DVC Chit Chat Thread

[AstroBlasters]

Magic vs Wonder?

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Magic vs Wonder?

We are Magic all the way because we love Tangled and the Tangled dining room experience is so fun (your kids might have outgrown the desire to parade around the dining room with Rapunzel, Flynn, and Snuggly Duckling criminals?) but the Tiana equivalent is also very good. My husband thinks the Wonder is in worse shape but I *think* that’s because we sailed it in rougher pacific waters and have only (so far) sailed the Magic on 3/4 days from FL.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Even I’m not sure if I’d want to be on a cruise ship very long so I can relate! Alaska cruises do sound cool though. I am hesitant though…it’s a lot of people on a boat. Would I like that? I am not sure.

At least on Disboards I feel like I’ve seen a lot of DVC owners with special needs kids and also people with food allergies or special dietary needs in the family. Which makes a lot of sense to me. It is more homey than a hotel so may feel more familiar, and also you can cook in your room!

Yeah, so far, I'm really liking DVC for our son. It's also nice that the rooms have a similar layout/feel at our two favorites, BRV and VGC. I'll be curious to see what he thinks of VDH next summer. Thankfully, he seems to do well in most hotels we've stayed at over the years.

I'm immunocompromised so that's another reason I would hesitate about a cruise ship. I feel like people are always getting sick on them. I already risk it with being in busy theme parks but not sure I'd want to deal with mostly indoor meals, especially if there are buffets. Even before I was immunocompromised, I was a bit of a germaphobe but now I'm WAY worse. Ha!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Magic vs Wonder?

They both go to dry dock this year. I do not know what all dry dock entails but makes me feel a little better about it being an older ship. I looked at the options and I decided Magic was better since we aren't big Tiana fans and you can get Tiana experiences elsewhere.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I'm immunocompromised so that's another reason I would hesitate about a cruise ship. I feel like people are always getting sick on them. I already risk it with being in busy theme parks but not sure I'd want to deal with mostly indoor meals, especially if there are buffets. Even before I was immunocompromised, I was a bit of a germaphobe but now I'm WAY worse. Ha!

I can see being reluctant to cruise if you have any members of your party who are immunocompromised. It’s possible to get room service delivered to your room and there is outdoor dining stations but:
(a) the options are limited and
(b) most of the stuff that makes it a special Disney cruise are indoor with lots of people packed in small spaces (theater, special dining, trivia, etc)
(c) they still force everybody together for a muster drill and it’s not really possible to avoid at least a few times you’ll be in crowded spaces indoors.

 

[Cfabar1]

The Wonder as I recall has more of the original layout - the Magic added a slide for example...

Have only been on the Magic, not the Wonder... Absolutely loved it... My advice on both is, if you're not doing concierge, spring for the 8th Floor Deluxe Family Verandah Rooms...

 

[VGCgroupie]

I will say I was very impressed by the things they do for keeping hands clean on the ship. Kids have to wash hands before entering and exiting kids club. Hand washing stations right next to quick service food so you dont have to seek out a bathroom. Hand sanitizing wipes given to you prior to entering table service (we also used these to sanitize our phones) Multiple signs posted to remind you to wash your hands.

 

[VGCgroupie]

The Wonder as I recall has more of the original layout - the Magic added a slide for example...

Have only been on the Magic, not the Wonder... Absolutely loved it... My advice on both is, if you're not doing concierge, spring for the 8th Floor Deluxe Family Verandah Rooms...

I was wondering why they were so much more, I didnt notice as much of an increase on the Fantasy.

 

[Cfabar1]

I was wondering why they were so much more, I didnt notice as much of an increase on the Fantasy.

yeah there aren't many of them, the increase I am told is more meaningful, and also the location can't be beat... so close to the buffet and the pool deck... so great to sneak up there whenever you want to grab a coffee or a coke, or whatever...

and the small size of the ship makes it super convenient... not like being on the dream or fantasy, let alone the wish (we've been the deck below on those ships too, it isn't the same)

maybe not as important in Alaska, but I am told by those who have done the cruise in AK that the pools on the Wonder at least are heated and quite warm...

 

[VGCgroupie]

Anyone considering cruising. My husband worked 1 day on the cruise on a video call meeting and the wifi worked perfectly. Being able to work is the only reason we can consider this 6 day cruise so soon.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

They both go to dry dock this year. I do not know what all dry dock entails but makes me feel a little better about it being an older ship. I looked at the options and I decided Magic was better since we are big Tiana fans and you can Tiana experiences elsewhere.

Huh? The Wonder is the one with Tiana's

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Magic vs Wonder?

Does this mean you're considering the Alaska sailings?

 

[VGCgroupie]

Huh? The Wonder is the one with Tiana's

Should have said ARENT not are. Will fix the typo.

 

[Brian Noble]

There seems to be a pretty big overlap of DVCers who also like to cruise.

"I'll take People Who Spend A Lot On Vacation for $600, Alex."

 

[AstroBlasters]

Does this mean you're considering the Alaska sailings?

Perusing…..I did just drop some $$$ on a VGF contract….

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

My advice on both is, if you're not doing concierge, spring for the 8th Floor Deluxe Family Verandah Rooms...

Depends on your needs and party... If we want a verandah, we've found we're happy with the 7As and save money, which then goes toward more vacationing, lol

Also, we're more often in the lower decks doing trivia and such activities (have yet to try any of the pools, lol) and don't go to the buffet every day, so being lower down works better for us. We were on Deck 5 FWD on the Wonder during our Hawaii cruise last Fall and loved how easy it was to get to the theater and venues a couple of decks below.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Also, we're more often in the lower decks doing trivia and such activities (have yet to try any of the pools, lol) and don't go to the buffet every day, so being lower down works better for us. We were on Deck 5 FWD on the Wonder during our Hawaii cruise last Fall and loved how easy it was to get to the theater and venues a couple of decks below.

I’ll add that if you have kids in the kids club, lower decks close to the club is very convenient— ESPECIALLY if you are a family who is often forgetting magic bands in the room.

 

[Cfabar1]

I’ll add that if you have kids in the kids club, lower decks close to the club is very convenient— ESPECIALLY if you are a family who is often forgetting magic bands in the room.

I will echo this - especially if you have little little kids and want to avoid using the elevators… we found this particularly helpful on our recent Wish and Dream cruises - where we didn’t get off the boat one time…

But I find that concern to be less so on the Magic due to how compact it is - how few floors you need to go down to reach deck 5… Nothing is as convenient as the Dream or Fantasy - stay on Deck 6 or Deck 5 even and take the kids to the clubs there… but i think the Magic Deck 8 down to Deck 5 is just as convenient, maybe more so than Deck 6 on the Wish down to Deck 2 for the Kids Clubs/Nursery.

 

[Becx N Gav]

I'm also trying to stay at each DVC resort - I stayed at WL before they built the new bits so I might have to try CC and BR too!
Otherwise at WDW I haven't done FWC, VGF (though stayed there before DVC), Polynesian and Riviera - staying at the later two in October though!

I'm also trying to sail aboard all the DCL ships, probably going to move two current bookings (Destiny and Treasure) from Easter 2027 to August 2027, so by August next year I will have sailed on all of them except the Adventure! Then when the Believe comes out I am going to book an inaugural cruise! Then once OLC releases details of their ships and the budget is available I think we'll try to so Asia in one go!! Adventure, HKDL, SDL, TDL and TDS and the OLC ship/s!! We shall see!
Oh and I also want to do a DVC cruise at some point and a transatlantic.

Then once I've got all that out of my system lol I might start doing cruises to actually visit places! I'm open to the cruise line, will be looking at itineraries, how old my son is and what would suit him and current reviews as there seem to be a lot of cost cutting and price increases on some lines!

I would like to try Celebrity and Virgin (obv not with my son!), a river cruise and maybe MSC (I've heard their version of concierge is worth doing). I will not be sailing on P&O or Costa!

 

[DisMomNCM]

Heading home after our long awaited mommy/daughter trip! Split between BWV (perfect for coming back after MM at HS) an BRV (I think it’s a one and done for us…we had a great time but I swear we got a total reject room lol). Many priceless moments this week.