By: Angie Baycura
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💖The 1st Jollywood Nights Party

Party Date: November 11th, 2023

To Note: I attended the VERY FIRST Jollywood Nights Party ever. Disney took quite a few steps and actions to remedy some of the issues, missteps and well, problems that arose from the first few parties. There was a TON of bad reviews & complaints. Sadly, my experience was less than stellar, and I left the party feeling a bit underwhelmed & not quite so jolly.

Before I get to my FULL review, let’s take a look at the Logistics and Cost.

Jollywood Nights was held on select nights November 11 to December 20, 2023.

This newly separately ticketed event was held from 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

You could enter the park at 7 pm.

Ticket prices ranged from $159 – $179 per person.

Party dates were:

  • November: 11,18, 20, 27, 29
  • December: 4, 6,16,18, 20

What’s INCLUDED with your Ticket:

  1. Cool “VIP” Jollywood Nights Lanyard
  2. Gorgeous Party Map
  3. Special Gift: Set of 2 Wooden Jollywood Nights Coasters.

Things I LOVED about this Party!

  1. Everyone was encouraged to dress up in their Glamourous, Vintage, and Festive BEST! 🌟
  2. The theming was Unique. I had HIGH expectations and hopes! Old Hollywood!!
  3. LOW wait times/walk-on rides!
  4. Characters’ cute attire
  5. Tip Top Club Band❤️

Things that were a MISS! First Party Problems AND Why Jollywood Nights needs a MAJOR Makeover!

  1. Ridiculously LONG Lines for Food and Drink…I feel most of this problem was due to first party issues. Lots of bloggers, influencers, etc. hoping to get pics of ALL the food & drinks.
  2. LONG Lines just to retrieve our Party Wristbands & Lanyards. Again, Disney corrected this and added more spots to pick up your wristband/map/lanyard.
  3. NO Special Parade.
  4. VERY FEW Characters or Meet & Greets. Lack of RARE characters. Long Lines. Again, Disney fixed this after the first few parties.
  5. Party Maps were difficult to read/view in the dark. Shiny gold icons and dark lighting doesn’t work well.
  6. Only a T-Shirt for exclusive merchandise. Meh?!
  7. Lack of overall organization. 4-hour party seemed too short for the price.
  8. Not enough extra or unique special experiences to justify this a “party.”
  9. NO free drinks or snacks.
  10. VERY adult oriented party but lackluster in execution. Not kid friendly.

REVIEWS on FOOD & DRINKS

Jazzy Holidays at the Hollywood Brown Derby- We didn’t get to experience this as the Disney app crashed, wait list was overbooked and thus, a total mess! The only thing special about it was the “overpriced party menu”. Don’t waste your precious party time. Disney fixed this: guests could walk up & get added to the list.

Shimmering Sips from the Tip Top Club- I wasn’t impressed at all by the vendor style bar set-up: table with huge mass quantity (pre-made) drink dispensers. This is not glamourous Disney. On top of that, this whole area was a bottleneck, cluster of people. Some listening to the tunes of the Tip Top Club Band or just waiting in a dreadfully long line for drinks.

The 5th Dimension Royale: Teremana Blanco Tequila, Cointreau Liqueur, desert pear, agave nectar, and lime juice topped with Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut and garnished with a dehydrated blood orange wheel Way too much going on here. Very Strong, tasted like lighter fluid. One of the worst drinks I’ve ever had (and I love tequila). ⭐

Twilight Daiquiri: Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, ube, lime juice, and a splash of shimmer Too sweet. Apparently, I don’t like Ube? ⭐⭐

Sparkling Pomegranate-Apple Cider: Pomegranate-green tea topped with sparkling apple cider and pomegranate seeds *NA ⭐⭐⭐ Nice and light, great non-alcoholic choice.

Sandy Claws Hot Cocoa: “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas”-inspired dark chocolate hot cocoa topped with cherry whipped cream (Non-alcoholic) ⭐⭐Cocoa was good (I love dark chocolate) but the cherry whipped cream was too much, too sweet and overpowering.

Naughty or Nice: Crown Royal Whisky and ginger mixed with orange, cranberry, and grapefruit juices topped with fresh cranberries ⭐⭐⭐I liked this drink. Isn’t the cranberry Mickey adorable? I’m not usually a whisky drinker but the combo of flavors here was sweet and tart. But if you don’t like ginger…stay away.

Mistletoe Martini: Tito’s Handmade Vodka and St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur mixed with cranberry juice and topped with fresh cranberries and mint leaves ⭐⭐Okay, it’s like a cosmo. Nothing to write home about. I also don’t really like “floral” profiles.

Christmas Tree Cookie Stack: Vanilla cookie stack filled with pistachio buttercream, cranberry, and raspberry jam topped with sprinkles and a yellow candy star. Good. Such a pretty treat! Cookies had lovely vanilla flavor and were soft & shortbread-like. Buttercream & Jam was very tasty. Just really messy to eat. ⭐⭐⭐

Poutine Tots: Potato barrels topped with gravy, brisket, mozzarella curds, and chives ⭐⭐⭐ It was good. Brisket could have been better quality, and the curds were a bit spongey. But still a yummy salty shareable snack.

Holiday Turkey Popover: Roasted turkey and creamy mashed potatoes topped with gravy, cranberry chutney, and chives in a house-made popover ⭐⭐ Again, just average. I probably wouldn’t get it again.

Christmas Gertie Cookie: Sugar cookie with mint icing (Also available with mint soft-serve) ⭐⭐Dry cookie. Light mint icing. Mint soft serve ice cream was sold out. But so insta-worthy and so cute!

Sugar Cookie Martini: Stoli Vanil Vodka, Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur, and DISARONNO Originale Liqueur mixed with milk and sugar in a sprinkle-rimmed glass with a sugar cookie garnish ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very Good! My favorite drink of the night. Everyone was getting this drink and taking pics of it. The sugar cookie was yummy, too. But the sugary, sprinkle mixture on the glass just dripped off and was so sticky!

Party Entertainment, Shows, Photo Spots

  1. What’s This Nightmare Before Christmas Sing Along (Hyperion Theater). I felt like this should’ve been at a Halloween Party NOT Jollywood Nights. Also, no Sandy Claws?! However, Oogie Boogie made an appearance. This show was okay for me but I’m not a big fan of Jack Skellington.⭐⭐⭐
  2. Disney Holidays in Hollywood (Theater of the Stars). Vintage Hollywood TV special vibes. This was GOOD! Kermit, Miss Piggy, Tiana, Mickey & Minnie Mouse, and Belle (in her red Christmas dress!). ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  3. Twilight Soiree at the Tip Top Club (BEST entertainment of the night!) The singer and band were fabulous. I wanted MORE of this throughout the park. However, there was hardly any room to actually enjoy this, let alone dance. It was sooo crowded! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  4. Photo Ops. Sadly, we didn’t get to experience any. But the 360-degree camera looked incredibly cool.
  5. Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM– Projection Show…some fireworks. Not unique. I planned to watch this before heading out of the park. But at around midnight it started POURING rain. Thank God I had my umbrella! Many guests were not so fortunate. With that, I called it a night.

Characters

  • Donald Duck OR Daisy Duck
  • Mickey Mouse OR Minnie Mouse
  • Goofy OR Pluto
  • Powerline Max
  • Phineas and Ferb
  • Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers
  • Edna Mode & Frozone

More RARE Characters were added to the Party: Geez, wouldn’t this have been nice for 1st party guests.

  • Mary Poppins & Penguin Waiter
  • Snow White & Dopey 
  • Jiminy Cricket
  • Pinocchio
  • Santa Stitch
  • Santa Duffy

Final Thoughts

My Jollywood Nights experience: ⭐⭐⭐ And that’s being generous.

Some of my complaints were due to 1st party issues. Granted, I still believe most of these issues should never have happened. Disney does parties and special events all the time. Why did this particular party fall short on DAY 1? I listed countless reasons why. All of which should be an embarrassment and eye-opener for Disney. If this was my party coordinator…they’d be fired. At the end of the night, all I could think was…what a waste of money & what a disappointment.

Now, I give kudos and recognition to Disney for listening to ALL the complaints and fixing some of it immediately. Honestly, they had NO CHOICE. First impressions are EVERYTHING. I highly doubt Jollywood Nights will return in 2024. I also thought this party was a clear cut “money grab” for Disney to market drinks & food to adults. Everything else was an after-thought. What a shame.

So, if JN does return…I probably won’t attend. This party needs a HUGE, MASSIVE makeover!! I also cannot recommend this to anyone at this time. Even with the improvements & changes Disney made, it’s still a MISS for me. Go to After Hours instead. Or better yet, go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party! That’s Disney at its magical, brilliant BEST!!

🌹Enchantingly Yours, Angie B