Cruise to Neverland: Cuz we ain't see'n land! Jan 21-23 on the Wonder

[dsnydaddy]

I booked this cruise within a week of it coming available and boy was I glad. I actually didn't think that a two-night cruise was going to be the sell-out that it was. In very short order this first west coast cruise for the Wonder hung out it's no vacancy sign and I was very grateful that I jumped on it when I did. I convinced a friend of mine from work to join us and due to the very low cost of this trip, I booked a room for my In-Laws.

Now, the two Disney cruises that I had done previously were both on the Magic and both 7 night cruises to the Caribbean. I really didn't quite know what to expect on such a short cruise. Turns out no-one else did either. Many of the decisions about how this cruise would be run were not made until last minute by even the DCL people. One thing that I did know, was that it would put me one cruise closer to Gold Castaway Club membership. So I was Jazzed.

Judging by the 200+ pages of the DIS board cruise meets thread, I was not the only one excited by this cruise either. We all anxiously ticked off the days until the cruise arrived. So, here's my experiences with the "Cruise to Neverland!"

First off, Last year I purchased Annual Passes for the family on a whim. Turned out to be a great investment as we have hit Disneyland a number of times since the purchase. This Cruise was another excuse to put them to use. I planned to leave after the kids got out of school on Wednesday and drive down to Anaheim. Stayed at HoJo's and got the most excellent rate of $59/night for annual passholders. Thursday was spend in Disneyland then Friday morning it was up early and off to the Port for a short but sweet cruise on the Wonder.

Now everytime I had used my AP's over the last year the park has been CROWDED! And I really worried that this trip would be no exception. I could not have been more wrong!

My first clue to the type of day should have been McDonalds:

We walked in at 9 am (park opened at 10am) and it was empty. There were 3 families standing at the registers waiting to order. I've never seen it this quiet!

Here's a picture that we took of the kids (getting their picture taken) but the important thing to note was that it is fairly uncrowded. The park attendance was very light that day.

Not only was the attendance down but the temps were up! low to mid 70's. It was t-shirt weather all the way. Ride times were at worst 30 minutes but mostly walk on. we rode Finding Nemo for the first time in a long time simply because it was such a short wait time.

 

[dsnydaddy]

Now one of the unexpected by-products of having very few people at the park is the likelyhood that you will have a really great character interaction goes up greatly. We just so happened to bump into Sleeping Beauty and the kids had a great time just talking to her.

Later in the day we took a snack break in my favorite of favorite places New Orleans Square.

My Mother-In-Law shared a Mint Julep with my Daughter:

While I enjoyed the music and ambiance of the place. The smile on my face says it all:

Another Pleasant surprise that we had found was a Ugandan Choir singing praise music at one of the stages near the hub.

After leaving Disneyland for the day we had our traditional dinner at Joe's Crab Shack and our first day was done.

 

[dsnydaddy]

We did not really have to wake up very early on Friday and that was a good thing since we were exhausted from our day in Disneyland. Again we were at McDonalds for Breakfast and it was a mite busier since it was friday but we were still in and out in a hurry.

We drove to the port following the following path:

Harbor Blvd in Anaheim south to 22 west. Then 22 to the 405 (North/ West) to the 710 south. Now here's where I screwed up. I was looking for some signs pointing to the World Cruise Center. I didn't see them. So when the fork in the road came I went left instead of right. And ended up downtown somewhere. Once I got back on track I continued down the freeway as if I had made that right veer. This took me over a green bridge and we could see the Wonder. It looked like it was right below the bridge! Once on the other side of the bridge theres an exit to the left that takes you right to the ship. Turn to the right at the light and you'll head right into the parking lot. (My friends made the mistake of going forward and getting lost even though the drove right past the Wonder!) Parking runs $12/day. We unloaded and handed off our luggage to a Porter and proceeded into the World Cruise Center.

A few words about this Port. First, it's not Disney's and as a result other Cruise lines use it. They did try to "Disney" it up a bit but it was still fairly lackluster. My guess is, that they will be making some additions to it as time goes on to give it some magic. But this being the first Disney Cruise here in a long time, I'm sure there wasn't time to really do much. The Good news was that there were CM's everywhere guiding you to exactly where you need to be at all times. So the confusion factor was minimal. We were first guided to a desk to fill out our Health Affidavit then CC members were guided to their line and Newbies were guided to their line. I actually thought that there would me more repeat cruisers than Newb's on this cruise, but judging by the lines, the Newbs were gonna be waiting a while. Fortunately for new arrivals, the CM's took note of this and began to shunt some of the Newbs into the CC line.

(Concierge Waiting room)

After we got our KTTW cards and Boarding pass we were guided to another room where those enterprising enough to get there extra early were already starting to board (this was about 11:30) I took the kids over to the Kids desk to get their bands. If you don't know, DCL is now using RFID tags on the children to track them better. They're a bit bulkier than the old wristbands but the security is much better. They're also waterproof so no need to worry in the pool. While we waited in that line, Minnie Came out for a visit:

From the time I got into line to the time that Laura had the kids pictures taken with Minnie the Boarding call went from 8 to 12. (It was fast!) I had Laura go into that line while I finished with the kids clubs (I was 2nd in line by this time) Once the kids got their wristbands, I sent them to Laura and once I got it all done I joined them all.

The Boarding hall seems much longer in LA than at PC. But we were so excited that we barely realized it.

And after stepping onto this "Wonder"ful ship and being announced to all in the Atrium we proceeded to Parrot Cay for Brunch.

It was Full.

We were shunted up to Beach Blanket Buffet. Now the previous cruises I was on we always got to eat at Parrot Cay and I always found it to be fantastic, but the BBB fare seemed to be somewhat lackluster. (It was good but I wasn't real thrilled by it) The Bonus was that we were able to eat outside on Deck and that was really nice (Of course the weather was still cooperating and it was all simply beautiful)

 

[dsnydaddy]

After Lunch, it was off to the pool for a swim:

Then the Sail Away Party:

 

[PizzieDuster]

I wish I could have meet you and your family!

We did a practice run the night we ate down at the Ports of Call (Thursday).

My DH dropped us off as he had to be in court by 11:00 am so we were there at the port at 10:00 am and walked right in - no lines anywhere. We got boarding #2! Had a wonderful conversation with another family that made the time go by so fast.

I'll have to work on a trip report

Post more pictures!

 

[mlipreston]

Loving it so far!

 

[dsnydaddy]

Now I mentioned before that it was my belief that many of the DCL decisions for this oddball cruise were not made until the last minute. Well, one of these decisions dealt with Dining rotations. The Disney Ships have 3 dining rooms and people rotate through them each in turn. However there were only two dinners on this cruise and it was impossible to cycle everyone through all three dining rooms. About a month before the cruise it began to be rumored that there would be no rotation and instead everyone will be assigned one dining room and they will eat there both nights. It was a bummer because I had newbies with me and I wanted them to experience as much of a full Disney Cruise as they could. Compound this disappointment with the fact that Animators Palate would not be performing it's show (to be fair to all the cruisers) So, I began to worry about what rotation I may get. I settled upon Tritons. It was elegant and classy in the DCL style and since it was different than the dining rooms on the Magic it would be new to even me. Well, upon getting our KTTW card, I found that we in fact did get Tritons! YAY

So after, the Sail Away Party, we tried to show the kids how to play Ping Pong (that was a failure!)

Then it was off to get dressed for Dinner.

Now, one of the decisions that I believe that DCL really got right was putting up two of the best shows for this cruise. The Golden Mickey's and Disney Dreams. They were both loved by my friends and in-laws.

 

[dsnydaddy]

I wish I could have meet you and your family!

We did a practice run the night we ate down at the Ports of Call (Thursday).

My DH dropped us off as he had to be in court by 11:00 am so we were there at the port at 10:00 am and walked right in - no lines anywhere. We got boarding #2! Had a wonderful conversation with another family that made the time go by so fast.

I'll have to work on a trip report

Post more pictures!

I was bummed about not meeting more people as well. After having got to know you all for the past year it would have been nice. You really rocked it to the port! I would have loved to gotten that #2 boarding pass, but I've learned to not rush things too much because it just stresses everyone out. So If I just relax, everyone else has a better time.

 

[dsnydaddy]

So, Saturday morning, I got up early. I work 12 hr shifts which causes me to have to be awake at 5:30 am to be at work at 7am. So, I was up and ready to go while everyone was still asleep. So, I went for a walk.

Sunrise Saturday Morning.

The ship was rocking a bit and the Mickey Pool was sloshing about quite a bit. I'll post a video of it as soon as I upload to YouTube.

Dining area of Beach Blanket Buffet

An Empty Deck

The Adult Pool

The Bow.

 

[dsnydaddy]

I had thought that it would have been easy for DCL to have cruised to Avalon for this cruise, but I think it would have violated some American Law or another and make an already short cruise even shorter. So we had an "At Sea" day. Where we really relaxed and enjoyed the ship. The Kids were crazy about the kids clubs this cruise. Which surprised me as Grandma and Poppy we aboard and I figured the kids would be busy keeping them busy. But they would hardly come out this time. But we did get them out to swim at the Mickey Pool. My kids keep me tethered to this section of the ship.

Now, a bit of history. On our first DCL cruise in 2007 my son realized that all he had to do was walk up to a counter and ask and Pizza would be magically delivered into his hands. He spent the rest of the cruise and the one after that offering to be our personal waiter. This cruise was no different. He kept us stocked on Pizza and soda.

Here is a pic of my friends that I coaxed onto the ship. They had a great time.

Later, in the day I stood for a long time at the rebooking desk waiting to rebook my and my wife's parents on a Feb. 2012 Mexican Riviera cruise. (Yes, they loved it that much!)

That evening we got ready for Dinner.

I have to say, our servers were great. They worked hard to make us happy and they were great with the kids. Dinner times were a sheer joy. Great Food, Great Company in a Great Place.

After the show we went on a walk about the ship. Kids lined up as far as the eyes can see waiting for Princesses.

 

[JLDSMD]

Hi Steve. Welcome back.

 

[dsnydaddy]

Now, let me say. It was one COLD night! And FOGGY! You could barely see much over the edge of the ship. But even with that, one of the best parts of the walk was the short time we spent on Deck 4. Absolutely Beautiful.

My Mother-In-Law Thought that the above would be a much more romantic photo with people in it. So here is Laura and I:

And here is the same shot with Laura's Parents:

Here's a shot that shows how foggy it got:

My Father-In-Law at the bow section of Deck 4

Laura and I.

And of course when I was all over, we collected some very tired children:

 

[dsnydaddy]

Hi Steve. Welcome back.

Hey! Jeff. I'm just wrapping this trip report up then I was going to post it around so everyone could find it. You beat me to the punch!

 

[dsnydaddy]

So next day, I was awoke by a crying child in a nearby cabin. It brought me back to 2007 when my son had a meltdown as we left the Magic for the first time. He did not want that cruise to end. It made me glad that I had rebooked onboard. This time it was not my children melting down (mostly because they know that I can hardly stay away myself so they have no worries about not coming back)

At breakfast I learned it was my friends child that woke me. She did not want to go home. She told her parents that she liked "Disneyland on the Water" better than Disneyland.

I say, "Well Said!"

 

[dsnydaddy]

Loving it so far!

Thank You!

 

[JLDSMD]

Hey! Jeff. I'm just wrapping this trip report up then I was going to post it around so everyone could find it. You beat me to the punch!

You ended up at the top of the Cruise Forums where it has the sub-category of "trip reports".

Loving the report and all the pictures.

 

[JLDSMD]

So next day, I was awoke by a crying child in a nearby cabin. It brought me back to 2007 when my son had a meltdown as we left the Magic for the first time. He did not want that cruise to end. It made me glad that I had rebooked onboard. This time it was not my children melting down (mostly because they know that I can hardly stay away myself so they have no worries about not coming back)

At breakfast I learned it was my friends child that woke me. She did not want to go home. She told her parents that she liked "Disneyland on the Water" better than Disneyland.

I say, "Well Said!"

So did your friends rebook too?

I read you said the rebooking lines were long, how long did you have to wait?

 

[dsnydaddy]

You ended up at the top of the Cruise Forums where it has the sub-category of "trip reports".

Loving the report and all the pictures.

Thanks!

So did your friends rebook too?

I read you said the rebooking lines were long, how long did you have to wait?

Yeah, everyone rebooked. Although, I've heard that if you leave an interest card with the attendant, they'll get back to you within a few weeks any you'll get all the perks of having rebooked onboard. They booked the Fantasy with a dummy date. With the intention of moving the date to October. I'm debating upon whether I want to go with them or not. I'm leaning toward Aulani for 2012.

I waited for about 45 minutes or more. Two women who were there when we first arrived took a very long time. Everyone else whipped through rather efficiently.

 

[Meghatron]

LMAO we are in some of your pictures!!!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Great report and pics! Very grateful for details on the cruise center.