I researched all cruise lines & ships that focus on kids, because I was taking my 8 yr old grandson on his first cruise, for Christmas. Disney was the winner. And Disney Magic had activities I thought he'd enjoy, as well as island stops that I liked. My 2 adult children wanted to come so we were four. All four of us LOVED this cruise. The onboard shows were first rate. My grandson very much enjoyed being dropped off at the Oceaneer Club/Lab (supervised fun for his age group) - and I did not expect this from him. He loved it. That provided unexpected adult time for my kids and me!

The port excursions were all great fun. Two got rained out on Castaway Caye, but we had fun anyway. The food was delicious. The staff was excellent. The cabin was wonderful - spacious enough for all 4 of us in one cabin (7008). The Stateroom host prepared our beds (1 couch bed, 1 pull-down bunk, 1 queen) each evening when we left for dinner, plus there was always that coveted towel animal waiting on the bed! Then when we left in the morning, the stateroom host would put it all back, so we could enjoy the couch, and not bump our heads on the bunk.There was a laundrymat on our deck so we could pack light, knowing we could wash clothes. Our room had a large porthole window, which was nice. Our assigned restaurant servers were the best! We rotated between 3 restaurants, and they followed us. We did 2 port excursions outside of Disney at one island stop, and these worked out well, with no problems or worries.

With our smart phones we were able to text each other all over the ship, using the Disney Navigator app that we downloaded before the cruise. Someone on cruise critic suggested a magnetic white board for our exterior cabin door, so I brought one, but the magnet wasn't strong enough. If I had bought an additional strong magnet, I could have hung it. But with the Navigator app, it wasn't needed anyway. We have so many "pure joy" expression photos of my grandson. Disney definitely has the market on magic! Hands down. The final night, there was the usual farewell performance. All the Disney characters were there. It hit home to my grandson that this meant the cruise was over. He collapsed into a sobbing heap, so sad that it was over. He wanted it to last forever!