Disney Cruise Line |

Disney Cruise Line, the leader in family cruising has created exciting new youth activities revamping children’s onboard experiences by allowing them to customize their cruise vacation based on their interest and not their age.

The new youth activities and its dedicated children’s spaces are available now on the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder and will be coming to the Disney Dream in January 2011.

“The changes within Disney Cruise Line youth activities will allow children freedom to create a customized experience onboard our ships,” said Disney Cruise Line Vice President of Entertainment Jim Urry. “Children can select their own adventures and immersive experiences for a truly personalized, memorable cruise vacation.”

Customized Experiences

On Disney Cruise Line, children can personalize their cruise vacation by selecting activities and events, regardless of age. Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab are open to children age 3 to 12 on the Disney Wonder and age 3 to 10 on the Disney Magic.

While Disney Cruise Line will continue to recommend activities that appeal to specific maturity levels and ages, the entire menu of offerings is open to every child. With this evolutionary approach to shipboard youth activities, children and parents select programs based on the specific interests of each child to create a customized and very personalized experience. Best of all, children of different ages — siblings, extended family and friends — can participate in youth activities together throughout their cruise.

The majority of children’s events and free-time activities occur within dedicated youth spaces on the ship and on Castaway Cay. As always, Disney Cruise Line youth activities are supervised by specially trained, experienced counselors.

Specific program information is available to guests on the day of check-in at the Youth Activities registration desk located in the Disney cruise ship terminal building prior to boarding, or onboard in the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab.

A World of Youth Activities

With more than 100 activities, events and programs, and with all youth activities open to all ages, children have more choices than ever before on Disney Cruise Line.

Many experiences draw inspiration from classic Disney stories and popular Disney characters:

During the new Cinderella’s Royal Ball, young guests can feel like royalty as Cinderella shows them how to be a prince or princess.
So You Want to be a Pirate offers adventurous tales of the high seas, pirate training for young buccaneers, swashbuckling fun and a special appearance by Captain Hook.
Children are immersed in the world of Disney●Pixar’s “Toy Story” during Toy Story Boot Camp. Led by Corporal Green, toy recruits participate in interactive activities.

Hands-on activities appeal to children’s sense of creativity and invention:

The next great celebrity chef could be discovered at Ratatouille Cooking School, where children work together to bake tasty chocolate chip cookies.
During the new Animal Tracking Series,children discover that conservation can be fun as they learn about endangered animals, create an animal tracking device and locate (plush) cotton-top tamarin monkeys using telemetry tracking on Castaway Cay.
In Flubber, one of the most popular youth activities on Disney Cruise Line, children join Professor Goo in creating magical green goo and other interesting concoctions.

Other onboard youth activities include playful programs such as Mouseketeer Training andLittle Einsteins for preschoolers; challenge-and solution-games like Stitch’s Great Adventure andDetective School with Goofy; high-action group activities such as Kim Possible: Cruise Control andThe Challenge of Davy Jones; and unstructured free time to enjoy the youth areas, play on computers and spend time having fun with new friends.

The Most Family-Friendly Cruise

Along with this evolution in youth activities, Disney Cruise Line continues to provide the most family-friendly cruise experience available.

While children are enjoying the most extensive youth activity areas at sea, parents can enjoy the ship “worry-free,” thanks to an onboard paging service that allows kids to contact their parents anytime and anywhere on the ship. Plus, Disney Cruise Line has the industry’s longest operating hours for children’s activities, providing greater flexibility for parents and even more fun for kids.

Recently introduced, Dine and Play allows families to enjoy dinner together, then gives kids more time to enjoy youth activities while parents relax at the end of the meal. With Dine and Play, parents may check their children (age 3 to 12) into evening youth activities during second seating in all of the main dining rooms. Families enjoy dinner together, then youth counselors whisk children away to play so the grown-ups can savor some time together in the adult-exclusive areas of the ship.

Disney stage productions, family activities, special events, first-run films in digital 3-D, poolside movies, deck parties, a family club and the Castaway Cay Family Beach provide even more opportunities for families to experience a memorable cruise vacation together.

To learn more about Disney Cruise Line or to book a vacation, guests can visit disneycruise.com, call Disney Cruise Line at 888/DCL-2500 or contact their travel agent. Travel agents can call Disney Cruise Line at 888/325-2500 or visit disneytravelagents.com.

Introduced more than 45 years ago, Flat Stanley has inspired a worldwide phenomenon becoming one of the most adventurous characters in children’s literature.

Becoming a popular tradition, families have taken Flat Stanley on their vacations or have sent him to family and friends in different cities. While having his picture taken in various locations, Flat Stanley has brought creativity and inspiration to the classrooms, as children would report their adventures to creating entertaining geography lessons.

With that said, Flat Stanley, traveled to the Library of Congress where he, along with the first three books in Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures series, were inducted into the Library to help Adventures by Disney and HarperCollins Children’s Books celebrate an exciting new project called “The Search for Flat Stanley’s Next BIG Adventure.”

With his innate ability to be mailed to different locations throughout the country, Flat Stanley is giving the great opportunity to up and coming writers and artists to create their own Flat Stanley story in “The Search for Flat Stanley’s Next BIG Adventure.” In this nationwide contest, children ages 7 to 12 can win an Adventures by Disney vacation by creating their very own specially themed Flat Stanley and a 150-word story about his “Next BIG Adventure.”

“Flat Stanley has traveled the globe and experienced much of what the world has to offer. HarperCollins is thrilled to be teaming up with Adventures by Disney to give Flat Stanley readers a chance to experience that world themselves,” said Diane Naughton, vice president of marketing, HarperCollins Children’s Books. “We can’t wait to see the imaginative adventures readers come up with for Stanley.”

“This promotion encompasses our joint mission – to bring history, culture and adventure from countries around the world to children, parents and educators in a creative and engaging way,” said Don Gross, vice president, Adventures by Disney. “We hope to encourage children and families’ passion for reading, travel and knowledge of the world.”

The entries will be judged in three age groups – one for 7 to 8-year-olds, one for 9 to10-year-olds and one for 11 to 12-year-olds. One winner will be chosen in each age group and each of the three winners can choose one of Adventures by Disney’s 19 worldwide vacations for their prize.

For Official Rules, check out www.FlatStanleyBooks.com/AdventuresbyDisney. This site has been a specially-created Web site featuring Flat Stanley; backgrounds, clothing, accessories and information from Adventures by Disney destinations to help kids prepare their Flat Stanley and stories; complete “Contest Official Rules” and entry information; interactive, educational games based on Adventures by Disney’s destinations; and a special section for educators with resources explaining how to incorporate Flat Stanley’s adventures into their classrooms.

The Contest runs through November 30, 2009 and no purchase is necessary to enter or win.

Also…Adventures by Disney has announced a fantastic deal – purchase select Adventures by Disney vacations receive a free three-night Disney Cruise. For more information, visit www.AdventuresbyDisney.com/freecruise.

Disney Cruise Line has revolutionized the family cruise vacation, Adventures by Disney is re-creating the way families think about vacationing together. With its launched in 2005, Adventures by Disney provides families with a hassle-free and exhilarating guided experiences to destinations in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia. With Disney-trained Adventure Guides, engaging activities, VIP experiences and personal touches throughout, Adventures by Disney excites and delights every member of the family. Guests wanting more information about Adventures by Disney can visit www.AdventuresbyDisney.com, call 877/728-7282, or contact their travel agent.