Just off 4 night Dream Halloween w/kids ?'s

[Jesslm80]

Oh my gosh. Is there anything better to describe perfection? This was the best vacation ever. We traveled with our 8 and 4 year old. It was Halloween aboard. Had a cat 5A room mid ship (verandah) deck 9. Our dining rotation was RAAE. We had table 41 and were in the teacup shaped table booths in EG. It was such a surprise.

I obsessively read these boards and asked questions at naseum. I learned so much and was in the know more so than other newbies. The Navigator app and the paper navigator did not list everything. And I mean the ticketed princess meet and greets. We walked on with boarding group 4 and went straight to guest services. Signed up for all our stuff. Got killer pool seats. And rode the aquaduck 1/2 a dozen times with no line. That midnight check in 90 days out landed us a 1045 arrival time. It rocked. We brought travel mugs and used them a lot. We didn't need water shoes at CC. We stayed on board most of the day at Nassau and were one of the few at the pool and aquaduck. It was awesome.

Anything I can help with?

 

[MasonsG]

Super awesome that you had such a great trip. We leave tomorrow for our first time on the Dream and would love to know if you did the meet and greets with the characters in Halloween costume- was it a Halloween sailing? How were the lines? Did you do one with Jack and Sally, was this still happening on the first night after their show? and if so- was it at Preludes or somewhere else? Have read others mention it does not get posted, it just may happen. Did they do facial recognition for the aqua duck photos? Thanks so much, hoping you happen to see this before Monday, I will still have internet in Orlando so I will check back. Any insights at all about not missing anything Halloween related is much appreciated.

 

[Jesslm80]

Super awesome that you had such a great trip. We leave tomorrow for our first time on the Dream and would love to know if you did the meet and greets with the characters in Halloween costume- was it a Halloween sailing? How were the lines? Did you do one with Jack and Sally, was this still happening on the first night after their show? and if so- was it at Preludes or somewhere else? Have read others mention it does not get posted, it just may happen. Did they do facial recognition for the aqua duck photos? Thanks so much, hoping you happen to see this before Monday, I will still have internet in Orlando so I will check back. Any insights at all about not missing anything Halloween related is much appreciated.

Happy to help in any way. I was expecting a very in your face Halloween experience on board and it was quite the opposite. Very well done. But not overwhelming. The embarkation picture is not Halloween themed.

The characters were only in their Halloween costumes one day (day 3). And there were several meet and greets through out the cruise and "Halloween" day. People lined up on deck 4 for Mickey and other main characters about a half hour to 45 minutes early. And a cast member was always at the back of the line making sure no more people joined after a certain amount. We randomly ran into Donald waddling around in his costume and got a picture with him. Trick or treating for the kiddos was in the lobby and was about 30 minutes long on Pirate/dress up Night. One time offer at 445. There was an adult costume party that night as well.

I only saw one Jack and Sally meet up I believe it was night 1. Before they showed the movie. My kids are too scared of that movie so we didn't pay much attention to those guys. Go to guest services immediately to find out more info. They were a wealth of knowledge for me. We visited three times. Lol.

The aquaduck took pictures. But we never saw one picture from it. And we rode it a couple of dozen times. I never saw anyone else with pictures either.

Hope that helped someone. Enjoy your vacation. We can't wait to go back.

 

[MasonsG]

that is a HUGE help, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Jack and Sally are out and about before the movie, its so late by the end of it. But to get a picture of them at one of the parks (Disneyland for us) involves horrific lines so just in case our 5 year old is into it later I will have at least gotten their picture. I don't need us to be in it. I wouldn't have expected trick or treating on Pirate night so appreciate the heads up big time! He is bringing both his pirate costume and his Halloween costume so that will still work out great. Five is such a magical age but long lines take some strategic planning :0)
We ran into the facial recognition aspect of the aqua duck on the Fantasy- didn't always work but it was awesome the couple that we did get, Thank you so much for sharing- there is no worse moment than after something is over to realize you never knew and missed it. A last pair of questions if I may impose on you just a tiny bit more. Do you know if Olaf was at the meet and greet along with Anna & Elsa, or just the girls (he was in Alaska but so far only a couple have mentioned happening to see him on Castaway Caye with the Dream). And did you notice if there was ever a Halloween specific backdrop for photos, perhaps Shutters would take them with the pumpkin tree or some other backdrop? We have never done a 4 night Disney cruise, its going to go so super fast, never thought about doing it B2B- that would have been perfect. We'll certainly hustle so appreciate knowing the lines are much longer this time.

 

[Jesslm80]

that is a HUGE help, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Jack and Sally are out and about before the movie, its so late by the end of it. But to get a picture of them at one of the parks (Disneyland for us) involves horrific lines so just in case our 5 year old is into it later I will have at least gotten their picture. I don't need us to be in it. I wouldn't have expected trick or treating on Pirate night so appreciate the heads up big time! He is bringing both his pirate costume and his Halloween costume so that will still work out great. Five is such a magical age but long lines take some strategic planning :0)
We ran into the facial recognition aspect of the aqua duck on the Fantasy- didn't always work but it was awesome the couple that we did get, Thank you so much for sharing- there is no worse moment than after something is over to realize you never knew and missed it. A last pair of questions if I may impose on you just a tiny bit more. Do you know if Olaf was at the meet and greet along with Anna & Elsa, or just the girls (he was in Alaska but so far only a couple have mentioned happening to see him on Castaway Caye with the Dream). And did you notice if there was ever a Halloween specific backdrop for photos, perhaps Shutters would take them with the pumpkin tree or some other backdrop? We have never done a 4 night Disney cruise, its going to go so super fast, never thought about doing it B2B- that would have been perfect. We'll certainly hustle so appreciate knowing the lines are much longer this time.

We did the ticketed Elsa and Anna meet and greet day 2 in the morning. It was offered day 1 at 1245 but we were too busy at the pool for that. No Olaf. Just the girls. It was in Animators Palate and it was transformed into an Arendale (spelling?) oasis. We also had tickets to the princess meet and greet in the lobby right after. Don't bother to get into line super early. They won't even let you line up if it's before your ticket time. The princesses there were Snow White, Cinderella, belle, and rapunzal. And the background for Snow White was the pumpkin tree. Ariel was not there and that was who my daughter wanted to meet the most.

There was specific Halloween backgrounds set up on "Halloween" day. And there were a few opportunities to pictures in front of the tree before dinner. We had first seating so I really only noticed what was going on around that time.

We didn't do any character meet ups on CC. We were snorkeling all day. Lol. I saw Captain Hook and smee when we got back to the boat at 4pm.

Happy to answer anymore questions.

 

[HoneyHoneyPot]

Do we need to get 2 separate tickets for Anna and Elsa and the Princesses? Where is Guest Relations located? Should I send one person to Guest Relations and one to get a spot at the pool? We have an early boarding time also. When were you actually on the ship? Thanks!!

 

[Jesslm80]

Do we need to get 2 separate tickets for Anna and Elsa and the Princesses? Where is Guest Relations located? Should I send one person to Guest Relations and one to get a spot at the pool? We have an early boarding time also. When were you actually on the ship? Thanks!!

Yes. You need two separate tickets. You will need about 30/45 minutes between ticket times. Our Elsa and Anna tickets were at 915. And our princess tickets were at 10. The timing was perfect.

Guest services is in the lobby to the right as soon as you board. We had a 1045 port arrival time. We actually got on at 1130/1140. I was in line for about 10 minutes with my family. Upstairs at the pool and aquaduck by 1150. We wore bathing suits under our clothes. There was no line for the aquaduck til about 1230. We rode it about a dozen times. The pools became over crowded by 130. We went to our room to change and get unpacked.

Hope that helps!!!

 

[HoneyHoneyPot]

Yes! Thank you! Bathing suits under clothes is a great idea! We have one that will be tall enough for the Aquaduck and that sounds like a great time to ride it.

Did the Anna and Elsa tickets "sell out"? Meeting them is one of our top priorities.

 

[MasonsG]

Its been a huge help, I definitely feel more prepared, it all goes so fast- thank you so much for posting so quickly after your cruise, you were the first to test the 2015 Halloween on the High Seas and an angel to share!!!

 

[Jesslm80]

Yes! Thank you! Bathing suits under clothes is a great idea! We have one that will be tall enough for the Aquaduck and that sounds like a great time to ride it.

Did the Anna and Elsa tickets "sell out"? Meeting them is one of our top priorities.

Yes there were a limited number of Elsa and Anna tickets and princess tickets. But there were three separate meet ups. Day 1 (1245) Day 2 (9am & 10am) And day 4 (evening).

 

[Jesslm80]

@NanaLouWho

 

[NanaLouWho]

@NanaLouWho

Awesome! Thank you so much! I am feeling a little overwhelmed because we havent really had time to research a whole lot. (work, sports...)
I feel a lot better now!
Thank you!

 

[mmouse37]

Just to clarify. OP had a port arrival time of 10:45 not a boarding time. Boarding usually starts 11:15-11:30 ish. Your boarding number is tied to ur PAT. Earlier PAT, lower boarding number.

MJ

 

[nearlyfallinstar]

that is a HUGE help, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Jack and Sally are out and about before the movie, its so late by the end of it. But to get a picture of them at one of the parks (Disneyland for us) involves horrific lines so just in case our 5 year old is into it later I will have at least gotten their picture. I don't need us to be in it. I wouldn't have expected trick or treating on Pirate night so appreciate the heads up big time! He is bringing both his pirate costume and his Halloween costume so that will still work out great. Five is such a magical age but long lines take some strategic planning :0)
We ran into the facial recognition aspect of the aqua duck on the Fantasy- didn't always work but it was awesome the couple that we did get, Thank you so much for sharing- there is no worse moment than after something is over to realize you never knew and missed it. A last pair of questions if I may impose on you just a tiny bit more. Do you know if Olaf was at the meet and greet along with Anna & Elsa, or just the girls (he was in Alaska but so far only a couple have mentioned happening to see him on Castaway Caye with the Dream). And did you notice if there was ever a Halloween specific backdrop for photos, perhaps Shutters would take them with the pumpkin tree or some other backdrop? We have never done a 4 night Disney cruise, its going to go so super fast, never thought about doing it B2B- that would have been perfect. We'll certainly hustle so appreciate knowing the lines are much longer this time.

We were on the Dream Sept 7th-11th. I never saw Jack and Sally before TNBC showing, but they were there for a meet & greet afterwards. My 3 year old loves Jack. She slept through the movie but managed to wake up enough to meet "her Jack".

 

[MasonsG]

We are getting off the Dream in the morning, Halloween is a very, very brief event squeezed in on Day 2 with a half hour of trick or treating & games. Then a quick chance for photos with the characters in costume but the lines are horrific- you can only get a few, we did Mickey & Minnie, no chance for more. Then a small half hour Pumpkin tree event on day 4 but no characters, we also did not see Jack and Sally before the show. Shutters does some great shots with the Pumpkin Tree early in the cruise- love the borders, but they don't do it again so by the time we saw how they turned out, we'd missed out. More kids onboard than I have ever seen on any other Disney cruise, everything was super packed from the kids club to the pools. Lots of pool closures, this time of year if it rains even a little, they close the pool, and with so many bodies- it got murky pretty quick. But hopefully knowing will help others make the best chance of fitting everything in.