photo via http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraandi/5425301419/
Once you have chosen the date for your Disney Cruise, researched the cost of your trip, and then chosen your state room, it is time to start delving into the fun stuff. I spent a good amount of time this week finding out about all the activities offered on the Disney Dream. I also discovered the plethora of excursions offered when you are visiting Nassau, Bahamas and Castaway Cay. Once you familiarize yourself with all the choices all you will need to do is decide on the best options for you and your family.
Disney provides many varied activities both “in port” and “at sea,” so I wanted to share some helpful information with you. Today I will be sharing an overview of many of the options onboard the Dream; and Thursday I will be talking about the choices of activities in the ports of Nassau, Bahamas and Castaway Cay. You can bet there is something for every type of personality and vacation plan on a Disney Cruise.
I have to first tell you that my perspective is that I have spent money for my family of 4 to take a cruise vacation, so I am focusing mostly on activities already included in the price of my vacation.
The Disney Dream was designed to please every kind of guest. For me, the greatest part is that it’s a Disney ship so I will be living the magic and everything else is just icing on the cake. Activities and recreation on the ship while at sea, include such things as the AquaDuck, swimming, miniature golf, sports deck with fun and fitness activities, walking track, character greetings, shows, movies, deck parties, dance parties and fireworks; just to name a few.
So, first things first; I have been dreaming about shooting through the AquaDuck since I first found out about the ship. The AquaDuck is the first water coaster at sea and is a 765-foot fun monster. It has a 4-deck drop, twists and turns, and winds around 13-ft over the edge of the ship then through the ship’s forward funnel. It is completely see-through on all sides by day and then lit by neon lights by night. I cannot wait to ride this during the day and night — what fun! 🙂
Other water activities onboard include: Mickey’s Pool, a children’s play area with a Mickey Mouse-shaped pool and a large winding waterslide; Donald’s Pool where families gather to swim, tan and play; Nemo’s Reef, a fantastic play area for little ones that is overflowing with pop jets, bubblers, and treasured friends from “Finding Nemo”; and the best part is that it is shaded. The Quiet Cove Pool, the adult-only pool, has a swim-up bar and is a series of connecting pools with depths that range from 4 ft to 6-in sunbathing pools. There are also hot tubs for adults and families. What is the best thing about all these pools? They are fresh water pools. This might be a great place to spend some time after you have played around a bit on the Sports Deck.
Goofy’s Sports Deck is located atop Deck 13 and here you can play basketball or soccer and also participate in some group play activities. There are also 2 digital sports simulators to test your skills at football, golf, basketball, soccer and more.
Also, on Deck 13 is Goofy’s Golf, a 9-hole miniature golf course. Bet you can’t guess the theme of the holes at this family-friendly, but a little competitive, activity site. This sounds like a great way to spend a relaxed evening.
Other sports activities include a walking track (right up my alley), volleyball court, foosball and ping-pong — my boys will be fighting each other for the Ping Pong Champ title. There are also 2 small sport courts for younger kids.
I am a big kid at heart so I love to meet and greet all my favorite characters. On the Dream, we will not only be able to greet them at designated times and places, we will be able to run into them all around the ship. This will be the makings of some great photo opps.
The magic of Disney will come alive in all the live shows held in the elegant, 1340-seat palace appropriately named Walt Disney Theater. The magical musicals, which typically last about 50 minutes, include ‘Disney’s Believe’, ‘The Golden Mickeys: A Timeless Tribute’, and ‘Villains Tonight’. I cannot wait to experience each and every one of these no-doubt marvelously performed shows.
Speaking of shows, you don’t think Disney could host 4,000 people on a cruise without having a venue for showing some of the best movies ever made, do you? There are two theaters onboard the Dream with comfy seats and giant screens to enjoy the very best of Disney on film. Another awesome venue for viewing a great Disney film is the 24 ft X 14 ft LED screen facing Donald’s Pool. Nothing like a Dive-In Movie on deck.
That is just the start of the fun to be had on deck. Did I ever tell you that I love a good party? It’s a good thing Disney knows that they have many fans just like me. So, at night, the upper decks come alive with incredible deck parties! There is a welcome aboard party called ‘Sailing Away’, which stars who else but Mickey and Minnie and the whole gang. Also, on one night during the cruise the entire ship transforms into a pirate ship with ‘Mickey’s Pirates IN the Caribbean’, a family show where the guests become Mickey’s pirate crew and participate with Mickey in a series of pirate-themed musical numbers. Later on, Captain Jack Sparrow kicks off “Club Pirate”, a high-tech, open-air dance party. Time to dance me ever-lovin’ booties off, Matey!
One of the Disney plusses is the offering of the only fireworks show at sea. As an addition to the pirates party, the skies light up with brilliant colors as the pyrotechnic spectacular is choreographed to a dramatic score of songs from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Peter Pan, and the Pirates theme park attractions. It is going to be awesome and I can’t wait.
There are nightclubs onboard as well — although you will have to pay for your drinks here as an extra expense. One of the family-friendly lounges is D Lounge. There are many family-oriented games and activities in the D Lounge, one being a game called “A Pirate’s Life for Me”. In the D Lounge families can kick back, have some fun and, best of all, do it together!
Here, I have given you a glimpse at some of the offerings onboard the Dream while it’s at sea. Check back this Thursday for some ideas on fun activities to enjoy while the ship is “in port”.
Brenda is a native Texan born and raised on the Gulf Coast. She visited Disney World twice as a teenager and always dreamed of growing her family Disney. She took her first-timer husband and their three children to Disney World in 2000 and they now spend every Thanksgiving there. Brenda writes with a comedic twist on various Disney topics. She will be sharing tips she has learned during her travels and also hopes to enlighten people on little-known freebies that Disney has to offer. She wishes she could have met Walt Disney and considers herself to be a student of Walt. In parallel to his dream it is her wish that everyone would take at least one trip to Disney World in order to share in its magic with their families.
