The Disney Magic began operation July 30, 1998.

The ship contains 875 staterooms and is virtually identical to its sister ship, the Disney Wonder, with the exception of a few variations in restaurants and entertainment venues. Both contain areas designed exclusively for various age groups, including toddlers, young kids, teens, and adults.

They are the first in the industry to be designed and built from the keel up as family cruise liners, with the goal of accommodating parents and children. Unlike most ships of their type, they do not include casinos.

Unlike most ship's horns, which have a single or two-tone sound, the horns on both Disney ships play a seven-note melody from When You Wish Upon a Star, in addition to the traditional horn.

Designed with family comfort in mind, the staterooms aboard Disney Cruise Line ships are among the spacious and most stylish at sea. The overall color scheme is a nice deep blue with gray and burgundy with "hidden Mickeys" around every corner.

Hint: The ship has six staterooms known by insiders as "The Secret Porthole Rooms." They aren't secret at all, but they are a great bargain. They are staterooms all the way forward on Deck 5 that have portholes that are -- to varying degrees -- obstructed, and they are sold at the cost of the most expensive inside stateroom. Staterooms 5020, 5022, 5520 and 5522 have virtually nothing blocking the windows except rails and a pulley; 5024 and 5524 are almost completely blocked with barrels. Still, if you are considering an inside stateroom but would love the light of day, these cabins are a best bet.

The suites are all located on Deck 8 midship. Suites range from one bedroom to two Royal suites (one with a baby grand piano), and come complete with a concierge team, more upscale design elements, full-length whirlpool tubs; the two-bedroom and up suites have dual-sink granite vanities. All of the suites have large verandas.

Dining

There are three main restaurants on Magic, and every guest gets to dine in each of them at least twice -- you remain at the same table number with the same dining companions and servers, but show up at a different location. Dining times are set at 6 and 8:30pm.

Lumiere's is the fanciest and most traditional dining room of the three, with Art Deco decor and a French-inspired menu. Animator's Palate starts out in stark black and white, but during the course of dinner, changes slowly into a room filled with color. At one point, near the end of the meal, the various screens around the restaurant come alive with Disney animations past and present. When the waiters reappear to take dessert orders, their black vests have been replaced with brightly-colored ones. Parrot Cay is a vibrant Caribbean marketplace-themed dining room. It is in this restaurant that you get the waiters singing "Hot Hot Hot" and engaging the kids, who join a mid-meal conga line to dance around the floor. We loved the bright colors and cheerfulness of this room, which is also available for breakfast and lunch buffets.

Palo, the adults-only fine dining bistro, serves wonderful Italian/Mediterranean cuisine. Book early: The restaurant is small and while supper is available nightly, the champagne brunch takes place only three times per seven-night cruise.

Entertainment

There is no casino on this ship. However, there is bingo with pretty hefty jackpots.

The deck parties on Magic are widely attended by all age groups. The Pirates in the Caribbean Party, a new theme for Magic, is the highlight of the cruise, with every guest wearing a red bandanna and some donning Cap'n Hook hats, eye patches, the works. Pirates rappell down the stack, fly over the balconies, and everyone. The cruise staff uses a lot of music that involves the family.

When there is a theatrical release, guests on Magic get to see it at the same time. Otherwise, there are first-run movies shown daily in the Buena Vista Theatre; PG-13 and R-17 movies are shown at later times, kid-friendly movies shown during the day.

There are the game shows, Mickeymania and Who Wants to Be a Mouseketeer in which you test your Disney knowledge.

Early in the evening, between dinner times, there is a short version of the cabaret show that's family friendly. After hours there's an adult version. It was adult humor that was acceptable to everyone. That showroom, Rockin' Bar D, is used afterwards for dance parties.

Recreation

There are three swimming pools on Disney Magic, each with a different theme. Mickey's Pool is a kids only pool. It has a curly slide, is very shallow and has small toddler pools at the "ears." Goofy's Pool is for families. Located midship, this is where a lot of the daytime deck activities take place and is the scene of the nighttime deck parties. Quiet Cove is the adults-only area. There are two large hot tubs at one end, a bar and coffee house at the other. It's large enough for laps early in the day when it isn't crowded.

Deck 10 has a basketball hoop and volleyball area; there are ping pong tables on Deck 9 and shuffleboard courts on Deck 4. There are walking/jogging tracks on decks 4 and 10. There is a small but well-equipped fitness center on Deck 9, next to the Vista Spa. Classes in Pilates and yoga are available for an additional fee. Spa treatments are also available.

Kids

Disney Magic was designed with families in mind so most of the programs onboard appeal to all age groups. The areas designated for kids are the most extensive at sea, with activities for every age level.

One of the nicest things about Magic's children's programs is the way they break the age groups, so kids of similar ages are together. All families are given a pager which can be used to receive a text message about their child's whereabouts. Kids under 10 have to be signed in by a parent, but 8 and 9 year olds can sign themselves in and out with written permission from a parent. Kids 10 - 12 can sign themselves in and out; parents can be notified by text messaging only if requested.

The Stack is a teens-only area. It is supervised by Disney personnel, no parents are allowed. Non-alcoholic drinks and coffee are served and there are a variety of activities.

Oceaneer's Club is for smaller children with hands-on activities and arts projects. Computers and TV monitors are cloaked in plastic replicas of treasure chests. The Oceaneer's Lab is for kids from 8 - 12, offering computer time, games, pool parties and contests.

Flounder's Reef, the nursery on board, takes babies as young as three months (up to 3 years of age). There is a per-hour charge of $6 for this service, but it allows parents time to be on their own for a while.