stopher's stuff - WONDERous Shows & Parties

As a brand Disney is certainly known for their family friendly entertainment and experiences, and it certainly doesn’t mean anything less on the Disney ships.  I have now sailed on both the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder, (and am looking forward to the Disney Dream in July). Both times I've sailed with Disney I was delighted by the caliber of entertainment onboard.  Each night in the Walt Disney Theatre there is either a large, full-scale Broadway-type show, a featured performer, or some other special offering.  This cruise was a five-night sailing, and it included four full-scale type productions and one night with the featured performer – a magician/illusionist. 

Red Carpet arrivals for
The Golden Mickeys

Within the Disney fleet, there are a few shows and parties that are shared between ships – such as Sail Away Party up on deck, and the “Anchors Away” first night show introducing the guests to the ship inside The Walt Disney Theatre, what’s yet to come during the week, and a glimpse of the featured performer – and “Dreams – An Enchanting Classic"  - but then there are ship-specific shows too.  On the Wonder, guests can enjoy “Toy Story: The Musical” which re-tells the now classic Disney*Pixar story in a fun, new way.  Favorite friends such as Woody & Buzz are there, along with Mr. Potato Head, Bo Peep, Slinky Dog, the Green Army Men, and even Hamm.  Another fun show is “The Golden Mickeys” (also found on the Disney Dream), including the red carpet, paparazzi, “celebrity” appearances and statuettes being awarded. 

The ship is filled with other entertainment offerings on so many decks.  From the pool deck to the various children’s programming areas, to the adults-only entertainment found along Route 66 between WaveBands, Diversions and the Cadillac Lounge guests will find something to do each and every day of their itinerary.  Whether they are looking for age-specific entertainment or things the entire family can do together, there’s a lot to be enjoyed.  Personally I love the “80’s Revival” night in WaveBands and the onboard movie theatre where guests can enjoy a wide variety of Disney films – 

Entrance to the Cadillac Lounge,
just off Route 66

including first run films still in theatres.  On this voyage I enjoyed watching “Wreck-It Ralph” and the critically acclaimed, Academy Award nominated  “Lincoln” (didn’t know that that’s a Disney film?  Neither did I until I saw the pre-film credits and saw that it is distributed by Touchstone Pictures, which is a division of the Walt Disney Studios.  Touchstone was created back in 1984 to be able to produce films of a more “adult” feel than the traditional family-fare that the Disney name represented.  The first film under the Touchstone banner was Ron Howard’s “Splash” starring Daryl Hannah).  So yes, I was a tad confused at first when I saw Lincoln on the schedule, but figured it had to be something like that in order for it be shown on the ship. 

A personal favorite though, is the Pirates IN The Caribbean Deck Party – which includes the “Fireworks at Sea”.  Disney Cruise Line is still the only cruise line offering such an experience – though that WILL be changing come May 6^th, when Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, BREAKAWAY, sets sail on her inaugural sailing.  I’ll be on that sailing and can’t wait to see how they will do their Fireworks at Sea.  Breakaway will be sailing year-round from New York City going to Bermuda from April to October, and then to Florida & the Bahamas from November to March – and will include Fireworks at Sea on every itinerary.   At that point, I’m sure Disney will start marketing themselves as “the original cruise line to offer Fireworks at Sea” or something similar.  Sadly for them their claim to fireworks fame will be coming to an end soon, but at the same time, they can be flattered that another line wants to emulate them with this truly unique, fun offering onboard ship.  

Recently I was chatting with a friend of mine (prior to sailing), who said he was a bit disappointed with the overall Fireworks at Sea experience.  Basically saying he was expecting more, along the lines of “Wishes” at Walt Disney World.  Now I do recognize that they ARE, afterall Disney, and could in theory pull something like that off… but at the same time, they are extremely limited by a) the size of the ship and what they could pull off, and b) no doubt have restrictions placed on them by the various authorities.  (Part of our Agent Education Program talked about this special feature of the DCL itineraries, and did also indicate that there are various rules and regulations that they have to follow based on locale as well – so there are restrictions on where they can offer Fireworks at Sea.  They are not offered on every itinerary, so if you are interested in seeing the Fireworks at Sea onboard your next Disney cruise, be sure to inquire about sailings outside of the Caribbean, as they might not be allowed).  In comment back to my friend, as a joke, I said, since they ARE Disney and can pull off a lot, why not just drape the ship with thousands of sparkling lights and add snow-effects on all Christmas-time sailings?  Simply recreate that whole winter castle effect that they offer in the parks?  Certainly there are limitations, even for Disney!   If you HAVE NOT YET been able to enjoy a Disney cruise itinerary, and would like to see what the Fireworks at Sea is like – feel free to take a look at this video on my You Tube channel.  I enjoyed taking it for posterity as I stood there with my new friends on the Disney Wonder.

So ends another entry about the Disney Wonder.  Again I will bid you adieu for now, or as they say on board…til we meet again,