Disney Magic-New and Improved? updated 11/23/13 About This Page:

[PixieMichele]

Well, this is probably the quickest "pre-trip report" I've ever written, as I'm leaving in 7 hours for the airport to catch a flight to Miami and to the newly re-imagined Disney Magic. Is it new and improved? We shall find out!

A few preliminary details about our travel party: Yours truly (30 year old cruise obsessed co-guide) My mom and Dad (we're sharing a room, in their 50's) and my parents close friends (in their 50's and 60's) in an adjoining room.

My parents and I have a fantastic relationship and DH and I have traveled with them many times and even shared a stateroom without a problem. They were booking a cruise for November and when the Magic came up, I invited myself at the last minute because I wanted to investigate the "new" ship. You know...for "work purposes". It's my job to stay abreast of the latest Disney travel news, so clearly that means inviting yourself into your parents stateroom and packing the camera and laptop!

My parents friends are nice, but a bit formal and I, clearly, am not. But i'm sure it will be fine. I'm actually looking forward to the freedom that being the 5th wheel will bring. I can work and blog without guilt and have a few minutes of "down time" to myself. I have a book that's been burning a hole in my Nook for the last 3 months that I haven't been able to start yet so I'm looking forward to that. I'm happy to be rid of DH and DSS (Step-son) for a few days for a much needed mental health break.

I forsee a lot of late night wandering and afternoons in Cove Cafe with my laptop, but who knows if that will actually happen or not.

I'm nervous about flying in on the same day as my cruise, this is the first time we've ever done that and it was out of sheer necessity. Our flight lands in Miami around 10:40 and we have to be onboard by 4pm. My parents are flying first class so the luggage will be tagged Sky Priority through Delta and in my experience it comes off the carousel rather quickly.

My Dad has booked private transportation through Cary international, our first time using them, so hopefully that goes smoothly. I already have a HUGE case of ants in my pants! I'm a "GET ME ON THE SHIP" type of girl so not landing until 10:40 is already eating at me, I want as much time on the ship as possible!

My initial expectations are that the cruise is going to feel too short (4-nights always feel like that to me) but I'm hoping to be able to soak in as much as possible during that time. I'm wondering how I'll feel about the "newly re-imagined" Magic after having most recently cruised on the Dream and Fantasy, and I LOVE the Fantasy. I know comparing the classic ships to the new one's isn't comparing apples to apples, as they say, but still I'm hoping for some much needed improvements to the classic ships.

I'm looking forward to the shows, as always, I'm obsessed with the stage shows and I'm most looking forward to the improvements to Animators Palate.

Palo is booked for Pirate Night, because I loathe the pirate menu, which is also our Castaway Cay day. I'm hoping that's not our AP night on our rotation but we shall find out at check-in.

So tomorrow I embark on this odd couple adventure as the fifth wheel in my group and I'm looking forward to it. I want to only focus on learning as much about the ship as I can, taking pictures, meeting up with some crew friends and relaxing. No worrying about anything or anyone else while I'm away! Except my fellow PP-ers of course who will be following along on my trip report!

Castaway Cay here I come!

[xwewhisper]

Have a great flight, can't wait to hear all about your experiences!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lauriep]

Looking forward to hearing what your impressions are of the "new" ship. I'm sure 4 days will feel way too short, but what a wonderful treat. I had a fit of the when you mentioned sitting in Cove Cafe! I've seen photos of it updated, but will be interested to hear if it still has the same calming and quiet atmosphere-- and good coffee!

[chezp]

Have a magical time and, as we're cruising on the new Magic next summer, I can't wait to hear about your experiences!

[pamcarey]

Sounds great! I can't wait to hear all about it!

[PixieMichele]

A brief update while I suck up the last few minutes of 3G service in port....

I'll get to all the ugly (and pretty) details later, but the long and short of it in my opinion is that the Magic needed a much longer dry dock. I'm really disappointed in the lack of service and also the condition of the ship in general. There are maintenance workers everywhere, the ceilings are leaking, the quiet pool had constriction all day long (hammering, sawing, grinding, etc.) and there's just a general feeling of disarray onboard.

The second show of Twice Charmed got cancelled last night due to extensive mechanical and technical problems in the Walt Disney Theatre so there was a matinee today, which caused the crew to have to come back onboard to work instead of having time in port.

The service is disturbingly not up to par with Disney standards. This is the first cruise I've ever taken where I haven't once laid eyes on my stateroom attendant. Have no clue who he or she is and the condition of the room was sub par at best, and continued thought the cruise.

The changes that have been made are nice and much needed but now the improved areas of the ship make the old parts look even worse.

They did a great job with Cabanas and the After Hours district is amazing and a vast improvement. Fathoms as its now called is a drastic difference and a much better theme and feel. Diversions was a minor re-theme to O'Gills Pub, but still an improvement; likewise with keys.

The AquaDunk is positively terrifying, you are in a standing position when they close the lid on your capsule and the floor then drops out from underneath you! I won't be doing that again, it was terribly unsettling. That being said, the 6 year old in line in front of me had ridden it 27 times already (not that he was counting).

There has been a huge problem with the number of kids infiltrating the adult areas and the crew is doing their best to assist but just can't keep up.

For the first time ever I've gotten a great set of dining room servers although I have no clue who our dining room manager is as I haven't seen him once, nor has anyone been to our table to introduce themselves or ask how things are going, aside from our server who is fantastic.

I'm really disappointed in the overall experience and don't think the "Magic" shone through this time around :/

[lauriep]

How VERY disappointing! It just doesn't seem like Disney to go into full operation with the ship in such poor condition and service so disrupted. I'm so sorry for passengers sailing with DCL for the first time as this does not sound like a Disney Cruise.

[chezp]

That is extremely disappointing to hear. I've heard that there have been similar reports on other boards, but I wasn't going to believe it until I heard it from someone on here, so I know other boards are often negative for no reason.

I really hope they sort the issues out, and I have to say I'm confident they will, before we board next summer to sail around the Med.

[pamcarey]

Wow, that is disappointing news!

[PixieMichele]

Ok, back home and in the midst of laundry and email and the million other things I have to get done I wanted to weigh in on the other parts of my quickie on the Disney Magic. The experience wasn't all negative but as a seasoned Disney Cruiser it was far from what I had anticipated, particularly in the build up of the "newly re-imagined" aspects of the ship.

Yes, areas were improved, some for the better and some that didn't really make any sense in the grand scheme of things but let's look at the positive things that have improved on the Disney Magic:

The After Hours District

The adult district-This has turned from Beat Street to After Hours and is a much needed improvement and the most drastic (in my opinion). Fathoms particularly needed a re-vamp as it's the "main" hangout for the adult crowd and was seriously outdated.

The new look is chic and modern and has a blue theme that gives an "under the sea" feeling, which is far better than the busy 90's theme that originally comprised Beat Street.

The new look has breathed fresh life into the adult district and makes it an alluring place that adults want to hang out, the layout is much more inviting and the seating far more modern and up to par with the seating you'd see on the Dream and Fantasy. Tall high back booths in light blue fabric have replaced the old over-sized and over stuffed booths with gigantic table tops. The gross carpet has been replaced with a mix of new carpet and "wood" flooring.

There are no longer live bands that perform to an empty room, instead the classic games we all love to hate are still in play (Match Your Mate, Magic-Quest, Pop, etc.) and a DJ is spinning music that's actually relevant to this decade.

The 4-night cruise I was on left from Miami, and it never occurred to me the saturation of non-English speakers that would be onboard. Of course Disney had planned for that with a cast that was saturated in the Latin culture and spoke fluent Spanish. Games were translated and even the movie theater was showing the main attractions (Thor) in Spanish.

It was amazing to me that on our last night, we played an 80's song game. A flair on name that tune basically, that involved being the first to name the song clip and then extra points were awarded for "team" behavior, extra craziness, etc. Our group of over-achievers turned that into choreographed danced that went with the song and a bunch of zany ideas (yeah, an old school Conga line happened through the After Hours district; that was us)! Half of our team didn't speak English but we kidnapped them when they walk in and recruited them for our team and after they saw the first round they jumped right in to participate. We couldn't communicate verbally with each other but the music and fun translated across language barriers and we all danced into the wee hours of the morning. It was nice to see life in the adult district past 9p.m. and people dancing and having a good time.

Keys has had a refresh and still features a live pianist nightly. Diversions has changed over to O'Gills with the addition of the O'Gills branding and addition of high top tables throughout the area. Fathoms was undoubtedly where the bulk of the change was most noticeable.

Dining
Carioca's is still basically Parrot Cay with paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a fake backdrop of Brazil to cover the buffet area that's available during the day.

The menu was South American and it was actually very good. I had the flank steak and it was very flavorful and tender, the majority of the menu did seem weighted heavily toward seafood though.

Aside from a change in paint color and the paper lanterns everything else is basically the same. There is a new costume for that as well that is "Brazilian" themed. The plates have changed to reflect the new color scheme but other than that...

**Spoiler alert**

Animators Palate has been updated a bit and the show has changed. I was disappointed to not have some version of Animation Magic, since it was so popular on the Fantasy. I just think the ship wouldn't be able to handle that level of technology, especially after such a quick (and troublesome) dry dock.

Things have been freshened up, the servers are no longer wearing the colored vests (it's a tie change instead) and the murals on the wall now show sketches of characters being drawn, much like the Animation Studio at Hollywood Studios. It's entertaining to guess the characters being drawn near your table. The show at the end is improved and Sorcerer Mickey still makes an appearance so don't leave early.

Lumiere's hasn't changed but Cabanas is a vast, vast improvement. The old style, overcrowded buffet is gone and mimics the set up of Cabanas like on the Dream and Fantasy. The food is great, the floor plan is much better, it's brighter and much more accommodating and a much, much needed improvement. I do miss the mosaic mural on the wall though, it's a wood cut out instead of the mosaic tile but hey...beggars can't be choosy

Time for a laundry break, but I didn't want to leave you all with the impression that nothing had changed, because things have improved, but not nearly as many things as needed changing =/

[lauriep]

Of the changes you've mentioned I think the one that will be most welcome to me is the change to Cabanas. Unlike most people, I guess, I liked the decor of Parrot Cay, although I won't be sorry to see a menu change. I'm glad to hear that the adult district is so much improved, although I probably still won't spend much time there. I'm such an early riser that I usually miss the night-time activities.

Thanks for all these details!

[chezp]

Thanks for the update and it's good to hear that some of the changes that have been made have been real improvements. In particular, I'm pleased to hear about the quality of food in Carioca's, as Parrot Cay always seemed to be lacking to me.

[pamcarey]

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to hear that some of the changes have been positive! Now I want some flank steak!

[goofyboysmama]

Nice critique, thanks.

[xwewhisper]

Thanks for the feedback on the different "improved" areas! Very helpful