My New Favorite Book

The Unofficial Guide books are extremely helpful when planning a vacation.  There's a guide for Las Vegas, one for Washington DC, another for Disney World, and of course there's one for Disney Cruise Line.  The Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line has a new edition every year, with updated information and more trip-planning tips.  There are also small sections featuring Disney Cruise Line experts, such as Scott Sanders from disneycruiselineblog.com (his blog was what made me want to start this blog).

Oh right, one of those experts was me.  Page 222 of The Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Line 2019!

Writing that segment involved a lot of waiting.  It started back in February 2018, when I noticed the cruise experts' sections in the 2018 edition.  After seeing those, I thought, hey, maybe I could do that! Soon after, I wrote a letter to the authors of the book, sharing my idea.  I waited and waited to hear back, and after a while I almost forgot about it.  Then, one day in July, I got an email from one of the authors saying that my idea was interesting and they would like me to give writing it a try.  I wrote the above section, sent it in, and waited.  The next month felt like it would never end.  Finally, in October, I got an email saying my work would be published!  I couldn't believe it!  I waited impatiently during October and November, and during last week, tons of books arrived.  My parents ordered many to give to our friends and extended family.  I still don't know if I was more excited for the book to release or our cruise that's coming (in 35 days).

Amazon link to book

Barnes & Noble link

Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse!

It's a huge year for Disney.  Earlier this year, the Disney Magic turned 20 years old, and yesterday, Mickey Mouse turned 90 years old!  I can't believe how excited people are about a cartoon mouse.

90 years ago, the short cartoon Steamboat Willie gave the world a new favorite rodent.  It was the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound.  Synchronized sound was a new technology where the sound in the cartoon matched up with the picture.  This made sound effects possible, and added a new level of immersion to cartoons.  It's much more entertaining than a silent film, but probably took longer and cost more to make.  Instead of explaining any more, just watch the cartoon here.

I think it's really cool to see how far animation has come in almost a century.  This was groundbreaking in the 1920s.  It's funny how weird the cartoon gets, a goat eats music and becomes an instrument.

Makes sense, right?

A cow's teeth become a xylophone.

Definitely accurate.

An anthropomorphic mouse is the captain of a boat.

I guess this is where Disney Cruise Line started.

I'd give it an A+ for creativity.  That's the best part of cartoons and animation, you can make anything happen.  It doesn't matter if it makes sense or not.  The less it makes sense, the funnier it is.  None of this would have been possible without imagination, and Walt Disney had an amazing imagination, and an even better work ethic.  He turned a drawing into a celebrity!  If only he was still alive to see how popular his mouse still is.  Everywhere I go, I see people in Mickey Mouse shirts (myself included).  Millions of people go to the Disney theme parks, and cruise ships, to see Mickey.  Today, Mickey Mouse isn't just a mouse.  He's a legendary mouse.

You Suggested, Everything Was Good So I Just Featured Them All

A few weeks ago, I asked you what you wanted Disney to add on their future ships.  I got 4 comments with some awesome suggestions.

Patrick said he would like more pools and possibly a lazy river.  The pools are always crowded during days at sea, and they are just too small for ships with thousands of people on them.  Patrick also said that a second funnel vision screen showing something different from the first one.  I'm not sure how this would work, since the current ships have the screen on the forward, nonfunctioning funnel.  If there was a second funnel vision, it would have to be on the second funnel, which is the functioning one.  Since the artist's depiction of the new ships had a big slide (possibly an AquaDuck 2), I'm not sure how anyone could fit the slide mechanics, a screen, and the normal funnel mechanisms on one funnel.  Work your magic, Disney!

Patrick also said he wants bigger non-concierge rooms that could fit six to eight people.  With a big family, it can be challenging to go on a cruise, since you'd need two rooms to fit everyone.

Patrick (wow, he was busy) ALSO said he wants another Midship Detective Agency game on the new ships.  I really enjoyed this game on the Dream and Fantasy, and it would be a shame if Disney didn't include something like this.  Maybe they could use the Disney Cruise Line Navigator mobile app instead of using physical badges.  He also thought it would be cool if the detective games were incorporated into a special mystery dinner on longer cruises.

Another reader also wanted more pools.  They also hope for more ship activities, like an escape room.  Maybe part of the new Midship Detective game will make you go through the escape room!  That would be really cool.  They also said a VR room would be a nice addition.  I'm not sure how this would work, but maybe the mobile app would be used for this.

This same person wishes that Disney would change their itineraries to visit more islands.  The Dream visits Nassau multiple times a week, and this is a bit of a waste, since there is nothing super exciting to do there.  Also, many repeat Disney cruisers have been to Nassau before, and if a lot of people don't like Nassau, why does Disney still go there so often? This could easily be changed to other Bahamian islands, such as Freeport.  Oh yeah, Disney is possibly buying another island, but that's another story.

Back to the reader, they also thought about leaving the Wonder on the West Coast year round.  Disney has a big audience there because of Disneyland.  It would give many people the chance to go on a cruise after their trip to Disneyland, which is already possible in Florida.  It'll mean more money for Disney, so why wouldn't they do it?  Another option would be to leave the Magic in Europe all year, which is also a good way for Disney to take a bigger audience's money.

Two other readers responded, with one hoping to have a mix of the Arr-Cade (RIP) and the Disney Infinity room on the Dream.

Nope, that won't happen.

The other hopes there is more Edge space for tweens.  This is a good idea.  Edge on the Magic and Wonder is really small compared to the Oceaneer Club and Lab.  Sure, it's a smaller age range, but if it was a little bigger, I don't think anyone would be that sad.

Those were all the comments the previous post got, if you'd like to share your thoughts, feel free to comment on this post.  I'd like to thank everyone who commented their ideas.  You all had very good ideas, and I really enjoyed reading them.

You Suggest, I Pick the Best

A few months ago, Disney released their first ever artist's rendering of their three new ships, which are scheduled to launch in 2021, 22, and 23.  It was very exciting, but didn't tell very much about what the ships will feature.

In a previous post, I went over what I want Disney to include on their new ships, but now I want to hear from you!  What new features are you hoping for?  What kind of new itineraries will we get when these new ships launch?  Where will Disney put their four current ships?  Will there be an interactive onboard game like the Dream and Fantasy's Midship Detective Agency?  Will I stop asking questions?

Probably not.

If you want to tell the world what you want, feel free to leave a comment.  I'll read your suggestions and feature some of the best ideas in a future post!

20 Years of Disney Magic

Wait, that can't be right!  Disney's been around way longer than 20 years, right?  That's true, but exactly 20 years ago the Disney Magic set sail on it's first ever cruise.  The first ever Disney cruise.  The first ever people at Disney's cruise terminal.  The first ever...

Okay, you probably get it by now.  The Magic was completed and launched 20 years ago.  It has been kept up so well that it still looks and feels brand new.  If there's a small scratch on the side of the ship, someone will fix it right away.  Have you ever seen a light out on a Disney cruise?  Me neither.  There's always work being done to ensure every single guest onboard has the best possible vacation.  Last year, when I was on a short cruise on the Dream, I went to an event where an entertainer talked about the design of the ships, including the color.  The dark blue paint color is harder to maintain than standard white, and needs to be repainted more often.  That just shows how much that Disney cares about their ships.  I'm not sure if there is any celebration happening on the Magic today, but there might have been an announcement of some kind.

Happy birthday, Disney Magic!

Disney Fantasy Made Inaugural Call to Nassau

And it was...


Uneventful.  The port did nothing special to celebrate this eventful occasion.  This is probably because the Fantasy is now six years old, and its sister ship, the Dream, visits Nassau multiple times a week.  Well, at least it happened, and now we know that all of the Disney Cruise Line ships have been to Nassau.  I hope those Nassau people make a bigger effort to celebrate when the future Disney Cruise ships go their for the first time.  As long as it doesn't happen six years into their time of service.

Disney Fantasy to Make Inaugural Call in Nassau, Bahamas

It's finally here!  The Fantasy is going to Nassau!  It's hard to believe that in its six years of service it has never made a stop there.  The Dream certainly has.  Anyway, this odd visit is because of an eleven night cruise that ended earlier this week.  The Fantasy is currently on a three night cruise, stopping at Nassau and Castaway Cay, to get back on the normal schedule (Seven night cruises leaving every Saturday).  I'm not sure what will happen when the Fantasy arrives, but I will be watching portnassauwebcam.com today, and I will (try to) update later with a full summary of what happened.

I'm sure whoever is on the Fantasy now will have a fantastic time (I feel like I've used that one before :\)!

The NEW Disney Cruise Line Navigator App!

Yesterday, an update was made available for the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app for Android and iOS.  This update changed a lot and even fixed the countdown!!  Take a look:

They made it good again!  If you update the app, the little Disney Cruise ship moves around the bottom of the screen.  Also, the zeros are now Disney characters!  But I'm wondering (pun not intended) why they had that old version.
You know, the bad version:

I've narrowed down the possibilities.  The old version might have been a filler for the countdown while they made the new one.  But if that's true, then why didn't Disney just keep the good old one:

The other possibility is that the bad old version was going to be the current version.  At least, until the developers read some of the app reviews.  Bland.  Un-Disney.  Where's the magic?  Since Disney Cruises are amazing, magical vacations, why shouldn't the app look amazing and magical?  Hmm...

I'm actually kind of surprised.  I like the new look of the app the most.  It's colorful, fun, and entertaining to see what characters make the zeros.  I was also surprised that when I opened the app after updating, there was a completely different look.  The app's update notes only said "...we've added more magic to our introduction screens and made it even easier to access the dinner menus..."  After reading this, I was thinking, "Oh great, I need to access the dinner menus.  Great.  BUT WHAT ABOUT THE COUNTDOWN?"  Lucky for all those people getting on a cruise this week, they can access the dinner menu with ease.  Oh yeah, and the app looks totally different.  No way, the dinner menus are way more important

Here are some more app screenshots:

My only complaint with the app is that to swipe to the different pages of the app, you can't swipe near the cruise ship, you have to do it higher up.  It's not a big problem, but it might some time to get used to.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the new app, and I hope that it doesn't get ruined like the last one.  Hopefully Disney learned from their mistakes and won't do it again.  But if they do...  I'll write them a 5 paragraph review on why they should have kept the old version the same.  Let's just hope they don't change it.

So for some reason, the European Union (I live in the USA) wants me to say that this site uses cookies for data and stuff like that.  Don't eat them, they probably don't taste very good.  Okay, EU, now you can't say I didn't warn my many (probably less than 15) readers about cookies.  Don't eat them!

The Disney Cruise Line Navigator App

Earlier this year, Disney completely changed their Disney Cruise Line Navigator app in an update.  It completely redid the look,

I like the old version better, it actually looks like a Disney app.

While the new version is great, it doesn't look much like a Disney app.  It feels more like a generic countdown app.  The new version updated the onboard deck plans, improved chat, and enhanced overall performance.  I haven't been able to try it on a cruise, but I hope the chat is better.  It wasn't very reliable, because you were supposed to keep the app running to receive messages.  Even with the app open, sometimes messages took a long time to send.  Occasionally, they didn't even send!  Let's hope they fixed that issue.

Some more screenshots from the app:

Even with this issue, the app is still really helpful to have.  I used it to check character appearances, look at the dinner menu (at breakfast), to check daily activities, and other things.  It's basically a Personal Navigator on your phone.  It's nice not to have to carry a big flier around with you wherever you go.  They definitely didn't have this in 1998.

Oh wait, they might have.

A Cap-Tivating Souvineir

When my family and I went on the Disney Wonder earlier this year, I wanted something to remember the trip.  On one of the later days in the trip, I saw a kid wearing a hat with autographs from various Disney characters.  That gave me an idea.  Later that day, I went to White Caps, and bought a...

White cap!!

The hat didn't come with Mickey's autograph, I had to work for that.  I checked the schedule, found when Mickey would be out, and went to where he'd be.  There was already a line.  I waited, until it was finally my turn.  I asked the photographer if I could get my hat signed, and she gave it to Mickey Mouse to sign.  She took a picture, and I left, excited to show off my latest piece of Disney Cruise Line merchandise.

If you ever want a hat like this, they are on any of the 4 Disney cruise ships.  Probably.  The selection changes every so often.  This hat cost $25, and I think it was worth it.  Who doesn't want a hat signed by Mickey Mouse?

Also, at the time of publishing, this blog has been around for over a year now!  It has been a great experience, and I really like getting reader feedback.  Your input helps me make this blog better!

Finally, I just want to give a shout out to the kid who gave me the idea for the hat, whoever he is...

Disney Wonder Now on the US's West Coast

What?  Already?

Yes.  Already.

The Wonder on the East Coast

On Friday, April 13th, the Disney Wonder made its way through the Panama Canal on a 14-night cruise.  I feel like it's going out west earlier than previous years, but I may be wrong.  The highlight of cruises on the west coast are the Alaskan cruises, but the Wonder doesn't go that far north yet.  It will stay closer to Mexico and do a few cruises from San Diego.  The California cruises aren't too long, with a few that are too short.  That includes the 2-Night Baja cruises.  2 nights.  The first night, you board the ship and unpack, the second night, you pack your suitcases!  The first dinner is the 'Welcome Aboard" one, and the second one is the "Sea You Real Soon!" one.  I think that cruise would be a waste of time.  I'd much rather pay more for a 3rd night, so that I'd have a day to not worry about unpacking or packing.  After the Wonder finishes these cruises, it will go north to Alaska, cruise from there, and go back to California.  Then, it will go back through the canal in October, and then go all over the Caribbean.  Finally, in February 2019, it will go through the canal again!  I thought April was early, but February...  Wow.

Art's a Good Start!

You know it's getting (somewhat) close when this happens.

Recently, Disney released their first artist's rendering of their NEW SHIPS!  Man, I am so excited! The art looks very similar to the Dream and Fantasy, but with some obvious differences.  Probably the most obvious is the sections of the ship that look to bump out. They are probably there to add larger verandahs or larger rooms.  Or, they may be there so the ships can be different from all of the other ships. There's also what seems to be an AquaDuck, which would be amazing, but Disney might add more to it.  Maybe there's two lanes, double the riders, half the wait. Or maybe there will be more sections where it dips down and goes back up. Who knows? Not me.

If you look up above the bridge, you can see at least two more decks of rooms!  This might be where the Concierge rooms are, or just some extra normal rooms.

Also, it seems that they are keeping up with the dual funnel design, adding more space higher up.  What will they use this space for? My guess is a teen or tween club, because this is how they were used on the four previous ships.

I don't see a sports deck, but I'm hoping it's up forward, similar to what they did on the Magic and Wonder.  The Dream and Fantasy's one in aft is still great, but I found it was always windy. You'd think that if it was forward, there'd be even more wind, but this is not the case.  There is a large wind wall, made of glass, that prevents your table tennis game from getting out of hand. The ball is very light, which makes it very difficult to play in the wind.  I also like it better up front because kids can look out in front of the ship. The Dream and Fantasy have an adult only area there, but seriously, adults have the Quiet Cove area and the Cove Café and the bars and the spa and the gym and, oh man, that was a lot.  My point is that KIDS like looking in front of the ship, and it is a great place to take photos for a blog. Of course, I doubt many kids would want to 'waste time' making a blog about Disney Cruise Line, but there are some. Like me. But, the adults are the ones paying, so I'll give them a reason why they should have all these cool areas.

I think the one big thing we NEED is a bigger pool.  Maybe about double the size of Goofy's Pool on the Magic and Wonder.  Also, I've heard some people hoping for a lazy river. This seems more important to adults, so it should loop around the Quiet Cove pool.  I'd also like more waterslides, not just the AquaDuck and a kid sized one. If you've seen what Royal Caribbean does, they have multiple slides that are pretty big.  If you've been on the Magic or Wonder recently, you had to have noticed the Twist 'N Spout slide, but I'd like multiple Twist 'N Spouts. Less wait time, more slide variety, and less crowds would make being at the pool much better, and more enjoyable.

It's really a shame we'll have to wait until 2021 until the first new ship enters service, but Disney will probably give us more details before then.
Well, it looks like that's about it! I think that's about all of the obvious stuff, if you notice I forgot something, please leave a comment letting me know!

Disney Magic NO LONGER in Dry Dock

Edit:  The Magic is now out of dry dock.  It  has resumed sailing.  Hopefully guests will enjoy the new improvements.

I'm a few weeks late, but the Magic is now in Freeport, Bahamas for a dry dock renovation. This one won't be as large as the one it had back in 2013, but some areas around the ship will be changed.

Probably the most obvious one is Carioca's, the Brazillian themed rotational restaurant.  This was added in the 2013 dry dock, and now...  they're replacing it with Rapunzel's Royal Table, a Tangled themed restaurant.  It will go along well with the Magic-Exclusive show, Tangled:  The Musical.  When I was on the Magic in 2015, we saw this show, and I really liked it.  Especially the puppet horse, Maximus.  This is kind of random, but Royal Table will make the Wonder the only ship without a restaurant with the word 'royal' in it.  Speaking of the Wonder, I think it will be the Magic's equivalent of Tiana's Place, with possible live music, but that made me think.  How would Disney put live music into a restaurant themed to a movie that didn't really focus on music.  Although, there was the Snuggly Duckling scene, where they played fast paced, loud music.  I wouldn't want to eat dinner to that.  Whatever Disney is doing, it must be a lot, because they closed off Carioca's for a few weeks before the dry dock started.  I don't know they can make this restaurant work, but, work your Magic, Disney (pun intended)!

The Quiet Cove adult area will also be changed a bit.  I don't know what it looked like before, or what it will look like after, so on to the next thing!

Finally, Vibe will be changed.  I'm not too sure how it looked before as well, but judging by the Wonder's, it has a homey feel to it, completely different from the Dream and Fantasy's high tech theme.  I hope to go on the Magic in the future to see how it's being changed.

This is completely unrelated, but my blog has almost been going for a year!  It's been a fun experience, but there are still some things I'm working out.  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this article!

Edge on the Disney Wonder

As you may know, the Wonder had a major dry dock renovation in late 2016.  Many spaces throughout the ship were updated, including Edge, the place for kids too old for the Oceaneer Club and Lab but too young for Vibe.  I fall into that category, and for this post, I did some research about the Pre-2016 Dry Dock Wonder.  It turns out that Edge used to be on Deck 2!  Now, it's on Deck 9, right by the pool deck, which is nice.  It probably attracts more attention, and is much more accessible.  When Edge was down on Deck 2, you'd probably only go down there if your room was there or you were a kid going to Edge.  What's weird is that my family's two rooms were on Deck 2, and it would've been really nice to not have to walk up a ton of stairs to get to Edge, but I have some ideas of why it moved.  Maybe there is more space on Deck 9.  Maybe Deck 2 made kids claustrophobic (it's just an idea...).  Maybe it got loud at night, when some people were trying to sleep.  No, wait.  It DID get loud at night when people were trying to sleep.

But why?  You may think that at night kids are calm and tired, but no, that is not the case on a Disney Cruise.  I actually think the kids got more hyper and crazy at night.  I kept thinking that whoever was sleeping below Edge on Deck 8 wasn't sleeping at all.  They were just lying awake, slowly getting crazier every time a kid jumped or fell or screamed when playing a game.  Yeah, I had a good time there.

On the past 3 cruises that I've been on, I've been in the Edge age range, but also the Oceaneer Club and Lab age range.  Even though I could go to the Club and Lab, I chose not to.  I prefer Edge, where I could be around kids closer to my age, and not be surrounded by a ton of younger kids.

Also, I felt like I had a lot more freedom at Edge.  There's an open door policy, where kids can come and go whenever they feel like it.  Kids can stay at Edge for a while, go get food, eat it and come back easily.  This was also nice when I felt like going to the Sports Deck with a friend or going to get the 20th ice cream cone of the day.  Whenever parents drop their kids off at the Club or Lab, they need to scan their Oceaneer Band to check in.  Kids also scan it when they leave.  Edge has nothing like this.  The first time you go, you have to check in by telling a counselor your name and date of birth, and then you'll get a small sticker for your Key to the World card, which is proof that you are allowed in Edge.  Every so often, the counselors check for everyone's sticker, and if someone doesn't have one, they will be politely asked to leave.  The only exception is during an open house, when anyone can come in.  I always thought of them as the most boring part of the day, because there were parents everywhere, and no special activities going on.

Edge also felt like a time without any of my siblings, because my older brother was at Vibe, and my younger brother and sister were at the Oceaneer Club and Lab.  There was nobody to annoy me or pester me to do something.  I'm really kind of sad that my younger brother will be at Edge on our next cruise...

Well, I've talked a lot about Edge, but I should probably talk about Edge.  The Wonder's Edge is more or less the same as the Magic's, but completely different from the Dream and Fantasy's.  The Wonder's has a unique submarine feel, with fake pipes and wheels everywhere.  There's also fake porthole screens, where you can see Finding Nemo characters swim by every so often.  It's very similar to the Dream and Fantasy's Animator's Palate, just without Crush, the talking turtle dude.  There's also black and white photos of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse.  Small details that make you remember where you are.  In the center of it all is a giant TV, that plays movies and occasional video games.  Surrounding it are 3 more TVs, creatively labeled Forward, Midship, and Aft.  There are Xbox and Wii U consoles near them, which are a highlight of the space.  The Magic's version has a few extra walls dividing the 3 TVs, but they aren't there on the Wonder.  It feels more open and less crowded.  I can't decide if I like the Wonder's or the Dream's better.

The thing that surprised me the most is that I didn't take any photos of Edge!  I don't know how I forgot, I just must have been having too much fun...

[UPDATED] Disney Wonder Photo Collection

A Disney Cruise is the perfect time to do new things, visit new places, meet new friends, and take photos, all of which I did.  Last week, I was on a WONDERful cruise, which just so happened to be on the Disney Wonder.  Before this, it was the only Disney ship my family hadn't been, and now we've been on all 4!  (Yaaay)  While on, I was able to get some great pictures.  I hope you enjoy!

The Disney Wonder in Antigua

If you ever go on the Wonder, look really closely at the two funnels.  After a while, you'll probably notice the blue on the forward funnel is a different, lighter shade than the blue on the other one.  Also, the real, functioning funnel is slightly taller than the forward one.  Why are there these small differences?  I have no idea.

Well, this is new!  In San Juan, we boarded the ship on Deck 1!  I think it was because the structure above on the right looks a little... unsafe.  The only real thing missing was that there wasn't anyone down there announcing to the ship that families had arrived.  It was a little sad, but the boarding process was faster this way.

The view of San Juan from the Wide World of Sports Deck

I prefer the placement of the sports deck on the Magic and Wonder to the Dream and Fantasy.  I'm not saying that Goofy's Sports Deck is bad, but the Magic and Wonder's equivalent, the Wide World of Sports Deck, offers better views for the kids (the Dream and Fantasy have an adults only area here), fairer games of Ping Pong because there is less wind, and an overall nicer experience.  Although, on our last night, I was at the sports deck attempting to play basketball with a friend (we weren't very good), and I noticed that the area in front of the big glass wall was blocked off due to extremely high winds.  Anything light left up there would certainly get blown away, so it was good it was closed off.

Also from the sports deck, a plaque from the builder in Italy.  I don't speak Italian, but I know that 'ANNO' means year.  1999 was when the Wonder was launched.

It's not a great picture, because my phone's camera isn't great either, but this is right in front of... the Bueno Vista Theatre!  No, just kidding, its near the Walt Disney Theatre, where live shows are done.  I didn't see any of the Disney Cruise Line shows, but I did see the Magic Dave Show, a great, funny magic show.  I also saw The Great DuBois, a show where they do crazy things like juggling crazy amounts of balls, hula hooping (surprisingly exciting), and riding a 6-foot tall unicycle.  All while the ship is rocking!

During the Wonder's reimagination in late 2016, many places around the ship were renovated and updated, including the D Lounge, which was formerly known as Studio Sea.  They also updated other places, including...

...Cabanas!  Cabanas used to be the Beach Blanket Buffet until 2016, when they changed the decoration, food, and flow of the restaurant.  The Wonder's version, though is slightly different from the rest of the ships'.  Right before you walk in, there are hand washing stations, a line of sinks on either entrance.  I think DCL was experimenting with these, possibly for the three new ships.  While not as efficient as hand wipes, the sinks probably did a better job.  If only they had the hand wash machines that they have in the Oceaneer Club and Lab.  Those would be awesome!

Hmm, I wonder what they serve here?

Well, this is different!  Instead of Frozone Treats on all the other ships, there's Sulley's Sips.  I think this goes along much better with Eye Scream, and it keeps the Monsters Inc. theme going.

On the Promenade, there is a cool area in the front of the ship.  Instead of the Dream and Fantasy having Vibe's entrance here, you can see the giant chains for the anchors and everything used when the ship is docking.  The only downside to it is that it is closed off when the ship is going into port.

If you go up to Deck 10 and walk to the back of the ship, you'll find Palo, the Adults-Only restaurant on every DCL ship.  I didn't go inside, but I did get a good picture of the entryway.  My parents went one night, and they said it was as good as every other time they'd been.  Especially the Chocolate Soufflé, one of my their favorite desserts.

A few years ago, when we sailed on the Magic, they had all the normal flavors of ice cream, (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and banana) and blueberry.  What's weird is that it was only on the Magic before this cruise.  Who knows, maybe it's a classic ship thing.

Updated Section

They changed the atrium a lot when they renovated the Wonder. 

The port in San Juan was right by an airport.

There were lots of tiny boats, aaaaaand the Wonder.

More tiny boats

The ship name is in a different place on the two older ships than on the newer ones.

This was a paper craft I made.

Vibe is inside this funnel.

We saw this iguana at the beach in Curacao.

Aruba's bright blue water

These photos are really out of order, but this is the AquaLab, almost identical to the Magic's.  The only difference is that the Wonder has Dory's Reef instead of Donald's Nephews' Splash Zone.

The entrance to the Wonder's only waterslide, the Twist N' Spout.  It used to be Mickey's Slide, which was similar, but a lot less twisty.

I was surprised that we couldn't get many good photos of Donald Duck on the back of the Wonder.  Maybe next time.

This is a little better.

So is this

We got all these photos when we were on a snorkeling tour boat.

Wow.

Great news!  I'm going on the Wonder again in 2019!  Our servers were amazing, the service was great, and they had BLUEBERRY ICE CREAM!  My long lost favorite!