The IllumiNations Sparkling Dessert Party is held in the Odyssey. An hour before IllumiNations begins, one can check in at the outside podium. You will be given a fireworks sticker and allowed to enter in. When we walked in, there were three tables in the middle of the foyer. One had sparkling wines, while two others contained fruits and desserts. Against two walls were coffee, water, and lemonade. There was an open ice cream cart near the doors leading into the main room. Inside, the room was softly lit with candles on black covered tables and blue tinted lighting. There were two hot cooking stations that had the most delectable aromas wafting through the air. Since we were in the foyer, we explored the options available here.
Now first off, I expected to see not only unique desserts, I expected to see each country along the World Showcase represented here. I did not. Both tables were loaded with the same items. There were shortbread cookies from the United Kingdom, baklava from Morocco, tiramisu from Italy, and Chocolate Grand Mariner from France. There were fresh fruits such as strawberries, grapes and pineapple spears. And that's it. ?
Where were the other countries? After all, Epcot hosts two wonderful dining events each year: Food and Wine Festival and the Flower and Garden Festival. I know that they have tons of recipes at their fingertips that would make this experience a must do for every foodie.
The ice cream cart, which seemed to me like an afterthought, contained Mickey Mouse bars, Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwiches, and fruit bars.
Inside the main room where apparently where all the inspiration had been placed. The two hot stations were creating fresh hot doughnuts and churros. That's right. Fresh. Hot. Doughnuts. And. Churros. You can even order these a la mode. I preferred mine plain.
I experienced the doughnut along with all the other items, while Chuck did the churros and others. He ate his churro so fast that I was unable to get a proper picture. He claimed though that it was delicious. My doughnut was my favorite of all the desserts. I am a sucker for hot doughnuts as it is and this was without a doubt perfect. My sons though, were extremely dissatisfied with the selection. My youngest was hoping for more cookies and some brownies. My eldest stuck with the ice cream, though he did not really want it. He too wanted more cookies to try.
Now, once you are here, you can leave if you want and rejoin the group before Illuminations begins, or even come back for more desserts. Your fireworks sticker is all you need to join the group in the selected seating. We were unable to watch the IllumiNations display due to my youngest becoming ill and needing some medicine that was back in our room. For $49 per adult and $29 per child, this is not worth the money. I expected so much more from this. Until this party offers a more varied and unique display of desserts, I would stick with using this money towards purchasing the desserts you love and scouting out a spot on your own. You will most likely save money doing this.
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Thanks for the review, its another bad review im afraid of and we will not do this party with my family. I really hope disney listens and changes this up because they have another great idea its just the implementation is just not disney level. I think Amanda said it right when they should include all the countries from the showcase and it would be worth the value. Id rather drop the alcohol and get better desserts but they want to differentiate it from wishes.
I also thought it would be outside. It was nice to have a seat, yet I would have preferred looking out over the water. I'm hoping that it is just going through a trial and error stage and will be what we have come to expect from Epcot's reputation concerning food.
On another site, a fine blogger/journalist has noted Disney has "declined by degrees," offering subtly lesser experiences each year to its patrons. Because most patrons don't visit Disney frequently, most don't notice the chipped paint here, or the burned out light bulb there. And they certainly don't care that Disney hasn't refreshed its attraction line-up in many moons -- enough to justify the steady rise in admission prices each year. I consider Disney a premium product. And I feel cheated when Disney charges big prices and fails to deliver a quality experience.
Brian
And I think that ties back to exactly what Amanda and others have said -- there is such a great wealth of different foods available throughout Epcot, and so many nice places for a special fireworks viewing location, that this whole event sounds like just a hastily assembled, bilk the tourist event. Disney can do much better for that amount of money. Though, I will say, the freshly made doughnuts is pure genius :-)
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Then again, you (and I :)) probably have too high of expectations.
I will write a bigger article, but I think you would have enjoyed the EPCOT after dark. The problem is that you would have to ditch the kiddies!