For $79 per person (on top of theme park admission), the World of Color Dessert Party provides a reserved seat in a premium viewing area for the nightly show at Disney California Adventure, along with a dessert plate and drinks, served before the performance.
Now, let's put this out there right away — if your first reaction is "79 bucks — that's a lot of money," you're not the target market for this experience. Just forget about it and get your Fastpass for the show the old fashioned way. Disney created these dessert parties for families who plan their vacations by reading Robb Report, not by counting how many Disney gift cards they can buy at a discount from Target.
But if the price isn't an automatic deal killer — if you're just curious whether you're getting enough value in return, let's talk about that.
To me, the biggest value in the experience is that chair — a comfy director's-style chair placed with a clean view of the show. If you've ever stood through the wait for and the performance of World of Color, you'll appreciate the value of having a place to sit where you don't have to crane your neck or twist your body around the people in front of you to get a clear view.
And having a nice bite to eat brought to you while you wait elevates World of Color from an attraction to an indulgence. The dessert plate includes:
There's also a small basket with baguette slices and toasted asiago sticks for the table. My favorite bites were the brie and the shortbread. I like the macaron, too (the French one), though I wished it had been the "normal" size. Drinks are included, including up to two glasses of champagne or specialty cocktails for adults or a "Made with Magic" light-up souvenir cup for kids 12 and under.
Non-drinking adults are at the disadvantage here, missing out on the more expensive alcohol or the souvenir cup as they choose from the available soft drinks, coffee, tea, and cocoa. But when the show starts, everyone in the dessert party area gets to enjoy that great view.
Service is hit-and-miss. After we checked in and were escorted to our table, a server quickly brought us drinks... but never brought us our dessert plates. We had to track down another server and ask for our food. After the show, a manager appeared almost immediately to apologize for that delay and offer us another complete dessert plate in box to take home, along with our choice of extra drinks. Since we didn't want the alcohol, he hooked us up with one of those glowing souvenir cups instead. (Look for it in our next round of souvenir give-aways on the site.)
You can book the World of Color Dessert Party online or by calling +1-714-781-3463 up to 60 days before your visit. If you have allergies or any other special dietary requests, call instead of booking online to let Disney know. They'll gladly fix you a custom dessert plate that meets your needs. And be sure to arrive early to avoid the wait to check in... and to maximize your time enjoying your desserts and drinks before the show begins.
TweetFWIW, "Celebrate" is my least favorite version of World of Color. I liked the original best, followed by Winter Dreams, then this one, which I don't think uses the fountains or the water screens as effectively as the other versions. It's as if Disney created a celebrity-hosted documentary about the park and just projected it on the water screens. The other versions used the media more impressively.
With Fantasmic! out of commission for the year, I'd rate WOC-Celebrate your third option for night-time shows at the resort, following (1) Disneyland Forever and (2) Paint the Night. If Disney brings back the original WOC after the 60th celebration ends in September, then WOC jumps up to pass Paint the Night and maybe even Disneyland Forever the the number-one evening must-see.
The viewing area is in between the Blue Fastpass and Reserved Dining areas, about halfway up. I believe it was where the videography stand was set up for the WOC press event. It's the best view I've had for the show, minus the Let it Go fog blasts right in front of us.
I am surprised for this amount though that they are not willing to set up dessert buffets where you can graze as you choose. Not all of us care for cheese.
I will have to reconsider this and decide if the good view is worth the money.
As for "why not a buffet?" - my guess is it's because space is tight here and there's just not room for people to be queueing for buffet tables. Plus, buffets are typically wasteful (from the company's perspective) versus preparing plates for customers.
A. Charge more: Which is the Disney current philosophy. The California onsite hotels are now charging an average of $300 per night. A three day one park ticket is now $255 per adult. The problem is that the price increases have not fixed the problem. The solution is to charge more, but you eventually run the risk of alienating your fan base. While Disney fans are passionate and you may be able to bring them back with price discounts, new rides, specials, your run the risk of alienating them and more importantly alienating future generations.
If you charge a premium price to get in, you better provide a premium experience and right now Disney doesn’t do it.
B. Expansion: Disney owns the land in California to expand. If it builds a top of the line park it will reduce capacity at the other two parks and they could build two additional hotels. In Florida, Disney could also expand, but it could start by fixing it’s other three parks.
Plan B, comes with risk, it’s own set of problems (parking?) and it requires a significant cash outlay. But, it at least tells the fan base for the next 10+ years, that we are doing something to fix the problem. Not the current statement “your money is not enough or good enough for us”
I kinda expected this kind of review from Robert. Disney greatly overprices their dessert events regardless of the park. What surprised me was that Robert sort of gave it a minor thumbs up. The object in these desert games is to get your "money's worth". It seems like Robert did just that!
Also, Fastpasses to World of Color are not being sold on the Black Market either. If you put in a little effort, you will be rewarded. They are not that rare!
As a publicly traded company it is all about growth and profitability. But there is limit to how much you can get from the guest without affecting both attendance and spending. Eventually, you reach a tipping point. While having these up charge events can increase spending. It further risks alienating the average joe. Which is the largest driver of the Disney economy as a whole.
Without expansion of its parks and hotels, it has nowhere to grow except on the spending side. With it's competition upping their game and families not enjoying the Disney experience, Disney risks losing market share.
If you would like to read more about the Disney Financials or about it's concerns about future trends, cataclysmic events and so on, I suggest looking at the yearly November 10-K Securities and Exchange report.
When it comes to the up charge events- my point is they are expensive and the value may seem low to a lot with tighter budgets. These offerings are not designed for those travelers. Why is it necessary for everyone to flip out and cry fowl at Disney because not everything they offer is designed to be for them? Give me a break.
In this case, if you're not all that price sensitive, but let's say you have a bad back and prefer to sit instead of standing through show, hey, this is a win for you. If you are price sensitive, it's hard to justify paying $79 for what you get here.
What I hope to avoid in either case is getting people angry about this. Hey, if you don't think you'll like it, don't go. The fact that Disney invited a bunch of writers to this a month after its launch tells me that sales probably aren't going as strong as Disney wished. If people keep blowing this off, it'll go away. Disney eventually bends to the wishes of its customers.
That's why I loved the anonymous comment I praised earlier. Many Disney fans complain about stuff... then keep buying it. Disney doesn't care about comments but does care greatly about sales. Vote with your wallet if you want to influence Disney.
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Do you get more that one plate of desserts? or it one and done with the 2 drinks?