Disney Magic Cruise Report

Mr. Tom Morrow · May 13, 2003

Hello there and thanks for looking in on my second trip report. I can’t believe it’s already been month since we’ve returned home. I’m already having visions of our next Disney trip dancing in my head! Along for the ride on this trip was just the two of us, me and my wife Marsha, we’re in our 30’s, no kids. We’re from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, which is just across the boarder from Detroit, Michigan. Our trip took place from April 4th to April 14th. This trip was booked a mere six weeks prior to leaving for Florida. Our decision to go was based on some unbelievable deals and the fact that we had one day left on our special Canadian Park Hopper Pass that was going to expire at the end of April, couldn’t let that happen! In an attempt to save money, we decided that we would skip our usual sit down meals as we were just at WDW in January. Because we only had time to spend in parks during two days, we decided to skip Animal Kingdom. We really didn’t know what to expect in terms of crowds during peak season as we had only been to WDW in November, December, January or February before.

We were able to book our 7 day cruise in a category 11 cabin for only $799 each, that’s half price! We secured a $50 on board credit with our Disney Club membership. Our flight from Detroit was booked on priceline.com for only $175 roundtrip each on US Airways, that’s over 40% off. And thanks again to our Disney Club membership we snagged two nights following the cruise at the All Star Music for less than $100 a night during peak season! We also have one night before the cruise at the Comfort Inn just outside WDW for only $45 for the night. Excluding meals while on shore, souvenirs and park admission (already had park hoppers left over from previous trips) our total cost was about $2,500 which is well less than the regular cost of the cruise alone! The economy being what it is, there are ways to enjoy all the Disney Magic without breaking the bank! Ok, now on with the show!

Day 1 – Friday, April 4th

We finished our packing at 1 a.m. and went to bed. Neither of us had much sleep as we were way too excited and had to be up at 5 a.m. anyways. We showered and got the bags to the car and were off for Detroit Metro Airport by 6 a.m. Dad drove the car home for us as we got checked in at US Airways, arriving at our gate by 6:30 a.m. Our flight left on time at 8:20 a.m. for Pittsburgh, PA where we had to change planes. As it turns out it was a good thing that we had an early flight as a huge snow storm blew through town that would later close down most of the northeastern U.S. We stopped for lunch at TGI Fridays inside Pittsburgh’s airport, must say that’s a very nice airport there in Pittsburgh. Our flight to Orlando was scheduled to leave at 12:00 p.m. but was 40 minutes late due to having to “unload some fuel” according to the Captain. However, we pushed away from the gate just after a late first class passenger was comfortably seated! We arrived into Orlando at 2:30 p.m. just 15 minutes later than scheduled. We we’re happy to be home. There’s just something about a sunny 80 degree day and a short monorail ride to the main terminal that’s gets you all relaxed yet excited to be there. We collected our bags and were off to the Mears counter to check in for our trip to the Comfort Inn. We waited for our shuttle, and waited, and waited and before we know it 40 minutes went by. Turns out the people at the counter forgot about us so they called us a cab (van) right away. Finally, we’re on our way and with one stop we’re at the Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista. We check in, no problem and head to our room to freshen up. First things first, turn on the TV to hear “Zip pi di do da, tip for today! The hotel had scheduled shuttles to the parks and Downtown Disney. We only had 15 minutes to get down to the lobby for the next shuttle. We’ll as you can probably guess by now, the late theme continued as the shuttle was late but we finally made it to Downtown Disney.

We decided to go over to Fantasia Mini Golf for a round before dinner, so we got on the Swan & Carp (Dolphin) Resort bus and away we went. Following golf (Marsha kicked my butt again!) we took a walk over to the Boardwalk. Dinner was at the ESPN Club, one of our favorites. We don’t consider this a sit down meal because of the type of food, it’s fairly inexpensive and you don’t need reservations! Anyhow, we always have the Dingers to start, shared a Bar-B-Q pork sandwich and then a Hockey Puck for me and an Apple Brown Betty for Marsha, yum yum! We actually have cravings for Dingers and Hockey Pucks when we are away from WDW. We were also treated to a studio show that featured Adrian Marrel (RB) and Victor Green (S) both players from the NFL. Now that we were stuffed we decided to go back to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. It was about 8 p.m. when we arrived at the Marketplace. I have to say, if only we had unlimited funds boy would we be shipping home a whole lotta stuff from this place! We continued our way around the lake over to Pleasure Island. We took in three shows at the Comedy Warehouse and a bit of the Adventures Club, Congledush! These are always a must do for us on every trip. Unfortunately on this night the Comedy Warehouse gang wasn’t up to their best work, but still funny none the less. So, at about 1 a.m. we grab a cab and head back to the hotel for the night, remember by this time we had been up for more than 40 hours with a few naps here an there. We were surprised that the place wasn’t more crowded, Friday night in April, seemed very odd to us but also gave us a good feeling about the potential for the rest of our trip.

Day 2 – Saturday, April 5th

We were up by 7:30 a.m. and checked out of the hotel by 8:30 a.m. We grabbed a cab to go over to the Port Orleans French Quarter resort to meet the Disney Cruise motor coach. When we arrived at Port Orleans we checked our luggage into the resort and had breakfast at the resort food court. We didn’t have to check in until 11 a.m. so we took a walk around the resort and then checked in at 10 a.m. To our surprise we found out that we didn’t need to be back until noon for the bus ride. So we hopped on the boat and cruised down to Downtown Disney for what else, more shopping. Amazingly, at this point we hadn’t bought a thing we just looked around planning on purchasing everything at one time later in the trip. The ride back up the Sassagoula River to Port Orleans we had the boat and the cast member all to ourselves. We were able to find out that the Saratoga Springs DVC resort will be opening on March 1, 2004. We asked about Pop Century and were told to expect it to open very late this year which of course was confirmed last week. He also explained that they we’re looking at rehabbing Port Orleans French Quarter, a section at a time but, decided that it would make more sense (time & money) to just close the whole resort and rehab everything at once. Look for a new table service restaurant to open! He said they would be starting at the end of summer and would continue for 18 to 24 months.

It was finally time to board the coach and head for Cape Canaveral. We made stops at Port Orleans Riverside, Caribbean Beach and Animal Kingdom to pick up more people and then we were on our way. The driver was pretty entertaining as we left WDW until he played the Disney Cruise video. The trip from WDW to Cape Canaveral is about an hour which we took full advantage of, sleep time! When we arrived at Cape Canaveral we had to check in before boarding the ship. As we are Castaway Club Members (previous Disney cruisers) we were able to check in at an express desk. This process was quick and painless as we had all of our documents filled out and ready to go. There were a couple of unusual questions in regards to SARS and travel to the Far East but it was good to know they were asking the questions. Our first Disney Cruise was a three day cruise aboard the Disney Wonder in February 2001 as part of our honeymoon. We couldn’t wait to get back and try the seven day cruise and here we were finally boarding the Disney Magic for a seven day eastern Caribbean cruise. We boarded the ship which is always kind of a neat experience; I won’t ruin the surprise for those who haven’t gone yet. We had our first, of what seams like thousands of pictures taken by the ships photographers. First item on the agenda was to book our Banana Boat excursion for Castaway Cay. This was the only excursion that we couldn’t pre-book because all of the pre-booking slots were already filled up.

Next up, off to Rockin’ Bar D to book our Palo’s (adults only restaurant) reservations. The reservation process here is a bit unusual, and takes a long time. While I was waiting to get our reservations, Marsha left for the sea food bar for the all you can enjoy jumbo shrimp. We we’re able to secure brunch reservations for Monday and Dinner on Thursday at Palo’s. I then joined Marsha at the Top Side Buffet with my chicken fingers and fries in hand. When we finished lunch we went to check out our stateroom, 2044. I should mention here that our state room was a category 9 or an outside state room with a port hole. That’s right, not only did we get a category 11 reservation at half price, we were upgraded two levels. I should also mention that Marsha’s birthday was on the Wednesday and I had a few items set up in the stateroom before we arrived. There were a couple happy birthday banners, a bowl of fruit and an excursion kit, Marsha was very surprised. We also had a Castaway Club beach towel on our bed, a surprise gift from Disney Cruise Line for joining them again. We freshened up a bit and then it was time for the mandatory boat drill. This is where you have to take your life preserver, put it on and go to your designated meeting area. Everyone on the ship must do this all at the same time and everyone must be accounted for before the ship can leave port. They use to sell these really cute t-shirts with Mickey and the gang that had something like “my first boat drill” on it, intended for children but I wanted one on this trip.

When we returned to our stateroom following the drill our luggage had arrived so we unpacked everything. We were scheduled for the late dinner seating so we were able to take in the early entertainment. For those who have never been on a Disney cruise, there are two dining seatings, 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Disney tries to have the majority of families seated at the early session and the childless adults at the later session, and believe me it works! There are three main restaurants on board, Lumiere’s, Parrot Cay and Animator’s Palate. Each night you rotate between these three restaurants but dine at the same table, with the same people and are served by the same cast members. Entertainment began at 4:30 p.m. with the sail-away celebration at Goofy’s Pool stage with the ship departing at 5:00 p.m. At 6:30 p.m. we made our way to the Walt Disney Theater (main theater on board) for the first show called “Welcome Aboard Variety Show”. This show included a few variety acts, nothing special really, but enjoyable. Following the show we made our way to Studio Sea (family bar) for the “Mickey Mania Game Show”. This was a family game show with all Disney trivia questions. The one host of the show was kind of irritating but the game itself was lots o fun. Marsha had her first (of many) strawberry daiquiris and I gave the bartender a lesson in how to make a Killer Kool-Aid.

It was time for dinner; our first seating was scheduled for Lumiere’s (from Beauty and the Beast) at table 70. On our way to Lumiere’s which is right off the main atrium of the ship we had pictures taken again. Our table was a large table with six chairs, first thing through your mind is, please be two other couples! We met our server Raj from Columbia and assistant server Corinne from France, both were very nice and top notch cast members. After a few minutes another young couple was seated at our table, Missy and Matt who were from Atlanta, GA, this was their first cruise. The last two seats remained empty the whole trip, which was a good thing, more room for lots of food! Dinner was awesome; they don’t call cruise ships floating buffets for nothing! The ladies couldn’t decide on what dessert to have so Raj brought one of everything for us, four people with eight desserts. We had a really nice time, took our time eating. In fact we took so long that Raj and Corinne were concerned that they took to long to serve us, we said don’t worry about it, we’re on vacation take your time! Raj also gave us tickets for the Character Breakfast for the next morning.

You would think that by this time we would be dead tired and you would be right. But it was time for the late night entertainment so off to Off Beat (adult bar) to watch Dueling Pianos featuring Chris & Jeff. This was a great time; Chris & Jeff were both very good and also very, very funny. Their show finished up at 11:45 p.m. which is also when we were finished off! So to the state room we go and in to bed, but first we had to move all the clocks ahead one hour, it was daylight saving time!

Mr. Tom Morrow · May 13, 2003

Part 2

Day 3 – Sunday, April 6th

Sunday was a day at sea which means we make no stops as we make our way to the Caribbean. Now, I’m sure some of you are thinking, what the heck could you do on a boat in the middle of the ocean for an entire day? And that’s what we use to wonder too until we took our first cruise and it’s exactly what I’m going to try and explain for you now. Each night before you turn in, a newsletter called the Personal Navigator is delivered to your stateroom. The Navigator is filled with schedules and information for the following day. The first thing that we wanted to do was the Character Breakfast which was at Parrot Cay, we went as late as we could, so we slept in till 9 a.m. We grabbed some breakfast, had pictures with Chip, Dale, Minnie and Mickey and then made our way to the Buena Vista Theatre for a presentation titled “Disney Behind the Scenes: On The Drawing Board”. We were thinking here’s a good opportunity to get some scoop for the message board! The presenter was Rick Fobare, a senior lighting Imaginer whose office is at Animal Kingdom. However, just before Rick began they announced that he would be presenting “Lighting 101” today and “On The Drawing Board” would take place on Thursday. We stayed for the presentation learning a thing or two about lighting. Rick worked on the lighting for the Disney Studio’s Mickey hat. But the scoop would have to wait until Thursday. At 1 p.m. we attended the “Disney Behind the Scenes: Stage Works Tour” at the Walt Disney Theatre. We thought this would be an actual tour of the theatre and stage area but turned out to be presentations by the various theatre staff. We then grabbed a bite to eat and returned to our state room for an afternoon nap that lasted 2 hours.

When we woke up we changed into our workout clothes and headed for the Vista Spa. One of the things we wanted to do on the trip was to get educated on health stuff. We had already missed a detoxification seminar so went straight to the fitness center where we spent about an hour exercising. Following our adventure in the spa we went to the Quiet Pool (adult only pool) for a swim and some relaxation in the hot tub. It was another beautiful day, sunny and low 80’s. The show for this evening was called “Morty The Magnificent”. It’s a madcap adventure featuring magic, music and mischief! This show was better than Saturday’s but still not considered a must see. After the show we walked through the two gift shops, walked around the ship, had some more pictures taken and met Mickey and Minnie. Dinner this evening was at Animator’s Palate, by far our favorite on board restaurant. I wouldn’t normally give out this next information but Disney has already published it, which I think is a shame. When you arrive at Animator’s Palate there are drawings of Disney characters all over the walls, but in black and white. The cast members are all dressed in black and while vests. As dinner progresses, parts of the walls are coloured in. As dessert is served a show takes place and the entire restaurant is coloured in, including the vests of the cast members. We later found out that this room alone cost $5 million to build, and worth every penny I might add!

Following dinner we went to the Buena Vista Theatre where they were showing the movie Chicago. This is our favorite movie from last year, we had already seen it four times and Marsha made me wait until the cruise to see it again. For those who have never cruised with Disney I should let you know that the two Disney ships are the only ones that show current release movies on board. The movie finished at 12:45 a.m. so we went straight to bed. When we arrived at the state room we were welcomed to a towel animal. The state room attendants make a different animal each night out of bathroom towels and place them on your bed, very neat.

Day 4 – Monday, April 7th

Monday was also a complete day at sea, another sunny perfect day! We had scheduled a metabolic test at the Vista Spa for first thing in the morning. Nikki, from Scotland the fitness expert at the Spa was awesome. She gave us tons of information on how to detoxify our bodies and how to eat and exercise properly. She even offered to help us through an exercise session during the day time later in the week. Following our session with Nikki we returned to our stateroom and went back to sleep. We eventually got up in time to have our brunch at Palos. Palos is the adult only restaurant aboard the ship and is a must do if you’re an adult and on the ship! There are a number of items set up as a buffet for brunch, cheese, breads, crackers and desserts. Everything else you order, but you can and are encouraged to order as much as you like. This will sound strange, but we had the best omelet ever at this meal. I really can’t tell you why it was so good other than to say you would have to try it for yourself. We also had pancakes, sausage, bacon, waffles, fish, chicken and beef. This restaurant is a lot like the all you can enjoy buffets at Walt Disney World, you eat till your stuffed and the staff kind of gets mad when you can’t eat anymore! Seriously, we didn’t eat another thing until dinner at 8:30 p.m.!

After brunch at 1 p.m. we took in the “Disney’s Navigator Series: The Making of the Disney Magic” at the Rockin’ Bar D. Following a short video which showed the design and construction of the ship we were able to ask some of the crew questions about the ship. This is when we first learned that Disney has approved the building of a third ship. Currently tenders are out with the various ship building companies. The new ship will be slightly bigger, same number of staterooms but with larger public areas and an extra engine. The name of the ship and the ports of call have not yet been determined but possible locations are Panama, South America, the Mediterranean, the Far East and Alaska. We were also cautioned that the actual construction would probably begin only after the economy begins to improve, but the project has been approved. This information was repeated at least three more times during the cruise by different crew and cast members at various presentations.

At 2:45 p.m. we took in the “Art of the Theme Show Ship Tour” also part of the Navigator Series. Ellen, a cast member from Australia was our tour guide. This tour was much like the tour at the Wilderness Lodge; we were taken all over the ship and given lots of interesting facts about cruise ships in general and the Magic specifically. Things like the life boats on the Magic and the Wonder are painted “Mickey Yellow”. Disney had to get special permission to paint the boats this colour as the standard colour for all life boats is orange. Disney had to prove that the yellow was as easy to spot as the orange is, and they did. Following the tour we went back to the Vista Spa for a quick work out and a swim in the pool. I want to stop here and give you an idea of the rest of the program that was taking place on the ship. So far I’ve only given you what we did, which was of interest to us. Here is a small sample of some of the other events that were going on this day. Chip-In Golf, Ballroom Dancing lessons, Team Trivia, the Art of Entertaining series, Bingo, Shuffleboard Tournament and a Singles, Single Parents or Traveling alone lunch. These all took place before noon! So as you can see, there is way too much to do while aboard the ship.

Tonight’s entertainment at the Walt Disney Theater was “Hercules: The Muse-ical”. We had seen this show on the Disney Wonder and were really looking forward to seeing it again. It was just as good as we remembered, but many of the adult jokes had been updated based on current events, very smart. It is our secret hope that someday they will expand this show and move it to Broadway like Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King. The music of Hercules lends itself very well with many others that can be found on Broadway. Next we took in “So You Think You Know Your Music?”. This was a name that tune type of game based on music from the 50’s and 60’s played on piano. Since we are only in our 30’s we didn’t do so well. It’s very hard to get a tune in a few notes when played on a piano and not the actual song. But this was still a lot of fun. Dinner this evening was at Parrot Cay. I should point out that both Missy and I are very picky eaters, so I asked for a children’s menu. We had been collecting the menus for Missy who is a grade school teacher back in Atlanta. Missy had won a couple hundred dollar of on board credit while playing bingo during the day, so we thought we would take a stab at it later in the trip. We also came up with the idea of having all the birds in the restaurant do a show like at the Tiki Room. To our surprise the Head Server had no idea what we were talking about. Dinner was again very good and we stuffed ourselves silly. We called in an early night but ended up watching Toy Story 2 in our state room before actually falling asleep. Tonight’s towel animal was a crab.

Day 5 – Tuesday, April 8th

When we woke up at 7 a.m. the ship was pulling into port at St. Maarten, the Dutch side of the island. There we’re very few events scheduled during the day time as we would be at St. Maarten until 9:30 p.m. We had signed up for the “Under 2 Flags Island Tour” which was meeting at 8:45 a.m. Our tour would last about three hours and would take us completely around the island, which is smaller than all of Walt Disney World! Our bus made two stops, one on the Dutch side of the island overlooking the bay where the ships docked and a second in St. Martin, on the French side of the island. We were able to do some shopping at a street market and the surrounding stores. Our friends back home asked us to pick up some Guava Berry Rum, they had tried some when there were there on their honeymoon and the island is the only place you can get it. We also picked up some tropical clothes for the on board party later in the evening. When we arrived back on the Dutch side of the island we did a little shopping in town before returning to the ship. We bought a one liter bottle of Canadian Club Whisky for $12, what you should know is that Canadian Club is made in our hometown and would normally cost us about $60 Canadian! The weather was again beautiful except for a couple short (15 minute) rain showers. We had lunch at Lumiere’s and sat with a lady and her daughter from Georgia and a man from Pennsylvania. As it turns out it was Georgia’s spring break week, about half the ship was people from Georgia, it kind of became a running joke as the cruise went on. We took a nap after lunch and watched Hercules the movie in our state room.

Because the ship was still docked at a port there was no live show, there is some kind of law that doesn’t allow for a live show while the ship is in port. So, in the Walt Disney Theater was a showing of “Piglet’s Big Movie” which opened nation wide the day we left home. This was your standard Winnie the Pooh and the gang movie which the kids loved. After the movie we played a round of Tropical Jackpot Bingo, but didn’t win anything. Dinner this evening was back at Lumiere’s and featured a tropical menu. The theme for the evening was “Tropicalifragilisticexpialidocious”. Everyone was decked out in tropical shirts and dresses. Following dinner on the top two decks there was a tropical party as the ship left port. We went to bed at about 11 p.m. because we had to be up early the next morning for customs at St. Thomas. The towel animal was a frog.

Mr. Tom Morrow · May 13, 2003

Part 3

Day 6 – Wednesday, April 9th

We were up at 6:45 a.m. and down in Rockin Bar D to meet U.S. customs. Everyone on board had to clear customs before anyone could leave the ship for the day. We returned to our stateroom, showered and got ready to leave for the day. Today was Marsha’s birthday so I gave her another birthday present and card and were off for some breakfast at Lumiere’s. Our excursion meeting was at 8:15 a.m., we took the St. Thomas Island Tour. This was a bus tour that made a complete trip around the island, which was also smaller than all of Walt Disney World! One of the things you notice about St. Thomas is that the cars drive on the left side of the road here. The built up areas of the island also seem to be more modern than over at St. Maarten. This tour was mainly a sightseeing tour, no shopping until we got back to the town at port. St. Thomas was very tropical, lots of trees and vegetation. Again a nice 80 plus degree day with passing (15 minute) showers here and there. After shopping we took a 40 minute walk back to the ship which was our exercise for the day. We stopped for lunch at Lumiere’s before moving on to the Vista Spa. We decided to try out the “Rainforest Room”. The Rainforest Room is a series of saunas and showers with heated stone seats, extremely relaxing and one of the suggestions Nikki gave you to detoxify. In fact it was so relaxing that Marsha fell asleep on the headed stone seat!

The ship departed St. Thomas at 5 p.m. so there was a live show in the evening. The show was “Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer”, which as you can probably guess is a Who Wants to be a Millionaire show but with all Disney trivia questions. The million point prize was a seven day western Caribbean cruise aboard the Disney Magic. Thinking that the contestants would be selected like most of the other game shows, I wore my Sorcerer Mickey Football Shirt, and we showed up early and sat in the second row of the theater. Unfortunately, the selection process was done randomly by computer based on seat number and I didn’t have a chance to play. However, Matt our dining partner did get selected and won some more on board credit money. Needles to say, this was a great show with some really tough Disney questions. Following the show we played “So You Think You Know Your Music?” again, this time it was 70’s & 80’s music. Unfortunately the songs selected were from the likes of John Denver and Ann Murray, so we didn’t do so well again.

Dinner this evening was at Animator’s Palate and featured an “Around the World” menu. This was a great menu as you were able to sample dishes from just about every part of the world. Dinner was funny as the cast members where signing happy birthday left and right to like seven different tables. Missy noticed first and was surprised at how many people were on board celebrating different occasions. Missy and Matt didn’t know that it was Marsha’s birthday when the cast members came over to our table with a cake. I just remembered and should mention that Corrine our Assistant Server took our drink order on the first night and had our drinks ready for us at the start of every meal after that. After dinner we went to see Chris & Jeff again at Dueling Pianos until 11:45 p.m. and then on to “Time Warp – A Celebration of the 80’s” which was a very cool dance party. When we finally returned to our stateroom, the towel animal was a monkey, hanging from a hanger that had Marsha’s glasses on and our lays from the day before.

Day 7 – Thursday, April 10th

It was another sunny day and in mid 80’s. Today was another day at sea as we headed towards Castaway Cay. I had planned to get up for the “NHL Skills Challenge” at 9:30 a.m. but just stayed in bed. We did get up at about 9:30 a.m., grabbed a small breakfast and headed for “Captain’s Corner” part of the Navigator Series. This was like a town hall type meeting with the Captain and his senior officers where the audience could ask the panel anything about the ship. Finally, 11 am was here and we were finally going to hear what was “On The Drawing Board” with Rick Fobare. Rick highlighted the Disneyland Tower of Terror, Flicks Fun Fair and Play House Disney at California Adventure, Mission Space including a picture of the actual ride vehicle, and Figment JII. Rick pointed out that guest letters are read, especially the ones written to Imagineering and Figment is proof of that; the company does listen for all you Mr. Toad Fans out there! During his presentation there were some trivia questions which I got the right answer to the first one, what date did Disneyland open? I received a Disney Imagineering 50th anniversary mouse pad and baseball cap. Following the presentation we stayed to chat with Rick. He couldn’t confirm any knowledge about Project Gemini but did suggest that Soaring might be coming to Florida, someplace. He also said that Michael Eisner wants Disneyland’s 50th anniversary in 2005 to be a company wide celebration and that we should look for announcements of new attractions at all parks. He indicated that there would be a press announcement shortly about planes for the 50th, in addition to the April 22nd press event for Animal Kingdom. I can certainly understand why Rick couldn’t answer or give specific information but he sure gave us hope for new attractions in the next few years.

We then had some lunch at the Top Side Buffet. The live show this day was “Disney Dreams”, an award winning show for best live show on a cruise ship. The great thing was that they had the usual two night time shows, but added an early afternoon show which is the one we went to. We had also seen this show on our first cruise and it was still as magical as the first time. It was now almost 4 p.m. and time for Final Jackpot Bingo. The final jackpot ended up being over $6,000 and we missed it by just two numbers. After bingo we met with the Disney Cruise Sales Representative to look at availability of a New Years cruise. The special that was offered was a $200 on board credit on the next cruise if you booked before this cruise was over. Then we met with the Disney Vacation Club representative, and got a little education on how the program works. We were also able to find out that there will probably not be any DCV resorts built in Anaheim due to lack of space. The resort at Osprey Ridge has been put on hold indefinitely; it was to be the largest DCV resort built. Due to the downturn in the economy the company decided to build Saratoga Spring instead and possibly return to Osprey Ridge at a later date. There are currently no plans to build any other DCV resorts at Walt Disney World, this includes around the Seven Seas Lagoon! The deal they were offering to cruise guests was a $2,000 discount on the initial buy in, if you signed up before the end of the cruise. We decided to wait on booking either.

When we returned to our stateroom there was a voice mail message from Palo’s letting us know that we could come earlier for dinner if we wanted to. This was great news since we had already seen the early show so at 6 p.m. we went up for dinner. Apparently there are a lot of cancellations and no shows which we couldn’t understand. The food at this restaurant is as good as any Disney restaurant that we’ve ever been to. The chocolate soufflé is to die for! At 8:30 p.m. we played So You Think You Know You Music? One more time! This time the music was all Disney music from either Disney movies or Disney attraction. The music was much easier to pick out when played on a piano and we ended up winning. What you win for these games is a medal that says I’m a Winner with the Disney Magic on the other side. The rest of the night we just chilled out walking around the ship.

Day 8 – Friday, April 11th

We awoke at about 8 a.m. to a rocking ship. The weather was partly cloudy, still in the 80’s but very windy. In fact the wind and strong currents almost kept us from docking at Castaway Cay. The Captain had to try three times to get us into port, but finally we made it. Castaway Cay for those who don’t know is Disney own private island in the Bahamas. This means that the ship you arrived on and the people on it are the only people at the island! Oh, and there is just on shop on the entire island, everything else is rest and relaxation. Due to the strong current and high winds just about all water activities, including our banana boat reservations were cancelled. When we did get off the ship we went over to Serenity Bay Beach, adults only beach! We laid out on a hammock and read a book. We had some lunch on the island and stayed till it looked like it was going to rain. It never did end up raining but it was a good thing we went back to the ship as I later found out I got a bit too much sun! When we got back to the ship we went up to the pool for a swim and to relax in the hot tub. I had to attend a Disembarkation Presentation at 4:30 p.m. that gave you all the information you need to leave the ship the next day. While I was there Marsha did some laundry and started to pack. The ship left Castaway Cay at 5 p.m. and headed towards Port Canaveral.

The evening show was the “Farewell Variety Show”. Much like the first night this show included a variety of acts which were fun but nothing that great. After the show we made our souvenir purchases at the gift shops and went to Shutters to pick all of the pictures that we wanted to purchase. Our final dinner was back where we started at, at Lumiere’s, dinner featured “The Best Of” kind of menu items from each meal. Following dinner we went to “Til We Meet Again” which was a 10 minute presentation of every Disney Character on board in the main atrium. Then we went to the “Match Your Mate” show, a newlywed type game and we got picked. We actually one this show on the first cruise but lost this time. We still left with two mugs for participating and it was a blast. Then we closed the night out by joining Chris & Jeff again at Dueling Pianos till close at midnight. By this point all of our luggage had been picked up, all we had left was our carry on stuff and we’re ready to go in the morning.

Mr. Tom Morrow · May 13, 2003

Part 4

Day 9 – Saturday, April 12th

When we woke up at 5:45 a.m. we were already docked at Port Canaveral. We had to go through immigration again at 6 a.m. then got showered and changed. We ate breakfast Top Side Buffed (our last free meal!), got our stuff from the stateroom and waited at the main atrium to leave the ship. We were in the first group to get off the ship, walked right to our luggage, had the guy bring the luggage to the bus area, breezed through customs and were in our Mears van ready to go back to Walt Disney World in a matter of minutes. We had to wait for two families before we could leave but we were shortly on our way. We made one stop at the Beach Club and then we were dropped off at All Star Music, this was by 10 a.m. an hour before we planned on being there. It was a very sunny morning but a bit on the chilly side. We had planned on going to Typhoon Lagoon and then Epcot but instead went to straight to Epcot. Before we entered the park, we stopped at the lockers located at the resort bus area, tried three lockers but none worked costing us $3. Anyhow, moving along once inside the park we stopped by our leave a legacy pictures and on to Future World. Test Track was closed due to technical difficulties so we went over to Universe of Energy and then on to Cranium Command. By this time Test Track was running so we picked up fast passes and crossed over to the other side of Future World to see Figment. On our way we stopped at the washrooms next to Innovations West, I wanted to find the talking water fountains. It’s really neat to sit and watch people’s reactions when the water fountain starts taking. Following Figment we moved on to the Land and had lunch at the Sunshine Food Fair. After lunch we went on Living with the Land and watched Food Rocks. It was now time to use our fast pass so back over to Test Track we go. Then we went back over to see Figment again and Honey I Shrunk the Audience before going on Spaceship Earth. One of the things that we found odd was that the AT & T logo was still all over this attraction. Odd because we had heard that AT & T had dropped their sponsorship and that Microsoft was coming in as part of the Time Racers rehab. Very interesting indeed! By this time it was early afternoon and all we had left on our list of Epcot stuff to do was the Mexico and Norway rides, the American Adventure, the statue at Italy and Illuminations. We decided to do something else but didn’t feel like going to a water park so we got on the monorail and went to the Magic Kingdom.

The first thing that we noticed was that the Magic Kingdom was much busier than Epcot. We headed over to Tomorrowland and rode the TTA. We then walked along the back of the park through Fantasyland which was really busy so we continued through Liberty Square and into Frontierland stopping in to see the Country Bear’s. Aside from the volume being really low this was the usual toe tapping, foot stomping show that you usually see, we prefer the Christmas show big time. Then we cut into Adventureland and went into see the Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise. For some reason Adventureland wasn’t to crowded at this time. It was now getting into the later part of the afternoon so we headed back to Epcot. I was getting a bit hungry so we stopped at the Fish & Chips counter at the U.K. for a light snack. We took a leisurely walk around the World Showcase when we came up on a large blocked off section just before the American Adventure. I was all giddy that a new pavilion was coming until I saw the sign on the way that said preparing this area for the flower and garden festival. When we arrived at Mexico, we walked right on the ride as usual. There wasn’t enough time to go on the Norway ride because the next statue show at Italy was about to begin. We have some great pictures of the statue with Marsha. Then we went in to see the final showing of the American Adventure. I should also mention that there were a number of areas under rehab in World Showcase. Italy, Germany, Japan, the main atrium of the American Adventure and two areas for the garden show. After the American Adventure we began to walk towards the front of the park stopping in front of Germany for a spot to watch Illuminations. We normally go over to the France, U.K., Canada areas so this was a bit of a change for us. This was a great viewing area; in fact we could also see the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks going off in the distance as well as the end fireworks from Fantasmic, three shows in one! It a bit different to hear “Illuminations will begin in just 10 minutes” without the “because GE brings good things to life”!

Our locker was back at the front of the park next to Spaceship Earth so we had another line leisurely walk. Then we walked to the international gate next to the U.K. so that we could get to Beaches & Cream for dinner. When we got in line at Beaches & Cream we encountered our first rude person and it made me stop and think. I hadn’t been cut on in line on, didn’t have my ankles rammed by any buggies or wheel chairs and didn’t hear any stupid questions the whole trip. But I didn’t get to excited we were in Epcot most of the day, it’s a much slower pace park. We also noticed that Beaches & Cream had new “kitchen sinks” which were a tad bit larger than the old ones. Unfortunately we didn’t see anyone order one this time. After we finished dinner we headed back to the resort and got in to bed.

Day 10 – Sunday, April 13th

The plan for the day was to get up early and head for the Magic Kingdom, it was the early morning day for Magic Kingdom. Well, we slept in and took our time, had breakfast at the food court at All Star Music and then left for the Disney Studios instead. We arrived shortly after the gates opened and headed for Tower of Terror. Fast pass times were on our away and only a 20 minute wait for Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller coaster was closed due to technical difficulties. So, we grabbed fast pass for Tower of Terror and then went and stood in the stand by line. We only waited about 15 minutes and were off in 20 so we went back on Tower through the stand by line. This time we waited about 25 minutes. By this time Rock N Roller Coaster was running and the stand by line was just 20 minutes so we got in line. By the time we got finished with Rock N Roller Coaster we were able to get a new fast pass, so we did, at Tower of Terror and then rode our first fast pass. It’s true, each time is different, the third ride we got the one where you think the ride is all done, but then you shot back all the way to the top, definitely my favorite.

By this time we were getting a bit hungry so we walked over to Pizza Planet for lunch. After lunch we went into Muppets 3D and then over to the Animation Tour. By that time we were close to missing our fast pass time to we hurried back over to Tower of Terror and rode it again. Each time we rode Tower, four times in all, we did funny things at the picture from ideas on this board. The first two times we pretended that we were really scared and put our hand on the sides of our face. The second time we pretended that we were sleeping and the last time we were seated in the back row, we took out company newsletters from Marsha’s work and pretended to be reading. We were going to buy the last picture to be put in the company newsletter until they asked us for $17! It was a blast watching the reaction of all the other people on the ride with you, give it a try it’s great! At this point we had done everything that though we had to do while we were there. Remember we where just at the park three months earlier! We did stop for a chocolate milk shake boat, we read that these were suppose to be the best shakes at WDW, but was your normal shake as far as we could tell. Ok, so we finished Epcot and the Studios, back to the Magic Kingdom.

We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, the park hours said 11 p.m. which was later than originally scheduled. We arrived just as the Share a Dream Parade was coming to the hub at town square so we stopped to watch from the second floor of the train station. When the parade was done, we got on the train and went back to Frontierland. The park was very busy and we had a lot of attractions to do. We immediately got a fast pass for Splash Mountain because it was a very hot day. The line for Big Thunder Mountain was longer than an hour so we walked over to Tomorrowland and rode TTA, Carousel of Progress, Time Keeper (yes they were both open this day). We then got a fast pass for Buzz, noticed that there wasn’t much of a line for Space Mountain, waited 20 minutes in stand by and then back to Buzz. We then walked over to Mickey’s Toontown to take the train back over to Frontierland where we got a fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain. We stopped for dinner at Peco’s Bills and then walked over to the Haunted Mansion. Then back over to Splash Mountain to use our fast pass then on to Big Thunder Mountain to use fast pass. We did notice the change to the safety script “the wildest ride in the wilderness”. The words are all still there, but its just not the same, the emphases is on the wrong words. Now it was starting to get dark out and the crowds were off watching the first SpectroMagic, so we made a bee line for Fantasyland. We rode Snow White, Pooh; it’s a Small World and Peter Pan before getting back into tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain, Buzz and the TTA again. We decided to grab a bit at the Columbia Harbor House and noticed that the Haunted Mansion had no wait, so back we went. At this point we had done just about everything we wanted to do so we headed for Main Street. The second SpectroMagic was about to begin so we watched the parade at the hub in front of Cinderella’s Castle. We did a little shopping up and down Main Street and then headed for the resort.

Day 11 – Monday, April 14th

We had originally planned on going to Blizzard Beach but decided there wasn’t enough time and since we didn’t have our shopping done, we went back to Downtown Disney. First we had breakfast at the All Star Music food court and then arrived at the Marketplace before the stores opened. We brought with us, on black duffel bag and the only rule we had was if it didn’t fit in the bag, then we couldn’t buy the item. Our first stop was Once Upon a Toy where we bought a box of Mr. Potato Head parts, the Haunted Mansion Clue game, a Buzz plastic toy set and a Woody. We then walked over to Disney at Home where we bought some wash cloths, hand towels, a bathroom rug and three Mickey body part through pillows. The ladies suggested that we ship something home which is when we explain our little rule. Well, I got everything in the bag and one of the ladies asked me if I wanted a job to which I said are you offering! We were back at the resort a bit early so we looked around the gift shop and bought some more, smaller items like post cards and coasters. Mears was there to pick us up at noon to get to the airport. The driver again was really entertaining and had some Disney trivia. I again got one of the questions correct, what was Walt’s wife’s name? We had lunch at the air port while waiting. Our flight left on time and we slept, then our flight in Pittsburgh left on time and we slept. Mom and Dad picked us up from the air port and we went out to eat at the Olive Garden which is a treat for us because we don’t have on in Windsor. I must have picked up a virus on the plain ride home because I was sick with a head cold for the next week. I guess that’s the price you pay!

Well that about does it for this trip. I still can’t believe that we’ve been there twice already this year; we usually go about once a year. But, Marsha really needed to go on a vacation so I didn’t argue. Unfortunately for me, now I’ve got a craving to go back already. I’ve already started to put a bug in Marsha’s ear maybe to go for new years again this year since Mission Space, Mickey’s Philharmagic, the new Magic Kingdom fireworks show and Pop Century will all be open by then. This might be a hard sell since we are planning a large family vacation next spring to Europe which for us will include Disneyland Paris. Well thanks for reading my report and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. See ya real soon!

Maria · May 13, 2003

Wow! I can not believe I read the whole report at once! I should have timed my reading! :animwink:
I did enjoy it a lot and brought back many memories of my cruise on the Magic. Thanks a lot! :sohappy:

oochr1soo · May 13, 2003

just out of curiousity.. me being 20 and ive been on a couple of carnival cruises, I was wondering how you think the cruise is for people who arent kids? is the ship filled with alot of kids or is it more adults? ive always thought about a disney cruise but i think i would be bored or miss the casino(my fav lol)..

chris

Mr. Tom Morrow · May 14, 2003

Hi Chris

The Disney Cruise Line, like the rest of the Disney Company, caters to the entire family. As you can imagine there are lots of children on the ship just as there are in WDW. However, I can honestly say after sailing with Disney twice, Disney does a great job of taking care of childless adults. On the ship there is an adults only pool, adults only restaurant (Palo), the night clubs are adults only at night time and at Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island) there an entire beach for adults only. Disney has many activities planned on board that would only be of interest to adults as well. In fact, there is so much activity, if you are bored on a Disney cruise you would have only yourself to blame. There are two dinner sittings, mostly family’s at the early seating, mostly adults at the later seating. You mention that the casino is one of your favorite activities. As you might guess there is no casino on either Disney ship. However there are casino’s at most ports of call, St. Maarten and Nassau come to mind. I guess the best way to answer your question is like this, if you enjoy yourself at WDW, then you’ll most likely have a great time on a Disney cruise. I can tell you that my wife and I look forward to sailing again with Disney and hope to bring our families (parents, sisters, brother, nieces and nephews) with us next time. I doubt that we will ever sail with anyone other than Disney, but that's because we’re Disney freaks and have enjoyed both cruises that much. I hope that helps you, and thanks for reading my report.

djmatthews · May 14, 2003

WOW.... what a fantastic trip report. I really want to go on a Disney Cruise.... I'm so jelous. A few questions... how full would you say the ship was? What is included in the ships price, and what isn't? Does the ship feel over crowded, this is something that I would hate, as lets face it, while at sea, you cannot escape.

Once again, what a good read however, it did stop me revising for my exams for a while! :hammer:

Mr. Tom Morrow · May 14, 2003

Hi djmatthers

I’m glad to hear you enjoyed my report and would be more than happy to answer your questions. Both of Disney’s ships are identical in layout and have room for approximately 2,600 passengers. Apparently Disney Cruise Lines is the only part of the Disney Company that hasn’t been affected by the current economy as every sailing leaves with a full ship. With a few exceptions you really don’t notice that there is that many people on board. This is because the ship has very large public areas and a program of events scattered throughout the ship for varying tastes. A couple of exceptions would be Shutters (photo display area) and the main atrium during character times. You don’t feel overcrowded at all; in fact our favorite days on the cruise were the “at sea” days. As for what’s included in the price, your accommodations, all on board meals, Castaway Cay lunch, non alcoholic drinks during meals and most on board activities. Not included is the cost for excursions, some on board activities like bingo and the Spa, alcoholic beverages, all beverages not served at meals (but you can buy a refillable mug), souvenirs, gratuities and there is a small cover charge to dine at Palo’s. We have had a great time on both sailings, and can’t wait to go again. I hope I was able to answer your questions, if there is anything else, just ask.

Say, I see your from across the pond and have been to Disneyland Paris twice. Our next Disney trip will probably be to Disneyland Paris this time next year. If you have any pointers or suggestions, feel free to send me a message. Thanks!

figmentmom · May 14, 2003

WOW! Great trip report - very informative and fun! I'm a real Disney nut, too, and when I finally go oon a cruise, it will be a Disney one!

I have heard others comment that the only thing they didn't enjoy about the Disney cruise ships was the preponderance of plexiglass. One lady told me that she felt encased in the stuff; she assumed that it was there for safety, since there were so many small children cruising. According to her, there were practically no places out on deck where you could enjoy the ocean breezes - plexiglass separated passengers from the elements way too effectively. Is that true?

DisneyPhD · May 14, 2003

Hi, I read your report while at work yesterday (it took me most of the day, a few min here and there when I had time. It was a nice break for a heckit day, thanks!) I really enjoied it. We have been to WDW many times, but not on a cruise yet. I am really looking forward to it, and have a better idea of what it is like. DD is now 2 years old, so I think we are going to wait 2 more years at least so she can enjoy the activities also. There seems to be a lot to do for couples, and for each age group. Tell me, did you notice a lot of activities for the whole family? I hear there is babysitting, but the child has to be at least 4 years old and potty trained. That should be fine once we get around to going, but what if we have a second child by then?

Gald you had a great trip and thanks for sharing.

BTW, we live right across the river from you!!!!

Katherine · May 14, 2003

Great trip report! I love reading them all! The fitness club that is on board does it have an age limit? I would love to go on a disney cruise but I like to stay active!

Mr. Tom Morrow · May 14, 2003

Hi figmentmom

Thank you for your kind comments about my report. I can’t say I actually noticed the Plexiglas until reading your post. Deck 9 which is where the majority of the out door activities take place, and where the pools are does have Plexiglas pretty much all the way around the ship from the floor to the ceiling. And it does cut down on the wind cutting across the ship which I think is the intent here. It’s difficult to play certain types of games (table tennis, basketball) and serve food when the wind blows through! The promenade deck and deck 10, the other two out side decks both have Plexiglas as well but only to railing height, so you do get to feel the sea breezes, and wind gusts! If you look at a picture of either Disney ship, the promenade deck is the one with the yellow life boats on it and 10 deck is the top deck. You can see from the pictures that the Plexiglas really isn’t noticeable. And if you have a stateroom with a veranda or balcony, Decks 6, 7 or 8 you definitely have access to sea breezes. So to answer your question, depending on where you are there is Plexiglas but there are plenty of locations to enjoy the sea.

Mr. Tom Morrow · May 14, 2003

Hi DisneyPhD

I’m glad to hear you enjoyed my report, always a nice feeling. You are correct about activities for children, teens, adults, singles, couples and families as well. There are several family shows one that comes to mind is Mickey Mania, a Disney trivia game played by three teams. Each team is made up of a parent and a child. At all of the dinners the family dines together, and you certainly can take in the many live shows and movies together. Many of the excursions are also geared to the family as well. The children and teens activities and facilities are there so that the parents can deposit their children at to have some alone time. The babysitting that you refer to is actually the Oceanears Club where the children have to be at least 4 years old and potty trained. The Oceanears Club is kind of like a day care where there are tones of activities for the kids. We hear that many parents actually have a hard time getting their kids to leave the Club! The ship also has a nursery which we understand will be enlarged on the Magic’s rehab that will take place this summer. There has been such a demand for the nursery that there is limited availability. I should also point out that the two Disney ships are the only two in the world that have a nursery on board! You should have no problem finding things or places for your children while on a Disney cruise regardless of how many you have and what ages they are at. But it’s definitely a good idea to wait until your oldest will be the right age to remember the experience. A good rule of thumb here, if he/she is old enough to experience and remember WDW, there the right age for a Disney cruise. It is a small world after all!

Mr. Tom Morrow · May 14, 2003

Hi Katherine

That’s a good question. The Vista Spa and Salon is an adult’s only area. The fitness room overlooks the bridge which is really cool. We found the staff here to be extremely knowledgeable and like the rest of the cast and crew, top notch.

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