Epcot Illuminations

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Frozen Ever After Dessert Party at Epcot®

A new premium event that will melt the heart of any Frozen fan is coming to Epcot®!

The Frozen Ever After Dessert Party is a sweet finale to your day at Epcot®. The party provides the following VIP experiences:

  • Delectable Frozen-themed Dessert Party and Reserved Seating for IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth in World Showcase Plaza East.  Dessert Party buffet offerings may include:
    • Olaf’s warm double-chocolate s’mores pudding cake
    • Elsa’s warm cottage pudding with salted caramel glaze
    • Hand-dipped vanilla bean ice cream
    • Wandering Oaken’s éclairons
    • Hans’ key lime tarts with red glitter glaze
    • Living Rock crispy bonbons
    • Anna’s blue velvet cupcakes
    • Kristoff’s no-sugar-added lemon curd with blueberry
    • Sven’s fresh fruits and berries
    • Grand Pabbie’s winter-spiced snack mix
    • Duke of Weselton’s cheese fondue served with country bread cubes, broccoli and grilled flatbread
    • “Melted snow” and other non-alcoholic beverages
    • Summertime cocktails, like margaritas and piña coladas
    • Beer and wine
  • Access to the popular Frozen Ever After attraction after IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

The Frozen Ever After Dessert Party will be held select evenings beginning July 17, 2017. Pricing is $79 per adult and $47 per child (ages 3 to 9), including tax and gratuity. Separate Epcot® admission is also required and not included.

Contact your Magic Maker® today for more information or to book this experience.

This is not a Character meet-and-greet experience. Characters of the movie Frozen will not appear. This celebration will be offered on a variety of days depending on the time of year, beginning one hour prior to the start of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Epcot® park admission is also required and is not included in the price of the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party. An event reservation is required when participating in the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party. Guests must be 21 years of age or older to consume alcoholic beverages. A valid form of government identification will be required to verify your age. To check in for this event, please meet the greeting Cast Member at World Showcase Plaza, located next to Port of Entry and adjacent to the Mexico Pavilion. The Frozen Ever After Dessert Party venue is held in an uncovered, open-air setting. In the event of inclement weather, the dessert portion will take place at an alternate indoor location. A Cast Member will direct you to the alternate location at the time of check-in. IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth may be changed or canceled without prior notice due to inclement weather.

Walt Disney World® Resort Lights Up the Sky

Let us be the first to tell you Happy Independence Day, one day early! We say thank you to those of you reading this that have served, or are presently serving our nation. Beyond celebrating our freedom as Americans, one of my favorite things about the 4th of July is the fireworks; big, loud, colorful, booming fireworks. I always feel like a kid again when ‘oohing and ahhing’ the beautiful bursts of color in the sky.

If you are a firework lover as me, then Walt Disney World® Resort doesn’t disappoint. In fact, regularly the sky above Walt Disney World® Resort comes alive with nightly displays from Magic Kingdom® Park and Epcot®.

Epcot® is home to IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth whose stage is the World Showcase Lagoon, a man-made lake in the middle of World Showcase. The current IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth is a 14 minute show whose current format was introduced in 2000. Then titled as IlllumiNations 2000: Reflections of Earth, the ‘2000’ was dropped from the name and the show continues today as it did in 2000 due to its popularity

As with any Walt Disney World® Resort attraction IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth builds up to the main event with a pre-show. About 30 minutes prior to IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, a music loop begins in World Showcase consisting of 9 tracks. Each country plays the same base tracks, with musical accents from each particular nation in World Showcase. If you aren’t already waiting at this point, this is your queue to find the perfect viewing spot!

We don’t want to give too much of the show away; but we will tell you that Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is divided into three different acts, telling the story of our planet. The three acts are chaos, order and meaning. The story unfolds through a remarkable journey of fireworks, laser lights, pyro techniques, and fountains. IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth can be viewed anywhere around World Showcase that you have a view of the World Showcase Lagoon!

Wishes FireworksWishes fireworks show finds its home in Magic Kingdom® Park. Wishes fireworks show replaced Fantasy in the Sky in 2003. Fantasy in the Sky was the opening day show at Magic Kingdom® Park in 1971, and ran consistently through 2003 prior to its replacement.

Wishes fireworks show, which is hosted by Jiminy Cricket together with Blue Fairy, is so much more than a fireworks show. As brilliant colors wash over Cinderella Castle in the foreground, the sky comes alive behind it in the telling of a breathtaking story set to an unforgettable musical score. As Walt Disney World® Resort puts it, ‘it is a spectacular story, so big only the sky can hold it!’

While there are several places to view Wishes fireworks show from, there are few viewing locations that can compare to watching from Main Street, U.S.A.® Area. Sure, it can be crowded and you have to set up ‘early’ to stake your ground, but there is nothing like watching Wishes fireworks show where it was designed to be watch. It is breathtaking.

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth can be viewed at 9:00pm nightly in Epcot® unless otherwise noted. The time for Wishes fireworks show can vary based upon park hours and is not displayed every night, so be sure to check your times guide or ask your Magic Maker® prior to traveling!

As always, we are eager to help you create a magical, memorable vacation. Contact us today about some of the incredible packages and savings available for your next trip to Walt Disney World® Resort!

Walt Disney World Resort Nighttime Shows

From Magic Maker® Dawn CrowderWishes Fireworks Show

Although I love pretty much every aspect of a Walt Disney World® vacation, I have to say that my favorite part are the NIGHTTIME SHOWS! They are breathtakingly beautiful, full of great music and there’s always a good lesson behind the storyline. And who doesn’t enjoy a great fireworks show? It’s the perfect end to any day at the Walt Disney World® Resort!

I will start with my favorite regularly-scheduled nighttime show at the Walt Disney World® Resort, Wishes fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom® Park! This fireworks spectacular is shown nightly at the Magic Kingdom® Park unless there is inclement weather or another scheduled event (i.e., Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party). My favorite spot to watch the Wishes fireworks show is on the Main Street U.S.A. side of the “Hub” (the area around the Walt Disney & Mickey “Partners” statue) and near a trash can. but really anywhere near the “Hub” area and into the Main Street U.S.A. area is fine. Try not to get too close to the castle as you won’t be able to see all of the fireworks. I absolutely love taking as many pictures as I can of the fireworks shows to see how they turn out. When shooting fireworks, you have to be sure that your camera is held perfectly still. That’s where the trash can comes in. I have a twelve-inch tripod that I sit on top of the trash can. I also put my camera on the setting that will allow my shutter speed to slow down. This will allow the picture to display trails of light as the fireworks light up the sky! Watch for Tinker Bell to fly from Cinderella Castle to the Tomorrowland® area just after Jiminy Cricket says, “And it all starts with a wish!” (Although on windy or rainy nights she may not fly – Tinker Bell is not a fan of storms!) I always try to get a spot about 45 minutes before the show starts, then send my husband to get some yummy popcorn while we wait!

Next we have Illuminations: Reflections of Earth at Epcot®. This is shown every night at park closing from the middle of World Showcase Lagoon. It’s a beautiful show, bringing about a message of world peace and unity. The music is moving and inspirational. My favorite place to watch Illuminations is either from the France pavilion while sitting at the little tables near the water or in the area between the Germany and Italy pavilions. Just make sure you can see the center of World Showcase Lagoon and that the wind is not blowing in your face; otherwise, you will be fighting smoke the entire show! To get good fireworks pictures just be sure to utilized the tips given above for Wishes. I would recommend getting your spot for the show at least 30 minutes before it starts.

Fantasmic!Lastly, there is the Fantasmic! show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™. This is another favorite of mine. This is shown on select nights (usually about 3-4 times a week) near closing time at the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater. Because it is not shown every night, I recommend participating in the Fantasmic! Dining Package so you will be guaranteed a seat. Basically, you enjoy a delicious dinner at either Hollywood & Vine, Mama Melrose Restaurante Italiano, or The Hollywood Brown Derby and pay a set price for dinner.  You are then are given a pass for the reserved seating area. Reservations for this MUST be made in advance. If you are on the Disney Dining Plan, you can use 1 table service credit for the first two restaurants listed and 2 table service credits for The Hollywood Brown Derby. If you don’t want to do the Fantasmic! Dining Package, I would get to the amphitheater about an hour before show time, earlier if you are there during busier times. Any seat is good in this amphitheater. If you sit near the front you might get slightly wet. The theme of the show is about the power of your imagination. Mickey Mouse is the hero and the finale includes Sorcerer Mickey conquering the villains and creating a beautiful fireworks display from on top of the mountain! The villains are featured quite a bit in this show, including Jafar from Disney’s Aladdin turns into a giant snake and Maleficent from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty becomes a huge dragon. All of this takes place a good distance away from the crowd, across the water on the stage, but it’s good to be aware of these features in case you have a child who you think may not enjoy the show. Have your camera ready when you see a big white boat heading your way from the right!

A couple of other tips I would like to share for all the nighttime shows is to bring ear plugs for the little ones who may not like the loud noises of the fireworks. Also, buying a few tubes of glow jewelry before you arrive is a good idea. It will entertain the kids (and the adults!) and may save you some money as they sell various glow toys and jewelry at the shows. As I said before, these shows are my favorite part of our Walt Disney World® vacations. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

What tips do you have about seeing the nighttime shows at the Walt Disney World® Resort?
Share with them with us below in the comments.