I'm not someone who really goes on cruises, but I really liked that you pointed out how much artistry and detail went into this ship. Most people will likely miss most of it or not understand its significance, but it's so telling how different the philosophy of design was for Disney back when this premiered. The Disney experience is not defined by superficially plastering characters everywhere, but is instead that attention to detail and reverence for art in themed spaces. Disney characters were used as brand ambassadors who told you that only Disney could offer this level of well thought-out experience and it's really sad that we're just not seeing that from the company any longer. Many people attribute a past love for Disney as nostalgia, but you can objectively see how much thought went into these experiences in the past that are just not happening today.
And I may add, thank you and Jake both for intelligently and objectively preaching this extreme decline to a world that desperately needs to hear it. Doing god's work for real
19:30 the way that the jazz club theming here probably wouldn't have been used unless they just-so-happened to have a recent movie to slap on it reeks of that. The connection to Soul is subtle enough that most guests wouldn't notice, but to me such a decently-themed space with such an arbitrary connection to a movie makes it feel even more impossible for modern Disney to just let a good Imagineering idea be a good Imagineering idea without it also needing to be an advertisement for a separate product outside the theme parks and cruises
The Disney that built these ships is a Disney that no longer exists. The attention to quality and detail is something the current Disney couldn't do even if it tried.
We sailed on the Magic last year for the first time. I remember vividly the Walt Disney World of the early 1990s, and I told my husband the cruise felt like that. Not dated, but the level of customer service and attention to detail reminded me of that 1990s WDW. We loved the cruise so much we are going again next year on the Magic.
Yea it is such a bummer what the Disney Corp. has become. This goes both for the cruise ships and parks as well. It has lost its magic "touch" by and large with anything new it does or tries to do. They make Universal Studios look better every day!
I think that the updates they did to the suites last year pretty much sums up modern Disney. All of the warmth and elegance the suites originally had were stripped from the rooms and they are now lifeless, dull, and gray.
I think cleanliness is more important than aesthetics. Everything can look good, but if they can’t even clean sand and crumbs, then one can imagine what isn’t being sanitized, which is absolutely critical on cruises.
And the fact that the room still got 8/10, despite him making it seem that, while well laid out, the room was dated and dirty tells me all I need to know.
I've never been on it but I do have a great experience with this ship. I'm in the Navy and our ship was pulled into a fuel farm, it had been a long day and in the middle of a month long trip to sea, so people were pretty tired. As we were about to go back out to sea the Disney Magic (I think) is going through the channel heading out to sea. Just as they are starting to pass us they play blare their whistle for us, everyone on the ship is suddenly really happy and waving at them. A few seconds later they blare it again, that one little act made even a jaded fan of Disney like me feel like a kid again and made an other wise exhausting and stressful day feel just a little nicer. A Great time.
And then they were like “We have a global readership in the tens of millions so, while we understand that some of you may know this RU-vidr we’re interviewing, most won’t so we think it’s reasonable to add some brief context here”.
@@alexanderlundin5746 I don't think he meant "I know who that is" as a dig. I think I was just surprised it was a RU-vidr he knew... but I could be wrong too.
not having a casino is the single best decision the disney company ever made when it came to its ships. Casinos cheapen the experience to me and without it, they do feel more like old school ships.
@@BrightSunTravels All good, great video! My first cruise ship was the Wonder at age 8, and I was well behaved enough to sit in the adults-only bar with my parents at night, beautiful ships.
difference of philosophy. Old Disney was made by artists that made what they wanted to make. New Disney consists of business suits who make what other people may or may not like.
Sad how it seems the entire cruise industry seems to be following the vegas at sea offefed by royal and no longer wants to offer a romantic view of ocean travel. Painful.
@@kycongamingandsports5693 idk rly but i was on a celebrity cruise just last week and was docked next to the symphony of the seas and its lifeboats are yellow
Man, what a nostalgia trip. My family went on one on the inaugural sailings of this ship. We still have a special poster for those sailings that is signed and dated by the captain, framed in our hallway. 😊
Bright sun reviews are next level! Would love to see you cover more grand railway hotels across Canada. You actually inspired me to do what you did at the Banff Springs and Chateau Frontenac and take it across all the other hotels. Thank you brother.
@@ThemeParkTeeroy make sure to do your own research and travel to find what you like. He does great tours and travel reviews, but his assessments of other lines are often narrow or misleading, sadly. He’ll often brush off other company’s offerings as inferior to Disney without having tried it himself, or without recognizing major lines operate multiple classes of ships.
I appreciate you for saying they could fix the cleanliness issue by saying DISNEY can provide more resources to housekeeping staff. That is very considerate. I always enjoy your detailed Disney cruise videos.
The Disney Magic is good evidence that if you design a ship well with a clear aesthetic theme that isn't just vaguely "contemporary", the ship can last in service much longer than others. I've always found it a bit ridiculous that cruise lines spend billions to build new ships that then get retired to shuffled to budget lines after a decade or so in service. It's wasteful and unnecessary. Build the ship well to begin with and it will have staying power.
Eisner had his flaws but he at least had a creative vision for Disney as a company, now its led by people with no long term vision and beholden to shareholders and quarterly profit
Eisner was very good at getting the best out of creative people. He also took a lot of risks and tried new things, that’s where most of his misses came from. I remember thinking when I was younger that Disney had become so much more commercial and corporate, crazy to think looking back how much worse it got when he left.
I have a different take. I see the opposite with Disney. A total abandonment of fiduciary responsibility on the part of the board and chosen executives to provide products that create wealth and provide a return on investment for shareholders. From movies, to Star Wars series to theme park choices, does anyone think Disney executives approved the tens\hundreds of millions of dollars for these items (I’m looking at you The Acolyte) thinking that this is what their paying consumer base wants?
I also would like to give Roy E. Disney some credit, too. Having a guy whose familial legacy was dependent on the quality of Disney-name products working for the company really helped steer a lot of the direction during the Eisner era. His crusade against Eisner for transferring power away from creatives and towards executives during the final years of Eisner's reign as CEO seemed to help redirect the company for the better during Iger's first few years in the role, too. Unfortunately, once the people working at Disney who knew Walt personally were gone, there was less push for executives to act like creative ambassadors carrying on the Disney standard of quality.
@@RariettyC Roy was in some ways just as visionary as his brother, the things he accomplished after Walts passing were just as vital to Disney making it to the present day as Walts original works.
I like this ship’s design so much better than newer ships. I honestly think some newer ships are just ugly and don’t look much like a ship. I appreciate how you are always honest about cruises and other travel topics.
The really depressing thing is it seems like Magic is good in spite of the retrofits neodisney has done to it and less because of them It’s just a shame because it shows that modern Disney is still lacking something major, they just haven’t ruined an old great
Could you possibly think about doing a Bankrupt video on the American Queen Steamboat Company? They closed their doors earlier this year and I think you would find that the company is right up your alley of interest. Also, the SS United States could use an update video before September where we will learn if she will be scrapped, sunk, or moved.
I've only sailed on the Magic's sister ship the Wonder, but I was far too young to truly appreciate it. However, in the summer of 2023 I took a Alaskan cruise on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas, and we saw the Disney Wonder multiple times. Each time we did I said the same thing without fail: "That is one of the most gorgeous ships on the sea."
Highly recommend her. I'm a little biased since I'm a west coaster but she is genuinely the nicest ship I have ever seen currently sailing, both inside and out.
Just finished our family's first cruise ever on the Disney Magic. Had a four day cruise at the end of July and honestly have no complaints at all. I pretty much agree with every opinion in this video. The rooms were great, but not perfect, stayed on Deck 2 as well with a porthole, and it was in great condition as said but I know I could find some flaws if I took the time to look. The food throughout the ship was amazing, the grab and go options on Deck 9 was what you would expect with any typical "fast food" option within Disney World. I might be more forgiving with pizza and was fine with that option. ;-) The kids ( 7 and 9) enjoyed the kids clubs and could spend hours there, at night that helped with some evenings spent in the piano bar. We also had a special adult treat that the Walt Disney Theater played "Deadpool and Wolverine" one day before it was released in theaters. They actually played it twice during the four day cruise, both late night at 10:30 and then 11:00pm, but you be shocked at the parents who brought their kids. The film is barely appropriate for me and I'm 42! And yes I loved every moment of the film. Overall had no actual issues or large complaints. Thank you for your review!!
My family took a Disney cruise back in 2006 (back when they had the original lobby!) I really loved it, especially the teen club - I feel like a lot of "family spaces" think of teens as an afterthought, but the teen club reminded me of a common room in a college dorm. We played Spoon Assassin, watched late-night movies, and had a decent social space to meet other teens. I'm glad the OG ships have kept most of their glamor, even if the prices are a little steep for me now.
I think one reason your Disney videos in particular are so entertaining is because of Disney's unique status as the icon of entertainment and hospitality mixed with the fact that they have lost a lot of their magic over the years. It almost makes these reviews feel like they're from an episode of Abandoned in the making.
I agree. I detest the trend towards floating city apartment blocks housing over 5000 people. It's not my idea of fun. I prefer the old classic liners/cruise ships that are smaller with fewer people.
I don’t even care about the size of the shit they could just upscale the classic ocean minor feel and it would be perfect. It’s just the idea of everything having to be open and they’re being no closed. Doors is so annoying to me because if I’m in a club doing a game show, I don’t want random people coming in and looking at me unless they’re part of the game show.
Updates almost always ruin a hotel or ship. They should stick with a classic or even retro base and add modern elements (such as accessories) from time to time. Or just make it more Disney! Not enough magic for me there. Bummer about the chandelier. Great video, Thank You!
It is crazy that even on an older ship, you can see the classic Disney room theming, care, and magic that used to make me LOVE the on site WDW resorts. It is such a different company now. I wish that classic feeling could ever return.
Not even a disney guy, more a ship guy, but this seems just like a genuinely fun cruise to go on with nice aesthetics, good food and good service, just with a whole bunch of extra stuff for if you like Disney.
I was on the Disney Magic in August of 1998 the summer before high school, and back then the ship really was magic. I have super fond memories of that ship and my voyage, and I'm glad it still holds up. The artistic touches themselves are timeless, and even if the ship is the oldest sister of the fleet, she's pretty amazing all the same. I have so many fond memories of this ship - watching a peter pan show in the theater while the ship rocked, forcing peter to re-open the window with each rock, hanging out in "Common Grounds" which was the teen area back when the ship launched, or standing at the bow in front of the sport courts on the upper decks with other teens my age. I cried when I first heard the horn play "When you wish upon a star", and it still makes my heart flutter.
Good insight and review. Even as an unapologetic lover of the AquaDunk, I think you're 100% right on the mark here. Your nostalgia hasn't overwhelmed you at all.
You touched our sweet point. The Magic was our first cruise ever and we have sailed her multiple times. We were on her first visit to Amsterdam! We love the size and layout, exactly what you mention. For the same reason we like the Wonder.
Love to see your take on the Magic and seeing new content come out about it in general. Went on the Magic for my first ever cruise at 12 years old during the week of Fourth of July 2001 and have fond memories. Got to see a NASA launch at Canaveral, went to St Maarten, St Thomas and of course Castaway Cay. I’m a RCL fan nowadays and don’t see myself going on DCL in the foreseeable future, but I’ll never forget that first trip and seeing videos like this brings me back to it.
It was Dale Chihuly, not Dave. The chandeliers were actually plastic replicas of his original glass creations for DCL. They could be lowered from the ceiling for cleaning. I really miss Beat Street and Diversions.
WOw!!!!! That PORTHOLE Window is HUGE!!!!! It literally just needs Fireworks at night behind a honeymoon couple to be perfect!! Honestly, the classics are SO MUCH BETTER than the new ones, UNLESS you have SEA DAYS for WEEKS
What a nostalgic video. My very first cruise was my with my husband on our honeymoon almost 19 years ago on the Disney Magic, we fell in love with the ship and almost 20 years later, we still talk about our honeymoon. We did a Western Caribbean 7 day that included Castaway Cay, thank you so much for doing a review on the Magic.
As always, fantastically unbiased review here Jake. Love how much you're able to articulate the good & the bad so well without feeling too biased either way. Also, crazy to see that the lowest score received for the Magic was the FOOD at 7/10, despite your high praise in the video!! Interesting
My wife, daughter and I went on our first Disney cruise for Halloween last year on the Disney magic. It was such an amazing experience! My parents, siblings, and grandmother also got their own rooms. I honestly want to say what made it amazing was Disney cruise paired our dinners with a couple our exact same age who had a daughter the same age as ours. (They were both 2 and a half I think at the time) they were from Hawaii born and raised and we all immediately clicked. Talking about how we were from SoCal and our lifestyle as well as them telling us about theirs. We were supposed to sit with my extended family and asked to change later on that night after dinner. However, after hanging out with them that evening we knew we had to sit with them again. So we changed one last and final time. Honestly yes, Disney cruises are expensive but seeing our daughter and theirs play with each other and attached to the hip practically the whole vacation made it priceless. I believe the magic will be the ship we usually will go on. We already booked a trip next April a few months ago with our friends that we made on our first trip. If you're a new family like us I highly suggest it. The connections you make can be incredible.
I love Disney cruise line, and me and my family have been on the Fantasy, Magic and Wish. My mothers favorite ship was the wish, but I definitely liked the magic more. It’s a small ship so you’re never far away from anything, the design is objectively beautiful, and food/service is great. However, keep in mind that all 3 times we sailed, we sailed concierge. I was also like 5 when we went on the Disney fantasy. We go on the Dream out of port Everglades in November, and I’ll come back to this comment and say if I liked that better than the magic.
I was on the maiden voyage of the Magic in 1998. We weren't supposed to be, but delays of planned earlier maiden voyages were canceled, and we ended up being the first. Sadly, threat of a hurricane kept us from visiting the Disney island so we just sailed around that day. It was such a beautiful ship. Hard to say if I'm disappointed in the changes. The ESPN SkyBox was fun. Sad to see that gone. Great job on showing the changes.
One of things I love about the Disney ship design is the dual funnels. I agree a classic ocean liner design. When we take cruises to the Bahamas I can spot Disney ships even at night because of the lighting of the funnels. I enjoyed the cabin tour portion of the video!
i can just feel how overworked the housekeeping staff is just by looking at that room, you can tell any decent professional would see that stuff, and want to fix it, but they probably knew they didn't have enough time to
I agree with a lot that is said except pricing. Those starting prices are rarely ever available and if they are you must be in the very high levels of the DCL rewards program to get them since Disney is the only cruise line to release booking windows for their sailings based off of loyalty status, what you paid on this trip is very much the price any normal family would get most times to sail on that ship which makes it very very expensive and unless you have kids that love Disney would be better spent on a luxury cruise line, explora journeys for instance is around the same $1,000 a night and offers a far more luxurious experience and a balcony room at that price as well
A few weeks ago, the Disney Wonder was docked at Canada Place (British Columbia) and I got to see it depart. I'll give credit where it's due, the older Disney Cruise Ships are probably one of the best looking modern cruise ships, mostly because they retain some old ocean liner aesthetics, namely the black hull and multiple funnels.
I'm begging DCL to keep the classic ships going. I love the size and smaller capacity for passengers. My favorite ship is the Wonder. Just got off the Fantasy last week and I missed the Wonder wholeheartedly. Bigger is not necessarily better. I'd love to get 1 or 2 more classic size ships. If not, I'll just stick with the magic and the Wonder!❤
That is a great looking ship. It is better than most other modern Disney products because it is not a modern Disney product. I love the design of the ship being a homage of classic ocean liners. However, you can tell that many of the places that were redone, especially the staterooms, lack much of the elegance and character seen in the older parts. Cleaning should definitely be improved, though. These travel videos of yours are great. Very interesting and wonderfully detailed. Also, I think it would be great to see you on an adventure on the VIA Rail Canadian. Beautiful landscape and a great, historic train. I have always wanted to go, but I have never had the chance. Sadly , I do not know how long the classic 1940s and 1950s streamlined fleet will remain in service. Nothing will be able to truly replace them.
This is awesome to see!!!! I have been going to Disney parks my whole life and I have been on Disney cruise line so I love these video. I would love to see a fantasy review!!!
I totally agree that it's the classic ocean liner look that puts the Disney Magic above the current modern cruise lines. I want to feel like I'm sailing on a luxury ocean liner, not a modern day cruise line and the older boats definitely do that. You can just see that by all the different themed areas and different activities. It makes the whole experience much more fulfilling and makes a smaller boat feel bigger.
I haven't been on a Disney cruise in years, but I've noticed similar issues regarding cleanliness during nearly all of my recent Disney trips - unsure if they're just rushing housekeeping or what but my rooms have been noticeably dirty. On one recent trip there was a half drunk cup of soda on the bedside table and cereal strewn across the floor when we came into the room.
Anytime there is a casino on a cruise, the cruise simply exists solely to make more and more money from wealthy (or addicted) travelers. I went on a Disney Cruise in the early 2000's as well and had a blast. So much to do. Now I would probably still say it is a great cruise and fantastic experience. The newer ships are just bland hotels on the sea that push different money-grabbing schemes into your face...from shops and drink packages, to sectioned-off concierge areas. I've never been someone who wanted to go on a cruise before, but the new cruises (well, the ones I could actually afford to go on) have really put a bad taste in my mouth. If I go, it will likely be on this type of cruise as I still fell in love with the warm carpets of the early 2000's.
6:49 that is both a European style and north American style outlet in one. You can see the north American slits quite clearly. This is done at hotels and cruises all around the world and is and is one of the most common outlets in most travel destinations.
I’m a huge cruise fan, but this is one of the most beautiful ships I’ve ever seen! The detail they put in everything is amazing and I love how there’s sections for everyone in the family. I’d rather be on this ship rather than all of the new ones.
15:17 I think Disney made the right choice for ghe bridge to cover up, especially when 9/11 happened that time period, so I won't blamed Disney for the safety of the crew and passengers.
Went on the Wish (to the Bahamas) and the Wonder (to Alaska) with the family last year, first time DCL for all of us. The Wish was very new and fancy, though a little difficult to navigate, but we all really enjoyed it. I was a bit worried the Wonder (sister ship to the Magic) was going to be a let down compared the giant Wish, given how old it was, but I actually may have liked it better. It’s definitely smaller, but the flow of the ship was so nice and easy, and I think I just liked the coziness of the ship’s design and rooms better. The Crown & Fin Pub also became our favorite trivia spot, and is maybe my favorite evening, after the kids are down, decompress with a pint spot... ever at a Disney property? So yeah, the OG DCL fleet is still great, and would easily recommend it just as much, or maybe more, than newer options like the Wish. The one big thing I missed from the Wish, was the awesome Mexican bowls place on the top deck. That eatery should be on all DCL ships.
You *really* need to sail on the DCL "Wonder" - either Vancouver to Alaska or Vancouver to San Diego (repositioning). The Wonder is the favourite of DCL multi-cruisers, hands down. The Princess & the Frog lounge, Tiana's, the English pub, and the Cadillac lounge are FANTASTIC. Plus, Art Nouveau. Amazing. The port, Pacific Place, in Vancouver is also gorgeous.
You would be especially disappointed to learn that the reason why one of the staircases in the grand atrium was removed was to balance out the weight from that waterslide that was put in during the refit. I learned this from a ships tour of the Disney Wonder last spring. My family also cruised aboard both the magic and the wonder in the 2000s and we really noticed the differences. The replacement of the chandelier on the Disney Wonder however, is not as disappointing as what was installed aboard the Magic. I’ll be cruising on that ship next spring and appreciate the heads up for the disappointment 🫤
As an experienced cruiser and a pearl castaway club member (that is 12 years old), you are right about keeping it's old look, but because the expensive fees, in that fee there are the complimentary items that are normally charged on other cruises ( for example, it's fireworks which are quite expensive to have and it's kids club that is free and doesn't have extra expenses unlike royal Caribbean with it's after 10pm fee and it's 1 am children's curfew) the reason why it's expensive is because you are covering all of the complimentary items in your cruise fee. but Disney cruises hit different
Just boarded the magic (10/7/2024). Lucky enough to be staying in a concierge level family stateroom with verandah and the room is spotless. None of the inadequate cleaning you encountered. Hopefully the itinerary changes they made today will avoid any problems that hurricane Milton will bring. Thanks for the great info in your video.
I think your views are spot on. However, you do say that other ships or areas of them are "dated" from time to time. I think designers with a concept set out to make an evocative space and themes, when you try to modernize it, you ruin what you originally accomplished. I've seen this happen with "updated spaces" on ships time and time again. Sometimes it is good to stay in the style and spirit of the original. I feel this way about Celebrity and their decor being evocative of spaces in the 1920s to 1960s, especially in New York City and the new ships just being "pretty" as opposed to having that feel. And then when they are "update,d" they sometimes spoil that feel. That's something to be careful about. That's something HAL and Cunard have to be careful about when updating their ships as they both have traditional elements to them. Not everything modern is better. There is a tendency to go, yes it is light and airy and has the latest tech and a lot of screens and ambient light so then it is much better. Not necessarily. And if you've been around design for decades you begin to see that. It was at advantage for the host to experience the ship as a kid and now see it as an adult to see what is in the spirit and style and feel of the ship, and what is just generic formula design. "Beauty" isn't all we should want to see in a ship at times. Or not, just beauty. How much it is true to its style and what it evokes is. And does it have a certain "romance." To me, romance is missing in too much of today's hospitality products.
the removal of the staircases is the greatest loss. the aesthetic charm of kids who dreamed of going on a cruise, who are now adults who might take it, would have enjoyed it.
Hey Jake - thanks for giving us this wonderful tour of a classically-styled cruise ship! .... 33:07 - ""...a ship that itself is a love letter to the golden age of ocean liners..."" - I love that line!....I was really surprised by this review - i.e. the look of the ship and the quality of the experience seems a bit at odds with how Disney operates in other areas (where cost cutting seems to be the main focus....so seeing this ship that still captures a bit of the magic of past-Disney is surprising)....
I hear you talking about the Fantasy, I would love a review just like these since it is your favorite! I am planning on going on one in 2027, and up until your review, I thought I would go on a different ship. I really appreciate your takes on these!
I get a lot of Queen Mary 2 vibes. You should definitely do a review of her. She’s a little dated especially in the cabins but the feel you get onboard is amazing.
