Thrifty Thursday: Wishes Fireworks & Dessert

Everyone wants tickets to the Wishes Dessert Party at Tomorrowland Terrace. What could be better? Awesome desserts, a great view and Tinkerbell flies right over your seat.

It’s kind of magical. But, at $20-30 for an adult ticket, it’s also kind of expensive. 

Enter one very magical solution: The Polynesian Beach!

About an hour before Wishes is slated to begin, exit the Magic Kingdom and take a boat ride across the Seven Seas Lagoon. It’s free, and it’s amazing. Who doesn’t love a boat ride? It’s almost as cool as the monorail in terms of transportation as attraction. 

When you exit the boat at the Polynesian, walk up the dock into the Great Ceremonial House. Just follow the signs to Capt. Cook’s, the deluxe resort’s quick service spot. This will be our first stop … for the dessert portion of our evening. 

Capt. Cook’s is well known for one thing: soft serve dole whips. For $3.75, you can fill a cup or cone up as high as you dare with the tart, delicious cold stuff. But if you’d prefer something a little sweeter, Cook’s also has a great selection of rotating cupcake flavors that will delight and surprise you.

Load up on all of the sweet treats you think you’ll want: even if you get a cupcake and a Dole Whip each, it’ll still be cheaper than paying for the Dessert Party! Just make sure you don’t get more than you can carry because you’re headed back out to the beach.

That’s right: once you’ve bought your dessert, walk back out toward the boat dock and make a right at the bar instead of continuing to the dock. From there, you should be able to easily find the beach and its rows and rows of lawn chairs. Snag a couple and spread out your feast … 

And wait for the show to begin! 

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Melissa Sue works in higher education communications in upstate New York, where she lives with her husband Robert, a secondary school teacher, and her cavapoo George (as in King George). Melissa began visiting Disney World when she was six and today owns a piece of the magic at Bay Lake Tower. She blogs at Mouse on the Mind and tweets @msorrellsgalley. She’ll be contributing money-saving tips to The Affordable Mouse.