"Breathless" for EPCOT fireworks?

[janey99]

Morning all!

Has anyone reserved the "Breathless" for EPCOT fireworks?

Good/bad/indifferent, worth it or not?

We (me, DH and DS) will be at BC in late August and I thought this might be a nice arrival night surprise, after dinner at Yachtsman.

How long is the cruise? Is it really THAT hard to reserve (I think my 90 day out is tomorrow)?

I'm interested in all comments!

Thanks,

Jane

 

[Tikiman]

The Illuminations cruise is great and Breathless is a fun boat to cruise around on but I would not suggest it for the viewing. I think the patio boats are better for that. Breathless is parked sideways in front of one of the bridge pillars and you are sort of confined to your seat sideways to view the show. With the Patio boat you can walk around and sit in many different places more comfortably in my opinion.

 

[Tikiman]

By the way you have to be on the phone the morning of your 90 day mark. We actually had the concierge get it for us and they said they were on the phone at 6:50 AM calling even though it did not open until 7:00 AM and they got the last patio boat. With Breathless there is only one so it goes even faster.

 

[Mister Incredible]

I rented the Breathless for my wife and I on our 15th wedding anniversary. It was awesome. I thought just the two of us sitting enjoying a bottle of champagne watching illuminations was incredible. Where the breathless is a smaller boat, you typically park in front of the other boats which is nice. We had a good night where the breeze was blowing away from us, so there was no problem with the smoke from the display.

I don't know how your DS will like it, but for two it was very romantic! Actually he will probably like after the fireworks when they "open it up" and cruise around the MGM part of the lake much faster because MGM is closed and there are no other boats there!

I made sure I called at 6:55am 90 days out.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I figured I would ask.....

How about the Grand 1 for Wishes??? Have you done that, Steve or Mr. Incredible or any one else???

Just curious. I booked it for my bday (#40!!) in July. (hey, your bday, too, Steve - I remember from last year - oh man that time has gone by fast - July 8) Haven't read any reviews and I would like to!

Lives4Disney

 

[Tikiman]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I figured I would ask.....

How about the Grand 1 for Wishes??? Have you done that, Steve or Mr. Incredible or any one else???

Just curious. I booked it for my bday (#40!!) in July. (hey, your bday, too, Steve - I remember from last year - oh man that time has gone by fast - July 8) Haven't read any reviews and I would like to!

Lives4Disney

I have always skipped a Wishes cruise since we can just watch it from the beach and I think Grand 1 is quite a bit more money (like 5 times or something crazy) than an Illuminations Cruise but I don’t have the numbers in front of me. I really enjoy the Illuminations cruise because than there is no getting a good spot early or anything. I have seen the Grand 1 parked off the beach of the Polynesian during the show so I am sure it is a great view but I can be 50 feet farther for free.

I love going for my birthday. We usually go from June 30- July 11 to hit our anniversary, 4th of July and my birthday all in one trip. It is my favorite time to go. We are trying Christmas time this year.

 

[BluOrchid2]

We did the Breathless one year for Illuminations, and it was just perfect. We did not have to park sideways; we parked under the bridge in a spot that was "reserved" for the Breathless among the other boats. Maybe they've changed things since then. Highly recommend it, though. Would be a great surprise!

 

[Tikiman]

Yeah I found the cost.

Breathless Illuminations Cruise is $178.40 (plus tax) for up to 7 guests and is not covered if it rains.

Pontoon for Illuminations is $234.74 (plus tax) with a max of 12 people. Cost includes a driver, bagged snacks (pretzels, chips, popcorn), water and Coke products.

Grand 1 for Wishes is for 1-13 people, and start at $375.58 per hour, with a one-hour minimum.

A Pontoon boat for Wishes that seats 8 is $187.79 + tax

 

[TammiMcMan]

Just a few observations about the Breathless. We did a regular pontoon boat in December 2004 and the Breathless was parked alongside us, not sideways. As someone else posted though, it may differ. Also, it's row seats. Not sure if you can fit 3 in one row. If you're DS is old enough to be on his own, he may enjoy being in front with the driver, while you and DH cuddle in the back. Any Illuminations cruise is difficult to get. I'm pretty sure, because of the viewing area, they are limited to 5 pontoon boats plus the Breathless. Verify your 90 days, so you're calling on the right one. Be on the phone early and program speed dial. Not a bad idea to do a trail phone call, just to see if there are any prompts you need to follow.

 

[Tink10]

Yeah I found the cost.

Breathless Illuminations Cruise is $178.40 (plus tax) for up to 7 guests and is not covered if it rains.

Pontoon for Illuminations is $234.74 (plus tax) with a max of 12 people. Cost includes a driver, bagged snacks (pretzels, chips, popcorn), water and Coke products.

Grand 1 for Wishes is for 1-13 people, and start at $375.58 per hour, with a one-hour minimum.

A Pontoon boat for Wishes that seats 8 is $187.79 + tax

Just a little update about the price for the Breathless.....

We have the Breathless reserved for 2 nights in June for Illuminations & the cost is also $234.74 + tax. ($250 total) It too includes snacks & drinks.....

 

[YCFAN]

Yes, both cruises for Illuminations (pontoon and Breathless) are now $250 with tax. I've reserved the Breathless for three years now. We sat straight like the other boats too but were in front because the Breathless is a smaller boat you get the front spot reserved for you.

I'll be going again this July and also have a Grand 1 Wishes cruise booked too. I can't wait to read your report of the Grand 1 Lives4Disney since you'll be back before we leave!

 

[Brutie]

I havent rented a boat to watch the show, but we were just there last week and saw the fireworks show and I was very "underwhelmed". I didnt care for all the laser stuff, I just wanted to see some good fireworks. For me, it was disappointing.

 

[janey99]

Thanks everyone for all your info and insights.

The increase in price is kind of steep - The former price of 178 in relation to the other prices for the larger boats was the only reason I was thinking of doing "Breathless" and not any of the other ones (after all, we are only 3 people!). If it's 250 now, it's hard to justify.

I will think about it tonight though, and if I decide to go for it, I will definitely use the dialing/reservation techniques you all posted!

(BTW - I love all the smilies! I post to other sites where they're not allowed, so I will probably use them excessively here to get my fix!)

 

[Tikiman]

I didn’t realize the price of Breathless went up. That was the price posted on All Ears. I would take the pontoon any day. I guess I would rather be more comfortable and the speed of Breathless would not impress me much since I am use to doing about 70 mph a foot off the water We usually only gotten it for the two of us and a few times we have invited others that we met there to go with us.

One of the best things about having concierge or a travel planner is they can get on the phone for us which is especially difficult when we are 3 hours behind Florida time.

I guess the positioning of Breathless is random since a few of us have seen it in different locations. Under the bridge has always been filled with pontoons every time we have gone and Breathless has always been tied up sideways at the pillar in between us all.

Well you can still enjoy the fireworks without the cruise.

Good luck with the decision.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Yeah I found the cost.

Breathless Illuminations Cruise is $178.40 (plus tax) for up to 7 guests and is not covered if it rains.

Pontoon for Illuminations is $234.74 (plus tax) with a max of 12 people. Cost includes a driver, bagged snacks (pretzels, chips, popcorn), water and Coke products.

Grand 1 for Wishes is for 1-13 people, and start at $375.58 per hour, with a one-hour minimum.

A Pontoon boat for Wishes that seats 8 is $187.79 + tax

This is also from allearsnet.com.....

Pontoon Premium: A 24-foot pontoon boat, which seats a maximum of 10. The price for the Pontoon Premium is $234.74 + tax, and the cost includes a driver, bagged snacks (pretzels, chips, popcorn), water and Coke products. Audio from Wishes IS piped in to the Pontoon Premium.

We did this in December and this is what it cost. The other price is for the boat with no audio...........mho, but I don't see the sense in spending the money and not hearing the music/narration well. But that's just me. It also holds 10 people.

I could be mistaken but I thought I read on here last year that WDW was trying to change all of the boats over to the bigger/audio boats. I must say, it was a deluxe boat. We had as awesome time viewing the Christmas Wishes. I surprised my mom, DH, and three children with it. I had them guessing for a year! I ordered hot chocolate (that was extra) and that was a great touch. We also had the snacks/cold drinks.

I don't know if I would spend the money again, but it is nice when you want something really special, so I'm glad I did it once. You never know, maybe we'll do it again sometime. There are just so many different places to spend your money.

This next trip we are going to Kennedy Space Center and having lunch with an astronaut (well, hopefully, I haven't booked it yet). mY dd13 is a space freak, so we are surprising her with that. Every trip I try to have one big surprise.

Anyway, just wanted to give the price info and tell about how we had a good time on the boat.

 

[Cass]

We did Breathless in August 03, the Captain was 'Angelo' and he was so sweet to my daughter.

Unfortunately it poured buckets and was raining cats and dogs so we were in our mickey ponchos, hood up. They tie up under the bridge so it was dry for us when watching the fireworks.

Breathless does book up early, especially in the summer months.

 

[Jakesmom1]

We did the Breathless two years ago, myself, my DH and Ds and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

It was a beautiful boat, It was nice to have the boat to ourselves, We parked in front of the bigger boats, not sideways, and we could see the fireworks perfectly.

If you can afford the price, I would say go for it, you wont be disappointed.

 

[Disney Panda]

I rented Breathless for our honeymoon in May 2001. I was disappointed. It wasn't romantic with the driver in the boat with you. We parked next to a large boat for Illuminations. It would be nice to have an area to yourself. I wouldn't spend the money on this again.

 

[katallo]

If you want a shorter jaunt on Breathless, we took an afternoon ride with Mike. We had a blast. He took four of us on crescent lake, MGM and Epcot.
Mike was fantastic. He told us so many facts that we didn't know and it was obvious that he loved driving this beautiful boat. Word to the wise, back seat riders will get wet!