HI October 2004 082 MK Resorts 1 HI October 2004 083

An outpost at the intersection of Life and Disney

Friday, March 27, 2009

Disney Cruise - Topside

This is part 3 of a continuing series about cruising on the Disney Magic (here's part 2).

The words "getting there is half the fun" could hardly be more true than when you are on a Disney Cruise. Although the ports of call beckon, the moment we stepped on board the Magic we knew we were in a special place.

Although you board at Deck 3 midships, let's go for a quick look topside (don't worry, we'll come back below decks in a future installment).

The ships of the Disney Cruise line are designed to evoke an era of cruising in grand style. Natural wood finishes and elegant design touches are ubiquitous:
Disney Magic - Topside    24

Disney Magic - Topside    16

As one might expect, the decorative Mickeys are present in abundance. The most frequent use of Mickey may be in the Disney Cruise Line logo, which is present in large and small scales:
Disney Magic - Topside    08

Disney Magic - Topside    14

Decorative Mickeys also appear in their "classic" form. Here's an example from the Wide World of Sports deck:
Disney Magic - Topside    26


Some of my personal favorites are visible at the ship's bow:
Disney Magic - Topside    31

Disney Magic - Topside    35

This pool may be the largest decorative Mickey:
Disney Magic - Topside    02
Notice that Mickey's hand is supporting the water slide. If you examine the large version of the image carefully, you might also spot Sorcerer Mickey's hat in the background!

As one would expect, the cruise provides ample opportunity to encounter Disney characters in a more direct fashion:
Disney Cruise - Bon Voyage 14 Cozumel 024

Next time, we'll go below decks to check out more of the Disney Geek goodness.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Disney Cruise : Pre-Boarding

Welcome back. This is part 2 of a series about Cruising on the Disney Magic:
Disney Cruise - Terminal 05

In our last installment, we were taking a look at the details to be found on the exterior of the Cruise Terminal:
Disney Cruise - Terminal 04 Disney Cruise - Terminal 10 Disney Cruise - Terminal 12

The details continue inside the terminal building itself, so let's go in and take a look.
Here's the main room of the terminal building:
Disney Cruise - Terminal 18

After a brief pause to take it all in, we start by looking up. Notice all the "wave" motifs present in the ceiling? Let's also take a look at the base of each of the columns, where
the "rope" at the bottom of each column evokes images of pilings at a pier:
Disney Cruise - Terminal 32

Oh, and did I mention it was the holiday season?

Disney Cruise - Terminal 19

Now that we've finished "looking up", let's not forget to LOOK DOWN also. In this case the floor is an amazing scale map of Florida and the Bahamas:
Disney Cruise - Terminal 23 Disney Cruise - Terminal 22

In the middle of the room is a model of the Disney Magic
-- and it's a cutaway!
Disney Cruise - Terminal 24 Disney Cruise - Terminal 27 Disney Cruise - Terminal 30

(If we're lucky, perhaps Captain Mickey will come ashore and greet us in person...)

If we step out onto the back deck, we can see the Magic herself:

Disney Cruise - Terminal 35

But what we're all waiting for is for these doors to open ...

Disney Cruise - Terminal 33 Disney Cruise - Terminal 34

... and for our boarding group to be called:

Disney Cruise - Terminal 21

Next time - Setting Sail!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Disney Magic - Arrival

Like many of you, I love the Disney Resort Hotels. I love the immersive effect of the theming and detail.
The Grand Floridian WDW: Yacht & Beach Clubs
02 - Grand Californian Hotel - Lobby (10) Pop Century Resort WDW Port Orleans: French Quarter

But one of my favorite Disney Resorts cannot be found within the borders of Disney Property, and in fact most of the time cannot be pinned to any specific location for more than a few hours at a time.

The ships of the Disney Cruise Line bring the notion of an immersive experience to entirely new level, and are a treasure trove of details for any Disney Geek.

I'll share some of those details over the next series of posts, based on the time I spent on the Disney Magic on a seven-day cruise.

Here's the first glimpse of the ship that we saw as we approached Port Canaveral:

Disney Cruise - Terminal 02

But before we board the ship, let's take a look at the Cruise Terminal:

Disney Cruise - Terminal 04

Even before we get inside we see all sorts of eye candy. Notice the hands on the clock?

Disney Cruise - Terminal 11

And check out the details above the windows:

Disney Cruise - Terminal 16

Disney Cruise - Terminal 14(a)

Disney Cruise - Terminal 13(a)


There exterior makes use of classical decorative Mickeys, and also includes details of a more nautical nature, such as this braided rope line:

Disney Cruise - Terminal 09 Disney Cruise - Terminal 17

The window above sports the snazzy Disney Cruise Line logo, which is also visible on the back of the building:


Disney Cruise - Terminal 40

Next stop, we'll take a peek inside the terminal building before setting sail.