- Guests can use the DCL Navigator app to talk with crew members from Guest Services, Port Adventures, and dining teams. If it works well, it'll be very helpful.
- Using the DCL Navigator app, guests can schedule an appointment to meet with a crew member in person. This makes me think that the Guest Services and Port Adventures desks will have significantly less crew members at them to help guests.
- Face coverings will be required inside, but not outside. It's funny, in the past, guest were only allowed to wear masks when getting their picture taken. Times have changed.
- Deck parties won't be happening.
- Fireworks will happen on two different nights, but guests will be assigned a fireworks show they can attend before their cruise starts. Unfortunately, they're not pirate themed. The fireworks will happen during a more generic "Disney Ever After" show. This might cause a mutiny.
- Up-close character experiences won't be happening, but they'll still interact with guests from a distance.
- Less people will be allowed in the Walt Disney Theatre at a time. There will only be one Broadway-style show in the Walt Disney Theatre per cruise. It'll be shown many times during the cruise, so everyone who wants to see it gets a chance.
- Guests will need to book sessions for their children in the Oceaneer Club and Lab before their cruise online or on the DCL Navigator app. Each child can only have one session per day, which is unfortunate for kids that love the Club and Lab. If a child does not have any sessions in the Oceaneer Club and Lab, they can be booked through Guest Services if there's availability.
- Edge and Vibe will be open, and no reservations are necessary.
- Kids at youth clubs will likely be told to wash their hands more. We were already encouraged to do this frequently, but it looks like that'll happen more now.
- The 'it's a small world nursery!' will be closed.
- The minimum age to use the Senses Fitness Center has been lowered to 14. Guests under 18 need to have an adult or guardian with them to use the Fitness Center.
- Some Senses treatments and features won't be available.
- Pools and water slides will be open. Unlike the Magic at Sea cruises, guests won't have to wait in a virtual line to go to the pools, which is nice. Capacity will be limited in the pools, but that's a good thing, since the pools are often too crowded to have fun.
- Guests can't play shuffleboard, ping pong, or basketball. However, the website says nothing about mini golf or the sports simulators. This is because Disney copied this section of text from the Magic at Sea information page. The Magic doesn't have a mini golf course or sports simulators, so how could they be temporarily unavailable? I'm pretty sure these two features will be unavailable. They should temporarily rename Goofy's Sports Deck to Goofy's ______ Deck. Also, did DCL forget that foosball exists? If the other Sports Deck activities aren't available, foosball probably isn't available.
- All food and drinks will be served by crew members, so guests can no longer serve themselves. I don't think this will be a huge problem, but I probably wouldn't be able to make custom drink combinations or unrealistically tall ice cream cones.
- Menus won't be given to guests at meals, so they'll have to use the DCL Navigator app to view the menus. Alternatively, guests can ask to get a paper menu.
- Hanging bags on stateroom doors to collect gifts from other guests (fish extenders) isn't allowed.
- A new contactless payment system will be used.
- Payment history and receipts will be visible in the DCL Navigator app.
- When getting off the ship at Castaway Cay, guests will use the DCL Navigator app to join the virtual queue. However, when less people are debarking the ship, the virtual queue won't be in use.
- All Port Adventures are still happening, just at a lower capacity.
- The Castaway Cay trams will still be running, but enhanced cleaning measures will be in use. Also, to promote physical distancing, less people will be allowed on a tram at a time thanks to modified seating. Face coverings are required when riding on trams. To avoid this, walk.
- Disney says that hammocks on Castaway Cay are temporarily suspended. But aren't hammocks always suspended?
- The line for Pelican Plunge will now be on land.
- The Party Patrol exists. The Party Patrol consists of characters that ride beach vehicles around the island. This seems like the kind of thing that'll be a permanent feature. Can I join?
- Scuttle's Cove, the youth club for ages 3-12 on Castaway Cay, won't be operating. It would probably be challenging to implement the Oceaneer Club and Lab reservation system to Scuttle's Cove.
- Teen Hideout (essentially Vibe on Castaway Cay) will be open, and no reservations are necessary. Also, In Da Shade will be open. Both of these will have reduced capacity, but they'll offer "recreational activities, including basketball, foosball, table tennis and pool". This doesn't make sense. Why are basketball and ping pong/table tennis allowed on Castaway Cay but not on the ship? Maybe it has something to do with Disney copying the text from the Magic at Sea page. If it's allowed at Castaway Cay, it's probably allowed on the ship. We'll see what happens.
Friday, July 23, 2021
The Dream is Coming Back!
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Non-Gimmicky Restaurants are Important!
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Disney Cruises Are Back!
Thursday, July 8, 2021
That's Not Cabanas...and Donald Duck Has a Cantina?
Earlier today, Disney Cruise Line updated the Wish's website with information about the Wish's non-rotational dining options, like the poolside restaurants. All of the restaurants announced follow the standard set by the previously-announced restaurants: They're unlike any of the existing DCL restaurants. Disney didn't reveal much about them, but let's take a look at what we do know!
First, we'll talk about the largest of the restaurants that were announced today: Cabanas Marceline Market. Contrary to what the name suggests, this is a restaurant, not a shop. It's named after Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri. According to its description, Marceline Market will have ten separate food stations, all based on different Disney movies. Disney didn't say which movies will be featured, but in their rendering of the restaurant, there's art on the wall that gives it away. Take a look at this screenshot:
I think each food station will have food related to its theme. For example, the Zootopia station might have a focus on salads and vegetables, while the Ratatouille station may feature French food. Do you think the food from the Ratatouille station will be as fancy as food from Remy (named after the rat from Ratatouille) on the Dream and Fantasy? In addition to the ten food stations, there will be a "café-style beverage bar". I hope there's more than one, because Marceline Market is probably going to be pretty big.
I think it's good that Marceline Market won't only focus on one movie, and the distinct stations will make it easier to find the food that you want. Also, telling others where you got food will be very easy:
"Hey, that looks good, where'd you get it?"
"It's from Beauty and the Beast."
The Marceline Market description says that guests will enjoy "a walk-around experience for breakfast and lunch, and table service at dinnertime." Is a walk-around experience a buffet? It might be, but maybe Marceline Market won't be a buffet. The pandemic may have influenced the design of the Wish, so maybe guests won't be able to serve themselves food. Instead, crew members might be serving food. As long as it's flexible and works efficiently, I'll be okay with it. Also, the restaurant's table service dinner is like what's been done at Cabanas for dinner. Guests will be able to eat inside or outside, like at Cabanas.
Marceline Market is very different from DCL's existing casual restaurant, Cabanas. I've always enjoyed the tropical theming of Cabanas, since it fits perfectly with the atmosphere of a cruise. I was surprised that Disney chose not to put Cabanas on the Wish and instead try something new. They had renovated the buffet restaurants on the Magic and Wonder into Cabanas to keep them in line with the Dream and Fantasy, and I thought that they would want to keep the branding the same across the fleet, like what they've been doing with other things like the Walt Disney Theatre and the youth clubs. It seems unlikely, but maybe the four Cabanas restaurants will be updated into Marceline Markets in the future.
Before hearing about Marceline Market, I didn't know about the city of Marceline. According to Wikipedia, it had a population of 2,233 people in 2010. The Wish will be able to hold 4,000 passengers, so Marceline Market will likely serve more people in a day than the entire population of the city.
I'm looking forward to getting more information about Marceline Market, like what food it'll serve and how getting food at breakfast and lunch will function.
I'm also looking forward to the other type of casual restaurant, the poolside quick service restaurants! Together, the Wish's poolside restaurants are known as the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods. Included in this festival are Daisy's Pizza Pies, Goofy's Grill, and Sweet Minnie's Ice Cream, three restaurants that are similar to what we've seen on the existing DCL ships, just with different theming and, possibly, different menus. In addition to these, two other restaurants, Mickey's Smokestack Barbecue and Donald's Cantina, will be part of the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods. This is exciting! Other than Cookies and Cookies Too on Castaway Cay, we've never had a DCL barbecue restaurant. Also, Donald's Cantina will be the first DCL Mexican restaurant. The Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods will have more variety than those on the current DCL ships, which helps to solve an inconvenience that I never considered. On the current ships, if you're on the pool deck and want to eat something that's not at one of the outdoor restaurants, you'd have to go into Cabanas which has air conditioning and is cold. But on the Wish, with its additional two restaurants, there'll be more outdoor food options and less of a chance that guests won't want anything from them.
Unfortunately, there isn't a rendering of the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods on the Wish's website. However, since all five restaurants are grouped under the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods name, I think they'll all be close to each other, similar to Flo's Café on the Dream and Fantasy. I'm hoping that the Festival of Foods flows better than Flo's so that it doesn't get too crowded.
Unlike Marceline Market, the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods will have a tropical boardwalk theme, which will work well, since it's right by the pools. Also, since the Wish's family pools are all named after characters from the Mickey Mouse universe, the restaurants will fit in perfectly.
I'm glad Disney finally announced more of the Wish's guest areas. I'm looking forward to learning more about Marceline Market and the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods. Specifically, I want to know the menus for each of the restaurants. What foods will Donald's Cantina and Mickey's Smokestack Barbecue serve? Will I be able to order a whole pizza at Daisy's Pizza Pies? Could guests order combination foods, like a barbecue chicken pizza or a hot dog in a tortilla? Will Sweet Minnie's Ice Cream have blueberry ice cream? Will there be a soft drink station near the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods? I can't wait for that next delicious announcement!