the special effects so the impact just wasn’t what it should have been.
Of course this whole review is for “Dinner in the Stars” and not the Halloween dinner which starts pretty soon. Maybe the food will be better for that, but I guarantee you will not get the full power of the fireworks show or even a comfortable chair. We would have been much better off to eat somewhere else and just get drinks and sit on the curb for an hour waiting for the fireworks on Main Street. We could have used the $ we saved to buy glow cubes and probably better souvenirs than the plastic cups we got.
I am a life-long Disney fan and have tried many of the tours, parties, and special events. Most have been great and some have even gone way beyond my expectations… this is the first one I honestly regretted purchasing. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it 