My 10 First Impressions of the Disney Adventure

I’m back from 10 days onboard the brand-new Disney Adventure and I have a lot to share! Let’s start with my first impressions.

1. San Fransokyo – San Fransokyo is as good as you’ve heard. It’s the coolest spot onboard, hands down. You don’t even feel like you’re on a ship when you step inside. In a good way. The details are spot on, the games are fun, and Vibe and Edge are tucked away behind storefronts. Hiro Training Zone is a special room with interactive games for small groups, and it’s a highlight! The line gets long, so go early or during dinner and shows.

2. No Atrium – It’s a bit odd not having a Grand Hall or Atrium. Based on the location of the Snow White and the Wishing Well statue, which is sold as the atrium statue, Town Square is technically the atrium. It’s a beautiful two-story space with princess portraits on the ceiling! But it’s surprisingly small for an atrium on a giant ship. And it’s on the interior of the ship, so you don’t enter the ship anywhere near it. Many activities take place there – crafts, live music, the Royal Gathering, sometimes even Jack Jack’s Diaper Dash. There are several stores and bars right off Town Square, and it’s also where you will find Guest Services. It’s always hopping.

3. Palo Trattoria is Gorgeous – Palo Trattoria is the first two-story upcharge dining on a Disney ship, and it’s stunning! Reservations were not hard to get, and because of the number of sea days, there are plenty of brunch opportunities. Palo Café is right outside, and they sell some Palo offerings, like the same pizza that’s served inside, as well as the ever-popular almond croissants. It’s a great option if you don’t want the whole meal or rigamarole inside.

4. Mike & Sulley’s is a Mostly Fun New Offering – Mike & Sulley’s – Flavors of Asia is the new second upcharge dining offering on the Adventure. We had two of the four types of meals offered. We did the Japanese steakhouse and Teppanyaki. We enjoyed both, although both were very expensive, and picky eaters may struggle a bit. The biggest surprise was the kids inside. We’ve grown used to adult-only upcharge restaurants, and Mike and Sulley’s is not one. We had a few loud kids around for both meals.

5. The Rides Are Fun – I actually love the addition of rides onboard. We rode Ironcycle (the roller coaster onboard) three times, and it’s ridiculously fun for a small rollercoaster that fits on the deck of a cruise ship. The other two rides – Pym Quantum Racers ( a tiny track with cars to drive), and Groot Galaxy Spin (a Dumbo type ride) are more for kids than adults, but we did both and they were cute! They are also sweltering hot during the day, but thankfully, they were operating at night by our third cruise.

6. There is a Lot to Schedule Onboard – There’s been a lot of talk online about the need to be on your phone booking hard to get reservations like Ironcycle, Royal Gathering, and the character meet and greets. And it’s true! Those have to be booked onboard and are released in the app the day before. The times changed a little, but seemed to be 4:30 pm for characters, after the muster for Royal Gathering, and 5:30 pm or 6:30 pm for Ironcycle. Incidentally, we didn’t have a hard time getting any of them. We also didn’t feel like we were staring at our phones all day to get them. They came out at those times, you either got them or you didn’t, and you move on. We found several roaming characters on every cruise, so it wasn’t the end of the world if you didn’t get them.

7. Stitch’s Ohana Grill Has Amazing Burgers – Don’t miss these burgers. They’re so delicious. The ever-present line outside is proof!

8. Imagination Garden is the Best Space – Imagination Garden is an open-air space on the interior of the ship and is the best space onboard. The Sorcerer Mickey Topiary is so perfect, it feels like it’s the atrium statue. The castle built into the wall is also spectacular. The stage holds popular shows like Avengers Assemble and Duffy and The Friend Ship show. After a short closure in the evenings, the two quick service places inside – Mowgli’s and Gramma Tala’s are open until midnight, which is unusual for everything except pizza on other Disney ships. They’re great options. The only downside of the Imagination Garden is the lack of shade. It’s unusable at certain times of day.

9. The Escalators Do Reduce Bottlenecking – The escalators onboard are a surprising success! They’re a quick way to go from floors 5-10, and greatly reduce bottlenecking at the elevators.

10. The Shows are a Highlight – Two of the shows, Remember and Avengers Assemble, are some of the best shows in the Disney repertoire. Remember is a jukebox musical type show, with a Wall-E and Eve storyline interrupted by short performances of several of Disney’s most popular movies. The Wall-E and Eve puppets are incredible to boot! Avengers is a must-see for Marvel fans. Every Marvel character you care about will be there in spectacular form.

Do you have any questions for me about the Adventure? Have you been?