Disney Cruise Line in a Jiffy: What are the Neverland and Wonderland Cinemas?

On a Disney Cruise, it’s easy to go to the movies. All Disney ships show recent Disney and Pixar releases on board with a full theater experience, including popcorn and candy. On the Disney Wish, Treasure, and Destiny, you’ll find the movies in the twin theaters called the Neverland and Wonderland Cinemas. The theaters themselves are themed and decorated based on Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland.

The movies are part of the ship’s regular entertainment lineup, and the showings are free. Head to the theaters as many times as you want, or even see the same movie twice. On most sailings, the schedule will have anywhere from 7-12 recent Disney and Pixar titles. And if you’re sailing on the day a Disney movie is released on land, you’ll find it enters the ship theater lineups that same day! Most movies will be shown at least twice, and some several times, with more recent titles having more showings.

The Neverland and Wonderland theater lineup is not published in advance, but you can call Disney to inquire or write in to planDisney to find out what movies will be showing during your cruise. Once on board, you can see the schedule for your whole sailing in the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app. Start on the app’s “Explore” tab and move the top slider to “Movies and Theaters”. Select the Neverland Cinema, or Wonderland Cinema, then tap on “Schedule” near the top. You’ll be able to browse through the showings for your entire cruise.

You may find it easier to check all the showings for an onboard movie, no matter which theater they’re in. Tap on the movie’s card (it may look a bit different than below, depending on where you start from). Then tap “Schedule” and browse to see everything. You’ll see all the available times no matter whether they are in the Neverland or the Wonderland theater, or in the Walt Disney Theater.

Usually, movies in the Neverland and Wonderland Cinemas will all be from the previous year’s releases, with older movies showing on FunnelVision on the pool decks. But on a themed cruise like a Marvel Day at Sea cruise, older films might be added to fit the theme. Sometimes the first movies in a series will have a couple of “catch-up” showings if a newly released sequel is playing on the same cruise. And for kid-friendly musicals (think Frozen), there may be a “sing-along” showing with karaoke-style words on the screen. If you attend a sing-along showing, do expect there to be kids singing out loud – but in my experience it does help keep down the out-loud accompaniment in the regular showings.

I did mention a full theater experience with popcorn, right? There’s a concession stand immediately outside the theaters; options include popcorn, soda, and movie theater candy. If you’ll see more than one movie, a refillable popcorn bucket might be a good choice. Prices vary from about $8 to $25, depending on the design. The first fill is free, and refills are at a significant discount (about 60% off) compared to the price of a regular popcorn without the bucket.

Disney Cruise Line in a Jiffy is for first-time Disney cruisers looking to learn about the DCL experience. Got a Disney Cruise Line term that you want to see explained? Suggest it in the comments below!