Sail Away on a Disney Cruise

Sail Away on a Disney Cruise

  

            Thursday, Saturday & Sunday of most weeks you will find me at my computer at 5pm EST. I’ll sit down with a soda, pull up the Port Canaveral Webcam, turn up the sound on my computer and sit for 20 minutes or so watching ships pull out of Port Canaveral.

            When doing this I’ve noticed that when a Disney ship pulls out of port there are more viewers online, especially since they added sound to the live streaming video. What makes the Disney ships so different?

            When any ship pulls out of port they blow their fog horn. For the standard ship it is a single tone that can near deafen you. On a Disney Ship the fog horns have trumplets that play songs! When Disney pull out of Port Canaveral they blast out a song. Magic and Wonder play only 1 song, and just the first 7 notes at that. (When You Wish Upon A Star) The Dream and Magic play songs, up to 14 notes. (When You Wish Upon A Star, first 14 notes and can break that in ½, A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, An Actors Life for Me, It’s A Small World, Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirates Life for Me and Be Our Guest) I can tell you from experience what a thrill it is to be on the deck and hear the trumplets blow!

            Fish Lips Bar and Grill is at the water’s edge at Port Canaveral. They maintain the Port Canaveral Webcam. Often when the Disney ships pass Fish Lips they will sound the trumplets at least once and sometimes more. It is a fun day when the Dream or Fantasy play all the songs right as they pass!

            Another fun thing that sometimes happens in ports (sadly I’ve never seen it and I don’t think it happens at Port Canaveral) is Fog Horn Wars/Battles. This is when two ships take turns blowing their Fog Horns. The bigger the ship the deeper and louder the Fog Horn. Disney Ships horns are on the lower to middle end of the spectrum. (Magic/Wonder smaller with Dream/Fantasy high end of the middle) Disney ships have a hard time winning a straight out Fog Horn Battle. Still they have a secrete weapon, the trumplets! The ships will blow their horns until one or the other signals submission with two quick blasts of the horn. Usually the Disney Ships end up submitting then they sound one of the songs! With that the bigger ships quickly submit! Magic and Wonder were never truly beaten in a Fog Horn War until the Dream and Fantasy came along. I’m hoping when I go on my next cruise in 2014 with the Basementeers from Walt’s Basement I hope to see a Fog Horn Battle! Scroll to the bottom of this post for video of a couple of Fog Horn Wars.

            Here are some fun things to look at including a link to the Port Canaveral Webcam and Walt’s Basement where you can check out plans for the cruise! All are welcome to join the trip!

Walt’s Basement ~ For the Love of All Things Disney

http://waltsbasement.yuku.com/

Basementeers In the Caribbean planning thread

http://waltsbasement.yuku.com/topic/27362/Walts-Basement-Grand-Gathering-Planning-Topic

Port Canaveral Webcam (Courtesy of Fish Lips Bar & Grill)

http://portcanaveralwebcam.com/

Fog Horn Wars

Big Ship vs Disney Magic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN6OuzU0lGw

Disney Magic vs Disney Dream

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQDGG51Qq3I

All the Songs Disney Dream/Fantasy play

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWEsc0DT_8g

Fog Horn Wars!!! What the Heck is a Fog Horn War?!?!

Fog Horn Wars!!! What the Heck is a Fog Horn War?!?

For years cruise ships have had fog horn wars. What ship has the biggest, badest sounding horn! From my laughing look at many cruise ship fog horn wars the bigger the ship the deeper the horn. Sad to say no fog horn wars on either of my two cruises.

Since the Disney Magic started sailing in 1998 Disney ships have won the wars. At first the Magic was the 5^th largest cruise ship at sea. This gave it the wonderful deep horn that gains respect. But as years have gone on ships became larger. Now they are double the size of the Magic and her sister the Wonder. Their horns are deeper that either of the Disney older twins. Still Magic and Wonder won the wars hands down with the guests on the other ships clapping and laughing as they did.

How the grand old ladies of the Disney Cruise line won the fog horn wars was to blow the Disney Cruise Line signature fog horn trumplets and play the first seven notes of “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Magic and Wonder can still out blow and win the fog horn battles with almost any cruise ship at sea. Even the biggest ships end up surrendering to them. Ships signal surrender with one short blast of their horn.

The days of the Disney Magic and Wonder winning every fog horn war is over. It ended last year when the Disney Dream came into service. Not only does the Dream and her twin the Fantasy have deeper horns as decided by their size, they also play the 7 note “When You Wish Upon a Star.”

Here is a link to the Disney Magic and Dream having a fog horn war at Castaway Cay. What I would have given to be there! Oh my! If you watch the video you will see the Magic bravely try to battle it out with her much larger yet younger sister, the Dream. As you watch you will see Magic give up just blowing its regular fog horn and go to its trumplets. The Dream responds in kind with its larger trumplets and off they go! In the end poor Magic (and her sister ship the Wonder is the same) can’t compete with the Dream’s trumplets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQDGG51Qq3I&list=FLoHeAkzPW_PGh5yoKBq4XzA&index=39&feature=plpp_video

Magic and Wonder play

When You Wish Upon a Star

First seven notes of the song only

Dream and Fantasy play (I believe they play the same songs)

(They may play more songs than I list but I only know of these)

          When You Wish Upon a Star

First fourteen notes of the song or the first seven or the second set of seven notes.

          A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Be our Guest

Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee

It’s a Small World After All

A Pirate’s Life for Me

Just for fun I’ve added a second link here so you can see the Magic battling with a Carnival cruise ship that is much bigger than the Magic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEKMp9bNp5s&list=FLoHeAkzPW_PGh5yoKBq4XzA&index=140&feature=plpp_video