Flo's V-8 Cafe on the Disney Dream

The husband and I were lamenting the other day because we miss “our ship.”  It was near dinner time and we were wistfully reminded of the ease of obtaining food on the Disney Dream.  In addition to the three main dining rooms and Cabanas, Deck 11 offers even more choices with Flo’s V-8 Café.

Taking a nod from Cars, Flo’s V-8 Café features Luigi’s Pizza, Doc’s Grill, and Fillmore’s Favorites.  These three “counters” are located mid-ship on Deck 11 on the Disney Dream and feature their own “road” painted on the floor.  Guests can get their tank refilled typically from 11:00 am until late in the evening, 11:00 pm or midnight.  Hours of operation are posted in the daily Navigators.

Luigi’s Pizza offers a variety of pizza toppings and features a “pizza of the day” advertised on a sign on the counter.  The boy’s favorite is BBQ chicken pizza.  Various selections are displayed in the glass case and you order by the slice or slices.

Doc’s Grill is known for its burgers and then some.  Hot dogs, brats, fish burgers, chicken strips, fries, veggie burgers, and chicken sandwiches can all be found on the menu.  A wide selection of condiments are available just across from Doc’s Grill.

Fillmore’s favorites features salads, fresh fruit—either the whole fruit or cut and sliced in a bow, yogurt, deli sandwiches, wraps, pasta, and grilled panini sandwiches.

As you can tell this is the place for a quick meal or a quick snack.  With self-serve ice cream just around the corner, and drink stations on the other side of the pool, it is hard to imagine ever having to leave this area.

Having now sailed 10 nights on the Disney Dream, we have figured out how to make the most of Flo’s V-8 Café.  Here are our hints and tips:

• The square plates at Luigi’s pizza are great for carrying drinks from the drink station.  One plate can hold 4 cups.  So, we ask for a plate from Luigi’s and head to the drink station to get our drinks then return to Luigi’s to place our order.  The plate of pizza goes on top of the drinks.  Stacking the plates and the drinks makes it easier to carry if you are taking it to your stateroom or another location.
• Hold the fries.  At Doc’s Grill if you are ordering for more than one person but don’t have extra hands, ask them to put more than one “entrée” on a plate and then hold the fries or put a few on the side.  We can get a cheeseburger, chicken strips, and brat all onto one plate—again, easier to carry.
• All of these locations share the same kitchen.  If you want pizza and a cheeseburger, tell them at either location before taking your plate.  The crew will pass your plate to the next counter inside the kitchen, other items will be added, and you can pick up your plate at the next counter.  The crew prefers this rather than you handing them a plate that you have already taken from the other counter to have additional food added at the next counter.
• If you are eating anywhere other than Deck 11, be sure to use the midship doors to get to the midship elevators as they open automatically.  For me, this is the best addition to the Disney Dream as usually just one of us heads out to get a snack for all of us.  Multiple plates and drinks means hands are full so an automatic door is appreciated.

When people ask me why a Disney Cruise vacation is our easiest vacation, especially if traveling with children, I give examples of how easy it is to feed your kids on the ship.  If the boy is hungry, we can get him fresh fruit, pizza, and a glass of milk within minutes and it is all included in the price of our cruise.  Imagine trying to do that at a Disney park!  And, now that he is older, he is able to do that for himself; all you can eat pizza and ice cream equals paradise for a 10 year old boy.

What if you are sailing on the Disney Magic and Wonder?  Well, these same offerings are available on Deck 9, with Pluto’s Dog House, Goofy’s Galley, and Pinocchio’s Pizzeria, they just aren’t as conveniently located as Flo’s V-8 Café.

The Pool Deck--Deck 11 on the Disney Dream

Want to know where almost everyone gathers on the Disney Dream?  It’s Deck11, the pool deck, between the funnels.  Going from aft to forward, you will find Nemo’s Reef, Mickey pool and slide (the drink stations are on both sides of the Mickey pool), hot tubs, Donald pool, and the Funnel Vision Screen with a stage.  And, the Aqua Duck surround the whole area—click here to read more.  Yep, you can pretty much find everyone here and the pools can disappear with the push of the button giving room for deck parties.  Cool!

On our first afternoon on board, we found some chairs on deck 11 and towels, which are located in the wooden cabinets between the pool deck and the walk-way.  Most often, they are labeled clean towels.  You will also find towel return areas for used towels.  No need to take towels from your stateroom or bring your own beach towels.  We also noticed that the pool deck chairs were very different from the white w/ stripe deck chairs found on the Magic and the Wonder.

 Nemo’s Reef is great for the not yet potty trained set, as swim diapers are not allowed in any of the pools.  At the same time, the boy just had to try it out and loved the fish shaped water guns.  He was allowed to go in the area.  There are steps leading into Nemo’s Reef from the pool deck, so step carefully.  Nemo’s Reef is a huge improvement over the splash zones near the Mickey pool on the Wonder and the Magic.  Nemo’s Reef is covered, adding protection from sun and wind for little ones and is surrounded by clear Plexiglas, which makes keeping an eye on your youngster even easier, as the area has two sides.

Mickey’s pool has the face of the beloved icon on the bottom of the pool, is kept a nice 86°, and is about 1 ½ feet deep.  The boy checked it out, but didn’t spend much time swimming there.  The Mickey slide is off to the side of the Mickey pool and can have very long waits.  Based on my observation, the slide is not as tall as it is on the Magic and the Wonder.  The Mickey slide empties into the Mickey pool on the Magic and the Wonder, but empties into its own splash area on the Dream.  

 The drink stations are located on either side of the Mickey pool and offer free soda, milk, water, coffee, etc. 24 hours a day.  Cups with lids and straws are available.  Tip:  Since slotted drink holders are not available, we would grab a plate from Luigi’s Pizza, as it is square, and use it as a tray for cups.  You can put 4 filled cups on a plate and stack another plate on top if you want/need.  On the Magic and the Wonder, you could grab a tray from Beach Blanket or Topsiders buffets to carry filled cups, but since Cabanas (click here to read more) only has plates, trays are not available.  We made our own trays using the square plates from Luigi’s.  It is okay to ask for just a plate.  When you return to Luigi’s to get a plate of pizza, already carrying your plate of drinks, they understand.  Trust me!

 

Speaking of the Mickey pool, one evening we were riding the Aqua Duck and I thought the Cast Member at the entrance steps looked familiar.  So on our next turn, I stopped and asked if he was the Cast Member that attended the Mickey pool on the Magic.  He looked surprised and said that he was.  I told him that I recognized him from our last cruise on the Magic.  He was pleased and hoped that we were enjoying our cruise on the Dream.  A similar thing happened with a Cast Member at Shutters—Grace—who recognized US from the Magic.

Back to Deck 11.  The Donald pool is next which has a depth of a little over 5 feet, so this pool is for swimmers.  The boy and the husband swam the first day on board and the boy swam again during our evening Aqua Duck adventures.  A fun thing to do in the Donald pool is watch a movie.  What?  Yep, the Funnel Vision Screen is near the Donald pool, so you can take a dip and take in a flick all at the same time!

 The hot tubs are on the side of the ship on Deck 11.  They have clear sides and clear window on the bottom for viewing out to sea, as they hang over the ship a bit.  There is also a clear window on the deck floor to the side of the hot tubs which intrigued the husband and the boy. 

Know that the hot tubs are HOT.  You could find at least one member of the Williams Family in a hot tub late in the evenings on our cruise.

 So, what’s beyond the funnels on Deck 11?  Well, aft is Cabanas—click here to read more.  And, as you go forward on the ship, you would find Luigi’s Pizza, Filmore’s Favorites, Tow Mater’s Grill, Flo’s Café, Eye Scream, and Frozone’s Treats.  The Cove Café and Adult pool are beyond the food locations and Senses Spa beyond that as you move forward on the ship.

For me, one the most appreciated inventions/additions to the Disney Dream were the automatic doors on Deck 11 at midship, just after the Donald pool, that lead to the midship elevators.  Inevitably, I would find my hands full of either drinks, food, or both, and trying to make my way back to our stateroom.  Navigating the elevators was easy with no hands as typically there is someone else going the same place or direction, or you can ask someone to push your deck number when you enter the elevator.  Note:  The hardest door to open on the entire ship?  The door from the Adult pool on Deck 11 to the forward elevators.  Even though taking that route would put me closer to our stateroom, handling the doors with my hands full was almost impossible.  Hence the new route using the automatic doors at midship. 

Deck 11 is certainly a hub of activity on the Disney Dream and offers something for every cruiser.