Dining Aboard the Disney Magic

(This is an ongoing series about cruising on the Disney Magic. Click here if you want to go back to the start of the tour).

Back in the days when people cruised in Grand Style, dining while at sea was a significant part of the evening's activities. Today people tend to be more casual about food. The ships of the Disney Cruise Line offer dining experiences at a variety of levels along this spectrum.

Evening meals on board the Disney Magic employ an innovative rotation between three main venues: Parrot Cay, Lumiere's, and the Animators Palate.

Parrot Cay (pronounced "key") offers tropical flavors in a relaxed environment rich in festive color:

Some of my favorite touches here are the Sebastian-themed wall sconces, and the pirate-themed parrots in the lighting fixtures. (Sorry, they don't come to life and sing, even if you stomp your feet to wake them up.)

In contrast, Lumiere's offers a more elegant setting:

For the epicurious, there's plenty of info about Disney Cruise Dining can be found online. For example: wdwinfo.com , official DCL site.

Next time we'll pay a visit to the third (and in my opinion, the best) of the Disney Magic's main dining rooms:

P.S. -- While we're on the subject of dining, "What Will *You* Celebrate" ? ;-]

The Disney Magic - Perspective

Welcome back to my continuing 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 below decks, and although there's plenty more to explore, I'd like to take a step back for a little perspective.

Here's a view of the Magic while docked at Cozumel, Mexico:

It is my belief that the ships of the Disney Cruise line use "reverse" forced perspective to make them appear to be *smaller* than they actually are.

Take a glance at the image above, then look closer (maybe take a peek at a larger version)...

See the maintenance door open near the water line? There's a person down there working -- look at his size compared to that of the ship.

The life boats are also larger than they might first appear. On the decks just above the life boats you can see balconies for five staterooms over each one.

Same goes for the circular windows -- at first glance they just look like normal "port hole" style windows, but the ones on the decks near the lifeboats are in fact quite large, as this view from the other side shows:

The combined effect of all of these elements creates the impression of a smaller ship -- one that would have traveled the oceans back when Walt and Lily cruised in grand style, and to give the ship a more intimate feel.

Don't get me wrong -- the ship is actually smaller than many modern cruise ships (and that's a good thing), but at a distance it "feels" smaller still.

What do you think?

One more thing before we step back on board. Take a look at the exterior color scheme and see if it feels familiar. Here's a hint: Disney had to get special permission to paint the lifeboats something other than fluorescent orange. The color they ended up using has the words "Mickey yellow" in it's name.