We just finished our first four day trip on the Wonder after three trips on the Magic and I have been wanting to share my impressions of the differences.
As noted by others, there is very little difference in the architecture/decoration, the rotational menus, and restaurants. On the Magic, because of the extra sea days, there are three additional menus served which are common among the three dining rooms. The main differences we felt were in the overall experience, especially the entertainment and the atmosphere.
Some of the differences have already been listed: On the Wonder, there was no live band. There was a piano player on board, who mainly performed at either Preludes or the Cadillac Lounge (Sessions on the Magic). We had one variety performer, but only on the sea day. On the Magic, there will be two to four variety performers, who usually perform in the variety shows, an adult cabaret, and a family cabaret.
There is also a tremendous feeling of "compressed time" compared to the Magic. For example on the Magic, because the longer sailing, there are three variety shows interspersed with the three main shows. On the Wonder, you start the first night with "The Golden Mickeys", followed by Toy Story, then the movie night, then Disney Dreams. Only the last show had an afternoon performance. You also feel the compressed time in the itinerary: embark, Nassau,
Castaway Cay, sea day, disembark. Compare that to the Eastern, where you have two sea days before the first port, or the Western, where many people treat the first day in Key West like a sea day.
In terms of atmosphere, the Wonder is way more casual than the Magic, for the most part. Although some of that is due to the lack of a formal night, but it also part of the "compressed time" effect. At dinner on the Wonder, it was not unusual to see people come in more than a half hour late past the seating time. Dress was extremely casual (t-shirts, shorts). Very low attendance at Triton's (the sit down restaurant) for breakfast or lunch. (This may be related to the lack of sea days). The casualness, however, does lead to a more lively scene around the pools and the bars. Strangely, the vibe in Diversions was more downbeat on the Wonder. That may have been due to the lack of sports offerings after Sunday football, or it may be because the buffet (with hot dogs, wings, and nachos) was not available due to a virus outbreak the week before. The only place we found more formal on the Wonder was at Palo. Being well-trained in the ways of the DisBoards, we followed our usual practice of bringing our own wine on board, which we poured into glasses and brought with us to dinner to avoid the corkage fee. Never had a problem with that on the Magic, but on the Wonder you would have thought we showed up at Palo in our swimsuits. The food was still good and we quickly got past the disapproving looks once we remembered the corkage fee is nearly $20 these days.
Service was roughly comparable to the Magic. We never really met our stateroom host, but he did a great job of keeping the room clean and supplied with ice. Room service and guest services were definitely below the standard we had come to expect from the Magic. On Nassau day, we got back to the ship too tired to do dinner. Since we had early seating, we called down to let them know we would not be coming. We were told it didn't matter since our seating was not going to be given away. The next night we got a call from the dining room manager asking if we were going to dinner that night, since we had missed the previous night, and they were going to give away our reservation. He was very rude and we noted it on our comment card. That however was topped by the person taking room service orders. We always order coffee for the morning, along with a carton of milk for our daughter. On the Magic, this was never a problem, and in fact, on one occasion we forgot to call down, and they called us to see if wanted the order for the next day. On the Wonder, we were told firmly that they were blue tags in our desk drawer that we were to mark and put outside our door if we wanted room service in the morning. Since the desk at that time was blockaded by luggage, I asked if she would take the order anyway. I was firmly told no. So much for that "do anything"
DCL spirit.
In summary, I think you'll have a great time on the Wonder for a five day double dip. Just expect a different experience than the 7 day Magic.
