Walt Disney World has announced an expensive dinner party to ring in 2025 with a view of the Magic Kingdom New Year’s Eve fireworks, Princess and the Frog characters, delicious New Orleans-inspired buffet, and more at California Grill atop Contemporary Resort. This shares details about the culinary adventure along with our commentary.
For starters, this is nothing new. Contemporary Resort has been doing these fancy New Year’s Eve parties since at least 2019. That year, there were a couple different Disney and Pixar options for families held in the ballrooms, which could include fireworks viewing from the rooftop or not. These options were $199 to $299 each.
There were also options at about a half-dozen other Signature Restaurants all around Walt Disney World that included live entertainment or some other ‘show’ component. Looking back at the descriptions now, these sound adult and intriguing, and Disney did not publish pricing–you had to call the WDW-DINE phone line to inquire. Smart move! My bet is that none of them eclipsed the $400 mark, but I truly do not know, because even then, I knew they’d be more than we were willing to pay.
Last year, Walt Disney World brought these back with a culinary event at California Grill for New Year’s Eve called “Alice’s Whimsical World of Wonderland.” This was advertised as offering shimmering champagne, delightful wines, marvelous food, and one-of-a-kind entertainment. As you dine, feast your eyes on a fanciful ice sculpture created to celebrate 2024 and California Grill. Ring in 2024 as the fireworks spectacular from Magic Kingdom fills the sky above.
Immerse yourself in the whimsical surroundings of California Grill—transformed into an immersive romp through Wonderland. You may see characters from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland throughout the evening, you’ll come face-to-face with The Doorknob in the entryway, you may also get a chance to wave hello to Dinah the Hat Lady—but beware of the Queen of Hearts! Oh, and the White Rabbit will be DJ.
This might sound super weird, and like Disney’s attempt at a family-friendly rave scene. But don’t worry, it’s also upscale and inexplicably expensive! The cost for Alice’s Whimsical World of Wonderland was $799–yes, you read that correctly. That includes tax and gratuity, though, so maybe it was a bargain after all!
Again, all of that was last year. So it should come as no surprise that they’re bringing the idea back–albeit with a totally different theme and set of characters. Here’s the announcement from Walt Disney World:
Ring in the New Year with a fantastical evening. Enjoy shimmering champagne, delightful wines, marvelous food and one-of-a-kind entertainment as part of Tiana’s New Year’s Adventure at California Grill!
Enchanting Entertainment – Immerse yourself in the whimsical surroundings of California Grill—where you’ll see Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. They’ve stopped by to sample the cuisine, meet some new friends and assist Tiana’s friend Chef Matthew. But wait… there’s a twist!
With the help of Mama Odie’s magic, Louis and a few of Tiana’s other critter pals have crashed the party. Throughout the night, Mama Odie will cast playful spells to help Louis and friends stay out of sight of Tiana and Naveen. However, Tiana is smart—she will get to the bottom of who crashed this party. But she’ll need your help to do it, so be prepared to join in the action!
We hope you come dressed in your best for Tiana’s New Year’s Adventure at California Grill and are ready to dance to beats from live musicians! Plus, we’ll cap the evening and start 2025 with a fantastic champagne toast at midnight.
Delicious Dishes – As you float between the rooms, you’ll indulge in delicious New Orleans-inspired dishes—including delectable caviar—with our chef’s creative twist. Menu highlights include the following:
Chilled Appetizer Station
- Beef Tartare
- Chilled Raw Bar Display
- Caviar Station
- Chopped Salad
Wood Burning Appetizer Station
- Chicken “Drumstick”
- Squash Blossom “Doughnut”
- Creole Pizza
- Muffaletta Pizza
- Rock Shrimp Po Boy
- Corn Fried Oysters
Sushi Station
- Maki
- Sashimi
- Nigiri
- A collection of original sushi creations
Hot Seafood Station
- Lobster Ravioli
- Jumbo Sea Scallops
- Blackened Redfish
- Seafood Boil
From the Grill and Rotisserie
- Suckling Pig “Porchetta”
- Smoked Duck
- Beef Tenderloin
- Pan Seared Lions Mane “Skate Wing”
- Gumbo
Desserts and Interesting Breads
- Beignets & Chicory
- Assorted Housemade Truffles and Bon Bons
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- King Cake
Tiana’s New Year’s Adventure at California Grill Event Information
- Date: December 31, 2024
- Check-In Time: Begins at 7:00 PM
- Event Time: 7:30 PM to 12:30 AM
- Reservations: Call (407) 824-2013 to book this experience. Guests under 18 years of age must have parent or guardian permission to call.
- Price: The cost for this experience is $799, including tax and gratuity.
- Payment & Cancellations: Full payment is due at the time of booking. Cancellations must be received at least one day prior to the event to avoid being charged full price.
As you dine, feast your eyes on a fanciful ice sculpture created for Tiana’s New Year’s Adventure to celebrate 2025 and California Grill. Finally, experience the first moments of 2025 as the fireworks spectacular from Magic Kingdom park fills the sky above.
Our Commentary
There’s no sense in trying to make sense of Tiana’s New Year’s Adventure at California Grill or its price. This is super limited capacity and niche, so there really doesn’t need to be that much demand in order for it to sell out. Given the maximum occupancy of California Grill and that the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is far and away the busiest in the parks and highest-booked in the hotels, this will fill up even if less than .01% of guests book it.
With past New Year’s Eve events like this, we’ve learned that there are enough people for whom money is no object. These things sell out regardless of the value proposition. In this case, Walt Disney World is making the calculation that the high-rollers are also big fans of Princess and the Frog. I’m not so sure that’s a safe bet, but what do I know!
This isn’t unique to Tiana’s New Year’s Adventure–it’s what I’ve always found perplexing about these New Year’s Eve dinner parties. Who are they even for? For the sake of discussion, let’s say we’re still DINKs who were willing and able to spend big bucks to attend a fancy New Year’s Eve dinner. What would our ideal version of that look like?
Food-wise, this sounds pretty good. Entertainment-wise, it does not. All we’d want in that regard would be live musicians (similar to the extinct Brunch at the Top at California Grill) plus a photo op with Minnie and Mickey Mouse in a ball gown and tuxedo, respectively. Maybe other members of the Fab Five dressed similarly, mingling with guests. I know these costumes exist at Walt Disney World, because I just attended a DVC party where they were weirdly dressed like this in a dance party!
It strikes me as odd that Walt Disney World is taking an event and venue that lends itself to something sophisticated and adult, and trying to broaden its appeal to families. If we were still DINKs, we would not want to attend this because it sounds too juvenile and family-oriented. Maybe I have a unique perspective in being a ‘Disney Adult’ who has had my feet in both worlds, but I’m perfectly fine with something like this not catering to my family. Not everything needs to!
Let the couples, for whom the cost is more palatable anyway, have fun with a sophisticated dinner party. What I’ve described above would probably cost Disney less to produce and would feel more upscale. Charging guests $599 per person for a more elegant evening seems win-win to me.
Beyond that, I will reiterate one of my common concerns with upcharge offerings like this. One of my recurring fears as a longtime fan is been that Disney is inflicting long-term brand damage for short-term financial gain.
We’ve seen this with the elimination of free FastPass, entertainment cuts, nickel and diming, catering to the affluent, crowds and long lines, and a laundry list of other complaints. Not to mention Disney’s falling reputation, which is based on all of the above plus other issues. We’ve discussed all of this at length–no sense in belaboring the point here.
Beyond that, there are examples of very niche product offerings that are clearly aimed at the wealthy. Most notable of these is the abandoned Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser. Same goes for the $100,000+ private jet Disney Parks worldwide “adventure” and the Cotino Storyliving by Disney communities.
Galactic Starcruiser was a colossal failure, but I’ve wondered whether–even assuming it were a financial success and didn’t close prematurely–was it worth all of the negative headlines? All of the aforementioned offerings cater to a small handful of guests, but have an outsized digital footprint. Is the monetary gain worth the brand damage and loss of goodwill?
Tiana’s New Year’s Adventure at California Grill is like that on steroids. This is a single-night event with a capacity in the low hundreds of people. Even assuming it books up fully, it’s probably not that profitable of an event due to the entertainment costs for Disney and those not being diluted over multiple evenings.
Meanwhile, exponentially more people will read about this news–and you better believe most headlines will include the price. If I had to guess, I’d say that hundreds of thousands of people will learn about this event. The most common reaction isn’t going to be excitement, or even “that’s not for me, but it’s cool they’re doing it for others!”
The number of fans who feel alienated or annoyed by yet another cash grab or offering only for the wealthy is going to dwarf bookings for Tiana’s New Year’s Adventure at California Grill. And there’s validity in those frustrations, as Walt Disney World still hasn’t put in the energy, effort, or budget to restore all of the missing entertainment and “little things” in the parks for regular guests…yet they have time for this.
It’s also worth remembering that almost all Christmas entertainment still runs between Christmas and New Year’s Eve (some runs even further into January), so check out our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World for more planning tips with regard to which holiday entertainment you might want to see on New Year’s Eve. For Walt Disney World trip planning tips and comprehensive advice, make sure to read our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of Tiana’s New Year’s Adventure at California Grill? Will you be booking this or is it not for you? Let’s say you have the money and are willing to spend it…is this your ideal event or would you prefer something more sophisticated or even more family friendly? Have you ever visited Walt Disney World for New Year’s Eve? Would you ever do it? Planning on ringing in 2025 at Walt Disney World? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Hearing from you is half the fun, so please share your thoughts and questions in the comments!
