NOTE: We were having some camera problems during our foray into MNSSHP, so, unfortunately, a lot of our pictures didn't come out very well. Sorry in advance for blurry pictures and occasional lack of photo reference!
It seems that Halloween creeps up earlier and earlier every year - and in some ways, I'm fine with that. It's almost autumn, though down here in Central Florida there certainly is not a chill in the air, but Disney manages to make it feel like we should be ready for ghosts and ghouls to be popping up everywhere with Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Tabby and I attended on the first day of the festivities, and while I shall be writing about the party at a later date, I do want to mention a special little event called the Villains' Sinister Soirée that we made a point to check out.
For those not in the know, the Villain's Sinister Soirée is essentially an upgrade for $99 per person, in addition to the hard ticket price for MNSSHP ($61-$77). For this fee you get priority seating for the Boo-to You-Parade and Happy HalloWishes!, as well as the titular event - the Soirée, a dessert party hosted by Lady Tremaine at Cinderella's Royal Table, where you get to rub elbows with characters such as the Lady herself, Cinderella's stepsisters, Dr. Facilier, the Wicked Queen, Maleficent, and Cruella de Ville. Is all of this worth the extra dough, or are you better off just sticking to your trick or treating? Let's break it down.
To start, the priority seating. I suppose "seating" is the wrong word, as it's a VIP area cordoned off near Cinderella Castle, in the center of the hub near the Partners statue. The spot is perfect for the Boo-to-You Parade, especially if you move over near the entrance to Liberty Square, as you get a head on view of the floats as they pass over the bridge onto Main Street. For the fireworks show, however, you may want to head a bit further up Main Street, because the viewing area is extremely close to the Castle, and a significant portion of the fireworks are obscured from view (though the finale was pretty impressive, giving the feeling that you were surrounded by fireworks, but I'd prefer being able to view the entire show).
Now, on to the Soirée. There are two seatings following the fireworks, and Tabby and I had tickets for the second seating. We lined up at Cinderella's Royal Table at the appointed time (11:30), and we waited. And waited. The show was running a tad bit late on getting started, it seemed. I have since read reviews that the first seating felt a bit rushed, though that hurry didn't seem to carry over to the beginning of the second. Then again, first night, ironing out bugs, these things are to be expected. We were then lead into the Castle foyer, where we were greeting by Anastasia and Drizella, Judge Frollo, the Queen of Hearts, and Captain Hook, all available to take pictures with before heading up to the dining room area.
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| It's not really accurate to call them "ugly" stepsisters... more "extremely obnoxious." |
Each table was set with a large Maleficent souvenir cup filled with candy in the center, as well as a sizable charcuterie platter with salami, a selection of cheeses, figs, bread, and fondue, and a glass filled with a specialty drink, with not one but two glow accessories (a Maleficent stir stick and a poison apple glow "cube"). The drink essentially tasted like soda water until stirred, when it magically transformed into a sour apple beverage, which I quite liked a lot - though one thing seemed to be missing: straws. Since you needed to stir the "potion" after every few sips, it was necessary to leave the stir stick in, which lead to a small dragon's head shaped indent on my forehead after a while. Is it my fault that I didn't ask for a straw? Yes, it absolutely is, but I would not have complained if they offered them.
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| Maleficent cup (sans candy), and the Potion to the left |
Then came the entertainment: Lady Tremaine and her personal pianist (a gentleman in Steampunk garb manning a keyboard) regaled us all with a tune before calling out the stepsisters, and her guests. The characters had turned their charm up to eleven, and it was extremely fun interacting with them. There was plenty of time for a bit of fun banter, as well as photos (even with our misbehaving camera), with attendants for each villain ready to take group shots for you. After a while, it was time for the desserts. As the servers brought out the treats, each villain took a turn on the main stage introducing their creations.
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| The full line-up |
The Wicked Queen's contribution was a white wine baked apple - though this one came with a surprise: a rhubarb filling, giving the appearance of a bleeding apple. The apple itself was cooked nicely, and the rhubarb filling was nice and tangy, but overall this dessert was a tad bit on the bland side.
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| Probably the spookiest of the desserts. |
Maleficent brought with her a pistachio mousse, topped with "dragon toasted" meringue on top of a bit of purple cake. The pistachio mousse itself was probably the best thing on the plate, but it was a bit offset by the lackluster cake - still quite good, though!
The chocolate tarot card presented by Dr. Facilier was another good item - a chocolate covered pecan praline Tarot card hiding some "friends" on the other side: a flourless chocolate cake with what tasted like a raspberry jelly (what exactly this was wasn't listed on the menu), with some bone shaped sprinkles tossed in. This was my second favorite item, though the raspberry was a bit overpowering (or perhaps I just got a really big spoonful of it, but still really good.)
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| The remains of some friends on the other side. |
Finally, Cruella's dessert was "101" layers of white and dark chocolate mousse, which was delicious, though nothing in particular to write about. If you like chocolate mousse, this is definitely a treat for you, and be sure to note the adorable little paw prints next to this dessert.
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| 101% Puppy Fur Free |
During the dessert portion of the meal, Lady Tremaine treated us to another couple of songs: "Sing Sweet Nightingale," sung by the Lady, Drizella, and Anastasia, to comedic results; and a fantastic rendition of Lorde's "Royals," which was hilariously appropriate for the story of Cinderella's step-family. After a little more mingling, including the Wicked Queen spooking me by sneaking up behind me and asking how my apple was, and if I was feeling a bit sleepy yet, Lady Tremaine closed the night out with one more song, accompanied by a bit of banter with Dr. Facilier, and then abruptly ordered everyone out of the castle, in a fashion true to character.
So, you ask, was it worth the $99? My immediate answer is no, even though I had a blast at the party, it's not worth that much - drop the price by about $20 and we're definitely talking business. If you're looking to do a lot of trick or treating and riding rides, it might cut that segment of your night a bit short (Tabby and I still managed to get a fair bit of each done, but we were not traveling with small children, as many people were.) Between the priority spot for the parade and fireworks (again, not worth it for the fireworks) and the extremely fun and unique character dining experience, I'd say it's easily worth $70 for villains fans just for the mingling aspect alone, but I do think Disney may need to tweak this one a tiny bit before it becomes a regular add on to MNSSHP.
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