Have you ever wondered what it’s like to attend Epcot’s Frozen Ever After Dessert Party? The party offers guests Frozen-themed snacks, treats, and beverages — all while watching Epcot’s nighttime show (currently Epcot Forever) from a prime, reserved waterfront viewing area. And after all of that, guests get to take a ride on the popular Frozen Ever After attraction.
Well wonder no more! We’re heading “into the UNKNOWN” to see how this separately-ticketed celebration in Disney World has changed since our last visit! (And we’re gonna tell you if the $100 price tag is still worth it.) Join us for a full rundown of the night’s festivities!
Check-in for the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party starts at 6PM, so we trekked over to the World Showcase where the event is held!
At World Showcase Plaza (next to Disney Traders and adjacent to the Mexico Pavilion), you’ll be greeted by a Cast Member who will get you all checked in.
They’ll also give you a wristband, so when it’s time to part-tay (a.k.a. chow down on all-you-can-eat Frozen-inspired snacks and sips), you can get down to business that much faster!
Atmosphere
The Frozen Ever After Dessert Party seating started promptly at 7:45PM. Since all seats are assigned and everyone is guaranteed a seat, you don’t have to sweat it if you don’t show up right on time! But, if you’re like us, you may want to get there right when it starts so you can get your money’s worth on food and drink!
The seating is communal and pre-assigned, so if your traveling party is small, you might be seated with other groups. We saw at least 3-4 chairs at most of the tables.
Check out that gorgeous, unobstructed VIEW! Our table was right on the water of the World Showcase Lagoon! There was one row of tables behind ours that were distanced slightly further back, but since they were staggered, it looked like the guests sitting there also had a relatively unobstructed view.
Our table had a nice Frozen feel to it, with a color scheme of icy whites and steel blue hues!
We loved how our little candleholder even had a silhouette of Olaf on it! It made us want to build a snowman for sure!
There was plenty of room to move about between the tables and chairs at our dessert party. While seating arrangement may be subject to change for every Frozen Ever After Dessert Party, we found the event space to be very spacious and comfortable.
There are even highchairs available for kiddos in your party!
One hour before Epcot Forever begins, you’ll be able to help yourself to the all-you-care-to-enjoy drinks and eats — and there are A LOT of them!
The Cast Member who showed us to our table explained the various food stations to us and showed us where the nearest restrooms were located. In our experience, all the Cast Members we interacted with at the event were super helpful, friendly, and attentive!
Note that the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party is held in an uncovered, open-air setting. This means you’ll want to dress for the weather, so don’t forget those scarves and gloves if it’s chilly.
If the weather is unpleasant, the dessert party may be moved to an alternative, indoor location. If Epcot Forever is still showing during this backup scenario, be prepared for a standing-only experience.
If the weather is bad enough, Epcot Forever may be changed or canceled without prior notice, so definitely weigh your options if you’re headed to Disney World during one of the rainier months (which could really be any month in central Florida!).
Drinks
First, we hit up the drinks! You’ll find an extensive bar menu at the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party featuring everything from made-to-order cocktails, non-alcoholic specialty drinks, beer, wine, and other offerings.
Adult Drinks
Many of the mixed drinks had a summery feel to them! We ordered a Piña Colada which is made with Piña Colada mix and Malibu Pineapple Rum served on the rocks.
It was a good, classic Piña Colada with a pretty decent pour of rum! They were out of Boba Pearls, so we ended up with Crispy Pearls, like we’ve seen on some of the park’s baked treats, instead. (Weird, right? Why would they DO that?) They kinda looked like little capers just floating on top, so we’d just pass on those next time! We normally drink our Piña Coladas frozen, but this one still tasted yummy.
We also tried the Summertime Celebration Margarita with tequila, strawberry Monin, lemonade, and lime juice!
To us, it didn’t taste very different from a regular house margarita. The strawberry flavor didn’t really cut through all the flavorful citrus juices, but just added a hint of sweetness.
Beer selections included cans of Bud Light, Yuengling, Corona, Sierra Nevada, and Angry Orchard Hard Cider, and there were also both white and red varieties of wine by the glass to choose from.
Drinks for the Whole Family
At the self-serve beverage stations, we found even more delicious drinks to choose from! One thing’s for sure — you can certainly walk away from the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party well-hydrated if you play your cards right!
We found a big batch of Oaken’s Big Summer Blowout made from passion fruit, orange, and guava juices. Many of you longtime DFB readers will recognize this tropical blend by its other name — POG Juice!
There’s also plenty of Iced Water for you folks who prefer good-old-fashioned tap water over the fruity drinks!
And you’ll also discover the Frozen Heart — a non-alcoholic mixture of Lemonade, Sprite, and Cotton Candy Monin!
Olaf’s Hot Chocolate wasn’t available the night we attended, but we did find a variety of coffees to warm us up.
And if you’re more of a tea drinker, there’s an extensive set-up of Twinings of London Teas to choose from.
Cans of soda including Sprite, Diet Coke, and Coca-Cola are also available in abundance.
Eats
Enough about the drinks! It’s time to talk about all the foods you’ll find at this exclusive Frozen event! You can certainly come hungry to this dessert party, because there’s a lot to chow down on!
Small Bites Station
Let’s talk about the desserts — after all, this IS a dessert party! We thought the Anna’s Sunflower Birthday Cake Cupcakes were beautifully presented. Although the cake on top isn’t edible, we loved the decorative element it added to the party!
The cupcakes themselves tasted good, but they’re pretty simple. There were two different designs with the same chocolate flavor. One had slightly more frosting and sugar crystals, so if you’re into that, grab the one with the sunflowers on top!
We made our plate and then went back to the table to taste our next batch of goodies!
The Troll Rock Crispy Bon Bons were like mini macaroons full of shaved coconut.
If you’re not a fan of the texture of shaved coconut, these little treats will probably be a no-go for you. They had a little bit of chocolate on the bottom which really brought out their sweetness!
We also tasted the Honeymaren’s Carolines which are basically mini-eclairs.
We weren’t really loving the texture of these either — they were filled with some type of jelly that just didn’t do it for us. Kind of a let-down since they looked really yummy!
Next, we munched on some Kristoff’s Kransekake Almond Cookies. We liked these a lot! They were more like a biscuit, and not as sweet as a regular cookie.
The little pieces of almond added some nice texture, and we thought the chocolate was a great touch!
Sven’s Cheesecake Filled Cream Horns were one of the better items we had at the dessert party.
We thought they tasted like mini baby cream horns with the crispy exterior, sugar crystals, and creamy filling. We definitely went back to snag a few more of this light and delicious treat!
Then there was the Wandering Oaken’s No Sugar Added Lemon Curd with Blueberry, which was our favorite dessert of this round!
The level of lemon flavor was excellent, and made for a dessert we could easily have had seconds of!
We definitely found ourselves making a few more trips to the dessert table than we were expecting! If you’re with another person, it’s helpful to grab one of each item to share, and then you can go back up to nab more of the ones you enjoyed the most.
Hot and Cold Station
The big vat of Agnarr’s Warm Chocolate Cottage Pudding with Salted Caramel Glaze (basically a super-sweet bread pudding) was also a big hit with our crew…
…especially when you added in a side of the Vanilla Bean Ice Cream that was on offer.
When the warm, chocolate cottage pudding and salted caramel sauce began to mix with the cold, melty vanilla bean ice cream, it was a moment of pure Disney magic!
Not So Sweet Station
Although it’s called the Frozen Ever After DESSERT Party, there are also a few savory options you’ll discover at the Not So Sweet Station. We made sure to save plenty of room for Grand Pabbie’s Cheese Fondue!
This cheesy goodness was served with yummy Pretzel Bites for dunking!
There are also House Fried Chips you can slather the cheese sauce all over…
… and these Grilled Flatbread pieces are a great vehicle for getting that rich cheese sauce up to your mouth as well!
Now we’re talkin’! Check out this SPREAD! This by no means replaces a proper supper for us, but who can resist a plate of cheesy, salty carbs? We thought the Cheese Fondue was rich, but a little on the thick side, while the Grilled Flatbread tasted similar to naan. The Pretzel Bites were pretty basic (like the frozen kind you can get at the grocery store), and the House Fried Chips are the same ones Disney serves at its counter-service restaurants — so nothing special, but still very satisfying!
Of course, there’s lots of Fresh Fruit on hand if you’re looking for a palate cleanser or something less sugary than the pastries, but still sweet. Watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, grapes, and blueberries are beautifully presented.
Nitro Station
You didn’t think we were done with the eats yet, did you? We still gotta talk about the Nitro Station where you’ll find Bruni’s Nitro Fried S’more!
These are made-to-order treats using chocolate mousse, graham cracker crumbs, and freshly-toasted marshmallows!Â
If you’re wondering why it’s called a nitro station, it’s ’cause they use liquid nitrogen to quickly freeze the chocolate mousse! This way of preparation gives the dessert a super cold and unique texture.
(You can sometimes find a Nitro Station at some of Disney World’s other dessert parties, such as the Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party at Hollywood Studios! And the Nitro Truffle is a favorite at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival as well! It’s an easy crowd-pleaser.)
Here’s an action shot of our marshmallow being freshly toasted!
A lot of love and craftsmanship went into making the Bruni’s Nitro Fried S’more, but we thought it really paid off! It was one of our favorite treats of the evening!
Apparently it was a lot of other guests’ favorite dessert too, because the line stayed long at the Nitro Station for most of the night!
The food stations weren’t particularly crowded for the first 15 minutes or so after the party began at 7:45PM, but they stayed pretty busy for the rest of the night. That being said, the stations did stay very well stocked throughout that time.
Epcot Forever
About 5 minutes before Epcot Forever began, Cast Members handed out these Flurry Vision Glasses to the party guests!
They’re “signed” by Anna and Elsa on the back, and when you put them on they transform the show!
And just which magic power do these Flurry Vision Glasses hold? They make some of the fireworks and special lighting of the show look like snowflakes! We think kids will especially enjoy watching the fireworks with these “special effect” specs! (DFB TIP: They work on your Christmas lights at home, too, so take ’em back with you and surprise your family!)
Our view of Epcot Forever was really nice; however, since so much of the show happens high up in the sky, we thought you might not even need this “good view.” But, when Harmonious comes to Epcot this spring, this will be a great way not to miss a thing!
A couple of minutes after Epcot Forever ended, we were escorted to the Norway Pavilion. Cast Members select a “family of the day” who’ll get to carry a blue light stick for everyone to follow over to the Frozen Ever After ride. Spoiler Alert: We were amongst “The Chosen!”
The doors were shut at Frozen Ever After, but a Cast Member knocked and we were ushered in!
There was a family in line with us who needed to do a rider switch, which Cast Members were happy to accommodate. Boats were filled to capacity, and hopping right on with zero-wait is quite a treat for this popular attraction!
And after the ride, our Frozen Ever After evening was finished and guests were ushered out of a now-closing-down Epcot.
Overall
OK! Now that you’ve seen what the dessert party is like, it’s time to figure out if it’s WORTH the cash money you’re going to have to shell out to go.
The Frozen Ever After Dessert Party takes place on select evenings at Epcot and costs $99 per adult (ages 10 and up) and $59 per child (ages 3 to 9). That’s…a LOT. PLUS it’s a $20+ increase from when we reviewed this event in 2017…and it’s basically EXACTLY the same…down to the same food. So they haven’t made any improvements to the event that we can see to justify a price increase — the increase is based on demand alone.
Breaking it down, if you have a family of four — two adults and two kids — this is an outlay of well over $300, which could be used instead for another hotel night (or two!), at least three table-service meals, or even another day of park tickets for your group. So it’s a big decision to spend that money on what’s basically a 3-hour experience.
Let’s look at a few of the most important perceived benefits of this event:
- Dedicated, seated viewing for the Epcot fireworks. This is a big deal especially during very busy seasons in Disney World when it can be tough to find a good viewing spot for the show. But note that there are other good viewing locations around World Showcase, and unless you’re in the midst of an exceptionally busy park season, you should be able to find a good spot any night. That said, it sure is nice to have that seated viewing spot — that’s tough to come by in World Showcase without staking out your spot an hour before the show.
- All you care to eat desserts, including hot desserts and fondue. This is a nice, indulgent experience for sure. But the eats weren’t spectacular, and there are much better snacks to be had around World Showcase for much less cash outlay.
- Endless alcohol. Hey, this is a big deal to some folks, and certainly makes the price tag on this event a little more palatable. But remember that your kids aren’t drinking, so their ticket prices will need to be justified by…
- Riding Frozen Ever After with no wait. Yup — that’s the kicker. Frozen Ever After is still a Tier 1 FastPass in Epcot, which means that if you have the Dessert Party booked, you can use your Tier 1 for Test Track or Soarin’ instead on your Epcot park touring day. To us, this is the biggest benefit of this Dessert Party, and, currently, no other Disney World dessert parties offer this kind of benefit.
Also of note is the fact that the party itself felt really private, special, and cozy, and the Cast Members were well-trained and efficient at getting guests their food and drink quickly. We noticed that other guests were also really enjoying themselves, and seemed to get a lot out of the experience.
Now, personally — for our team of reviewers — this is a nice event, but it isn’t QUITE a slam dunk. Like we said, you can find a LOT of other, high-impact ways to spend such a significant amount of money in Disney World. And right now, the grocery-store quality of the food and beverages, the fact that Epcot Forever is an interim show that doesn’t have the WOW factor of IllumiNations did or (we’re guessing) Harmonious will, and the price-increase-based-on-demand-alone is making us sour a bit on this adventure.
That said, if you have a mega Frozen fan in your group and that no-wait ride on one of Epcot’s most popular attractions is attractive, a case could be made for the worth of this event! As with ALL high-price-tag extra events in Disney World, you need to crunch the numbers for YOUR family and decide if this experience will be magical enough for the cost. We hope we’ve given you some food for thought in that direction!
Check out our FULL review of the Fireworks Dessert Party in Magic Kingdom HERE!
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Have you ever attended the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party at Epcot? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!
Ken says
Thanks for the review.
We are considering this for our trip in June.
Jessica says
We have been to several dessert parties and attended this in January. It was very disappointing and we ended up requesting a refund. It was moved inside to a room with no windows, and we were sat at a large table with 3 other families. The food consisted of cold sandwiches, and about 7 types of cookies/cupcakes. No fondue, no pudding cake, no fruit tray. We talked with the concierge at our hotel and she said of all the dessert parties this was the most inconsistent and disappointing. Not trying to be a downer – we LOVE Disney and happily pay for dessert parties but part of the reason I picked this one was because of reviews I read online and I’m hoping I can help save someone else some money and disappointment!
Hannah says
We just did this party last Wednesday! It was a fun time but not quite worth the price. I would do it again for a special occasion like a kid’s birthday but definitely could’ve spent less money somewhere else and still had a good time. Super cute experience though!
Kelly says
Gotta say I disagree with this review. I’m not sure when the last time you went was, but in January that was not the menu. Fondue was swapped out with ham sandwiches, no warm chocolate caramel dessert, and different drink choices. Or evening was especially disappointing as it was sprinkling during set up time, which moved the event inside, despite the weather being fine during the event itself. The inside venue is comparable to a tacky 90s banquet hall, very crowded and difficult to get to the food/drinks. Better yet the Frozen ride was closed (we were evacuated off the ride just prior to the dessert party, so not a huge shock).
The menu change alone made it not worth it to us. The risk of the event being moved inside would also deter me from ever scheduling this in advance. Perhaps if we went and could schedule last minute knowing the weather plans I’d consider a redo. But likely never again
Mark says
I went there just over a week ago and had a great time. It is worth it if you drink alcohol since the cost of some of those drinks can be around $10 or so. You also get to go on the ride with no waiting as well. Time is money too and the time saved with this party makes it a better deal than most dessert parties I think.
Pam says
We had a “Standing-only experience” last November, and it was a fiasco! Never, ever will we do the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party! We would definitely do the dessert party at Magic Kingdom though.
Anne says
In addition to the high cost, & weather conditions not withstanding, do they have any snacks for people who are gluten-free and dairy free? We don’t want to spend $100 to have a few drinks and eat a bit of fruit!
DebC says
$99 can buy a very nice steak dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse. I can’t drink alcohol or caffeine. so that doesn’t leave me much for beverages. So water with some desserts for $99? No, thanks.
Madelyn Cox says
We were there in January, and as a previous comment stated, the fondue was changed to slices of sub type sandwiches, and the bread pudding was gone. It was nice since it was before the $20 price increase, but I was disappointed in the changes they had made since my last visit. Not sure I will do it for an additional $20…
Paul Alter says
Anne, when we went I don’t recall any gluten or dairy free items, per se. But, we had one kiddo who’s allergic to tree nuts, eggs, and peanuts. We called in advance and they had prepared a special box of treats for her that were outstanding! The rest of us were jealous of some of her options! Disney is awesome for those with dietary restrictions and food allergies. Either they have the food restriction/allergy menus, or for something like this, our experience is they’ll prepare something if you request in advance.
Susan says
I would probably do it if Anna and Elsa (and Olaf) were there. My daughter is the biggest Elsa fan (what girl isn’t right?) and she’s dying to meet her. It would probably be worth it if I didn’t have to wait in line for the ride and to meet them because that’s the one thing “we have to do!” while in Epcot. My hubby and daughter are huge sweets people but that fondue was calling my name!