How is the Disney Wonder?

[Mommytofourkids]

First, the Dream is about 55% bigger than the Wonder - which makes the Wonder about 30% smaller (not 50%). Part of that will be 3 more decks of cabins, which gives no one more public space. It does mean more passengers, Wonder 2400, Dream 4100. (If those numbers are correct in the article i am reading, that is 70% more guests. Hmm.). Bottom line, more people. But still going to the same main 3 restaurants and evening entertainment twice a night.

The area where I feel has the most significant space is the adult entertainment zone. Doesn’t help for the kids.

I found this article from several years ago that compared the Wonder and the Dream. Especially check out the section on the kids’ clubs.

View attachment 697134
This is not a link, just the Google page listing.

Cruising decisions were easier when I started in 2007; there was just the Magic and Wonder. The choice was short 3- or 4-night) v long (7 nights) for cruises out of Port Canaveral. (TA, AK, and PC cruises were not yet pin our sights.)

Ooh okay thanks for the insight! I didn’t realize that the other ships also only have 3 restaurants that people rotate to. I’m excited for our trip now! I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun

 

[Mommytofourkids]

Have done 4 DCL cruises on Magic (2), Fantasy, and Dream. Magic is my favorite. Love the smaller ship and not feeling as crowded. Easier to get around. We went on the larger ships first and didn’t miss anything when sailing Magic.

Planning on Wonder next for Alaska.

Ooh that’s a plus! My dad who’s joining us has a lot of health issues which makes him not very mobile so I think the smaller ship may be a plus for him

 

[auntlynne]

Ooh okay thanks for the insight! I didn’t realize that the other ships also only have 3 restaurants that people rotate to. I’m excited for our trip now! I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun

Phew! Glad you took that info as intended. i started wondering if my post sounded rough on you.

Since this is the kids’ first cruise - and they are young, I don’t think choice of ship is going to be really significant (when choosing between Disney ships).

I think it will be the travel to the ships, season, … to be bigger determining factors.

I went into my first cruise fairly blind. Had a great time. Still enjoying them 15 years later.

Hope you have a great time.

 

[Mommytofourkids]

Phew! Glad you took that info as intended. i started wondering if my post sounded rough on you.

Since this is the kids’ first cruise - and they are young, I don’t think choice of ship is going to be really significant (when choosing between Disney ships).

I think it will be the travel to the ships, season, … to be bigger determining factors.

I went into my first cruise fairly blind. Had a great time. Still enjoying them 15 years later.

Hope you have a great time.

Thanks! Haha, we will be going to Ensenada. So Mexico, wonder if it’s gonna be cold though, since we won’t be going until December but hope the kids can still use the water slides and water areas. And glad u had a great time on the cruises, did u go on the Wish yet?

 

[auntlynne]

Thanks! Haha, we will be going to Ensenada. So Mexico, wonder if it’s gonna be cold though, since we won’t be going until December but hope the kids can still use the water slides and water areas. And glad u had a great time on the cruises, did u go on the Wish yet?

Not yet. Scared of introductory prices! I’ll get on it someday. And this year, I have done the Dream in September and the Magic in April. Plus NCL to AK and MSC out of Miami (those two were cruise lines I hadn’t tried. AK as a destination is a repeat, several times over - my favorite). But 4 cruises during the cruise restart. After not cruising since 2015. Whew. Save something for later. (Oh yeah, sailed Carnival early 2020 - i keep forgetting that one. Or just suppressing the memory. Ha!)

I‘m guessing Ensenada is your stay onboard port? We don’t typically get off in Nassau, Bahamas. Some places it is more enjoyable to stay and play on the ship.

I swam in the Wonder’s pool in late May traveling north from Vancouver to SE Alaska. The pool is heated. Just have towels handy when getting out into the brisk air. The kids will handle it better than the adults!

 

[Mommytofourkids]

Not yet. Scared of introductory prices! I’ll get on it someday. And this year, I have done the Dream in September and the Magic in April. Plus NCL to AK and MSC out of Miami (those two were cruise lines I hadn’t tried. AK as a destination is a repeat, several times over - my favorite). But 4 cruises during the cruise restart. After not cruising since 2015. Whew. Save something for later. (Oh yeah, sailed Carnival early 2020 - i keep forgetting that one. Or just suppressing the memory. Ha!)

I‘m guessing Ensenada is your stay onboard port? We don’t typically get off in Nassau, Bahamas. Some places it is more enjoyable to stay and play on the ship.

I swam in the Wonder’s pool in late May traveling north from Vancouver to SE Alaska. The pool is heated. Just have towels handy when getting out into the brisk air. The kids will handle it better than the adults!

Wow that’s a lot of cruises! You’re an experienced cruiser then. I was looking at royal carribean, it’s a lot more affordable but not Disney. Not sure if it’s as suited for my kids age, but hope to go when they’re older. I haven’t done an Alaska cruise but want to! Is AK short for anchorage? And glad to know the pools are heated!

 

[auntlynne]

AK is the postal abbreviation for Alaska.

HI is for the friendly state that greets everyone with aloha - Hawaii. Fun facts.

I heard a funny story about creating the abbreviations (they weren’t always standardized to 2 letters.

“… Alabama is first alphabetically, so we’ll use its first two letters. AL. Easy. We should knock this out in no time. Next. Alaska. First two letters. AL. Whoa. That won’t work. AK.

Then Arizona. AR. Arkansas. … Wait until we get to the M’s. “

I have been very fortunate with my cruising and vacation experiences. Nothing like my childhood - that was car trips and no-name hotels. The options weren‘t as plentiful in the 1960-70s. And Disney cruises were a lot lower priced when I started in 2007. Three nights, three people for about $400. Maybe tax extra, possibly not.

 

[Mommytofourkids]

AK is the postal abbreviation for Alaska.

HI is for the friendly state that greets everyone with aloha - Hawaii. Fun facts.

I heard a funny story about creating the abbreviations (they weren’t always standardized to 2 letters.

“… Alabama is first alphabetically, so we’ll use its first two letters. AL. Easy. We should knock this out in no time. Next. Alaska. First two letters. AL. Whoa. That won’t work. AK.

Then Arizona. AR. Arkansas. … Wait until we get to the M’s. “

I have been very fortunate with my cruising and vacation experiences. Nothing like my childhood - that was car trips and no-name hotels. The options weren‘t as plentiful in the 1960-70s. And Disney cruises were a lot lower priced when I started in 2007. Three nights, three people for about $400. Maybe tax extra, possibly not.

Haha that’s cool, thanks for sharing that with me. I never knew that’s how they chose the different initials for the states. And wow cruises were so much cheaper back then; I feel Disney raises the prices every year!

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I would adjust your expectations. The line can be long (45-60 min or longer) and the ride itself is about a minute long. It's fun, I guess, but not like amazing. Maybe worth riding a handful of times, but of ALL the incredible offerings on a cruise, I've never found it to be essential and in terms of water park amusement style rides, fairly tame. It's not like a huge thrill or anything. My family can take it or leave it. And my daughter (currently 14, who loves rides) has felt that way since our first cruise in 2014.

One of the things I always point out about the waterslides on the disney ships are:

A: They are enjoyable but not ESSENTIAL to the cruise experience. (AKA: They have waterslides, they are fun but they are not "everything" about cruising)
B: They don't Dominate the top of the ship/view of the ship and they add to the Disney image of the ship without being obtrusive.

I am... somewhat astounded at the idea of someone picking the Dream/Fantasy over Magic/Wonder simply based on the aqua duck. It is fun, but not something that I would ever let dictate a cruise for us. It's more about the destination. Each person is going to have their own "Must haves" though. That is definitely a first time for that one.

 

[holula]

Ooh why do you prefer the restaurants on the smaller ships?
Animators Palette is both better themed and has better shows. Rapunzel’s is much more fun than Enchanted Garden (although I enjoy both!$

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

We just finished up an Alaskan cruise on the Wonder (my second cruise on the Wonder) and enjoyed it. It's really easy to get from forward to aft which is great for getting around the ship quickly. We stayed forward to be close to the adult areas and it still was not a big deal at all to walk to aft for food.

 

[JonKPest]

We sail the Wonder 8 out of 12 Disney Cruises. The Wonder is our favorite by far.
We have taken our grandkids on 3 of these cruises. When cruising in December or Alaska in the summer I buy the grandkids new wet suites because they out grow the last ones. This way they can enjoy the pools, spas, and slides for hours. Plus they use a lot less sun block. OP enjoy the Beautiful Disney Wonder!

 

[Lilbunnyk]

I’ve been on all the ships except for the Wish but the Wonder is my favorite!

 

[Ariel 2021]

I’m glad to hear they liked Tianas, I was afraid Tianas would be boring for them, because when I compared it to the Rapunzel dinner on the Magic, it doesn’t seem as geared towards kids, I saw the Rapunzel dinner as character interactions and a parade etc.

Dinner at Tianas is great for kids. Live music, they give out Marci Gras style bead necklaces to the kids and everyone gets up and dances.

 

[auntlynne]

Dinner at Tianas is great for kids. Live music, they give out Marci Gras style bead necklaces to the kids and everyone gets up and dances.

And this is something I would never have guessed; I thought it was more for adults. Is it that kids like lively music and a chance to move around?

 

[JWelch62]

Yes that’s the exact reason why we’re doing the Wonder because we’re in Cali. I actually would prefer the Magic over the Wonder for the Rapunzel dinner

We live in San Diego an have sailed 13 times on the Wonder. We've sailed on the Fantasy, and my wife has sailed on the Dream. We both prefer the Wonder. A lot of that may be because we can sail on her so easily, but we do just prefer her. We will sail on the Magic for the first time next year. It will be interesting to see how the Magic compares to the Wonder.

 

[Mommytofourkids]

We live in San Diego an have sailed 13 times on the Wonder. We've sailed on the Fantasy, and my wife has sailed on the Dream. We both prefer the Wonder. A lot of that may be because we can sail on her so easily, but we do just prefer her. We will sail on the Magic for the first time next year. It will be interesting to see how the Magic compares to the Wonder.

Wow 13 times! Did you ever do the 3 day merrytime cruise to Ensenada? That’s the one we are doing, I wonder if it’s not as popular since it only stops at Ensenada which isn’t a popular port… we don’t plan on getting off the ship though and will just stay on the ship and enjoy the amenities during that time.

 

[Mommytofourkids]

We sail the Wonder 8 out of 12 Disney Cruises. The Wonder is our favorite by far.
We have taken our grandkids on 3 of these cruises. When cruising in December or Alaska in the summer I buy the grandkids new wet suites because they out grow the last ones. This way they can enjoy the pools, spas, and slides for hours. Plus they use a lot less sun block. OP enjoy the Beautiful Disney Wonder!

Wow you guys have been on 12 Disney cruises! Do you get a good discount? If we end up liking this cruise then I would like to go on more in the future, as long as it’s affordable haha. That’s great to know your grandkids loved it, I’m excited to see my kids’ reaction when they step foot on the ship. Good idea on the wetsuits, where do you buy them from? I want to get some for my kids too

 

[Mommytofourkids]

I’ve been on all the ships except for the Wish but the Wonder is my favorite!

May I ask why the Wonder is your favorite? I was bummed that we couldn’t go on the Dream class ship as I love the look of the atrium etc.

 

[Mommytofourkids]

Dinner at Tianas is great for kids. Live music, they give out Marci Gras style bead necklaces to the kids and everyone gets up and dances.

Ooh nice! My kids love that kind of stuff

Dinner at Tianas is great for kids. Live music, they give out Marci Gras style bead necklaces to the kids and everyone gets up and dances.

are there a lot of kids? From the videos I see online, it seems like the Wonder has more older people.. we are going on the 3 day merrytime cruise to Ensenada so I’m thinking it may be more older people as Ensenada isn’t the safest port for kids. I think my kids enjoy dancing if there are a lot of other little kids up there too