"Wishes" Cruise Question

[Goofy Rulz]

Has anyone taken the "Wishes" cruise? I'm thinking of booking it as a special start to our WDW vacation in June but don't really know anything about it. How long does it last? It is worth the money? Since we're a group of 10 we would need one of the larger boats. How does it compare to the "Illuminations" cruise - if you took that? We will be watching the fireworks from inside the park on our day at MK, but I wanted to do something special & magical on our first night to really get everyone in the mood (as if we'd need extra encouragement). I also thought about dinner at California Grill on top of the Contemporary & watch the fireworks from there, but don't know if we want to eat dinner that late. Can you watch the fireworks from the top of the resort w/o eating at the restaurant? I'm not too familiar w/the Contemporary except that the monorail runs through it. We are staying off propery; perhaps you can only view from there if you are a resort guest. Help!!

 

[Nana Sue]

We took a Wishes cruise on January 1, the last day of our vacation. As there were eleven of us and we wouldn't have fit in one board on the regular cruises we took one through Magical Gatherings. It was expensive but fun. We started out at the GF where they served us soft drinks, coffee, tea and desserts. A pirate then led us to our boat which held quite a few people and of course there were other parties at this event. The pirate was a riot and my family loved it, and him. We saw the electric lighting water parade and then Wishes with the music piped into the boat, of course. When Wishes was over we went back to the GF dock and Peter Pan was waiting for us. I'd do it again. With ten people in your party you can sign up for a Magical Gatherings event.

 

[Nana Sue]

You know, now that I think about it, I think you have to stay on grounds to organize a Magical Gathering, but you could check for sure. We had dinner one night at the California Grill and I can tell you one has to eat there to view the fireworks from there. But, if you eat earlier you are allowed to come back and view it from their observation deck.

 

[taramarie]

I am booked for a cruise on Feb 25th! I can't wait. From what I understand you do have to be booked on site. We have a Shades of Green member in our group and it was like pulling teeth to let her on!

From what I hear it is a great experience and I can't wait.

Tara