What Fireworks Cruise Would You Choose?

[AshleeH]

I'm debating on booking one for our next trip, but the Disney website is so bad with information, I want to know what real people think. Which one would you choose and why?

 

[Jadyreen1282]

There are apparently none after May. Hurry and book.

Edit:sorry thought you meant Dessert Cruise.

 

[AshleeH]

No problem . I should have clarified - the private cruises that are up to a party of 10 for Illuminations or Wishes. It's so hard to find any details, including pricing. Disney will never figure out that we don't want to call to pry every little tidbit of basic info from them.

 

[etail]

We plan on Illuminations since we favor the show. But there are chances that your view may not be the best (depends on wind and smoke). So all thing equal I think wishes is better unless you love Illuminations.

 

[AshleeH]

I do love Illuminations - I'm leaning that way only because we'll have a theme park view at BLT, so the more I think about it, it doesn't make sense to pay that much for a good location for Wishes. And since Illuminations is on the water, it seems like it would be that much more impressive to be on the water as well.

 

[Robo]

I do love Illuminations - I'm leaning that way only because we'll have a theme park view at BLT, so the more I think about it, it doesn't make sense to pay that much for a good location for Wishes. And since Illuminations is on the water, it seems like it would be that much more impressive to be on the water as well.

They are fun.
The boats can hold about 8-10 adults plus a couple of children
If your party is smaller, you can usually find some other DIS members who would like to share the ride (and the cost).

It can be very tricky to get in to book a cruise, as there are so few boats available, they tend to get snapped up almost immediately as they reach the earliest booking date.

And, because you are actually IN Epcot with the I-cruise, you get to experience the full "surround audio" that is so much a part of the IllumiNations show.

We absolutely LOVED taking the I-Cruise... but that was back before it cost nearly $300 !!!

Just for comparison-
You can get an identical view (albeit among many other guests) if you watch from the bridge between UK and France (#6 below.)

The boats from the I-Cruises all tie up beneath (#7 below) that bridge to view the show.

Epcot International Gateway Area

 

[krmixon1117]

For me personally, the Illuminations one was better. With the Wishes cruise, you are out in the middle of Seven Seas Lagoon and the castle was far away, even though the tour before seemed pretty cool. However with the Illuminations cruise we had excellent seats and it felt more special.

 

[McKelly]

We have done both and we prefer the Illuminations Cruise. I agree with krmixon1117 - Wishes Cruises are too far away from the fireworks.

 

[Byyougal]

We did the illumination cruise 6 times in the last 8 years and magic kingdom cruise 1 time. We are returning in May and our 14 year old asked for the illumination cruise. He likes being close. One year we did have ashes & a lot of smoke from the wind but it wasn't extremely bad. The magic kingdom cruise was a longer ride and our driver was very good. There is more to see on that cruise but you are a lot further from the castle and the boats tend to drift, but you can see fireworks and music is piped in. There is soft drinks and snacks that you are encouraged to take if you don't drink them. The best part is no crowds to hassle with after the cruise!

 

[AshleeH]

Thank you, everyone! Our window for booking is coming up, so we're making the final decision on whether to try and book, but the Illuminations cruise will definitely be the one for us!

 

[Robo]

Thank you, everyone! Our window for booking is coming up, so we're making the final decision on whether to try and book, but the Illuminations cruise will definitely be the one for us!

Just keep in mind that there are only a very FEW (4?) boats that can be used for the IllumiNations Cruise on any given night. (They only have room under the bridge to tie-off those few boats for the show.)

But, they can operate about an unlimited number of Wishes Cruise boats, as they have a huge amount of space for them in Seven Seas Lagoon at MK.
So the Wishes Cruise can be far easier to book.

If you try for the I-Cruise first, if no luck, you could still try for the W-Cruise.

 

[tracylynnhare]

I have done both, loved them both! I think you will be happy with either. We did get smoke with the Illuminations cruise, but still enjoyed it. We had Peter Pan as a guest on our Wishes cruise and the kids LOVED that!! I know you will be happy with whichever you choose!

 

[Tanooki]

I also second the vote for the Illuminations one! We just booked it for a 3rd time as a surprise for the kids this summer (we're doing a Universal only trip so this'll be our little WDW moment ). We just love it! We also did the Pirates & Pals voyage (Wishes) once and although it was lots of fun, I couldn't help but feel cheated out of the actual fireworks experience since we were so far away...

 

[AshleeH]

Bumping up my post to say that I booked the Illuminations Cruise today! Thank you, everyone, for your opinions!

 

[Robo]

Bumping up my post to say that I booked the Illuminations Cruise today! Thank you, everyone, for your opinions!

Congrats on getting what you wanted!!

 

[karensi]

How far in advance can you book?

 

[Robo]

How far in advance can you book?

180 days.

 

[karensi]

180 days.

Thank you Robo.

 

[ajh88]

They are fun.
The boats can hold about 8-10 adults plus a couple of children
If your party is smaller, you can usually find some other DIS members who would like to share the ride (and the cost).

It can be very tricky to get in to book a cruise, as there are so few boats available, they tend to get snapped up almost immediately as they reach the earliest booking date.

And, because you are actually IN Epcot with the I-cruise, you get to experience the full "surround audio" that is so much a part of the IllumiNations show.

We absolutely LOVED taking the I-Cruise... but that was back before it cost nearly $300 !!!

Robo,

On the Disney website it says the pontoons hold 10 people...is this an official capacity issue or is it flexible? We have a party of 6 actual adults, 4 Disney adults, and 2 toddlers...we are booking for Wishes, so I don't doubt we will be able to get 2 boats if necessary (aside from the cost!) and we might be more comfortable split up on 2 boats anyway...but is it possible we could get on 1 boat? I'm still mulling this over, but I've been meaning to call and ask and just haven't done it yet. Thanks!

 

[Robo]

Robo,

On the Disney website it says the pontoons hold 10 people...is this an official capacity issue or is it flexible? We have a party of 6 actual adults, 4 Disney adults, and 2 toddlers...we are booking for Wishes, so I don't doubt we will be able to get 2 boats if necessary (aside from the cost!) and we might be more comfortable split up on 2 boats anyway...but is it possible we could get on 1 boat? I'm still mulling this over, but I've been meaning to call and ask and just haven't done it yet. Thanks!

It may be possible.
But, they might be able to arrange for you to cruise with a different kind of boat... at the cost of (or less) than scheduling two regular cruises.
They may be able to keep you all together.
Be sure to explain your situation when you call.