Disney Magic History

  • Larry Murphy deserves initial credit for steering the Walt Disney Company into cruise business (executive Vie President and Chief Strategic Officer)

  • Wing T. Chao was Walt Disney’s Imagineering’s Executive Vice President of Master Planning, Architecture and Design

  • Disney executives were concerned that under a licensing arrangement they would not be able to completely control and assure the quality of the onboard experience.

  • Disney executives realized they knew how to cruise from a functional point of view in respect to hotel, food, merchandise, entertainment and sales. They had all the disciplines required onboard a ship but the ability to drive the ship which they would acquire. Disney core competency is guest satisfaction which is something that could easily be transferred to the high seas.

  • The naval architects were challenged to a design competition included Njal Eide from Oslo, Peter Yran and Bjorn Storbraaten from Oslo and Robert Tillberg of Viken, Sweden.

    • The three were asked to let their imagination run wild for round 1

    • Examples included 20,000 leagues under the sea, a citrus plantation and Magic Kingdom themed funnels

    • All of these were presented to Michael Eisner which rejected them all and said “I want you to out-tradition tradition.”

    • Eisner wanted a cruise ship to bring back a feeling of the great classic times.

    • Njal claimed he did not do nostalgic ships but his model possessed the hallmarks of the great traditional ships of the past but it exuded a contemporary feel.

    • Njal included two sleek and graceful funnels yet the ships only need one to be functioning.

    • It is streamlined, powerful with a raking bow and two funnels, swept back and has a stern that had been inspired by a memory of the Norwegian American Line’s S.S. Stavangerfiord.

    • The bridge had a geometry that fell away towards the ship’s aft which allowed this design to be modern appearing.

    • Originally ship had lifeboats located higher on the sides of the ships but regulations changed and now they have to be located on the promenade deck much lower. Therefore to mimic older ships the design placed large bay windows on top decks measure 12 meters in length and cantilevered to mirror the look of a lifeboat.

    • Eisner also brought in Dr. Hartmut Esslinger of frogdesign because of his ability to reinvent spaces on the ship in 1994. He developed the process retro-futurism he says “A cruise ship should be extroverted but also look forward.”

      • They helped to redesign the wheelhouse by making it larger and mimic a 747 flight deck

      • The wheelhouse become 2 stories and sloped negative in the wrong direction to give it a strong feel

  • Color of the ship

    • Eisner thought that a black hull was too scary and depressing looking therefore selected a color 87 black and 23 blue known now as Monica Blue

      • Therefore based on the time of day, weather and position of the ship the color of the hull might look different.

  • Lastly Disney decided to add a gold filigree on both bow and stern which in the past was typically done in only one location and not two and also demonstrated wealth.

  • Where to built

    • 1995 Disney interviewed and visited many shipyards located in Japan, Finland, Germany, France and Italy.

    • May 20, 1995 Tuesday the DCL President Art Rodney announced they accepted a bid from Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. also known as Fincantieri.

    • After accepting the bid, it took about 1 year and a half dialing in all the details before the keel was laid.

    • DCL wanted a ship comfortable at 21 knots, very seaworthy, exceptional in all conditions and lastly have the ability to transiting the Panama Canal.

      • DCL was pushing the limits with the size of the ship and the ability to transit the Panama Canal therefore lots of computer model testing was taking place in Vienna.

    • The shipyard referred to the ship as the Disney ship, the ship of imagination

    • Before items and designs made it to Italy, they would make a stop in Oslo for review for naval requirement by Yra and Storbraaten.

    • At this point in the process is when DCL came up and implemented the idea of Rotational dining.

      • They did not want to confine guests to only one main dining room

      • The idea was that when families visit a new city they try something new and different therefore dining at three different restaurants would give them the same option

    • But the waiter would stay the same during this rotation.

    • Disney was unlike most other ships also that they built out and used 5 times the space on the ship dedicated for kids. The amount of space was revolutionary for the time.

    • DCL saw the ship as a large community and would evaluate each section for what age group would visit, for how long and flow into and out of the area. This would allow each space to be worked and reworked to make sure it was functional.

  • Staterooms were designed and redesigned 3 – 4 times before or after building a life-size mockup which included rounded corners and privacy areas.

  • October 1996 every detail of the ship had been finalized.

  • Originally labeled as 5989 but then Disney held a contest for name ideas

  • Eisner said if the ship was not going to be named after Walt Disney himself, then it would be named after what he had created Magic.

  • October 21, 1996 keel of the Disney Magic was laid

  • Because of the tight schedule and shipyard capacity, construction was done in two parts. The bow in the company’s historic Ancona shipyard and the stern in its extensive facilities 100 miles to the north in Marghera just outside Venice. The bow would be ferried by sea to eventually meet up and be connects to the AFT. This was the first time a cruise ship was built this way.

  • March 1997 the bow section which was 1/3rd of the ship was slightly ahead of schedule therefore more workers were now being sent to Marghera to help catch up the stern.

  • Because of the tides, winds and production limited the movement of the bow it was decided to make the journey on April 12th a Saturday. A storm hit the area the night before and morning but by the afternoon it all cleared.

  • The bow made it by noon on Monday April 14 and once close three gondolas met the procession and lead the way to Venice

  • The fitting procedure of the bow and stern took over 4 days.

  • Building the ship in two locations was the first time being done

  • Matching points with interlocking plates would line up and by Tuesday evening the joining would begin. There was never more than 1 millimeter variance when joining the bow and stern.

  • By Friday April 18, 1997 the Disney Magic was completed joined

  • Next both the funnels made it to the ship yard and were attached and then the communication mast.

  • Monday May 12, 1997 the Disney Magic floated out

  • Many Disney executives there to witness the float out and ceremony including the release of 50 doves, salute to Mickey, Minnie and Goofy.

  • Disney Magic interior has artwork, murals, sculptures and more displaying the process for her to come alive.

  • The original chandelier was made in Seattle by America’s premier glass artist Dale Chihuly.

  • Many of the ships details came from the history of Disney’s art and stories.

  • Cabin number sign was designed by David Cater Design of Dallas, Texas.

  • Disney melodies “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” would hang in staterooms.

  • Atrium lobby designed by Hugh Latta Continuum, Atlanta Georgia with a statue of Helmsman Mickey.

  • Lots of Art Deco can be seen all over the ship.

  • Throughout the ship drawings of the nautical alphabet can be seen created by Tim Raglin of Independence, Kansas.

  • Drawings seen when riding the elevators up or down were created by Steven Guarnaccia.

  • steven guarnaccia created ten original silk-screens illustrating fun facts about the Disney Magic.

  • Large image of Walt Disney is placed outside the theater named after him.

  • Pools

    • Mickey pool

    • Goofy Pool

  • Oceaneer’s Lab had a pirates playground

  • Original restaurants

    • Parrot Cay

      • Fun and casual décor

      • Caribbean themed

      • Hand painted straw hats mark the route

    • Lumiere’s

      • Elegant simplicity

      • Lumiere’s grand mural

    • Palo

      • Lush and sumptuous design for adult only dining

      • Warm woods, venetian glass, curvilinear walls, open kitchen

      • Engage all of the senses was the goal

  • Original lounges

    • ESPN Skybox located in one of the funnels

    • Studio Sea (fantasy sound stage)

    • Beat street

    • Off Beat Comedy Club

    • Sessions