Last April when looking at Disney cruises, I noticed they were offering a Marvel Day at Sea on select sailings.  I loved that one day of our 5 night Western Caribbean cruise that was dedicated to our favorite super heroes that I wrote about it in a separate post here.

This post will focus on the accessibility and what I thought about the Disney Dream ship.  I paid for a $250 USD placeholder on my last cruise which gave me 10% off for this cruise.  The placeholder amount was also used towards my deposit for this cruise.  I booked this Disney/Marvel cruise for February 1 to 6, 2025.

The Ship

Disney Dream had its maiden voyage in January 2011 and is the third ship from Disney Cruise Lines.  It is the first of the Dream class and was followed by a sister ship, the Disney Fantasy.  The Dream has 1250 staterooms and carries a maximum of 4000 passengers and a crew of 1458 on 14 public decks.

Getting There

From our hotel Home2 Suites by Hilton Fort Lauderdale Downtown to our cruise terminal at Port Everglades, it was about a 20 minute drive.  We ordered in advance a wheelchair accessible taxi for 11 AM as we had a PAT (Port of Arrival) time for 11:45 AM.  Traffic wasn’t too bad as we arrived at the terminal.

I was excited to visit the newly renovated specially designed cruise terminal dedicated to Disney Cruise Line.  The Disney Dream homeported at Port Everglades year round as part of a 15 year agreement.  The terminal is decorated to look like we are in the underwater world of “Finding Nemo”.

Once boarded, our cabin room was not ready yet so we headed to Cabanas for a lunch buffet.  It was quite busy so after browsing the food, my friend  parked me at a table.  All the food looked amazing but I started out with crab legs and shrimp.

Cast member Simone came and even helped me crack the crab legs and peeled my shrimp.  She even got me more food and a tray of desserts.  We couldn’t eat the desserts since we were full, so she even went back to the room with us carrying our desserts to put in the fridge.

Cabin Rooms

We got interior room 2035 on the 2nd deck.  There was a wheelchair button to open the room door once our Key to the World card is scanned.  The room was pretty spacious as I got a nice Queen size bed on one side and my friend had the sofa bed on the other.  I could easily move around the room in my wheelchair.

On the bed and on the desk was my free lanyard and free tote bag for being Silver status as a repeat cruiser.  I also ordered in advance an Adventure bundle.  This consisted of a white duffle bag, a ball cap and a metal water bottle.  This costed $79 USD plus tax.

The bathroom was very similar to the other Disney ships that I have been on.  It was a bit hard to get my commode to fully go back enough to fit over the toilet.  The roll in shower was great and had a hand held shower head, grab bar, flip up shower seat and an emergency pull cord.  The roll under sink was good too.

Accessibility

Like any other cruise ship, the accessibility on the Disney Dream was great.  It was easy to get around the ship as the hallways, deck and pool areas are either flat and carpeted or tiled.  Some high traffic times can be chaotic at elevators or theater showtimes though.

Accessibility at Walt Disney Theatre for the Broadway shows were either at the very front row or at the back.  We had to be accompanied by a cast member to go through back areas and use a service elevator to get the front row.  Deck shows accessible seating is at the front left too.  We always arrived about 30 minutes before shows to get the best spots.

All the restaurants had tables that I could fit under without any issues.  Sometimes my one arm had to be flipped up so I could get closer to the table.  There were several accessible bathrooms located throughout the ship so we didn’t have to go back to the room just for that.

Port Stops

Our 5 night cruise had 2 port stops and 2 sea days.  I wrote about each port stop separately which is at Cozumel and Castaway Cay.  Our first sea day was the Marvel day at Sea while the second sea day was spent at our booked Royal Gathering and just exploring the ship.

Marvel Day at Sea

Marvel Day at Sea was the main highlight and whole reason I booked this cruise.  It took place on our first sea day and it was a whole day of everything Marvel.  From character meets and pics to amazing shows and food, this day was so amazing, I wrote about it in a separate post here.

Food and Drink

As with other Disney ships, the Dream has 3 main dining rooms that is included with your cruise fare: Animator’s Palate, Enchanted Garden, and Royal Palace.  Disney uses rotational dining which means we get to eat at a different restaurant each night with the same wait staff following you each night to better serve us.

There are no drink or alcohol packages to buy as all sodas, juices, and basic coffees and teas are included in our cruise fare.  Alcoholic drinks are purchased each on its own.  There are 2 dining times: 5:45pm and 8:15pm.  We got the earlier and more popular time by picking online in advance.

Our first night’s dinner was at Animator’s Palate.  There was an interactive part where Crush from Finding Nemo engages with guests, and screens on the walls switch from sketches to an interactive video featuring him.

I ordered the smoked salmon tartar, baked potato & cheddar cheese soup, lemon-thyme marinated all natural chicken breast, and my favorite Disney cruise dessert: Mickey’s premium ice cream bar.  Food was excellent as always.

For the second night, it was the Marvel menu at Animator’s Palate.  I wrote about that separately on its own post.  Third night was at Enchanted Garden for Pirate night’s menu.  We got our Pirate bandana so we could dress up as pirates for this special night.  I had the crab cake, lime marinated shrimp, lamb shank, Mickey’s premium ice cream bar and the fruit cobbler.

Our fourth night was at Enchanted Garden again.  It is such a nice restaurant and resembles being inside a greenhouse with ;lots of plants, flowers and a centerpiece water fountain.  I had the lobster ravioli which was very tiny, cream of green asparagus soup, prime rib, and Mickey’s premium ice cream bar.

Our last night was at Royal Palace which is French inspired and by classic Disney princess movies.  I had one of my favorite appetizers which was the escargot along with jumbo shrimp, roasted rack of lamb, and the Opera cake.  Everything was delicious as I could have eaten more rack of lamb.

We ate at Cabanas buffet a few times for either breakfast or lunch.  Items change daily and there is a huge selection of different types of food.  I really liked the Asian BBQ duck at the carving station during Asian theme one of the days.  Mickey churro waffles were only available once during breakfast so we made sure we were there as they were so tasty.

The Disney Dream also has a few quick service food places at Flo’s Cafe.  There are 3: Luigi’s Pizza, Tow Mater’s Grill, and Fillmore’s Favorites.  Guests just order at the counter and the food items includes burgers, hot dogs, pizzas, salads and sandwiches.  Throughout our cruise, I did try the pizza slice, cheeseburger, chicken tenders and fries.  All were good.

Eye Scream Treats serve soft serve ice cream free for the entire cruise.  I definitely ate there a few times.  Vanellope’s Sweets & Treats is a specialty store that is an extra charge and has items like gelato, cookies, cupcakes, candies and more.  I had a Disney gift card and spent $12.95 usd for 3 scoops of gelato, 5 toppings, whipped cream and 3 cherries.  It came in a keepsake plastic race car and was quite huge I shared half with my friend.

Entertainment

The Entertainment on a Disney cruise is always top notch and worth attending.  There is a daily list of what’s happening each day on the  Disney Cruise Line Navigator app.  This works without a wifi package.  The first main event was the Sail Away Party on the top deck to celebrate the start of our vacation.  Mickey and friends dance and sing with cast performers.

I mentioned the accessibility of Walt Disney Theatre above.  We sat at the front row for all 3 Broadway show nights.  No pictures and videos are allowed during the shows.  The first night was The Golden Mickeys, which I also saw on the Disney Wonder.  Presented in the format of an awards show, each segment includes songs from The Little Mermaid, Tangled, Tarzan, and more.

There was no show on the second and third night due to the Marvel and Pirate night shows.  See above for more details on the Marvel show.  Pirate night happens on every cruise and is a guest favorite.  Some people really dress up in pirate costumes but we just wore out bandanas that is given out to everyone. We both did enjoy the deck party with fireworks at sea.

On the fourth night was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.  It is a dazzling musical inspired by the live action remake and not the original animated movie.  This version was just as good and entertaining.

On the last night was Disney’s Believe.  It is a musical about a workaholic father who doesn’t believe in magic like his daughter does.  With the help from Genie from Aladdin and other Disney characters, the father learns that magic is real.  I think I enjoyed this show the most of the 3 from this cruise.

There were other activities like the sports deck, water slides, trivia and karaoke that we did not do.  We didn’t go to bingo, play board games, attend liquor tastings or go to the night club either.

Character Encounters

Taking pictures with your favorite Disney characters is one of the main reasons on booking a Disney cruise.  A list of which character appearing at what location and time could be found daily on the app.  Lines are never too long like the theme parks and can range from a few minutes to 20 minutes.

The Royal Gathering is a meet up and photo op with several princesses and this is the only meet up that requires a reservation to attend.  Spots for this is very limited and is full pretty fast.  The more Disney cruises you sail, the higher the Castaway status you are, the sooner you get to book things.  I managed to get a reservation for the second cruise in a row.

Disembarkation

We skipped our early scheduled breakfast and decided to just wait for open seating at Royal Palace.  Since our departure flight was in the afternoon, it was better to get breakfast later at around 8 AM.  It was a limited menu quick breakfast.  I had scrambled eggs, with bacon, sausage, hash browns and smoked salmon.

We already had our checked luggage tagged and left in front of our cabin door before bed time the previous night.  By the time we were done breakfast, the line to disembark on the ship was short and went fast.  We then picked up our checked luggage in the terminal and went to the pre booked bus line.  I had to pre purchase our tickets which were $29 USD each.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed my third ever Disney cruise that I bought a placeholder again.  It cost $250 and is a deposit towards my next Disney cruise.  It also gives me 10% off the cost of the cruise.  It must be used within 2 years or the placeholder is refunded.  Having the Marvel Day at Sea was excellent and I would love to do another themed cruise and try a Halloween or Christmas cruise.