Wishes Cruise

[Lizzybee]

We just got back from Disney yesterday and one highlight of our trip was a Wishes Cruise. I was able to get the Ressie just under 2 months before the trip and it was sooo worth it. I kept it a secret from the kids until we were getting on the bus to the Wilderness Lodge to catch the boat at the Marina. They were so excited, and my lil one couldn't get over the fact that we would have our own "pilot" I kept telling her "captain". We saw the Electric Water Pagent from the water then moved over to in front of MK to see the show. It was sooooo incredibly beautiful, I can't do it justice with words. It looked like the firework were pixie dust being sprinkled on the castle. It was more than worth it, my parents and my kids and I all loved it. I'd recommend it to anyone, if you can't get Illuminations ressies this is a great alternative, although I think it's probably a different experience. This was beautiful and relaxing and just plain Disney magical.

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Thank you so much for posting this! Now I'm even more excited about our Wishes cruise! My husband wanted to do this but I told him they were all booked up, booked us one (yes I know it's devious) and not get to surprise him with it! Your post just got me all the more psyched! Thank you and I'm glad you guys had a great time!

 

[Mickeyfaniam]

oh you've got me psyched too although I haven't got mine yet waiting for my 90 day window. Anyway I know what you mean....we did do this before and i loved it but it wasn't Wishes back then. I think is going to be even better Keep your fingers crossed for me 18 more days and I can dial

 

[DVC-Don]

Thanks for the report. I just booked a Wishes Cruise from the WL 2 mornings ago for late June.

 

[spotncleo]

Was the music piped into the boat? I have read that some boats are outfitted to hear the music and some are not. I am thinking of booking this for our Christmas trip. Thanks!

Laura

Our first Christmas trip Dec 16-26 POR

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Yes - I would like to do the Wishes cruise also - was the music piped in?

 

[Suearoo]

We just did the Wishes cruise leaving from the Poly on March 21st and the music was piped in. I asked about it because after reading here I was not expecting to hear the music and he said it was done a few months back to all the boats. It was really wonderful we did this for my daughters 4th birthday, he made sure we saw all of the electrical water parade also, truly magical.

 

[Lizzybee]

sometimes the music is piped in, in our case it was not. All of the boats go to the same general area and we could hear the music just fine. There were two pirate cruise boats and another fancy one that had the music, I think maybe one of the larger pontoons did too. My son has very sensitive ears and even in the park, he had to plug his ears because the music was too loud. For us, hearing it from another boat was perfect. The lifeguards who captain the boats from WL were all so nice. We got there early and they just chatted with us, our captain even hugged me goodbye. I was so happy that my kids had that magical moment I was tearing up. There is a geyser that goes off every hour on the hour by the main pool at WL if you need to kill some time. If you aren't staying at the WL, leave extra time to get there. We went from Downtown Disney and the bus went to a water park then to WL. It seemed like a long bus ride (maybe that was partly the anticipation). I think for our purposes this was the better way to go, because I imagine since for Illuminations you are in the same lagoon the noise would really bother my son and the smell of the effects would bother my daughter. Those of you who are getting psyched, feel free to go full throtle into psyched, it's spectacular and you will LOVE it!

 

[piglethappy]

I am sooooo glad to finally see someone post about the wishes cruise. We went on an illumination cruise a few years ago and I really did not find it all that great. We got all the smoke coming our way and it was no fun.

Anyways we are going to WDW in June with my in-laws. They have never ever been and I thought it would be great to book this cruise. However I have not heard as much about this cruise and I have been worried it is not worth the money. I am really excited to hear that this cruise is worth it.

I have been lurking for about a year and I finally had to post because I was so excited to hear about this.

 

[matt&jakesmom]

I am intrigue by the cruise. Do you have to have a big party. I thought it was for "grand gatherings". We are 4 in our family. How much would it be to do this. We are going end of June and I would love to do something different and "magical". The reports sound good and I think we would like it. Thanks.

 

[Lizzybee]

Nope you don't have to have a big group for this one, just the 5 of us went on the cruise. It was $150 for the boat and I think you can have maybe up to 8 or something. You cruise around the area, look at the fancy resorts from the water, we saw the Electric Water Pagent and I think all total it was about 1 hour 30 mins. As far as I'm concerned, and I'm not at all wealthy, I had to save up for the cruise, it was worth every penny and then some. My kids were impressed that we had our own private boat and captain, I was impressed that I got to sit in cushy seats after 4 days of walking and walking and walking some more.

 

[Twigs]

We did the Wishes cruise on Feb 20 and I agree with everything said above by Lizzybee. It was really great. We did have the music piped into our boat, and we had blankets if we needed them. We got our boat at the Polynesian and we cruised around the lagoon, stopped near the WL to see the EWP, and then went on to a spot in front of the MK. We were next to the Grand Gathering Pirate Cruise, and they were "threatening" us, so our pilot started a shouting match with them and we were all laughing so hard. We had made it a Birthday cruise as DS's birthday was in 2 weeks so we had a cooler filled with water and soda, a big bowl filled with snack bags of all different types of chips and a really delicious cake, and balloons. We had the best time that night and seeing Wishes from the water was really nice.

matt&jakesmom, it was $207 for the birthday cruise, I don't remember what it was without the food. and it was not a grand gathering. It is one price and you can have up to 10 adults and 2 children on the boat. I booked it following the steps at the top of this thread, I was actually going for an Illuminations cruise, but got this instead. You could also post here on these boards to find a party to share it with you and split the cost if you wanted to.

 

[Soupermom]

Where can you get info on all of the different WISHES cruises? I tried the WDW webstite but there isn't much to go by. Mainly, costs and numbers of people, etc. I thought there was just the pirate cruise, which sounds fun, but now I'm learning there are other choices. Can anyone help? Are there any discounts for any of them? AAA, FL resident?

 

[Lizzybee]

I called the number that was posted on another thread - (407) 939-7529. It talks about tee times for golf and recreation such as boat rentals, follow the prompts for boat rentals. I think the one who talked about the birthday cruise had a larger boat than we did because there's no way that many would have been able to fit comfortably. There was more than enough room for the 5 of us (3 adults, 2 kids) and the captain. We probably could have fit 3 more people on as well.

 

[weluvpluto]

After your posts Lizzybee, I'm really intrigued...
What happens though if it rains?

 

[shatzjsl]

The first time I saw Wishes was from a boat. I liked it better than when we were in the park.

 

[Lizzybee]

If it's just rain you still go, if there is lightening you don't go and you don't pay. You still have to go over to your dock area to confirm the cancellation. For example I thought it might storm the night of our cruise and I called the ressie number and they said, even if it does, I'd have to go to the WL (where our boat was to pick us up) and get the official word on cancellation from the captains/lifeguards. I was told though if it's rain with no lightening, we'd still go so bring ponchos.

 

[FutureAshleyDukes]

what's the best way to ask for this cruise. Do you request a specialty cruise?

 

[tiredmommy]

OK- You guys convinced me. I just booked a Wishes Cruise for our last night. I am hoping we can get others to join us. We call my DD LizzyBee so how can I resist a recommendation from you?

I hope it's great!

 

[FutureAshleyDukes]

I just booked one too for our wedding night. The CM was super nice about helping me, and suggested including a bottle of champagne to celebrate our wedding.