DISNEY DISNEY TESTS TESTS WATERS WATERS ON THE DANUBE,
Family-friendly river cruise caters to the younger set
ABRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA medieval fair of sorts is underway as Danube River cruiser Christine Laronga, 53, and her two teenage girls arrive under the ramparts of Devín Castle. In one corner, a traditionally garbed woman demonstrates candlemaking to a cluster of families, while a few steps away two blue-robed peasants offer lessons in calligraphy and coinmaking. Nearby, elaborately dressed knights engage with children and their parents in mock swordplay.
Perched over the confluence of the Danube and Morava Rivers, the ancient fortress near Bratislava, Slovakia, is a popular stop for passengers on Danube cruises. But such family-friendly activities aren’t normally part of a tour. They were arranged exclusively for Laronga and her traveling companions by the company that brought them here: family vacation giant Disney.
Through its fast-growing Adventures by Disney, the Mouse House is dipping a toe into river cruising for the first time, offering family-focused voyages on the Danube that some say could usher in a new era for a type of travel long relegated to older travelers.
“You always can count on Disney to have something for all ages,” says Laronga, a Tampabased surgeon who also is traveling with her mother. She says she never considered a river cruise before. But it was a “no-brainer” once Disney announced plans to get into the business.
“Disney is great with kids,” she says.
Disney is partnering with AmaWaterways, a seasoned river cruise operator. Covering nearly 450 miles of the Danube between Vilshofen, Germany, and Budapest, Hungary, the one-way, seven-night voyages take place on the new AmaViola, custom-built for the family market with cabin configurations that can hold three or four people — a rarity in river cruising. The ship has six sets of connecting cabins that allow for even bigger family groups.
Like cruises along the Danube offered by such lines as Viking and Avalon, Disney’s new trips provide an opportunity to explore the history-rich Central European capitals of Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna, strung like pearls along the river. Austria’s vineyard-lined Wachau Valley and the postcard-perfect Bavarian town of Passau, Germany, are other highlights.
Still, the trips differ significantly from those offered by traditional river lines.
In tours included at every stop, Disney’s family focus comes through with specific activities for “junior adventurers.” An overnight visit to Budapest brings an outing to the nearby Lázár Equestrian Center that includes wagon rides and goulash-making lessons. The highlight is a 30minute horse show with Hungarian cowboys in period costumes.
Disney staffs its ship with eight “adventure guides,” several of whom are dedicated each day to the children on board. The guides sometimes lead the youngest children away for separate activities, giving parents time to explore.
“It’s very helpful,” says Yvette Brown, 48, a doctor from Chambersburg, Pa., who is here with her mother and 6-year-old daughter. “Kids are not so much interested in all the historic (sites) unless it’s done in a fun way.”
Parents also get a break at dinner, when the guides oversee a separate dining experience for junior adventurers in the ship’s lounge. Teenagers also have their own nook in a walled-off corner of the dining room.
One thing you don’t find on the ship is the sort of over-the-top Disney theming found at the parks. While doughnuts at the breakfast buffet are shaped like Mickey ears, there are no Disney characters parading around the vessel, and tunes don’t play endlessly in hallways.
As is typical for Adventures by Disney trips, the sailings are heavily structured with almost non-stop activities — too many, some say. A visit to the sprawling Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna at times feels like a forced marched, as a 45-minute swirl through the Imperial Apartments is wedged between a 20-minute marionette show and separate 20-minute demonstration of strudel making. Just 10 minutes is allotted to ramble through the vast gardens.
Disney isn’t the first company to try to lure families to river cruising. Upscale tour operator Tauck has pursued the market since 2010 with a handful of family-focused sailings annually. This year it has 10 of the departures on three rivers: the Danube, Rhine and Rhone.
Still, Disney’s entry into river trips could be a watershed.
For longtime Disney fans such as Kelly Wilkerson, 39, of Tulsa, who is here with her husband and three kids, Mickey’s involvement means all the difference.
“We’ve wanted to river-cruise for a long time,” she says. “Now that they’re here, we jumped on it … and I’m sure we’ll do it again.”