Wishes or Illuminations--which cruise?

[skent10]

I know these are great shows and we intend to see both of them on our vacation in June. But since we have 4 younger children and are dreading the mass exodus after the shows, we would like to do a cruise for one of these shows. We can't afford to do both, so which one should we aim for?

Which cruise will give us the most enjoyment for our money and offer us a better view of the show? Which show would help us avoid the worst nighttime crowd? Which one would you choose? Since we're staying at VWL, would the Wishes crowd be minor for us, or would we still have to deal with the hoards of people before we got on the boat to return to WL?

TIA.

 

[msmayor]

The beauty of the cruise is that at the end, it doesn't let you off at the Magic Kingdom!

We took the Wishes cruise in August, and chose to pick up the pontoon boat at the Wilderness Lodge dock. Captain Jeff from the Contemporary Marina picked us up at the Wilderness Lodge; this was pre-arranged at the time we booked the cruise.

We cruised all around Bay Lake and into Seven Seas Lagoon, 'parking' just before Wishes with a head-on view of the Castle. It was awesome!

After the fireworks, we leisurely cruised right on back to the Wilderness Lodge dock. No dealing with the mass exodus; just a private ride back to our resort...We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, so it was a perfect ending!

 

[Willow25]

My friend and I did the illuminations cruise this last september. The illuminations cruise was fabulous. It was so nice to be inside the park so close to the action.

My understanding about the wishes cruise is that you are outside the park. I love wishes, it is my favorite show and I can not imagine not being inside the park for it.

However if you are mostly worried about getting out of the parks without being trampled in a mad dash then wishes is probably a better cruise for you. Epcot is so spread out that it is easier to manuever yourselves out.

 

[Goofy4]

We did both last month. Here's a couple threads that might help:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=942805
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=946785

 

[gigi1313]

definitely go for the wishes cruise leaving from the wilderness lodge... door-to-door service... what more could you ask for?

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Personally we are doing the Illuminations for the first time because I feel that because this show is on the water, you are right there. Wishes cruises are outside the park. I just didn't feel it would feel so up close and personal. We are doing an Illuminations cruise on an EMH night at Epcot, so we figure by the time the boat drops us off, we'll be walking opposite of the crowds. We will also have a ton of kids (two 13 yo, 11yo, 9yo and 17 months for sure, maybe more depending on cousins arrival)

 

[gigi1313]

do the illuminations cruises pipe in the music too? that to me was a big selling point for wishes... i've never really "heard" the story/music and am really looking forward to it!

 

[aengus]

for Illuminations they do not have to pipe in the music because you are right there in the middle of the action.

IMO the Illuminations is the better of the two cruises but they are both worth while to take!

Wishes is from a great distance is the only reason I prefer the Illuminations cruise.

 

[Lizzybee]

We did the Wishes Cruise in March and it was fantastic. I've seen some mention about the Wishes Cruise being far away and I was worried about that too, but it was a gorgeous perspective. It makes the castle look like it's covered with magical pixie dust. We really enjoyed it, it was so relaxing and beautiful. Illuminations is more popular, but if that's not available and Wishes is, I wouldn't hesitate to get that ressie. Have fun!

 

[skent10]

We did both last month. Here's a couple threads that might help:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=942805
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=946785

Thank you for the links. I don't know why I couldn't find them when I did a search earlier. Maybe I had a typo?

I think I will aim for the Illuminations cruise first. I saw a video of the Wishes cruise, and while it looked great, it also seemed very far away (at least in the video). If I'm going to pay that much money, I want to feel like I'm right there. Of course, since an Illuminations cruise can be so hard to get, I won't thumb my nose at a Wishes cruise either!

DH works for the company that owns the Sea Ray boat down there (not owned by Disney--lent to them!) I told him that while we were there, he should tell them he needs to take the boat out for scheduled maintenance testing, and it could just conveniently be during the fireworks show. And then he could get his company to help pay for some of our vacation as a "business trip." I don't think I convinced him.

Thanks all, for your help!

 

[cindyding0412]

helpful links!
anyway,I think young child should be taken good care of!

enjoy your trip,don't dread too much about the cruise!

 

[Goofy4]

I think I will aim for the Illuminations cruise first.

DH works for the company that owns the Sea Ray boat down there (not owned by Disney--lent to them!) !

I think the Illuminations cruise is the one to shoot for first.

You might want to think about paying a "courtesy visit" to the boat some afternoon. You never know....