Fantasmic Dessert Buffet

Intro

The Fantasmic Dessert Buffet (also called simply "Balcony" or "Gallery" by those who work it) is a paid viewing and dessert dining area for Fantasmic. The cakes and pies are delicious, the service is first-rate, and the view is unbeatable. An absolute must for any visit to the Park.

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Current menu at the Dessert Buffet:

Main Course

Nothing here: it's just desserts and drinks

Sides/Appetizers/Desserts

The desserts and drinks come with the price of admission to the Balcony ($35), so it's technically "all you can eat."

The menu is constantly rotating. Rather than try to keep up with the menu - which I could hardly do now that I'm out of the loop - I thought I'd just provide the full menu for one week in December 1997 as a representative sample:

Rasberry Tarts
Mandarin Tarts
Mocha Tarts
Whipped Cream Tarts
Apricot Tarts
Chocolate-Chocolate Mousse
Puff with white chocolate, stuffed with custard
Pumpkin Cheese Cake
Various Fruits (raspberries, strawberries, melons, etc)

Beverages

Mint Julep, Lemonade, Iced Tea, Water
Coffee, Hot Tea

WARNING!

The Dessert Buffet is not free! It now costs $35 (up from $30) per person, but it is well worth it. It offers easily the best view of the show possible, plus the food and service simply cannot be beat.

Food items that are gone

The balcony hasn't been around long enough to have a menu change! Seriously, though, some dessert items are rotated in or out of the menu just to keep things fresh. Naturally, the fruit which is served depends on the season.

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Best times to visit the Buffet

The Dessert Buffet operates on reservations. You will have no luck heading up to the Disney Gallery a few minutes, or even hours, before showtime.

The reservations cannot be made months or even days in advance; they can only be made on the morning of the day in question. And they can only be made in person. The reservations used to be handled by the Blue Bayou reservation counter, but THIS IS NO LONGER TRUE! Now, you must sign up at Guest Relations - the window outside of the Main Gate (far east side). Do this first thing, it sells out very very quickly. Remember: the Guest Relations window is open extremely early, and people who get early admission to the Park (like Disneyland Hotel guests) usually soak up all the Balcony seats. There have been reports of Balcony seats being sold out even two hours before official Park opening.

The Balcony holds 18 people per showing, and there are usually two showings (depending on how busy Disneyland is). You can buy up to four tickets per person at the Guest Relations Window, so it's not surprising that it sells out so darn quick. Don't be late!

Summer and Holiday Seasons

There are Buffets scheduled for every performance of Fantasmic, which is usually at 9:00 and 10:30. The Buffet begins 30 minutes before the first show, but ends promptly with the end of the show (they have to clean up and set up for the next show).

HUGE HINT: on very busy days, they often add an unscheduled Fantasmic. On such days, the Balcony naturally has no seats already reserved for that show, so they scramble to get people to sign up. If it's real crowded during the day or evening, stop by the Bayou reservations counter and inquire.

ANOTHER HUGE HINT: They let the first group - those who watched the 9:00 Fantasmic - stay on the Balcony during the fireworks, which follow immediately after. Good seats for the fireworks, plus you can eat and drink some more!

On Weekdays there are no Fantasmics, hence no Dessert Buffet.

Similar to Summer/Holiday. On weekends during the school years, you'll seldom get three Fantasmics, so don't count on a sudden addition of a show. Make reservations early.

Fantasmic began in 1992 and opened to rave reviews from Cast Members and guests alike. The only real difficulty was guest control and viewing. In those days, the area around New Orleans was not terraced; it was more like a gentle slope with some fenced-off grassy areas (which were being trampled).

Early on, executives would use the Disney Gallery Balcony to view the show. This area was so very center stage, and offered such a wonderful unobstructed view of the show, that many suspected the show was DESIGNED to be viewed from there, with executives in mind.

After several months, everyone important must have seen the show, because they decided, without publicity, to let people on to the Balcony to view the thing. Very quickly, word spread and lines would form three hours before the first show. That line began in the small courtyard behind the then One-of-a-Kind shop. It was free to do this, so demand was real high. There were no desserts, no chairs, and no service, so people just jammed in there. It was such a thrill!

Roughly a year after that, a supervisor in New Orleans Restaurants began developing the concept of a paid dessert buffet for the Gallery. She enlisted Dallas, a Cafe lead and scheduler, to aid in the design of the location and selection of the menu. And so the location was born much the same as it is today.

In September 1997, management changes in the "department" (which is now just a collection of "business units") led to the Balcony being operated by the Blue Bayou rather than the Cafe. This makes sense also because the Bayou has coordinated reservations for some years now.

My first visit

I first saw the show from the Balcony when it was a free, wait-in-line venture. As a CM, I could sign in for free and thus had nothing to lose by waiting. What a magical experience it was to see the show from so high up. You could see EVERYTHING and it defies definition. You just have to do it. The one thing that bothered me was the projectors. At the Balcony, you are standing exactly where the center projector sends its light. Though diffused by the water screen, it interferes a bit with my enjoyment of the animation.

Working the Buffet

It was also great fun to work the Buffet. To be honest, it's such easy duty that we can afford to provide excellent guest service and be so attentive. It's not that CM's try to be mean elsewhere, but in other places so much is demanded of us that it can be difficult. Here, the only thing to do is help people. We're begging to be attentive! Only the changeover between shows is hectic; otherwise, the pace is slow and so reasonable that I love working this shift.

Imagineers!

A couple of imagineers came to see the show once and drew pictures of the workers there. Well, OK, of *one* of the workers there, our lovely Bridgett. It's taken me a long time to track them down, but here are those images:

A look at the Balcony from ground level. If you look closely enough you can spot Walt's (WD) and Roy's (RD) initials worked into the elaborate metalwork, facing the island.

Anissa sets up for the night's performance, a multi-hour (though fairly relaxed) process. This costume, incidentally, is the female tuxedo used for Enchanted Evenings.

That fabulous view! You can see why the Balcony is easily the best place to view Fantasmic: it's so center-stage! The wide-angle nature of this photo makes it seem far away but in reality, you can see every element of the show with perfect clarity. The lasers in particular look like they were made for viewing from the Gallery.

JUMPSTATION

Introduction to NOS Restaurants

Blue Bayou
Fantasmic Dessert Balcony

Cafe Orleans
Royal Street Veranda
La Petite Patisserie

French Market
Mint Julep Bar

Club 33

Backstage locations and offices
Meet the Cast!
Some NOS Restaurants Recipes

All about me!

Comments? Questions? Feedback? Please Let me know! (I love getting mail!)

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