Rivers of Light Dessert Party – What it Was Like

I was super sad about two things that Disney removed from their docket: Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom and Rivers of Light. Those two things took much “magic” with them when they left.

Rivers of Light was so incredibly beautiful, so breathtaking. It boggles my mind that they canceled it permanently. Anyway, if you want to see what you were missing there are of course lots of videos, but I think sometimes that photos capture it a little better.

We attended in May 2019.

The queue for entering the Rivers of Light Dessert Party was a little further down the lane than the standard Rivers of Light entry. If you were headed from Mount Everest toward Dino Land, it was right before the bridge. The cost was $79 per person.

At the entrance to the party, you were taken down a very short curved path and welcomed into a private viewing area with both tables and stadium seating. You could sit wherever you liked. Some of the tables were up high on a second story, others at ground level. Being a tree person, I of course chose up until it was time for show seating.

The tables at ground level had animal-themed table coverings, but all of them had a variety of lanterns and these little lotus blossom lights that changed color, mimicking the lotus boats on the water. Our guide told us we were free to take the ones off of the table as souvenirs if we liked (I did).

The food and drinks were at ground level. For nonalcoholic drinks, there was water, jungle juice (the orange), pineapple lotus (the pink), and iced tea.

Alcoholic drinks were served at a little makeshift bar with a bartender.

The food was presented in a lovely and artsy manner, one of the reasons I’m always enchanted by these parties.

Silverware was wooden and the little plates are bamboo.

First, there was the Tiger Cake Push Pops – a marble cake with cream cheese frosting in between layers. On top were little chocolate pearls exactly like the ones sold at the Ganachery. They are creamy chocolate with a tiny little crisp inside each pearl.

The Chocolate Pot De Creme was a bit like a dark chocolate pudding topped with Oreo crumbs. It had a chocolate leaf sticking out and a real edible flower on top. The pot itself is also edible, made of white chocolate (colored orange).

Next were the Pineapple Bars in little paper boats. These had white chocolate leaves and the taste was delicate and slightly tangy/sweet. They look like a cheesecake, but the flavor was much more mild and delicious.

The Green Tea Cake was on a stunning display of natural wood. I loved everything about this display. You can see the lotus blossom lights scattered about. The green tea cake didn’t mess around – you could definitely taste rich green tea in every bite. I’m not sure if it was matcha tea, but it had that taste. The frosting had a unique, but pleasant texture. It was very smooth and almost silky. The trees on the front of each slice were made from edible white chocolate.

The little Lotus Blossom Cupcakes were mini white cupcakes.

The Yogurt Panna Cotta had a white chocolate square with animal print and the “honey” part was the crispy yummy topping, which was sort of like granola.

Assorted cheeses and nuts were available as a savory accent, served in copper bowls.

The Animal Print Mickey Sugar Cookies had a very thin overlay of chocolate with the animal print on them but were delicious (very similar to the sugar cookies sold at Main Street Bakery). There were a variety of animal prints, but by the time I made my way to the table, they hadn’t been replenished yet. There was a gorgeous tower of delicious fresh fruit.

Across from us to the side, the regular seating stadium was filling up as the sun went down.

And the pretty lotuses decorating our party showed their lovely colors more and more.

That Florida sky created its amazing backdrop, setting the stage for the show by the paintbrush of God. That’s the top of the Tree of Life domed across the water.