Disney Magic Renovated

Disney Magic Cruise Review : The Oldest Ship Is Now The Best

In Disney, Disney Cruises by Tamala Prickett

Disney Magic Cruise Review: The Oldest Ship Is Now The Best

Disney Magic Renovated

Our Disney Magic cruise review could be summed up in one sentence : The oldest ship is not the best! I have have good reasons for making such a bold statement, so read our Disney Magic cruise review below for all the details!

When I heard that the Disney Magic was being renovated, I knew that I MUST take our family on another Disney Cruise with the Magic. We took our girls on their first Disney Cruise when Evelyn was 3 and Claire was just a babe…sniff sniff

Disney-Magic-Pirate

Yes, that is my oldest child and I am dropping tears as we speak. Life passes too quickly my friends.

Disney Magic 2004

Disney Magic Mickey

I look horrible & fat in the picture below with Pluto and Claire. I don’t care…it was still a good memory 🙂

I had just had a baby people!!!!

Disney Magic Goofy

Disney Magic Goofy

I could keep posting old Disney Magic Cruise photos, but I need to live in the present and you need to know why the Magic is still the best ship in the fleet! Sorry for the flashback overkill. I could not help myself.

O.k,. so only one more. We made Evelyn go down the Mickey Slide & she was not a happy camper.

Disney-Magic-Mickey-Slide

Fast forward to 2013, and my only concern was whether the Aqua Dunk would be thrilling enough for this same kid. Funny how life works.

Aqua Dunk

Aqua Dunk

 By the way, it was. Both Evelyn & Claire thought the Aqua Dunk was awesome.

Aqua Dunk

Yes, this is the same baby who is sucking a pacifer in the the picture above. Yes, I am crying. Geez….

The girls never waited more than 10-15 minutes to ride the Aqua Dunk. Compare that to the 45-60 minutes they waited for the lame, I mean tame (Oops…I forgot other people might read this), Aqua Duck on the Disney Dream.

We also loved the renovation of the pool area for the little kids. First of all, the Mickey slide is twice the size and everyone (even adults)  are allowed to ride. Secondly, the Aqua Lab is brilliant and is conveniently located adjacent to the slide and the shallow Donald Duck Pool that Murray could not get enough of!

Donald Duck Pool

Speaking of the Aqua Lab, it just rocks. Even better, it is adjacent to the Donald Duck Pool and the Mickey Slide. Why does it matter? Well, all things in one place mean hours of running from one to another and never being bored or crowded! Even better, it also means hours of parents being in one location.

Aqua Lab

The only thing that I would change is the fact that there are only tables and chairs at the Aqua Lab area. We want to relax too, right? Loungers would be nice for the people who are paying for these little monsters to have fun…..just saying.

Honestly, our favorite part of the Disney Magic is the layout of the pool deck area. We previously sailed on the Disney Dream, and were miserable while on the pool deck. First of all, there is no separation in the “big kids pool” and the “little kids pool.” Well, there is a separation but the separation is rows upon rows of pool chairs. Note: I said pool “chairs” not pool “loungers.”

Disney Dream Pool Deck

Look inviting? It’s not.

Even worse, you are likely going to be three rows back trying to watch your child swim. We liked all other aspects of the Dream ship, but the pool deck ruined the experience for us. The Magic got this one right in the renovation.

Disney Magic Pool Deck

Disney Magic Kids Pool

Not only did we like the pool deck better on the Disney Magic, it was also far less crowded. The Magic has a passenger capacity of 2,400 while the Dream has a capacity of 4,000.

Do the math people.

Disney really should have added another pool to account for the additional passengers on the Dream and the Fantasy ships.

The renovated Disney Magic now has dining venues similar to the newer ships. Even the Animator’s Palate has the same technology as the Fantasy giving guests an amazing dinner show. The only down-side is that the Magic does not offer the “drawn to magic” experience on sailings less than 7 nights. Everything else is the same, but the guests will not be able to draw characters on their place mats and see them come to life on the screens across the restaurant. Boo 🙁

We still loved the renovated Animators Palate on the Disney Magic. Evelyn has grown a little bit since the last time she dined at Animators Palate.

Your kids are too, so its time to book a family vacation. You won’t regret it,  Noone ever does. (Unless you are married to the wrong person, and that is a whole different conversation…)

Animators Palate

The Kids Club area has also been renovated on the Disney Magic, and again we loved the addition of the Avengers Academy. They would not let me take any pictures, because it is “secure programming.” Um, ok. Anyway, it is a really cool program where little boys and girls literally turn into an Avenger on a huge screen in the Oceaneers Lab.

Once again, Disney shines in the kids programming department. Even my 12 year old enjoyed the Edge program. Thumbs up to Disney for thinking of the tweens!

Another one of our favorite additions to the Disney Magic is the O’Gills Pub. We spent every evening at the Pub after the show and before dinner. It was the perfect spot to grab a snack, and play a game of checkers. No one else was ever in there!

Ogills Pub Disney Magic

We sailed on the Disney Magic during the Christmas season and they did not disappoint. Murray loved this life-size Gingerbread house so much that we caught him taking a lick.

Disney Magic Christmas

Lastly, I have to mention the Senses Spa. I “forced” Daniel to join me in the Couple’s Villa on a Sea Day for a couple’s massage. We even got to spend a few minutes alone in this amazing private villa.

Senses Couples Villa

We loved our time on the Disney Magic so much that we booked a European Cruise for next summer. The only question is whether we will survive the flight to Barcelona with 3 kids!

Tamala PrickettDisney Magic Cruise Review : The Oldest Ship Is Now The Best