Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [122]
Onboard Entertainment
There are three pools on board: one, shaped like Mickey, with a pint-size tube slide for little kids; a second “sports pool” for games and the rowdier activities of older children; and a third “quiet pool” for adults, complete with large, elevated hot tubs. In addition, the ship has a sports deck, a full-service spa, an exercise room, and several shops. The Dream and Fantasy have the AquaDuck water coaster.
The cornerstone of onboard entertainment is the 975-seat Walt Disney Theater, one of the most technologically advanced theaters in the world and certainly the most remarkable on any cruise ship. Here DCL showcases Broadway-style shows, some of them new and some based on Disney classics. All the productions are great, but the finale show is the stunning Believe, which always seems to bring half the audience to tears.
Insider’s Secret
The onboard spa offers a range of services, including some designed exclusively for couples. Just hanging out in the beautiful sauna and steam area is a great way to kill an afternoon. If you want to book a massage or facial, especially on a day when the ship is at sea, go immediately to the spa after boarding the ship to make an appointment. The best times get snatched up early. The Dream and Fantasy offer Chill, a separate spa area for tweens and teens.
A family lounge—Studio Sea on the Magic and Wonder and Studio D on the Dream—provides dance music, parties, and participatory game shows starring the audience. The Mickey Mania trivia game is a real blast. The Buena Vista Theater shows a variety of Disney movies daily and, come nightfall, a jumbo screen allows you to watch movies outdoors on the deck, a good way to coax wound-up kids to calm down and give way to sleep.
Of course the characters are sailing right along with you. They turn out for deck parties—including the welcome-aboard and farewell bashes—and also appear around the ship. Check your daily onboard newsletter, the Personal Navigator, for times and locations.
Insider’s Secret
More and more, large families are meeting up on cruises, where everyone can be together but still go off and do their own thing. Consider this report from a mother of three from Michigan: “My sisters and I have a family reunion at Disney World every other year. When we get all the kids and spouses together, there are 14 of us, with a wide range of ages. Last year for the first time we took the cruise and found that worked great. Those with babies could go back to their cabins whenever someone got cranky or tired, those with school-age kids could just keep going, and those with older kids could let them go to the pools and arcades on their own.”
One of the definite highlights is the Pirates IN the Caribbean party. Passengers dress like buccaneers and convene for a rollicking deck party with the characters. Smee and Captain Hook show up and try to cause trouble but, not to worry, Captain Mickey prevails, and a good time is had by all. The evening rounds out with fireworks, music, and dancing.
After the shows wind down, adults can congregate in the entertainment districts, dubbed Beat Street on the Magic and Route 66 on the Wonder. Expect a dance club, a sports pub, and a piano bar. The District is the expanded adult area on the Dream. It has five clubs—a live music venue; a dance club; a sports bar; an upscale champagne lounge called Pink, which makes you feel like you’re inside a bottle of bubbly; and the Skyline Bar, where the sun sets over a different city every night and there are globally themed drinks to match. What will these people think of next?
List of Maps
10 A Day in the Park with Barney | 11 Animal Planet Live! | 5 Bettlejuice's Graveyard Revue | 12 Curious George Goes to Town | 1 Despicable Me 3-D | 6 Disaster! | 15 E.T. Adventure | 13 Fievel's Playland | 19 Hollywood Rip, Ride, and Rockit | 7 Jaws | 18 Lucy, A Tribute | 8 Men in Black: Alien Attack | 4 Revenge of the Mummy | 2 Shrek 4-D | 9 The Simpsons | 17 Terminator 2: 3-D | 3 Twister | 16 Universal Horror Make-Up Show |