Anyone done the private IllumiNations fireworks cruise?

[CJK]

We just booked it, but the cast member on the phone didn't know a thing about it. What snacks/drinks are usually included on the boat? I know you can order special food for an extra price, but I just wondered what's included? Did you enjoy it? Most reviews I can find are quite old, and I wondered if it's still worth it now. TIA!

 

[monique5]

We just booked it, but the cast member on the phone didn't know a thing about it. What snacks/drinks are usually included on the boat? I know you can order special food for an extra price, but I just wondered what's included? Did you enjoy it? Most reviews I can find are quite old, and I wondered if it's still worth it now. TIA!

We did it in 2014. We enjoyed it. Chips and sodas. Had a specialty caked ordered with Cinderella's Caslte in white chocolate fondue on top, it was our anniversary. Boat ride on water by Swan and Dauphin and HS then back to EP for IlluniNations. Maybe 3 boats total out there.

 

[1437disney]

We did it last year ( for the second time). We absolutely love it and would do it again. They had cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats and a few different chips. For drinks they had bottled water and an assortment of soft drinks. We were a family of ten who loves to eat and still had plenty of snacks at the end. They allowed us to take the extras with us. We were there for the extra holiday fireworks at the end and those blew us away! My youngest daughter thought it was the best part of the trip and asks for " the boat" again. We really are hoping to do it again next year if it is still around. The cast members are also amazing!

 

[etail]

We had a fabulous time last year. One of our favorite memories. In addition to the other notes we were encouraged to pick up a few adult beverages at Hurricane Hanna's. Also sometimes the timing is right your captain may be able to run down to Studios for the fireworks from the Star Wars show. But most of the year the times don't work out. It was great to have elbow space and be with the family or friends. Up to 4 boats may tie up. Sometimes the wind blows toward you which will make the show a bit harder to see but that can happen to you when you are standing in World Showcase.

 

[bluezy]

We just booked it, but the cast member on the phone didn't know a thing about it. What snacks/drinks are usually included on the boat? I know you can order special food for an extra price, but I just wondered what's included? Did you enjoy it? Most reviews I can find are quite old, and I wondered if it's still worth it now. TIA!

We've done it twice (and are hoping to do it again next summer). Our most recent cruise was June 2016. The snacks were individual packages (I think there were 5 or 6 bags of each...way more food than the 8 of us could have eaten) of a potato chips, Doritos, Cheetos, SmartFood Popcorn, Rold Gold pretzels, cookies; granola bars, and maybe 1 or 2 other things. Drinks were basic sodas (coke, diet coke, sprite...maybe 1 other kind) and water for sure. There might have been cans of iced tea as well.

We love the Illuminations Cruise. It's a nice way to end the day -- very relaxing. You'll do a nice little cruise over to DHS and around the lake before anchoring for the fireworks. Last year our cruise was a few days after the new Star Wars fireworks started. Since those didn't begin until 10:00, our captain offered to take us over to DHS after Illuminations so we could watch those fireworks as well. That was a nice pixie dust bonus as it extended our cruise by an hour (we did tip our captain a little extra even though he made it clear the extra time was at no extra cost to us).

 

[hllb]

How much is this cruise and what are the details? Having trouble looking it up on the site.

 

[Surgie2]

How much is this cruise and what are the details? Having trouble looking it up on the site.

Some other sites have the info...not sure how current the pricing is.

http://allears.net/btp/illum.htm

 

[hllb]

Found it! Looks like they charge per hour.

 

[bluezy]

How much is this cruise and what are the details? Having trouble looking it up on the site.

Here's the link for the info on the Disney Website (for anyone else who is looking for it). It's difficult to find and not very detailed. I know it looks like they charge by the hour (and there has always been the ability to book a private cruise at a per/hour charge), but that has never been the case when we've done the actual Illuminations Cruise (though it could have changed in the last year). It was always a flat fee (around $360 last time, I believe) plus a tip. We tipped $50 for a family of 8 and a captain we felt went above and beyond our expectations.

The basic information (based on the 2 times we've done this cruise) is: You can make the reservation up to 180 days out. Both times we've done the cruise they were not sold out (in June). I'm not sure how close to the date they will take reservations, though. We always book around the 180 day mark just to cross it off the list. A credit card is required to book but you don't pay for the cruise until you arrive at the dock. (ETA: This has now changed and you pay in full at the time of reservation but can get a full refund if cancelled more than 48 hours prior to cruise date.) The boats are docked at Yacht Club. You arrive at the dock around 8:00-8:15 and pay for your cruise at the dock building. You'll be assigned to a captain and he'll meet you there. At that point, anyone under 12 will be given a life jacket to wear (mandatory) and you'll be able to get on your boat. Then you'll cruise over to DHS and around Crescent Lake. Our captain (we ended up with the same captain both times) had trivia papers and pointed out interesting facts throughout the cruise. I don't know if they all do that. At about 8:45, you move into position (at the bridge between UK & France for the fireworks. Our captain provided protective glasses (depending on how the wind is blowing, you may be showered with ashes) and noise blocking headphones for our daughter who hates loud noises (we had ear plugs for her, but she was very happy for the headphones). After the fireworks, you return to the Yacht Club dock.

Just a side note. If someone is planning to do one of these cruises and you aren't staying at one of the Epcot resorts, be sure to have a game plan for getting back to your resort after the fireworks. If you want to take a bus, you'll have to transfer somewhere (a park or Disney Springs) and that can be somewhat time consuming. Now that Uber, Lyft, and Minnie Vans are available, you have more options. My husband never wanted to take a taxi, so we always did the bus transfer...both times taking us over an hour and a half to get from Yacht Club to AoA. Most of that time was spent waiting for a bus at Yacht Club. You also have the option of walking over to DHS or through Epcot (assuming you have proper tickets) to catch a bus directly to your resort, but both of those options are a long walk (or boat ride). The Epcot option might be nice if it's an EMH night.

 

[CJK]

Thanks sooooo much to all of you for the terrific information and reports!! We were not quite sure if we made the right decision, but now we are!! Interesting to note, our credit card was charged in full at time of booking. At least, that's what the CM on the phone said. We questioned him, and said that we heard the credit card shouldn't be charged yet, but just used to hold the reservation? He said that it would be charged. I guess we'll find out in a couple days!

Thanks again...........we're soooooo excited!!!!

 

[JD11]

I agree 100% with Bluezy on the transportation home. Make sure you set the expectation of at least an hour getting to any non-Epcot resort after the show. Takes quite a while just to get out of Beach Club. If you have younger kids with you, the walk to Epcot or HS for a bus is probably out of the question that late at night so you're stuck waiting on a bus to DS then to your resort.

 

[hllb]

OK, I just called and booked this for the first night of our trip. Here are the current details/policies:

Cost: $371.69 (this was a flat cost for the Illuminations cruise, even though the website says it's per hour starting at $299)
Includes up to 10 people, water, soft drinks, bagged snacks
Check in is at the Yacht Club dock at 8:00 PM (they said to get there at 7:45)
You must cancel at least 2 days prior to trip
You must pay the full amount at time of booking (they said this was because they had too many no-shows)

 

[bluezy]

OK, I just called and booked this for the first night of our trip. Here are the current details/policies:

Cost: $371.69 (this was a flat cost for the Illuminations cruise, even though the website says it's per hour starting at $299)
Includes up to 10 people, water, soft drinks, bagged snacks
Check in is at the Yacht Club dock at 8:00 PM (they said to get there at 7:45)
You must cancel at least 2 days prior to trip
You must pay the full amount at time of booking (they said this was because they had too many no-shows)

I'm not surprised they changed the payment terms. I was always surprised that you didn't have to pay in full at the time of booking. And I suspect a lot of people were possibly booking 2 or 3 cruises and then choosing the best weather night and cancelling the rest at the last minute. (We were always told we had to cancel 48 hours ahead of time or our card would be charged). I'm sure that made scheduling staff a bit tricky when people cancel at the last minute (or even within the 48 hours).

 

[kj2mom]

Sounds like you have made your decision but just piping in as another, we did it and loved it! It was my children's birthday and they decorated the boat for them (they were turning 5). As we traveled along people would yell happy birthday and start singing to them. It was a really special night...my children just turned 16 last week and they still talk about the birthday boat sometimes! Our captain was fantastic and a really cute moment was when he knew the torches were about to go out for the show to begin. He told my children to take a deep breath and blow out the one torch right near us at exactly the moment they went off. My children still to this day think they blew it out heehee!!

Enjoy every second!

 

[CJK]

Thanks so much everyone! We were apprehensive about booking..........but now we're over the moon excited!!!!

 

[amberwc]

Holy cow! Thanks for sharing this, I just booked for Oct 30, and they are still showing lots of availability!

 

[Three cats]

What time do they ask you to arrive for a 9:30 Illuminations?

 

[CJK]

What time do they ask you to arrive for a 9:30 Illuminations?

I would guess 8:15pm. For the 9pm fireworks, we were asked to arrive by 7:45pm.

 

[TinkerPan]

I considered doing this our last trip, but my husband was concerned should he need to use the restroom in a hurry. Does anyone know if there is any "facilities" on the boat?

 

[bluezy]

I considered doing this our last trip, but my husband was concerned should he need to use the restroom in a hurry. Does anyone know if there is any "facilities" on the boat?

There are no "facilities" on the boat -- it's an open pontoon boat. I'm always worried about needing to use the bathroom while on the cruise as well. I just make sure to limit my liquid intake for an hour or two before the cruise. And I always use the bathroom at the Yacht Club right before we check-in for the cruise. I try not to drink too much while we're on the boat. You're only out on the boat 90 minutes at most, so it's not that big of an issue, really. I just like to worry about unlikely events.