The New Disney Wonder

It has been a couple of weeks since we last posted, and two of those weeks were spent soaking up some Disney magic so that we would have more information to share with you! We have officially been back from our combined family Disney World trip for a week *sadness*. Post vacation life is hard – no more Magicbands, rides, characters or any of the stuff we all love about a trip to Disney World.

Although that trip has come to an end, we have another trip – another cruise, actually – that we just booked and there are the beginnings of workings for another combined family Disney World trip, smaller this time, though, as well.

So, with that all said, it has been a couple of months since our last Disney Cruise and we should finally start sharing that information with you before our next one comes up. Don’t worry, we have until December. So this go around of cruise information we think that the best approach would be to alternate between cruise and other Disney park (Disney World for the most part since we haven’t been to Disneyland in a while) each week. This week we’ll start you off with some Disney Cruise Line magic!

This past November we were lucky enough to sail on a Very MerryTime Cruise on the newly refurbished Disney Wonder. The ship began public sailings after dry dock on November 10 and we began our cruise on November 25 – at that point the ship was still “brand new”. We had sailed on the Wonder in August 2015 for our Alaska Cruise, but so much had changed dry the refurbishments that it was like being on a brand new ship!

Unfortunately, we are not able to share photos here within the post, however if you would like to see the photos we took during our sailing of the “new ship” feel free to view them here.

The layout of the ship now looks like this…

Deck 1

• Staterooms
• Medical Center

Deck 2

• Staterooms
• Launderette

Changes:

• Deck 2 is no longer the home of Edge.

Deck 3 (Aft to Forward)

• Tiana’s Place – New Orleans themed main dining restaurant run by the Princess and the Frog’s Tiana. Guests can enjoy fare with a Cajun flair and meet Tiana and Louis. 
• Promenade Lounge and Connect @ Sea Desk - Enjoy Wake Up With Disney Junior on some mornings or live music in the evenings as well as drinks and snacks.
• Triton’s – A Little Mermaid themed main dining restaurant featuring French cuisine.
• Atrium Lobby
• Port Adventures Desk – Book Port Adventures, register for the Castaway Cay 5k and more.
• Guest Services – Purchase stamps, settle room charges, ask questions and more.
• After Hours – During the day the bars and night clubs welcome all for trivia, bingo and family games. At night guests 18 and older can enjoy an adult only experience.
• Sea Treasures – A shop, that during our sailing featured Star Wars and Crown and Fin merchandise.

Changes:

• Tiana’s Place was added in place of Parrot Cay
• When looking at Triton’s the left staircase was removed and the Ariel statue was moved to the right.
• In After Hours Wavebands became Azure, Cadillac Lounge received a make-over and Diversions became The Crown and Fin Pub, a British Pub.
• Sea Treasures is now a merchandise shop.

Deck 4 (Aft to Forward)

• Animator’s Palate – A main dining restaurant that celebrates animation and serves American fare.
• Shutter’s – Here you can view and purchase photos taken by Disney’s photographers onboard.
• Shutter’s Portrait Studio – This new photo studio allows families to pose for professional photos.
• D- Lounge – Take in some live entertainment, like a Disney family game show.
• Art Gallery – View magnificent art that is all for sale.
• Disney Vacation Club Desk – Here guests can learn about Disney’s Vacation Club.
• Future Cruise Sales – Take advantage of a great deal and book a future cruise while onboard.
• White Caps and Mickey’s Mainsail – Purchase souvenirs or perhaps something that you forgot to pack.
• Preludes – Select meet and greets, with characters and with cruise staff, can be found here. Guests can also relax here before the show and purchase a beverage and snack.
• Walking/Jogging Deck – On the outside deck guests can break a sweet on the 1/3 “track”, challenge each other to a game of shuffle board or just relax on the benches and lounge chairs.
• Walt Disney Theater – The live Broadway style shows are performed here.

Changes:

• Animator’s Palate received upgrades.
• Shutter’s Portrait Studio was added.
• Studio Sea became D-Lounge and received a make-over including a new hallway entrance.

Deck 5 (Aft to Forward)

• Staterooms
• Buena Vista Theater – Take in a movie in the Buena Vista Theater.
• It’s a Small World Nursery – Young sailors, ages 6 months to 3 years, can play here while the grownups have time for grownup things. An additional fee is charges for It’s a Small World.
• Oceaneer Club – This youth club for guests ages 3-12 offers lots of room for fun as well as character meet and greets and making friends!
• Oceaneer Lab – This youth club for guests ages 3-12 offers guests fun with arts and crafts, computers, animation video games and more.
• Staterooms

Changes:

• Flounder’s Reef became It’s a Small World Nursery.
• Oceaneer Club has been completely re-done! It features Andy’s Room – a toy story themed play area, as well as Disney Junior, Marvel Avenger’s Academy and Frozen rooms.
• The chandelier has been replaced and is gorgeous.

Deck 6

• Staterooms
• Launderette

Deck 7

• Staterooms
• Launderette

Deck 8

• Staterooms

Deck 9 (Aft to Forward)

• Cabanas – This beach themed restaurant has something for everyone on the buffet for breakfast and lunch and offers a casual sit-down meal for dinner. Indoor and outdoor seating are available.
• Drink Station – Enjoy self-serve beverages like soft drinks, milk, water, coffee, tea and hot chocolate 24 hours a day.
• Daisy’s De-lites – This quick service dining location offers lighter fare like salad, sandwiches and fresh fruit. A new build your own bowl station was also added!
• Dory’s Reef – This splash zone is the perfect place for little ones, even those in swim diapers, to cool off!
• Twist n Spout Waterslide – Make a splash on this fun twisting waterslide.
• AquaLab – This splash zone and small pool are perfect for little ones that are ready for something a little more grownup, but aren’t quite ready for the family pool. Children must be potty-trained to use this area.
• Pete’s Boiler Bites – This quick service location serves classic fare like hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken tenders, but now also specializes in shawarma and gyros.
• Pinocchio’s Pizzeria – This quick service location offers a variety of pizzas, and on our last sailing soft pretzels.
• Family Pool – Take a dip in the pool or the family hot tubs or relax in a lounge chair. Whatever you do you can enjoy a movie on the BIG screen.
• Eye Scream – Cool off with some self-serve soft serve ice cream!
• Sulley’s Sips – Enjoy a fresh fruit smoothie. Available at an additional cost.
• Quacks – A small shop with souvenirs.
• Edge – This youth club offers fun and games for those ages 11-14.
• Cove Café – Guests 18 and older can enjoy a specialty beverage at the Cove Café.
• Signals Bar – Grab a drink to enjoy by the adult pool.
• Quiet Cove Pool – This adult only pool allows guests to cool off and relax in an adult only setting.
• Senses Spa and Fitness Center – Enjoy a relaxing spa treatment, or relax the way that I like to, in the gym.

Changes:

• Beach Blanket Buffet has been changed to Cabanas. Sinks have been added outside the restaurant. The seating area has been extended which has made it so that there is now a wall behind Daisy’s and no longer access between the two seating areas.
• Goofy’s Galley became Daisy’s De-lites and a Build Your Own Bowl station was added.
• Dory’s Reef is brand new to the Wonder! This Finding Nemo/Dory splash area is enclosed unlike the previous splash area.
• The Twist n Spout waterslide has been added.
• The AquaLab splash zone has been added.
• Pluto’s Dog House became Pete’s Boiler Bites and a shawarma and gyro station has been added.
• The self-serve ice cream station was moved closer to the family pool.
• Sulley’s Sips was added.
• Edge has been moved from Deck 2.
• Vista Spa became Senses Spa and was remolded. A teen spa was also added.

Deck 10 (Aft to Forward)

• Palo – This adult only dining location offers an upscale Italian feast for dinner every night and for brunch on select days. This dining experience comes at an additional cost, but it is SO WORTH IT!
• Concierge Lounge – Concierge guests can enjoy a special place to relax.
• Cove Café – The Cove Café extends to Deck 10 as well!
• Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique – Princesses and princes can receive royal make-overs at Biddidi Bobbidi Boutique.
• Wide World of Sports Deck – Challenge your friends to a game of basketball, ping pong, foosball and more!

Changes:

• Palo received a Venetian make-over.
• The Concierge Lounge was added making a special place for Concierge guests.
• Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique was added.

Deck 11

• Vibe – This youth club offers a laid back place to play games and hang out for guests ages 14-17.

Like we said, it’s a like a whole new ship!

We loved our time on the new wonder so much that we’re sailing aboard her again in December!

Want to experience the Disney Wonder or any of the other three Disney Cruise Line vessels? I’d be happy to help! Contact me at miriyawhitaker@worldofmagictravel.com to get started!