Disney Cruise For Teenagers – What Does DCL Offer for Teens?

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Is a Disney Cruise for Teenagers? Disney Cruise Lines are made for the entire family, even the notoriously difficult-to-please teen cruiser!

There are plenty of things for teenagers to do while sailing on a Disney cruise ship.

This guide is written by my son who is now in his 20’s but has spent months on a Disney cruise as a teen.

What is on a Disney Cruise For Teens?

I know what you are thinking. A Disney Cruise Line vacation doesn’t sound like the best way to spend your time as a teen. Well, I spent many very happy vacations on Disney ships as a teen.

Disney may not have the rock climbing, surf rider or sports simulators of some Royal Caribbean ships but it certainly has a lot to offer.

One of the great things is that you do get some family time, but there are plenty of chances to do your own thing, make new friends, and have some new experiences.

Here are some of the best things to do on the Disney ship if you are a teen.

Disney Cruise Sports Deck

On Disney Magic and Wonder, they have table tennis, and foosball, as well as a basketball court, so lots to do!

The Disney Dream and Fantasy also have a miniature golf course.

The best times to go are late at night, dinner-time, or in port. If you go late at night, most likely there’ll be no one there.

This is a great place for sports lovers or anyone who is looking to get a little bit of exercise. Usually, I go there to balance out eating 6 lava cakes at the buffet!

Disney Wish has a very different concept – the Hero Zone. This is a large indoor multi-functional sports area up on Deck 13.

Because of its location, some people never even make it up there, but it is well worth a look.

Hero Zone is a large space on 2 levels, will a spectator area on the second level. This level also has foosball and table tennis. The lower level can be used as a basketball and soccer area.

At certain times of the day, the Incredi-games are set up. This is a huge inflatable obstacle course themed around the Pixara movie The Incredibles. This is for all ages but is a lot of fun for teens as well as the little kids.

Disney Cruise Buena Vista Theater

One of the best places on all of the Disney ships is the Buena Vista Theater – a movie theater at sea! A Disney Cruise for teenagers is not complete without a trip to the movies.

You can watch some of your favorite Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars movies here – even some that are still in theaters.

You can also watch new releases the day they come out. They’ll premier at midnight, so you’ll be among the first to see the new movie.

As Disney now seems to own pretty much every franchise and movie studio, this happens pretty frequently these days.

I’ve gone to premiers like this many times with movies such as everybody’s favorite “Pirates” movie – “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” – as well as the critically acclaimed and box-office smash “John Carter.” Just kidding.

One of the best experiences was watching the premiere of Avengers Endgame. Not only did I get to see the movie as soon as it came out, but I shared the experience with a lot of friends and movie fans. This becomes like a kind of bonding, shared experience.

The Vibe on a Disney Cruise

The Vibe is the Teen’s Club on a Disney Cruise which on some ships is located in the ship’s funnel.

Here you can do activities, play video games or board games, as well as meet other teens on the ship.

They offer a wide range of activities, such as video game contests, improv classes, Karaoke contests, dodgeball, gaga ball, dance parties, and drawing classes.

Sometimes there are events where you can meet some of the performers in the shows.

It’s a great way to meet people. I have met some amazing people from all over the world on Disney cruises who I still keep in touch with regularly.

I’d highly recommend coming here on the first day as soon as The Vibe is open. Friendships tend to form quickly and it can be difficult to break into already established groups if you leave it a couple of days to check it out.

Disney Cruise Silent Disco

Silent discos are something you should experience at least once in your life, and fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to take part in one on any of the Disney Cruise Ships.

They offer 3 different channels for you to dance to: “Top 40” (modern songs), “Best of the 80s and 90s,” and then “DJ’s Choice.”

You can either go to the family silent disco or the teen-exclusive one if you don’t want to be humiliated standing next to your parents doing the final dance from “Dirty Dancing” to an excruciatingly accurate degree – even nailing the lift…

Instead of all that, you can go to the teen dance, where you’ll feel amazing because your “sick” dance moves are getting all the girls’ attention.

This works until some competition dancer named Jeff starts doing flips and popping and locking, and suddenly nobody cares that you’re doing the macarena. I never liked Jeff…

In all seriousness, it’s a lot of fun and a great activity for teens.

Disney Cruise Trivia

Pretty much every day they’ll have at least one trivia. Some of them are general trivia, but the large majority of them are Disney-related.

The Disney ones might be about Pixar, Marvel, or music from the Disney movies, depending on what days of the year you’re on the ship and which ship you’re on.

The Disney ones are great if you’re a huge Disney fan. Although, it can be somewhat discouraging when you think you’re the biggest Disney fan, so will have no problem winning the trivia.

Then at the last minute a family of four strolls in, each with a Disney t-shirt, a Disney pair of pants, a Disney pair of shoes, a Disney World cap, Mickey Mouse pair of socks. You name it, they are wearing every bit of Disney merch you can think of.

Then there’s you – drinking your complimentary decaf coffee with soy milk from Deck 9, where the only piece of Disney merchandise you’re wearing is a pair of Baby Yoda briefs, realizing that the odds aren’t so much in your favor.

Seriously though, it’s always fun challenging yourself to a bit of trivia and trying to see how high of a score you can get.

If you want to check just what an expert you are you can try our Disney Cruise Ultimate Trivia

Family Pool on a Disney Cruise

Disney Magic and Wonder have the Goofy Pool, Disney Fantasy and Dream have Donal’s Family Pool and Disney Wish has Mickey’s Pool.

Disney Wish has a very different pool deck design from the other ships.

There are 3 family pools on the main pool deck. I think this is a better design than the other ships, but now as an adult don’t get me started on the questionable wisdom of the design of the adult pool deck.

The family pools are a lot of fun – just so long as you don’t experience it when it is wall-to-wall 6-year-olds in there. It can get very busy, so you do need to pick your time wisely.

The best time to go to the family pool would be late at night, during dinner time, or when you’re at port. That way it’s not as busy.

One of the best aspects of this pool is Funnel Vision, which is a massive screen that’s attached to the funnel where you can watch some of your favorite Disney or Marvel films while you relax in the pool.

Swimming isn’t usually an option due to the volume of people you would have to swim around, but the pools can still be a lot of fun.

Disney Cruise AquaDuck and AquaMouse

The Disney AquaDuck is one of the best features of a Disney Cruise.

This is exclusive to the Disney Fantasy and the Disney Dream. But Disney Wish has AquaMouse, which is a variation on the AquaDuck (not necessarily an improvement).

The AquaDuck is a Disney original – a water coaster at sea. It is a whole lot of fun and is a definite must-do on a Disney cruise for all ages, particularly teens.

As you can imagine, the AquaDuck and AquaMouse can get pretty busy. You can spend 45 minutes to an hour at busy times.

The solution?

Don’t go at busy times.

So when you get on board, make sure you are either wearing your swimming trunks or that you have them in carry-on luggage. You can then go straight to the AquaDuck as soon as you get on board.

Other less busy times tend to be during dinner second seating, and on port days. The busiest times are days at sea from late morning until around 5 pm.

Make sure that you ride the Disney Cruise AquaDuck at least once. Try also to ride at night for a whole different point of view.

Food

You are never going to go hungry on a Disney cruise. There are so many food options that you are spoiled for choice.

The main dining rooms on all the Disney Cruise ships are fun for teens, particularly the Marvel Restaurant on Disney Wish.

One fun thing to do is to get Room Service. I always made sure that I got at least one pizza from Room Service.

And maybe a Mickey Bar.

And Cake of the Day.

Pirate Night

One of the things that Disney Cruise Line is well known for is Pirate Night. This is held on all the Caribbean and Bahamian cruises and some additional cruises in Australia and New Zealand.

A lot of guests get into the swing of things and dress up for Pirate Night.

There is a show and fireworks at sea. Make sure you do not miss out, particularly if this is your first time on a Disney cruise.

Disney’s Castaway Cay For Teens

What is even better than spending time on a Disney Cruise? Spending time on a Disney cruise private island!

Disney’s Castaway Cay is an amazing place, no matter what age you are. For teens is a great chance to spend some time on an amazing private island with your family and friends.

There are lots of port adventures and activities on Castaway Cay to choose from.

You can snorkel, paraglide, kayak, meet the stingrays, and rent a bike. There are so many things to do you won’t know where to start! Or you could just take advantage of the unlimited free ice cream and chill out on the beach.

It is great just relaxing on the beach and swimming in the ocean. One of my favorite things to do is to rent a tube and laze around in the water for a while. Just remember that sunscreen

If you enjoy water slides you will love Pelican Plunge.

Just get out there are soon as you can – the lines can get long around midday. You do need to be a decent swimmer to get out there, but it is a lot of fun to go on a waterside that dumps you out into the ocean.

I have been lucky enough to spend a long time on Disney cruises as a teen. It is an ideal vacation for my brother and me.

Plenty of things to do and a lot of time both with and without the adults!

If you are thinking of booking a Disney cruise and you have teens go ahead! Just be aware that you will be hooked it will be the first of many!

Will you be sailing on a Disney Cruise for teenagers?

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