Fireworks Cruises or Grand 1 Yacht

[Native NYer]

Anyone ever do one of the specialty cruises (Wishes or Illuminations)? Or chartered the Grand 1 Yacht? Considering this for August '08 but not sure if it's worth the $$$$.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Fellow DISer Lives4Disney can help you out. She's usually on the GF FAQ thread, if you want to ask your question there.

GF FAQ link, http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1629507

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Man, go for the Breathless Illuminations cruise if you can get it...it's a blast, and Aaron's a great captain!

 

[ducklite]

In the past I would have said to get the Grand One. But...I don't think that the model of boat they are using now is condusive to fireworks viewing at all.

The advantage to the Grand One is that if the weather is bad you can stay inside. You can also have a wider variety of foods and beverages catered, and even have butler service to serve you if you want to spend the cash for it. And for longer cruises you've got a bathroom onboard--actually two of them.

But unless it's a special occasion, IMHO what they are now charging for the Grand One has gone from expensive to ridiculous, and I'd just do a pontoon cruise fireworks cruise.

 

[Native NYer]

Thanks for the suggestions! Now the hard part is deciding. Hmmm maybe a cruise to see Wishes and one to see Illuminations. The Breathless sounds fabulous!

 

[Buzz2001]

We do the Illuminations cruise each year. The price now is a bit high at 250.00 but if you share with another family, it can help.

 

[Native NYer]

Any preferences? Illuminations or Wishes?

 

[Hopefully]

We did the Illuminations Cruise several years ago and we loved it. It was less expensive then than it is now. We had our own boat and did not share with another family.
I would do it again.
I have not done the Wishes cruise so I can not compare the two. But it sounds really nice to me. I believe you need to be careful when booking the Wishes Cruise as not all of the boats have the piped in music. be sure you ask for one that does if that is important to you.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Any preferences? Illuminations or Wishes?

They don't have the Breathless for Wishes, so I have to say Illuminations. Besides, I like Illuminations better.

A tip...if you plan on trying for the Breathless for Illuminations, try for a night that MGM closes at 7pm or earlier. I can't tell you why, but it is a much better experience.
If you go for a pontoon boat, though, it doesn't matter what time MGM closes.

Tip your Captain well!

 

[Lizzy Lemon]

The Wishes cruise we thought parked too far out and we didn't enjoy it much at all. The Illuminations cruise is much, much nicer and the pilot was brilliant also, it was nice not to be among the crowds but as they had the same view standing just above us I wouldn't do it again. We shared both cruises and had a full boat on both occasions so it was fun.

 

[Native NYer]

Now I'm thinking of doing both! I've never stayed for Illuminations because I hate the crowds (for some reason, it doesn't bother me at the MK). Now to decide...Grand 1 or pontoon for Wishes? Breathless or pontoon for Illuminations?

 

[4formickey]

how do you find a faily to share the cruise with

 

[TammiMcMan]

The Illumination cruises book almost immediately when the 90 day window opens, so just keep an eye on the dates if you decide to do this one.. Because they park so close, under the bridge between France & the UK, they can only have a limited number of pontoon boats. I think it's either 5 or 6, plus the Breathless boat.

Wishes is a little easier to get, because they can have more boats on the lake.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Party size is a factor for IllumiNations. Breathless holds only 6 passengers, whereas the Pontoon boats hold 10. If you share with others, you can split the cost among more people, which means it costs less per person for a pontoon. But if you don't intend on sharing, and your party size is less than 6, I'd prefer the Breathless.

 

[Native NYer]

Thanks for the advice! I plan on calling right on the 90 day mark. Right now, it looks like the Grand 1 for Wishes and Iluminations on either the Breathless or the pontoon. There are 4 of us and I'm still trying to figure out which would be a better experience for Illuminations. It was a no-brainer for Wishes. The Grand 1 is nothing like the pontoon boats. But I don't know a whole lot about the Breathless. What kind of a boat is it?

 

[UrsulasShadow]

This is the description of the BreathlessII on the DIS homepages...

“Breathless” Cruise – a 1930 mahogany reproduction Chris Craft run-about boat. Six guest maximum, available at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort and Disney’s Beach Club Resort. This cruise can be booked during Illuminations for $250.00. You can also rent it throughout the day at the following rate:

$23.58+ tax - 10 Minutes

$80.18+ tax - 30 Minutes

I'm still looking for the pics.

 

[Native NYer]

Thanks!!! I'm hunting for pics too!

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Thanks for the advice! I plan on calling right on the 90 day mark. Right now, it looks like the Grand 1 for Wishes and Iluminations on either the Breathless or the pontoon. There are 4 of us and I'm still trying to figure out which would be a better experience for Illuminations. It was a no-brainer for Wishes. The Grand 1 is nothing like the pontoon boats. But I don't know a whole lot about the Breathless. What kind of a boat is it?

We have done both the Grand 1 for wishes and the pontoon boat for Illuminations. We like them both. It was just the 3 of us on the Grand 1 for Wishes and we had it catered and a fabulous butler (Billy). Our captain Mike kept us floating right in front of the Poly beach and what a view we had. That was the first year that Disney was doing the perimeter fireworks and all we could say was "wow." There were 7 of us (all family) on the pontoon boat for Illuminations and there were snacks and drinks as well. We were the second boat in docked in the middle. It was a lot of fun. Next time we do Illuminations we are going to try to get the Breathless for just the 3 of us as it seems like it would be really elegant to cruise. Whatever you choose, I am sure you will have a great time.

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Thanks!!! I'm hunting for pics too!

I found these pic's. Hope they help.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=5qcng3n.cdfvfvy7&Uy=-ht6h6z&Ux=0

 

[Native NYer]

Thanks for the pictures of the Breathless! It's such a beautiful boat! I'm considering the Breathless. The only advantage the pontoon boat seems to have is that it's covered in the event it rains. Can food be ordered for cruises on the Breathless?