I had the good fortune to sail on the christening cruise of Disney Cruise Line’s new ship, the Disney Wish, in late June, and was among the first to board the AquaMouse themed water coaster. The Disney Wish will sail its maiden voyage on July 14, 2022. Here is my review.
2.5 (out of 5)*
When Disney Cruise Line launched its third ship, the Disney Dream, in 2010, it introduced the AquaDuck, the first water coaster at sea. It later included a clone of the ride aboard the the Disney Fantasy. Now, the Disney Wish will set sail with what the company is calling “the first attraction at sea,” the AquaMouse. It’s essentially the same ride system as the AquaDuck, but the new attraction tells a story with projected media and effects. (The “telling a story” part is what distinguishes a ride from an attraction.)
Whereas the AquaDuck includes a long section of translucent tube through which passengers can view the ocean and the deck below, the first part of the AquaMouse’s 760-foot tube is opaque and serves as a show building of sorts. Passengers get to ride up on a conveyer belt through a “magical tunnel” that includes a series of screens (designed as large portholes) and speakers that present a mini (or is that Minnie?) Mickey cartoon short. It is in the same stylized aesthetic as the retro “Mickey Mouse” animated shorts that Disney Television Animation has been airing for a few years, which draw inspiration from the studio’s late 1920s and early 1930s cartoons.
Guests get to experience one of two shorts. “Scuba Scramble” is an original production created for the attraction. It features Mickey and the gang cavorting with underwater creatures. I got to see “Swiss Meltdown,” an alpine-themed story based on the “Mickey Mouse” short, “Yodelberg.” The cartoon lasts a bit over one minute. The frantic action and silly hijinks are entertaining enough, but the media doesn’t meld in any meaningful way with the action of the ride vehicles. It’s just a bunch of screens lining both sides of the lift tunnel.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the delightful attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios which also features the classic characters in the the style of the “Mickey Mouse” shorts, is wildly ingenious and compelling on the other hand. It’s a bit of a stretch to identify the AquaMouse as an “attraction.”
*Note that in addition to the video screens, there are supposed to be synchronized water and other effects in the tunnel. During the media preview I attended the effects were either not working or turned off for some reason. My ride rating might have been different (likely higher) had I experienced the attraction as designed. The christening cruise was apparently the first time that the Disney Wish sailed with guests, and the AquaMouse hadn’t had a soft opening to put it though its paces. More often than not, the entire attraction was down during the cruise as techs struggled to keep it operational. I got stuck midway through my first ride as the AquaMouse cycled down and had to be escorted off. I’m sure that when the Disney Wish embarks on its maiden voyage on July 14, Disney will have resolved the issues.
After the two-person raft reaches the top of the lift tunnel, gravity takes over, and it careens through an enclosed tunnel with some lighting effects. The action picks up when “Master Blaster” water jets propel the raft uphill twice. AquaMouse wraps with a spirited jaunt through a clear tube and a tame splashdown finale accompanied by an audio sendoff from Goofy.
Could you handle AquaMouse?
Geared to families, all but the most faint of heart should be fine with the attraction’s mild thrills. The uphill blasts are not as powerful as most other water coasters, such as Crush ‘n’ Gusher at Walt Disney World’s Typhoon Lagoon. And neither the uphill nor the downhill elements are all that long or steep. Accordingly, the speed and G forces are fairly gentle.
This may be the first “attraction at sea,” but it is not the first themed water coaster. In fact the very first water coaster, Dragon Blaster, which opened in 1994 at Schlitterbahn in Texas, was redesigned as Dragon’s Revenge, and now includes water screens and other (albeit relatively primitive) effects.
AquaMouse represents a trend among cruise lines to include signature thrill rides on their newer ships. For example, Carnival’s Mardi Gras, which launched in 2021, features Bolt, the first roller coaster at sea.
In addition to AquaMouse, the Disney Wish offers other water attractions, including Slide-a-saurus Rex, a double-looping body slide. The Toy Story Splash Zone has pint-sized slides, water jets, fountains, and other ways for tykes to get soaked. There are also a number of small pools for all ages as well as an infinity pool and a whirlpool spa designated for adults in the ship’s 18+ Quiet Cove district. Oddly, one end of the otherwise hushed adults-only area backs up to the boisterous AquaMouse.
Ride along with me on AquaMouse.
Are you looking forward to experiencing AquaMouse? What uphill water coasters have you enjoyed? What do you think of the trend to include thrill rides aboard cruise ships?
The cartoon-showing lift hill seems like a good idea to me - cause that’s a long lift, and I imagine would be pretty boring without. But does showing a cartoon make your ride an “attraction?” What I would like to see is an honest-to-Walt dark ride on one of these ships - something on the level of Monsters Inc from DCA. Minimal audio animatronics would hopefully require less maintenance, and surely these giant boats have the space.
I enjoyed the video, but yeah, would love to see the water effects working properly as the lift portion of the ride looked pretty lame. I'm sure the dark sections are fun, but that's always hard to get a feel for on video. The transparent portion of the slide looked the most appealing as you're looking out over the ocean and down to the deck below.
I haven't had the opportunity to ride a lot of water coasters, but I have ridden two that are arguably among the best: Mammoth and Wildebeest at Holiday World (haven't had the opportunity to ride Cheetah Chase yet, but looking forward to it).
As far as the thrill ride trend on cruise ships, it's always felt a bit gimmicky to me. You're going to be limited by space, so chances are whatever you do is going to be a vastly neutered version of a thrill ride in a theme park. On the other hand, it's hard for a theme park enthusiast to argue *against* more rides. =) Considering Disney could have easily just put in another non-themed generic waterslide and called it a day, I'm all for them experimenting to see what works and what doesn't.