Today’s the day I’ve been waiting for since I boarded the plane on Wednesday, the start of our Disney Cruise! We got ready, packed our bags, and left our AirBnB at 9:15 AM. Before we embarked on the magical seas, we had one last stop in Vancouver, Flyover Canada. This was the one activity I requested we do during our time in Vancouver because it reminded me so much of one my favorite ride at Disney California Adventure: Soarin’ Around the World. There were clear similarities between both attractions to say the least. Once we entered Flyover Canada, we watched a short film called Uplift which showcased many of the cultural aspects of Canada. Afterwards, we watched the safety video which appeared to copy and paste the Soarin’s safety video script except for swapping out a few key words. The ride itself was wonderful as it flew us to the beautiful sights of Canada while occasionally spraying us with mist to simulate flying through clouds. While I prefer Soarin’ compared to Flyover Canada, the latter was certainly a fun experience.
Now it was finally time to board the Disney Wonder (the name of our cruise ship) once we checked in and went through customs. I chuckled a bit when Mom had difficulty scanning her passport, but then I ate my words as I had trouble scanning mine. That’s what I get for teasing my mother, I guess. After waiting for our boarding group to be called, we were welcomed on to the lobby by applauding crew members and a waving Mickey Mouse.
We explored the ten decks the Disney Wonder has to offer and found our rooms. There are pools and water areas, play areas, theaters, spas, lounges, and even a basketball court. Oh yeah, there’s a ton of restaurants too. We get to cycle through the restaurants for our dinners during the cruise which is cool. Side Note: Though I’ve only been on the ship for a couple hours, one touch I appreciate is the jingle that plays before a ship announcement is “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Pinocchio. It’s also the sound the foghorn makes too, albeit at a much louder volume.
The next activity was a mandatory safety drill which basically consisted of a short instruction video on how to put on a life jacket and the demonstration of the emergency alarm which is like a fire alarm but ten times as loud (and I thought the bull horn was loud). Once done and my hearing returned, I made my way up to the top deck to see Mickey’s Sail-A-Wave Party featuring the big cheese himself accompanied by some very energetic crew members. It was a high energy dance party and set a joyful mood for the cruise.
After exploring the ship a bit more, and browsing through one the gift shops, it was time to head to dinner at our first restaurant. We ate at Triton’s (father of Ariel from The Little Mermaid) and also met our waiters for the cruise, Anthony and Galang. Dinner was delicious, though a bit small in my opinion. But that’s okay because there’s a bunch of grab and go stations for additional food on the ship. So after grabbing a slice of pizza and some soft serve, I headed to a trivia activity called Mouseketeer Madness.
Essentially, it’s like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with a contestant answering five questions to win a Mickey Medal. Sadly, I didn’t get picked to play, but it was fun watching those who did answer the questions. For the record, I did know the answers to the majority of the questions, so I would have crushed the competition if I’d been chosen. Following Mouseketeer Madness was karaoke. The breakout star of karaoke was a six to seven year old girl who sung a phenomenal rendition of “My Heart Will Go On” from memory. Lastly, I caught the last half of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, then realized it was around 1:00 AM and turned in for the night.
If you'd like to read the day's events from my mom's perspective, you can read her blog here.
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