Trip Report When you WISH upon a star

Ok guys, it’s time for another trip report!

This was a fun one and something a little different. First of all, my travel buddy this time was my mom! And second, this was a World / Cruise combo!

I have done one Disney cruise prior to this, my husband and I sailed on the Dream in February 2024 for our 15 year anniversary. I absolutely loved our cruise but like most things Disney, it was a one and done for my husband. I knew I wanted to cruise again, and experience a different class of ship. My mom loves to travel, my dad not as much, so I asked her if she wanted to come along. She of course said yes. She isn’t a huge Disney fan but loves Broadway style shows, loves the beach, shopping and just travel in general. So I knew we’d have a good time!



Day One 4/18

Our flight departed for MCO at 1pm. We did unfortunately have one stop. The week of April 20th is spring break for MA and most New England schools so flights were crazy expensive. We opted for a cheaper Delta flight (I’m usually a Southwest girlie) with a stop.

You know I’m big on timestamps!

Walking to baggage claim at 6:45pm

Boarding Mears Connect at 7:15pm

Driving under the best sign ever at 8pm

Aimlessly walking around Riverside trying to find our room in the dark at 8:18pm

Found our room at 8:25pm!

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

After unpacking a bit, we decided we needed a snack. We walked a different route this time and I was pleasantly surprised by how close we actually were to main building. We were in Acadian House in Magnolia Bend, building 80. Classified as standard location but only about a 5 minute walk.

It only took this one brief walk for me to realize how absolutely stunning Port Orleans Riverside is. And the lobby smell? Heavenly

Snack acquired!

Walked by Yehaa Bob playing to packed house

And back to our room to end our travel day.

IN LOVE

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm in. Love that you saw a little Yee Haw Bob!

 

[riverside]

That last picture is stunning!!
Looking forward to your TR!!

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Looking forward to this. Riverside is a gorgeous resort and interested to read how you liked the Wish

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Day Two 4/19

We had a full day in Disney before boarding the Wish on the 20th. My mom is not a rides person at all so we decided not to go to the parks. I thought I would be sad being in Disney and not going to a park but we had the best day!

We first went and got some breakfast

And then we spent the next couple hours just exploring the resort. We walked all around Riverside and walked the path over to French Quarter as well.

Just as a little side note, French Quarter has been a bucket list resort of mine for years. I originally wanted to book it for this quick stay but it wasn’t available with the discount I was using. So I booked Riverside instead. And I have to say, Riverside absolutely has my heart after this stay. The grounds are so beautifully landscaped, it felt quiet & peaceful and I just got the best vibes walking around. When we walked over to FQ, the feeling was totally different. It was crowded, it was loud, and it felt more like New Orleans/ Mardi Gras party vs a relaxing day in the Bayou. Still beautiful but Riverside is much more my style

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

A few more pictures

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

After relaxing in the room for a bit, we took the boat over to Disney Springs.

Walked and shopped for a bit and of course got a little snackie

Then it was time for something I’ve never done before, we had tickets to the Cirque show, Drawn to Life!

The show was good, it wasn’t quite as exciting as I was expecting. It felt a little slow in parts but I am definitely glad we went! No pictures during the show of course but this was my favorite character-

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

We then took the bus over to the Poly for our Ohana ADR
One of my favorite Disney restaurants!

Walked out to the beach of course

We then took the monorail to MK and the bus back to Riverside. Loved our Rocket bus!

One last stop, we had booked a horse drawn carriage ride around the resort. We were told there were two separate routes, one that went around Alligator Bayou and one that went through French Quarter. I was a little bummed that ours went to FQ as we had just walked around this section, and our boat went past it earlier in the night. But, it was still really pretty and nice way it to end the night.

 

[cgersic]

So nice to see another trip report from you, and a bonus that it's a mother/daughter trip! Your photos of Riverside definitely do it justice, it is a beautiful resort

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Day Three 4/20 Embarkation Day!

We received an email from the DCL transport to meet in the River Roost Lounge at 9:30am and that the bus would leave promptly be 10.

First breakfast!

I was feeling really anxious about our arrival day although I knew there was no possible way it could be worse than last time When my husband and I sailed the Dream, we left from Fort Lauderdale and Disney had only been using that port for a few weeks. It was absolute chaos, nobody knew what they were doing. The Disney transport was a mess, we didn’t arrive until 2 hours after our PAT, there were no porters to take our bags so we had to wheel them on board with us. It was just a mess. So I was very excited to be going out of Port Canaveral this time!

When we checked in, the Cast Member told us the ride would be 75-90 minutes depending on traffic. After everyone checked in, she walked us out to the bus and the driver told us he could have us there in an hour.

He was right! We were pulling into the port at 11:01am!

The check in process was smooth just a little loud and busy in the waiting area. We were boarding group 9 and we were allowed to board right around noon time.

Our first stop was lunch in Marceline Market, which I called Cabanas in my mind all week

Then we checked out the main pool and adult deck.

I had of course heard all the complaints about the adult spaces and I can confirm, the pools were small and the layout was just not as spacious feeling as the adult areas on the Dream. However, because this cruise was a day shorter than my previous, we didn’t have as much time to use the pool anyway.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Rooms were ready at that point so we spent some time unpacking and getting settled. Our room was essentially identical to our room on the Dream, the only difference was in the artwork. I also chose a room with a slightly larger verandah this time.
Our room was Cinderella themed

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

We then explored the ship a bit. I absolutely LOVED both the Wonderland Cinema and The Bayou Lounge

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Oops, forgot these from right before we boarded!

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Sail Away Party time! We noticed as we were waiting for the show to begin that we were already moving and it was incredibly windy. Our cruise director later announced that we left slightly early and that we were cruising faster than normal. Apparently it was predicted to be very windy all night and into the morning and they were hoping to stay ahead of the winds and dock in Nassau a few hours earlier. We were able to dock the next day which was great but holy cow, the ship was so rocky that night. Everyone was swaying side to side and holding on to all the walls and railings

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Another thing we did soon after boarding was go to guest services. Once I saw our table number in the app, I wanted to confirm we were at a private table. We booked this cruise on January 1st 2025 and the first thing I did was request a private table. Small talk with random strangers is my actual worst nightmare and I really didn’t want to be uncomfortable at dinner at every night. When we went to inquire about our table, I was very surprised that we were in fact at a shared table. I asked how private tables were assigned and the cast member told us, in the order they were requested. Considering we requested ours 15 months in advance, I was skeptical of that. He said he would put us on the waiting list and to keep checking the app to see if our table was updated. Thankfully it was!

We also went back to guest services a second time because our Nassau excursion suddenly disappeared from the app. When we went to check why, we were told it was cancelled due to low enrollment Literally the same thing happened when I was on the Dream and my husband and I decided just to walk around the port in Cozumel. We definitely regretted that decision as the Cozumel port was not very nice. I didn’t want to make that mistake again so we asked to choose another excursion. Apparently a lot of others had also been cancelled due to weather / high winds but we were able to find one that sounded good!

Anyways, after the sail away party, we went back to the room to change. We did a bunch of pictures before going to our first of the Broadway style shows. We also met Goofy, my mom’s fave.

The show on this night was Seas The Adventure. It was cute, I generally like shows that feature multiple Disney characters. Some of the characters in this one were a little off however. I know it must be difficult to use the same cast for all 3 shows by but Elsa did not look like Elsa at all. I also found it odd that all the princess characters were wearing their main costumes from their movie except for Tiana who was wearing a white flapper style dress. I know she does briefly wear a dress like this in the movie but it’s not her signature look like all the others were wearing. These are things that distract me

Of course no pictures are allowed during the show but I found these online.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Wrapping up night one, our dinner was at Worlds of Marvel. Marvel is not my thing at all, the only Marvel movies I’ve seen are the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

All I see here is Paul Rudd from Friends and Clueless and Evangeline Lilly from Lost

The show was mainly just a distraction and the lights made it hard to take my beloved food pics

The food was all great, no complaints. We asked our server if we could order the courses one at a time in an attempt to relax and slow the meal down a bit but she said no, we had to order everything all at once including dessert

Apps ~ Bao bun, hearts of palm salad, and I think carrot soup

Dinners ~ chicken schnitzel and beef tenderloin

Desserts ~ sticky date pudding & key lime pie

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Spiderman quickly walked by our table

Back in our room, we were greeted by this… animal. Not sure what it is

We also started to sort through our fish extender gifts. Then off to bed!

 

[cgersic]

What a great start!! Your photos together are priceless

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

What a great start!! Your photos together are priceless

Thank you! We preordered the photo package so had to make sure we used it every day