Livin' the Dream vs Cruising your Fantasy

We love all of Disney's ships, but the Dream was the our first cruise as a family so it has a special place in my heart.  Disney's Dream class ships, the Dream and the Fantasy, would now be considered Disney's mid-sized ships.  They carry up to 4,000 passengers compared to the 2,700 of the Magic class ships.  But there are a lot more differences to be discussed, so follow along as we talk about Angie's favorite ships. 

The Dream class, being bigger, has a few more things to offer, than their smaller sisters.  The AquaDuck is a fun waterslide that goes around the top deck of the ship.  It's much more fun than the trapdoor slide, the AquaDunk, that is on the smaller ships.

My kids enjoy the upgraded play areas on the Dream ships, compared to the Magic, as well as the larger pool area with more hot tubs.

As the ships get bigger, of course you can find more spaces for adults and kids alike.  So we have a few more bars/lounges to enjoy. 

Also the Rainforest Room in the Spa is bigger and includes a few more amenities.  We loved the more secluded hot tub area to just lounge in.  And the heated stone lounge chairs just lull me into a deep sleep.

There's also an additional adult-only dining experience.  While all the ships have Palo for fine Italian dining you can find delicious French cuisine at Remy.

While on the pricier side, Remy has been one of the most exquisite dining experiences I've ever had.  The mutli-course dinner was phenomenal and their desert experience is just delightful. Both have their own wine pairings.

Goofy's Sport Deck is also quite a bit larger, including mini golf and Virtual Sports simulators.

There's also a great scavenger hunt the whole family can take part in across the ship.  The MidShip Detective Agency is an animated hunt around the ship for clues, solving cases involving some classic characters.

As my kids got a little older, we let them run off on their own to solve the cases.

Sadly, as of right now, the Dream class ships do not have any big character dinners.  But I imagine within the next couple of years they will be added during dry dock updates.

​Now it's hard to compare the Dream to it's sister, the Fantasy, as they are nearly identical.  A lot of time the deciding factor between which of these you'll choose will be their dates and itineraries.  Many of the differences are just in aesthetic or theming.

Dining on both of these ships are identical.  The restaurants may have slightly different names or decor but they'll both boast the exact same menus.

We've eaten at them enough times to have tried nearly everything on all three menus.  While all of the food has been good, we definitely have our favorites at each dining room.

Their signature Ice cream shops do differ a bit in theming with Vanellope's Sweets and Treats on the Dream and Sweet on You located on the Fantasy.

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One of the bigger differences is actually in the kids club, the Oceaneer's Club and Lab.  The Disney Dream features an entire area dedicated to the Disney Infinity video games.  While my son loved playing with these back in the day these games are a little out-dated, but still pretty fun.

Also in the Oceaneer's Club's both feature an area dedicated to Star Wars with some fun interactive play areas.  On the Dream you have the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, and the Fantasy has individual ship piloting spots.  The addition of these play areas always made these ships some of my kids favorites, especially for Niko as he could just play video games all day.

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Functionally the same, the adult areas will look pretty different.  The Fantasy has this boardwalk looking Piaza while the Dream has more of a lounge area in it's place.

Both ships have my favorite bar location, Skyline.  Featuring some great cocktails themed after a few major cities from around the world.  The magical window will periodically change to the appearance of these same cities.  So you'll be sipping drinks in New York one moment, and magically be transported to Paris the next.

A lot of great drinking classes are taught in the various bars/lounges across the ship.  We always recommend the Chocolate and Alcohol pairing class.

Skyline

We could spend all day talking about our time on these great ships.

We have had amazing times on both of these ships.  Usually the Fantasy is running voyages of 7 days or more, so we've only managed to go on it once.  The Dream has had more 4 and 5 day voyages available so we've managed to be on it quite a few more times.

It's hard to go wrong with a Disney Cruise!  We've been on all 5 current ships and are already making plans to go on their 6th and 7th ships some time after they launch.

Interested?  Have any questions?  Feel free to ask us here at Mouse O'Clock!  We're always glad to run up a free quote.  Remember when it's time to plan for Disney:

It's Mouse O'Clock!