Suffice it to say I did a lot of research about pretty much anything and everything you could do ‘extra’ in Walt Disney World before my family’s trip in March 2014. We were even fortunate enough to try quite a few of them.

We enjoyed the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage, which departs from Disney’s Contemporary Resort, where we stayed for the first part of our trip.

Notice our hooks?

In all my mania planning I was able to get us the coveted 8 a.m. breakfast reservations at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Here we are waiting patiently for Cinderella to sign the kids’ autograph pillowcases.

Of all of our wonderful experiences, in my opinion the Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party (TTFDP) gave us the most bang for our proverbial buck. I would most definitely do this one again.

TTFDP is located in the Magic Kingdom (MK) at the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant. Seating begins an hour before the fireworks, Wishes. Once seated, you can enjoy a dessert buffet, and when it’s time for the show to begin you’ll have a perfect view. Tinkerbell begins her flight towards Cinderella’s Castle right above your head!

You are able to make reservations for this event 180 days in advance, and I suggest you do this to get the best table assignment. While we were in line waiting to be seated for TTFDP my dad pointed at some tables and mentioned how he’d like to sit in that section. I told him our seats were already reserved based on when I’d called. Low and behold, our group of nineteen was taken to those exact tables…my obsessive planning had paid off yet again! A bit of a warning, for the ‘extras’ you’ll need to pay when reservations are made, so have your credit card ready.

We made reservations for TTFDP on a day we’d been to Disney’s Animal Kingdom (AK). Because we’d purchased park hopper tickets this was an option we could take advantage of, as AK typically closes much earlier than the other parks.

My boys were hungry by the time we’d ‘hopped’ over to MK. You are allowed to bring food and drinks into TTFDP, and if Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant is open this is a convenient location to pick up a late dinner.

After dinner for the boys and lots of dessert, we had just enough time for a quick picture before the fireworks…

…see what a great view of the castle we had!

Honestly, for me the pre-show, Celebrate the Magic, was even better than the fireworks. Cinderella’s Castle is literally wrapped in animation and special effects. It was amazing, and I’d never seen anything like it.

My younger two kids are strange extremely sound sensitive.

Ear protection made for a much happier viewing experience for us all.

To sum up our TTFDP experience, here’s my list of the overall good and not-so-good:

Good:

•Great value, especially compared to other WDW ‘extras’.

•Yummy desserts and drinks.

•Wonderful view of the fireworks, without dealing with the crowds on Main Street.

Not-So-Good:

•Lines can be long for desserts.

•No assigned PhotoPass photographer.

Like I said, this is one ‘extra’ I’d be happy to do again during a future visit!