Disney Dream 4th of July Weekend Review

So I thought I would give a review of our Disney Cruise for the 4th of July weekend.... So her goes

Background:

Wife and I 1st traveled with our kids on the Wonder back about 13 years ago. Our kids were 5, 6 and 8 at that time. Fast forward to present day and our kids our 18, 19 and almost 22. We decided to take this trip by ourselves as the kids, while Disney fans, had really no interest in going with all that is going on in their lives at the moment. So off we were, on our own to explore Disney once again.

Previous experiences: We mostly cruise on Royal Caribbean, a couple of Carnival and that is about it. We love the Oasis Class ship of royal, and absolutely hated Carnival. So if you see me compare Disney to Royal, it is really the only thing we know vs. Disney. Oh and by the way, being from Florida, we are huge Disney nuts, and have stayed in every Disney resort numerous times, with our record being 30 out of 31 days in a month...so it is safe to say we know our Disney.

Pre Cruise: We kinda decided last minute to book the Dream for a 3 day weekend over 4th of July Weekend because they had a really great deal for Florida residents. The room we originally booked was an outside guarantee restricted, which meant pay up front and get what Disney gives you. Normally this would not have been a problem except they gave us a handicap accessible stateroom. Now while some may look at this as a bonus as to the size of the room, it posed a slight problem for me. My wife's mother was handicap since my wife was 2 and she recently passed away, so I was worried that my wife would have too many bad memories and may impact the trip, so I called Disney. Disney could not have been more accommodating in relocating us, not only relocation, but relocating us to a family ocean view with verandah!! I did not expect that, and was pleasantly surprised.

Night before the cruise: So off we were, on our 1st Disney cruise without kids. Some may think we are crazy, but it is no different than going to the mouse without kids... The night before we decided to stay at Port Orleans Riverside and check out the new STK at Disney Springs. Let me just say that STK is unreal, and our new favorite for dining at the Springs.... the food and cocktails are incredible. So the next morning we decided to kinda sleep in and head over to the coast about 9:30, which means about a 10:30/11:00 arrival to the ship.

Arrival at the port: You may read that you shouldn't arrive until your assigned time, but no worries....arrive when you arrive. We arrived at the port at about 10:45 and parked in the preferred parking for $84:00 which was not much more than standard ( maybe $15.00 ) and when I say preferred, it was within 10 yards of the boat. This may seem like no big deal to everyone else, but it as sooooo easy and quick it was a "Dream". We dropped off the luggage and parked and were inside within 10 mins. To us it was well worth the difference in price to park in the garage. Side note, also make leaving a snap!! So once inside, we proceeded to x-ray and check-in, both were easy and quick. Within 5 mins we had our boarding passes and were ready to board when called. They call groups in order of when you checked in online, but it was so very quick it was amazing!!!

If I were comparing the whole port arrival to checkin process to Royal Caribbean, I would say Disney has this down pat, as Royal, is very chaotic from arrival to checkin....We hate getting on a Royal Ship.

Initial Impressions once on board:

WOW!! The boat is so incredible and so detailed. My wife and I really loved how incredible the ship looked...the little details, the beauty of the ship, and the wow factor. We were hungry so we headed to the Enchanted Garden for lunch, and it was great....not crowded and oh so good. I think everyone else headed up to the buffet and totally forgot about the garden. We really enjoyed it. After lunch we explored a little bit and then settled down in the adult area to drop our bags and put our swimming suits on and try a little AquaDuck.....loved it, but got told that next time we were on...we couldn't record the ride...Woops!!! Didn't know that....

Soon it was time for the staterooms to be open (1:30) so we decided to check the room out. I can say that you may never have a larger standard room than on a Disney ship!! All I can say is Wow! Our Family stateroom was huge compared to Royal and Carnival!!! So much room, so much storage!! From 2 bathrooms, to the large sitting area, we were impressed. Totally impressed. Disney has really done a great job with the staterooms and the décor.....so beautiful.

More to follow tomorrow....

Ask questions if you have any...

Good so far!

ex techie

Great review so far. Am especially enjoying it as we were just on the Dream a month ago with our adult children. But we've sailed mostly by ourselves. And you're right. No different than visiting the parks without kids.

So excited to read. We are going next year. Great start

and to continue.... work stuff gets in the way lol

1st Day:

Most of the afternoon was spent exploring and relaxing around the ship. While the wife took a little cat nap, I headed out to see some more of the ship. I wanted to check out the kids area's because we are planning on bringing our new godson when he gets a little bit older, so off I went to the open house.... Let me just say this, I want to be a kid again just to play in that area!!! Star Wars!! The entire kid zone is so well done, it really is amazing, if you have kids of any age, I would bet they are going to love it.

A little more exploring, then back to wake my Jenny up from her nap...I was too excited to let her sleep!!!

We decided to get ready to be out for the night, so we did our best to get all dressed up and ready to go. I can honestly say that I loved the 2 bathroom design for the simple fact that my wife can get ready in the bathroom with the shower and I can get ready in the other bathroom. Sounds silly, but it really does make the room soooooo much easier to get ready in. So all ready and headed out to see where Disney imagination takes us.

Since we had the 8:15 seating, we knew we wanted to checkout and relax in the bar area, so we headed there. The 1st thing the wife and I noticed was that most of the ship seemed so empty and quiet...empty halls, empty decks, empty spaces...was great!!! An crew member told us that it is so quiet because everyone is doing something, eating, show, movies, there is so much to do for everyone, that you can really enjoy the ship in peace and quiet all evening long. He was right, light crowds = nice romantic walks around the inside and outside of the ship. We headed over to the 1st bar I really wanted to checkout and that was the sports bar 687 and wound up hanging out till dinner, talking with great people and great bartenders. I think I may have had the best baked pretzel ever while enjoying a cocktail or 2. I knew when the bartender told me it would take 30 minutes to make, it had to be good...oh and it was.

Off to dinner we went already half stuffed from that huge pretzel and a few cocktails...tonight's dinner location was Enchanted Garden. I can honestly say that dinner, by far was the most food I have ever eaten in one sitting on a cruise ship.....yikes!!! Everything looked so good, I just kept asking if I could try this, then that, oh and maybe that…. We enjoyed the atmosphere, the wait staff and our perfect location with a window to the sea.

So now here is the problem with eating all that food….you get tired!!! I was whipped from too much to eat!! We normally stay up late when we are on vacation, but this time, this one time….Disney got the best of me. So I think we were back in the room and watching Iron Man by 10:00

1st Day impressions:

We had a blast! We love the ship, the crew, the stateroom and the experience. Things I would recommend to anyone on their 1st Disney cruise on the 1st day? Explore!! Explore and then explore some more. Go on the AquaDuct when you 1st get on the boat if you can, it is the shortest line of the entire trip and it is pretty cool to try at least once. Sneak down to the Enchanted Garden for lunch on the 1st day. We had no lines and I think most people don’t realize it is there for lunch, but it is, and it is worth it.

I am next going to try to upload some pictures next….

More to come

Thanks for this - I like that fact that you're reviewing from a 'returning many years later' perspective - I bet you could really see what has changed since your first Disney cruise(s).

Edited to add: We LOVE the Dream... wish we could take a 10-night and just stay on that beautiful ship the whole time!

Loving the review. My 16 year old Daughter and I are sailing on the Dream Oct. 14th and can't wait! Was worried we would be the only one's there without little kids, but we both love Disney and try to do a Disney trip every other year, so figured we would try the Disney cruise this time. Can't wait to read the rest and see the photo's. One question, you said that you are called in groups in the order of online check in. Does that mean I should stay up on the night they open check in for us (12 pm) and do it then? Also where was your room, we are in 8066, oceanview deluxe family with verandah. Thanks again for the great review!

djbjdper, I wouldn't say stay up till midnight to do the online checkin...I would say anytime the 1st day you can do it is fine. It really does go by quickly, but the earlier you get on the easier it is to get started with the FUN!! We had room 9106 which was also a deluxe family oceanview room with verandah. The room was incredible. The size and storage is crazy! 2 bathrooms is a blessing! The balcony was great! AND the 1 bonus is that you can watch any Disney movie you want on demand at any time. I totally loved putting on some Pixar movies in the morning and calling room service for coffee, pastries and fruit. I would also put something on while my wife was getting ready. It so adds to the Disney experience.

Don't mind my wife sleeping....lol it was the only pic I had from the other side of the room

Testing to see if this works better...lol last pic came out too small

How do people post larger pics? I see all these great shots, but mine show up as tiny thumbnails...ugh

How do people post larger pics? I see all these great shots, but mine show up as tiny thumbnails...ugh

If I'm not mistaken - you need to host your image on another site and then link to it... I used flickr for mine...

If I'm not mistaken - you need to host your image on another site and then link to it... I used flickr for mine...

Absolutely right. I use Photobucket. Both have free of charge membership options.

One you have uploaded your photo's to your hosting site, then click on the little box with the mountain and sun in it called "insert image" and copy and paste the URL of your photo link from the hosting site.

ex techie