Photos of Magic in Drydock???

[Wishing on a star]

Sorry to post this request.... But the Search function is disabled, and I was hoping that somebody, maybe the person who posted these photos, could give me a link to those pictures of the Magic in Drydock? My DS would REALLY thank you!!!

 

[Verandah Man]

Is this what you are looking for? Magic Drydock Photos

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yes! I think that is it! Thanks Andy.... Boy, gotta love these boards, cause of all the folks like you. I'll show these to my son.

DS is REALLY into all the details of the ships... especially the propellers. No photos that show those though.

Bless you, and Happy New Year!

 

[ericnj]

THanks for the pictures. Do you know what they did to the ship while it was drydocked? Thanks Eric

 

[Verandah Man]

Originally posted by ericnj
THanks for the pictures. Do you know what they did to the ship while it was drydocked? Thanks Eric

The three main areas that were changed during dry dock were Beat Street is now Diversions, ESPN Sky Box is now The Stack, and Common Grounds is now Cove Cafe. To see the changes here are photos of the new areas. Magic Dry Dock Change Photos

There were some other minor replacements such as new carpets were installed, painting, mattresses replaced, etc.

 

[ericnj]

THank you for the updates on the ship. It is nice to see the pictures as we have only been on the Wonder and will be on the Magic this summer. Eric

 

[cruisin4fun]

Just a FYI - I live in Chesapeake and commute past Norshipco. Last fall we were just starting to think about a cruise and I saw the Magic in drydock - they actually kept the smokestack mouse ears lit up at night, or else it was coincidence with the shipyard lights.

Anyway, I got a call from a former coworker who now works at Norshipco. He mentioned the Magic and said he had been on a tour of the ship and said it was impressive!

When they floated her up she was so big and heavy they had to have everything/everyone off the ship. When she was finally in position he said it was like a Nascar pit crew with everyone lined up with equipment/materails racing onto the ship and getting to work.

The job went well (as an engineer in construction, these things interest me......) and they finished early. As they cruised back to Florida they were still laying carpet and cleaning up!

I hope Disney was happy with the work here and will send the Wonder and/or the Magic again. Next time I will get a tour!!

 

[Verandah Man]

Originally posted by ericnj
THanks for the pictures. Do you know what they did to the ship while it was drydocked? Thanks Eric

I just read this info from an e-mail I received from the PassPorter site:

========================================================
DISNEY FEATURE: Magical Changes Aboard the Disney Magic Ship
========================================================
by Dave Marx


Ah, if only we could dash off for another week on the Disney Magic! The ship returned from dry dock late last fall sporting a net-full of refurbished and re-purposed guest areas. The folks at Disney Cruise Line were good enough to show us around the ship one Saturday in November while it was docked in Port Canaveral, and we were very impressed with what we saw. The overall effect of these changes is a ship that is much friendlier for adults and teens, with no negative impact on its family- and child-friendliness.

The headline changes can be found right at the top, on decks 9 and 11. Disney has pulled the old switcheroo – the space that had been the ESPN Skybox, at the top of the forward "smokestack," has been converted into the new teen club, The Stack. In return, adults get two newly-refurbished spaces – the teens’ old Common Grounds lounge on deck 9 is now the Cove Café, and Off Beat, the dueling pianos bar on deck 3 has had a complete makeover into Diversions, a sports pub. The cruise line has also made some subtler changes to the Promenade Lounge on deck 3, and has added two sales offices for the Disney Vacation Club. Now, here are the details:

The Stack – Disney and its passengers learned that the original teen-only lounge, Common Grounds, wasn’t nearly large enough to provide a good home to the ship’s teen population. The lounge itself was very attractive and comfy, with a coffee bar, Internet terminals, projection TV, a great jukebox, and lots of cushy seating for reading, board games, or just hanging out. Dance? No floor space. Party? Much too small. Further, with no windows or glass doors, the room felt like a cave during the daylight hours. All too often, this meant the teen population just skipped Common Grounds altogether, and hung-out wherever they could.

The Stack changes all that. The former ESPN Skybox has been restyled, and offers much more space for the kind of activities teens want. The makeover is mostly cosmetic. The bar is still there, but naturally only serves non-alcoholic beverages and snacks. The big screen TVs are also all present, but they’re more likely to be showing music videos than sporting events. The main room is filled with small, round tables that can easily be moved aside for dancing and other group activities, and the ceiling drips with the lighting equipment required by a good dance club. The décor now sports bold splashes of color, gleaming stainless steel, and a mirrored wall draped with gauze curtains. The adjoining room, formerly filled with bleacher seats for watching the big game, now sports an open floor plan, with Internet terminals lining the walls. Plenty of sunlight pours in during the daytime. While we’re not teens, it’s clear to us that this should be a big improvement for everyone.

Cove Café – We smiled broadly when we entered the new Cove Café. Located on deck 9 right next to the adults-only Quiet Cove pool, Cove Café has helped turn the entire adults-only area into a whole new world. First, DCL took out the blow torches, and started cutting holes in the steel walls of the former Common Grounds teen lounge. A new, glass automatic double door opens right into the pool area, adjacent to the Signals bar. A new, second door lets in even more light on the lounge’s port side wall. To top it off, they added two large round windows. The overall effect is wonderful, creating a space that’s a daytime delight. You can now walk right in from poolside into the air conditioned space and take a seat at the comfortable bar, curl up with a book or magazine, or log onto the Internet. Amazingly, much of the décor hasn’t changed from when the teens owned this turf. The warm woods, Italianate plaster crown moldings, black stone bar-top and earth-tone upholstery exude the relaxed, cosmopolitan feel of the ship’s reservation-only restaurant, Palo and are much better suited to adults than teens. Cove Café is open from 10:00 am to Midnight. You can enjoy gourmet coffees and teas, cocktails, sandwiches, and desserts while you socialize, read, or watch TV. What’s more, they even have robes and slippers, for the ultimate in luxurious lounging. Out on deck, as a special added touch, they’ve erected a deck-to-ceiling, frosted glass privacy screen that clearly marks the beginning of "grown-up country." You’re really entering another world when you leave the Goofy Pool behind.

Diversions - Disney Cruise Line also brought their blow torches and decorating staff down to deck 3 forward. Off Beat, part of the Beat Street adult entertainment district, began as a comedy club, and switched over to a dueling pianos bar. While both entertainment options had their followings, the room was never really a hit. Well, the old décor is gone, the stage has been ripped out to reveal large, round windows, and DCL has brought in more of its characteristic Italian-style wood paneling, lots of stylishly comfortable seating, luxurious board game tables, and big, flat-screen TVs. Disney calls Diversions a "pub," but there’s nothing English about it. Those big windows now make this a very appealing daytime space. Operating hours vary (check your onboard Navigator), and it’s open to all ages until 9:00 pm, after which it’s adults only. This room takes over the ESPN Skybox’s turf for the big sporting events, but they’ve installed special air filtering equipment to keep the air fresh for the non-smokers in the family (smoking is allowed at the bar only; no cigars or pipes allowed). There’s still a full bar in the back of the room, and a Pub Master is on hand to host sporting events, trivia contests, piano sing-alongs, and talent contests. The checkers/chess/backgammon tables are especially appealing to us – we can’t wait to try them out.

Promenade Lounge - Unheralded in Disney’s press releases are a couple of smaller changes. The Promenade Lounge on deck 3 midship (between Parrot Cay and Lumiere’s), has been changed to greatly improve guest traffic flow in and out of the space. Previously, this long, narrow lounge could only be entered on the two extreme ends. Low, decorative railings separated the lounge from the adjoining main hallway, creating major bottle-necks when large numbers of guests arrived for entertainment events and the occasional bingo game. A relatively small change has wrought a major improvement here. A small stage (usually occupied by a two-piece band) that had been located halfway along the hallway railing has been moved to the opposite (inside) wall. Then, rather than keep things fenced-in, the railing in the old stage area was removed, affording much easier access to the heart of the lounge, and making the entire area feel much more airy. Meantime, the seats were reupholstered, making a subtle change to the room’s appearance.

DVC Sales Offices - Finally, in one more unheralded move up on deck 10 in the forward smokestack, the former ESPN Shop (which was quietly closed down years ago) has been replaced by two, glass-enclosed sales offices for the Disney Vacation Club (DVC). While this won’t mean much for most cruisers, I’m sure the folks at DVC are very happy to have a place to hang their hats.

Impressions – Overall, all these changes add up to an added air of luxury and elegance on this already classically-styled ship. Only time will tell whether the expanded teen spaces and the entertainment in Diversions will achieve the desired effects, but it’s easy to see that DCL is definitely on the right course. While there will always be adults-only cruisers that will shy away from DCL, currently 1/3 of all DCL cruisers are adult-only couples and singles. We can’t see how these new changes will do anything but good for DCL’s reputation in the cruising community. Maybe it’s still DCL fans’ little secret, but with Palo, the Quiet Cove pool, Cove Café, the Vista Spa and Beat Street, the Disney Magic may be one of the most adult-friendly large cruise ships afloat. And what about the Disney Wonder? You can expect similar modifications to the Wonder when it enters dry dock in the fall of 2004.

 

[cruisin4fun]

Oh boy Oh boy!!

I hope Wonder is coming to Norshipco, too!!! This time I'll be ready and maybe be able to take a tour! Long shot, but hey - I can try.