Is the Illuminations cruise worth it?

[bigcrit]

I was curious if anyone thought they were worth it?

 

[2BOYMOM]

Yes, definitely. I loved it.





Kim

 

[bigcrit]

Thanks Kim. I wanted to make sure moving my itinerary around for it was worth doing.

 

[EvilinaDM101]

YES! YES! YES! It was AMAZING! A little scary because you seem soooo close to the fireworks but FDH proposed to me on an Illumination cruise and I could not have asked for anything more. It was A LOT of FUN!! It's not badly priced if you find fellow DIS'ers to share the cost of the cruise too.

 

[Bob NC]

Worth it?.....Depends upon what you mean by "Worth it". It's cool to take a boat ride with 12 close friends or family and all watch Illuminations together without having to fight for a spot.

However, it really isn't the best vantage point for watching Illuminations. You park under a bridge and people who paid *nothing* are standing 3 feet over your head. As a matter of fact, if you weren't on the cruise, I highly doubt that you would *pick* that vantage point to watch. There are far better spots to have a better view.

I've done the cruise, (Just because of the way DIS'ers speak of it in such glowing terms), afterwards I was kinda flummoxed as to what the big deal was all about.

If the cruise were free, I believe I'd pass and pick a better spot.

 

[mousefansmom]

We enjoyed the Illuminations cruise, but we split the cost with others, so it wasn't unreasonable for our family. We do hope to go again, if that helps at all.

Mousefansmom

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

I have done the Illuminations Cruise and the Wishes Cruise, and much preferred the Wishes cruise. I would do the Wishes cruise again, not sure if I would do the Illuminations one again.

 

[Jakesmom1]

We took the breathless, and it did take my breath away. It wa my DH, DS and me.

We had a great view of the fireworks, and the ride at night and the boat were absolutely beautiful.

Was it worth it? Definately. We would do it again in a heart beat !!!!


In fact we are trying to book it for July, but so far no luck.

 

[4greatboys]

Yes!!

 

[Tinkaroo]

I just did the cruise for the 1st time Friday night. It was a surprise gift for my DH's 30th b-day (his absolute favorite is IllumiNations), and our parents came and surprised him as well.

It was a beautiful night, the ride around the waterways was great, and it was a nice, relaxing, and beautiful way to pass the time before the show versus holding down a piece of concrete.

As for the view? Is it good - yes. We could see the fireworks and the globe perfectly. The only thing I didn't see quite as well as I had earlier in the week from outside Italy were the water features. It was cool to be able to fill the heat from the fire at the beginning, and it is a neat vantage point. Plus, you don't have to fight all the people exiting at the end!!!!

Would I do it again? For a special occasion, yes. For any other night, I'll probably just watch it for free. I do think it is something you should do once if it interests you.

 

[welovedis]

We've done it twice--once in Sept 2001 & again in Jan 2004.

The first cruise was neat, we took my mom for her first trip EVER to WDW for her 65th b-day & met up with an DIS family to split the cruise. We really enjoyed it and also enjoyed Beaches & Cream afterward.

This past time we went with some local Disney friends who were at WDW at the same time we were. Because of our friendship I enjoyed the cruise, not so much because of the parking spot of the boat. While I enjoyed the fireworks, I probably wouldn't do it again because, as another poster mentioned, the viewing isn't the best place to see it.

Just my .02!

 

[Tiger Fan]

We absolutely love the Illuminations Cruise. We've done it twice before and everyone in our group both times were thrilled with how wonderful it was. We have been so lucky to be chosen on this trip to share a cruise with another DIS family (Mad2Scrap) too - thank you again, by the way!! We watch Illuminations usually twice on each trip (we just love the entire show) and I've seen the fireworks from many different spots and to me, being on that boat, comfortably seated with your family and/or new DIS friends - there's just nothing like it to us, but hey - to each his own! I'd go for it and see if you find it as special as many of the others of us.
Lisa
Tiger Fan

 

[edinburghlass]

This is going to be a highlight of our upcoming first trip in July, not least as we are sharing the cruise with two US families from here. As my friend from NZ is Joining with us in Disney it won't just be hands across the water but hands around the world

Watched a video clip I found on here about Beaches and Cream so a trip there afterwards sounds like the icing on the cake