Disney Cruises and kids with special needs: a review of The Fantasy

Disney Cruises and kids with special needs: Max gives them a big thumbs up. Yes, we all seriously enjoyed our cruise on the Disney Fantasy, but Max was in his own heaven; he's been talking about the trip literally every single day for the half year leading up to it. Even while we were on the ship, he was already plotting his next visit. Our cabin had a photo of the four Disney ships—The Magic, The Wonder, The Dream and The Fantasy—and Max would point to The Dream and stare at us, expectantly. I told him he could start saving up for it!

Our Caribbean cruise was seven nights long, a good amount of time for Max to settle in and feel comfortable; like many kids with sensory issues, once he's familiar with a place, he's more willing to explore and try new things. This is the Disney Fantasy's first year of sailing; we were cruise #40. These were our experiences on the ship, plus some other scoop on Disney cruises with kids who have special needs.

What accessibility is like for kids with special needs

The staterooms are compact, but well laid out. The couch converts to a bed, and another drops down from the ceiling. We got a room with a verandah, which costs more but makes the room feel more spacious (rest assured, the verandahs have plexiglass as do all railings, so no worries about kid overboard).

The bed was one of the most comfortable ever, with crisp Frette linens (plus one home-imported Cars pillowcase, of course)

There's a small fridge in the room, where we kept Max's anti-seizures meds, along with the chocolate milk cartons he hoarded from the breakfast buffet (shhh, don't tell). Every room comes with two Wave phones, helpful for staying in touch with staffers at the kids clubs. And there's a Health Center, with nurses and doctors, just in case (though if you have specific medical concerns, you should call in advance).

The ship has 37 accessible staterooms and suites (here's a review of one and a video of one). Guests could request bedrails, raised toilet seats, shower stools and more. Decks are very spacious and doorways wide, with many opening automatically. The restaurants are easily accessible. Theaters have dedicated viewing areas for wheelchair users, and offer assistive listening devices for performances; transcripts of shows available at Guest Services. 

On Castaway Cay, Disney's private island—of course Disney has a private island!—there was a tram, plenty of paved pathways, sand wheelchairs free of charge and accessible restrooms. We chauffeured Max around in a wagon. (For the complete Guests with Disabilities list of offerings, click here).

What the noise level is like for kids with sensory issues

On our previous cruises, the Disney Cruise Line Terminal—in Port Canaveral, Florida—was super-crowded, which wigged Max out. Now that Disney has instituted timed boardings (you select a port arrival time when you do on-line check-in), the scene was much more chill and we breezed through. Crew members standing in the lobby of the ship announce each guest, and so if your child doesn't like loudness you can just tell them not to say a thing, as we'd done before. This time, though, Max told me he wanted them to say "Yay, Max!" and clap, and they gladly obliged. Then they said "Welcome, Sabrina!" at her request. And then, Max wanted them to say "Yay, Max!" again and clap, and they did. Max likes his standing ovations.

The ship is tremendous (there are 1250 staterooms), yet even though there were some 4000 passengers onboard our cruise (and 1400-plus crew), it really never felt crowded. We came armed with noise-blocking Sperian headphones, and they usually kept Max secure and calm. There are occasional stateroom announcements that aren't too loud, all preceded by the openings notes of "When You Wish Spon a Star." Max loved that tune, and now, he asks me to hum it to him at bedtime.

A crowd tends to build outside the restaurants during seating times (there are two: one at 5:45, one at 8:15). As it turns out, the only thing you miss if you arrive a little past your seating time is...the line!

Before our cruise, I'd put in a request to be put in an area that was out of the fray, and that helped. Animator's Palette has some amazingly cool tech activities, including one where drawings your family makes become part of an animated cartoon they show on screen; Max was wary of that, and so we did room service with him that night before dinner and let him hang in the kids club.

Of course, there's ice-cream galore; the machines don't open till late in the morning, which helps avoid I-want-ice-cream-for-breakfast stand-offs with the kids

We were on the cruise Christmas week, and they had several big lobby celebrations, including visits with Santa and a Children's Choir. These were packed events that may overwhelm kids with sensory issues. If you wander through the lobby early Christmas morning, though, it's near empty—except for smiling staff greeting you with hot chocolate and holiday cookies.

What dining is like for kids with special needs

For breakfast and lunch on the cruise, you can take your pick of dining spots. We usually did the breakfast buffet at Cabanas, and grabbed lunch from one of the casual eateries. For dinners, you rotate between three restaurants according to your assigned schedule; we had the same waiter, Ciao, and assistant waiter, Lucio, for all dinners. This was great, because they were both super-friendly and also knew to have chocolate milk for Max and all our drinks ready and waiting for us.

At the first dinner, Ciao asked about any potential allergies; I told him Max had an aversion to nuts and homework. Max was a little nervous about settling into the restaurant on the first night, and Ciao helped calm him down by making him a ketchup Mickey Mouse. Score! Max is still impressed when I do this at home, though I don't know how long that will last.

Max loved Flo's V8 Cafe (of Cars' movies fame)

Max ate a whole lot of mac 'n cheese on the cruise. When he wanted to eat in the kids club, we just arranged with Ciao to have his meals delivered there. Several times we ordered room service, which had a good amount of offerings and came surprisingly quickly.

In general, the dining department accommodates all types of dietary requirements.Waiters are aware of which items are gluten-free, and you can also order items on demand. If your child has allergies, you can bring an allergy plan to share with the kids clubs. Guests are supposed to submit any special dietary requests in writing to the Disney Cruise Line Special Reservations Department four weeks prior to the sail date; get the dietary requests form at 1-800-951-3532. (For more great information and other resources, check out Allergy Free Mouse.)

What the kids clubs are like for kids with special needs

The Oceaneer Club's dance floor

I can't say enough good things about the Oceaneer Lab and Oceaneer Club, both for kids ages 3 to 12. Staffers were beyond accommodating. What's new about this ship (and The Dream) is that the clubs are connected, so kids can go back and forth between them, and also have lunch and dinner there.

Max particularly liked the Club. There are four themed areas: Andy's Room (Toy Story); Monster's Academy (Monsters, Inc.), Pixie Hollow (inspired by the Tinkerbell movies) and Explorer Pod, where kids can hang out in a Nemo-inspired submarine with computer stations.

Can you guess which room this is? Ding, ding, ding!

The Lab's themed areas include a media room (with bean bag chairs for watching movies or reading), Animator's Studio (for drawing or learning to sketch Disney characters), Sound Studio and Craft Studio. Max's fave was The Wheelhouse, where kids could steer a ship in a Pirates of the Caribbean video game. He had a blast when the Oceaner Lab had a Piston Cup Challenge in which kids designed their own race cars.

Before we registered the kids, I spoke with Andrea, the Manager of Youth Activities. I wanted to make sure someone could help keep an eye out on him, help him with coloring or other fine-motor activities, and also assist at feeding time and with the potty, since pulling pants up and down is a challenge. Andrea actually remembered Max from our last cruise! While there is no guarantee of a one-on-one ratio for a child at the club, things worked out. We never once got paged to help with the potty. The staffers were amazingly warm, cheerful and friendly; by the end of our cruise, every one of them greeted Max by name.

Face-painting with Sami, one of Max's fave counselors

A note about potty training: The official Disney site notes that the kids clubs are only for potty-trained children; this is because crew members cannot change kids. On our previous cruises, we were given pagers and Dave or I would show up whenever Max had to be changed.

Basically, the kids clubs were a fantasy come true for Max and Sabrina and us, too; it isn't always easy to find clubs so accommodating to kids with special needs on trips.

Sunday morning, Dave and I had brunch at Palo, one of two adults-only restaurants (it's best to book it months ahead of time). Hel-lo, dessert station!

While the kids are in good hands, you're free to take a class (like one for tasting or folding towels or yoga), go on a guided tour of the ship, play trivia games, listen to live music, hit the spa or just loll around, perhaps on the wonderfully serene adults-only deck on Deck 14. I chose lounging!

What activities are like for kids with special needs

There are dozens of activities to choose from every day. You get a "Personal Navigator" newsletter delivered to your room the night before that lists all the offerings. I'd brought a highlighter and we marked the stuff we wanted to do. Max liked the family dance parties; the music was loud, but he had his trusty headphones on and he got to dance his heart out with the characters.

The Family Crafts events, like card making and create your own tote bag, were not that crowded and Max really enjoyed them. Another great activity for kids with special needs: The Midship Detective, an interactive game kids can play on their own timeframe. Basically, you get a card with a special bar code that you hold up to video terminals on different floors for clues to solve a mystery like finding stolen puppies or missing artwork. You can do this whenever you want (it lasts 90 minutes, total) and is a nice, quiet activity.

Max enjoyed the Shutters photo studio game in which you find and tap your photo from a bunch that pop up 

There are three freshwater pools on the ship; early morning and before dinner are decently non-crowded times to hang in them, but port days are the best (ditto for other activities on the ship). The Fantasy has a non-permanent pool lift (a mechanical arm) available in the family pool area jacuzzi on Deck 11 (it's not yet available in the pools), as well as in the Quiet Cove pool and jacuzzi (for adults); you should request it in advance when you book.

Mickey's Pool, just two feet deep

The easy-access Nemo's Reef Wet Play Area

Sabrina particularly loved the pool right in front of the humongous movie screen, so she could wallow and watch

The AquaLab, a water play area on Deck 12, is also easy-entry 

Even if your child is wary of the AquaDuck water coaster (a flume ride inside a large tube), he might be content to just watch it, as Max was.

Our own private foosball tournament (aka sneaking in occupational therapy)

Sometimes, just walking around the ship and taking it all in is activity enough

What entertainment is like for kids with special needs

There are three big shows on the cruise every day in the main theater; we saw Aladdin, Disney Believe (with lots of character appearances) and Disney Wishes. There are also other variety shows, like the performance team Buckets N Boards and a hypnotist. Max has only seen a live theatrical performance a couple of times because the volume is too much for him, but given his love for the characters he could not resist those big shows. The two of us stood behind the back row and watched; he was mesmerized.

Sabrina got to guest star in the magic show, her dream come true

People dress up for Pirates of the Caribbean night (plenty of kids brought costumes) and party on the deck; that was too much for Max to handle. He was more than happy to hang it in the room and watch Cars On Demand, which offers a whole bunch of Disney movies free from classics to newer ones.

The cruise also has screenings of current movies; Sabrina and I saw Wreck-it Ralph in 3D, and one evening Dave and I saw Lincoln. One day Max got brave enough to venture into the movie theater, stand on the side on watch part of Monsters Inc. in 3D—a major breakthrough for him. That's one of the great things about vacations for Max: It encourages him to break out of his comfort zone.

What visiting with characters is like for kids with special needs

Guests form lines to see princesses or characters (and Max wanted to see as much Mickey, Goofy and Donald as possible). They can get a little long but they're usually calm; the mid-ship ones on the 4th floor, by the Vista Café, tended to be a little less populated than the ones in the lobby.

A photographer and staffer stand by the characters to take photos you can purchase, and snap ones for families. Max would only stand right by the photographer, mesmerized by Pluto, Goofy, Mickey, whoever. The head of the character team told Dave and me that one of us had to wait in line to hold a spot. This was a challenge because it was often just me and Max waiting to see a character; I knew if I went to wait on line and left Max, there was a good chance he'd make a beeline for Mickey and crash other people's photos. We did the best we could: We arrived early to avoid lines, or stood around after a character left so we could be first for the next one. A couple of times, a cast member waited online for us.  

If there was one thing Max would have changed on the cruise, it was the standing-around-waiting part. He has decent stamina but the cerebral palsy makes his muscles fatigue easier than other kids, and sometimes at night he'd trip and fall when his legs gave out. As the email I got from a Guest Communications supervisor after the cruise noted, "For guests with stamina concerns, usually alternate areas or wheelchairs are available." Neither would have worked for us, but it's good to know. Of course, we could have chosen to cruise during a less busy week, too, as we've previously done. 

I'll tell you what would be amazing: If the cruise had dedicated character viewings for kids with special needs. Perhaps in a room, with dim lighting and seating areas. And cocktails for parents! Yeah!

Offshore excursions and kids with special needs

The ship docks in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Castaway Cay. You can book excursions through the ship; I made a couple of our own. Max decided to stay onboard in Cozumel but in Grand Cayman, we did a Stingray Sandbar excursion through Native Way Watersports—fascinating and memorable. Co-owner Sharon, who picked us up on the dock, could not have been nicer; after the trip she even took us to get smoothies. (She also offered to let me come crash at her house should I ever have a mid-life crisis, which I will definitely keep in mind.).

We took a 20-minute speedboat ride to a sandbar that's about 100 yards wide, with stingrays galore. I didn't know how Max would actually feel about it but he couldn't get into the water fast enough to check them out.

Stingray central!

Hanging with a stingray; we even got to feed it squid. Max suggested he might like mac 'n cheese. 

If you have questions about cruising with a child who has special needs, call the Disney Cruise Line Special Reservations Line at (407) 566-3500, press 1 and take it from there.

Oh, and have a magical day.