***Illuminations Cruises-what they are and how to book one-Find one to share***

[Wendie]

Is this thread for sharing only with solo/couples? No kids allowed?

 

[Christian G]

Not sure. There is another thread elsewhere that is a little more active. I posted in both to get people in both groups

 

[Wubar]

If anyone has space for 3 (2 adults, 1 toddler), I would be interested in either Sunday Jan 14, 2018, or Wednesday, Jan 17th. let me know!

Thanks!

 

[OhioDisneyDad]

Planning on booking a cruise for either 10/11, 10/12 or 10/13 (booking window opens 4/14). Will be me, my wife, DD18 and DS21. Looking to share the cruise with others (kids are fine - my wife says I'm her 3rd child). If you're interested PM me. We've been to WDW many times so we're flexible on the date. Thanks!

 

[WDWFantasmicFan]

Hi all,

A couple of questions;
- Is the phone details (options etc.) correct in the first post? I'm planning on trying to get one for NYE this year, and want to be on the ball with it.
- Does anyone know if they do a later cruise on NYE for the midnight fireworks?

 

[mickeychickie]

Hi all,

A couple of questions;
- Is the phone details (options etc.) correct in the first post? I'm planning on trying to get one for NYE this year, and want to be on the ball with it.
- Does anyone know if they do a later cruise on NYE for the midnight fireworks?

Hi and yes the phone details are correct - (not sure if you got your question already answered).. and not sure about the timing of it - you may want to ask, though - and if then did, the pricing of it may be higher than it usually is due to it being extended past an hour to include the NYE fireworks.... also, the other thing to keep in mind is that since you do have to take it from Yacht & Beach Club, that is where you go back to, and there is no way of getting back to the park once you return to the dock... so if you're not staying there, you will be stranded with trying to find a way back to either your resort or the parking lot (happened to us). Best of luck!

 

[WDWFantasmicFan]

Hi and yes the phone details are correct - (not sure if you got your question already answered).. and not sure about the timing of it - you may want to ask, though - and if then did, the pricing of it may be higher than it usually is due to it being extended past an hour to include the NYE fireworks.... also, the other thing to keep in mind is that since you do have to take it from Yacht & Beach Club, that is where you go back to, and there is no way of getting back to the park once you return to the dock... so if you're not staying there, you will be stranded with trying to find a way back to either your resort or the parking lot (happened to us). Best of luck!

Hi, thanks for your response! I did email Disney a while back and they wouldn't tell me timings or pricing. I may have to ring them at some point. I do know the booking date though. I am staying at the Dolphin that night, so only a walk back. The other family in our party isn't though, so thanks for pointing out the issue with getting back to the parking lot. How did you get back? Would you recommend the illuminations cruise? Was it worth the money in your opinion?

 

[bluezy]

Hi and yes the phone details are correct - (not sure if you got your question already answered).. and not sure about the timing of it - you may want to ask, though - and if then did, the pricing of it may be higher than it usually is due to it being extended past an hour to include the NYE fireworks.... also, the other thing to keep in mind is that since you do have to take it from Yacht & Beach Club, that is where you go back to, and there is no way of getting back to the park once you return to the dock... so if you're not staying there, you will be stranded with trying to find a way back to either your resort or the parking lot (happened to us). Best of luck!

Were you stranded after the standard Illuminations cruise or a NYE one? How did you end up getting where you needed to go? We've done a few Illuminations cruises and simply took a bus from Yacht Club to DTD/DS or to a park that was still open and then took a bus to our resort. There were also taxi's available and waiting at Yacht Club. Now Lyft, Uber, and Minnie Vans would also be available for transportation. Disney is usually very good at making sure no one is stranded somewhere.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I guess not many people sharing boats lately. I was interested for August lol

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

It's far in advance but if anyone is doing one September 22-25 or November 27-Dec 1, I'd love to join!

 

[mickeychickie]

Hi, thanks for your response! I did email Disney a while back and they wouldn't tell me timings or pricing. I may have to ring them at some point. I do know the booking date though. I am staying at the Dolphin that night, so only a walk back. The other family in our party isn't though, so thanks for pointing out the issue with getting back to the parking lot. How did you get back? Would you recommend the illuminations cruise? Was it worth the money in your opinion?

Hi! Sorry for the late reply - got caught up with other things and forgot to check on this site lol. To answer your question, that night was quite the night for us - unforgettable with all the antics that went on due to now knowing, but definitely worth repeating and now we have something to look back at and laugh and remember fondly We ended up taking a resort bus back to the park, then switching onto our resort bus - all this with 2 boxes of leftover pizza, 1 bottle of wine and the cake with the special 3d chocolate topper I ordered, plus balloons! I would definitely recommend it to anyone - it will spoil you in the way you watch the fireworks forever lol. It was definitely worth it! One more thing to keep in mind - you have to be at the YBC dock by 8:00pm to check in, so plan on either being at EPCOT that day if you are going to visit a park for easy access Hope this helped!

 

[mickeychickie]

Were you stranded after the standard Illuminations cruise or a NYE one? How did you end up getting where you needed to go? We've done a few Illuminations cruises and simply took a bus from Yacht Club to DTD/DS or to a park that was still open and then took a bus to our resort. There were also taxi's available and waiting at Yacht Club. Now Lyft, Uber, and Minnie Vans would also be available for transportation. Disney is usually very good at making sure no one is stranded somewhere.

Hi! And stranded in the sense that we didn't realize that would happen - I assumed we could just take the little boat back to EPCOT and take the bus from there - didn't plan for that "extra" trip with all of the stuff to carry lol. Now, with a little knowledge and a lot more options we know better . But I would so do it again in a hearbeat! In fact, I'm actually looking for the next opportunity to get on one

 

[Jules1508]

Looking to share an ILLUMINATIONS CRUISE any time between 3 Feb -12 Feb. We are a party of 3 well behaved adults

 

[jdpk]

I just dropped the 10 person/boat Illuminations Cruise for Saturday 9/15 if anyone is looking for that night.

 

[pit303]

Hi, thanks for your response! I did email Disney a while back and they wouldn't tell me timings or pricing. I may have to ring them at some point. I do know the booking date though. I am staying at the Dolphin that night, so only a walk back. The other family in our party isn't though, so thanks for pointing out the issue with getting back to the parking lot. How did you get back? Would you recommend the illuminations cruise? Was it worth the money in your opinion?

Hi, thanks for your response! I did email Disney a while back and they wouldn't tell me timings or pricing. I may have to ring them at some point. I do know the booking date though. I am staying at the Dolphin that night, so only a walk back. The other family in our party isn't though, so thanks for pointing out the issue with getting back to the parking lot. How did you get back? Would you recommend the illuminations cruise? Was it worth the money in your opinion?

Hi were you able to book a NYE cruise? I am looking to also book or share a boat. There would be four adults and we are also staying at The Dolphin. My husband and I did this for NYE 6 years ago and loved it we now would like to treat our daughter and future son in law.

 

[WDWFantasmicFan]

Hi were you able to book a NYE cruise? I am looking to also book or share a boat. There would be four adults and we are also staying at The Dolphin. My husband and I did this for NYE 6 years ago and loved it we now would like to treat our daughter and future son in law.

Yes, I rang the recreation team months ago and managed to book it :-D Only by chance, the first CM had no idea what I was on about, the second gave me a very inaccurate price but said they weren't open for bookings yet, finally got the NYE fireworks cruise booked on my third attempt. May be worth giving them a call and checking if they have any still available. Glad to hear you loved it the last time you did it; I can't wait for it this time!

 

[Jules1508]

Looking to share an ILLUMINATIONS CRUISE any time between 3 Feb -12 Feb. We are a party of 3 well behaved adults

Make that four well behaved adults!

 

[mickeychickie]

Don't forget to check the Magic Kingdom Fireworks cruises also - we just did that one and it was fantastic! Even a little longer than the Iluminations Cruises AND you get the added bonus of watching the water parade up front and personal Highly recommended, and also more of them available because they leave out of 3 different docks within the Seven Seas Lagoon

 

[Anc96]

My fiance and I are going to be in Disney World from Sept 22nd to Oct 5th.. we'd love to share a cruise, any cruise, if possible. We'd especially love to see one of the last Illumination cruises. Please pm me if there's anyone out there that has room to share. And if there's somewhere else I could post, please lmk.
Thanks
Anc96

 

[Anc96]

There doesn't seem to be much traffic in this thread so I hope people still share cruises. I posted above trying to find someone that might have room to share, but I decided I might have better luck booking my own and finding people who want to share..
So the date is Sept 24th (Tuesday) for Illuminations. We are open to 6 people. We would prefer all adults, but well behaved later aged teens would be ok.
We are still open to sharing someone elses cruise (and willing to do both an Illuminations and any Magic Kingdom one)... within the dates of Sept 22- Oct 5th.
Please post here or PM me.
Also, if there's a better place to post this, please lmk.
Anc96