DISNEY MAGIC Part 4

Thursday 11th July 2013
Today we are at sea, travelling from Villefranche in France towards Palma de Mallorca, and the temperature is steadily rising out on the decks. We went on a short tour of the ship with a ship’s guide, which was interesting for many reasons. I gather there are probably a million Mickeys around the ship, of all sizes.

Ship Map, decks 1-4

Ship Map, decks 5-10

I like the way the position of the lifts is shown with Mickey’s finger pointing towards the deck number.

The moving finger

I also did my own tour and was highly entertained in the Atrium because there were Crawling Races for small babies. I saw many reluctant babies placed on the Start end of the big mat, and being told to crawl to a parent at the other end of the mat. Some hated it, some grinned and crawled happily, one fell face down immediately and was so shocked he seemed beyond crying. His father put him down again and again, and I wanted to pick the child up and put him in his mother’s arms, but didn’t. I guess some parents have more of a competitive streak than others. There were 3 races, with those 3 winners in the final race. The winner of that was given a Disney bib, one child sat and bawled his eyes out, and another refused to move.

Crawling Races

Happy and sad

I visited the shops, which were full of Disney products of course, and full of children who wanted Disney products. I managed to find a few simple items to please my little grandchildren, so I was out of the shops very quickly. The Cove Café was a welcome haven for coffee and a chat.

Bags of fun

Outside the Walt Disney Theatre

Builder's plate

Dinner that evening for us was in the Animator’s Palate restaurant, which was another fascinating venue.

Animator's Palate, Deck 4

The idea is that we dine in each of the three restaurants in turn, and our wait staff comes along with us each time.

The pictures around the walls all changed during the courses, from black and white pencil drawings to coloured pictures of Disney characters, and all at different times. They were very eye-catching, and it was worth being alert to the surroundings to enjoy the spectacle.

Change of lighting

All the pillar lights were like giant artists’ brushes, with the top light being the bristles. The ceiling appeared to be covered with large artists’ palates with blobs of colours in them which kept changing.

The waiters all wore coloured waistcoats. At one point before dessert all the waiters disappeared and when they came back their waistcoats had all become white with black Mickey Mouse figures over them.

That was fun, as they all seemed to be enjoying it too. As a finale, the lighting changed yet again and the magic waistcoats all changed from black and white to various colours.

Deck at night

Another night view

Show me the way to go home...


We saw no identifiable ships today.

To be continued...

DISNEY MAGIC Part 2

Part 2

Tuesday 9th July 2013
It's the Magic Day today, so I started it after breakfast by walking to the harbour for another little harbour tour. Three friends suddenly appeared unexpectedly and so I had good company.

GNV's Splendid

Disney Magic

One of the Disney Magic funnels

Goofy painting the name on the stern

The stern of DISNEY MAGIC had the figure of Goofy hanging over it, looking as if he was helping to paint the name of Disney Cruise Line’s first ship.

Legend of the Seas

Then it was time to collect my luggage and get the port bus to the cruise terminal. Checking in was fairly quick and we were soon admiring the last check-in desks before boarding the ship.

I want one of those

I arrived in the Deck 1 Atrium on board, handed my cabin card to the welcoming member of staff and suddenly saw her put a microphone to her mouth and announce my name and that I was now on board - and that was when two other members of staff started smiling and clapping, just for me! Gosh, that was different!

I had a moment to admire the beautiful Dale Chihuly chandelier hanging in the Atrium, before going to find my cabin. There is another of his beautiful creations hanging in the entrance hall of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and I always have to stop and admire that.

I had a standard inside stateroom/cabin which was a very spacious 184 square feet, on Deck 2 of 11 passenger decks.

Cabin 2017

DISNEY MAGIC was planned 'to pay homage to the legendary transatlantic ocean liner, but transformed the hallmarks of classicism into preconditions for the future', according to John Heminway’s book “Disney Magic – The Launching of a Dream”.

The Walt Disney Company first decided to build their own cruise ship in 1992, having already considered a partnership with a distinguished cruise line but discarding the idea in favour of creating their own cruise line. Architects including Robert Tillberg were asked to provide plans for such a ship, and naval architect Njal Eide was finally chosen to do the work. His design included two funnels. Dr. Hartmut Esslinger of frogdesign was later called in to advise on modifications and soon the model was approved by Disney Cruise Line’s Michael Eisner.

In early 1995 various shipbuilding companies were considered, and the contract was awarded to Fincantieri (Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A.). As the interior designs progressed, it was decided to include an alternative restaurant with three rotating dining experiences. Robert Tillberg of Tillberg Design AB of Sweden co-ordinated the design of every stateroom and suite on board the ship. On 21st October 1996 the keel of the ship was laid, and because of the yard capacity and tight schedule, construction began on the bow in Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard and on the stern in Marghera, just north of Venice.

By April 1997 the bow was ready to be taken to Marghera, accompanied by tugs, and the float-together and completion of the hull took place by 18th April. The funnels were craned into position, the final work completed and the dock flooded, so that on 13th May 1997 the President of Disney Cruise Line Mr Art Rodney could send DISNEY MAGIC on her way. Later the interior work continued with world-wide specialists joining the Disney Imagineers to complete the modern classic; so this was the ship we were joining now in July 2013.

Some of us met up for lunch in the buffet, which was very crowded but meant we could look out at the port at the same time. The choice of food was good and was constantly replenished by cheerful staff.

A tour of the decks meant we could see some of the Disney characters - and oh my, I saw Mickey Mouse, for the first time in years. He hasn't changed a bit. Minnie wasn't wearing her red glittery high heels, but maybe she will another day. All the activities on the outdoor stage were being shown on the huge screen above it, so everyone watching from several decks around the Pool could see what was happening. I am very impressed so far. Then we discovered the Adults only part of the ship, which included the air-conditioned Cove Cafe, so life was looking pretty good. All age groups, from tinies to teenagers, to adults, had their own space on several decks so everyone appeared to be happy, which takes some doing.

Lifeboat drill was conducted in the Theatre, without the need to take life jackets, and then it was time for sailing from Barcelona.

Costa Favolosa

Mehtap Bayraktar

Itinerary of the Disney Magic

Ship Map

The Disney Show in the Walt Disney Theatre at 6.30 p.m. was called "Villains" which I enjoyed very much, although I didn't recognise many of the characters. We located an adults-only bar for pre-dinner drinks. Our party had been allocated two big tables for dinner in the Lumiere’s Restaurant, just off the Atrium. The menu was excellent and offered a wide choice, and the wait staff soon knew each of us by name. We were on second seating at 8.30 p.m. so didn't feel rushed.

A Mickey funnel at night

Ships seen: Disney Magic, Jolly Quarzo from Linea Messina, Legend of the Seas, Costa Favolosa, Mehtap Bayraktar which was built in 1991 for the Turkish Bayraktar Group – I saw another of their vessels in Marseilles last month, Azamara going past Barcelona port, a harbour tour again on Encarnacion


To be continued...