Disney Cruise - Mickey's Mates, Treasure Ketch, and Walt

Welcome back to my series about cruising aboard the Disney Magic.

(Click here if you want to go back to the start of the tour).

Now that we've looked around the Lobby Atrium, let's proceed forward on Deck 4, where we are greeted by this hallway:

Let's start by looking DOWN, where we see Yet Another embedded cruise line logo:

Along either side of the hallway are a pair of shops : "Treasure Ketch" on the right and "Mickey's Mates" on the left. Let's pass under the decorative Mickey and duck inside Mickey's Mates for a look around:

As is so often the case in a Disney retail space, guests who take the time to LOOK UP are rewarded. In this case we find the shop is filled with crow's nests containing a host of old friends:

Leaving Mickey's Mates, we find ourselves at the other end of the hallway, with "Treasure Ketch" just a few steps away:

As you might expect, this shop has a more elegant feel, and offers an array of items including resort wear, jewelry, and other higher-end collectibles. (By the way, I wonder if the nautical flags under the boat spell anything in particular?...)

At the forward end of the hallway we find the lobby for the Walt Disney Theater:

Through these doors is the grandest performance space on board the Magic, which serves as the venue for the Disney Cruise Line's signature shows:

You'll have to look elsewhere for pictures of the interior (I'm not posting pictures of *everything*, some things are best enjoyed in person. Besides, low lighting conditions and a moving ship make for challenging photography).

This stretch from the Lobby Atrium to the Walt Disney Theater reminds me of the entrance to Disneyland -- the Lobby Atrium serves as a Town Square, the shop-lined hallway is the Magic's version of Main Street, U.S.A., and the picture of Walt (and the theater named after him) serve as the "weenie" pulling us forward.

Next time, we'll step back for a little perspective.

Disney Cruise - Lobby Atrium

Those of you with long memories may recall that I've been working on a series about cruising aboard the Disney Magic.

(Click here if you want to go back to the start of the tour).

Last time we were topside, so this time let's take a look below decks.

Guests board the Magic in grand style, with their arrival being formally announced at a party in the Lobby Atrium:

This fantastic space starts at Deck 3, Midship and stretches all the way up to Deck 5. Here's the view from Deck 5 looking down:

From Deck 5 you can see the "signature" statue of Mickey at the wheel:

Behind the statue is the entrance to Lumiere's, which is *almost* the nicest place to eat (we'll cover the restaurants in a future post).

The Lobby Atrium contains some of the best decorative details aboard. For example, the banisters on the grand staircases feature character silhouettes. While I don't have a picture that does them justice, these menu covers contain a reproduction of the detail:

Back in the lobby, take a closer look at the elevator shafts -- the design incorporates familiar headgear (in multiple scales!):

Between each deck there's a delightful series of classic characters, including Mickey, Pluto, Clarabelle(!!), Daisy, the Goof, and many others:

We were told by a crew member that each character is dressed to represent one of each of the different crew disciplines on board. (And yes, I was informed that employees of the Disney Cruise line are "crew", not "castmembers".)

In our next installment, we'll leave the Lobby Atrium and take a walk down this hallway on Deck 4:

"See you real soon!"