Review: “Frozen� Premium Package and Dessert Party at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

[Disney4me]

We’ve got a holiday surprise for you today… . I’ll give you a hint — it involves Frozen, dessert, and more Christmas lights than you can possibly imagine!

Well, maybe it’s not really a surprise — after all, you already saw the title at the top — but still!

Osborne Family Lights

On a recent trip to Walt Disney World to check out some of the early holiday decorations and events, I bought a ticket for the Frozen Holiday Premium Package. This package includes reserved viewing in the Premiere Theater for the “For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration”, plus a unique Holiday Lithograph and Frozen Pin. There’s also a Frozen Dessert Party — which includes an all you care to enjoy spread of sweets and beverages. And the party was taking place right underneath the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights in a reserved area!!

Can I be honest? I really didn’t care about the Frozen stuff. I don’t have a “Frozen-aged” kid at the moment, and while I saw the movie, I didn’t need to see it a bajillion times. So the big reason why I booked this party — besides wanting to show YOU guys what it was all about, of course — was to get a VIP vantage point for the Osborne lights.

Seriously, most of the time when I go to the Lights, I’m shoulder to shoulder with everyone else there. It’s PACKED many nights, so I was thinking it might be worth the money for the dessert party if I’d be able to enjoy the lights without re-living my “on-the-subway-going-to-work-during-rush-hour-in-NYC” days.

Unfortunately, the evening that I attended the event, the weather was…well…crap. One of those Orlando days when it just pours…and pours…and pours…with no break at all.

Cupcakes AND Lights?!?

BUT — the show must go on. And so, with the dessert-eating portion of the event moved to a covered location (Studio Catering Co.), we still had the opportunity to view the Osborne Family Lights. But they were not “dancing” due to the weather and TORNADO WARNINGS (wha???!!!???!?!). And, did I mention it was pouring? So it wasn’t all that hard to find a spot to watch whatever WAS happening out there, since everyone else was smart enough to go back to their hotels during said tornado warnings.

Fortunately, our friend, Mealtrip, took some pics on his Frozen party night that show you what the event looks like when the weather behaves itself!

Let’s head back to the Streets of America for a close up of the festivities.

Atmosphere

If you’ve purchased tickets for the Frozen Holiday Premium Package, you’ll want to head to Guest Services first, where you’ll pick up your credential. Hold onto this. It gets you into the different experiences included in your package.

Frozen Dessert Party Credential

Consult the back of the badge for a map of the route you should take to get to the area where the party is set up.

Back of Credential with Map

In addition, you’ll find a rip-off coupon-type thing at the bottom of the credential; you’ll need this to pick up your Special Pin and Lithograph. I waited until the end to pick mine up so I wouldn’t risk setting it down someplace, but I’ll go ahead and show it to you now.

Pin and Lithograph

So, in order for this to make sense, I’m going to show you what the Frozen Dessert Party should look like — and then what it looked like for me.

Normal Frozen Dessert Party Setup

When it’s not raining, you can expect to attend the Frozen Dessert Party in a special reserved area on the Avenue of the Americas. For those who know DHS well, it’s called the “teardrop.”

Here’s a shot of the seating area at dusk before the lights came on. You can already see the crowds building in anticipation of the lights coming on.

Seating at Dusk Before the Lights Come On

And once they’re on — lookout! This area can become extremely crowded. And that can become the opposite of fun very quickly. But the seating area of the dessert party gives you a fair amount of elbow room to enjoy the display.

Seating with the Lights On

Another View of the Lights and Seating

Tables and Lights

Here’s a shot of a Beverage Table.

Beverage Table and Gorgeous Lights

Tables laden with sweets are positioned with plenty of room surrounding them so they’re easily accessible.

Part of the Set Up

Once the guests arrive, you can really get a feel for the less crowded vantage point. And, yes, I imagine that if this was what my experience was, it would have been worth the money JUST for the better Osborne access.

After the Guests Arrive

And with your credential, you can head and join the throngs for a bit to get the full effect, and then return to the comfort of your seating area. And hey, enjoy another Cake Pop while you’re at it.

Guests Enjoying the Seating Area

So…not bad, right? Well let’s see what happens when it rains.

Alternate Frozen Dessert Party Set Up for a Rainy Evening

I said it was raining, right? Yes. Like, think monsoon. There was no way that delicate pastries were standing up to the elements. And so, the party was moved to a sheltered location — in this case, Studio Catering Company.

I’m not going to lie to you. This was a MAJOR bummer. First of all, Studio Catering Company doesn’t really give off a festive vibe. In fact, it’s kind of…well…ugly.

Although the red and yellow color scheme clashed majorly with the decorations, I tried to focus on the festive touches.

Okay. There were no festive touches.

Seating

The Beverage Set Up was far less captivating without that big, golden, twinkly tree.

Beverage Set Up at Studio Catering Company

But the lights were still there, thankfully. Even though many of them were turned off, and none of them — as I said — were dancing due to those tornado warnings and rain.

Osborne Lights

And the wet pavement added a little extra sparkle! See? I can look on the bright side. ;-D

Osborne Lights — Extra Shiny in the Rain!

And rain or shine, we can all achieve a little perspective on things we should be hoping and wishing for, yes?

Peace On Earth

Be sure when you take your next trip through the Lights to keep an eye out for Hidden Mickeys!

Bicycles — and a Little Something Extra

But since we were getting a little damp out there, it was time to head back to the eats.

Eats

The catering team did manage to make the best of the table decor, so you definitely get the Winter theme where the food is concerned.

Dessert Display

There were a lot of different drink options, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I also appreciated that the specially-themed drinks came in both hot and cold varieties.

Let’s check out the non-alcoholic specialty drinks first. The Coronation Cider was Apple Cider mixed with a bit of Caramel Syrup. Think LeFou’s Brew, but not slushy in consistency.

Coronation Cider

Olaf’s Winter Sunset, a mixture of Passionfruit, Orange, and Guava Juices, is pretty much Lilikoi Juice, Jungle Juice, POG juice, what have you.

Olaf’s Winter Sunset

If you prefer something warm, you can try Wandering Oaken’s Peppermint Hot Chocolate. It’s basically Hot Chocolate with White Chocolate Syrup, with the Peppermint Flavor coming courtesy of little Candy Canes that you can add to your cup.

Wandering Oaken’s Peppermint Hot Chocolate

And now for the Grown Up Drinks.

Kristoff’s Icy Summer features Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice, and Toasted Marshmallow Syrup. Please don’t get this if you go to the party. It was truly vile.

Kristoff’s Icy Summer

There’s an adult Cider option as well — Southern Isles Cider features Bourbon, Apple Cider, and Caramel Syrup. Much better.

Southern Isles Cider

Peppermint Sauna Hot Chocolate adds a little Bailey’s Irish Cream to the mix.

Peppermint Sauna Hot Chocolate

In addition to the themed drinks, there were a few more traditional beverages as well — Coffee, Hot Tea, and cans of Soft Drinks. There was also plenty of water.

Coffee and Tea

Canned Soda Available

Now that we’ve taken a look at drinks, let’s check out dessert. Most of the spread consists of mini pastries, but there’s at least one larger scale option thrown in.

There are Anna and Elsa Cupcakes, in Vanilla and Chocolate, respectively.

Anna Chocolate Cupcakes

Elsa Vanilla Cupcakes

And Olaf has his own dessert too — Cake Pops! Featuring both Chocolate and Carrot Cake.

Olaf Carrot and Chocolate Cake Pop

I’ve gotta admit…the Little Guy was pretty delicious.

Olaf Cake Pop — Inside

You’ll also find another nod to Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post with a Double Chocolate S’mores Tart.

Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna Double Chocolate S’mores Tart

Sven apparently enjoys Key Lime Tarts? Well. Okay.

Sven Key Lime Tarts with Red and Green Glitter

Cream Puffs get a glittery topping.

Snow Queen Blue Glitter Cream Puff

A Fondue-Infused Brownie seemed like a cross between Warm Pudding and Cake. And I do apologize for the picture, but there was never, ever a moment that this didn’t look disgusting during the party, so I did the best I could. ;-D

Chocolate Fondue Infused Brownie

Toppings for the Brownie included Whipped Cream and Berries.

Whipped Cream for Brownie

Berries for Fondue Brownie

There were also Gummy Worms. Because…I don’t even know because. I think worms and dirt?

Gummy Worms for Fondue Brownie

Living Rock Bon Bons were cute little Krispie Treats with colorful Chocolate Topping.

Living Rock Bon Bons

And guests watching carb or sugar intake could enjoy the Kristoff No Sugar Added Lemon Curd. These were my favorite, because lemon curd.

Kristoff No Sugar Added Lemon Curd

And that was a wrap! Desserts consumed, I decided to take advantage of the smaller-than-normal crowds and check out the lights up close once more.

Overall

So, I was pretty disappointed when the party was moved under shelter.

Don’t get me wrong; Disney did the right thing. But I would really have appreciated a little more effort on their part to make the experience at Studio Catering Company a little more…magical. Throw some covers over all of that yellow and red. Jazz up the space a little more. You’re Disney! I know what you’re capable of. And we pretty much knew for days on end that it was going to rain, rain, rain that night.

I have to say that for me, this package really didn’t live up to the cost of the ticket. I may have felt differently had the weather been better, or had I had a kiddo who LURVED Frozen. But since inclement weather is always a strong possibility, I’d like to see the events team come up with a much more robust Plan B.

Now, if you DO have a Frozen-loving kiddo (or if you can’t get enough Frozen goodness in your life yourself), or if you’re willing to gamble on the weather and grab a ticket to get a great VIP view of the Osborne lights — especially during the super busy holiday weeks — you can pick up tickets for the package here. Pricing runs $89 for adults; $59 for kids, and dates are pretty much through January 4th (minus December 10th). See more details here.

Now I’d like to hear from you! What do you think of the Frozen Dessert Party spread? Comment below with your thoughts!

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1. New Frozen Holiday Premium Package at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
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3. News! Frozen Summer Fun Extended at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! New Premium Package Dates Available.

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