Anybody who knows our family will assume that the author of this blog is our second-eldest son, Lerrin. For most of his life, Lerrin has been a Disney aficionado, to the point where he spent a year working at the Epcot Center in Orlando. He came home with a wife-to-be, Kim, and an archive of Disney trivia.
Like the one about….
Okay, enough! The point in revealing this is to verify Lerrin has nothing to do with this blog about Disney. The “kiddie kompany’s” growing presence in the cruise world does. Come January, Disney will launch its third cruise ship, the Dream. It’s bigger than the other two and a preview of ship No. 4, the Fantasy, due to arrive in 2012.
Since the Magic first came along in 1998, Disney has made an impression with its passengers, as Disney does. Readers of Conde Nast Traveler chose it the No. 1 cruise experience last year. This year, the magazine ranks the Wonder and the Magic 2nd and 4th, respectively, among all megaships. And just like on land, Disney sets the standard for children’s entertainment, for other cruise lines to copy in some form.
The new ships are each expected to accommodate about 4,000 passengers, or 30% more than the Magic and the Wonder. Like its predecessors, the Dream will sail trips of 3, 4 or 5 nights from Port Canaveral, Florida, to Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Its presence will make the Wonder a West Coast ship, and the Magic a Mediterranean marauder. Unlike its predecessors, the Dream will have features like the Water Coaster, real-time images on virtual portholes on inside cabins, and new areas of the ship designed for children (and adults) of specific ages.
With a 5-year-old in their house, Lerrin and Kim are probably packing.
That’s it…we’re done.