As you approach Port Canaveral you catch your first glimpse of her - docked there in all her splendor - The Disney Magic. Even from afar you can appreciate her magnificence and only when you see her for real do you realize how vast she is - "almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall!". The initial embarkation through the ship's terminal ran smoothly apart from a fire drill!! - the whole building had to be evacuated but we didn't mind too much as some of the ship's crew wandered around chatting to the awaiting passengers. This was where we first encountered Yoko from Guest Services, throughout our trip she was exceptionally helpful and friendly.

Once back onboard we had a "welcome aboard" photo before stepping into the ship's atrium and the beautiful interior just blows you away!! Disney's attention to detail is fabulous. You are met by a bronze Mickey at the helm and the staircases have iron carvings of many of the characters up the walls!. Once onboard you are free to roam the ship or go straight to your stateroom, we decided on the latter and were most impressed to find our luggage ready and waiting outside the door! At 4pm you have a mandatory fire drill, making sure everyone is present and correct and knows what to do in the unlikely event of a real life emergency! At dinner (we had the 6pm seating) we met up with our "table-mates" ( people you share your mealtimes with for the week ). We were lucky as they were all lovely people --Carmel & Tim from Michigan with their son Timothy and Lisa & Vinnie from Connecticut with their son Kyle - we all laughed and joked the whole time and now, back home, mealtimes don't seem the same!. I have written a day-to-day journal about my trip but I have cut it down to size for this review and included the main points.

The food was out of this world in all three restaurants (the ship has 4 in total - Lumieres, Parrot Cay, Animators Palate and Palo.) Palo requires reservations and you have to pay an extra $10 to dine there. We decided not to eat there but if you do the tip is to book early, preferably when you first board. Read more