New to Disney Cruises - What Cabin?

[banderboo]

DH and I will be taking our grandson on a Disney cruise next year (2015) for his 5th birthday. We generally get a balcony cabin when cruising by ourselves but was wondering if an interior with the magic porthole would be a better option for a 5 year old. We've never done a Disney cruise before and want to make this extra special for him. What's the best cabin? We'll be doing a 4 day out of Port Canaveral along with 3 days at Disney World (Contemporary Hotel).

[jalves]

I'd stick with the veranda cabin myself. Never cared for an inside, with or without a "magic porthole". I always prefer to be looking out at the ocean in real life. :)

[LittleMissMagic]

The magical porthole rooms are the largest (other than handicap accessible) and nicest inside staterooms I've seen on a cruise ship. The magical porthole projects real-time views from cameras on your side of the ship. Animated characters also make appearances. You can also turn the magic porthole off.

 

Here is an image (with the magic porthole turned off) to give you an idea of the size of the room -

 

Magical Porthole Stateroom by vshingl, on Flickr

 

You can save a bit of money, but get extra space by choosing a family ocean view stateroom. It's a great size and has a huge window with a window seat which allows you a great view of the exterior without the worry of a 5-year-old on a verandah.

 

Family Porthole Stateroom by vshingl, on Flickr

 

One thing to note with the family ocean view stateroom (and all family rooms on Dream and Fantasy) is that the bathtub is not a standard-size, but a smaller, round tub. It does, however, have a rainfall shower head which is pretty nice.

 

Family Porthole Stateroom by vshingl, on Flickr

[banderboo]

Thanks, I was thinking that my grandson would like having the characters visit. Do they "visit" often?

[LittleMissMagic]

Thanks, I was thinking that my grandson would like having the characters visit. Do they "visit" often?

 

My parents stayed in a magical porthole cabin and couldn't find a pattern to how often the characters came. Sometimes they'd get several in an hour, and other times they could go 45 minutes without seeing one.

[Cruise life]

I'd stick with the veranda cabin myself. Never cared for an inside, with or without a "magic porthole". I always prefer to be looking out at the ocean in real life. :)

 

 

I do like balcony rooms to have coffee with my husband if the kids sleep in, but for safety, I prefer the OV. The kids LOVE portholes and will sit in the extra space whenever they have to wait around on one of us before getting out to other activities, often where we can see the ocean in real life! I guess having my kids climb or lean over the railings has ruined me on balcony rooms with them. I have to be super-vigilant and it's not fun.

 

 

 

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[Jellyrolls]

I like the forward facing obstructed view cabins (category 9c and 9d) that are all the way forward on the Dream and Fantasy. The rooms are oversized--the most spacious room that I've ever stayed in on a cruise ship. Here is a video I took of room 8502 on the Dream a few years ago:

 

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

 

ETA: When we went on this cruise, my friends and I did a tour of each others room--one was in an inside room with a magical porthole, and another in a verandah room. We all agreed that my room was the best because it was so spacious. My friend with the magical porthole said that the characters didn't come out that often. Maybe a couple an hour.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Jellyrolls

[AF-1]

the family oceanview look quite large

[banderboo]

Thanks everyone. I'll check out the oceanviews and balcony cabins.

[jalves]

For those interested in veranda cabins that might be concerned about safety; there is a separate, high-mounted, lock to prevent children from opening the door by themselves. The door is also pretty heavy and would be difficult for a small child to open even if you forgot to lock it.

 

The railing on the veranda's have plexiglass up to about 3' high with no toe-holds for the child to climb. However, there are chairs and a small, low table that a child could climb on if left unsupervised.

[jwalk03]

I would not worry about the "safety" of a child on a Disney Balcony. The space in between the railings are filled in with a clear wall, so there is no climbing or slipping through in anyway, and the railings are plenty high enough.

 

Also the balcony doors are sliding doors, but have a child safety lock all the way at the top to prevent little kids from opening it.

 

We took our 1.5 year old daughter in Feb and it was wonderful.

[drb116]

We have stayed in both the veranda rooms, the ocean view, and the family ocean view. By far our preference is the family ocean view. While the fresh air is nice, it is not utilized very often compared to the extra space and cabinet space you get in the family ocean view.

[monty913]

I have only stayed in a balcony room. It was also mid ship. The stairs and elevator were right there, but we didnt hear any noise from people coming and going. Besides the balcony, I loved being mid ship-easy access to almost everything. We stupidly spoiled ourselves and will probably never want anything but a mid ship balcony now.

 

And if there is concern about the 5 year old opening the slider onto the balcony-I remember there is a special lock way up high on the door-out of reach.

[banderboo]

I was thinking that he'd enjoy the magic porthole but from what I've been reading the characters don't show up all that often so....

 

He was just on a cruise where we had a balcony and it worked out fine so we may just go that route again.

[Cruise life]

I like the forward facing obstructed view cabins (category 9c and 9d) that are all the way forward on the Dream and Fantasy. The rooms are oversized--the most spacious room that I've ever stayed in on a cruise ship. Here is a video I took of room 8502 on the Dream a few years ago:

 

 

 

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

ETA: When we went on this cruise, my friends and I did a tour of each others room--one was in an inside room with a magical porthole, and another in a verandah room. We all agreed that my room was the best because it was so spacious. My friend with the magical porthole said that the characters didn't come out that often. Maybe a couple an hour.

 

 

Thanks for posting the video as we are in a forward room similar to that on our next cruise. They were just built into the Sunshine during the refurbishment. Our windows are floor to ceiling so I was a bit worried about the possible effects of sunlight overheating the room, but hopefully the extra space will win us over and at worst we will have to close the curtains during the day. The rest of the cabin seems similar to CCL just with the Disney theme and colors. I do love that larger rectangular table as it would be great for the room service trays compared to the ovals CCL uses.

 

As far as balconies, we have twins and one time at an Embassy Suites they moved the stroller over to the door and stood up on it holding each other up to try to reach the upper lock on that door (it was a 3rd floor room with the usual balcony walkways that overlook the lobby). I think they were only 3 or 4 years old as they were still using the stroller. We've had several balcony cabins and they are great, especially if you can swing for a suite and have the other bed on the floor instead of hanging from the ceiling (which is what we do now with the older kids). There was unfortunately a death in our town just a week ago where a woman vacationing at the Hyatt dropped her flailing infant from the 5th floor I think into the lobby. It was tragic. I know it's rare, but you must be careful at ALL times. OP, hope you enjoy whatever room you pick!

 

 

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