Disney Feb 2025 - cruisin' on a Wish (again)
Any old mug can come to Orlando and do the theme parks. Staying in the Disney bubble for eight nights without setting foot in any of 'em? Now that's the hipster's choice.
For the first time, we tried renting DVC points. DVC is Disney's fiendishly complicated timeshare scheme. Though keen not to refer to it as such, the small print will be like 'Fine, this is a timeshare scheme but keep it quiet, yeah?' The idea is, DVC owners can rent out some or all of their annual points if they're not going to use them, giving buyers access to some deluxe resort rooms for reduced fees. (There are fewer refund protections, but let's not be Debbie Downers.) DVC rooms are billed as 'villas' - you can shell out for larger units with extra beds, but the cheap ones are just standard hotel rooms with a tiny kitchenette. Still, it gave us the chance to return to one of our favourite resorts - Animal Kingdom Lodge. This time we were in the DVC-only Kidani Village building, where the reception area is smaller than Jambo House's and there's less food choice, but Jambo is only a relaxed 10-minutes' stroll away.
Here's looking at you Kid(ani)
AKL is a faux-African hunting lodge. To that end, the buildings border 'savannahs' with free-roaming zebras, giraffes, birds and multiple antelope species. No predators for obvious reasons, and no elephants either - you have to go to Animal Kingdom park for those. Rather than paying double for a room with a savannah-facing balcony, you can enjoy creature-watching from designated outlook points in public areas, which are often staffed with authentic African cast members who'll chat and share cool animal facts.
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And here we see examples of two majestic giraffe species: |
Then of course we just had to try the new Cake Bake Shop on the Boardwalk... haha, only kidding. $23 for a slice of gateau? Mate, it'd need to be served to me on a golden throne by nubile handmaidens.
Food glorious food
The other big draw at AKL is the grub. We've not yet been to Jiko, the swanky signature restaurant, but Boma and Sanaa both offer incredible fare. The former does a breakfast and dinner buffet with plenty of 'adventurous' options compared to your average Disney place. In other words, dishes with proper foreign spicing - African-inspired curries, bobotie (curried meat with egg-crust topping), mealie pap (maize porridge), chakalaka (spicy vegetable relish), plus the Zebra Domes (Amarula cream liquor mousse topped with a layer of white chocolate) are the stuff of legend amongst the Disney food community. Becky had a flavoursome African gumbo followed by a plateful of salads and cold dishes because the line for the hot stuff had grown long, and still had a whale of a time.
Charlotte gets treated like royalty here, the chefs bringing her enormous platefuls of goodness directly from the back (see below). Is she getting spoiled rotten? Yes and no. Considering how limiting it is for us to eat out safely 95% of the time, requiring tons of pre-research and zero spontaneity, we consider this kinda thing karmic justice.
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| Yes this was all just for her |
Meanwhile, Sanaa looks directly out onto the savannah, but the animal sightings are hit and miss and frankly, a distraction from the food. The menu here's an African-Indian fusion, although you wouldn't know it from looking at our plates. Basically, it's impossible not to order the bread service - five different naans and nine dips of varying heat levels, crazy expensive but so, so good. And then their butter chicken main is literally the most insanely delicious curry we've ever tasted, so we now just order that and a couple of sides. I'm sure the other mains are great too in their own way, but why take the risk?
Just swim, baby
Becky is crap at swimming; my morbid fear of breathing underwater, which earned me an undeserved bollocking from scary PE teacher Miss Finch, means I'm even worse. We started lessons with Charlotte as a baby, not wanting her to end up like us, but we've perhaps gone too far the other way - she now loves the water to such an extent that she makes me play around with her for hours in resort pools. Oh, the joys of having just the one child. Hopefully we won't end up like the fuming parents quoted in the Unofficial Guide whose kids didn't give a shit about the parks and only wanted to swim.
T-shirt watch
I am only here for the Carousel of Progress. #Niche.
This is my Pirate Night shirt. #Ronseal.
This tee isn't Disney related but did make me chuckle. Cf my seething, visceral reaction to one of these stupid fucking Doge shirts, which of course is the point. +100 to Elon, I guess (or to whichever gamer dude he's currently paying to rack up his scores).
Disney Wish Wish Wish
I was curious to read my post covering our first time on the Wish in 2023 - aka the very first Gould family cruise. Take a look and meet me back here in five minutes...
Wow, defensive much? Whilst cruising's never going to be fashionable, seems I'd forgotten that (a) I'm not and never have been remotely cool and (b) hipsters sneer at 99% of stuff anyway. Hypersensitivity aside, that blog paints a rosy picture, but the wonderful DCL bubble takes some getting used to and we spent much of our debut cruise feeling overwhelmed. How does this Navigator app work? Where the hell is everything? Why are we sharing a dinner table with a bunch of randoms? What's this mandatory Mustard Drill on the first afternoon, and why are you making our child cry by sounding this ear-piercing alarm and wittering about lifeboats?
On subsequent cruises, you know all the protocols and become so comfortable you start making silly running jokes like calling it a Mustard Drill, or ironically groaning about doing bloody Pirate Night AGAIN. This time, we were prepared for the dining rooms being a tight squeeze; the Asian-American family sharing our table were the shell-shocked ones.
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| Someone belatedly realised that Mickey always being the 'captain' on the other ships was a bit sexist, so here's Captain Minnie! |
The food
If food is the backbone of the cruise experience, rotational dining is the vertebrae or something. The concept is unique to Disney and goes some way to justifying their price points (emphasis on 'some'.) On the Fantasy, only Animator's Palette has interactive elements, whilst the Wish offers two different dining shows of a sort.
The menu at Worlds of Marvel is vaguely themed for MCU locations. With my Kartoffelsuppe and chicken schnitzel choices I must have plumped for the Sokovia options, which here = Germany. The cinematic show element 'hosted' by Ant Man and the Wasp is fun and must have cost a few bob, since (spoilers) the battle sequence also features Anthony Mackie, Brie Larson and Iman Vellani. The downsides are the sort of techno-futuristically grey decor and the loud, echoey room that often muffles the onscreen dialogue.
At Arandelle - A Frozen Dining Adventure, you're invited to a celebration of Anna and Kristoff's engagement. (I thought they got married at the end of Frozen 2 when he has to dress all fancy and style his hair, but turns out that was for Anna's coronation. All those repeat viewings have melted my brain.) The theming is lovely and immersive, both along the entry corridor where you'll see the portraits Anna sings to in For the First Time in Forever, and in the dining space itself. To see the latter properly, you'll need to do the ship's guided tour, especially if like us your table couldn't be further from the stage where the characters appear and sing during the meal. Seriously, I don't like to complain but for people who've given Disney many thousands of dollars we do get plonked by the serving hatch an awful lot.
Offerings here include a scallop dish which was more like a strong tarragon-flavoured bisque with a weird puff pastry top, a fresh potato/carrot/cucumber salad with honey mustard dressing, a cod main with pea puree and tartar sauce which was kinda fancy fish'n'chips, and a tasty butter cake. NB the animatronic Olaf from last time was conspicuously absent. Our tour guide was cagey about the reasons. Clearly the thing kept breaking so they've binned him off.
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| 1923 hot fudge sundae |
The rotation pauses for Pirate Night, with its own menu of vaguely nautical or Caribbean-themed fare like jerk chicken, chilled mango soup and grouper fillet. The crab cake was my highlight, although any crab flavour was overwhelmed by the accompanying cajun remoulade. Our rotation had us back in Arandelle for this - I wouldn't fancy being at Marvel for two nights running - meaning we landed at 1923 on the last night. Arguably the best venue for your last dinner, this is a beautiful art deco room sprinkled with Disney animation artwork and prop trinkets and has the fanciest menu too. The tuna starter has a ferocious wasabi on the side and the filet mignon is *chef's kiss*.
All the rotational food is pretty great considering each restaurant is doing two sittings of 600-odd covers per night. But for a true fine dining experience Palo is still where it's at. Renamed Palo Steakhouse on the Wish, in practice this just means the same menu as the other Palos with extra steak options for dinner. Considering the classy setting (a subtle Beauty and the Beast theme), impeccable service (so much server chat!) and top-notch food, the price is low - a rare instance of Disney generosity. We couldn't get dinner reservations but loaded up on brunch - NB order the grape and gorgonzola flatbread that for some reason isn't listed on the menu.
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| Yes, there's a different towel animal every night |
Marceline Market is the breakfast/lunch buffet. The decor, themed after Walt Disney's hometown in the beautiful US state of *checks Google* Missouri, is nicer than Cabanas on the Fantasy. It's also staffed rather than self-service, although there seem to be slightly fewer options. Meanwhile, Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods is the quick service snackfest on the pool deck - there are five windows, but just head straight for Donald's Cantina or Mickey's Smokestack BBQ which are a huge step up from the usual chicken tendies/burger and fries fare.
Activities
It's amazing how much more you can achieve when not queuing for hours to meet characters, and if you never get off at Nassau: How to Draw classes, crafting, Oogie Boogie Dance Parties, movies at the cinema... (they show new releases so I was able to watch Captain America: Brave New World, which I'm certainly glad I didn't pay for). We were excited for the Incredibles Incredi-Course which they put up one morning, although in practice it's a smaller version of the inflatable assault course thing I took Charlotte to in Tooting Bec last summer, only 30 seconds long with a half-hour wait. Time/value ratio: poor. The best thing we did was a Silent Dance party, including the joyous sight of a bunch of lesser-spotted adolescents who'd surfaced from their teen hangouts to throw unironic shapes to crowd-pleasing pop bangers.
Statistically, we were always going to see rain on Castaway Cay day at some point - you can only tempt fate so many times. Luckily though, it chucked it down early doors and the rest of the day was dry if mild. The sea was slightly chilly, but we bravely soldiered on at the manicured sandy paradise. Tugs the old heartstrings, doesn't it?
Last days
Just like last February, unseasonable weather greeted us as we left the ship - late-teens temperatures that send Floridians scurrying for their jackets. But wait! This time we had actual sun, and Becky wasn't hacking her guts up on the coach and creating her own personal exclusion zone. So, we were ready for some more DVC resale room hijinks at Saratoga Springs resort - themed after the kind of fancy-ass Upstate New York country club that probably only started admitting black or female members circa 2017. One that also has a racecourse, for some reason? Americans, eh. The classy exteriors and lush golf course sit slightly confusingly alongside bits of cartoon horse artwork.
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| A horse yesterday |
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| Saratoga main pool |
It's a sprawling old bugger of a resort too, which is probably why it doesn't get talked about much. And unlike the similarly large yet super-chill Caribbean Beach, it's bisected by roads. Still, it boasts a trump card of proximity to Disney Springs. Walking paths should never be taken for granted in America, and even our room at the far end of the property (actually larger and sprucer than our Kidani villa, by the way - more storage, more sockets and a working coffee machine) was only a pleasant half-hour or so's stroll from the Springs.
We hadn't done an evening here for a long time and there's a different feel, more chaotic for sure but with a pulsing nightlife vibe which allowed us to pretend we were young again, albeit with a small child in tow. Jock Lindsay's Hangar Bar has a loose Indiana Jones theme (what do you mean, you don't remember he was the pilot from Raiders...?). The cocktails were fine. They serve waffles with crispy bacon hanging on a string. We were more concerned with huddling under the nearest outdoor heater on a heaving Friday night and enjoying the lakeside view.
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| View of Disney Springs from Saratoga walking path |
Dinner was at Frontera Cocina, our first time since 2018. As the name suggests, this place does pretty authentic Mexican cuisine courtesy of celebrity Chef Rick Bayless (me neither). Modern and cosmopolitan, the guac and chips are plentiful, the tacos pretty flavoursome and the salsas don't pull many punches. Plus, pretty much everything from this part of the world is gluten free. Result!
On our last morning, we gave brunch at Summer House on the Lake another try after last year's debacle. This time, all fit and healthy, we sat on the terrace in the sun and the difference was stark. Just a really nice menu with tons of gluten free options. Pro tip: the chicken tenders and sweet potato fries are big enough to share. I chickened out of ordering the enormous signature cinnamon roll, but only because I'd eaten half a Gideon's cake slice for breakfast. (Yes, I do have frequent bowel issues at Disney, since you ask.)
We loved our brief stay at Saratoga, and it mattered not that we missed out on swimming and our anticipated game of mini golf (another tip: needs to be booked at least a day in advance). We probably wouldn't stay here if we were doing the Parks though, because the resort bus loop is massive and getting Ubers every day would be a bit much.
Conclusions
This is the first Disney trip about which I briefly worried about becoming blasé. How many times can I keep returning to my happy place and surfing off Becky's dime without taking the whole thing for granted? Meanwhile, primary aged children aren't generally known for their balanced, self-aware perspectives, so God knows how Charlotte was going to feel after her 7th (SEVENTH) trip. And yet, after watching the final farewell show on the last night on the Wish, all the characters saying goodbye and the whole ceiling lighting up with thousands of twinkling LEDs, and the Wishing Star chandelier sparkling in multicoloured radiance, Charlotte was in absolute bits. 'That was a nice way to finish the cruise, wasn't it?' I said, acting positive. 'A very sad way to finish the cruise!' sobbed our overtired princess.
That final cruise morning, when you wake up knackered at 6am and trudge down the stairs for a truncated final breakfast and the servers are trying to get you in and our the door as politely as possible, still totally sucks balls. Even more than most holiday final days, since you're leaving the happy cruise bubble and re-entering the slightly scary MAGA-tech bro dystopia. (Hi Elon! Second mention today, he'll be very pleased.)
One day, I might pass under the Welcome Sign or see our ship hoving into view as the coach approaches Port Canaveral without my heart soaring at the sheer stupid luck of it all. But not this time.
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