Disney Cruise Line revolutionized the cruise industry with elaborately themed youth areas where a generous sprinkling of pixie dust and beloved Disney characters combine to lead children into their favorite Disney stories.
Onboard Disney Fantasy, there is nearly an entire deck of spaces designed to inspire, entertain and spark the imagination of children.
Disney’s Oceaneer Club
Located on Deck 5 midship, Disney’s Oceaneer Club is a child-friendly oasis that transports kids to the magical lands of Disney fairies, friendly monsters, adventuresome toys and undersea exploration. Disney’s Oceaneer Club is open to 3-to-10-year-old children.
A central rotunda serves as the main gathering place. There are constellations of Disney characters created by fiber optics twinkling across the ceiling and iridescent finishes that give the room a sparkling glow. The focal point is a stage where children can create and star in their very own theatrical performances, participate in storytelling sessions and delight in meeting Disney characters, such as Tinker Bell and Peter Pan.
• The Disney’s Oceaneer Club’s rotunda has a 103-inch plasma screen for watching movies and for magical interactions with a “most excellent” live character: Crush, the sea turtle from the Disney•Pixar animated motion picture “Finding Nemo,” stops mid-stream in his digital undersea environment to chat, play and joke with kids in live, unrehearsed conversations. These one-of-a- kind, personalized experiences with Crush continue Disney’s legacy of bringing characters to life in new and incredible ways.
• Located in the rotunda is a Magic PlayFloor. A cruise industry first, the interactive floor allows children to engage in group activities where their movements control the action. Youth counselors also use the Magic PlayFloor during storytelling activities where children will fly over the streets of London with Peter Pan, help their frog feast on a bug banquet themed to “The Princess and the Frog” and race cars around a track just like Lightning McQueen from “Cars.”
• In the vibrantly colored Andy’s Room, the world of the Disney•Pixar “Toy Story” films comes to life. Kids experience the feeling of being toy-sized as they play among larger-than-life characters from the animated film. Children can rearrange features on Mr. Potato Head, crawl through the coiled body of Slinky Dog and get behind the wheel of an oversize, remote-controlled race car.
• Monster’s Academy is a fun, interactive space inspired by the Disney•Pixar film “Monsters, Inc.” The centerpiece is an elaborately themed play structure for climbing that is fashioned after the film’s scare floor, where monster pals Michael “Mike” Wazowski and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan work. Computers integrated into the walls feature unique, interactive games.
• In Pixie Hollow, children are transported to the enchanted land inhabited by Tinker Bell and her fairy friends. A pixie tree stands in the room, its branches extending overhead with hundreds of fairy lights twinkling among the leaves and hummingbird-sized fairy houses hanging from the boughs. In this magical forest setting, children can make crafts just like a true tinker fairy while sitting on stools shaped like acorns and mushrooms or dress up in fanciful costumes.
• Explorer Pod is inspired by the Disney•Pixar animated film “Finding Nemo.” Surrounded by a seascape and seeming to emerge from a pool of water, a bright blue-and-yellow submarine surfaces in the center of the room. Inside, children can explore and play games at 16 interactive computer stations. Outside the sub, eight computer stations provide gaming fun as the familiar flock of seagulls from “Finding Nemo” looks on.
Disney’s Oceaneer Lab
Disney’s Oceaneer Lab, located on Deck 5 midship, takes 3-to-10-year-old children on a journey of discovery and exploration.
Upon entering the main hall, filled with maritime instruments and nautical artifacts, children feel as though they are embarking on a great adventure. At the main hall stage, kids can create and star in swashbuckling performances, hear stories of great expeditions and watch movies.
• Utilizing the same techno-magic that brings Crush to life in Disney’s Oceaneer Club, Disney’s Oceaneer Lab features special scheduled visits by Disney’s mischievous animated alien Stitch. Playful pandemonium ensues as he engages with children in unrehearsed antics. From his spaceship, the cuddly but naughty alien interacts with young guests, chatting with them and using props from his spacecraft surroundings to create hilarious fits of havoc.
• Located in the main gathering space is a Magic PlayFloor, a cruise industry first featuring the latest in interactive gaming technology. Here, kids’ movements control the action. For example, children step into the futuristic world of Tron with a team-based game, leap over lasers with Stitch and scramble around the perimeter of the floor to control the tilt of a virtual maze.
• The Animator’s Studio draws out the character inside all kids. Incorporating elements from both classic and modern animator’s studios, the room is filled with maquettes (three-dimensional character models), animation books, a light box table, drawing accessories, computer stations and other tools of the animation trade. Children can use their imagination to create original, hand- drawn art or learn how to sketch their favorite Disney character. With the help of a counselor and an animation simulator, kids can bring computer-animated characters to life.
Connecting the Disney’s Oceaneer Club and the Disney’s Oceaneer Lab on Deck 5 are two Workshops. In these specialized areas, kids concoct creations in an interactive science lab, conduct crazy experiments, express their creativity through art projects, stretch their culinary skills and participate in other hands-on activities.
It’s a Small World Nursery
In the It’s a Small World Nursery, located on Deck 5 midship, infants and toddlers ages 3 months to 3 years enter a whimsical world inspired by the classic Disney theme park attraction and original artwork by Disney Legend Mary Blair. The theme’s signature fanciful style in a patchwork of pastel colors creates an inviting and comforting space for little ones.
Upon entering the nursery, parents and children can meet and interact with counselors in a welcoming environment. Parents wishing to check on their children, without disturbing them, can glimpse into the nursery’s main play area through a one-way window.
In the nursery’s main play area, children are welcomed by cheerful, three-dimensional façades resembling the nursery’s namesake Disney attraction. Interactive, hands-on features, such as horns that honk, wheels that spin and buttons to press, are sure to delight curious kids. A boat in the center of the room “floats” on a river pattern along the soft-surface floor and is surrounded by colorful, kid- sized tables and chairs for toddlers to enjoy crafts, books and games.
At the back of the nursery, a separate room with a serene motif and a calm, quiet atmosphere is reserved for naptime.
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so cool!