8 Things You Should Know Before You Go on the Disney Wish

By Quincy Stanford
Posted on Posted on May 28, 2024

I’ve sailed on almost every Disney Cruise ship — including the newest, the Disney Wish.

The Disney Wish is the most heavily themed and largest ship in the Disney fleet — at least until its sister ship, the Disney Treasure, sets sail at the end of 2024. It’s definitely got its differences from other Disney ships so here’s what you should know BEFORE you go on the Disney Wish.

To see what my experience aboard the Disney Wish was like and see the ship, check out this video!

So, what things do you have to know before you board?

1. It’s the biggest…but not by much.

The Disney Wish is 144,000 gross tons and can carry 2,508 passengers. That’s HUGE. BUT, the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream are 125,000 gross tons and can carry 2,500 passengers. Yep, the Wish can hold 8 more people. That’s it.

Having sailed on the Wish and the Fantasy (and its sister ship, the Dream), I can say that the Wish really doesn’t feel that much bigger. So, if you’ve sailed the other ships, don’t expect tons more to explore. It’s still huge with a lot to do, but not really in comparison.

My favorite thing about the size difference on the Wish is that it’s the first Disney ship with bumpouts. So, you might have a room in the bumpout section with a slightly more exciting veranda; but otherwise it won’t feel too different from the other ships.

Click here to learn more about the Disney Fantasy (my favorite ship)!

2. The layout and hours can make it VERY crowded. 

Unlike other Disney cruise ships, the more exciting themed bars are spread out around the ship instead of in one central area. Keg & Compass, Nightingale’s, Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge, The Bayou, and The Rose are sprinkled around the ship — many of them very close to the Grand Atrium on the main interior floor.

These spots feel SMALL and have limited seating. With 2,508 people on the ship, it can be hard to find a seat or even standing room! Plus, some of the spots close earlier than others which has those hoping to continue the evening fun congregating in one or two VERY slammed locations.

I found myself tucked in a corner in an INSANELY crowded The Rose on the final night of my limited-capacity cruise and have heard some complaints about the way crowds flow on the Wish from those sailing since. Basically, if you’re on a busier cruise, expect to find yourself in some high crowd areas.

Click here to see INSIDE the Star Wars bar!

3. Either get ready to wait or get ready to take a LOT of stairs. 

Elevators on cruise ships are always a little bit slower than you might like them to be — the Wish is particularly rough. It’s a LOT of people trying to ride not that many elevators and the elevators are slow. Plus, with everyone synced up on two dinner schedules, there can be very high-traffic times.

Around dinner as well as any special celebrations or shows, expect to wait a WHILE for the elevator — and for it to get chaotic. Otherwise, you could find yourself climbing ten flights of stairs (faster yes, but boy, it’s no fun).

Funny anecdote: Though the Wish has since fixed this issue, there was an added elevator gripe on the Christening Cruise (a media-only voyage before the Maiden Voyage). The buttons on the elevators are touch-free on the Wish, but they were so sensitive that if someone stood in front of the buttons, it would automatically press EVERY button.

This resulted in a lot of people shouting “AWAY FROM THE BUTTONS” as people loaded into the elevator and a collective groan if someone did lean too close. This won’t happen anymore, but it was pretty darn funny on my cruise.

Click here to see more about dining on the Disney Wish!

4. Get ready to have big feelings about dinner. 

The Wish has three rotational dining restaurants — Worlds of Marvel, 1923, and Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure. You’re likely to find yourself either loving or hating these spots.

Worlds of Marvel and Arendelle both have active entertainment during your meal which some folks might find a little tiresome if they are not dinner-and-a-show people. If you ARE dinner-and-a-show people, you might be pretty bored when you rotate into 1923.

Arendelle is my favorite rotational restaurant I’ve been to on any Disney ship. I thought the Norwegian-inspired menu was awesome and the performances were so much fun for this Frozen-lover. For me, Worlds of Marvel was a bit underwhelming. Plan for big feelings and if there is a restaurant that doesn’t interest you, consider booking an adults-only spot for that evening — more on that in a sec.

Click here for our review of Arendelle!

5. Don’t discount the upcharge dining! 

Ok, it’s been a sec. The upcharge dining can feel like an unnecessary splurge but some of my favorite experiences on Disney cruises have been in the adults-only upcharge restaurants.

In fact, one of my favorite cruise memories of all time was dining at Enchanté, the Wish’s fine dining spot, with AJ from Disney Food Blog. Brunch is $80 per person there with dinner options costing $135 or $205 per person. It’s EXPENSIVE, but it was a WONDERFUL experience between the service and the spectacular food. If you are a fan of fine dining, I recommend budgeting for an evening at Enchanté.

And if you don’t want to go QUITE so hard on the upcharge or you aren’t a fan of more fancy fine dining, Palo Steakhouse is delightful as well. Brunch or dinner at Palo Steakhouse is $50 per person. The Agnalotti from the dinner menu is something that Fry Bucket ordered on our cruise and we STILL talk about it years later.

Want to see my full review of Enchanté? Click here!

6. The AquaMouse might not be what you expect. 

I don’t know if this is a hot take but I was a bit underwhelmed by the AquaMouse. The Dream and Fantasy have the amazing AquaDuck slide which feels long, relaxing, and thrilling.

The AquaMouse is Disney’s first “attraction at sea” so I was quite excited for the show scenes on the ride that have Mickey and Minnie on an adventure. The reality, though? You’re really just glancing at a few TV screens as you go up a lift hill that takes up most of the ride and then you go down a slide that is shorter and not as exciting as if the whole thing was a slide. The AquaDuck is definitely the winner for me.

Another thing to note about the AquaMouse is that it often does not accept solo passengers (for safety reasons!), so if your solo kid really loves it, be ready to ride a slide over and over again.

Click here to see more about the AquaMouse!

7. You will be jealous of your child. 

Speaking of the kiddos, you WILL be jealous of your kid on the Wish. The Kids Clubs are AMAZING. The “it’s a small world” nursery is adorable and teens and tweens will love Edge, Vibe, and The Hideaway; but the real star is Disney’s Oceaneer Club.

On the Wish, the Oceaneer Club has Marvel Super Hero Academy, Star Wars Cargo Bay, Walt Disney Imagineering Lab, Fairytale Hall, and more. In these spaces, kids can have unbelievable experiences with new tech and hang with rare Disney characters. You’re GOING to be jealous!

But don’t worry, grown ups CAN experience the Kids Clubs during their open houses! These happen periodically throughout the sailing and you can find out when on the Disney Cruise Line app Navigator!

Click here to learn more about the Kids Clubs!

8. The sailing might not feel long enough.

The Disney Wish only sales for sailing 4-nights and shorter. Now, for first-time cruisers, this can be a great length to introduce you to cruise life. But if you LOVE a cruise, 4-nights feels like barely enough time to get settled.

I am a 7-night cruiser all the way so I would maybe opt to sail on a different ship than the Wish to have a longer trip.

See things to do on the Disney Wish here!

BONUS! Be careful how you manage seasickness.

This one is not JUST for the Wish but I had an interesting seasickness experience ON the Wish so I wanted to bring it up. I am prone to motion sickness and with so much to cover on the Wish, I wanted to make sure I was preventing any nasty waves.

So, I opted for a prescription motion sickness patch. I’ve heard that this works wonders and it did for me when it comes to seasickness but the side effects were WILD. I had an insanely dry mouth and sore throat, I was so drowsy I would fall asleep sitting up straight if I sat down for more than a few minutes, and I don’t remember much of my cruise (luckily I can watch the video above!).

My caution here is that it’s dicey to manage motion sickness. You may want to opt for dramamine or something a little less intense and bring a prescription option just in case. Talk to your doctor! Finding what’s right for you is certainly important.

So, happy sailing on the Wish! And keep an eye on AllEars.Net for more cruise tips!

Click here to see which Disney vacation you should be taking!

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Would you sail the Disney Wish? Tell us in the comments!