Disney Cruise Line ~ Two Sets of Near Identical Twins ~ Part 1 of 3

Disney Cruise Line ~ Two Sets of Near Identical Twins

Part 1 of 3 ~ What is the same on all the Disney ships

       When Disney brought the Magic into service they had her twin sister, the Wonder in the works to come into service thirteen months after her. The Magic and the Wonder are almost identical. The newest Disney ships, the Dream and Fantasy are also near identical twins. They also are coming into service about a year apart. Even the two sets of twins are similar but not identical. All that I say about the Fantasy is up to change as the Fantasy is still being built and will not go into service until May of 2012.

       When I walked on the Wonder, the second Disney ship I sailed on I felt like I was back on the Magic. The general layout is similar enough to make it easy, having been on a Disney ship to find my way around. The elegance of these ships is the same even if they have one of two interior décor styles, one being art nouveau and the other art deco. Each set of twins is split between the two styles.

       All of the Disney ships have the same colors and general classic 1930’s-40’s oceanliner design. All have three main restaurants, one buffet restaurant, adults only dining, quick serve food locations near the pools along with a soda fountain, three guest pools, a forth pool for the crew, Funnel Vision, and a pub or lounge district that is for adults after 9 pm. They also have an adult bar and coffee shop near the adult pool, the Walt Disney Theater and Buena Vista Theater. All will show Disney movies and have live Broadway style stage plays.

       The colors chosen are the classic colors of Disney’s Main Man, Mickey Mouse. The main color is a black/blue, the stacks are red and the lifeboats area a Mickey Shoe yellow that Disney had to prove that the color was as safe as the color Martine Law required and was visible from a distance in the ocean.

       The only restaurants all four ships have in common are Animator's Palate and Palo. Palo has minor differences on each ship put is almost the same on all. Animator’s Palate’s look and show is the same on the Magic and Wonder but the look and show is different on the Dream and Fantasy. Animator’s Palate will have three different shows between the four ships.

       The Quick Serve locations near the pools are almost identical but with slight changes. The buffet located on deck nine on the Magic and Wonder or deck eleven on the Dream and Fantasy has three different names and themes. In all of them the theme is beach fun. The names of the restaurants are different on the Magic and Wonder (Topsider & Beach Blanket Buffet) but the same on the Dream and Fantasy (Cabanas).

       All for ships have adult themed area with “lounges or bars”. During the day this area doubles as a family fun zone and the lounge area used to give lectures and demonstrations. Each ship has its own theme for the area with different lounges fitting the theme of that ships adult area. Along with that they all also have an ESPN sports bar to enjoy.

       Earlier I mentioned the pools and the fact there are three pools for the guests. On each ship there is a pool for younger kids, a pool for families to enjoy and the third pool is for adults only. There is a water slide for kids on all the ships that ends in a splash pool next to the Mickey kids pool area.

       All the ships have The Walt Disney Theater and the Buena Vista Theater. The Walt Disney Theater is where you will go to see live stage shows in the evenings. They also show movies there at times. The Buena Vista Theater is where they show movies, Disney Classics and new releases. Buena Vista Theater looks like a classic movie house of the 1930~40’s but it has state of the art equipment hidden out of view. They can show state of the art 3D movies there as well. This area is also used for lectures during the days.

       The evening shows are similar on all for ships. All the ships have a Pirates In the Caribbean Deck Party. Some of the shows are the same on all the ships and some are unique to a certain ship.

      On all the Disney Cruise ships you will find larger than usual staterooms with most of them having split baths, a first in the cruise industry. A large portion of the staterooms have large portholes. You will find a unique childrens program that can entertain you children from early mornig to late night if they and you wish.

       On all the ships you will find family friendly fun, Disney Characters and Disney Service.

     In the next post we will explore what is different and same on the oldest set of twins, the Magic & Wonder. In the third post of this serries we will explore what is on the Dream and how it compairs with what is said will be on the upcoming Fantasy, the newest set of Disney twins.