Epcot Illuminations show boat charter

mickster68 · Post by **mickster68** » Apr Sat 23, 2005 4:14 pm

Welcome, Siriuslydead...yeah, I'm just going to spend the money and do it. I've figured it into our budget, and come heck or high water it's going to happen! I'm hoping since the crowds are generally low that time of year I won't have too much of a problem getting it. I'm pretty flexible with when we do it, too, so I have a whole week to try for it. Regarding AKL, I've never stayed there, but we went over to check it out on our last trip, and it's gorgeous! Wilderness is still my favorite, though!

Siriuslydead · Post by **Siriuslydead** » Apr Sat 23, 2005 9:56 pm

Thank you

I'm glad you decided to do it. I hope you enjoy it

No doubt that you're going to, hehe.

And isn't AKL gorgeous? It's amazing. I like the Wilderness, too. I went there for breakfast one morning in November 2002. We went to the restaurant to the left of the entrance of the resort. I forget the name, but I remember that if you asked for ketchup, since there was none on your table, they would sing and complain that you wanted ketchup, heh, it was fun!

lovesdisney44 · Post by **lovesdisney44** » Apr Mon 25, 2005 12:07 pm

We did the Illuminations Cruise the summer of 2003. I did call exactly 90 days out at 6:55 a.m. (our time) and kept hitting redail until I was connected. It worked - we didn't get the original date we wanted as it was all booked up, but I tried again the next day and did get the day we wanted. We went with another family and split the fare and the tip. It was nice, but not worth the money. We thought the view from inside EPCOT was MUCH better. You can see details on the earth globe, whereas in the boat you can't see that far. (We didn't have any problems with smoke). It was something we always wanted to try, which we did, but won't do it again. 8)

Siriuslydead · Post by **Siriuslydead** » Apr Mon 25, 2005 1:35 pm

Sounds like an interesting try. Now that you have given your opinion, I don't think I will need to try that in the future. I'd rather use the money on something else in WDW, because I could just enjoy my spot watching the fireworks in France where I prefer it.

mousefansmom · Post by **mousefansmom** » Apr Tue 26, 2005 1:20 pm

Our view was good- we could see everything well, but were far enough away from the smoke. There might be better views closer up, but we were happy with the experience overall.

Mousefansmom

mickster68 wrote:Welcome mousefansmom! I have only heard one negative about the boat charter regarding smoke. No one else seems to have experienced that. I guess the price is a bit high, but sounds like a pretty neat experience to me, too. We'll be travelling with a group of 7, and will likely split the cost between us to make it a little easier. Apparently, there are no real safety issues because the boats sit near the bridge by the international gateway--not terribly close to the action. How was your view of the show? Just curious...

mickster68 · Post by **mickster68** » Apr Wed 27, 2005 1:27 pm

I was wondering how the view would be from that distance. Hmm...now I'm second guessing the whole idea again! How was the boat ride, in general? Did you have any sort of tour before/after the show? How long was the entire experience? I'm just trying to get all the info I can before I go ahead and spend the money! I've heard the "Wishes" cruise begins with a pretty neat tour around 7-Seas lagoon, just wondered if they did the say for Illum...

lovesdisney44 · Post by **lovesdisney44** » Apr Wed 27, 2005 2:28 pm

[quote="mickster68"]I was wondering how the view would be from that distance. Hmm...now I'm second guessing the whole idea again! How was the boat ride, in general? Did you have any sort of tour before/after the show? How long was the entire experience? I'm just trying to get all the info I can before I go ahead and spend the money! I've heard the "Wishes" cruise begins with a pretty neat tour around 7-Seas lagoon, just wondered if they did the say for Illum...[/quote]

Yes they did give us a short tour - we were picked up @ the Boardwalk. We boated around for a 1/2 hour before parking for Illuminations. When it was over they tooled us back to the Boardwalk. The boatride @ night - seeing The Boardwalk all lit up was nice.

Barb D · Post by **Barb D** » Apr Fri 29, 2005 6:16 pm

We did it last Summer and I felt more like we was too far. We didnt have any smoke issues but some of the view is blocked where you sit. I prefer to sit near Canada or better yet near the American Adventure side of things.

Was it worth it? It was my 25th Wedding anniversary that night and we orderd a really delicious cake and party. Our kids were with us and it was one of the few things we did together all the way. My grand daughter got to drive the boat making it more worth it. I would never spend that kind of money again as it wasnt that worth it to me but I was glad to get to do it once as a family event together.

rcpratt3 · Post by **rcpratt3** » May Mon 09, 2005 9:51 am

I have heard some really great things about this. People rave about this on another forum. I think it is a bit expensive, but if you had a large party to spli the cost it might be worth it. I think if saftey was an issue, they would not offer this cruise at all. Also, if the smoke is an issue, how could they charge as much as they do?

Subsonic Radio

Epcot Illuminations show boat charter

Illum. boat show charter

Re: Illum. boat show charter

Illum. boat show charter

Re: Illum. boat show charter