Wishes Cruise - Info please

[disneysailor]

My husband and I have booked a Wishes fireworks cruise on December 9th in celebration of our upcoming 50th birthdays. The agent indicated that it will be an eight passenger boat at a cost of $318.44 and the sound will be piped in. I've tried to do a search but couldn't find a lot of information on the cruise (maybe I'm not searching correctly). Has anyone taken the cruise recently on this size boat? What type of snacks were provided? If you shared the cruise with strangers, did it work out well? Was the boat roomy? Did the experience seem worth the cost? Was the sound piped in; I've read conflicting information? I'd love to hear any thoughts on the experience. Just celebrating at WDW is exciting but it might be nice to throw in a few special treats!

 

[Dan Murphy]

I've taken the Wishes, as well as the Illuminations cruises several times each. Not real recently though. The cruises are great. The music is piped in and there are basic snacks...bagged snacks, soda, water. Additional food, cakes and drinks may be secured through Disney Dining. You can either cruise by yourselves or try to find others to cruise with you, either sharing the costs or picking up the costs by yourselves. The pontoon boat is very roomy. It is expensive, but as you say, a few special treats now and then.

After the boat picks you up, it will tour Seven Seas Lagoon as well as Bay lake a bit. You should be able to take in the Electrical Water Pageant also.

This thread covers sharing.......

http://www.disboards.com/threads/illuminations-and-wishes-cruises-find-one-to-share.2069267/

And an early Happy Birthday to each of you.

ETA....Pontoon boats pictured here.

https://www.google.com/search?q=dis...isch&q=disney+specialty+cruises+pontoon+boats

 

[biged9973]

We took the cruise in 2013. There were 6 of us, 4 adults and 2 kids, no strangers on the boat for us. I arranged it as a surprise for my parents as it was their anniversary. We were staying at the Poly and were picked up there. The boat was a pontoon boat and had lots of room for all of us. Our youngest promptly stretched out on one of the 'couches' and fell asleep. The captain toured us around Bay Lake, giving us a DisneyWorld history lesson the entire time. We got to see the Electric Water Pageant in front of the Wilderness Lodge and then an an awesome view of Wishes. The boat did have the music for the show. We had soft drinks and chips as a snack but I think we could have ordered something else if we had wanted.

It was totally worth the money for us. It was the favorite thing we did on the trip for all of us. It was definitely worth the money for us.

 

[mwmom]

Glad you posted this as I just booked the cruise for Thanksgiving week. On one of the web sites, it states that the music is piped in for the 10 passenger boat, but not the 8. Here is the link: http://www.wdwinfo.com/recreation/fireworks.htm. It isn't the official Disney web site, so this may not be the case, but I would call the number directly to check with them. This is the direct number the cast member gave me when I need to add people to my cruise: 407-824-2955.

 

[disneysailor]

Thank you for the birthday wishes, all of the information, photos and direct phone number. I had called back on the main number and was told that the music was piped in but was still a little nervous after seeing conflicting information on other sites. I'd love to hear from anyone who did go on the eight passenger boat to verify this. Glad to hear it was a great experience, Dan Murphy and biged! Hope yours is too, mwmom. We'll try to get everything figured out since we have to reserve so many things ahead of time including our rides!

 

[NYMomof2]

My family did the Wishes cruise on June 29th. We had an 8 passenger pontoon boat and the music was piped in. We actually liked this better than the Illuminations cruise. The boat was very roomy. We were 6 adults. The snacks were basic small bags of chips, sodas and waters. We definitely thought the cruise was worth the money. Enjoy!!

 

[d1gitman]

We've done the wishes and the illuminations cruise. We really enjoyed them as a nice relaxing way to cap off the evening.

 

[disneysailor]

Really appreciate the additional information and am glad to hear more positive experiences! Did anyone else go in December? I'm wondering if it will be very cold on the water. I know it's impossible to predict the weather but the average low is about 54 degrees that time of year. Maybe I should begin a quest for Mickey earmuffs!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Unless it is 70º at night, bundle up. Even then, long pants and a windbreaker. It is cold out on the water at night. And in December, it can be frigid.

 

[Auntof2]

Does anyone know if you order additional food, where you pick it up? The info I have for my pre-order from the Grand Floridian makes it look like I need to pick it up somewhere in the hotel as opposed to being waiting on the boat.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Call the dining number at appropriate resort. Your order will be delivered to the boat before arrival.

• Contemporary: 407-824-2955
• Wilderness Lodge: 407-824-1043
• Grand Floridian: 407-824-2473
• Polynesian: 407-824-2165
• Yacht and Beach Club: 407-939-3160

 

[cgattis]

By the time we did our cruise in fall 2012, ALL the pontoons had been updated to have the music piped in.

I'll second (or however many) the feeling that this was over favorite Disney experience ever and worth every penny.

 

[disneysailor]

We'll be doing MVMCP one night so hoping those fireworks will make up for missing the lights on the castle during Wishes. Frigid sounds frightening but Disney always manages to warm our hearts. Hopefully, that will be enough to make everything else feel warm too!

 

[Eliserose]

Does anyone know if you order additional food, where you pick it up? The info I have for my pre-order from the Grand Floridian makes it look like I need to pick it up somewhere in the hotel as opposed to being waiting on the boat.

It will be delivered by room service to the boat. That is what they told me. We are leaving from the Contemporary.