Walking through the entrance of any Disney attraction is never the same each time. Across the various theme parks in the United States, Asia and in Paris, the many Disney hotels in each market and now, the various cruise ships, each step into the many happiest House of Mouse places on Earth is different, but also means something different for each visitor.
But it’s still a Disney experience.
Some of us like to hang around the gates and at the start of Main Street USA because in the morning, it’s where characters start popping up and there are lines of parents holding the hands of young children looking for a photo opportunity with Mickey, Cinderella or Donald. Others prefer to dash right into Galaxy’s Edge or Tower of Terror, hoping to beat the queues that will balloon the longer the park is opened. Those looking to trade Disney pins will gather to get first dibs at hard-to-find decorations, while some prefer to grab a bite when restaurants are less crowded.
The appearance of the Disney Adventure, the eighth in the ever-growing Disney Cruise Line fleet, and the first to call Asia home, at least for the next five years, joins a growing list of theme attractions that are emerging in this region, and the fifth Disney one after Tokyo Disneyland, Disney Sea, Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland.
And it doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned Mickey superfan or a Disney noob – this is an experience unlike any other.
It’s also a ship unlike any Disney has because the Adventure was never originally built as one. The vessel was originally intended by Genting Hong Kong for its Dream Cruises brand as the Global Dream, and was designed as a gambling-oriented ship. Construction of the ship, as well as the interiors began in 2018 and by the time Disney entered the picture after bankruptcy caused by the pandemic, work on the already in-construction interior needed to be refitted to fit into the Disney theme.
This explains why the Adventure is both a Disney ship, yet also far removed from one. The moment you enter, there’s no Grand Hall to draw you in, so there are no character appearances in a spectacular atrium to welcome cruisers, like on other Disney ships. Instead, you board on Deck 7 and enter the main lift lobby greeted by crew members applauding your arrival. This lift lobby is a mere hallway to guide you to your room and for those expecting something else, it’s like entering Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and expecting to see the familiar Disneyland entrance in Anaheim.
If you’ve read about the change of day plates in the lifts of other Disney Cruise ships to signify a new day of the week, the delicious buffalo wings and Mickey Mouse Ice Cream bars unique to room service, and pirate theme nights, be ready for a surprise because the Adventure works best if you stop comparing to its predecessors, and treat it as something new yet familiar.
Disney Adventure is pretty much (re)designed from the ground up so you get a three-story Town Square across decks 5 to 7, which serves as the core of the ship. The main area on deck 6, which has a stage, is where the much-lauded Princess Gathering takes place, but it’s also next to Guest Services and the Spellbound bar, which is also right next to Maximus dining area of the Enchanted Summer Restaurant. There is a retail space on the upper deck 7 that overlooks the stage area, giving a sense of expanse but across the areas, there is no doorway that separates one area from another, so there’s always a crowd but for different reasons.
If you want to get to the Walt Disney Theater at the other side of the deck, you actually have to walk through the Olaf, from Frozen, dining section of the Enchanted Summer Restaurant, and you share the walkway with hungry guests pulling food from the buffet line. This design quirk is something Disney wasn’t really able to avoid given the ship’s original layout, and it can get crowded, with people running across the deck – this is a ship meant for up to 6,700 guests. Enchanted Summer Restaurant has two distinct dining areas, with the other based on Maximus, from Tangled, and each area has its own variety of food items for the breakfast and lunch buffet, so even if you’re just eating, you’ll be moving across both sections, and mingling with folks who are just passing through.
And if you’re a Concierge guest looking for the Theater lobby, that’s actually one floor above, at Deck 8. Confusing yes, but you’ll get the hang of it. Don’t even get started on accessing the fitness center on Deck 10 – the entrance is at the Forward area, and if you’re at Aft on Deck 10, you have to head to 11 Forward, before coming back down to 10, since the center stretches across port and starboard on Deck 10.
But if you take the time to explore just these three decks at the Town Square, you’ll see the iconic Disney design across the whole stretch, with beautifully designed architecture from the Olaf and Maximus sister restaurants that each reflects their animated movie origins. There are also two massive murals that stretches across the floors, and the easiest way to see it up close, is to ride each of the escalator on each side.
Yes, escalators – another unique feature that makes its debut on any Disney Cruise ship and it makes sense. Not all of us want to walk, and the elevators aren’t always the most efficient way to move across floors. For Asians, it seems a normal thing to have but to read comments from Americans who find escalators distasteful already establishes some unique level of expectations non-Asian Disney cruise fans have. From a practicality standpoint, escalators work extremely well, helping guests move between decks quickly and reducing pressure on the elevators. The murals behind the escalators offer wonderful representations of the various stories and characters you’ll find throughout the ship, including one of only two references to the Disney-owned Star Wars franchise.
With a Town Square a pale shadow of a Grand Hall found on other ships, what the Adventure has to draw in visitors is in the form of the Disney Imagination Garden and Disney Discovery Reef on Decks 10 and 11, two standout locations that blows what’s on all the other ships out of the water. This core area is actually two spaces in the middle of the ship, formed by an open area that extends to the top, at Deck 17.
The Imagination Garden is the bigger area spread out across two decks. The upper level on Deck 11, is home to a retail store and an open Garden Bar surrounded by tables and chairs, as well as garden foliage. In the middle are two stairways with amphitheater style seats in the middle that leads to Deck 10, which is an open area that leads to the Garden Stage. This larger open space exists largely because of the ship’s layout – Disney inherited the ship’s basic structure and reimagined it, turning what was planned to be a simple courtyard into one of the ship’s signature features and primary entertainment venues.
This area is visually striking, and a great place to visit because it’s also home to two great restaurants – Gramma’s Tala’s Kitchen, and Mowgli’s Eatery, with food items, from Indian curries to beef and chicken bowls, as part of your free dining options. At night, the coloured lighting ignites the whole space, especially when you look up and see the verandahs from the rows of staterooms on each side, as guests peer out to enjoy the performances on the Garden Stage. This stage is home to Marvel’s Avenger’s Assemble!, the kids-centric ‘Duffy and The Friend Ship’ and high-energy ‘Baymax Super Exercise Expo’ live shows. If you’re up on Deck 17, you can look down to see guests seven decks down enjoying themselves.
Maybe we don’t get some Grand Hall welcome, but what we do have is a massive open atrium to hang out at, sit and chill, grab some amazing food and catch some shows.
But if there’s one area that defines the Disney-themed experience indoors, it’s San Fransokyo Street, inspired by Big Hero 6, on Deck 7. Comprising video game areas, a Duffy & Friends shop and National Geographic store, this district feels like a themed land in a Disney park, packed into a small area and that’s the only drawback, that it’s rather small. Like the animation it represents, this is also a teen heavy area, and home to youth spaces like Edge and Vibe clubs, as the entrances appear as storefronts in the area, allowing the clubs to blend in naturally into the area, unlike the more kids-centered but also larger Disney Oceaneer Club that fills the middle section of Deck 8.
The downside here is that the other areas aren’t as impressive. The much lauded Marvel Landing, located on the top deck with the three theme-park style rides don’t exactly make a superhero landing. Groot Galaxy Spin is pretty much a reskinned Dumbo ride, except smaller, while Pym Quantum Racers is more like a children’s mini car ride with speeds slower than walking. As for the much lauded Ironcycle Test Run rollercoaster out at sea – as of this writing, it’s ironic that this test run ride is still under testing and hasn’t run its first public ride yet.
Meanwhile, the Toy Story Place water themed area next to Marvel Landing is a great hang out spot… at night. Filled with a pool, and kids-centered water play area, including two water slides, it doesn’t take into account the hot tropical weather that is Singapore. The slides are slow and unexciting, while the pool is small. You can expect that as the weather cools down to late afternoon, more people will crowd the space but in the afternoon, this area is too hot. At least the infinity tubs…sorry, pool, at the Aft of Deck 18 is at least sheltered, though small as well.
The same goes for the Wayfinder Bay on Aft of Deck 10. There are lounge chairs and a small pool, but it’s way too hot for most of the day. It’s also home to the live show, Moana: Call of the Sea, which is the only reason to come out in the sun.
One thing Disney does well is with its live performances, both indoor and outdoor, and its signature brand of song and dance is done extremely well here. The show to catch is ‘Remember’, a new performance exclusive to the Adventure and while this focuses on Wall-E and Eve, it brings in several Disney princesses in a heartwarming show that is enhanced by the singing and Broadway styled performance.
Another fun one is the fireworks display for ‘The Lion King: Celebration in the Sky’, a 10-minute show on the top deck and narrated by Shah Rukh Khan. It’s a decent replacement to the missing Pirate Night, and a great way to bask in the cool night winds at night.
And that is what the Disney Cruise is all about – the ability to have Disneyland on a ship without the hassle of queuing for hours for a ride, to reserve a booking for a show and be surrounded by a curated Disney experience. You need to use the Navigator App on your phone connected to the ship’s network, to book slots to meet characters, attend shows, check out what’s available and if you want to shop, there are several stores on board for you to fill up on collectibles and apparel.
Unlike a Disney park, a cruise has food as part of the experience, so you get to experience an all-in dining that is quite exceptional, barring some early hiccups. Aside from your three main meals, cruisers can stroll into almost any eatery and grab anything off the menu, and eat as much or as little as they want. Imagine that it’s 2pm and you’re feeling peckish but don’t want to head to the restaurant – room service is also catered for. If you’re out at the upper deck and feel like a refreshment – the pizza, soft serve ice-cream and fountain beverages are there for your enjoyment.
The standout is Cosmic Kebabs, which serves Middle Eastern-inspired dishes, as well as the Indian fare at Mowgli’s Eatery, rice bowls at Gramma Tala’s Kitchen, and the delicious, freshly made burgers at Stitch’s Ohana Grill. Bring a bottle and you can fill it with any beverage you choose, and the challenge is actually finding a place to eat during meal times, as these small eateries can get crowded and busy. And room service, while free, requires some planning to get through, and more wait time to have it delivered. Multiply this by the thousands and the ship, and you get a different queue system, just to eat.
Room service dining also has a short list of items, and the burger continues to be your best bet. The chicken tenders are also a must, except that there is feedback from cruisers on the later sailing who indicate that their cruise presented tenders from a different supplier. The biggest disappointment is that the much loved Mickey Mouse Ice Cream bars aren’t available through this service, and only via the Rotational Dining restaurants during dinner.
Rotational Dining is a signature of the Disney Cruise Line, where for dinner, guests are placed in a different restaurant each night, with a different menu. But due to the design of the ship, there is no space that can house 6,700 guests across three spaces (for three nights) and two dining periods, so the Adventure actually has six dining venues grouped into three themes, with each group theme sharing the same menu.
There’s Hollywood Spotlight Club and Navigator’s Club, followed by Animator’s Palate and Animator’s Table, and Enchanted Summer Restaurant and Pixar Market Restaurant. Dining time starts at 5:45pm for the first slot, and 8:15 for the second, and your party is automatically given a free slot. Your dining time is also linked to your assigned show at the Walt Disney Theater, so those who eat early have a late show, and vice versa.
The food can be both a hit and miss, with most of the Western menu, such as steaks, pastas and desserts, being better than the rest of the other offerings. Due to the various cultural differences of the target audience here, there are special Asian menu items as well and the selection, and tastes, varies.
The satay, or barbecue meat, in this case, chicken, on skewers, with a peanut sauce, tastes more like chunks of grilled chicken with a watery peanut butter dip. The much-publicized Hainanese Chicken Rice, Singapore’s national dish, is decent but nothing to shout about, while the Laksa Lemak, or spicy coconut noodle soup dish, is… alamak, well, the less said the better. Even Disney magic has its limits when it comes to getting Asian cuisine just right.
Of course, there are extras that guests have to pay for, such as bubble tea and cocktails, as well as premium dining options at the fancy Palo Trattoria, and Mike & Sulley’s Flavors of Asia, a family-friendly but unless you want to pay more, it’s not necessary.
One last consideration are the rooms, and there are different types. The price you pay heavily depends on the many type of regular rooms available, as you can choose from those with bunk beds and no windows, to those with a double bed (the second is a pull out sofa bed that’s not as comfortable) and verandah, either overlooking the sea or the Garden Stage. Each room comes with basic amenities such as a TV, space to hang your clothes, an electric kettle, power points and USB-C charging ports. Most also come with separate bathrooms and toilets, allowing better use of space for families but unless you’re prepared to shell out for the larger Concierge rooms, the smaller regular staterooms aren’t places you want to spend most of your time anyway.
If your experience at a Disney park has been limited to those in Asia, the Disney Adventure is something you have to bring your family, especially if the young ones are enamoured with the brand. Seasoned park hoppers used to the ones in the US, or even the few who have been on one of the other seven ships, might have things to nitpick on, but no one will dare say this is not a Disney experience worth one sail.
For more on Disney Adventure, check out our YouTube Playlist below:
GEEK REVIEW SCORE
Summary
The Disney Adventure is not that dream ship you have in your head, and it can never be. For those who have experienced Disney parks and other Disney ships of the line, the Adventure sits right up there in delivering the magical world of the brand – the children enjoyed the experience tremendously, while the adults will lament the crowds and lack of activities. Yet, there’s no denying the level of quality for ‘Remember’, ‘Avengers Assemble!’ or the fireworks display, and the immersion of San Fransokyo Street. For those into theme parks, you can visit Hong Kong, Tokyo or Shanghai. For those looking a one-stop and one-of-a-kind Disney holiday from dawn to dusk, across three or four days, a Disney adventure awaits in Singapore.
Overall
7.6/10-
Entertainment - 8/10
8/10
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Dining - 7.5/10
7.5/10
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Activities - 7/10
7/10
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Geek Satisfaction - 8/10
8/10
Sherwin once held the Matrix of Leadership, but wisely passed it on to the rightful leader of the household.
Yonk
Si Jia
