Just Call Us the Family of the Day - Magic, August 2025 (with photos)

[Erica1016]

Table of Contents
Introduction and Travel Day
Embarkation Day - Part 1
Embarkation Day - Part 2
Nassau
Lookout Cay
Sea Day
Disembarkation Day


Welcome to our third trip report!

We’re the type that plan out pretty far in advance. We currently have a triple-header cruise booked in May 2026 (Destiny-Fantasy-Fantasy), a Treasure trip in January 2027 and the Wonder booked for May 2027. However, when we got off our most recent cruise on the Treasure in May, we were sad to wait an entire year…we know, first-world problems! We also tend to book inside rooms to save the money for more cruising, so it was pretty exciting when we found a decent OGT rate for a Magic cruise that we could fit in during August! I was looking forward to being back on the Magic and it happened to fall over Todd’s birthday, so it worked out perfectly. We booked just short of two months out, which felt very quick for us!

A brief intro, if you haven’t read our previous reports…why haven’t you? (Magic-Fantasy Double Cruise, Treasure Eastern Caribbean) We’re Todd and Erica, a couple in our mid-40’s with no kids and an adorable dog. We became big Disney fans after our first Disney World trip in 2007 and spent many years going to the parks. We’d done a couple of cruises, but it was our third cruise (Fantasy, 2018) that put us on the DCL bandwagon! Now we might be bordering on the precipice of egregiousness. This trip on the Magic marked our 12th cruise and, as mentioned, we currently have five more booked through May 2027 - I’d bet we’ll manage to fit something else in, too.

Travel Day - August 12, 2025

We live in Central PA, but headed to Upstate NY to visit Todd’s parents and leave our dog with them. We were able to head up several days early to get in a nice weekend visit before heading to Florida on Tuesday. We had an early morning flight out of Rochester, so we had to get up around 3:15 am for Todd’s parents to take us to the airport - thank you to them!

Our now traditional group photo when Todd’s parents drop us off at the airport.​

For the past many years, we’ve been fairly loyal Southwest Airline travelers. However, with the recent changes they’ve made, it doesn’t always make the most sense financially. For this trip, we were trying to keep costs as low as possible, since it was really an “extra.” So, we spent A LOT of time searching flights and figuring out baggage costs. Eventually, we opted to fly United Airlines on the way down and Spirit on the way back. We also challenged ourselves to pack very minimalistically, with only one checked bag. This was particularly difficult for Todd who is a heavy packer and doesn’t like to make choices about what to bring.

Overall thoughts on the new-to-us airline experience: everything was fine. We did not pay to select our seats ahead of time, which worked out fine. We were together on the first leg and near each other on the second. We also have been spoiled with direct flights for a long time and we had a layover at Dulles this time, which was…interesting. It was like being in a time warp, everything just felt outdated. We ended up having to move from one terminal to another and were on some kind of “rover” of some sort. Not a bus, not a tram...really, it felt like a space rover. Packing also worked out fine, luckily we had our backpacks and could stuff a few things in those.

The boarding area for the “rover.”


The first sight of a beach from the plane​

We arrived at MCO around noon. We were staying at the same hotel (Country Inn and Suites Orlando Airport North) that we’d stayed at in May. However, when we called the hotel to send the shuttle, it was a bit confusing compared to last time. They let Todd know that an Uber would be showing up, which was not something we were expecting. Somehow, in a miscommunication, Todd canceled the Uber and we had to call to have them request another. Eventually, it all worked out and we got to the hotel without too much trouble. It turned out that BOTH of their vans were broken, so they were calling and paying for Uber for everyone that normally would have been using the shuttle.

We were at the hotel by around 1:00 and weren’t able to get into the room, yet. We were obviously quite early, so we didn’t mind. We had a seat in the lobby and chatted with some other guests who were also there early. Todd had gotten an email with an offer for a free cake or ice cream at Publix for his birthday. So he had an adventure planned. He left for an approximately 2.5-mile walk to the closest Publix to get his free cake (the ice cream would have melted!). After he embarked on his walk, I ordered subs for him to pick up as well. He enjoyed the walk (I don’t know why!) and seeing some new areas.

After a little while, the desk let me know that I could get into the room. Once I brought our luggage up, I spent a while sitting outside by the pool. Todd made it back just before a brief thunderstorm. Once the rain cleared, we got into our bathing suits and headed to the pool and hot tub for a bit; the weather was beautiful. We then ate an early dinner and settled in for the evening. I took a nap while Todd went down to the exercise room to do some stretching and PT exercises. He had surgery in July and was just getting to the point he’d be able to run again, so keeping up with his recovery was important.

My view by the pool while I waited for Todd to return from Publix


Dinner in bed!​

Excited to be getting up to head to Port Canaveral in the morning, we headed to bed on the early side!

We like to keep track of our sleep and steps while on vacation, so we’ll post our daily stats at the end of each day.

Erica’s Sleep: 4:27
Erica’s Steps: 7,244

Todd’s Sleep: 4:30
Todd’s Steps: 20,020


Table of Contents
Introduction and Travel Day
Embarkation Day - Part 1
Embarkation Day - Part 2
Nassau
Lookout Cay
Sea Day
Disembarkation Day

 

[princesserin1350]

Excited to see a new trip report from you!

 

[Staceycs]

So glad to see another TR! I have enjoyed your previous reports greatly

 

[dobball23]

Excited to see a new trip report from you!

So glad to see another TR! I have enjoyed your previous reports greatly

This is Todd (of Erica and Todd). It's nice to have fans! Let us know if there is anything in particular you want to know about our trip. Even if you don't have anything, we'll share our daily fun. We're hoping to do another update tomorrow.

Thanks for following along!

 

[Staceycs]

This is Todd (of Erica and Todd). It's nice to have fans! Let us know if there is anything in particular you want to know about our trip. Even if you don't have anything, we'll share our daily fun. We're hoping to do another update tomorrow.

Thanks for following along!

We were lucky enough to be Family of the Day last year on a Wonder sailing… I’m intrigued by your title!

 

[Flossbolna]

Those rovers at Dulles are called „mobile lounges“ and they are so strange! It seems like someone thought this totally futuristic mode of transport and then it got stuck in time and now you just go: huh?

 

[Disnsyncey]

Table of Contents
Introduction and Travel Day
Embarkation Day
Nassau
Lookout Cay
Sea Day
Disembarkation Day


Welcome to our third trip report!

We’re the type that plan out pretty far in advance. We currently have a triple-header cruise booked in May 2026 (Destiny-Fantasy-Fantasy), a Treasure trip in January 2027 and the Wonder booked for May 2027. However, when we got off our most recent cruise on the Treasure in May, we were sad to wait an entire year…we know, first-world problems! We also tend to book inside rooms to save the money for more cruising, so it was pretty exciting when we found a decent OGT rate for a Magic cruise that we could fit in during August! I was looking forward to being back on the Magic and it happened to fall over Todd’s birthday, so it worked out perfectly. We booked just short of two months out, which felt very quick for us!

A brief intro, if you haven’t read our previous reports…why haven’t you? (Magic-Fantasy Double Cruise, Treasure Eastern Caribbean) We’re Todd and Erica, a couple in our mid-40’s with no kids and an adorable dog. We became big Disney fans after our first Disney World trip in 2007 and spent many years going to the parks. We’d done a couple of cruises, but it was our third cruise (Fantasy, 2018) that put us on the DCL bandwagon! Now we might be bordering on the precipice of egregiousness. This trip on the Magic marked our 12th cruise and, as mentioned, we currently have five more booked through May 2027 - I’d bet we’ll manage to fit something else in, too.

Travel Day - August 12, 2025

We live in Central PA, but headed to Upstate NY to visit Todd’s parents and leave our dog with them. We were able to head up several days early to get in a nice weekend visit before heading to Florida on Tuesday. We had an early morning flight out of Rochester, so we had to get up around 3:15 am for Todd’s parents to take us to the airport - thank you to them!

View attachment 1013409
Our now traditional group photo when Todd’s parents drop us off at the airport.​

For the past many years, we’ve been fairly loyal Southwest Airline travelers. However, with the recent changes they’ve made, it doesn’t always make the most sense financially. For this trip, we were trying to keep costs as low as possible, since it was really an “extra.” So, we spent A LOT of time searching flights and figuring out baggage costs. Eventually, we opted to fly United Airlines on the way down and Spirit on the way back. We also challenged ourselves to pack very minimalistically, with only one checked bag. This was particularly difficult for Todd who is a heavy packer and doesn’t like to make choices about what to bring.

Overall thoughts on the new-to-us airline experience: everything was fine. We did not pay to select our seats ahead of time, which worked out fine. We were together on the first leg and near each other on the second. We also have been spoiled with direct flights for a long time and we had a layover at Dulles this time, which was…interesting. It was like being in a time warp, everything just felt outdated. We ended up having to move from one terminal to another and were on some kind of “rover” of some sort. Not a bus, not a tram...really, it felt like a space rover. Packing also worked out fine, luckily we had our backpacks and could stuff a few things in those.

View attachment 1013405
The boarding area for the “rover.”

View attachment 1013406
The first sight of a beach from the plane​

We arrived at MCO around noon. We were staying at the same hotel (Country Inn and Suites Orlando Airport North) that we’d stayed at in May. However, when we called the hotel to send the shuttle, it was a bit confusing compared to last time. They let Todd know that an Uber would be showing up, which was not something we were expecting. Somehow, in a miscommunication, Todd canceled the Uber and we had to call to have them request another. Eventually, it all worked out and we got to the hotel without too much trouble. It turned out that BOTH of their vans were broken, so they were calling and paying for Uber for everyone that normally would have been using the shuttle.

We were at the hotel by around 1:00 and weren’t able to get into the room, yet. We were obviously quite early, so we didn’t mind. We had a seat in the lobby and chatted with some other guests who were also there early. Todd had gotten an email with an offer for a free cake or ice cream at Publix for his birthday. So he had an adventure planned. He left for an approximately 2.5-mile walk to the closest Publix to get his free cake (the ice cream would have melted!). After he embarked on his walk, I ordered subs for him to pick up as well. He enjoyed the walk (I don’t know why!) and seeing some new areas.

After a little while, the desk let me know that I could get into the room. Once I brought our luggage up, I spent a while sitting outside by the pool. Todd made it back just before a brief thunderstorm. Once the rain cleared, we got into our bathing suits and headed to the pool and hot tub for a bit; the weather was beautiful. We then ate an early dinner and settled in for the evening. I took a nap while Todd went down to the exercise room to do some stretching and PT exercises. He had surgery in July and was just getting to the point he’d be able to run again, so keeping up with his recovery was important.

View attachment 1013407
My view by the pool while I waited for Todd to return from Publix

View attachment 1013408
Dinner in bed!​

Excited to be getting up to head to Port Canaveral in the morning, we headed to bed on the early side!

We like to keep track of our sleep and steps while on vacation, so we’ll post our daily stats at the end of each day.

Erica’s Sleep: 4:27
Erica’s Steps: 7,244

Todd’s Sleep: 4:30
Todd’s Steps: 20,020


Table of Contents
Introduction and Travel Day
Embarkation Day
Nassau
Lookout Cay
Sea Day
Disembarkation Day

pub sub! WOO!

Also, I know what you mean about those rover things....like.....a container that moves you to other concourses HAHA

 

[Erica1016]

pub sub! WOO!

Also, I know what you mean about those rover things....like.....a container that moves you to other concourses HAHA

There were some teenage girls next to us and when they saw one of the other rovers, they were saying, "wait, is that what we're in?!?" Maybe you had to be there, but it was really funny.

 

[Erica1016]

August 13, 2025

Our typical embarkation morning consists of Todd getting up for a good run while I “sleep in”. I put it in quotes because he’s up very early and even I’m usually awake and ready to get going in the 7 o’clock hour. Since he was still recovering from his surgery and had just gotten cleared to run, he kept himself in check and ran about 5.5 miles (his usual is about 8-9). I got up and showered while he was gone and then after he was done and showered, we went and grabbed a light breakfast.

Here’s a map of Todd’s run that he asked me to include. He enjoys running in the area we stayed north of the airport.


A subpar – and smaller – breakfast compared to what we’ll have the next few days​

For many of our past cruises, we’ve used Cortrans to get to the port. They’re fairly reasonably priced and will pick up at the airport area hotels. They’re a small, family company and when we contacted them about this trip, they let us know that they’d be on vacation and gave us a couple of other recommendations. We opted to go with Airport Canaveral, which picks up at the airport. We had planned on taking the hotel shuttle, but of course, it was still not working. The front desk called us an Uber and we were picked up at 8:25 to head to MCO. We went to the ground transportation stop indicated in our email and waited. We were scheduled to be picked up at 9:00, so we had a bit of waiting to do. We had decided that we’d be waiting at the hotel or at the airport, so it was better to be waiting where we needed to be.

Waiting for our Airport Canaveral pickup at MCO​

It got to be 9:00 and no one had arrived to pick us up, yet. Todd gave them a call and they said that our driver was almost there. Rich picked us up at 9:15. We were the only ones riding at that time and the vehicle was a minivan, so it was a nice, private ride. Rich was nice and we had quite a pleasant conversation on the drive. We got to the port around 10:15 and were able to give our luggage to the porters. More waiting was in store as our PAT was not until 11:30. Again, we were fine with waiting and were just happy to be there. We never take the time to go get photos in front of the terminal, so we did that.

One of our non-traditional front-of-the-cruise-terminal photos​

Several cast members stopped by to check on us as we waited by a pillar. Again, we were more than fine with waiting and explained that we knew we were early, so we were just hanging out. Eventually, a cast member named Nancy (Staten Island) chatted for a bit and, with a wink, said she’d see if they could get us in early. We were happily enjoying people watching — it’s fun to see everyone so excited to be almost on vacation!

Eventually, a cast member named Addie (Branson) came and asked us more about ourselves. She asked to see our port arrival form and how many cruises we’ve been on, where we’re from, etc. I thought she might be checking us out for “Family of the Day”, but after a bit, she moved on. About 5 minutes later, she came back and asked if we were familiar with and wanted to be the “Family of the Day”! Of course, we said yes…in fact, I think I said yes before she even finished asking!

We felt special with our own sign​

She immediately took us in to go through the check in process and security. What a breeze! We got taken to a seating area set aside for the FOTD and she gathered the rest of our information. We were all settled in by 10:50. After a short time, our name and hometown was on the screens all over the terminal. Addie took us through the ears to get checked on the ship so that it would go faster when it was time to board. Everyone back there cheered for us and after we were all set, we were escorted back to our seats. A bit later, two ladies came up to ask if we were the FOTD because they were from our town! We didn’t know them, but we did have several friends/acquaintances in common! It really is a small world sometimes. We talked with them for a bit and got a bunch of photos with our names on the boards.

​

At 11:25, Addie said it was time to go! We stood over by the Mickey ears and got a couple more pictures. Then, the announcer made a big introduction and said that we were about to board. The whole terminal was clapping and honestly, it was a bit of a blur. Addie had taken my phone and did a nice job of getting some photos and a video as we walked through the gangway and onto the ship. We were the first to board (after the back-to-backers), even before concierge guests!

Time to have the ship to ourselves (along with Mickey)!​

We were greeted by all the cast members and the main mouse, Mickey! We got big hugs and some nice photos and a certificate that we were the FOTD. Once the excitement died down, one of the cast members said, “you now have the whole ship to yourselves for three-and-a-half minutes!” Todd immediately headed to Cove Cafe to get some cranberry slices and I went looking to see if I could snag a Palo reservation — no one was there yet. I headed up to Deck 9 and enjoyed being the only one there for a few minutes. I’d heard them announcing the concierge guests before leaving Deck 3.

Todd was disappointed they were out of cranberry slices.
But that didn’t stop him from getting an embarkation snack.


An empty Deck 9​

At noon, I headed back to Soul Cat Lounge to get the Palo reservation. I had to go without Todd because he couldn’t know that I was going to make it for four guests (see next paragraph). I secured a brunch reservation for the next morning (Nassau Day) at 9:30 am, which was perfect! I met Todd outside Cabanas and we went in to grab some lunch. We enjoy Cabanas, and prefer to serve ourselves, so we were excited for this after having just been on the Treasure where they serve you at the buffet. We also love the seats in Cabanas on the Magic that are a low counter that faces the buffet. We love the people watching while we eat!

Embarkation Day lunch! It’s hard to see, but the green on my plate was called “mushy peas” (we think) and they were outstanding. We hope to come across them on future cruises.​

After lunch we walked around a bit and stopped in the atrium to watch some more guests as they were being announced while boarding. Something else that was fun about this trip was that I’d planned a small surprise for Todd involving some cruise friends of ours, Robert and Marrianne. We’d met them on the Fantasy in 2024 and ended up on the same sailing on the Treasure in May 2025. When I’d told Robert we were doing this trip, he booked it as well. I knew, but Todd didn’t. Our original plan was to not tell Todd until they sat with us at dinner. I was feeling antsy and was worried we’d bump into each other. As I was communicating with Robert via text, I realized they were about to board as we were people watching in the atrium from Deck 4. So, I stalled us a bit until they were boarding and we cheered for them. Todd was pretty surprised! I’ll certainly talk about them more as we hung out a lot and had a great time with them. We’re actually sailing on the Destiny together in 2026, but that one wasn’t planned. We’d had it booked for a long time and then Robert mentioned that they were going at that time!

To be continued…

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[Staceycs]

Congratulations!! Being ‘Family of the Day’ is such an awesome experience

 

[Disnsyncey]

That's so special and fun! YAY!

 

[iona]

Oh wow! I love the fact that you were Family of the Day (I mean, I should have got it from the title but I obviously failed spectacularly there!). It’s really nice that you were able to sail with your cruise friends too.

the green on my plate was called “mushy peas” (we think)

Mushy peas are commonly served with fish and chips in the UK

 

[Erica1016]

Phew...writing a trip report during the academic year is a bit tougher than writing one during summer break! A bit of a hiatus since our last installment, but we're back! The second half of embarkation day will be posted momentarily! Thanks for being patient and following along!

 

[Erica1016]

Still August 13, 2025…

After a chat, Robert and Marrianne were headed to lunch and we were ready to do a bit of walking and exploring. We headed towards the front of the ship to see Fathoms and O’Gills and to walk past the shops. We bumped into some YouTubers that we’ve watched before, so we said hello to them. (LifeAdventurez) We watch a TON of YouTube DCL videos, so this was really fun for us to recognize Laura and Robbie. It was kind of funny, because I’d seen Robbie in the terminal and thought he looked familiar, but Todd says I say that all the time, so I hadn’t mentioned it out loud.

We planned to do a loop around Deck 4, but they had the front area closed off while we were in port. So, change of plans. We had to head to the entrance to Rapunzel’s Royal Table to get a photo. Todd had surgery over the summer and we’d gotten talking to his surgeon about DCL. He’d mentioned that they’d been on a cruise, but he didn’t remember many details. The one thing we could get from him was that he’d eaten at a “Tangled Restaurant”. Todd was recovering quite nicely and we wanted to send a thank you text from the ship! He replied fairly quickly and said he was a bit jealous that we were on a cruise.

The photo we sent to Todd’s surgeon​

After that, Todd wanted to walk around some more and I was ready to sit and explore in the Navigator App for a bit. I took a seat at the stools in Soul Cat Lounge while I waited for Todd to come back and get me to head to our stateroom. When we headed to the rooms, they weren’t yet available, so we puttered around on Deck 3 near the atrium for a bit. We ended up running into our friends, Lacey and Meranda, that we’d met from our home town. They were having some trouble with the App, so I helped them out and we chatted with them more. It was a great way to spend a little time and then our room was available.

The Carnival Freedom (that is noticeable due to the fire damage to its whale tail) always seems to be at Port Canaveral when we’re there. It wasn’t there this time, so Erica is pretending to point to it.​

We typically book inside rooms, but for this cruise, we did an Oceanview Guaranteed with Restrictions booking. We ended up on Deck 2 and our porthole was overlooking the pier where they were still loading up the ship. Todd loves watching this type of stuff, so it was fun to have it right outside our window. Todd wanted to do a walking tour that was happening at 2 pm and I was ready for a bit of quiet time. I hung out in the room waiting for our luggage and relaxing while he did the tour. He said the tour was “just okay”, but was still happy to have done it. He got back just when our luggage had arrived. I worked on unpacking and settling in while he took a shower — he loves showers!

The view from our porthole. Someone needed a break!​

A little before 3 pm, Todd headed up to Cove Cafe to get his cranberry slice and I finished unpacking. We eventually met back up at the muster drill. Quint was our cast member leader and he remembered us from introducing us as the family of the day. This was the first time in a while that our muster drill was on the outside deck, and I was missing the seats and air conditioning of the theater. Todd left as quickly as possible to avoid the crowds on the stairs going up to the Sail-A-Wave party. I was fine with taking my time. I’d been doing a lot of walking, especially on hills near our house, to prepare myself to be able to make it up the stairs from Deck 4 to Deck 9. I made it! I was happy to be slowly walking the pace of the masses and not be trying to keep up with Todd - not that I’d be able to anyway.

Todd avoided most of the crowd on the way up to Deck 10 and was
one of the first people to arrive for the Sail-A-Wave Party.​

Robert and Marrianne met us at the Sail-A-Wave Party and it was a good time as always. I’d texted Todd’s parents to let them know that I’d be waving at the port camera, so I went to the side to do that. Turns out that they were having internet issues and couldn’t get it, but I’m sure someone enjoyed watching me wave like a maniac!

Our third time seeing the Sail-A-Wave Party and it was great, as always. ​

We headed back to the room and I showered and we got ready for our evening activities. First up was the Main Stage show, Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story. We’d seen it only about 15 months earlier, but didn’t remember a lot. It was well done, the shows always are! I wouldn’t say this is a favorite, but it was still solid. We learned later, from Lacey and Meranda, that this is based on Cinderella III, which we didn’t know. That was a fun fact, maybe we’ll have to watch that sometime.

We met up with Robert and Marrianne at Lumiere’s for our first dinner. On the way in, we ran into our assistant server, Isnani, from our last cruise on the Magic in 2024. She and I recognized each other at the same time and that was really fun! We’d end up seeing her many times on this trip and she called out to us every time. I was wishing we’d been in her section. Our servers were okay, but throughout the trip the service just got slower and slower and wasn’t very personal. Even though we still thoroughly enjoyed our meals, it was a little disappointing. Robert and Marrianne brought us a gift - our very own homemade tie-dye shirts! This was significant because when we’d first met them, it was to comment on their awesome homemade shirts. You’ll have to wait for us to share a group photo in the shirts later in this trip report.

Multiple orders of Erica’s favorite – Deep Fried Brie!​

If you’ve read our previous trip reports, you’re learning that we’re creatures of habit. Our routine is to head to the 18+ entertainment after dinner. So, we headed to Fathoms to see what was going on for the evening. The host for the cruise was Bee, from England. The games on night one were Heard That and Magic Quest. We sat with Meranda and Lacey and their tablemates, which was a lot of fun.

After we left Fathoms, we headed up to Deck 10 to get a drink and just take in the nighttime ship a bit. We were only up there for a short bit and headed back to the room around 11:15 to get ready for bed. When we got back to our room, Todd got his second-favorite pixie dust, a $1 bill! (His favorite was a very generous $25 gift card that we got on the Treasure!)

Some late-night carpet replacement on the Forward stairs.

​

Erica’s Sleep: 8:44
Erica’s Steps: 12,600

Todd’s Sleep: 7:32
Todd’s Steps: 24,830

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