My Experience on the Disney Magic

Back in November, I sailed aboard the Disney Magic on my first one-way repositioning cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Galveston, Texas. This cruise was very nostalgic for me because the Disney Magic was the first ship I cruised on nearly 12 years ago and it has been 10 years since I last cruised on this ship. While many parts of the ship are as I remember, a lot has changed since the last time I was onboard. Some things that are new to the outside decks include a larger water slide and an thrill slide where you get into a capsule and the floor drops beneath your feet. The interior also has quite a few changes like new restaurants, a redesigned atrium, and kids clubs and an adults only district that have been completely redone.

I began the first day of my cruise by exploring the ship and many of its renovated spaces. My first stop was at the kids clubs for a quick look since they were having an open house before the ship departed and they are almost unrecognizable from when I last sailed onboard the Disney Magic. The major new additions to the Oceaneer Club are the Marvel Superhero Academy and a Toy Story-themed play area.

I loved going to the Oceaneer Club on Disney ships when I was younger and I would have loved having these interactive elements then, but I also had a lot of fun with elements that no longer exist in these spaces. I do feel bad that kids now may not have the same experience that I did, but I know they'll still have a lot of fun hanging out here.

While exploring the ship some more, I noticed some upgrades to the corridors and entertainment venues. One minor renovation is the shopping hallway that leads to the Walt Disney Theatre. It's a small change from when I was last onboard, but it looks nice and makes the shopping area look more appealing. I really enjoyed walking through this area because the design was perfect for this space and it felt a lot like a classic venue at a Disney park.

Moving on to the restaurants, there are no changes to "Lumiere's" and a few changes to details in "Animator's Palate, mostly updated technology and show elements.

This has always been my favorite restaurant on Disney ships because it showcases the history of Disney animation throughout your meal.

One new show element involves drawing a character (I know mine looks awful) and once you're done, the servers will take them back and they will be animated and shown on the screens throughout the restaurant. I loved this addition and I think it's pretty cool to watch.

On the upper decks, this is one of the new slides, the AquaDunk. This slide lets you step into a capsule where the floor drops out from underneath your feet. It is a fun and thrilling water slide that lasts about 5-8 seconds. There was hardly ever a line and I lost count of the amount of times I rode this attraction, but I must have done it at least 20 times!

The other new slide is Twist 'n' Spout, a mild slide that is the replacement for Mickey's Slide. This is a lot more fun, but I only rode it about four or five times because there was almost always a long line.

Finally, The atrium has some new updates like the chandelier and the removal of one grand staircase. However, it still has the classic Disney cruise ship style to it.

I had a great time onboard the Disney Magic this time and hopefully I don't have to wait too long before my next cruise onboard this beautiful ship.