Grand Gatherings - Magical Fireworks Voyage

[meatballsmom]

Can anyone tell me details about this cruise?? I was reading a thread yesterday and can't find it now.

 

[meatballsmom]

bump!!! I'm curious about times of arrival. Can anyone post when they had to arrive for the cruise? Just trying to finish up all my reservations for the day.

 

[Goofy4]

This was from a PM someone was nice enough to answer. I don't think they would mind me sharing:

We went in June, and we were told to be at the Contemporary at 7:45. It is on the 4th floor right up the escalator. If you get there early, that is where all of the shops are, so you have something to keep you busy. They have an area fenced off for you to go into. Around 8:00 or so, they called us by family into the area. We were each given a Magical Fireworks Voyage pin (one of the collectible pins) to wear. Then they brought out the food!! There were lots of different cookies, brownies and fruit. We also had water and cokes and coffee to drink. While we were eating, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee came out. They spent LOTS of time goofing off with the kids and taking pictures. The kids had plenty of time to talk with them and they were really animated and fun! That all lasted until around 9:00 or so. Then they split the larger group into 2 small groups and we went out to the boats. They are pontoon type boats that hold around 50 people. You are by no means crowded in, though. We were very comfortable. We got to meet our pirate (who, by the way, was the same CM who played Tony at the restaurant the next morning!!) and we headed out across the lagoon. The pirate sings and makes jokes all along the way. He was really great! We stopped and saw the Electrical Water Parade and when that was over, we went across to the other side to watch Wishes. While we were waiting, he sang and took individual pictues and just goofed off a lot. Then...Wishes started. That was the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen . The music is piped into the boat, and you can see well from every seat. It was so great. When it was over, we headed back to the dock. During that time, we played a pirate trivia game and he gave out prizes. As we headed back to the dock, we saw Peter Pan. We met him and he signed autographs. We were probably done around 10:30 with everything. I was a truly wonderful experience.

 

[karynnix]

I don't mind you sharing my info at all!! I just came across the thread, and wish that I could have responded sooner. The Magical Fireworks Voyage was one of the best things that we did the entire trip. We have some great memories! There are so many photo opportunies, too. Be sure to take your camera and be prepared to have a great time!! If you have any other questions, I will check back, but you can also PM me. We also did the breakfast at Tony's the next morning. That is something that I will never forget.

 

[meatballsmom]

Do you remember what time the fireworks actually started?? I'm just trying to get a feel for what time our cruise will be.

 

[karynnix]

It depends what time of the year you go. I believe that in June the fireworks show started at 9:30. We were told to be there about 1 1/2 hours before the show began. We were given the exact time at check-in, but I'm sure that you can call ahead of time to the GG number. We went to the Contemporary early enough to shop and let the kids look around. You can go on up to the 4th floor at any time to the shops. There should be a fireworks show schedule out that you can check and you can pretty much estimate when you will need to be there.

 

[952LisaR]

I would love to do this, but am not likely to be part of a grand gathering (family has timeshares offsite). Is there anyother way to get to go on a wishes cruise and see the characters? My DD would love to see peter pan.

 

[Goofy4]

I would love to do this, but am not likely to be part of a grand gathering (family has timeshares offsite). Is there anyother way to get to go on a wishes cruise and see the characters? My DD would love to see peter pan.

Disney GG reservations are "interesting".. I'm not sure what, if anything, was abormal with our ressies, but they are meticulous about who's going (what family they are part of, etc). We had to explain "who's who" a couple times. Soooo.. you're not likely to be able to book a Wishes cruise without being part of a group. There are other non-GG "specialty" cruises, but even those may require you to be on-site. Hope it works out!

 

[marley]

I booked a Wishes cruise by just calling their 407-WDW-PLAY line. I'm not part of any magical gathering group. Just 4 of us and 4 of our friends. It is $187 plus tax. We had the choice of where we wanted to be picked up: Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Polynesian, WLV. I chose Wilderness Lodge. It is one of our favorites. Snacks and drinks are provided and tip is not included. The fireworks start at 9:30. We were told to be at the dock one hour early and be prepared to push off by 9 pm. Hope that helps, Marley

 

[karynnix]

Disney GG reservations are "interesting".. I'm not sure what, if anything, was abormal with our ressies, but they are meticulous about who's going (what family they are part of, etc). We had to explain "who's who" a couple times.

That's not abnormal, because we had to do the same thing! I casually mentioned talking to one CM that we were going for my mom and dad's anniversary, and they became the center of attention at the voyage and the breakfast! The Grand Gathering CM's are there to make sure that you have the best vacation that you can have. I ended up booking everything through them. It was very helpful!!

 

[4greatboys]

I booked a Wishes cruise by just calling their 407-WDW-PLAY line. I'm not part of any magical gathering group. Just 4 of us and 4 of our friends. It is $187 plus tax. We had the choice of where we wanted to be picked up: Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Polynesian, WLV. I chose Wilderness Lodge. It is one of our favorites. Snacks and drinks are provided and tip is not included. The fireworks start at 9:30. We were told to be at the dock one hour early and be prepared to push off by 9 pm. Hope that helps, Marley

This cruise is different from the GG cruise. There is no reception or characters with this one.

 

[TheresaNY]

We did it in July.....it was NOT worth the money, in our case. The reception area did not have seating for the number of guests (there was ONE sofa and 2 end tables), which made eating and juggling a drink less than fun, it got a little "slow" after doing photos (and there is only so much you can say to a character that does not answer !), and if you have a nut allergy there is only fruit available (I would call and request special consideration in advance - which I had done but there wasn't anything else available). We did not have a seat on the boat that we could actually SEE the fireworks from - the boat was parallel to the Poly shore and we couldn't see out from under the roof of the boat. We were not permitted to relocate because they didn't want the entire weight all on one side of the boat. I definitely preferred that the boat did not capsize !! The "pirates" were fantastic though !! A real riot !! Unfortunately, they ran out of 'prizes' and all the kids in our grand gathering did not get a thing !! It was "nice", but not worth the money. Little kids would probably enjoy it a lot more than 10 and up.

 

[riu girl]

 

[WANNABE@WDW]

We loved the Fireworks Voyage. We were celebrating dh's and mine's 13th wedding anniversary. They really went overboard (sorry... couldn't resist!) to make our experience memorable. We danced to "Kiss the Girl" from the Little Mermaid. That was the first time dh as ever danced with me in public! We had over 30 family and friends in our Grand Gathering. They all said that GG event was one of the highlights of their trips. Our pirates were wonderful and very talented, "Patches" singing voice was beautiful! We are hopefully doing it again on our Dec trip.

 

[jrogers345]

I don't mind you sharing my info at all!! I just came across the thread, and wish that I could have responded sooner. The Magical Fireworks Voyage was one of the best things that we did the entire trip. We have some great memories! There are so many photo opportunies, too. Be sure to take your camera and be prepared to have a great time!! If you have any other questions, I will check back, but you can also PM me. We also did the breakfast at Tony's the next morning. That is something that I will never forget.

Can you give me details on Tony's ? And what was the cost?

Thanks!!