Back in February I had the chance to my first (and thus far only) cruise on Disney's newest ship, the Disney Dream. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. The ship was bigger and better in almost every way. I still love the original ships a wouldn't hesitate to cruise on them again but to me, there's no question which is the better experience. The Disney Dream is spectacular.

That said, it's not perfect. And some of changes they chose to make were, in my opinion, a step backwards. In this article I look at 5 changes for the worse on the Disney Dream and 5 changes for the better. I'm not looking at the new features like the AquaDuck and the Magical Portholes, just changes that were made from the Magic/Wonder to the Dream. In no particular order, here they are:

The Promenade Cafe on the Disney Magic
Click here for a much larger version of this picture

A Change for the Worse: Promenade Cafe (Magic and Wonder)

Of all the things removed in creating the Disney Dream, this is the one I miss the most. The Promenade Cafe is the lounge on Deck 3 (the boarding deck) just off the main lobby. There are a lot of seats, live music and a bar. It�s usually pretty uncrowded and it is our standard go-to place to just hang out or meet up. It�s also where a lot of the cruise staff games like Cruisin� for Trivia are played. There�s really no place like it on the Dream. The Vista Cafe lounge on Deck 4 is nice but doesn�t have the music and has far fewer seats.
 

Nemo's Reef (that's mine in the orange wetsuit)
Click here for a much larger version of this picture

A Change for the Better: Got it Right: Nemo's Reef (Dream)

If you�re not yet potty trained, you�re not going to have all that much water fun on the Magic and Wonder. They do have splash zones but they seem more like afterthoughts (actually, they are, having been added in dry docks after the ships were in service). But on the Disney Dream an entire area called Nemo�s Reef has been created with kids and parents in mind: There are only two ways in - the main entrance and a small door to be used as a wheelchair entrance. It�s in the shade. There�s glass all around so you can see your child from many angles. And it�s huge. A vast improvement that our 2-year old wanted to visit again and again.