Live-ish Photos from the New Disney Magic!

[mindelmouse]

Anxiously waiting the pictures from during the cruise

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I have a photo here from a friend on board and Also a Disney official one of the Aquadunk.

 

[Donfan]

yes. Yes she is. Disney Magic was my 1st cruise ship ever. She has a special place in my heart

Mine, too. I've also been on the Fantasy, and, even though they added two decks full of people, they didn't enlarge the facilities proportionally. As a result, the Fantasy is much more crowded than the Magic, and, therefore, not nearly as magical.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Disney falcon,

Can you help when your back?

I have seen many TAs post very positive reports on Facebook, also your thread is very nice and positive.

I have seen two of say five or six reports that are negative, see below one copied from another forum.

TAs were told they could not post any of their own photos on social media during the weekend cruise (Oct 25-27). That's because many parts of the ship looked terrible. Lots of work is still undone and there is construction debris everywhere.

I was supposed to be on the Oct 20 5-night cruise (which I was paying for) plus the Oct 25 2-day cruise (which Disney was paying for). When the first cruise was cancelled and I could not switch to the Oct 27 5-night cruise, I decided not to bother going to Miami for just the 2-nighter. After talking with some TAs who were on the 2-night sailing, I'm glad I made that call.

There were significant infrastructure problems during the 2-night sailing, including some staterooms on Deck 6 with non-working/overflowing toilets, water pouring out of a wall into a stateroom in the middle of the night, no power in some staterooms (one TA was taking showers by flashlight) and no hot water in some staterooms. Some cabins were not cleaned before guests embarked -- every surface was covered in fine white dust.

Many public areas have unfinished/dirty/scratched up surfaces caused by the drydock work and not yet repaired. Carpets in some public areas have visible glue and seams showing.

Karl Holz and other top executives were on the Oct 25 sailing, so they should have some idea how bad things were. The worst issues should be fixed in the near future, of course.

What concerns me is that the verandahs were apparently not touched at all, so they are still rusty and grungy. Those should have been sandblasted down to the metal, repaired and redone in drydock. Likewise the stateroom wall panels were not replaced, so they are still worn and dirty. I'm shocked that this was not done.

On a positive note, everyone loves the new kids' areas and the restaurant and nightclub re-dos get high marks.

Now I had a Facebook friend on that cruise all positive comments.

Disney falcon what's your opinion? Did you see sny issues? Anything major?

Did you hear of any?

Also with regards to the. Moment on posting on social media is that true? Was it controlled?

I do recall when Dream and Fantasy came into service there were a few vocal negative posts but overall the ships were great, I think a few just like go post negative things go get noticed, and do not realise it upsets forthcoming cruisers, so want to ask you as a respected person what's your view?

Want to add I do believe the quoted post as a genuine persons personal view, the ones I am not sure about are on another DCL forum.

 

[Tiggerish]

yes. Yes she is. Disney Magic was my 1st cruise ship ever. She has a special place in my heart

Disney Magic and I have the same birthday, July 30. I would love to sail on her someday.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

A friend who was on the magic this weekend has said this in response to my question on negative posts posted on another forum getting some disproportional at tension.

I think that it's an overstatement of a general truth.

There were definitely some things not finished and some rooms that were not right.

The spa had some real issues, and I heard about the water coming down and the dust.

Our verandah was perfect so I think that's wrong. I actually thought the ship was at around 90% -- much fresher and better than on our Canadian cruise in the summer of 2012 but not 100%, and I figured that was to be expected for the first cruise after such a major overhaul.

I suspect by our Med cruise it will be perfect. Keep in mind that it is still very much the Magic and not the Dream or the Fantasy. But it is a more modern, spiffier and prettier Magic.

Does that help?

Do take some negative posts and reports on other forums with a pinch of salt.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Hi all! Just getting caught up today! I'll try to answer anything I missed and then give you some general impressions.

What a lousy bummer!!! I suppose because of the new duck tail maybe. Carp carp carp... Thanks for checking.

Thanks for all the pictures some are posting that their staterooms are not in the best shape and poroviding pictures of water, and boken items. The area on deck seven in aft was redesigned into part of those staterooms in that area. Nothing to do with Duck Tail. Happy Birthday and have a great trip send pictures as long as possible.
Would love to see more shots of state room in detail. Have a Magical Day.

We heard from the designer, Joe Lanzisero, before boarding. They recognized the need for what the extension when they realized how much weight they were adding. In the industry it's called a "Duck Butt" amusingly enough. He said he had seen other cruise lines just tack something on the back of the ship and they knew they weren't doing that. They spend months completely redesigning the back of the ship to make it blend and be aesthetically pleasing. Thus the new shape of the entire back.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Kudos to Disney. I want to give a great big hug to whoever made the decision to post lifeguards on Disney Ships!

We talked to a lifeguard one night when he was watching an empty pool. He told us this was a permanent thing and would be on all of the ships within the next few weeks. There will be a lifeguard posted there during all the hours the pool is open.

They change the signs to say "Lifeguard On Duty". Emphasis from me - ON!

I think it was a wonderful decision.

love love LOVE the blue one down front - alas I can not afford one...ever

We were told later that they were only available on the Magic, but may move to other ships soon.

O'Gills looks fun! I love me a good pub!

Is that a buffet set up in there? booze + food = win!

There are snacks set up in there during various times of day!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

What, no bathroom pictures?!? Sure, the ship, the slide, the restaurants and the bars are okay, but it's the bathrooms that we're all waiting for.

Bathroom picture fail!!!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Here are some pictures I took as she sailed away.

Those are awesome, Snooker!

 

[minbrad]

You are a rock star, Tammy! Thanks for posting all the pics. Hope you had a great cruise!!

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Hi all! Just getting caught up today! I'll try to answer anything I missed and then give you some general impressions.




We heard from the designer, Joe Lanzisero, before boarding. They recognized the need for what the extension when they realized how much weight they were adding. In the industry it's called a "Duck Butt" amusingly enough. He said he had seen other cruise lines just tack something on the back of the ship and they knew they weren't doing that. They spend months completely redesigning the back of the ship to make it blend and be aesthetically pleasing. Thus the new shape of the entire back.

Does someone have before and after photos I have no idea what a duck-butt is.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

We were told later that they were only available on the Magic, but may move to other ships soon.

RE: Blue Disney Dooney - my parents are sailing on the Fantasy in April - maybe it can be a belated Birthday present for their darling daugher/3-week dog sitter

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Disney falcon,

Can you help when your back?

I have seen many TAs post very positive reports on Facebook, also your thread is very nice and positive.

I have seen two of say five or six reports that are negative, see below one copied from another forum.



Now I had a Facebook friend on that cruise all positive comments.

Disney falcon what's your opinion? Did you see sny issues? Anything major?

Did you hear of any?

Also with regards to the. Moment on posting on social media is that true? Was it controlled?

I do recall when Dream and Fantasy came into service there were a few vocal negative posts but overall the ships were great, I think a few just like go post negative things go get noticed, and do not realise it upsets forthcoming cruisers, so want to ask you as a respected person what's your view?

Want to add I do believe the quoted post as a genuine persons personal view, the ones I am not sure about are on another DCL forum.

A friend who was on the magic this weekend has said this in response to my question on negative posts posted on another forum getting some disproportional at tension.




Do take some negative posts and reports on other forums with a pinch of salt.

I'm with your friend. 90% is a about right. And I spent 12 nights on the Magic this summer, so I had a very recent experience with the ship. There were some things that still needed touch up (and I do believe they will be done over time) but this reimagined ship is wonderful. From reading some reports you would think it got worse. I loved it this summer, and it just got a whole lot better!!

I talked to one of the bloggers for several hours on Saturday night. I don't want to put words in his mouth, so I'll refrain from saying who it was, but my impression was that he was mainly unhappy because he was led to believe from the promotional videos that the rooms would be gutted. Stripped down to bare steel and redone. I never got that impression from the videos, but I haven't gone back to watch to check.

I think the things that were redone were A.Maz.Ing. The aforementioned blogger agrees with that. They were done perfectly and HUGE improvements.

Cabanas is 1000 times better than Topsiders. The beds, bedding, and new shelves and plugs in the rooms are 1000 times better. The kids clubs are incredible. The AquaDunk and Twist and Spout were both super additions. The adult clubs were great.

I'll say it again, the things that were redone were wonderful. I didn't hear anyone disagree with that.

There were some things that were not finished yet. Our toilet stopped working twice, but was fixed within 10 minutes both times. I know they had the same problem across the hall, and it sounds like the whole section did. Again, they were fixed quickly, and I'm sure Disney will spend a lot of time getting to the root of the issue over the next few weeks. The media was told that someone flushed something they shouldn't have on the crossing and caused all kinds of issues.

We had none of the other problems. Our room was great. If I searched I could find scuffs on the wood, and our grout could have been touched up, and the toilet seat looked worn, but I wasn't expecting brand new everything. Even pointing those things out makes it sound like our room looked bad and it just didn't! It was gorgeous! I spent a couple of hours in the airport with Dave Marx (Passporter) who said his room was perfect and looked brand new.

I 100% disagree with the person that said TA's were told not to take pictures because of the problems. No way. We were told we could not use our pictures for commercial purposes, as they didn't want guests showing up in pictures promoting our agency without their consent. We were not told to refrain from taking pictures or keep them off our personal social media accounts. I made sure to get clarification in person before posting any pictures.

I confirmed with Ricky Brigante (Inside the Magic - I think he is who told me that, not Dave Marx, but maybe both) that the media/bloggers were not given any instructions with their pictures at all, and they were everywhere. The majority of people on the ship were paying guests (even some TA's that were paying guests) and they were taking pictures of everything.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Does someone have before and after photos I have no idea what a duck-butt is.

I do! I'll have to look! The duck butt, which is what Disney is calling the Duck Tail, is the extension on the bottom of the back of the ship. I'll see if I can find a good before and after.

RE: Blue Disney Dooney - my parents are sailing on the Fantasy in April - maybe it can be a belated Birthday present for their darling daugher/3-week dog sitter

Excellent idea!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

You are a rock star, Tammy! Thanks for posting all the pics. Hope you had a great cruise!!

Thank you so much, minbrad! I absolutely did!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I'm with your friend. 90% is a about right. And I spent 12 nights on the Magic this summer, so I had a very recent experience with the ship. There were some things that still needed touch up (and I do believe they will be done over time) but this reimagined ship is wonderful. From reading some reports you would think it got worse. I loved it this summer, and it just got a whole lot better!!

I talked to one of the bloggers for several hours on Saturday night. I don't want to put words in his mouth, so I'll refrain from saying who it was, but my impression was that he was mainly unhappy because he was led to believe from the promotional videos that the rooms would be gutted. Stripped down to bare steel and redone. I never got that impression from the videos, but I haven't gone back to watch to check.

I think the things that were redone were A.Maz.Ing. The aforementioned blogger agrees with that. They were done perfectly and HUGE improvements.

Cabanas is 1000 times better than Topsiders. The beds, bedding, and new shelves and plugs in the rooms are 1000 times better. The kids clubs are incredible. The AquaDunk and Twist and Spout were both super additions. The adult clubs were great.

I'll say it again, the things that were redone were wonderful. I didn't hear anyone disagree with that.

There were some things that were not finished yet. Our toilet stopped working twice, but was fixed within 10 minutes both times. I know they had the same problem across the hall, and it sounds like the whole section did. Again, they were fixed quickly, and I'm sure Disney will spend a lot of time getting to the root of the issue over the next few weeks. The media was told that someone flushed something they shouldn't have on the crossing and caused all kinds of issues.

We had none of the other problems. Our room was great. If I searched I could find scuffs on the wood, and our grout could have been touched up, and the toilet seat looked worn, but I wasn't expecting brand new everything. Even pointing those things out makes it sound like our room looked bad and it just didn't! It was gorgeous! I spent a couple of hours in the airport with Dave Marx (Passporter) who said his room was perfect and looked brand new.

I 100% disagree with the person that said TA's were told not to take pictures because of the problems. No way. We were told we could not use our pictures for commercial purposes, as they didn't want guests showing up in pictures promoting our agency without their consent. We were not told to refrain from taking pictures or keep them off our personal social media accounts. I made sure to get clarification in person before posting any pictures.

I confirmed with Ricky Brigante (Inside the Magic - I think he is who told me that, not Dave Marx, but maybe both) that the media/bloggers were not given any instructions with their pictures at all, and they were everywhere. The majority of people on the ship were paying guests (even some TA's that were paying guests) and they were taking pictures of everything.

Thank you for answering this it's most helpful, it's been a bit of a debate on the negative posts bring made and I find your answer very balanced.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thank you for answering this it's most helpful, it's been a bit of a debate on the negative posts bring made and I find your answer very balanced.

You are very welcome.

 

[Gabe1]

We talked to a lifeguard one night when he was watching an empty pool. He told us this was a permanent thing and would be on all of the ships within the next few weeks. There will be a lifeguard posted there during all the hours the pool is open.

They change the signs to say "Lifeguard On Duty". Emphasis from me - ON!

I think it was a wonderful decision.

Thanks for getting the rest of the story. This just warms my little heart.

Both of my adult children are Ellis LIfeguard trainers, which is the system that WDW resorts and water parks employ. The new guards at WDW, most of which have some background already, have 40 hours in the water of training to be certified WDW lifeguards and then 4 hours a month review/inservice of deep, shallow rescues, AED training, CPR and first aid.

It always bothered us that the DCL took so much caution for safety but go that direction on their ships. I'm doing the happy dance. Wonderful decision indeed.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thanks for getting the rest of the story. This just warms my little heart.

Both of my adult children are Ellis LIfeguard trainers, which is the system that WDW resorts and water parks employ. The new guards at WDW, most of which have some background already, have 40 hours in the water of training to be certified WDW lifeguards and then 4 hours a month review/inservice of deep, shallow rescues, AED training, CPR and first aid.

It always bothered us that the DCL took so much caution for safety but go that direction on their ships. I'm doing the happy dance. Wonderful decision indeed.

Yes, to my knowledge, they are not standard on any other cruise line. I think it's definitely the right decision for a cruise line that caters to families.