Disney Culture?

Marketed under the new ‘Adventures By Disney’ tagline Disney have ventured into the River cruising market, something which is normally overlooked by Families looking to Cruise.

For regular River cruisers this may seem a little bizarre as they will know most ships have only cabins for 2 or 1 which does not make them very family friendly. However, the Ama Waterways, Amaviola which is now already halfway through its first season down the Danube is proving sceptics wrong with its family friendly design including suites for 3 and 4 passengers and interconnecting cabins.

When you think about it Families are becoming more active and River cruising offers lots of activities in port for family fun, including cycling, walking and a chance for Mum and Dad to introduce a little culture to their children in some of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

Ken Potrock, senior vice president of Adventures by Disney, said, The company was already looking forward to its expansion to a second river, the Rhine, next summer, and that Disney was broadening river cruising’s demographic.

Doesn’t Sound Disney-like I hear you say?

Well on-board it is not at all like a traditional River Cruise with low key entertainment, you still get the Disney experience with Movie nights and Dance parties for the kids. Anyone who has cruised with Disney Cruise Line will have come across the pirate party with face painting and lots more.

It doesn’t end there as I am sure some people are still finding it had to get their heads around this as the excursions are normally centred around walking tours with headsets and guides and let’s face it most kids would be bored out of their brains.

Disney however being Disney have organised Kid-Friendly excursions include a walking tour of Bratislava, Slovakia, where kids can complete a puzzle of landmarks; a salt mine tour in Salzburg, Austria, with train rides and wooden slides going into the mine; an Austrian park where kids can walk above the treetops on wooden ledges; and a marionette show offering children a chance to go backstage and try manipulating the dolls themselves.

Parents should not feel left out as Disney have arranged a few things for them such as the tour of Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, where Adventure Guides take the kids through garden mazes and to an onsite children’s museum, enabling adults to explore on their own.

As I said Disney are also offer cycling as an option but due to the demanding nature of the organised tour which has uneven roads, cobbles and rough terrain Disney were forced to change the age from 12 to 14 years. There is a ride on your own option though and one reporter from the travel Weekly said  ‘ An example of the high level of on-board service is that with no bikes suitable for younger kids such as my 9-year-old for the “ride on your own” option, the cruise director had local bikes delivered to use.’ So there are other options.

Don’t come on-board thinking this will be a Disney cruise line cruise in miniature because it is not. You won’t find the Disney characters on-board. Instead, Local entertainers will come on-board who may act as characters from the stories but there is no Mickey and Minnie.  There are no gimmicks here it is all about the family experience, the culture and destinations.  However, it takes very little imagination with dreamy fairy-tale castles to imagine the Disney princesses popping by.

See any similarities?

Disney are not saying they have everything right and this is a whole new niche market and is completely untried and tested. They are getting lots of feedback from the families on-board to allow them to tweak the service moving forward so if you have been don’t be shy and share your thoughts. One such tweak will already come into effect next year. This year the Child age was 4 and they had increased this to 6 for 2017 but following feedback from this season they will have an un-official guideline of 8 as they feel this age group and above will get the most out of the experience and this is what Disney is all about.

River cruising is renowned for its excellent cuisine so to make this family friendly they have given an option whereby children do not have to go in the main dining room with the olds! They can choose to eat in the lounge where they will be supervised by Adventure Guides who hang out with them and play games etc giving parents a chance to dine in peace. Teens have their own option too after all they don’t want to be with the young kids or the Olds!  They get to eat together in the wine cellar making them feel more exclusive. For those families who feel meals times are a family time and want their children to remain with them, the main dining room has a children’s menu so they will still be catered for.

Moving Forward Disney are already planning to expand onto the Rhine next year and say that the mysteries and folklore in Europe ties in so wonderfully with so many Disney stories and tales that the possibilities are endless. They may even look at Adult only options around food, wine and beer festivals.

There are many possibilities that could be explored.

What do you think? Perhaps you are an avid river cruiser, if so I would love to hear your thoughts or if you have a family I would love to hear your thoughts as to whether this is something that would appeal to you?