Disney Adventure Review: A New Way to Cruise, But Does That Disney Magic Shine Through?

To start, I will say the Disney Adventure is a fine ship. But, to me, it's not a fine Disney ship.

I’ve been asked for my thoughts on the Disney Adventure a lot, and I think the best way to sum it up is to go back to where it all began: Disneyland. For decades, Disneyland taught us how to theme park. Namely, the spoke and hub with themed lands that drew us in. To me, that is what the other 7 ships in the fleet have done. We know how to get around (e.g., where the Grand Hall and soft serve can be found). But then in 2001, a new theme park came into being in the form of Disney’s California Adventure. Its layout was confusing, with dead ends and lands that were broken into small areas — some with little cohesion or theming, much like the neighborhoods onboard the Disney Adventure. The one glaring difference between opening years DCA and the Adventure is that you can definitely see there are places you can tell money was well spent, but I’ll get into that in a bit.

As I said, the ship itself is fine, but it’s no secret that Disney purchased it when it was something like 60% finished. That is what makes the difference between a "Disney ship" and "a ship that has Disney on it. " Of course, this ship wasn’t designed for a Disney nerd like myself. This is the first venture into Asia with the Cruise Line and most won’t have cruised on any of the other Disney vessels. Thus, for the average guest, this will be a dream ship.

Disney is sprinkled all throughout the ship, with some areas being more Disney than others (yes, I’m looking at you San Fansokyo). Yet, areas like the state rooms and hallways are on more of the bare minimum side. Still, I have to say that, when they pushed a theme, it was amazing. San Fansokyo is so detailed that it could easily be a queue at any Disney Park for a Big Hero 6 attraction. Walking into this area, you are absolutely transported to a different place and the kicker is this is just a small area for some of the shops and teen areas.

Now that I’ve gotten some nitpicking out of the way, let’s talk about the highlights of the ship: entertainment, entertainment, and entertainment! The Disney Adventure has an odd problem of being a 3 or 4-day cruise to nowhere, so to make up for the lack of a port, they doubled down on shows and other offerings. Naturally, there's also the Walt Disney Theatre with “Seize the Adventure (which is a carryover from the Wish class ships) and one of my all-time favorite Disney jukebox shows, “Remember.” But instead of a deck stage, in the Imagination Gardens area they have a ultra high tech stage that seems to always have something going on, be it the “Duffy and the Friend Ship” show, a Baymax workout show, or the show stopping “Avengers Assemble!” show, it’s just nice to know at almost all times of the day there is a great piece of Disney entertainment going on.

Another high point has to be the variety of food. From breakfast to dinner, you can either try something new or stick with an old favorite. The rotational dining is still part of the dinner and the staff still goes with you. Some of the dining locations can be a bit different, like the Pixar restaurant that is also the same as the breakfast buffet location, but there are others that are true Disney magic, such the Animator's Palate with its cute show that brings your artwork to life.

Overall, for new guests, the Disney Adventure will be a great ship. However, as Disney nerd and a DCL veteran, it’s missing some of the heart of the other ships.

P.S. - For more on my Disney Adventure thoughts, check out this episode of The DCL Duo: