205. The Maiden Voyage of Disney's Destiny

A brand-new Disney ship beckons, and Wesley answered the call. Welcome aboard a look at the Disney Destiny’s maiden voyage, with sky-high expectations and the magic of a ship that tells its story through every surface. From a shockingly luxurious pre-cruise stay at Pier Sixty-Six with early check-in, poolside setup, and frozen grapes, to a blissfully efficient embarkation at Port Everglades, the tone was set before Wesley ever touched the Grand Hall’s carpet. And yes, that Grand Hall hits different: layered lighting, dimensional railings, and a Black Panther centerpiece that feels more regal than fan-service.

We dig into the ship’s most talked-about spaces. The Sanctum became a go-to spot: open, cozy, and made for lingering. Haunted Mansion Parlor is exquisitely themed, a must-see once; DeVille’s dazzles but suffers from early-sailing capacity crunch; Cask and Cannon surprised with great mini churros and pre-dinner vibes. Saga proved versatile for karaoke, game shows, and the standout Marvel comedy show, With Great Power—hosted by the ship’s storytellers Gamble and Zayah, and paced like a theme-park live act with clever improv and a cheeky finale. It’s labeled 18+, but the tone feels closer to PG-13, raising smart questions about family access and small-venue demand.

We also compare stateroom function and storage to earlier classes, share practical packing strategies for a family of five, and talk about how Destiny’s design cohesion sets it apart from “floating mall” competitors. The biggest friction point? Hype-driven crowd patterns and adults-only programming that can split families on short sailings. The likely cure is time—and better tools like virtual queues and clearer event labeling.

If you love Imagineering details, layered storytelling, and lounges that feel like worlds, Destiny will pull you in. If you’re chasing every hot venue, plan ahead, pick your must-dos, and be ready to pivot. Subscribe, share, and leave a review to help fellow Disney cruisers find us—and tell us: which new Destiny space tops your list?

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Adventures & Mousecapades is a passion project from Alicea & Nathan Novak - two Seattleites addicted to The Mouse. We are not affiliated with Disney, nor are we travel agents. Opinions are our own.

Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Twitter: @ourmousecapades
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Episode Transcript

(00:16):
Hello everyone.
I'm Alicea.

Nathan (00:25):
I'm Nathan.

Wesley (00:27):
And I'm Wes.
Welcome to episode 205 ofAdventures and Mousecapades.

Nathan (00:32):
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.
Is it Wes or Wesley.
We just went over this.

Alicea (00:38):
No he gets to introduce himself however he wants.

Nathan (00:41):
Okay, that's fair.

Wesley (00:43):
I got nervous.
I we did have a wholeconversation about Wes versus
Wesley, and I said Wesley, andthen I said Wes.

Nathan (00:50):
All right, well, when I get it wrong, I won't feel bad.

Wesley (00:53):
No, don't feel bad at all.
It's you can call me whateveryou want.
I I'm married and havechildren.
I'm called all kinds of things.

Nathan (00:59):
There you go.
I'm familiar with it.
I like that.
I like that.
Well, Wes slash Wesley slashversion 55-71 is on with us this
week.
Uh you just got back fromsomething that is in our bucket
list.
We absolutely want to get on aDisney Cruise line maiden

(01:20):
voyage.
We haven't been able to make itwork with any of the Wish class
chips so far.
You just got off the maidenvoyage of the Destiny, and we
want to hear all about it.

Wesley (01:30):
Yes, I'm so fresh.
We haven't, the bags aren'teven unpacked yet.
There's there's merchandiselike still in the packaging.
We haven't, all we've beendoing is sleeping and eating.

Nathan (01:40):
Yep.
We we just got back from ourtrip on the magic for the first
time in 15 years, almost a weekago.
We flew home last Saturday.
We're recording on a Saturday.
Um we haven't unpacked yet.
We haven't done laundry yet.
So it's okay.

Alicea (01:55):
We took the lot the the cubes out of the suitcase.
Yes.
So the packing cubes are out ofthe suitcase.
We just haven't done the nextstep.

Wesley (02:04):
Well, we have done we have done some laundry, um, but
we're still talking aboutwhether or not we're even gonna
unpack because we have anothertrip coming up in just a couple
weeks.
So what's the point, really?

Alicea (02:16):
Exactly.
Just live out of suitcases.

Nathan (02:19):
Why even go home at this point?
Just stay at Disney.

Wesley (02:21):
Well, that's what I said.
When all the flights weregetting canceled because of the
shutdown, and they were like, ohno, our flight home might be
canceled.
I'm like, that's like not aworry for me.
I'm not concerned about myflight home being canceled.
By all means, go for it.

Nathan (02:35):
Yeah, I love it.
I love it.
Well, let's get going.
What was Disney's influence onyou growing up?
Did you visit the parks a lot?
Uh, did you do mouse r sizeevery morning on the one Disney
Channel?

Wesley (02:49):
Uh no, definitely no mouse r size then nor now.
Uh I grew up in SouthernCalifornia, so it was just
around.
It was just here.
It was just part of what youdid uh growing up and as a
teenager.
So I don't I kind of had nochoice.
Like it just was there and ithappened, and I rolled and I

(03:09):
rolled with it.

Nathan (03:11):
Nice, nice, nice.
How about the rest of yourfamily?

Wesley (03:15):
Well, same.
My wife was a little light onit.
Our first date, though, was todowntown Disney.
And we, you know, beforemarriage and before kids, we all
had annual passes when theycost like a dollar.
And and that's kind of what wedid for fun.
We would go to the parks on theweekends with our friends.

(03:35):
We would we, you know, for awhile we were like into swing
dancing.
We would do like we would go tothe park to you know hang out
and do some swing swing dancing.
That was like a very briefthing that we were into, but you
know, uh, and then the kidscame along and you know, one by
one they each got annual passesas they were born.

(03:57):
Yeah, we've since kind ofgotten away from the annual
passes and going to Disneyland alot.

Nathan (04:02):
Yeah.

Wesley (04:03):
We have a say now that like Disneyland is for me and my
wife, and Disney World is forthe family and the children.
So we do that, we do that a lotbecause it's easy for us to
break away for like a date nightor whatever to get to the park
and just eat, people watch,maybe go on a couple things, but
we don't need to involve thechildren in everything that we
do.
Like that's a lot.

Nathan (04:25):
We we do with we do that with uh with Maui.
Maui is for us.
You know, like we'll take thekids to Oahu.
We've taken the kids to Kauai.

Wesley (04:35):
Oh, right.

Nathan (04:36):
Maui is for Maui's for us.

Wesley (04:38):
Oh, I yeah, this is a very similar situation then
because Maui is a fantasticplace.

Nathan (04:44):
Yeah.

Wesley (04:45):
And I could totally see that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We've messed up, we've havetaken kids to Maui, but maybe we
should stop.

Nathan (04:54):
Maybe don't let them hear this.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And if they do, sorry, kids.
Nah, nah.

Wesley (05:00):
No, they know.
We openly talk about how likewe don't take them, they they
don't have passes to Disneyland,and that they're okay.
Like, we just we just went on acruise.

Nathan (05:10):
Yeah.

Wesley (05:11):
And we went to Disney World, and we're going on
another cruise in three weeks,and then another cruise in a
month after that.
So they're fine.

Nathan (05:19):
Yeah.
Yeah.
They'll survive somehow.

Wesley (05:21):
Yes.

Nathan (05:22):
I think they'll make it, yeah.

Alicea (05:24):
Well, who was in your sailing party on this trip?

Wesley (05:28):
Well, it was just my family.
It was me, my wife, and mythree kids.
We have three boys, they'reeight, eleven, and fourteen.

Nathan (05:35):
Oh, wow.

Wesley (05:35):
Preston's the oldest and he's in vibe.
Holly is eleven, he's an edge,and then Max is eight and he's
in the oceanier club.

Nathan (05:44):
Cool.

Wesley (05:44):
Yeah.

Nathan (05:45):
What so was this your first Disney cruise?
I'm assuming no.

Wesley (05:50):
This was not.
I first cruised on the Wonderin like the early 2000s.
Okay.
Don't ask me the exact datebecause I'll never be able to
remember it.
But with just with my brotherand some friends.
Um, and then we didn't sailagain for a long time.
And then I think in 22 we gotback into it.

(06:12):
Got it.
Uh, it was something that wehad been trying to plan for a
while, and then it never workedout, and then finally it did,
and then it stuck, and then thiswas my sixth Disney cruise.

Alicea (06:22):
Oh, so this was your gold cruise.
Nice.

Wesley (06:24):
Yeah, my official like first cruise as a gold cruise,
right?
Yeah.
Awesome.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah.
And now my kids and my wife aregold too.
So nice.
On the next one, they'll havethat.

Nathan (06:36):
Have you been on either of the Destiny's uh sister
ships, either the wish or thetreasure?

Wesley (06:42):
Yeah, so we've been on all three classes of ships.
Okay.
And we sailed on the wish in2024 on a three-night cruise.
So I have lots of comparisonsbetween the two, right?
Between like the magic classand the dream class, and now
this.
I think I have made someopinions.

Nathan (07:03):
Excellent.

Alicea (07:05):
All right.
So the Destiny is Disney CruiseLine's newest ship, brand new
ship, the baby of the fleet, andyou were on her maiden voyage.
Well, for paid guests anyway.
Uh what were your expectationsleading up to the cruise?

Wesley (07:21):
Like they couldn't have been higher.
I I had you know, like you plana cruise so far in advance.
This this one was like 14-15months, and I was just trying to
consume everything I could fromthe moment we booked until
until we stepped foot on.
Um, I was a little worriedbecause it being the Maiden

(07:44):
Voyage, like there wasn't gonnabe like all the YouTube videos
and all the content and all thethings that you can kind of help
prepare yourself um for for theexperience.
But uh yeah, I just went indeep, you know, follow the blog,
you know, started my own, youknow, trying to regurgitate like

(08:07):
the information and spread theword, yeah.
And and just get everybodyelse's like viewpoints and
opinions about it.
People who have been on thewish and the treasure, trying to
see what they you know, theirthoughts.
You know, there's people whoare much more connected and into
it than I am, so I was I wastrying to do my best to just
learn everything that I couldand go for it.

Nathan (08:29):
What were you looking forward to the most?

Wesley (08:32):
I think as as details came out and I learned about the
different spaces and I made alittle grid, like a little
spreadsheet to compare likewhere the spaces were the same
and where they were differentand what their themes were.
The thing that really caught myeye the most was the sanctum.
And that was the thing that Iwas kind of most looking forward

(08:57):
to.
Yeah.
There were other things thatkind of caught my eye and I was
interested in was it gonnachange, was it gonna stay the
same?
But overall, I just like Ithink I was really intrigued by
uh Skipper Society.

Nathan (09:11):
Yes.

Wesley (09:12):
Is that right?
Is that the right name?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nathan (09:14):
On the treasure.
We love we spent a lot of timethere.

Wesley (09:17):
Yeah, yes.
Um, so I was really intriguedby that because it just seemed
like such an upgrade from thewish.
Yeah.
Um, and I can't even rememberwhat it's called on the wish.

Alicea (09:28):
Bayou.

Wesley (09:29):
Yeah, there you go.
Oh, yeah, it is.

Nathan (09:30):
It's pretty forgetable.

Alicea (09:32):
Its pretty,

Nathan (09:34):
but yeah, yeah.
The wish is pretty forgettable,at least for us.
Well, for me at least.

Wesley (09:39):
I think they chose weird names for things on the wish
that I can't for the life of meremember.
Um, but yeah, so the bayou wascool.
Uh yeah, it was fine.
But the Skipper Society kind oflooked much better.
I haven't been on the treasure.
Uh so when the sanctum cameout, I don't know, just the

(09:59):
color palette and like the vibegoing on, like it seemed it
seemed dark and cozy and likejust the spot that I wanted to
be in.

Nathan (10:08):
Yeah.

Wesley (10:08):
I think that's the thing I was looking forward to the
most.
However, as time went on and welearned more about it on the
Disney Parks blog, when theycame up with this term like meet
and play.
Yeah, I was very I was thatkind of piqued my interest too
because I'm not a big likecharacter meet and greet guy.
Like I'm not I'm not waiting tohug a character.

(10:32):
And like I never know what tosay, especially if they're like
the full costume, they're notface characters.
Like, I don't know what to say.
So like I'm just not, I'm justI like I like to have them
around.
I like to see them like from adistance and from afar, but I'm
not I'm not waiting.
I'm just not the wait in line,take a picture with the

(10:52):
character kind of guy.

Nathan (10:53):
You don't you don't routinely have conversations
with mice hanging around yourhouse.
I get it.
It's a little weird, yeah.

Wesley (11:00):
No, or you know, bears with no pants.
I don't get I don't get in linefor that.

Nathan (11:07):
Fair enough, fair enough.

Wesley (11:09):
But so the meet and play was cool because there was like
this interactive potential thatkind of sparked my interest,
and I thought, okay, this couldmake it more interesting uh
because they interact, andthat's the thing that I kind of
cringe about with the for myselfwith character meet and greets,
is like I don't know what todo.

(11:29):
And this gave me hope thatthere was gonna be something to
do with the with thesecharacters.

Nathan (11:35):
They could guide you through that interaction.
That's a great point.
That's a great point.

Wesley (11:39):
Yeah, and and I very much like bouncing off.
I I like like the bouncing offof people.
So when Mickey's standingthere, he's just doing this like
pose with his foot, like toespointing in the air.
I'm like, that's cool.
That's a but I don't want to benext to you.

Nathan (11:55):
Everybody needs a good foot pop.
Come on, yeah, right.

Alicea (12:00):
Let's see, I'm gonna push back to before the cruise.
You got to Fort Lauderdale aday or so early, and from what
we saw, you scored an amazinghotel.
Where did you guys stay?
And would you recommend it forother families?

Wesley (12:13):
This is probably the best hotel stay of my life.
So we were we were in thissituation where we booked
initially we like booked aflight and we booked a hotel,
and we're like we're Hyattpeople, so we stay at a lot of
Hyatt's around everywhere.
It's uh it's very affordable,especially on points, which we
travel on points a lot, so itfits my whole family.

(12:36):
Not every hotel will fit afamily five in one room for such
a great value, right?
And so we typically stay at ahype.
So we had booked a Hyatt, wehad booked a southwest flight to
Fort Lauderdale.
Uh, but then I got a littlesketched out because I didn't
want my flight to be canceledand not have a way to get all
the way across the country.
We live in California, weneeded to get to Florida.

(12:58):
Um, at late notice, likedriving there would be crazy.

Nathan (13:02):
Yeah, yeah.

Wesley (13:02):
And so there just wasn't a lot of other options.
So we did book a backup flight.
Uh and it happened to be a redeye on uh Delta.

Nathan (13:14):
Okay.

Wesley (13:15):
So instead of getting there, instead of getting to
Florida at like 5 p.m.
and just having like an eveningwhere we would get dinner and
go to bed.
Now we were on this red eyeflight, which was really like
Wednesday night to Thursdaymorning or whatever like that.
And so we ended up getting toFlorida.
I I in my mind convinced myselfthat the red eye was the better

(13:37):
choice of the two, even thoughit was the backup.
So when when all was said anddone, I canceled the original
flight and I kept the red eye.
And so we flew out of LAX atlike midnight and we got to
Florida at like 7 a.m.
And now we had a whole day andonly about like four hours of
sleep.
Four hours of airplane sleep,which is much different than

(13:58):
like four hours of bed sleep.

Nathan (14:00):
Yeah.

Wesley (14:01):
But you know, everyone was psyched up about it, about
being there.
So so since I changed myflight, I also changed my hotel
because while the Hyatt Placehas you know a nice space and
bed and has a good value, itdoesn't have a lot of other
things to offer.
Right.
So I changed it and I booked uma hotel called Pier 66.

(14:25):
It's like an independent hotel,there's not like affiliated
with any like hotel program, uh,but it was available through if
you're familiar with like theChase Travel Portal, yeah.
It was part of their edit, it'scalled the Edit, right?
I don't know what that means orwhy or why it's like that.

(14:45):
Marketing, who knows?
Yeah, sure.
And for whatever reason, andthey'll probably fix it in the
future, but it was a killerdeal.
It was so I canceled my hyatt,and I used those kind of same
points or equivalent to bookthis hotel, I think plus like
150 bucks.

Nathan (15:04):
Oh wow.

Wesley (15:05):
So, and what we got was something that I didn't expect.
This hotel was beautiful, itwas right on the marina.
Um, and we walked in andeverybody was so nice
immediately.
And we're like, hey, we're hereto check in.
I know it's only 7 a.m., but wehad to change flights.
I kind of gave them the littlestory, and they're like, Oh,

(15:25):
it's no problem.
We're happy to take care of youuntil your room is ready.
So we went through the check-inprocess, and he's like, First
of all, can I get you somewater?
And I was like, Yeah, sure, I'mkind of thirsty.
And then like a butler comesout with a tray of like water
and like glass bottles, and likemy whole family is like, What
is what is dad doing?
He's so extra.
But but I didn't know any ofthis, I didn't plan it.

(15:47):
Um I booked, you know, I wenthere because I saw somebody else
had stayed in this hotel and itlooked nice.
And then I looked up thewebsite, it had a cool pool.
Yeah, and my kids will swimanywhere at any time.
So I thought even if they'redead tired, they're still gonna
want to get in the pool, andthen I can lounge under an
umbrella until our our room isready.

Nathan (16:08):
Right.

Wesley (16:08):
So we got the we got the fancy glass bottle water, and
then and then we had breakfastin their little cafe, and it was
like all these likein-house-made pastries that were
super flaky, and eggs andbacon, and it was so good.
And then the and then the notthe valet, the what's the guy

(16:30):
with the bags, the guy who doesthe bags.

Nathan (16:32):
Oh, the bell services.
Bell services guy.

Wesley (16:34):
He's like, Hey, I know you guys mentioned you want to
go to the pool.
I could take your bags down.
We have a changing room, youguys can change and go to the
pool.
And I was like, Yeah, I guessnow's the time to do that.

Nathan (16:45):
Yeah.

Wesley (16:46):
So he took us down, and there's this like this really
nice changing room, and he kindof you know waited for us to
change in the in the dress room.
Then he took our bags backupstairs and we went to the
pool.
And when we got to the pool,there was already an attendant
out there at like 8 a.m.
And she's like, Hey, how manypeople are in your party?
We're like, five.
She's like, Okay, let me setyou up with a with some chairs.

(17:07):
And I'm like, you know, I mean,I could set a chair up, it's
not that big of a deal.
But they're like, no, let ushelp you.
And we're like, okay, fine.
So they come out and they put,they're like, Does this chair
look nice?
Does this chair look nice?
It's like these loungers, andI'm like, it all looks nice.
I don't know what you want meto say.
Uh, and they're like, Oh, so wepick, well, okay, I guess we'll

(17:28):
sit here.
And they put these like Terrycloth covers over the loungers,
and then the towel, she likedraped it over the headrest
part, but then she rolled thetowel under so it was like a
little neck rest.

Nathan (17:40):
Oh, nice!

Wesley (17:41):
And I was like, Okay, and uh and then she's like, uh,
let me get you some water again.
And I was like, Okay, yes,water.
So then they bring out acooler, and it's like this like
already like really cold, nice,refreshing water.
Yeah, it was a lot, and that'sjust like the first like little
bit.
And then the kids got in thepool and they were swimming and

(18:03):
obviously had a good time andthey were going on the water
slide.
I'm like, this is great.
Like, we ate and now they're inthe pool, everything's gonna be
fine.
And then, like, another likepool boy butler guy like comes
walking around with another trayand he has these like bamboo
shoots, like hollowed-out bambooshoots, and he's like, Would
you would you guys like somefrozen grapes?
We're like, Like, if he startedfeeding them to us, it was

(18:28):
gonna be over.
But he did, he just he justgave it to us.
So now we're like in the pool,we're like the only ones at the
pool.
There's like four people at theat the gate, like watching to
make sure, like, if we needanything, then this guy comes
out with frozen grapes.
And for a moment, even thoughwe were dead tired, like the
whole family came together andit was beautiful.
Everyone was happy and theywere smiling, and they were

(18:50):
like, frozen grapes are thebest.
And I'm like, Yeah, frozengrapes are the best.
And and there was really amoment of like this like
tranquility that I've that'shard to come by in a family of
five with three kids, and it wasgreat, it was fantastic.
Uh, and then I got a text, theroom was ready.
I went up, they're like, Yeah,we really like you know, we sent

(19:13):
them right to your room to getit ready.
And and and because you bookedthrough the edit, we like were
able to give you an upgrade.
So now you have this you bookeda two queen room, and we were
just gonna put the little one onthe floor because he's little
and resilient.
Uh but but we were able toupgrade you to a two-queen
suite, so now you have morespace.

(19:34):
And I was like, Okay, yeah,that's good.
So, so they escort us up to theroom, and they give us, and and
it's not just like here's yourroom, da-da-da.
They like brought us in andlike they give us a tour.
This is how you this is andthen this is how I knew like it
was like really crazy.
They're like, This is thebutton that you push if you want
the drapes open, and it's likethey're like automatic drapes,

(19:55):
and he did it, he opened thedrapes, and as the drapes open
and your eyes adjust to like thebright sunlight outside.
We were on like the ninth flooror something like that.
The drapes are opening, and wecould I can and I start to
adjust, and I could see like themarina out in front, and then
it all comes into focus, and theDisney Destiny is sitting right

(20:17):
there in the harbor.
I was like, You've got to befreaking kidding me.
Like, did you know like this iswhat our this is like the
dream, like the like the fantasyhotel that you stay at?
Um that's awesome, and it wasgorgeous.
There was like wood accents,and like and everything, and
like the fridge was stocked, andnot with stuff that you like

(20:39):
can't touch or you'll becharged.

Nathan (20:40):
Like, it was just there for for you to take, and uh and
you're almost you're almostmaking me want to take a red
eye, but not almost almost.

Wesley (20:51):
I'm saying, I'm saying it's like it's like honestly one
of the first times I got to ahotel where I was like, I and
again, the Disney Destiny is inthe distance, I can see it, I
know I'm going to get on in justa few short hours.
I kind of didn't want to leave.
I kind of didn't want to gobecause the bed was comfortable.

(21:12):
The and again, maybe it'sbecause I'm tired and so like
I'm like glossed over, right?

Nathan (21:16):
Right.

Wesley (21:17):
But but then in the bathroom, there's two bathrooms,
two showers, and each of themhad heated toilet seats, like a
bidet situation with like warmwater, and not just like a not
just like a squirt, like a likethere was like the massage mode
and like the swirling mode andthings that I didn't know

(21:40):
existed or knew that I needed.

Nathan (21:42):
Very fancy, but now you know very fancy.

Wesley (21:44):
It had a remote.
You could like it was awireless remote.
You could pick up the remoteand just like press all the
different buttons, and weirdthings were happening.
And like weird sensations thatI've never had before.
And and it was great.
And I went into the otherbathroom with my kids, found the
the toilet in there too.
But there's water everywhere onthe floor because they started

(22:06):
pushing buttons, but theyweren't sitting on the toilet.
Now there's like there's likestreams of water through the air
onto the floor that we had toclean up.
That's the hotel.
It's called Pier 66.
I couldn't recommend it enough.
Everybody was so nice, and itwas so cozy and comfortable.
We had a huge balcony,automatic drapes, heated toilet

(22:28):
seats, frozen grapes, the bestcrystal frozen, clear, cold
water ever.
And I just could have laidthere and died.
It was fine.

Nathan (22:37):
Who could ask for anything more?

Wesley (22:39):
Yeah, it's great.

Nathan (22:40):
Wow.

Alicea (22:41):
Well, we may need to do that pre our Destiny next June.

Nathan (22:45):
Yes, noted.
Absolutely noted.

Wesley (22:48):
If if I'm not a proponent of credit card debt
necessarily, but if you have acredit card and it's with Chase
and you have points and you canaccess this thing, yeah, because
we also got with that, we alsogot like a hundred dollar um
resort credit.
So like the food, like the goodfood that we ate was we didn't
pay for.
I mean, we pay for it in otherways, but like we got prepaid.

(23:11):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
But it was awesome.
I highly highly recommend it.
Cool.
Yeah.

Nathan (23:16):
All right.
So the big day dawns the nextday.
You've you're embarking the theglorious Disney Destiny for her
maiden voyage.
She's right outside your yourwindow there on the on the
veranda.
Um, what was that whole morninglike?
I'm imagining there was somespecial things going on in the
in the cruise terminal since itwas her maiden.

Wesley (23:38):
Well, I you wouldn't know it because we only spent
maybe five minutes in the cruiseterminal.
Oh wow.
Our port arrival time, I think,was 12:45.
Okay.
Okay.
Right?
I'm just gold.
There's a lot of like pearl andplatinum people on this cruise.
So they're greedy and took allthe early times.

(24:01):
So I mean, I was in a panic.
There was okay, so there's abridge that you have to cross to
get like from our hotel to theterminal.
And from time to time, thebridge, it's one of those
bridges that like come up, likego up, yeah, like a drawbridge,
kind of so that ships and otheryou know, boats can go around.

(24:23):
So from time to time thetraffic would really back up
getting to like where theterminal is.

Nathan (24:29):
Yeah.

Wesley (24:30):
And then we're on the cruise WhatsApp and Facebook
page, and some people are like,hey, it could take, you know, we
were in traffic for a littlewhile to get there.
So I was like, I don't want tobe late, like, time is money in
this situation.
We're trying to get onto theship as soon as possible, right?
So I'm learning to leave likesuper early, and my wife is more
rational, and she's like, Youjust need to chill because I

(24:52):
don't want to get there and thenhave to wait.
I was like, okay.
So she won, as she does.
We we get everything packed up.
A very nice gentleman came upand got our own luggage for us.
Although he didn't have grapes,which was a little
disappointing.
Because now there's a precedentset and now I have needs, but

(25:13):
whatever.

Nathan (25:14):
Maybe we're not gonna go to Pier 66 at least.
I don't know.
They didn't have grapes thenext morning.

Wesley (25:19):
Only one serving of grapes is kind of harsh.
I don't know how people do it.
Uh so we we get in the car.
It turns out it took like threeminutes to get from the hotel
to the port, to the terminal,and and we get out and we walk
in.
This is my first time at FortLauderdale at Port Everglades.

(25:39):
Right.
So I wasn't quite sure.
So but it's a very nice if youI don't know if you've been
there, but it's very nice.
It's very nice.
Yeah, it is.
Everything everything'scovered, like the little drive
where they drop you off.
Yep.
It was already our you know, wewere there within like I think
we were there like 15 minutesbefore our port arrival time.

(26:00):
They let us write in.
Um and it went by so fast, Ican't remember like as
essentially like what it lookedlike.
But like we did the secu theylike checked our boarding pass,
I think.
We went through security.
Oh, yeah, we or we checked inwith the lady and she was new.
She had her little like I'mearning my ears, but she was
speedy.
Everything was fast.

(26:21):
We checked in, we hadeverything that we needed.
We went through security.
I had time to use the restroomand wash up because even though
we were only outside for a fewminutes, I still get hot and
sweaty immediately.
So I washed up, and then when Icame back out, they called our
boarding group, which was 17,and we walked on and we got in
line.
And then at like the cutoffpoint, the guy was like, Do you

(26:45):
want a picture or do you notwant a picture?
And we don't want a picture.
So he let us so we skipped thepicture line, which was very
long.
Yeah, and we just walked on.
We just walked, we just walkedon like we were supposed to be
there.

Nathan (26:59):
I guess we were supposed to be there, but you were,
yeah, you would pay to be there,yeah.

Wesley (27:03):
But it was quick and easy and painless, and out of
all the ports we've done, likeSan Diego, Galveston, Port
Canaveral, we've even been to aterminal in uh Barcelona, it was
the easiest, it was thesmoothest, it was the nicest, I
think.

Nathan (27:21):
I I would agree with you there.
I I think the Fort Lauderdaleterminal, I actually think is a
lot easier and more convenientfor everything, even if you're
parking there than it is even inPort Canaveral.
Like it's yeah, it's a reallygreat spot.

Wesley (27:36):
Yeah, yeah.
The thing about Port Canaveralthat always gets me is like as
soon as you go in the doors,there's like that the check-in
with the Disney cast member, andI there's not enough space like
from the door to the check-incounter.
Yeah.
And here I just felt like itwas very spacious.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I liked it a lot.
I liked it a lot.

Alicea (27:56):
Well, we do want to pick your brain about what's new on
the Destiny compared to the Wishand the Treasure.
So, first up, let's talk aboutthe Grand Hall.
Uh, what were your firstimpressions of the Atrium area
when you got on board?

Wesley (28:11):
Okay, so from the concept art, I thought, okay, it
looks a little bit better thanthe wish, but from what I've
seen of the treasure, thetreasure looks stunningly
amazing.
Yeah.
Um and so from the concept art,I was like, okay, this is it
looks like it's a step up fromthe from the wish.
I don't know if it's gonnamatch what I've seen in pictures

(28:35):
and videos of people sailing onthe treasure.
But when you walk in, first ofall, it's still like you still
get like those little likebutterflies, like kind of
nervous excitement because I'mstill kind of a sucker for like
the announcing your name, andyou and you come on, and there's

(28:56):
just like this like vibe andthis energy and the smell hits
you.
And so when we got on the onthe destiny, it totally exceeded
my expectations.
The things that I thought thatwere gonna be that looked a
little flat in pictures, evenfrom the from the media salines
and the and the like socialmedia previews and stuff, yeah.

(29:19):
Some parts of it in thepictures and videos looked just
looked flat to me.

Nathan (29:25):
Yeah.

Wesley (29:26):
Um and that's not that couldn't be further from the
truth of it, the reality of it.
Because once we were on, thenall these little all these
little details and and reallytextures popped out and were
evident that could that youcouldn't see in pictures or in
videos, and especially not fromthe concept art.

Nathan (29:48):
Yeah.

Wesley (29:48):
So everything from obviously the carpet is
beautiful, like the like therailings between the different
decks are You know, there'sdepth and dimension to them.
And the lighting package likein the in the grand hall really
makes everything pop and it likegives you like this sense of

(30:11):
depth and and you know likethere is more there going on
than than what meets the eye inpictures and videos.

Nathan (30:21):
Yeah, yeah.
So sounds like a a really,really good first impression.
It looks like nothing else thatwe've seen from Disney Cruise
line.

Wesley (30:30):
No, no, no, no.
Like I was blown away.
I was I was immediately likeright in there.
And and obviously Black Pantheris there and he has this like
imposing pose.
And and he just like blends inso well.
I was like, you know, I am kindof like a classic, like Disney
kind of guy.

(30:50):
Like I really like, you know,like um like Donald on the
dream.
Like that's probably that'sprobably my favorite.
I like those kind of likecaricatures of things of of like
of Disney characters that arekind of like playing a different
cat character on on the ship.
Like I really like Donald.

(31:11):
I I really like Minnie as faras like Atrium statues go.
So I was a little, a littlelike I think it's great that he
was there.
Like the idea of it was good,but in practice, I thought, ooh,
I don't know if this is gonnamatch, like, and not that
they're making things to matchmy expectations, but uh, you

(31:32):
know, it's not made specificallyfor me, but I was just like,
how is this gonna play?
How is this gonna translate?
And and it worked, it worked sowell, like it wasn't it was
like a non-issue, it was like anissue I fabricated in my mind
that was not was not there inreality.

Nathan (31:50):
Yeah.
All right, so my next questionis gonna sound weird to anyone
who doesn't really know DisneyCruise Line, but you know,
you've mentioned that the uh alittle bit uh from just the
atrium there, but what did youthink about the carpets
throughout the ship and you knowthe elevator lobbies and the
hallways where the rooms are,and and of course the artwork
that's in all the stairways.

(32:10):
Like, what were your thoughts?
Like you're you've got a reallygreat eye for visuals and
design.
I'm interested in your take.

Wesley (32:18):
I don't know if it was just because I was so jacked up
to be there and on the mainvoyage, like I had really built
this up in my mind that it wasgonna be something, but I
thought the carpet wasphenomenal.
And in fact, like I have awhole I haven't done it yet, but
like I have a whole post comingabout all the I just took
pictures of the carpetthroughout the ship and and the

(32:39):
different floors because I justkept saying like this is it's
not just carpet, yeah, it's notnot to get all the story, yeah,
and not to like get allemotional about it, but like,
yeah, it's not just carpet.
There isn't anything on theship that is just a wall or just
a painting or just uh you knowwhatever it is, yeah, a prop.

(33:03):
You know, it's apparent to somethat it is purposeful and
probably not apparent to others,but still uh recognizable.

Nathan (33:16):
Right.

Wesley (33:16):
Just because you can't see that something is there
doesn't mean that it doesn'thave a force on you, right?
Um because maybe you don't knowthe the you know the building
trick or the imagineering trickthat they're doing, right?
But that doesn't mean that youdon't feel the effect of it,
right?
Right, right, right.
So so everywhere you go, andthe carpet is absolutely no
exception, it's incredible.

(33:39):
Like the carpet in the in thegrand hall is great, uh, and the
stairs and all the differentrestaurants and the different
bar areas, um everywhere isgreat.
I will say it's the carpet isnew, and so it's going through
that thing where like it sheds alittle bit.

Alicea (34:00):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wesley (34:01):
So after I because the the previous sailings like they
weren't full, right?
They were like half like ish.

Nathan (34:08):
Yeah.

Wesley (34:09):
And now there's a ship full of people and children, and
people are running around andthey're doing weird things like
laying on the carpet and stufflike that.
And so, and so it kind of likefuzzed up a little bit.

Nathan (34:22):
Yeah.

Wesley (34:22):
But I think that's part of the normal like break-in
process for this carpet.
Like they'll vacuum and it'llcome up and it'll it'll it'll be
even better than it is than itis now.
Yeah, yeah.

Alicea (34:36):
I have so many pictures of the carpet on the treasure.
I went through every floor.
It's like I have to see all ofit.

Wesley (34:43):
Yeah.
And then like as time went on,like, uh and there were so many,
I was so overstimulated, like Icouldn't remember what I had.
Did I have have I seen thisbefore?
Have I taken a picture of thisbefore?
So I probably have 17 picturesof the same, like maleficent or
whatever.
Um, one of the first pictureswe took was there's like a
little emblem that representsHercules.

Nathan (35:06):
Yeah.

Wesley (35:06):
And so like we like to do the thing, like we stand
around it where you can see ourfeet.
We take a picture.
That was one of the first, thatwas one of the first things we
did like as a family.
It kind of like signified like,okay, we're here.
I don't know.
We were just super excited.
And and to your point askingabout the carpet, like it's one
of the first things that stuckout to us as being as being a uh

(35:29):
you know, a touch point that isthroughout the ship that we
kept coming back to, and yeah,was that really impressed us.

Nathan (35:35):
I love how you you phrased all that because it's
like you know, every singlething on the ship, whether it's
a wall color or a wallpaper orthe carpet or uh a lighting
fixture in the hallway, or justlike everything is storytelling.
Like there's no yeah, there'sno thing that's not put and
designed and placed and coloredand styled that is not

(35:59):
thoughtfully done and to furtherthe the point of of doing
storytelling.
And some people get that andlike see all those details, and
some people just like get thisvibe and could not like call out
any one specific thing or anyfive or ten specific things, but

(36:19):
they just enjoy the vibe.
And and I love how Disney canspeak and the imagineers can
speak to all of those people atthe same time in that same way.
It's they just do such afantastic job.

Wesley (36:31):
Yeah.
And and I think by contrast, ifyou've been on another cruise
line, uh-huh, you can see youcan feel the difference.
Yeah, like and some people aresensitive to it and some people
aren't, and that's yeah, youknow, you don't you don't have
to this isn't like one's rightor one's wrong, but but since

(36:52):
you can feel the effects whetheryou notice it or not, and then
other people look for it andappreciate it and can see it,
then when it's then when it'snot there, it feels off.

Nathan (37:05):
Yeah.

Wesley (37:05):
And then I'm and then I find myself when I'm on in in a
different space, thinking,what's the point of this?
What why is there uh why isthis car here?
Yeah, yeah, you know, why isthis gorilla wearing sunglasses?
Like I don't understand.

Nathan (37:23):
Yeah.

Wesley (37:24):
Not that it has to mean anything, but I look for that.
And it means more to me whenthere is a purpose or some kind
of connective tissue to theoverall theme or vibe that
they're going for.

Alicea (37:39):
It creates an experience for the guests rather than just
something to look at.

Nathan (37:44):
Yes, and a lot of those other ships from other cruise
lines don't pull me in as much,to your point, because like I
don't feel compelled to go tothe mall and spend a week at the
mall.
Great that the mall's gonnatake me to some different you
know, different ports and thingslike that, but I it's still
just a mall.

(38:05):
No, thank you.

Wesley (38:06):
You know, now that you're bringing it up, I can
kind of connect this.
Like, I was talking to I'vetalked to Sam and Brian about
this before about like theplants.
Like, if you go to Central Parkon a Royal Caribbean ship, I
find that that space, more thanany other space on that ship, um
you know, vibes with me.
Like I am into it.

(38:28):
And I and as I was describingthis to them on a different
show, I thought in my mind, Iwas thinking, this is really
weird because I'm not like I'mnot like a plant guy.
Like I'm not seeking outplants.
Like I'm not like, oh, I haveto go to nature.
You know what I mean?
Like I'm not I enjoy when we goout and go on hikes and stuff,

(38:50):
and I can connect, but I foundthat on that ship, that was the
one thing where I did have likethis kind of natural connection.
I understood the the vibe of ofthe plants or whatever, because
the rest of it was just some ofit was individually cool, but
there was no through line, therewas no thread that kind of tied

(39:12):
it all together.
And but in Central Park, Iliked it a lot because I got I
got it.
Right, right.

Nathan (39:20):
At Central Park.
You're in one whole space thathas a continuous story or or
point of view and a perspectiveit's trying to get across.
It's cohesive versus definitelynot cohesive.

Wesley (39:33):
Versus, you know, bulk cigarettes.

Nathan (39:35):
Yeah, yeah.
Uh-huh.
Pretty much.

Wesley (39:38):
I don't know the I don't know the story behind bulk
cigarettes, like in the problem.
But whatever.

Nathan (39:43):
Or or which one of these like ten dozen watches do you
want?
Like guy, I none.
None.
I'm fine.
None of them.
Yeah, no, I have a watch.
Thank you.
Yeah.

Alicea (39:53):
Okay.
Next thing.
Yes.
How about your stateroom?
What kind of room did you have?
And uh what was the theme init?

Wesley (40:02):
Yeah, so we had a I can never do this right on the first
try, but we had a deluxe familyocean view stateroom with
veranda.
Yes.

Nathan (40:12):
Nice, you got it.

Wesley (40:14):
Thank you.
And it was themed to Brave.

Alicea (40:18):
Oh, cool.

Wesley (40:19):
Yeah.
Uh it was great.
I mean, it's just like youwould expect.

Nathan (40:24):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.

Wesley (40:26):
There's uh, you know, the split bathroom, there's two
closets near the door, there'sthe main bed area with the TV,
and then there's like the kindof sitting room area where the
couch folds out, the upper berthcomes down, and then the Murphy
bed comes out of the wall rightin front of the veranda.
Yeah.
We were on the bump out, asthey say.

(40:47):
Okay.
So the veranda was maybe alittle bit bigger.
One thing I don't remember ifthey did this on the wish, but
one thing that I liked was thephone was on the wall next to
the vanity.
Yeah.
Is that a wish thing too?
Uh I don't remember.

Nathan (41:04):
I remember maybe.
It's like that on the treasure.
Yeah.
It's definitely like that onthe on at least the treasure.
The newer ships are like that.
We were just, you know, justgetting off the magic, and the
phone was still in thatminuscule little side table
attached to the wall next to thebed.
I'm like, I have things I wantto put there.
Right.
But they just phone.
Put it on the floor.
Yeah.

(41:25):
Yeah.

Wesley (41:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's no bueno on the on thedesk next to you, next to the
bed.
It's much better on the on thewall there next to the vanity.
Um, again, plenty of room underthe bed.
So there's two kinds of people,right?
I don't know who you are, butdo you unpack or do you not
unpack?

Nathan (41:46):
Oh, we unpack.

Alicea (41:46):
We unpack, yeah.

Wesley (41:47):
Oh, all right.

Nathan (41:48):
Well there's judgment.
Sorry.

Wesley (41:53):
Yeah.
That's fine.
That's fine.
You do know that if you takeall your stuff out, you gotta
put it back.

Nathan (41:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wesley (42:00):
In the suitcase.
Okay.
Yeah.
All right.
So you can eliminate a wholestep.
Ah, okay, okay.
Well, I'm not an unpacker.
I just I I put it in a thingonce.
I don't want to put it inanother thing and then put it
back in the thing that I broughtit in.
So I just leave all my so it'sjust like open like a book.

(42:21):
I put it under the bed, andthat's where it stays.
There you go.
I need whatever I need, I justI pull it out, I put it back.

Nathan (42:28):
Well, that was gonna be my question.
Like, did you you had a familyof five and you had five beds,
you had five pillows.
Did you feel like there wasenough room for the whole
contingent in that room?
Plus storage.

Wesley (42:41):
Uh there is.
So while I'm not an unpacker,other people in my family are.
Bless their hearts, they'll getover it maybe one day.
But uh next to the Murphy bed,there's there's uh also some
storage.
Right.
So I think on other ships, likethe Murphy bed is just a Murphy
bed.

Nathan (42:59):
Yeah.

Wesley (42:59):
But here there's a you know, a slender, like full
height um you know, closet thatyou can open it.
It has shelves, no hanging butshelves.
So each kid got a shelf forlike their nighttime stuff, like
their PJs and whatever.
Yeah, so they just put theirPJs back.
We try really hard to like packreally light.

(43:21):
So each everybody gets onecarry-on suitcase.
And if it doesn't fit in thecarry-on suitcase, you don't
need it, and we're not bringingit.
So we don't pack multiple PJs,we're like a one PJ kind of
family.
So all their PJs go there, andso that that's how that went.

(43:41):
Uh, we do have like somebutton-up shirts, like dinner
shirts that get hung up in thecloset.
But for the most part, likesocks, undies, stuff, those stay
in the suitcase and just getput under the bed.
There was plenty of space forall five bags to go under there.

Nathan (43:59):
Yeah.

Wesley (44:01):
There was plenty of space because I bring a
backpack, and then I also in mysuitcase, I have another
backpack that I use when we'reout, like on the islands or
wherever we're going.
Uh there was room for all ofthat stuff in the closet, so I
could hang both my my bigbackpack and my my day pack in

(44:23):
the closet.
And and then I also bring a lotof hats.
I, you know, I have like sevenhats.
There's plenty of space like onthat corner kind of triangle um
shelving thing there by the bythe closets by the bathrooms.
Um, that's where those go.
Cool.
And then we have plenty ofroom.

(44:44):
Plenty of room.
My kids are getting bigger.
My 14-year-old's like six foot.
He sleeps on the Murphy bed,but probably not for long.
The other two fit fine on theon the couch bed in the upper
berth, but yeah.
I think there's there's plentyof space.
I mean, it's not like it's notlike Pier 66.

Nathan (45:04):
They didn't bring you frozen grapes on check.
Yeah, I don't Disney.
Disney, we need some frozengrapes here.

Wesley (45:11):
There's always got to be some room for improvement.
Yeah, right.
Yeah, yeah.
And this is and the grapes isone of them, I think.

Nathan (45:19):
They didn't even have frozen grapes that I saw on
concierge, so you know.

Wesley (45:22):
Well, they didn't have some other stuff too that we
talk about later.

Nathan (45:26):
All right, we'll we'll get there.
Um, all right, so there's abunch of new spaces or at least
newly themed spaces on thedestiny that are different from
you know the treasure and thewish.
So we wanted to focus on those.
You you brought it up early.
Like, what was your yourthoughts, or what are your
thoughts about the sanctum?
Like, did it live up to thoseexpectations you had?

Wesley (45:49):
Yeah, for me, that was kind of the spot that I was I'm
not always right in these likeexpectations and the things that
I think I would like the most.
Sometimes I get there like meh,that's not that great.
The thing I kept being pulledback like into the into the
sanctum and into that space.
I think one of the reasons whyis because it's an open space.

(46:10):
Yeah, yeah, there's no door inand out.
You can clearly see if there'sroom for you.
There's plenty of space, it'sone of the bigger venues.
I mean, aside from like saga,but I'm not just hanging out,
yeah.
There's no like food service oranything, so I'm not just
hanging out there.

Alicea (46:29):
And the sanctum is themed after Doctor Strange from
the Marvel Universe.

Wesley (46:34):
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, so I had like that big uhwindow with the seal on it.
Yeah.
Um just like really goodcomplimentary colors, like in
the booths, there werecomfortable and like the chairs
were deep and cozy.
Uh even at night when the bandcame out, there was still it was

(46:55):
just like a kind of a place toto go and to be.
Some of the other spaces, likewe had never been to the Haunted
Mansion bar.
So we made a point to go there.
And I loved it, it was nice,it's very well famed.
Obviously, people have talkedabout this like forever and
ever, so we don't need to getinto it.
Uh, but we didn't want to likejust go there and hang out.

(47:18):
Like, we went there, weexperienced it, and then we
left, and we're fine with them.
Uh, we never made it intoDeVille's because it's small.
Yeah.
And I think because it was theMaiden Voyage, there's a lot of
hype around some of these newplaces that nobody has
experienced.
And then the piano player, Ithink his name is Matt Grinky.

(47:42):
Like, he's very popular with alot of people who frequent the
cruise line and who know who heis.

Nathan (47:47):
Yep.

Wesley (47:48):
And he's in there a lot playing the piano because it's a
piano bar.
Um, but the piano takes up likehalf the space.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so it's very crowded.
So I kind of popped in whenthere was nothing going on and
the door was closed and theywere trying to kick everybody
out.

Nathan (48:06):
Yeah.

Wesley (48:06):
So I went in there for a few minutes, but it wasn't a
place that we could even getinto to like to do anything.

Nathan (48:13):
Yeah.
I I bet you that changes overtime as the the newness of the
ship wears off in terms of thethe I don't want to say that
everybody's an influencer, butlike there's there's a lot of
influencers on these on these,you know, you know, you, us,

(48:33):
like we're part of the problem.
I'm not trying to like pointfingers, but

Alicea (48:38):
well, it's bright, new, and shiny, and people want to
see everything that they can andconsume everything that they
can in the short amount of timethat they have.

Wesley (48:46):
Right, right.
Get it out there.
And plus, it's a popular likeproperty, you know what I mean?
Like people are really intoDalmatian stuff.
And and Cruella, she's like agood villain, you know, she's
like very charismatic and shehas a lot to offer, and like her
showing up there, uh, you know,has a lot of a has a lot of

(49:08):
appeal.
So I get it.
I get it.
It just wasn't something thatwe had had time to like wait
wait in line for or plan ahead,plan ahead for because there's
so many other things.
Yes, there's so many otherthings.
It's just a four-night sailing.
You can't do everything, right?
And you have to kind of pickand choose, and so we didn't

(49:28):
seek that out so much.

Nathan (49:29):
Yeah, did you hit cask and cannon?

Wesley (49:32):
Yeah, we went in there, we had a drink, we got some
churros.
It was like before dinner, souh it was like families are
still allowed.

Alicea (49:43):
They had churros,

Wesley (49:45):
yeah.
They have like they just havemini churros, nice little mini
churros with some like marble.

Nathan (49:50):
My ears just perked up,

Wesley (49:52):
so and they were good, it was just a little pre-dinner
thing.
Yeah, um here's the otherthing.
Like, if you're going intothese spaces, sometimes you've
or you've likely seen picturesor videos from like a preview
sailing where they have all thedrinks set up.
Yeah, yeah.
And it's nice and pretty, andlike maybe the and the lighting

(50:15):
is perfect.
Is perfect.
And what I mean by that is it'sit's perfect on the ship when
I'm there in person, but it'snot perfect for pictures and
video production.
So you're not gonna so allthese like details like on the
walls and and places like it'shard to see.
Yeah.

(50:35):
Because it's you know, and it'syeah, because it's full of
people, and it's and now thelighting is like the set
lighting where where it's youknow it's dark and it's it's a
mood, you know.
Right.
It's not set up for picturesand videos, so it's a little bit
more difficult to get an eye onsome of those things, but you
know they're there.

Alicea (50:54):
Yep.
Yeah, and Cask and Canon isthemed after Pirates of the
Caribbean, um, from what Iremember.

Nathan (51:01):
Yeah.

Alicea (51:01):
Uh did you get to go to Saga at all?
And this one is themed afterwhat did I hear?
The throne room for Wakanda forBlack Panther.

Wesley (51:10):
Yeah.
Yeah, it's a it's a light themefor that, I think.
But you know, all the samecolors and textures are there,
right?
Which was great.
It's that was our like uh ourmuster drill station was in
saga.

Alicea (51:22):
Oh nice.
Inside mustard mustardstations, yeah.
Muster drill stations.
Oh my gosh.

Wesley (51:28):
Inside muster drill stations are the best.
I know what you mean.
And yeah, so we got a nicebooth for that.
We did go back for severalthings, several events, yeah.
Like uh, like karaoke.
We did some, we saw some gameshows there.
Uh, but the thing that we weremost excited to see was the

(51:49):
Marvel show.
Yes.
Yes.
Did you get to see that?
Is called what?
What is it called?

Alicea (51:55):
I know what it is on the treasure.

Wesley (51:57):
Yeah.

Alicea (51:57):
Choose wisely.

Wesley (51:59):
Yeah, it's not that.
But we did uh yes, we did go.
We made a point to to be therefor that, and it was incredible.
The for our first experiencewith uh Zayah and Gamble, which
are the traveling storytellerson this ship, yeah, was in the
grand hall.

(52:19):
They did low, they did a thestory of Loki basically.
Right.
They went they ran through anddid the whole like Thor family
thing.
Yeah.
And they call it like a mostlytrue tale.
And so they go through and it'sfunny and it's you know
kitschy, and then and thenthey're like, all right, that's
that's how it went.

(52:40):
And then Loki comes out to kindof set the record straight.
And it's crazy because likethere's the lot the grand hall
is full of people, all the thedecks above looking over is full
of people, and then and thenLoki comes in with like a cool
sound effect, and like theeverything, all the lighting

(53:01):
turns green, and he comes downand he does his little spiel.
I won't kind of spoil that foryou, but that was that was
great.
So that was our first meetingwith Zayah and Gamble, and then
they host the show in saga thathas to do with all the whole
Marvel like MCU.
Right.
And and okay.

(53:24):
They it's an 18 and over show.
Right.
But I don't think it needs tobe.

Alicea (53:33):
Okay.

Wesley (53:34):
I I I haven't seen the one on the treasure, and it
might have been a littleinappropriate at times, yeah.
But it's nothing that wouldn'tgo right over the head of my
children.
Right.
Yeah you know, like it's it'slike a PG, maybe a PG 13 thing.
Yeah.
And there's always like littleadult jokes in all these like

(53:56):
movies and stuff.
And I don't know, like my kidswould have really, really
enjoyed it.

Nathan (54:03):
Yeah.

Wesley (54:04):
Because it's funny and fast paced, and they use like
these like funny props, and it'shonestly hysterically funny and
impressive in the pace thatthey go and and the improv that
is there because they don't getall the because they're new and
like they don't get all theirlines right the first time.
And it's just funny.

(54:25):
And I wish I wish my wholefamily would have been able to
go.

Nathan (54:30):
Yeah.

Alicea (54:31):
The Indiana Jones one is similar on the treasure, um,
just with the humor and the fastpace and everything.
And I think one of the reasonsthat Disney does 18 and up is so
you don't get the younger kidsin there.
Um but I do agree, like maybemaybe 13 and up, probably.

(54:51):
Um, but I don't know that I'veever seen them do anything for
that age range, like type.
Yeah, like they haven't Ihaven't ever seen any
restrictions for 13 and up foranything that Disney has done.
So I think they have to theyhave to cut it off somewhere,
and it's probably just easierfor them to do that for adults.
But I agree that that could befor sure.

(55:13):
Um, or it's it's good for kidstoo, not for younger, younger
ones, but for like teenagersplus.

Wesley (55:20):
I just feel like they market these whole cruises for
families, yeah.
And then on this ship inparticular, we didn't really
experience this on the wish, andwe definitely didn't experience
it on dreamer magic classships, but there is seems to be
a growing divide between thekids do this and the adults do

(55:42):
this, yeah.
And I'm not a hundred percenton board with this division that
seems to be happening.
Now, you could go on the DisneyDestiny and have the crews that
you would have on a dream classor a magic class ship because
all those things are still thereand available and wonderful.

(56:03):
But if you're gonna go on thedestiny, you're gonna pay a
premium for it because it's newand because it has these extra
offerings, and a lot of theextra offerings are segregated
between adults and children,yeah.
And it's a little bit it's alittle bit of a down tick in it.

(56:24):
By the way, it's called WithGreat Power, a Marvel comedy
show.
Got it, yeah, and the firstGoogle search that comes up, I
won't say the source, but theirkind of tagline is Disney's
raunchiest show ever, and that'sclickbait.
Yeah.
Because it's not, it's it'snot, it's not, I mean, it's just

(56:44):
not, yeah, it's not raunchy.

Nathan (56:46):
Clearly, somebody's never been to storytime with
Deadpool at DCA.

Wesley (56:51):
Yeah, right, right.
Right.
Now, I don't know.
I mean, Deadpool does make anappearance in this show, yeah.
And if they really want it tobe edgy and raunchy, they
wouldn't bleep the buttonsbleep.
So it's 18 plus, but like we'restill not allowed to hear cuss
words.
So that's what I mean.

(57:13):
Like, yes, to your point, Ithink they're trying to like
make it easy.
Okay, the adults do this show,the kids saw the Loki thing in
the grandmother.
Like, it'll be fine.
But I think people should beable to make their own choices.
Yeah, and I think if I want mykids to watch this comedy show
with Deadpool at the end, thenthey should be able to.

(57:36):
Yeah.
I should be, I should be ableto make that choice, not have
that choice made for me.
Yeah.

Alicea (57:41):
Well, Disney has to tailor for a very wide audience,
and yeah, there's gonna be hitsand misses.

Nathan (57:48):
I also think you know they're doing this in the
smaller venue, and the demandwould be absolutely insane.
Right.
And right, and you'd have somany, like if you if you opened
it up to a broader age range,yeah, you would have trouble
with the opposite side of peoplegetting really upset that they
didn't get a chance to partakewith with this event or and

(58:12):
similar events.
And I think that's why that'swhy you'll have Gamble and Zaya
do stuff in like the main audituh main atrium in the grand
hall, because that stuff ismeant for everybody and you can
get a bigger audience and allthe rest of that stuff.
So they're just trying to,yeah, not everywhere, and not
everybody can be everywhere allat once.
So yeah, that's for sure.

Wesley (58:34):
Because that was kind of a theme on the ship was they're
really inviting because of thehigh quality and caliber of a
lot of these things, yeah,they're really inviting this
like theme park-based rope dropculture thing onto the ship.

(58:55):
And I don't like it at all.
Yeah, I don't either.
I don't like I don't want toagain.
This was the maiden voyage.
Maybe, like you said, it'llcalm down, it'll chill out as
people experience it more, orpeople.
The other thing, like with theZion Gamble stuff, it's not

(59:16):
clear, it's not in writing whatevents they host.
Yeah, yeah.
I think that's on purpose.
I did miss some of the thingsthat they did because I just
didn't know it was gonna bethem.
Yeah.
If I think that's on purpose.
If I knew it was them, I woulda hundred percent be there.

Alicea (59:33):
Yeah.
Yeah, because they do they dothat on the treasure as well
with Sage and Coriander.

Wesley (59:37):
Yeah, yeah.

Alicea (59:38):
They don't mention who's there, yeah.

Wesley (59:40):
So luckily, you know, I knew people who, you know, like
this Marvel thing.
I I wouldn't have known it wasa Zayah and Gamble thing unless
necessarily unless um somebodytold me, Hey, don't miss this.
Yeah, yeah.
And and that person was Brian,he should get his yes, he should
get.
His his due credit.

(01:00:02):
Don't miss this, he said.
And he was he was a hundredpercent right.

Nathan (01:00:07):
And this is Brian and Sam from DCL duo for those who

Alicea (01:00:14):
And I do think it's a it's it's because it's the
newest ship because when we wenton the treasure, it was in
February, and that had been acouple of months after the
maiden voyage and everything,and things had cleared down
quite a bit.
Yeah.
Like I know like HauntedMansion Bar when it first opened
up, you you couldn't get in thefirst couple of months.

Nathan (01:00:33):
Right.

Alicea (01:00:34):
They had like a waiting list, and there was none of that
when we were on there.

Nathan (01:00:38):
Hyperspace on the Wish was the same.

Alicea (01:00:40):
Yes, Hyperspace on the Wish was the same.
So I'm guessing it will diedown as people see more and and
and I don't know, as time goeson.

Wesley (01:00:50):
Yeah.
It was curious that they didn'tdo any of those virtual cues as
we talk about at DeVille's,which was always packed, yeah,
you know, closed because ofcapacity a few times.

Nathan (01:01:02):
Yeah.

Wesley (01:01:03):
They could have, or maybe should have had like a
virtual queue going for some ofthese other spaces.

Nathan (01:01:10):
It'll be interesting to see how that plays out over time
because I think you know, we'vementioned it a few times that
it's just different on thesereally early cruises from what
it is in even you know, four,six months.
It'll it'll be a differentpattern of behavior.
So yeah, yeah.
All right.
So we're gonna put a pin inthis conversation and pick this

(01:01:30):
up next week.
So uh Wesley, thank you somuch.
Uh, I encourage everybody to uhmake sure you you know like and
subscribe, ring that bell, allthat stupid stuff.
But please come back.
Uh Wesley and and and uh Aliciaand myself, we will have lots
more uh conversations for youcoming up uh in your podcast

(01:01:52):
feed next week.
And uh we will we will keep ongoing with this.
So with that, thank you somuch, Wesley.

Wesley (01:01:58):
Yeah, it's been fun.
Can't wait to see you nextweek.
Absolutely.

Alicea (01:02:02):
Please remember we are not affiliated with Disney or
their subsidiaries.
These are personal opinions andsuggestions that are based on
our own experiences and ourguests' own experiences.
We recommend working with atravel agent or contacting
Disney directly to plan your ownperfect vacation.

Nathan (01:02:18):
Indeed.
And if you have any questionsor suggestions for us or would
like to be interviewed on ourshow to share your Disney
experiences, please do send usan email at podcast at our
mousecapades.com.

Alicea (01:02:32):
You can follow us on socials.
We are at Our MouseCapades.
You can find us on Instagram,Facebook threads, and YouTube.

Nathan (01:02:39):
And please do give us a rating and a review in your
podcast app.
That really helps people findus.

Alicea (01:02:46):
Of course, don't hesitate to share us with your
friends and fellow Disney loversof all ages.

Nathan (01:02:51):
Thanks for listening.
We'll be in your ears nextweek.
Thank you for flying StarTours.
Bye bye.