One year old on Illuminations Cruise ?

[Msslaydbug]

We are going to try and get an Illuminations cruise for our trip this year. There will 7 of us total in our family going. Our daughter will be 20 months old and has never been around fireworks before ? Just wondering if anyone has taken their little one on one of these cruises ? If it is a terrible idea we might just go with a Wishes Cruise although it wouldn't be my first vote. We will be there for 10 days so I will have many chance to call and get a reservation

 

[Robo]

IllumuNations cruise:

From where you tie up the boat to watch the show, IllumiNations is very close.
Certain fireworks are VERY LOUD (at several points during the show.)

If the "Inferno Barge" has been repaired and put back in the show, it spews radiant-hot billowing FLAMES and SMOKE many yards in all directions, for several minutes.
The sound system at Epcot is TREMENDOUS!
But that also means it can be very LOUD, especially in the BASS.
I don't know how your daughter will react, but being on the boat, you have NOWHERE to go if the little one gets scared.

The show lasts about 17 minutes and you are RIGHT THERE the whole time.
(And who knows which way the WIND will be blowing. If its toward your boat, you can be in the midst of the fireworks smoke.)

While we absolutely LOVE this show (and the cruise), I would worry that the baby might be a bit too young to be confined to the boat with all the loud, bright, hot EFFECTS going (and quieting for awhile) then turning LOUD AGAIN!

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Wishes cruise:

You're outside the MK and AWAY from the Fireworks (much quieter).
There are no FIRE effects.
The sound system (its a different system for the cruise than at MK) is much quieter than much of IllumiNations.

 

[msmayor]

I would also make doubly sure that WDW knew you planned on taking such a small child along. When we took our Wishes cruise this past summer, our son (11) was required to wear a flotation device...I think all kids under the age of 12 or 13 are required to wear one, and for a 20-month old you'd need to make sure they have the proper size available.

 

[Gluman11]

We had our 16 month old on the cruise, and after a long day in the parks, they put the life vest on our little guy and he slept through the whole thing..........Loud booms, and all..........

Just my two cents.............every kid is different, so my take would be, if you think you can handle the "worst case scenario" then take the little tyke on the cruise...........

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I am so glad I read this thread. There will be no Illuminations Cruise for us!!
My DD (just turned 6), used to love fireworks but this 4th of July really freaked her out. We ended up getting in the car and blaring a movie on the DVD player (thank goodness for them).
I couldn't imagine getting her that close and having her freak. So glad I read this board!! Thanks for the wonderful advice and to the OP for asking the question.

 

[Msslaydbug]

Thanks for all of your help. I guess we will wait a few years for this one or try to book a Wishes Cruise

 

[mimif1]

We did this in May with our then 14 month old DD. She wasn't a big fan of the life vest, but once the boat started moving, she fell right to sleep and stayed that way. Our wonderful boat driver had blankets for us to cover our kids heads with and some safety glasses for the kids to help keep the fireworks ashes off of us and out of our eyes. My DDs 6 and 9 thought it was the coolest thing ever! It was very loud though but it was one of the highlights of our trip. We did have enough people with us to pretty much fill our boat. I don't think I would have wanted to share a boat with people who aren't family with the uncertainty of the baby with us.

 

[scanne]

We did an Illuminations cruise when my DS was one. He, too, slept through the entire thing. We did a Wishes cruise last year when my DD was one. You can still hear the booms and all, but it's not as close as Illuminations. We actually did the Pirate Grand Gathering cruise - you have to be a party of 8 or more I believe. It was GREAT!

Both cruises were positive experiences for us.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

It all depends on the kid. Ours liked fireworks for a while then suddenly they can't stand them. Whenever the possibility of fireworks is there, they freak out and will try to hide from them.