Magic Must-Do's

[SparklesofHope]

I can barely contain my excitement! Our family of four- DH, DS 11, DS 9, and myself will be sailing on our very first Disney cruise next June, 7-night Med on the Magic. I somehow managed to convince DH (who is neither a fan of Disney or cruises) that this would be a great way to visit Italy!

Anyway, I've searched the boards for first-time cruise info, DCL secrets, Med ports/excursions, etc.

But what are some of your favorite must-do's (must-see, must-try) on the Magic??

TIA!

 

[bats]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Disney Cruising. I will warn you now that it's very addictive and a VERY expensive habit to fund!!!

The Magic is my favourite ship, it's petite, beautiful and just lovely!

My favourite bits of the ship are the adult only pool area (much nicer than the Dream, but not as good as Fantasy), Lumiere's restaurant and, well, the whole ship really!!! Oh and secret deck 7 ... love that place!!!

On a different subject, if you're wanting to book DIY excursions for Rome, we were recommended a company by some DVC staff who had booked with them ... (www.yourtourinitaly.com)
Absolutely fantastic company, private air con'd mini vans so no walking in the heat, friendly staff and the more people you have, the cheaper it is. We had a thread going on the UK version of the DisBoards and got 42 people!! Visited the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum and Spanish Steps .. no walking, dropped off at the entrances to each attraction (much to the annoyance of the Police who kept chasing us to move)!!

You'll love it for sure.
Any questions you have for the cruise (I've done 2 Med cruises with DCL), please feel free to ask .. better to do it by PM though as I don't subscribe to threads so won't know if you've asked me anything.

Enjoy

 

[SparklesofHope]

Thank you for your post! I'm starting to realize that Disney cruising can become very addictive! I'll be sure to check out Your Tour In Italy.

 

[bellabaloo]

As 1st time Disney cruisers sailing the Magic in March, I am very interested in this thread! Thanks for posting it

 

[gumbypee]

The tour of the ship (art themes or something like that) was fascinating to me-lots of interesting ship tidbits

 

[jjones144]

We are going on our third Disney cruise, first on the Magic in January. Interested to see what everyone had to say.

 

[cruisecrasher]

Art of the Theme ship tour

 

[SparklesofHope]

Thank you to those who have posted!

The wealth of knowledge on these boards is incredible! Way better than any information we would get from a TA or other website.

Magic Must-Do's

So far we have:
1. Adult only pool
2. Lumiere's restaurant
3. Secret Deck 7
4. Art of the Theme Ship Tour

I know there are many veteran Disney cruisers out there!

Any additional Must-Do's on the Magic?

 

[Keever]

Fish Extenders. Absolutely!

And magnetic door decorations.

 

[disprincess4ever]

What's so exciting about the art of the ship tour?

 

[gumbypee]

You find out all kinds of nifty facts - just one example : you are told that when magic was first being built that the shipyard was too small so they built it in two pieces and they show you the seam. They also tell you that the sister ship has a seam in it as well but it is a faux seam just so that it was identical to magic.

Interesting stuff like that-I love that kind of stuff and the majority of people I know enjoy this tour immensely!

 

[gumbypee]

I don't know exactly what is so special about lumiere's restaurant? It is just one of the three in rotation. I actually loved animators palate "mini-show" on first night the best. I don't recall lumiere's doing anything special but please correct me if I am wrong!!

Edit: I hope that didn't come across mean bc I didn't mean it that way, I just don't recall specialties of lumiere's

 

[cruisecrasher]

What's so exciting about the art of the ship tour?

Lots. It is very interesting. For example the seam, which you can find easily on Deck four, is called the ships belly button. Flounder's reef was added in a space once used as a galley (on the Wonder this retrofit was done while crossing the Atlantic to avoid delaying its maiden voyage more). My favorite bit of trivia is why are they allowed fireworks when no other cruise line carries fireworks. Anybody else know?

 

[gumbypee]

Ooooh can't remember that factoid!!!


Because Disney is awesome and that is why?!

 

[cruisecrasher]

Ooooh can't remember that factoid!!!

Because Disney is awesome and that is why?!

Although true, no.
Anyone?

 

[DL1957]

DH and I have sailed 7 times on the Magic and have two more cruises booked on this ship for 2013! There are some things that are the same as the other ships but are still different. We enjoy reading a book on deck 4 and watching all of the walkers/joggers go by. The shows are a must see if this is your first cruise. For all of us who call the Magic "our ship" DH and I equate to DL vs WDW. DL has something special that the other parks do not and I believe one reason is because it was the first. My other thought is that Walt built DL and was not with us for the other parks and he oversaw the Magic from Heaven. Many of the crew have been on the Magic for over 10 years. Some have gone on to the other ships but from what I understand you will find more of the original servers on this ship than the others.
Enjoy your trip we have been sailing since 1999 and everytime we are going to do something else with our vacation time we book another DCL trip!

 

[MrsPotatoHead425]

We've only sailed on the Magic once so far and LOVED it! Diversions has chips, salsa and some other goodies in the afternoon and also late at night. The Guest Service deck has a hidden mickey challenge you can ask for. We loved eating breakfast and lunch at Lumiere's also.. something we didn't realize could even be done until we were mid-way through our cruise and we ordered lots of Mickey Bars from room service, even though it isn't on the menu. But our #1 thing, is sitting in a lounge chair on deck 4!!

 

[goeva]

Lots. It is very interesting. For example the seam, which you can find easily on Deck four, is called the ships belly button. Flounder's reef was added in a space once used as a galley (on the Wonder this retrofit was done while crossing the Atlantic to avoid delaying its maiden voyage more). My favorite bit of trivia is why are they allowed fireworks when no other cruise line carries fireworks. Anybody else know?

Fireworks Patents? This is tough...I'd love to know the answer to this.

 

[SparklesofHope]

Thank you to those who have posted! I realize many of these favorite activities are subjective, however, as a first-time Disney Magic cruiser, ANY and ALL tips are welcome!

We've added a few more:

Magic Must-Do's

1. Adult only pool
2. Lumiere's restaurant (Breakfast and Lunch too!)
3. Secret Deck 7
4. Art of the Theme Ship Tour
5. Fish Extenders
6. Magnetic Door Decorations
7. Animator's Palate
8. Reading a Book/People watching/Lounging on Deck 4
9. The Shows
10. Diversions--Chips, salsa, and other goodies
11. Hidden Mickey Challenge (Guest Services)
12. Mickey Bars from Room Service

Looking forward to all of this next June!

Anyone else like to add?

 

[neg58]

Is the Art of the Theme tour one you have to sign up for at Guest Services or is it in the navigator? I'm going on the Wonder, and have a list started of the things I need to take care of at Guest Services because if I don't write them down I'll forget something.

Tea Party
Gingerbread House making
Art of the Theme
putting GC on my account


Nancy