Disney Magic


Disney Magic at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
History
Name: Disney Magic
Owner: Disney Cruise Line (The Walt Disney Company)
Operator: Disney Cruise Line (The Walt Disney Company)
Port of registry: Nassau,  Bahamas
Route: 4 Night Caribbean Cruises,5,6,7 and 8 Night Western Caribbean Cruises,2,3,4 and 8 Night Bahamian Cruises,4,5,7,9 and 12 night Mediterranean Cruises, Special Cruises
Ordered: 1996
Builder: Fincantieri Marghera, Italy[1]
Cost: US$400 million
Yard number: 5989
Launched: April 17, 1997
Christened: 1998
Maiden voyage: July 30, 1998[1]
In service: 1998-Present
Identification: IMO number: 9126807
Status: In Service
General characteristics
Class and type: Magic
Type: cruise ship
Tonnage: 83,338 GT[1]
Length: 964 ft (294 m)[1]
Beam: 106 ft (32 m)
Draft: 25.3 ft (7.7 m)
Decks: 11
Installed power: 43,000 kW (57,600 hp)
Propulsion: Diesel-Electric; *5 × Sulzer 16ZAV40S; two shafts
Speed:
  • Cruising 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph),
  • maximum 23.5 knots (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph)
Capacity: 2,700 passengers
Crew: 945

Disney Magic is a cruise ship owned and operated by the Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.[2] She has 11 public decks, can accommodate 2,700 passengers in 875 staterooms,[1] and has a crew of approximately 950. The interior of Disney Magic is decorated in the Art Deco style, in contrast to her sister ship, Disney Wonder which is decorated in the Art Nouveau style.

The ship has twenty bright yellow lifeboats which, along with the black, red, and white colors of the ship itself, match the colors of Mickey Mouse. This change from the standard safety orange took a waiver of international maritime rules.[3] As with other Disney cruise ships, the ship's horn blast plays an excerpt from Disney's famous flagship tune, '"When You Wish upon a Star".[4] The Disney Magic's Godmother is Patricia Disney, former wife of Walt Disney's nephew, Roy E. Disney.[5]

History

Disney Magic departing Port Canaveral.

Disney had cruise ship designs drawn up by February 1994.[6] Disney Cruise Line in 1995 commissioned Disney Magic and Disney Wonder from Fincantieri in Italy. The ship was build in two halves with the bow built at Fincatieri's Ancona shipyard and the aft at their Marghera shipyard. The planned maiden voyage was for March 12, 1998.[1] In January 1997, the first ticket for the Magic's first trip were raffled off on Lifetime channel, while ticket sales would begin in September 1997.[3] With continuing delays on the MS Rotterdam kept additional workers from the Magic. Thus by November 1997, the cruise line rescheduled the ship's initial voyage to April 30, 1998. Further delays, from suppliers and weather conditions, at Fincantieri forced back the maiden voyage of Disney Magic a few more months. The bow was towed to the Marghera shipyard where the halves were joined.[1]

With livery and design evocative of the RMA Queen Mary,[7] the Disney Line Disney Magic set sail on its maiden voyage on July 30, 1998 out of Port Canaveral as the cruise line's launch ship.[1] The ships initial cruises were to Nassau, Bahamas with a stop at Castaway Cay over three to four nights.[5]

Originally, from the summer of 2000, Disney Magic had been offering weekly cruises to Castaway Cay and multiple Caribbean islands out of its home port in Port Canaveral, Florida.[8][9] In June 2005, Disney Magic was dispatched to the West Coast in honor of Disneyland's 50th Anniversary celebrations.[10]

In May 2007, Disney Magic started her inaugural Mediterranean cruises out of Barcelona, Spain. At the end of the summer, she returned to her home port of Port Canaveral. Disney Magic returned to Barcelona in 2010 for another summer of Mediterranean cruises, as well as several northern European cruises before again returning to Port Canaveral in September.[5]

In May 2012, Disney Magic was relocated to New York City, where she sailed 8-night cruises to the Bahamas, New England, and Canada. In September she was relocated to Galveston, Texas for the remainder of the year and offered 4 Night Caribbean Cruises, 6, 7, and 8 Night Western Caribbean Cruises, and 8 Night Bahamian Cruises.[11] In June 2013, Disney Magic was re positioned to Barcelona, Spain for the summer.[12]

In October 2013, Disney Cruise Line completed renovations to Disney Magic [13] including updates to the ship's cabins, lounges, restaurants and spa and introduced new features including; "Marvel's Avengers Academy", a play area based on Marvel's Avengers characters, the AquaDunk and the AquaLab, consisting of a pool and waterslide.[14]

In the beginning of summer of 2016, the Disney Magic sailed Disney Cruise Lines' inaugural Northern Europe itineraries, homeported in the port of Southampton, close to London, England. She sailed to Norway, the British Isles, and the Baltic during her brief three month season. She will return to the region in 2017.

Entertainment

Like all Disney Cruise Line ships, entertainment on Disney Magic includes live Broadway-style shows with many Disney characters, two movie theaters, the Walt Disney Theater and the Buena Vista theater, which feature both Disney classics and occasional first-run movies, several night clubs and lounges, several pools, and many Disney-themed parties and celebrations, including a Sail-Away Celebration and Pirates Night.

On the ship's forward funnel, there is a 24-by-14 foot LED screen known as the Funnel Vision, due to its location on the rear of one of the ship's funnels, where guests can watch various movies and shows either from the deck, or from inside Goofy's Pool.

Shows from the Walt Disney Theatre may include: All Aboard, Let The Magic Begin, A Final Farewell Show, Twice Charmed: A Twist on the Cinderella Story, Tangled the Musical and Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Classic.[15] Former shows included 'Villains Tonight!' which was replaced by Tangled.[15]

Activities

On deck 10 forward, the Wide World of Sports deck offers basketball, soccer, football, and ping-pong. On deck 9 forward, the Senses Spa includes a workout room with views of the front of the ship.

Adults can visit the Cove Cafe, and the Cove Pool, on deck 9 forward, while families can enjoy the Goofy Pool, deck 9 midship. Children can swim at Aqua Lab located on deck 9 aft.

Disney characters are frequently seen at various parties, dining room events, and scheduled character greetings on board.

Scattered throughout the ship are subtle Mickey Mouse impressions, known as "Hidden Mickeys" that guests may attempt to locate.

Several kids' clubs are available on board. It's a Small World Nursery is a play area for infants, while the Oceaneer Club, and the Oceaneer Lab, offer children from three to ten a variety of guided and individual activities from computer games, dress-up, themed activities, experiments. The Edge offers 11- to 14-year-olds an interactive play space designed like the ship's bridge. The teens-only Vibe club offers teens television, videogames, music, Internet access and a variety of social activities.[16]

Dining

There are two seating times offered on board Disney Magic - early and late. Early caters more toward young families, while the later tends to be for older children and primarily adult families. Disney uses "Rotational Dining" to describe how to ensure guests experience each of the themed restaurants on board: Lumiere's, Carioca's and Animator's Palate. Guests share the same table guests and wait staff each night. Lumiere's is themed after Disney's Beauty and the Beast movie [1] while Carioca's has a South American theme.[17] Animator's Palate features a dining room that changes from black-and-white to color over the course of the meal and serves contemporary cuisine.

Disney Magic features the Palo restaurant on the aft deck number 10 which serves Northern Italian fare for dinner. The restaurant is limited to 130 guests 18 years of age or older.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Saunders, Aaron (October 1, 2013). Giants of the Seas: The Ships that Transformed Modern Cruising. Seaforth Publishing. pp. 76–78,179. ISBN 1848321724. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Disney Magic - Disney". Cruisecritic.com. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  3. 1 2 Iovine, Julie V. (1997-01-16). "Now It's Heigh-Ho, Off to Sea We Go - New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  4. ↑ Aronson, Tara (2002-09-25). "Disney Magic grows up". csmonitor.com. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  5. 1 2 3 Nefer, Barb. "Disney Cruise Line History". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  6. ↑ Dezern, Craig (February 20, 1994). "Disney Contemplating Creation Of Cruise Line". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Now it's heigh-ho, off to sea we go," Ocala Star Banner (newspaper), 1997-01-26, Section D pg8
  8. ↑ "Disney Cruises To Be Longer". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1999-12-26. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  9. ↑ McDowell, Edwin (2000-10-15). "Sea Changes The Latest Trends: More Ships Bring Bigger Discounts". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  10. ↑ Jackson, Jerry W. (June 13, 2005). "Disney ship line on cruise control". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Disney to Galveston and Canada/New England in 2012 - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News". Cruise Industry News. 2011-04-05. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  12. ↑ Sloan, Gene (2012-09-24). "Disney kicks off first cruises from Texas". USA Today Travel. USA Today. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  13. ↑ Lomer-Camarena, Kyara (September 28, 2014). "South Florida Parenting". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  14. ↑ Sloan, Gene (26 April 2013). "Disney Magic to get a major makeover". USA Today. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  15. 1 2 Tribou, Richard (November 15, 2015). "'Tangled' takes center stage aboard Disney Magic". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Youth Clubs & Kids Cruise Activities | Disney Magic | Disney Cruise Line". Disneycruise.disney.go.com. 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  17. ↑ "Carioca's Restaurant". https://disneycruise.disney.go.com. Disney. Retrieved 2016-11-05. External link in |website= (help)
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