Illuminations Cruise Details?

[kandeebunny]

I've read allears and the site here and am still baffled about parts of the Illuminations cruise...how long is it? Where does it leave from? Can I bring bottled (water/soda) drinks with me on board on the pontoon boat?

I am still debating on this but would love to hear the good bad and ugly about it. I also would love to hear about the Wishes Cruises as I couldn't find anything about them on either site!

Are the lakes/bays usually calm...no need for motion sickness meds right? lol!

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[Rootskate]

We did the Wishes cruise last year. It was $120.00 and lasted about 45 minutes, I think. We left from the dock at the Contemporary Resort, but I know they also leave from other resorts, too. It was a smooth ride, very enjoyable. We did bring cups of coffee with us and that seemed to be fine. Hope this helps.

 

[goofy4tink]

We did an IllumiNations Cruise a year ago. We got lucky and were able to share our cruise with another Dis family. We left from YC/BC dock at about 8:30 or so. We cruised down the canalway to MGM, while the Capt. gave us various bits of Disney trivia info. When we got to MGM we turned around and came back to the Intl Gateway where we stopped under the bridge in WS that connects to France. There were several other pontoons there as well as Breathless. The wind was blowing our way that night, so it wasn't as perfect as could be, but still very nice. We could have brought on some water and such. Since we were going back to the Polynesian, our Capt. (Capt. Mike if I remember correctly) left us off at the Gateway dock and we just ambled on back to the monorail station at Epcot. Of course we did have hopper passes so we could do that.

Would we do it again? Probably not, but that's because that cruise was the third time we had seen IllumiNations. We love it but now we just find a spot at the last minute and watch what we can. No more staking out a spot 2 hrs in advance. But, everyone should do a cruise at least once. There is really no motion issue...very calm and relaxing.

 

[zurgswife]

We have done the illuminations cruise about 6 times....we love it. You can bring your own sodas with you. It lasts about 1 hr. they cruise the canal then watch the fireworks then take you back. I'm hoping to do wishes next march....

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

We did the Illuminations cruise in April, and were also able to share it, thanks to the DIS. It was really a highlight of our trip. My girls loved it. THey were able to take turns "driving" the boat for a bit.

Calm the night we went too, and we lucked out w/ no smoke coming our way. The mini tour of the boardwalk area was nice too.

We were able to use valet parking at the Yaght club, and it was very convenient. We could have brought drinks on board, but w 4 little ones, us and the other family, both thought it was not a good idea. One drink or personal snack per person is all I can think you can get away with. THere is a snack package available to purchase, but it was WAYYYY overpriced. IMHO.

I would love to try the wishes cruise. Maybe next year.