First time Disney, what are things not to miss?

[Bimmie Girl]

We have sailed 16 cruises but never Disney.  Have 4 cabins booked on Disney Wonder in Jan. out of Galveston.  2 grand children will be going ages 5 and 7.  What are the things that are not to be missed?  Are there any things we need to watch for or sign up for before or upon embarking the ship?  I saw the hand mitts you can purchase so the kids can wave with the Mickey hands at the sail away.  Going to have their cabins decorated to give them that wow factor.  My mom is getting them the Disney back pack to keep them occupied in their cabins between activities...……….but what else is there that should not be missed?

[Ampjiii]

On the day and time you can sign up for your excursions sign up for certain meet and greets that are very popular and they need a free ticket advance registration.  For the Wonder they were Frozen meet and greet (Anna and Elsa) and Princess Gathering (a group of three or four princesses that vary).  Also depending on your length of cruise there may be a free Disney Junior breakfast that you sign up for to be able to attend - which is fun.  For most of the character greetings you find the place and time in the daily schedule (Navigator) Download the DCL app!  It has a cute countdown clock and tells you when you are on the ship the daily schedule of fun things to do.  They will probably love the kids club - on the first day everyone can tour it - its really cute to look at.  On Disney the entertainment is amazing - don't miss the shows - currently they have Frozen and other Broadway caliber shows on the Wonder.  Have a wonderful time - I love Disney Cruise Line and have sailed on three other cruise lines but for me - when we are with our grandchildren Disney is the best!

[LeeW]

Random encounters are everywhere.  Granddaughter ran into a princess in the hall heading for a meet and greet and got a couple of private minutes with her.  Peter Pan snuck into the back of a large group getting their photo taken on the staircase - he said all the art in the gallery were of Tinkerbell.  We were up above - the people being photographed probably didn't even know he was there.

 

Lots of people dress up on Pirate night.

 

Disney has some of the nicest adult areas we have seen on ships, but we didn't spend much time there since we were with granddaughter.  Second cruise she didn't want to leave the kids club even for meals so we got more time.

[Bimmie Girl]

On 7/11/2019 at 9:24 PM, LeeW said:

Lots of people dress up on Pirate night.

just ordered 10 eye patches, one for each of us based on your comment.  Thanks for the idea!!!!!

On 7/11/2019 at 9:24 PM, LeeW said:

 

 

 

[AngelDisney]

On 7/30/2019 at 8:58 AM, Bimmie Girl said:

just ordered 10 eye patches, one for each of us based on your comment.  Thanks for the idea!!!!!

 

You will also get cute Mickey bandanas for pirate night. They will go well with the eye patches!

 

Definitely don’t miss ordering Mickey ice cream bars from room service. If you can’t find any dessert you like at main dining, you can ask for a Mickey bar too. 

 

Have fun planning!

[NinjaTiffie]

If your grandkids like drawing, join the animation class learning how to draw Disney characters. There are many fun classes on-board like towel folding. Great for some family fun!

[K8T]

When you get on, go straight to Guest Services and ask what meet & greets or events they have during the cruise.  They will give you tickets for them, if you don't go, pass them on.

 

Look at joining a Fish Extender group (PM for details), not on this board, but you will find one for your cruise, a sort of secret santa.  Take some Disney magnet stickers for your door, it helps find it when you are walking down the corridor!

 

Take a highlighter so you can highlight the kids timetable for what you want to do,  as above there are so many activities, from making gloop, pyjama parties etc.,

 

Don't be tempted to miss the shows - the variety ones may not be so great, but the Disney ones are amazing.  Don't bother taking any movies or DVDs, there is constant free Disney movies in the cabins.

 

Oh and if you order Mickey bars at dinner, get the sprinkles!!!

 

 

[gometros]

3 hours ago, K8T said:

When you get on, go straight to Guest Services and ask what meet & greets or events they have during the cruise.  They will give you tickets for them, if you don't go, pass them on.

 

As noted earlier in the thread the two ticketed meet & greets can be reserved on the day you do your online registration. If this is your first time, it will be 75 days prior to your cruise date.  If for some reason it's sold out online, you can check in at guest service when you board to see if they held any back,

 

[Barn Goddess]

This has been such a helpful thread!  We are traveling on the Wonder in March - our window opens on January 10th.  Any other ideas for new to Disney cruisers? I am putting together information for my family (group of 7 traveling 🙂 ) 

 

Question about Pirate Night - how "themed" is it? Is it just at dinner or are there Pirate themed events/parties all evening? 

 

@K8T - I tried to PM you but am having issues. Would love to know more about the Fish Extender group - sounds fun!

[joyfullmommie2017]

29 minutes ago, Barn Goddess said:

This has been such a helpful thread!  We are traveling on the Wonder in March - our window opens on January 10th.  Any other ideas for new to Disney cruisers? I am putting together information for my family (group of 7 traveling 🙂 ) 

 

Question about Pirate Night - how "themed" is it? Is it just at dinner or are there Pirate themed events/parties all evening? 

 

@K8T - I tried to PM you but am having issues. Would love to know more about the Fish Extender group - sounds fun!

For Pirate night the characters are dressed as pirates, the dinner is themed, there is a Pirate Dance Party on the pool deck and fireworks

[Shmoo here]

39 minutes ago, Barn Goddess said:

This has been such a helpful thread!  We are traveling on the Wonder in March - our window opens on January 10th.  Any other ideas for new to Disney cruisers? I am putting together information for my family (group of 7 traveling 🙂 ) 

 

Question about Pirate Night - how "themed" is it? Is it just at dinner or are there Pirate themed events/parties all evening? 

 

@K8T - I tried to PM you but am having issues. Would love to know more about the Fish Extender group - sounds fun!

There is a Pirate themed dinner menu.  And Pirate night show with fireworks.  People dress up for it.  

 

There is no PM option here on Cruise Critic.

[Barn Goddess]

Good to know - I haven't used CC for a while and I thought I used to be able to message people. Thank you for the update!

[Shmoo here]

37 minutes ago, Barn Goddess said:

Good to know - I haven't used CC for a while and I thought I used to be able to message people. Thank you for the update!

Messaging hasn't been possible on CC in my time here.  

[Barn Goddess]

Could have been when I first joined in 2003 - but good to know not available now. I find this site so helpful in planning a cruise 🙂

Does anyone have any recommendations for Embarkation Day lunch?  Thanks all!

[slinky202]

There are so many but one of our favorite things was definitely the Disney Junior Breakfast. This series has several others mentioned as well!

 

 

[ForMyBoys2015]

My kids love "Jack Jacks Diaper Dash" so we make sure to never miss it.  

 

Definitely decorate your door with magnets.

 

Oh, in the cafe, while the coffee costs money the treats generally don't.  I didn't know that on the first couple of cruises and missed out 🙂

 

The wonder is my favorite Disney ship and I've been on all of them.  Have so much fun!!

[Tinkabelllyss]

On 1/3/2020 at 9:58 PM, Barn Goddess said:

Could have been when I first joined in 2003 - but good to know not available now. I find this site so helpful in planning a cruise 🙂

Does anyone have any recommendations for Embarkation Day lunch?  Thanks all!

We chose to do the sit down lunch when we boarded the ship. It was relaxing instead of being in the mass at the buffet. Great lunch too!

[lastchamp64]

My wife and I are big time Disney fans and have been for years and go to WDW almost every year. Last year we finally did a Disney Cruise for the first time on the Fantasy. I know I'm committing the unpardonable sin among Disney fans, but I was not blown away by many things with our cruise and DCL in whole. But a few things that I will say are not to be missed. First is Palo. We did both the brunch and we also did a dinner in Palo. It is absolutely not to be missed and is worth every penny you will pay, especially the brunch. Second is pirate night. Pirate night was an absolute blast(other than the dining) and had a great time dressing up and enjoying the party. Thirdly was most of the shows were top notch and very entertaining. For me these three things really stood out.