Disney's new Wonder benefits from Magic lessons

Cruise writer Fran Golden recently took her 12-year-old son, 15-year-old daughter and her daughter's friend on a Disney cruise vacation. Her report follows.

ABOARD DISNEY'S WONDER -- A funny thing about the Disney Wonder -- it looks and feels like a cruise ship. There's a cruise director who gets people excited about activities; a hotel director who keeps things running smoothly, and plenty of enticements for adults, like cooking classes, games and lectures.

All of the above were missing when Disney launched its first ship, Disney Magic, last year, causing some to complain the Magic was more like a Walt Disney World Resort attraction than a cruise ship.

Well, they can complain no more. Disney has changed and updated its cruise product. And what you get on the new Wonder (and, Disney officials say, on the Magic these days as well) is what you'd expect on a well-run, premium cruise ship with the added bonus of special Disney touches.

We immediately encountered one of those touches boarding the Wonder: Our last names and hometown were announced as if we were entering a grand ball, with crew members applauding our arrival.

The layout of the Wonder is the same as the Magic. But the Wonder's color scheme is lighter, and the overall feel of the ship is friendlier. The lobby's attention-grabbing art nouveau glass ceiling fixture is funky (a word not often associated with Disney), although it reminded me of something you'd expect to see in a microscope during a biology class.

Our deluxe outside cabin was designed with families in mind, outfitted with a fixed queen-size bed, two beds that tuck away during the day, a sofa bed and an upper bunk that pulls down from the ceiling.

Although the cabin was a decent size, it was quickly crammed with backpacks and assorted paraphernalia, most belonging to the two teen-age girls in our party. I claimed the small balcony as my special getaway place.

Wonder's separate bathing and toilet rooms worked well for us, providing maximum mirror and sink access. But both rooms were small and felt cramped.

The Wonder's restaurants were similar to the Magic's, except that the main restaurant, Animator's Palate, is designed with a Little Mermaid theme (it's Beauty and the Beast-themed on the Magic).

The food is comparable on both ships; a cut above standard cruise ship fare. But buffets weren't as well executed on the Wonder as they could have been. The lines were long at times, and while there were offerings of luxury items like shrimp and crab legs, empty trays weren't quickly replaced when supplies ran low.

One day at breakfast, there were no Mickey waffles when we went through the line (more were brought out later). Another day, at lunch, we had to dig through ice to find a few shrimp.

Palo's, Wonder's adults-only Italian restaurant, is available on a reservations-only basis and is several steps above standard cruise-ship fare.

We all found plenty to occupy us day and night during our four-day sailing, including when at sea.

My daughter and her friend visited the ship's teen club the first day and quickly hooked up with a group of kids who happily occupied each other throughout the cruise, popping in at the club room but mostly finding cozy public areas to sit and chat.

The girls tried the special teen's shore excursion, a nighttime dance party on a small boat, during our port call at Nassau, Bahamas. But they found their best times were less organized gatherings.

While my daughter's group did well with its freedom, another group of unsupervised teen-age boys were loud in the halls and at one point annoyed us with late-night prank phone calls.

My son checked out Wonder's 9- to 12-year-old Oceaneer's Lab offerings, but being on the upper-end of the age grouping (and quite put off by a requirement that parents of kids in the program carry a beeper at all times), he opted to spend his time in the ship's well-equipped video game room.

He also spent time at the ESPN Skybox sports bar that offers interactive games for families (where there was a nifty soccer game) and watched movies in both the ship's theater (where the movie "Sixth Sense" was among the offerings) and on the TV in our cabin.

He and I also participated in some fun family activities, including a racing-car contest that required participants to build entries out of vegetables. Some of the winning entries were both fast and artistic (ours was neither).

Younger kids (ages 3 to 8) seemed delighted with the climbing apparatus and constant activities in the Oceaneer's Club and with the regular appearances of Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters.

New on the Wonder, and soon to be introduced on the Magic, is a nursery with cribs for babies and toddlers too young to participate in the Oceaneer's Club. The nursery's hours are from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Adults on the Wonder are offered a good variety of diversions that Disney has created over the past year. During the ship's day at sea, there was a cooking demonstration by a chef from Walt Disney World; a lecture by a Disney animation artist; a line-dancing lesson, and a wine-tasting (for a fee) as well as jackpot bingo and other adults-only games and deck sports.

For passengers looking to indulge themselves, the Magic's spa offers a variety of beauty seminars and exercise classes in addition to treatments available for a fee.

Disney is exploring additional adult activities in conjunction with Disney Institute, including introducing some theme cruises, according to Matt Ouimet, Disney Cruise Line's president.

During our sailing, there were crowds at nighttime offerings such as karaoke (open to everyone) and late-night adults-only dance parties.

Like the Magic, the Wonder spends one day of each sailing at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.

Improvements made to the island over the past year include the addition of more beach chairs (it's no longer difficult to find one) and lobster tails at the outdoor buffet.

The massages offered in private huts at the adults-only beach (there's a separate family and teens' beach as well), with the sound of waves in the background, are the ultimate in pampering.

The Wonder's stage shows are the same well-run productions as on the Magic. "Disney Dreams," with songs from popular Disney movies, drew a standing ovation.

There were minor start-up flaws such as slow room service and the aforementioned buffet issues. But Disney has proven with its second ship that it can listen and make changes, offering a pleasing premium-class cruise experience for adults and kids alike.

ORLANDO -- Disney Cruise Line packages its sailings with three or four days at Walt Disney World, with the land tour invariably coming first and the cruise following. The theory is people want to hit the land attractions running and then relax on the cruise.

I decided, with input from the kids, to do things the opposite way: get refreshed and energized on the cruise to get ready for the parks.

My 12-year-old son's take on the matter was that on a cruise, you "lie down and do nothing," so you should do the cruise first and "save the best [Walt Disney World] for last."

My 15-year-old daughter suggested a cruise should come first so you can then "burn off calories at the parks."

Matt Ouimet, Disney Cruise Line's president, said we weren't the first to want to do things in reverse, although Disney has no immediate plans to make a change in offering the land portion precruise. The line has, however, enhanced its cruise-land package for 2000 and now includes meals and additional activities on land.

At Walt Disney World, we stayed at Disney's Boardwalk Inn, a good move after the cruise as the ambience is more low-key than at some of the other resorts -- no need to immediately shed our post-cruise mellowness.

We did, in fact, delightfully exhaust ourselves during our four post-cruise days. We repeatedly rode our favorite theme park rides, including Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain, and tried practically everything new at both the Magic Kingdom and MGM Studios. A favorite among the new offerings at Magic Kingdom was Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, where participants are armed with lasers.

At MGM, my daughter and her friend got a thrill out of the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith (I didn't dare try it), and my son particularly enjoyed "Sounds Dangerous," starring Drew Carey, a fun sound studio movie/ demonstration. We also enjoyed the new stage show "Disney's Doug Live!" (The girls were hesitant to go in, fearing it was for younger kids, but ended up loving it).