Disney Wish Tips: Things to know before you sail on Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship

We were recently invited to be among the very first guests to sail on Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, so we gathered together these Disney Wish tips to help you navigate your cruise vacation.

Most of these tips are specifically for the Disney Wish only, although some may work on other ships as well. Some may also change. We were on the media preview christening sailing, so not everything was in its final form. In no particular order, here are our top tips.

• The Disney Cruise Line Navigator app is helpful for checking activity and dining schedules, so be sure that’s on your phone before you board. Also, there is messaging in the app so you can stay connected to those in your party. We’ve heard, but not confirmed, you can also use the WhatsApp app to communicate with one another without buying an internet package.

• All of the elevators go up to deck 11, but only some of them go to decks 12, 13, and 14. When we were on the ship, there was no way to only call those elevators, so if you want to go to a deck higher than 11, you’ll need to wait for an elevator that goes to them. The elevators closest to the middle of the ship are the ones that only go to 11. You may need to send an empty elevator to a lower floor to get the elevator you need to come.

• To help navigate where you are in the elevator hallways, blue carpet means back/aft, green carpet means forward/ bow. 

• Don’t look for the glass elevators in the atrium, now renamed the Grand Hall. On the Wish, the two sets of elevators are towards the front and back of the ship.

• All of the elevators buttons are touchless, meaning they will light up if your finger just gets close to them. They can also be pressed just by standing too close to them. So when you get in the elevator, don’t stand too close to the buttons or they will all get pressed.

• The Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge will be busy, so stop by there on the first day to at least make a reservation for a different day. They may add a new procedure, but when we were onboard they were giving cards out with your return day and time on them. It’s open for families during the day, so it might be easier to get in at that time because many guests think it’s always adults-only.

• The fireworks during the Pirates Rockin’ Parlay Party launch over the starboard side, so the center on deck 12 offers an awesome view, as does deck 12 port side. 

• There’s a button on the left nozzle in the shower. Push it in and turn and you’ll get stronger water pressure. On the right side, when you push the button in and turn it, you’ll get even hotter water.

• In the standard staterooms, the three closet doors cover one another when you open one of them, so you can only have one open at a time. Remember that if one of your roommates is already getting something in a closet and you want to get into another. You’ll need to wait until they are done.

• This is the only Disney ship where guests can go to the very front of the ship. Go to the Senses Spa entrance, then go outside and walk toward the front of the ship and up the stairs. You can be the “king of the world” up here.

• No reservation is needed for The Rose lounge, even though it’s connected to Palo and Enchante (though it’s still 18+).

• A reservation is not required to visit Hook’s Barbery. They also have a small bar you can visit inside.

• If nightlife is your thing, do the early dining seating, since most spots don’t stay open past midnight.

• The Chip n’ Dale pool is a hidden gem. It’s very out of the way, but it’s spacious and has plenty of covered seating. It’s on deck 14 forward.

• If you need a wheelchair-accessible seat for the Walt Disney Theater, go to the main doors and they will escort you to the accessible entrance and seating. They will also come to you after the show to escort you out.

• Go to the open house for Marvel Avengers Academy in the kids club for a preview/backstory of Worlds of Marvel dinner. In fact, be sure to explore all areas of the Oceaneer Club during the open house, even if you’re not sailing with kids. Star Wars fans will especially enjoy the Cargo Bay. Some sections of the Oceaneer Club are open to all guests even while kids are in the other parts of the club. The Imagineers designed it so both the Marvel and Star Wars areas can be closed off, with their own separate entrances down the hallway from the Oceaneer entrance.

• When dining at Worlds of Marvel, don’t leave after the characters leave and you think it’s all done. Be sure to stay for the “end credit” moment.

• This one works on other ships as well, but you need to put your keycard into a slot inside your stateroom room to activate all the lights in the room. Any hard card will work. It doesn’t have to be your stateroom key.

• Most of the lounge and coffee shops menus are on tablets, so look for a tablet on the counter when you enter for the menu.

• The kids have a slide that takes them from the Grand Hall down to the deck below at the Oceaneer Club entrance. But adults can slide too when the full club is doing an open house.

• The Hero Zone isn’t just for kids. Adults can play here too, including running the Incredible-Games inflatable obstacle course.

• There’s a special Inaugural Disney Wish sparkling wine that will only be available until it’s gone. We saw it offered in Palo Steakhouse.

• Most of the Inaugural Sailing merchandise will be for sale for a year, but some higher-end items, such as a Pandora charm set, will only be sold until they run out of stock.

If you have sailed on the Disney Wish and have any other tips specifically for this ship, please post them in the comments below.

Thanks to Jackie Roseboom, Dave Parfitt, and Samantha Davis-Friedman for contributing to this list of tips. 

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Disney Wish Walkthrough - Deck-By-Deck on the Newest Disney Cruise Line Ship