If you've cruised on more than one Disney ship...

[cherryblossom5]

Which was your favorite and why?

[jalves]

The one I'm on at the time.

 

Seriously, we've been on all four and enjoy each.

[Tonka's Skipper]

We have been on the Wonder, Magic and Fantasy, all were great. We love the theming along the lines of the great Ocean Liners of the 30's, 40's and 50s and just enough of the Disney touch.

 

AKK

[ultimate_ed]

We've been on the Dream and the Wonder. Sailing on the Fantasy in a few weeks.

 

I liked both the bigger, new class (Dream, Fantasy) and the older, smaller class (Wonder) for different reasons. The Dream had more space and features overall and incorporated a lot of lessons learned from the originals - though, sadly, not with regards to the size of the pools.

 

The Wonder was older, but still in great shape. While it wasn't as all high-tech, I appreciated the shorter walks to get places. The public spaces felt less crowded since there were fewer people and staterooms feeding into them.

[moki'smommy]

While they are all good, my preference is the Magic. I like the smaller size and friendlier atmosphere. I do not like that they removed the custom made chandelier in the atrium and replaced it with a big version of what you can find in any lighting store...frankly, I don't like most of the atrium remodel design. But we know many of the CMs on the Magic and somehow it always feels like coming home.

 

Wonder--we haven't sailed her as much, so not so much warm fuzzy feelings.

Fantasy is gorgeous. Even the public bathrooms are amazing. But she felt like a factory. The dining rooms are huge and the tables are packed together. Again, she lacked the warm fuzzies. It felt like people were there to do a job--to deal with 4000 guests--rather than like each guest was important. And they don't have an adult library book case. When I asked an officer in the Cove Cafe about it (that's where it is located on the Magic), he had some dumb answer about how they could build one on the ship but Disney hadn't authorized them to buy the lumber. Come on, you have a billion dollar ship and we're talking about a book case that doesn't even need to be custom made. Sorry, that book case on the Magic is one of the things I enjoy! OK, Lloyd (head of hotel) moved to the Fantasy, so maybe he's instilled some of the feeling from the Magic...but it wasn't there when we cruised her. Also, shows are better on the Magic.

 

Dream--I don't like short cruises. It is nothing against the ship (although the Fantasy has several improvements over the Dream. It is the cruises.

Edited May 28, 2015 by moki'smommy

[Tonka's Skipper]

While they are all good' date=' my preference is the Magic. I like the smaller size and friendlier atmosphere. I do not like that they removed the custom made chandelier in the atrium and replaced it with a big version of what you can find in any lighting store...frankly, I don't like most of the atrium remodel design. But we know many of the CMs on the Magic and somehow it always feels like coming home.

 

Wonder--we haven't sailed her as much, so not so much warm fuzzy feelings.

Fantasy is gorgeous. Even the public bathrooms are amazing. But she felt like a factory. The dining rooms are huge and the tables are packed together. Again, she lacked the warm fuzzies. It felt like people were there to do a job--to deal with 4000 guests--rather than like each guest was important. And they don't have an adult library book case. When I asked an officer in the Cove Cafe about it (that's where it is located on the Magic), he had some dumb answer about how they could build one on the ship but Disney hadn't authorized them to buy the lumber. Come on, you have a billion dollar ship and we're talking about a book case that doesn't even need to be custom made. Sorry, that book case on the Magic is one of the things I enjoy! OK, Lloyd (head of hotel) moved to the Fantasy, so maybe he's instilled some of the feeling from the Magic...but it wasn't there when we cruised her. Also, shows are better on the Magic.

 

Dream--I don't like short cruises. It is nothing against the ship (although the Fantasy has several improvements over the Dream. It is the cruises.[/quote']

 

Hi Moki Mom,

 

Like you, I loved that classy chandelier.

 

I was told the reason they took the original chandelier down, was it was weakening with the years motion.

 

It would have made a hell of a loud noise if it had ever come down, not to mention the danger to passengers and CMs.

 

AKK

Edited May 28, 2015 by Tonka's Skipper

[moki'smommy]

Hi Moki Mom' date='

 

Like you, I loved that classy chandelier.

 

I was told the reason they took the original chandelier down, was it was weakening with the years motion.

 

It would have made a hell of a loud noise if it had ever come down, not to mention the danger to passengers and CMs.

 

AKK[/quote']

 

That makes a lot more sense than the excuses I was given. But interestingly, the Wonder still has the original in place--same artist, slightly different design. And I read that the Magic's original was to be placed in the terminal. I haven't cruised out of PC since then, so don't know if it was installed there or not.

[Gardeneroflove]

The one I'm on at the time.

 

Seriously, we've been on all four and enjoy each.

 

Yep. We've been on the two older ones, before changes, if they've been upgraded. Magic and Wonder.

 

All the same to me. Same great service, mickey bars and warm chocolate chip cookies tasted the same!

[Shmoo here]

I prefer the Magic (well, the "old" Magic - haven't been on the re-imagined one yet). Then the Wonder (still not re-imagined), Fantasy & Dream (in that order). So I'd say I prefer the smaller ships.

 

I wish they would keep at least one (that would be the Wonder) of the classic ships "classic" and not a mini-me of the bigger ships.

[moki'smommy]

I prefer the Magic (well, the "old" Magic - haven't been on the re-imagined one yet). Then the Wonder (still not re-imagined), Fantasy & Dream (in that order). So I'd say I prefer the smaller ships.

 

I wish they would keep at least one (that would be the Wonder) of the classic ships "classic" and not a mini-me of the bigger ships.

 

There have been changes to the ships on many of the dry docks. They just haven't made as big a deal over them as they did when they added the water slide, re-did the atrium and Topsiders, and called it "re-imagined."

 

For example, on both classic ships the fitness center was expanded which eliminated a view of the bridge. Before the Alaska voyages started, the Wonder had the Cove Cafe area expanded and enclosed. The library on the Magic was eliminated to become a conference room and later the Edge. Neither of the classic ships was in its original configuration prior to the re-imagination dry dock.

[Ex techie]

This from Moki'smommy above.

 

Neither of the "Classic's" are still as they left the ship yard.

Both have had some severe modifications of "upgrade's/re-imagining" or in the case of the Magic's Atrium, downright vandalism IMO.

 

The only two ships in DCL's fleet that are still as they were first floated out are the Dream and Fantasy. And that is to change for the Dream when she dry dock's and get's re-imagined into a slightly different model of the Fantasy.

 

I think if they had wanted to, they could have found a way to make the Chihuly chandelier safe to continue gracing that grand lobby with repairs and strengthening where needed. TBH the lights inside never worked properly and were mostly off. And the new IKEA style chandelier will no doubt be easier for them to maintain and dust. But the Chihuly and the second staircase should have stayed IMO.

 

I think the Wonder will not get the Magic's upgrades. Just a feeling.

 

ex techie

[moki'smommy]

Techie, I'm with you. The new atrium is ugly. One CM did tell us that the single staircase design gives them a great place to put the big gingerbread house at Christmas (yeah, back in a corner where you have to make an effort to see it). And I suppose they use that corner for the Halloween house as well. However, elimination of the second staircase reduces many character opportunities and special event stagings.

 

THe excuse they gave me for removing the original chandelier was that it was "too hard to clean." I don't see how the new one will be any easier. If the truth was that is was becoming unstable--again, why not strengthen the support beams. Chihuly and his team had to develop a special plastic (plexiglass sort of) resin to use on the ships because the glass that he normally works in would have been too heavy. But the new resin also made breakage far less likely. That doesn't mean people wouldn't have been injured if it fell, only that the structure was less likely to be smashed to bits.

 

IMHO, they should never have ruined the atrium. The explanation I got for that was "to make it more like the new ships." Big deal.

[Ex techie]

It's absolutely ridiculous of them to say that they make use of the space of the staircase for 3 months of the year for the Halloween tree and Christmas Tree.

They always managed fine with it there.

 

It was a PITA to clean and maintain and involved setting up scaffolding to reach it taking over most of the floor space in the Atrium and could only be done in port obviously and requiring most of the Atrium to be closed off for many hours.

 

And the chandelier could have been replaced with a new similar design from Dale Chihuly, with a motorized winch to drop it to the floor for cleaning and maintenance. IF THEY HAD WANTED TO SPEND THE MONEY! LOL!

Cheapest option, replace it with some monstrosity of a thing they put up there.

I'm not a massive fan of the original chandelier. But it looked and gave gravitas to the space and should have been kept IMO. What is there now isn;t even a comparison to the photo's I've seen of the chandeliers on the Dream and Fantasy, so they can't use the excuse of easier to clean.

 

They butchered that Atrium to save money.

 

And Helmsman Mickey should never have moved from center spot!

 

ex techie

Edited May 28, 2015 by Ex techie

[GatorMomInNC]

So I've traveled on the Fantasy, Wonder and the Magic. I have spent three weeks on the Wonder, four weeks on the Magic, and one week on the Fantasy. The Fantasy is SUCH a beautiful ship, and I love the rainforest room, the detective game and the Aquaduck. The Oceaneers club is amazing. But as pp said, the dining rooms are larger and louder due to the extra number of guests. I loved staying on the ship when it docked and having the ship to ourselves, but normally, the kids clubs and the atrium seemed overly busy, even though we cruised in "off" season, early December.

 

In contrast, all my other sailings have been in September and on the smaller ships. They have also generally been the longer cruises (WBTA, EBPC) that are less crowded. I really LOVE the smaller ships with less people.

 

To me, there isn't a lot of difference between the pre-reimagined Magic and the Wonder. The crew on the Wonder always seem like they are like family to each other, they seem to get along really well and have a real comraderrie. As someone who grew up in Orlando, it was fun, for a change, going out of LA on the Wonder and going to Disneyland for the first time.

 

But for whatever reason, maybe because it was the first ship I went on with DCL, my favorite is the Magic. I actually really like the reimagined Magic, maybe because it just gave some extra things for my kids to enjoy. I love the new animators palate and the Mickey slide and pool. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I literally feel like I am home when I walk on the Magic. Like my own second home, I guess 😍

 

While I've never been on the Dream because of the shorter cruises and the expensive per night cost, I am really wanting to go now that they've added the Millennium Falcon to the kids clubs.

[moki'smommy]

 

 

 

But for whatever reason, maybe because it was the first ship I went on with DCL, my favorite is the Magic. I actually really like the reimagined Magic, maybe because it just gave some extra things for my kids to enjoy. I love the new animators palate and the Mickey slide and pool. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I literally feel like I am home when I walk on the Magic. Like my own second home, I guess 😍

 

I could have written this. Yes, as soon as we walk onto the ship, there is an "at home" feeling. I don't like the atrium (see above), but LOVE the Magic.

[c-cruise]

We've only been on the Magic and Fantasy and preferred the Magic. Much less crowded and we had better service as well. I didn't see anything at all wrong with the atrium although I didn't see it before the remodel. Seemed like a scaled down version of the one on the Fantasy to me.

[moki'smommy]

Seemed like a scaled down version of the one on the Fantasy to me.

 

That's exactly the problem. They took it from a lovely space, designed to work beautifully for the Magic and turned it into a scaled down version of the Fantasy. The space works for the Fantasy. The previous atrium worked beautifully on the Magic. THey seem to invoke "make all ships the same" when it suits them, and "viva la difference" when they think it will attract customers (Marvel Academy is only on the Magic, Millenium Falcon only on the Dream. Midship Detective was NOT installed on the Magic). Nothing wrong with each ship having its own character and beauty. But they didn't ask me.

[Carolla5501]

We loved the Magic and Wonder. We refer to the Dream as the Nightmare which pretty much says it all. After that fiasco I have no desire to try another large Disney ship.

[c-cruise]

That's exactly the problem. They took it from a lovely space' date=' designed to work beautifully for the Magic and turned it into a scaled down version of the Fantasy. The space works for the Fantasy. The previous atrium worked beautifully on the Magic. THey seem to invoke "make all ships the same" when it suits them, and "viva la difference" when they think it will attract customers (Marvel Academy is only on the Magic, Millenium Falcon only on the Dream. Midship Detective was NOT installed on the Magic). Nothing wrong with each ship having its own character and beauty. But they didn't ask me.[/quote']

 

Hmm, that's interesting. I guess not having been on the ship before I didn't know the difference. I thought they did a really good job of making it feel more like the Fantasy without all the extra people. We really liked the Fantasy, but way too crowded so the Magic was pretty much perfect for us.

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

Fantasy and then Dream for me, I am wary of trying the smaller ships as I am so familiar with the all singing, all dancing bigger ships and all they offer which the Magic and Wonder don't. Sometimes I think am I missing out so will try them when I find an itinerary I like, maybe PC as of course only the smaller ships fit through, so there is my reason to try.

Edited June 12, 2015 by CELTICGIRLCRUISER

[moki'smommy]

Fantasy and then Dream for me, I am wary of trying the smaller ships as I am so familiar with the all singing, all dancing bigger ships and all they offer which the Magic and Wonder don't. Sometimes I think am I missing out so will try them when I find an itinerary I like, maybe PC as of course only the smaller ships fit through, so there is my reason to try.

 

I'm totally puzzled by this post. The Magic has IMHO BETTER theatrical presentations than the Fantasy, and the new "Tangled" based show should improve that even more as they will eliminate Villains which is the weakest of the current shows. There are 2 major deck party shows on the Magic--Frozen and Pirates. In addition, on longer cruises there are many performers brought on board who are not on the typical 7 night sailings. In addition, the Magic has some performances in the dining rooms which the larger ships don't have (probably because their dining rooms are so crowded already that there is no room). For instance, on the night of Lumiere's signature menu, 6 main stage performers come and do a brief dance number.

 

I would tell you that in our experience, the "singing and dancing" on the Magic was always totally equal to that on a 7 night Fantasy OR MORE, and that the quality was better on the Magic.

 

What you will not have on the classic ships are things like Midship Detective Agency (again, Fantasy has a better program than Dream), Mini-golf, Satellite Falls (rumored to be added to the Dream soon).

[moki'smommy]

Well, maybe I've put my foot in my post as I've just been informed that "All singing, all dancing" is a phrase meaning something similar to "as good as it gets" or "all the bells and whistles" and has no real reference to singing and dancing.

 

In that case...yes, the Fantasy is beautiful and has everything that high tech could give her at the time she was created. I'd still rather cruise on the Magic (and my next 3 cruises are booked on the Magic).

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

I'm totally puzzled by this post. The Magic has IMHO BETTER theatrical presentations than the Fantasy' date=' and the new "Tangled" based show should improve that even more as they will eliminate Villains which is the weakest of the current shows. There are 2 major deck party shows on the Magic--Frozen and Pirates. In addition, on longer cruises there are many performers brought on board who are not on the typical 7 night sailings. In addition, the Magic has some performances in the dining rooms which the larger ships don't have (probably because their dining rooms are so crowded already that there is no room). For instance, on the night of Lumiere's signature menu, 6 main stage performers come and do a brief dance number.

 

I would tell you that in our experience, the "singing and dancing" on the Magic was always totally equal to that on a 7 night Fantasy OR MORE, and that the quality was better on the Magic.

 

What you will not have on the classic ships are things like Midship Detective Agency (again, Fantasy has a better program than Dream), Mini-golf, Satellite Falls (rumored to be added to the Dream soon).[/quote']

 

Not as puzzled as I was when I read this.:D

 

Well' date=' maybe I've put my foot in my post as I've just been informed that "All singing, all dancing" is a phrase meaning something similar to "as good as it gets" or "all the bells and whistles" and has no real reference to singing and dancing.

 

In that case...yes, the Fantasy is beautiful and has everything that high tech could give her at the time she was created. I'd still rather cruise on the Magic (and my next 3 cruises are booked on the Magic).[/quote']

 

Spot on.

Edited June 13, 2015 by CELTICGIRLCRUISER

[c-cruise]

I thought the shows were better on the Magic than the Fantasy. Disney Dreams is the best Disney cruise show I have seen and looking forward to the new Tangled show next year on the Magic as well. I' hoping they replace "Twiced Charmed" and not "Villains" as I thought that was by far the weakest show on the Magic.

[Shmoo here]

I thought the shows were better on the Magic than the Fantasy. Disney Dreams is the best Disney cruise show I have seen and looking forward to the new Tangled show next year on the Magic as well. I' hoping they replace "Twiced Charmed" and not "Villains" as I thought that was by far the weakest show on the Magic.

 

I believe that Twice Charmed is the one being replaced. Personally, I wish it was Villains Tonight being replaced. I've seen it twice, and both times I felt it needed a lot of work. The concept is good, but not carried out well.