Dream or updated Magic

[DannyDisneyFreak]

So we our booked for our 2nd cruise on the Dream in Jan and I hear the updates to the Magic will be done by then, should we switch? Ours is on the 5th and the magic had one departing the 6th.

 

[Silverfox97]

So we our booked for our 2nd cruise on the Dream in Jan and I hear the updates to the Magic will be done by then, should we switch? Ours is on the 5th and the magic had one departing the 6th.

Our family would choose the Magic without any updates over the Dream any day, so our vote would definitely be to switch

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[DannyDisneyFreak]

Our family would choose the Magic without any updates over the Dream any day, so our vote would definitely be to switch

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Any reason? Have you been on the dream? I don't want to switch and regret it. We really loved the dream but it was our first an only cruise. Has anyone switched their normal ship and was unhappy? Pete on the podcast always says the food isn't as good on the magic and wonder,

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Any reason? Have you been on the dream? I don't want to switch and regret it. We really loved the dream but it was our first an only cruise. Has anyone switched their normal ship and was unhappy? Pete on the podcast always says the food isn't as good on the magic and wonder,

There is no mid ship detective agency. So think about some of the updated things u liked. You can always try the magic next time! Also doesn't have magic portholes .

 

[Silverfox97]

Any reason? Have you been on the dream? I don't want to switch and regret it. We really loved the dream but it was our first an only cruise. Has anyone switched their normal ship and was unhappy? Pete on the podcast always says the food isn't as good on the magic and wonder,

Yes, I've been on 8 DCL cruises in fact. The Dream was my least favorite ship (but I do like the Fantasy!!). I have not noticed any difference in food truthfully.

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[DannyDisneyFreak]

Yes, I've been on 8 DCL cruises in fact. The Dream was my least favorite ship (but I do like the Fantasy!!). I have not noticed any difference in food truthfully.

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What is it that you dislike about the Dream?

 

[klepton]

This topic is purely subjective... but I would look at the entire picture and make a determination. Homeport, itinerary, cost, ship, etc; and see what makes the most sense. The Dream does shorter cruises to the bahamas, with the Magic, depending on when you go, there are opportunities for more varied itineraries. Factoring all of that, I would almost definitely rather do the Magic again (cruised it once before) than trying out the Dream (never cruised it before). You might convince me otherwise if it was a B2B on the Dream, but I'm just not a fan of short cruises.

The upgrades on the Magic look appealing to me...

 

[Silverfox97]

What is it that you dislike about the Dream?

I definitely agree that the topic is subjective, as yes, we prefer longer cruises but would more than likely not consider a B2B on the Dream. The Dream feels rushed because it is, especially 3 night cruises. Lots of hurrying. The servers don't take the time to get to know you because it's over so soon.

Here's why we prefer the Fantasy over the Dream (because a lot of people ask me this); longer cruise, more elegant (IMHO), personally enjoyed the decor better, seemed like the crowd was friendlier & less rude over all, friendlier crew, Muppet Midship Detective agency, special show in Animator's Palate, extra pool that DD enjoyed on deck 12, the bar area - especially La Piazza (BEAUTIFUL!!!), (however, 687 on the Dream is better than O'Gill's, but neither of them are better than the set-up in Diversions on the Magic & Wonder), the shows Aladdin and Wishes, and I am sure there are more things I can't think of, but those are the main reasons.

We have sailed on all 4 Disney ships. I love the newness and fun bells & whistles of the Fantasy, but missed the intimacy of the Magic & Wonder. Most of the veteran CMs (and a lot of the veteran cruisers) agreed.

I rank the ships:
1) Magic
2) Fantasy
3) Wonder
4) (distant 4th) Dream

Totally subjective.

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[MikeAndNick]

Updated Magic in a heartbeat.

 

[flateacher]

Our family chose the updated Magic for our next cruise (over the Wonder). BUT we have been on the Dream and when we were looking for our next cruise we never considered the Dream. Not because of the shorter itinerary (we chose a 4 night on the Magic) - but because we prefer the smaller ships.

My husband especially thinks CC was too crowded when we went on the Dream. I agree.

As for food - totally subjective as pp said. But we loved the food on the Wonder when we went in March (this year). I think is was even better than the food on the Dream (or maybe I just thought so). I am hoping the food on the Magic is as good as the Wonder.

The Magic cruise we chose was similar to the Wonder - except it is leaving from PC and has a sea day. The Wonder leaves from Miami and goes to Key West. I really like the Wonder and my daughter gets sea sick so we were leaning that way...

But after the changes were added to the Magic my sea sick prone daughter said she wanted to try it because the AquaDunk "looks soooo cool!"

 

[Melissa S]

Our next cruise is on the updated Magic and we booked it long before it was announced that it was going to be updated. Our first cruise was on the Dream and I wasn't a fan of the ship but loved cruising on Disney because we have a young daughter. The crowds were just too much for me and I couldn't justify the price premium for the things offered over the classic ships (paying a few thousand more to ride the Aquaduck once?). Our second cruise was on the Magic because of the itinerary and DH was worried that because we were on the newer ship first we would be disappointed. I absolutely loved it. There were less people. I didn't feel like I spent half my cruise waiting in line or looking for a table. The service was better and I found the food to be better, especially the desserts which I didn't like at all on the Dream. Since then we have only booked classic ships.

 

[neg58]

I have only been on the Wonder and Dream, and I would pick the Magic.

The Dream was new and shiny, but I found it very crowded and it had only 2800 passengers on it when we sailed, so no where close to capacity, while the Wonder was packed to the gills and didn't seem that way. On the Dream we did the Aquaduck and it was fine, but nothing great. I did like Cabanas better than BBB, but once I learned what I liked at BBB I could deal with it. The detective agency thing was okay, but it's not something we would do a million times.

Yep, overall the Wonder is smaller and more worn and I still liked the feel of it better. If you are looking for newer and shinier, go for the Dream. I can't wait to try the new Magic.
Nancy

 

[martikus]

I'd vote updated Magic. I think it is more fun to go on different ships so part of the fun is exploring each new ship. But I'm sure you'll have fun whichever you choose. If you go Magic, enjoy it for itself and try not to compare.

 

[TLSnell1981]

The Magic would complete our Grand Slam, so we will book it, at some point. I do love the Dream. We had a 5 night double dip...loved it. I squeezed in a 3 night cruise, but that's all we had time for, so I loved it too. Although, I prefer at least 5 nights.

 

[dswatik]

I like the upgrades to the Classic Magic however, I think it needs the detective agency game along with mini golf. I feel the sports deck on the classic ships is boring IMO.... It needs mini golf, it is so cute on the dream/fantasy. Otherwise the Magic is my pick.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

I like the upgrades to the Classic Magic however, I think it needs the detective agency game along with mini golf. I feel the sports deck on the classic ships is boring IMO.... It needs mini golf, it is so cute on the dream/fantasy. Otherwise the Magic is my pick.

The detective agency was one of the things on the Dream that we never made time to do, we promised the kids next time, not that we would plan our cruise around the game lol
It sounds like a lot of you would go with the magic& decisions decisions&

 

[Fantasiesabound]

I switched from Dream to Magic in Feb 2014. Here is why:

I didn't like the Aquaduck enough after doing it once right at the beginning of our last Dream cruise to stand in line for an hour to do it, and it was broken down a lot.

the new AquaDunk looks fabulous and line preventative as it's such a quick ride! And I am short so I can ride on the Twist and Spout as an adult (up to 5'4") - wicked cool!

I really really felt the crowds of the Dream in the dining rooms, except in Animator's. I absolutely loved Animators on the Dream!

The cool things I loved about Animators is coming to the Magic plus the new enhancements that the Fantasy has!

I really hated the pools on the Dream - why oh why can't they have made them bigger for the bigger crowds! What were they thinking?!

How flippin cool does the AquaLab family area look?! Really cool!

Dream had the most fabulous kids clubs imaginable!!! Really they are amazing! And Detective was so awesome!

BUT my 11yo son lives and dies for the Avengers and Iron Man - he is psyched!!!! Avengers Academy! (Hope it doesn't interfere with anything else that day!)

Castaway Cay doesn't grow in size when the big ships dock! It really does get crowded and hectic there with the bigger ships docked. But I didn't have any problems getting a space where we loved even with the bigger crowds. So I would say this isn't that big of an issue, but....

smaller ships at CC make for a more pleasant day all around at the place I like to refer to as Heaven on Earth

I am a big fan of the Rainforest Room and an even bigger fan of the exotic Rasul on the Magic - the Dream's rainforest area was always packed and no exotic rasul room as far as I am aware. But I was newly divorced for my Dream cruise, so maybe it existed, but I just didn't do it.

Brand spankin new spa area on the Magic to check out (please Disney keep the Exotic Rasul!!!! PLEASE! I have an amazing boyfriend now and really want to show him this "treatment" )

I have to say that everything about picking up your pictures sucked on the Dream and took so much of your time up to do it, but when I cruised it was the beginning of the new system and they didn't have them working yet, so you still had to find your photos and stand in line to purchase them.

Re-booking on the Dream was a nightmare of lines all the time - from the first day to the last!

less crowds on Magic when getting your pictures and re-booking and for characters meetings and for shows and for... well, you get the picture

So there is a smidgin of why I chose to change back to the Magic. I am wicked psyched!!!

oh and by the way, I really didn't like the food on the Dream (except Remy was amazing beyond words!!!), but love it on the Magic - so this is very subjective and may have been because it was a nightmare of crowds, pace, craziness for our servers each time we ate in the dining rooms so I may have been at the end of my rope each night too. My server ended up being our server from a Magic cruise and he was so excited at first to go over to the Dream but then he told us he wanted to go back so badly because it's so hard to deal with the crowds in the dining room every night and you don't get to know your passengers as well.

 

[gatorfreud]

Our only Disney Cruise was on the Dream and I loved it. I didn't feel it was too crowded, and we went in the summer. We were on a 5 night though... I don't think I would like a 3 or 4 night as much, just too short. I would definitely do the Dream again!

That said, we booked our next on Magic, because I like doing new things. When we go to WDW I never stay at the same resort twice. It's all more magical to me when it is new to me!

Have fun!
Kim

 

[MrsBoyer428]

If it was me, we would go on the updated Magic. I loved the Fantasy (Dream's sister ship) and I REALLY loved Remy, but the updated Magic appeals to me more than the dream (going for hitting each ship )