Wonder or Dream?

My family and I are thinking about going on our first Disney Cruise. We have been on 5 cruises with RCI and have a 3 (almost 4) year old that would love a Disney cruise. We are looking at a cruise out of Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. What I would like some help with is choosing which ship. The two options are the Disney Wonder and Dream.

Are there a lot of differences?

Does one have more water activities for the kids than the other?

Do they have the same restaurants?

And anything else you can think of

Thank you

My family and I are thinking about going on our first Disney Cruise. We have been on 5 cruises with RCI and have a 3 (almost 4) year old that would love a Disney cruise. We are looking at a cruise out of Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. What I would like some help with is choosing which ship. The two options are the Disney Wonder and Dream.

Are there a lot of differences?

 

Does one have more water activities for the kids than the other?

 

Do they have the same restaurants?

 

And anything else you can think of

 

Thank you

The Wonder is "smaller" than the Dream. But, once onboard, I don't think it makes much difference.

Dream has AquaDuck, AquaLab, and family pools. Wonder has Mickey Pool, Mickey Splash area. Depending on when you take the cruise the Wonder is due for a major dry dock that may add some other features this fall.

Main dining rooms on the Wonder: Animator's Palate; Triton's; Parrot Cay (although the dry dock is rumored to be changing this to Tiana's).

MDRs on the Dream: Animator's Palate; Enchanted Garden; Royal Palace.

For a first time cruise, either ship will be good. Are both cruises 4 night cruises(at least)?

The change to Tiana's is more than rumor--Disney has posted concept drawings on line.

The restaurants have different themes, but basically the same food. What you'll find is that the appearance is similar but the decor different (if that makes any sense). Each ship is slightly different, but there is much more alike than different throughout the fleet.

Wonder typically cruises with 2500 guests, Dream with 4000. Obviously the size of the various areas is smaller on the Wonder which we like better. The Dream has added features that are more attractive to older kids. We prefer the Magic and Wonder, and for a 4 year old, it won't make any difference.

Like Shmoo, the minimum length is 4 nights...longer if you can swing it!

I know you are talking about a family cruise.

However, for the adults in the family, there are some differences. On the Wonder the adult only restaurant (extra $$), is Palo; on the Dream you will also find Remy, in addition to Palo. Both restaurants offer fine evening dining, as well as a special buffet on sea days. We like them both, but our favorite is Remy.

We don't see significant differences in the adult entertainment areas, other than size (Dream is a bit bigger, possibly).

And we agree - the minimum is a 4 night cruise; go 7 if you can!

Worth noting--Remy is roughly the equivalent of Victoria and Albert at the Grand Flo. The upcharge is $85 per person.

It's really more of an experience than just a meal.

Worth noting--Remy is roughly the equivalent of Victoria and Albert at the Grand Flo. The upcharge is $85 per person.

 

It's really more of an experience than just a meal.

And worth every penny.

Thank you so much for all the responses. We would love to book more than 4 nights and are going to look and see what works for us.

Other questions I thought of-

Do the two ships have the same shows? I saw that one of them offered a Toy Story show, which our son loves.

Do they both offer the same child services?

Do they both offer the same meet and greet experiences and have the same characters?

Thanks

Thank you so much for all the responses. We would love to book more than 4 nights and are going to look and see what works for us.

 

Other questions I thought of-

Do the two ships have the same shows? I saw that one of them offered a Toy Story show, which our son loves.

 

Do they both offer the same child services?

 

Do they both offer the same meet and greet experiences and have the same characters?

 

Thanks

They differ from ship to ship, with some overlap. You can find the current shows on each ship here:

disneycruiselineblog.com/cruise-planning/live-stage-shows

Thank you so much for all the responses. We would love to book more than 4 nights and are going to look and see what works for us.

 

Other questions I thought of-

Do the two ships have the same shows? I saw that one of them offered a Toy Story show, which our son loves.

 

Do they both offer the same child services?

 

Do they both offer the same meet and greet experiences and have the same characters?

 

Thanks

The Dream has Golden Mickey's; Villains Tonight; and Believe.

The Wonder has Golden Mickey's; Dreams; and Toy Story (currently), but rumored to be getting a Frozen show in it's place after dry dock.

Both ships have a nursery for the under 3 group. And Oceaneer's (3-12); Edge (11-14); Vibe (14-17). There are Open House hours in all clubs where you can accompany your child into another club.

Both ships have the Princess Gathering and Frozen Meet & Greet. What characters are onboard any given cruise can vary (depending on who's available to cruise), but generally the main Disney characters are there (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, and random princesses).

Thank you so much for all the responses. We would love to book more than 4 nights and are going to look and see what works for us.

The Dream has a few 5 night cruises next June/July. Normally, the Dream only has 3 and 4 night cruises.

Our first cruise was on the Dream and while we loved it, it was crowded and overwhelming. My next 4 cruises were on the Wonder, which feels more like a vacation home to me. Easy and fast to get anywhere on the ship. I'll be on the Dream again next year and I am really looking forward to it. You may want to nail down your dates and then think about the ship.

The Dream has Golden Mickey's; Villains Tonight; and Believe.

The Wonder has Golden Mickey's; Dreams; and Toy Story (currently), but rumored to be getting a Frozen show in it's place after dry dock.

 

Both ships have a nursery for the under 3 group. And Oceaneer's (3-12); Edge (11-14); Vibe (14-17). There are Open House hours in all clubs where you can accompany your child into another club.

 

Both ships have the Princess Gathering and Frozen Meet & Greet. What characters are onboard any given cruise can vary (depending on who's available to cruise), but generally the main Disney characters are there (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, and random princesses).

Does DCL offer services at night for childcare to allow parents to do a nice dinner or go out for a drink?

What about character meals? Are these offered enough that we can sign up ?

Thank you again

Does DCL offer services at night for childcare to allow parents to do a nice dinner or go out for a drink?

What about character meals? Are these offered enough that we can sign up ?

 

Thank you again

There is a nursery (up to 3 years old) onboard (extra cost). And, of course, the kid's clubs - Oceaneer's (3-12); Edge (11-14); and Vibe (14-17).

Some cruises have a Character breakfast. That's available, usually, on 7 night and longer cruises. On the Wonder it's Disney Jr characters plus Mickey.

If your cruise is doing them, you can reserve a spot online (when your booking excursions window opens). If there's still availability, you may be able to get tickets once onboard.

Does DCL offer services at night for childcare to allow parents to do a nice dinner or go out for a drink?

What about character meals? Are these offered enough that we can sign up ?

 

Thank you again

Child care is available till midnight each night, very occasionally they do a special night till 1 am. There is no additional charge for childcare based on hours--nursery is charged at the standard rate, Oceaneer's club/lab/Edge/Vibe are included in the cruise fare.

Cruises of 7 nights or longer typically have a character breakfast. Tickets can be booked on line in the same way you can book select meet and greets, and are sometimes available after boarding.

The ships have basically the same characters on board...but the longer the cruise, the more likely you are to have some additional "friends" making appearances. The exception is that Star Wars characters typically on appear on Star Wars sailings.

Child care is available till midnight each night' date=' very occasionally they do a special night till 1 am. There is no additional charge for childcare based on hours--nursery is charged at the standard rate, Oceaneer's club/lab/Edge/Vibe are included in the cruise fare.

 

Cruises of 7 nights or longer typically have a character breakfast. Tickets can be booked on line in the same way you can book select meet and greets, and are sometimes available after boarding.

 

The ships have basically the same characters on board...but the longer the cruise, the more likely you are to have some additional "friends" making appearances. The exception is that Star Wars characters typically on appear on Star Wars sailings.[/quote']

 

That's great. This may be a dumb question but do they have places for the kids to sleep in the kids clubs? or do they take them to the rooms?

 

Also when look at rooms on the Dream I found a split bedroom layout. This seemed like it would be a great option since it would give us and our son a little more space. I have never seen this layout on other cruise lines. Anybody use them and want to chime in on there opinion?

 

Thank you