What I'm Wishing to See Tomorrow

The wait is almost over.  The Once Upon a Disney Wish event is tomorrow, April 29th at 11 a.m. ET!  I'm super excited for it, although unfortunately I won't be able to watch it live.  I'm sure some of the presentation will be spent talking about the few Wish features we already know, like the Cinderella statue in the Grand Hall, Rapunzel on the Wish's stern, and Minnie Mouse on the bow.  But the event is going to be around 30 minutes long, so that's plenty of time for new announcements.  So, to prepare for it, I thought of some Wish features that may be announced during the event!

First off, I think the Wish's deck plans will be announced tomorrow.  A while ago, I found a fifth ship selection option on the DCL's online deck plans.  This fifth option is still there, so maybe it's finally time to make use of it!

I'm hoping that Disney spends some time of the event talking about the Wish's restaurants.  Of course there'll be Animator's Palate, but the other two main rotational restaurants are a mystery.  The restaurant adjacent to the Grand Hall may be themed after the Disney Princesses, which wouldn't be too surprising.  The restaurants next to the atrium on the current four DCL ships (Lumière's, Triton's, Royal Palace, Royal Court) all have something to do with Disney Princesses, so making the Wish's equivalent similar would make sense.  However, they could surprise us!  Palo, the adults-only Italian restaurant on all four of the DCL ships is likely going to be on the Wish, but I'm not sure about Remy.  Maybe they'll want to set the Wish apart from the Dream and Fantasy by giving it a different second adults-only restaurant.  If they do this, it may be announced tomorrow.

I also hope Disney talks about the Wish's pool deck.  I thought about the ideal layout for the Wish's pool deck, and I'm curious to see what it ends up looking like.  Similarly, I want to learn more about the Wish's new water slide.  From what we've seen, it looks similar to the AquaDuck on the Dream and Fantasy, but the technology in that slide is a decade old.  An upgraded and improved version of the AquaDuck would be amazing, so hopefully it gets featured tomorrow.

Like the pool deck, the Wish will have areas for all guests to enjoy, like theatres, a sports deck and some shops.  I'd like it if DCL spends some of the presentation talking about these features.  Maybe we'll even hear about an upgraded Midship Detective Agency!

We could hear some of the Wish's horns during the event.  The Wish will probably add some new horns based on Disney songs, so some of them could be played tomorrow.  The Disney Parks Blog post said that there'll be some performances during the event, and a horn song counts as a performance, right?

Disney may discuss the Wish's youth clubs during the event.  I'm guessing they'll stick with the current names and themes of the youth clubs (Oceaneer Club, Oceaneer Lab, Edge, Vibe) for fleetwide continuity, so I don't think that'll change about them.  The Wish's youth clubs will probably feature more to do in them than their existing counterparts, and we could find out about those innovations tomorrow.

There are definitely going to be adults watching the presentation, so it'll probably detail the adults-only spaces around the Wish.  I'm really hoping for a bar similar to the Dream's Pub 687.  Being the DCLKid, I don't usually care too much about the bars, but Pub 687 is really cool.  It features artifacts and pictures from the Dream's construction, and for people like me, it's a lot of fun to just go inside and look around.  I'd love if the Wish has something similar to Pub 687.

I'm almost certain that Disney will talk about the tiny details that most people won't notice.  I like finding these details when I'm on the DCL ships, so those sections of the presentation will be fun.

All these potential Wish features would be great, but they'd be pointless if Disney never gives the Wish anything to do.  So, I think the Wish's itineraries will be revealed tomorrow.  The summer 2022 itinerary announcement allowed us to get a pretty good idea of the cruises that the Wish will start out with.  These cruises will likely be 3-night and 4-night (and maybe the occasional 5-night) Bahamian cruises from Port Canaveral.  This is just like what the Dream has done for pretty much its entire life, and since the Dream's getting moved to Miami that summer, it would make sense for a new ship to take over its previous job.  

If Disney announces the Wish's itineraries, then they'll also give its maiden voyage a date.  I'm probably not going to go on the maiden voyage, but I'll be happy to finally have a date for it.

I'm hoping that all of these things and more get announced tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.  If you want to watch the event live, you can do so on this Disney Parks Blog post.  You'll likely be able to watch it after it ends there as well.  Enjoy the presentation!

Four Years!

Four years ago today, I started this blog!  Before I became the DCLKid, all of the Disney Cruise Line-related blogs and websites I knew of were created and operated by adults.  So, in 2017, I decided to start my own DCL-related blog, where everything would be written by me, a kid.  Since then, I've been pretty busy.  I've gone on five cruises, taken thousands of DCL photos, and gotten my work published in a book a couple of times.

That's great and all, but none of it would've been possible without you!  Thank you for reading my blog, and for those of you who've been here since the very beginning, thanks for sticking around!  You've kept me motivated to write here, and I really appreciate your support over the years.  This blog has been a wonderful place for me to write about whatever I want, whenever I want, without having to worry about deadlines, following rules, or getting graded.  I wrote a whole post trying to prove the existence of something that was just a typo, and I don't think that would've made sense anywhere but here.  It's been a fun four years, and I hope you've enjoyed the content I've posted.  

Don't worry, this isn't a farewell message like what you'd hear at the end of a cruise.  I'm not going anywhere, so you can expect many more posts coming soon.  But until then, thank you all for a magical four years!

I Wish It Was April 29th

Remember the Wish's keel laying ceremony that happened earlier this month?  Well, at the end of the Disney Parks Blog post, Ashley, one of DCL's cruise directors, said that "big news is on the horizon".  Well, she was right!  Today, Disney announced the Once Upon a Disney Wish event.  Scheduled for April 29th at 11 a.m. ET, this event will announce areas and features of the Wish, as well as "adventures" the Wish will have to offer.  These "adventures" may be itineraries or onboard activities.  Whatever they are, I'm excited.  The event will also feature some of the Imagineers that designed the Wish.  I love learning more about the minor touches of the DCL ships, so hopefully the event will spend some time focusing on those.  Additionally, there'll be character appearances and surprise performances.  The only performances I want to hear are the Wish's horns, so maybe they'll give us a hint of those.

Looking at the image on top of the Disney Parks Blog post, there's a picture of what the Wish will probably look like.  It looks like it has an AquaDuck on the top of it, so this could also be the Dream or the Fantasy.  Let's just do what Disney wants and call it the Wish.

Here's a video of Ashley talking about what to expect for the event.  It's kind of strange, this video's title doesn't call the Wish by it's full name, 'Disney Wish'.  Instead, it just calls it the "Wish".  You would think that Disney would call the ship by its full name, but I guess Mickey was feeling casual today.

Here's a very similar video of Ashley talking about what to expect for the event.  This one is only for Castaway Club members, so don't watch it if you haven't gone on a Disney cruise before.  

In addition to information about the event, these videos give us a good look at the Wish's Grand Hall.  Did you notice Moana on the left of Ashley?  As I said back when we got our first look at the Grand Hall, this could be the exterior of the restaurant that'll be adjacent to the Grand Hall.  So, maybe the restaurant will be Moana-themed.  It's possible, but in the new video, the other Moana characters, Maui and Hei Hei, aren't there.  Instead, it looks like there are other people, and the one on the top left is definitely wearing a fancy dress, so it's likely another Disney princess.  If this is the exterior of the restaurant, then it could be Disney princess-themed.  This general princess theme would work better with the Cinderella statue than a more specific Moana theme.

However, these characters might not be related to the restaurant.  The princesses along the walls could be a decoration to reinforce the princess theme of the area.  I'm not sure why the princesses are there, but I guess we'll find out on April 29th!

This event is going to be amazing.  Disney's going to announce so much, and I can't wait to watch it.  But, why's it on a Thursday?  As much as I'd love to watch the presentation live, I have school.  I don't think "watching a 30 minute video about a cruise ship" is a valid excuse to be absent.  I'm sure the video will be posted to the Disney Parks YouTube channel after the event ends, but there's just something awesome about watching things live.  

You can reserve your spot for the event here, and if you do, you'll get a background you can use on your devices.  Reserving a spot isn't mandatory, as the event will be shown on the Disney Parks Blog post about it.  Remember, Once Upon a Disney Wish is on Thursday, April 29th at 11 a.m. ET!  It's going to be awesome!

Update: All Disney Magic Cruises are Canceled Until October 14th

Yesterday, April 15th, on their website, Disney announced that all cruises on the Magic are canceled through the 9th of October.  This announcement only canceled three Bermuda cruises from New York, and it does not impact the Wonder, Dream, or Fantasy.  Also, this summer's Magic at Sea cruises from the UK are not affected by this announcement.

Cruises on the Magic will resume on October 14th, which is dangerously close to the cruise on the Magic my family is planning to go on.  This cruise is scheduled to start on October 30th, but thanks to this announcement, I'm not so sure it'll happen.  I hope it does happen, but it's not looking good now.

These cancelations surprised me.  None of these cruises were going to Canada, which is temporarily not allowing any cruise ships in, so that wasn't the problem.  Bermuda is part of the UK, and they're probably fine with cruises, judging by the Magic at Sea announcement.  Speaking of Magic at Sea, DCL announced the dates for the Magic at Sea cruises, and the final one, a 3-night, is starting on October 1st and ending on the 4th.  These three Bermuda cruises were probably canceled to give the Magic time to cross the Atlantic and return to the US.  So maybe my family and I will go on that cruise on October 30th!  I'll start looking at alternatives just to be safe.

The relatively small amount of people affected by this suspension can either get a full refund or, if they've paid the full price of their cruise, a 125% future cruise credit.  Let's hope that this suspension doesn't get extended, because I want to go on the Magic in October!  But, if it does get extended, the DCL website will have the latest information.

The Wish's Keel Has Been Laid!

Earlier today, April 8th, Disney held a keel laying ceremony to celebrate the construction of the Disney Wish.  A keel is the bottom-most part of a ship, and today, the first block of the Wish was lowered into the dock where it will be built.  A special coin with a picture of the Wish, its hull number (705), and today's date on it was placed under that block.  You may be wondering why they did this now, because we've seen many videos of the Wish's construction progress already.  This ceremony wasn't celebrating the very beginning of the Wish's construction.  Rather, it was commemorating the start of the Wish's construction in the building dock.  Many of the sections of the ship, like a funnel, have already been built, so now, these sections have to be put together in the building dock.  Today's a very important day for the Wish, and I'm hoping that this commemoration is commemorated with a photo or two somewhere inside the ship, like this photo on the Fantasy.

In addition to the traditional keel laying celebrations, more information about the Wish was announced.  Captain Minnie Mouse was on one side of the coin, and it was announced that Minnie, not Mickey, will be on the Wish's bow, the front of the ship.  

Mickey is on the bow of the four existing DCL ships, like in this photo of the Wonder, but with the Wish, Disney is breaking tradition and putting Minnie there instead.  This change is part of DCL's work to inspire female leaders in the cruise industry.  I'm excited for this change, it'll be another thing to set the Wish apart from the older DCL ships.  I think the sixth and seventh ships will have Minnie on their bows to continue DCL's efforts.  It's funny, Minnie is on the bow, but she's not wearing a bow.  

Remember the Wish's website?  I signed up to get emails about Wish announcements, but I didn't get an email about this.  There could be one coming tomorrow or a few days from now, or maybe it'll only send emails when new features and itineraries are announced.  If you haven't done so already and are interested in the Wish, I recommend signing up for those announcements.

Speaking of announcements, the Disney Parks Blog post says that "big news is on the horizon".  Disney confirmed it, more information is coming sometime soon!  Could it be about the Wish's itineraries?  Not like we already figured those out or anything...  News about new features?  Whatever the "big news" is, I'm excited.  This should be coming pretty soon, so keep your eye out for it!

Update: All Disney Cruises are Canceled Until the End of June 2021, and All Remaining European Cruises in 2021 are Canceled

I feel like the titles of these posts are getting longer.  On April 6th, on their website, Disney announced that all cruises on the Wonder, Dream, and Fantasy are canceled until the end of June.  On the Magic, all of the European cruises that hadn't been canceled previously are now canceled.  The easiest way to deal with the different health and safety restrictions imposed by all of the European countries is to just cancel the cruises and not visit the countries.  This announcement means that the only cruises that the Magic will do this summer are Magic at Sea cruises.  Leaving from the UK, these cruises are exclusive to residents of the UK.  They go out to sea and return to the same port after a few days, not stopping at any ports.

Cruises on the Dream will resume on July 2nd, cruises on the Fantasy will resume on July 3rd, and cruises on the Wonder will resume on July 7th.  Aside from the Magic at Sea cruises, normal cruises on the Magic are scheduled to resume on September 29th. 

This announcement canceled more Alaskan cruises, which are currently impossible because of the Canadian government's cruise ship restrictions.  Disney says they are still evaluating options for alternatives to these cruises, but at this point, I doubt they'll need to find an alternative.  I think the rest of the Wonder's summer 2021 cruises will get canceled, which would include all of the remaining Alaskan cruises.  It would be great for the entire cruise industry if cruises resumed sooner, but with all of the restrictions imposed by organizations like the US CDC, I don't know if they'll be able to.  

All of the people affected by this suspension can either get a full refund or, if they've paid the entire price of their cruise, a 125% cruise credit.  This suspension will get extended if necessary.  The DCL website always is updated with the latest information, so be sure to check there if you're curious.

Finding Pinocchio's Pool

I've said this before, but the designers of the DCL ships paid great at attention to detail.  There are so many small touches on their ships that go mostly unnoticed, and I've enjoyed every one that I've found on the four ships.  Well, all except for one.  Though it's small, one detail on the Wonder has confused me ever since I noticed it back in 2019.  

If you've been on the Magic or Wonder before, you may know that the poolside pizza restaurant is called Pinocchio's Pizzeria.  But this directory sign on the Wonder doesn't include Pinocchio's Pizzeria in the list of locations at the bottom.  Instead, it includes Pinocchio's Pool.  The three guest pools on the Magic and Wonder are the Quiet Cove Pool, Goofy's Pool, and the AquaLab pool, so Pinocchio's Pool doesn't exist.  Or does it?

The first possibility is that the two small whirlpools near Pinocchio's Pizzeria are Pinocchio's Pool.  I've always considered them to be part of Goofy's Pool, since they're right next to it, but they're also close to Pinocchio's Pizzeria.  They're officially part of Goofy's Pool, but maybe Pinocchio is trying to take over that section of Deck 9 without Goofy knowing.

Alternatively, Pinocchio's Pool could be the name of the crew pool.  The Magic and Wonder have a crew pool in the very front of the ship (it's visible from the Wide World of Sports Deck).  Guests aren't allowed to use it, so it's not easy to get to.  I don't know if it has a name other than just 'crew pool', but it is a pool, so it meets the qualifications to be Pinocchio's Pool.  However, the sign pictured above said that Pinocchio's Pool is to the right of the sign, and the crew pool is to the left.  Also, the sign only lists guest areas, not crew areas, on it.  I'd say that the crew pool is not Pinocchio's Pool.

Another possibility is that Pinocchio's Pool doesn't exist...yet.  People who read the Wonder's sign are probably supposed to assume that the locations listed on the sign are on the Wonder, but let's not assume this.  The sign's directions aren't very specific (left and right), so it may be listing some of the locations on the Wish or the other two future ships.  If Pinocchio's Pool is somewhere to the right of the sign, and the sign is on the Starboard side of the Wonder, locations to the right of it are behind the ship.  Let's say the Wish is to the right of the sign, behind the Wonder, like this:

Pretend they're both facing toward the left.

If Pinocchio's Pool is on the Wish, and the Wish is directly behind the Wonder, then the pool would be to the right of the sign, like what it says.  The sign would be accurate, though only during these rare occasions.  This is possible, but I don't think one of the Wish's pools will be named Pinocchio's Pool.  People would probably get confused, as the DCL fleet would have Pinocchio's Pool and Pinocchio's Pizzeria.  Mixing up a pizza restaurant with a pool would be terrible, I hope it never happens.

Those options are possible but unlikely.  A final possibility is that Pinocchio's Pool is actually a sink, not a swimming pool.  Before handling food, the crew has to wash their hands, so what if the sink they use before working in Pinocchio's Pizzeria is the Pinocchio's Pool?  If you cover the sink's drain and leave the water running, a pool of water will fill up the sink.  It's a pool at Pinocchio's!  Pinocchio's Pool!  It does exist!  The sign wasn't wrong after all!

Pinocchio's Pool is likely just an error on that one sign, but where's the fun in that?  I hope you enjoyed the legendary April Fool's Day quest to prove that the typo really does exist.  By now, that sign error has probably been noticed and corrected, which is good.  It'll save people the trouble of trying to figure out where Pinocchio's Pool is.  

Remember, don't believe everything thing you read, like that sign on the Wonder.  Especially today.