We have sailed many times on Disney cruises and most often we book a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom With Verandah. If you are thinking of booking a stateroom on one of the Disney ships this is my Disney Wonder Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom With Verandah Review to help you with your selection.
The main reason for this choice of stateroom on the Disney ships is that it sleeps 5 guests and we are a family of 2 adults and 3 children. Not many cruise lines have staterooms which accommodate 5 so this is of course another big plus for Disney cruises. The pictures here are of our stateroom on the Disney Wonder when we sailed on the Panama Canal cruise in September 2013.
The Deluxe Family Ocean View Staterooms with Verandah are alike on the Disney Wonder and the Disney Magic – all the pictures you see here are of the Wonder.
The first thing which you notice when you walk into the stateroom is how large it is. We have always found that the Disney staterooms give more than enough space, and the Category 4 Family Stateroom is a very generous 304 square feet of space including verandah.
There is a Queen-size bed or 2 twin beds in the bedroom area. In the living area you will find a single convertible sofa, wall pull-down bed and upper berth pull-down bed.
The bed is incredibly comfortable, and the quality of the linens is really good. The kids like the bunk beds, and also say that the pull down bed near the verandah door is fine.
The pull down bed does obstruct access to the verandah as it goes straight across it – so be prepared to climb over the bed and possibly wake up the occupant if you want to get access to the verandah while they are sleeping.
The living area in the day is a really nice space. There is plenty of room on the couch for 3 kids and one adult. On the Panama Canal cruise we spent quite a bit of time sitting there and is didn’t feel cramped.
There is a privacy curtain between the living room and the bedroom area. The flat screen television is easy to see when you are in the living area sitting on the couch, but when everyone is in bed you can’t all see the television!
Not a big deal for us but may be for some.
The storage space is more than adequate. I always unpack as soon as we get onboard dan organize everything. There are closets with hanging space opposite the bathrooms.
The one thing that there aren’t enough of is hangers but you can ask your Stateroom Steward for more. There are shelves within the closet, as well as a small safe.
There are also drawers next to the closet. I keep everything organized in storage cubes when packing so it is very easy to unpack.
The living space also has a good amount of storage. There are more drawers, useful cupboards, and also a small cool box. You can’t really call it is refrigerator as it never gets that cold but it is fine for storing those bottles of wine you may have brought on board!
There is also a large steamer trunk – you can see that in the picture – it is the blue trunk close to the balcony window. This holds a lot of stuff.
The only problem is that when the pull down bed is pulled down you can only open the doors very slightly. So don’t put stuff in there that you need access to at night or early in the morning!
Disney Wonder Stateroom Split Bathroom
The bathroom is the unique Disney design of split bath with tub and shower. What this means is that you have 2 separate rooms – great for families.
One room has the toilet and a sink, with plenty of shelves for storage. The other room has a sink, bath and shower over bath. The bath is not very big but is large enough for a small child and is a nice feature.
The split bathroom is a great feature, but sometimes dealing with a family of 5 including one teenager with one bathroom is a bit of a challenge.
You may want to look into booking 2 staterooms (see below but the price may not be much different) if you think that your family really needs 2 bathrooms.
The storage in the bathroom is pretty good too, with lots of shelves.
You get some nice complimentary toiletries every day including shampoo, conditioner and soap.
Disney Wonder Verandah
The verandah is not huge but it is a decent size. It is a great luxury to be able to just open your stateroom door and just walk out onto the balcony. For those of you with very young children don’t be concerned – there is a lock up high on the door which a young child can’t reach.
You do have to supervise them carefully of course when you are out on the verandah, but I have never found it to be unduly stressful with a little one!
There are 2 chairs and a small table on the verandah. There really isn’t too much room for more. Most of the time it is just myself and DH who want to sit outside anyway, although when we were going through the Panama Canal it would have been nice to have had more chairs as all the kids wanted to be out there too!
Most of the verandahs have a clear plexiglass wall so you can see through it. This means that you can see out even when sitting down. Some of the Category 4E namely 8000-8020, 8072-8088, 8500-8520, 8572-8592 have a solid white wall verandah so you can’t see through it when sitting down. These are generally offered at a slight discount from the clear plexiglass ones.
All of the Category 4 staterooms are on Deck 8. Some people complain of noise from the deck above which is the main pool deck. We have spent many weeks in these staterooms and only rarely have we heard noise from above.
Deck 8 is a very convenient place to be on either the Disney Wonder or Disney Magic. You are just one deck down from the pools, buffet, Cove Cafe and the spa. Everything is within very easy access.
The staterooms on the Disney Magic have just been refreshed on a major dry dock so they are looking fabulous. They have also had the beds raised up (just like the Disney Dream and Fantasy) so that you can store luggage underneath the bed.
Disney Wonder Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom With Verandah
I would highly recommend a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom With Verandah. It is a great space and we always love the location on Deck 8. Having said that it isn’t always the cheapest option for a family of 5.
If you don’t want the Verandah then booking 2 inside staterooms is usually cheaper and of course you have 2 bathrooms. Or booking connecting outside staterooms can be an option.
Disney cruise pricing always varies between categories so it is always worth checking your options and seeing how the prices compare for the Category 4 or 2 other staterooms if you have a family of 5.
Enjoy your Disney Wonder Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom With Verandah!
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Alison Meacham is the founder of EverythingMouse Disney Blog. For over 15 years she has shared her love of Disney Parks, Disney Cruises and Universal Orlando. In over 30 years of Disney Travel she has spent countless months in Disney Parks and has sailed on over 45 cruises. A British native and now a United States resident she splits her time between California, Florida and the UK. And spends a serious amount of time sailing the seven seas. She helps over 200,000 people per month follow their Disney travel dreams.
Therese Nolan
Wednesday 19th of October 2022
Does the deluxe verandah stateroom on the Disney Wonder have a King size bed or 2 queens.
Alison
Friday 21st of October 2022
The Disney Wonder has one Queen size bed in all staterooms. The Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah sleeps either 3 or 4 guests. The staterooms for 3 have a sleeper sofa. The staterooms that sleep 4 have a pull down bunk above the sleeper sofa. Deluxe Family Oceanview Staterooms with Verandah sleep 5 and have a Queen bed,sleeper sofa with pull down bunk above, and an additional Murphy bed that pulls down from the wall.
Disney Fantasy Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom With Verandah Review
Sunday 9th of March 2014
[...] The Disney Fantasy does have some improvements to the design on the Fantasy over the Disney Wonder staterooms. We love the Disney Wonder but have to admit that the Fantasy rooms are quite a bit nicer. You can see our review at Disney Wonder Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom Review [...]
Annie
Thursday 30th of January 2014
Canyou share which stateroom this is with the bunkbeds? We are booking on Wonder and with two littles would prefer bbeds to max space. Thank you and very informative!
Alison
Thursday 30th of January 2014
This was stateroom 8538 on the Disney Wonder. All of the Category 4 staterooms have the bunk beds (it is a pull down bed from the ceiling and the soar converts to the bottom bunk). My boys love these bunk beds!
Disney Cruise Character Experiences
Thursday 19th of December 2013
[...] Disney Wonder Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom With Verandah Review [...]