Sunday, August 11, 2013

Guest Author Sunday

             Guest Author Sunday Meranda
                       



Disney Gals are pleased to welcome back Guest Author Meranda! We're so happy to have you as one of the Gals!

If you are visiting Disney for a honeymoon, anniversary, or just a special “couples only” trip, you’ll definitely want to leave behind the hustle and bustle of the parks for one evening and book yourselves a romantic Fireworks cruise. If you’re vacationing with more people than just the two of you, that’s okay too because this is an activity the whole family will enjoy!

We hosted a Wishes Fireworks Cruise to celebrate with some of our friends and family one evening before our Disney Wedding. We had a specific time that we all had to meet at the marina behind Disney’s Contemporary Resort.  Life jackets were provided for the little kids, and once we arrived on board snacks and drinks were provided.  A friend of ours even brought champagne to share.  Our captain for the evening was “Dave”.  He sailed us around the Seven Seas Lagoon, played a little Disney trivia with us, and gave us some background information on how the Wilderness Lodge was built.  I won’t give the whole story away, but the front of the lodge is supposed to resemble a very famous bear. Can you guess who?   We also got to catch a glimpse of the Wedding Pavilion from the water.  It looked like there may have been a ceremony going on because we could see candlelight in the windows. This was a special sighting because we would be getting married there in two days!      

As the sun had gone down, our captain parked our boat in front of the Magic Kingdom train station.  We had a great view and the music was piped in. One of the little kids in our group even pointed out that he saw Tinkerbelle fly by.         
                                                                         
I will let the photos speak for themselves.
The following year we booked an Illuminations cruise to celebrate our one year anniversary. This time we met our boat at the marina behind Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.  The captain took us for a cruise along Bay Lake and gave us some background information on the Epcot Resorts that we had gone by. Before too long we were anchoring our boat underneath the bridge at the International Gateway.  Snacks and beverages were served on this cruise as well.  We ate our snacks and watched the show. Seeing the show from on the water made it sound even louder and more explosive. It was a good show though.


If you want to book a fireworks cruise there are several options you have.                                                             
Do you want to watch Wishes or Illuminations?
*If you choose Wishes, you can choose from a 21’ Tracker Pontoon boat that will accommodate 8 guests for $292.88 or a 25’ Tracker Pontoon that will accommodate 10 guests and pipe in the Wishes music on the boat for $346.13.
*If you choose to take the Illuminations cruise, you may have up to 10 guests on board and the cost is  $325.
Snacks and beverages are provided on each cruise but you can also order private dining from several Disney resorts at an additional cost.
Other options for fireworks cruises including renting the Grand One Yacht which holds 18 guests, or the Breathless ( a 1930’s mahogany boat) that hold only 6 guest.
To book your own fireworks cruise you can call (407)-WDW-PLAY.
*Prices at time of publication.

4 comments:

  1. So magical! Someday I will make it on one of these fireworks cruises. I've run into TWO roadblocks on our last two trips :( Thanks for all of the information!

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  2. This sounds like so much fun! I'm curious about the time involved. How long do the cruises last and when do they leave? I'm assuming the start time might vary as the fireworks times vary. Would love to plan a surprise for my sisters on our next trip if I can work it into our schedule! Thanks!

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    1. Heather, You are correct the start time varies with the time of year and the time of the fireworks. For example in October for the 9:30 fireworks you meet at the Contemporary at 8:15PM. You are on the cruise for around 1 hour. Here is a link to the Disney site which would give you some additional information; including a calendar with dates and times that are available over the next few month's: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/contemporary-resort/pirates-and-pals-fireworks-voyage/

      We have also done the Illuminations cruise, that one is also based on when
      Illuminations is going to be shown, and this one you need to be at the Yacht Club around 1 hour before the show, you are then taken down the waterway to Epcot and the boat is docked along the sides of the last bridge. Our friend did it for her 50th birthday, we had food, drinks and birthday cake and it was a great time (very cold as it was Dec.) but you could not ask for a better place to watch from!
      Disney Gal Judy

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    2. Thanks for posting! I am always happy to write. ~Meranda

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