Disney Adventure Planning Thread

[MinnesotaDisneyFan]

Did any of the merchandise sell out? Can you meet Duffy yet or is it still the selfie on the stage? Thank you!

Some Lina Bell merchandise is sold out, particularly the cruise line exclusive key chain. The Stella keychain was available but sold out during the cruise. Shellie was bookable the first sea day as a meet and greet and Duffy on the second day. In addition they had multiple Duffy and Friends selfie sessions.

 

[sentimental13]

Our booking window for on-board activities opened last night, but the select boxes weren’t working. I tried multiple browsers (and the app) over the course of 20 minutes and went back to bed.

I got up at 6 this morning and tried to book the mocktail tasting, and it worked!

 

[JAM9842]

Our booking window for on-board activities opened last night, but the select boxes weren’t working. I tried multiple browsers (and the app) over the course of 20 minutes and went back to bed.

I got up at 6 this morning and tried to book the mocktail tasting, and it worked!

Were you able to get everything you wanted?

 

[sentimental13]

For what was bookable before boarding, we wanted only the mocktail tasting, so yes! I figure I’ll have to try Palo when we aren’t going to be sailing on her birthday (she’s not 18 yet).

I was curious about general availability so I did check and there were definitely several openings for Mike & Sully’s and Marvel Style Studio.

This will be our first cruise with Disney, so we don’t have any castaway status yet. I also just looked at others and there was even Palo Brunch available, so that seems good.

 

[MinnesotaDisneyFan]

For what was bookable before boarding, we wanted only the mocktail tasting, so yes! I figure I’ll have to try Palo when we aren’t going to be sailing on her birthday (she’s not 18 yet).

I was curious about general availability so I did check and there were definitely several openings for Mike & Sully’s and Marvel Style Studio.

This will be our first cruise with Disney, so we don’t have any castaway status yet. I also just looked at others and there was even Palo Brunch available, so that seems good.

I did the mocktail tasting on my April sailing and was extremely disappointed.

I was excited to book it as I do not drink alcohol and have never been able to experience a beverage tasting on any other Disney cruise (as the Adventure is the only ship offering this). When I initially booked, the description of the experience sounded like a class where you would learn how to mix and make mocktails (similar to what my friends have experienced on other ships with these experiences). At some point between booking and the actual experience, the description changed to it being a "sip and savor" experience. The other major change, which didn't bother me (but others in attendance were upset about) was that it was not a mocktail experience but a 'zero proof' experience. Disney (and other bars and cruise lines) make the distinction between mocktails being mixed drinks made with syrup/soda/juice and 'zero proof' drinks containing alcohol-removed spirits that still contain trace amounts of alcohol. I enjoy the latter, but for some this is not of interest.

The experience consisted of sitting in a sweltering hot Taverna Portorosso (where they had added temporary oscillating fans on the tables) while the cast member educated us mostly on the history of Lyre's alcohol-removed spirits while another cast member distributed drinks for us to taste (I think a total of 6 drinks). It was so warm that the ice melted so fast that the drinks were mostly water and undrinkable.

Between the bait-and-switch description, the miserable experience, and undrinkable drinks, I got a full refund.

 

[sentimental13]

The other major change, which didn't bother me (but others in attendance were upset about) was that it was not a mocktail experience but a 'zero proof' experience. Disney (and other bars and cruise lines) make the distinction between mocktails being mixed drinks made with syrup/soda/juice and 'zero proof' drinks containing alcohol-removed spirits that still contain trace amounts of alcohol. I enjoy the latter, but for some this is not of interest.

Hmm, I am curious how they will handle this with a 14 year old. They still list 14 as the minimum age for the experience, but as a general rule they do not serve zero proof anything to anyone under the age of 21 at DW or 18 or 21 (depending on sailing) on DCL as far as I am aware.

I was hoping for the more experiential learning piece of it which was what I last read, and the current description still includes the word "learn." I'll have to ponder this and see if we still want to do it. I don't think I'll cancel just yet, but I'll see what reviews look like closer to time. My only hope is that they fix the "hot mess" that was your experience and it is just one of those awful growing pains of figuring out a new ship. Since my daughter is not of age yet, and it's her birthday trip, this was on her list. I guess if she still wants to and has a good time, it will be alright.

Thank you so much for the heads up!

 

[MinnesotaDisneyFan]

Hmm, I am curious how they will handle this with a 14 year old. They still list 14 as the minimum age for the experience, but as a general rule they do not serve zero proof anything to anyone under the age of 21 at DW or 18 or 21 (depending on sailing) on DCL as far as I am aware.

I was hoping for the more experiential learning piece of it which was what I last read, and the current description still includes the word "learn." I'll have to ponder this and see if we still want to do it. I don't think I'll cancel just yet, but I'll see what reviews look like closer to time. My only hope is that they fix the "hot mess" that was your experience and it is just one of those awful growing pains of figuring out a new ship. Since my daughter is not of age yet, and it's her birthday trip, this was on her list. I guess if she still wants to and has a good time, it will be alright.

Thank you so much for the heads up!

I bet you could even wait and ask on-board and still be able to cancel if it isn't what is being advertised. For all I know they have reverted back to actual mocktails, but I agree that they don't serve 14 year olds 'zero proof' drinks in the bars so not sure why the age of the activity is 14.

There was absolutely nothing interactive or experiential about the experience. It really just felt like a sales pitch and overview of the Lyre brand. The cast members were lovely and giving it their all with what they were tasked to do, but it was just not worth $50.