Do the cruises capture that “Disney magic”?

NickC

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 15, 2018
I am hoping to get some opinions about our next trip, and this board has always delivered great advise.
We’ve done Disney for the past 6 years and are considering a Disney cruise. We are thinking a few days at the parks, then a 3 day cruise. Every other "Disney family" that we’ve talked to has great things to say about the cruises...but, still, I’m nervous about switching it up. Every time we go to WDW, there are magical moments that we experience as a family. Little things that just mean so much to us. It’s not so much because of the rides or attractions, but because of the environment.
I was wondering if the cruises capture that Disney Magic like WDW does.
 
Our first cruise experience was a 4 night in Feb 2017. I was worried it wouldn’t be as magical but it went above my expectations. Minnie found my dd & I at the midship detective terminal and stayed with us for a few minutes interacting with just her and watching the clue with her - it was super cute. We ran into Stitch in the hallway one evening too and he was super playful with both dd’s and spent a few minutes with them goofing around. On top of those special times, we loved the meal atmospheres and the kids liked the clubs. We are excited for our 7 day cruise in April 2018 to experience a longer cruise as 4 days was too short!!
 
Disney Cruise: all of the magic with none of the lines!

Okay, that’s slightly exaggerated, but you get the point. We find DCL to be completely magical with none of the stress that comes with visiting the parks. I’d even go as far as saying it’s even better because you don’t have to deal with so much scheduling, line waiting, heat, crowds, and rope dropping. You will definitely feel that old Disney charm on a cruise!
 
I personally think the cruises are much more magical than WDW. We will be going on our 5th cruise this coming Jan. Cruising is so much more relaxing. We had a similar experience as pp with running into a couple of princesses when my dd was 6 yr old. We saw Rapunzel in a hall way, she sat and talked with my dd for 15-20 mins. We then left and turned the corner and saw Tiana, she also sat with my dd for a long time. We've only done 7 night cruises, a lot of people on here always comment that 3 and 4 night cruises go by way too fast and feel rushed, if you can't do a 7 night, you may want want to do a 4 night.
 


IMO, more magical than the parks. Here are a few examples. My then 4 year old spent 20 minutes one on one with Ariel on deck 5 waving/welcoming fellow guests onto the ship. This was not planned, just happened to see her on deck 5 and she invited my daughter to join her. When both our girls were of nursery age, came back to find them in the arms of a Disney princess asleep in a rocking chair or a princess reading them a story while they sat in her lap. Peter Pan just appearing skipping down the hall with an ever increasing trail of children skipping behind him. Trailed by an even longer line of parents trying to get pics! Started on deck 5, down the stairs to deck 4, back up to deck 5. Just spontaneous character interaction. Not on navigator, just happened because of Disney magic. Photographers in the ocean taking pics of everyone at Castaway Cay. Our server bringing my dinner to me in our room the last night of our cruise because dd was unhappy that she lost a tooth and I had to take her back early. I could go on and on. Try a cruise, you won’t be disappointed.
 
After eight DCL cruises (three without kids/gkids) and many trips to DW and DL, we can vouch for as much magic on the water as on land. Because you are on/in a more confined area aboard one of the ships, the chances for more character/princess meetings increases. For a few days or longer on the ship you don't have to make up your room, worry about where/when you are going to eat, find that everything is within easy walking distance, get to have a fancy (husband/wife) meal without the kids (they are in their clubs) and get to see "to die for" sunsets nearly every night. Many cruisers feel that it is a sea vacation from their park vacation. Try it, you'll like it!! Careful, it is addicting.
 
I am hoping to get some opinions about our next trip, and this board has always delivered great advise.
We’ve done Disney for the past 6 years and are considering a Disney cruise. We are thinking a few days at the parks, then a 3 day cruise. Every other "Disney family" that we’ve talked to has great things to say about the cruises...but, still, I’m nervous about switching it up. Every time we go to WDW, there are magical moments that we experience as a family. Little things that just mean so much to us. It’s not so much because of the rides or attractions, but because of the environment.
I was wondering if the cruises capture that Disney Magic like WDW does.
Yes, they do for us.
 


We have done 3 cruises and 2 trips to WDW with our kids. I don't know that I"ll ever do WDW again. So many magical moments on a cruise.... getting into an elevator with Stitch. Seeing goofy in the atrium with no one else around and playing with him. Walking to dinner and seeing Peter Pan hiding in the atrium. The servers putting together a dinner for my husband who had to bring our tantruming toddler back to the room so he could have his dinner he had ordered. The service in the restaurants onboard surpasses any of the restaurants at WDW IMO. Like, ten fold. Last visit to WDW we were very disappointed at the table service restaurants in MK and the resorts probably thanks to being spoiled on the cruise. lol Or the ladies in the shop seeing my son's mickey bar'd face and cleaning his face. :rotfl2:

And little things like our room attendant remembering us from the Magic when we were on the Dream and we happened to get him assigned to us again!
 
They absolutely do!!! I prefer the cruises now for my fix of Disney Magic. The shows are fantastic, the service wonderful, the spontaneous (and scheduled M&G's), the décor, the music, the attention to detail....just Magical.

We used to be die hard WDW fans and now our whole family prefers the cruise....we still like to go to WDW but I will only go in the winter months where cruising I would go any time of the year.

We will be going on our 41st DCL in a few weeks with our kids and their kids so another generation getting hooked on DCL!!

MJ
 
We also find the cruise line more magical. My DD's first cruise was just before she turned 5 - and our most recent cruise was just as magical as our first. Sure, we've had magical experiences at the parks (WDW, DLR and DLP) and they have their own magic and charm, but nothing compares to the magic of a DCL cruise. In my opinion, it starts when they announce you in the atrium when you board the ship, and doesn't stop until the tears dry up after you've pulled away after disembarking.

I think the cast members actually have more opportunity to be magical on DCL because they get to know you better - you are on the ship for multiple days interacting with the same cast members over and over, so I've found the magic is much more personal on the ship than in the parks. Some examples from our cruises:
  • On our very first 4n Wonder cruise, we ran into Peter Pan a few times. At one point my husband mentioned to Peter that he wasn't a fan of the movie Alice in Wonderland because it was weird. The last day at that time (10+ years ago) they would set up a table in the atrium for an autograph session with a bunch of the characters. We went through the line to find Peter, then Wendy, then Alice in the middle of the table. Peter remembered my husband, leaned over to Alice and told her, "This guy thinks you're weird." My husband was so flustered, but it was so funny! It's not the kind of thing I've encountered in the parks.
  • Our server on our first cruise was promoted to Head Server by the time we took the same cruise the following year - and he remembered us! He checked our rotation, but we weren't seated in his area. We could have probably switched, but we didn't.
  • One of the youth activities councilors really took a shine to my DD on our first cruise, and was onboard our second (a 7n on the Magic) - remembered us, chatted with us a number of times, and actually gifted our DD with a Oceaneer's Club hat!
  • We did a 14n EBTA and within the first few days, Minnie Mouse took a liking to my daughter. To the point that whenever Minnie saw my DD, she'd get all excited and spell my DD's name in the hand of her handler - or anyone else handy! She even introduced her to Mickey! DD had a lot of great interactions with Minnie all over the ship that trip.
  • The same EBTA we did a photo scavenger hunt with our DIS board group, and Peter Pan crashed it, both interfering and helping out. It was hilarious.
  • Just last year at 15 our DD dressed up in her Winter Soldier cosplay for MDAS in November. *All* of the Marvel characters took note of and loved it! Loki commented, "I don't think we've met", Black Widow made specific comments. I don't remember what Cap said. It was really fun, and very unique. She even got a shout out at the costume show in the atrium by pretty much everyone.
 
I have to agree with everyone else that the cruises go above and beyond the parks in terms of those little magical moments. I will never forget the moment on my first cruise when we just happened upon Tiana strolling along one of the hallways and she sat down and started chatting with my 5 year old. Or when I went to pick my 9 month old up from the nursery and one of the staff members, upon being told by another staff member that my son was ready to go, announced "No he's not!" and gave him one more snuggle. There's the tiny sinks for kids in the bathrooms that are always freshly cleaned. The staff who remembers you by name even if you're sure they can't know it yet. Wait staff doing origami or magic tricks every dinnertime. To me the cruises just really take the Disney magic to that next level.
 
We have been to WDW every year for the last 11 years. Our last trip was June 2017 and we are going back this December. It used to be my favorite place, but after taking a Disney cruise, I would much rather do that. It is definitely more magical. We will have done 4 DCL cruises between our last and upcoming WDW trips. There is just so much less stress on the cruise so we enjoy our time together more. I think we spend much more quality time as a family on the ship. We have been on 2 Merry Time cruises and are going on our 2nd Halloween cruise. Celebrating the holidays Disney style is fabulous (we have done several MNSSHP and MVMCP at WDW too).

The characters seem to spend more time with people on the ship, making the interactions much more memorable. My daughter has done the Royal Court tea twice and the princesses always remember her from the princess meet and greet. We had a special meet and greet with all of the characters on the Wonder and Captain Hook tried to steal my daughter's tiara. After that, they both "kept their eyes on each other!" My daughter also made good friends with one of the Cast Members in the club/lab on the Dream and he would challenge her on the Infinity game system. She had a blast with him and this was on a 3 day cruise. So, there is magic on 3 day cruises too.
 
Depends. Cruising is magical to begin with.

I prefer WDW Disney to DCL Disney. However, I find that DCL is a great way to introduce a Disney fan to cruising as you get a little bit of both worlds.
 
AA4364E0-B66F-4BFD-AAF6-BC30BE1609C0.jpeg 996AA880-66D1-47FD-9B0A-968A2B1EAECC.jpeg I agree with everyone else! We have been going to WDW since we got engaged 22 years ago! Last year I had the year off and we went to WDW twice and went on our first cruise. We have since gone on another cruise and booked one for next summer - but have no current plans for when we will return to WDW.

I find WDW more about the rides (which we love) and DCL is about being surrounded with Disney magic. Our DS5 loved hanging out with the characters on the deck of the Wonder the first time. And loved the kids club and doing the Midship Detective on the Fantasy.
 

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