Parks Vs Cruise

[tidemp5]

I have several question that will guide my family one way or the other, when deciding between the cruise or park.

 

I remember a while back when I was researching cruises, people would often mention that they would be able to get the Mickey Ear Ice Creams in the restaurant and/or room service. Does this practice still occur?

 

At Castaway Key, do they charge extra to use the water slides, bikes or inner tubes?

 

Are the fireworks during the pirates night on a 4day, worth it?

 

Thanks for any assistance!

[tinybiny]

Mickey Bars - yes, available if you ask for them. No extra charge.

 

Castaway Cay - all equipment costs extra to rent. I never used the water slides but assume those are free. Lunch on the island is also included.

 

I've never watched the fireworks on my cruises.

[chemistrynerd]

Mickey Bars are served in the MDR each night, and I think they are on the room service menu (the free part).

 

If you're thinking about a Disney cruise, here is what I think is a great take by another poster (meatloafsfan) from another thread.

 

"I recommend for someone who is a cruiser, who wants to try Disney to do a Caribbean or Bahamas cruise with port stops they don't care about. Focus your trip on the stuff on the ship that is unique to Disney or special about taking a Disney cruise (the shows, the deck parties, the characters, the clubs, the water features, mickey ice cream bars, etc.) Don't focus on port stops / excursions, or lying out in the sun for 8 hours, or bingo or even trivia.

 

Order hot room service late at night and enjoy an on demand Disney movie in your stateroom;

Enjoy the Aqua Duck, Aqua Dunk, Aqua Lab or whatever the "special" water feature is on your ship;

Go to the evening shows that are Disney themed;

Try out each of the rotational restaurants and rotational menus;

Enjoy Pirate Night;

Do the sailaway party (be sure to get right in the middle of the chaos);

Pay attention to the character meet and greet times (and this includes tickets to see Anna and Elsa or the Princesses);

Go to the Disney Junior Dance party;

Go to the Disney crafts - especially the scrapbooking one - you get a nice piece of scrap booking paper;

Catch a Premiere at Sea if it's possible or enjoy a late night or early morning movie in the theatre on board (I also recommend saving the latest Disney movie for viewing onboard the ship instead of rushing to the theatre in the weeks before your cruise);

Walk around the ship and actually notice all of the special things that have been placed for your enjoyment - like the seagulls in Cabanas, the hidden mickeys or the art work;

Do the Mid Ship Detective Agency."

[lorddunlow]

In my opinion the cruises and the parks are polar opposites. I love both. If you want a few days of freedom and relaxation, do the cruise. If you want to have a blast being immersed in in-your-face high octane Disney fun that will wear you out by the end, do the parks.

[moki'smommy]

I joke that MOM gets to be on vacation on the ships, while at the parks, mom is still on duty.

 

In the parks, there is a lot more walking and it is a lot harder to get out of the heat. Mom is still organizing what the family is doing that day, where you are eating, trying to be sure that everyone gets to do at least some of what they want to, etc.

 

On the ship, you skip the bus ride to the park (you are staying right at the fun). Everyone can do as much or as little of their own preferences as they want. If mom and dad want lunch at a sit down restaurant and the kids want burgers by the pool, it is easy to have that happen. If one kid wants to swim while another kid wants to go to the programming, again--easy. If one kid wants to play mini-golf and another wants to do Midship Detective, send mom with one and dad with the other. It is easy to meet up again on the ship.

 

Mickey Bars are unlimited in the restaurants and from room service. They are not on the room service menu. You have to ask. No charge.

 

Lunch, and slides are included in your cruise fare at Castaway as is the use of the ocean, the trams, etc. You can use the snorkel lagoon free if you bring your own equipment or you can rent equipment. Tubes, floats, and bikes are rentals.

 

The fireworks are decent. They last about 10 minutes. They are not as fancy as those at EPCOT or Magic Kingdom, but they are quite reasonable.

 

We like the parks, but we LOVE the ships. And if it is a Caribbean cruise, unless there is a new port or something we really want to do, we tend to stay on the ship and enjoy that. We feel that the ship is the destination, not the ports....but most of the ports are "Been there, done that" to us.

[tinybiny]

I joke that MOM gets to be on vacation on the ships' date=' while at the parks, mom is still on duty.

[/quote']

 

This is a very good point. I always have so much to do to get ready for a vacation, during the vacation and returning from the vacation. Cruises are the only vacation where I don't have keep arranging things, doing things for other people, cleaning up after everyone, etc. I still have lots to do before and after the cruise, but I sure get to enjoy my vacation when I am on a cruise.

 

Parks are fun, but cruises are where I really get a break.