"Magical Family"

[vicki2011]

Has anyone been chosen as the "Magical Family" on their cruise. If so, what do you think it was that got you chosen as the "Magical Family"?

[moki'smommy]

I've never heard the term "Magical Family." Do you mean the "Family of the Day" or is this something different?

 

I do know how the "Family of the Day" is chosen. A different CM is designated each day to make the choice and it has to be done within the first 30 minutes (so they have time to be prepared before boarding starts). That CM can use any criteria he/she wishes to select a family from their check in line--it is often a family with a couple of cute kids who are well behaved and follow instructions from mom/CM at the check in...and matching t-shirts or a Disney themed outfit is a help. It honestly is whatever catches the CM's attention.

 

So, it is luck of the draw that you got in line at the right moment to get that CM...and then that he/she picked your family. The only people who know which CM it is that day are the supervisor and the designated CM.

Edited March 27, 2015 by moki'smommy

[vicki2011]

Yes, "Family of the Day"

[Tagong]

I can confirm based upon personal experience that the 'Magical Family' is something that does indeed exist. On our recent cruise on Magic (January) my family was fortunate enough to be selected. It was a wonderful surprise that included room service perks such as a daily gift (chocolate covered strawberries, truffles, cheese plate, etc). At the conclusion of our cruise a CM came to our room to deliver a special gift which included a certificate acknowledging our selection as 'Magical Family' and a stuffed toy for my daughter. Disney Difference! They do everything right.

Edited March 27, 2015 by Tagong

[vicki2011]

What do you think it was that got you selected?

[moki'smommy]

The neat thing is that DCL has empowered individual CMs to do things to make a guest's life "special." For instance, on one cruise my daughter told a CM that the reason she was on this cruise was that her mom was turning 50. The CM arranged to have a small gift and card sent to my cabin. No, that's not a "standard" thing, but it was a nice touch.

 

Another time, we did B2B Med cruises (different sets of ports). DCL had arranged for all B2B cruisers to have the concierge munchies delivered to their cabin each afternoon.

 

On another cruise, we basically walked on board and saw one of our favorite head servers. He asked about our dinner rotation and requested that we come to Dining changes. There, he said he wanted us in his section and gave us a table with no number on it. That was really funny because when someone asked for our table number, they didn't believe that there was a table with no number. Made for laughs.

[Tagong]

What do you think it was that got you selected?

 

I can't say exactly, but the way moki describes how one would go about being selected as the Family of the Day is how I would expect the 'Magical Family' to be selected. In our case, DW and DD had matching Minnie shirts and hats while I wore a Mickey shirt and a vintage Goofy hat with the big nose brim, big eyes and floppy ears. That said; there were hundreds of others that had shirts and hats on as well. I don't think our selection as the 'Magical Family' was random, as we certainly did something or a CM saw something in us that led to our selection. This was our first Disney cruise as well, that could have played a factor. I suppose we'll never truly know why were selected but we are so pleased that we were, it was a little thing that made a big impression. Disney Difference.

[Calrissian13]

On our Magic cruise in January 2011, we (my husband and I) were chosen by the chef at Lumiere's to be a magical family. My husband had wanted to give his compliments to the chef one evening, and our server actually had him come to the table. There was much praise and laughter, and it was just a pleasant exchange. The last night of our cruise, we received a platter of fresh fruit, and a certificate stating that the chef and his team had nominated us. It was completely unexpected and a wonderful surprise to end our cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Paul_good]

We were choosen as the magical family of the week by guest services on our recent cruise. There were lost of nice surprises for us and the kids got so many soft toys we needed to buy another suitcase!!!!!

 

It's fab if you are lucky enough to get it!!!

[msidescooter]

On our last cruise we were the "Magical Family" for the Shutter's team. Over the course of the 7-night cruise we had bonded with each of the photographers. One day we were walking into our stateroom and we were surprised by a folder with a Magical Family certificate and several stock photos of the ship and Mickey and Gang which the Shutter's team would normally sell with folders or as add ons for photo books. It was a nice touch and made the cruise that much more special for us.

[Shmoo here]

So, the "Magical Family" is something that individual departments/CMs can do to single out a family for a bunch of gifts.

 

And the "Family of the Day" is selected by a check-in CM.

 

Right?

 

Are they essentially the same thing? Or is one different than the other?

 

Do you get gifts/perks during the whole cruise? Or just a one time shot?

[moki'smommy]

Family of the day is definitely selected by a CM at check in. This is the family that is announced and boards "first," although in reality concierge boards before this family. Concierge boards thru the side door with no big announcement at the mouse ears.

 

They typically find a surprise in their cabin as well as the announcement.

 

The "Magical Family" thing is new to me.

 

We have gotten a couple of "Magical Moment" certificates from various CMs, but again, not "Magical Family." And on different cruises we have received some small gifts in our cabin for different reasons...and once from GS, my daughter was given 2 stuffed animals. This was a near Christmas cruise and we showed up in the lobby wearing reindeer ears.

[Shmoo here]

Family of the day is definitely selected by a CM at check in. This is the family that is announced and boards "first' date='" although in reality concierge boards before this family. Concierge boards thru the side door with no big announcement at the mouse ears.

 

They typically find a surprise in their cabin as well as the announcement.

 

The "Magical Family" thing is new to me.

 

We have gotten a couple of "Magical Moment" certificates from various CMs, but again, not "Magical Family." And on different cruises we have received some small gifts in our cabin for different reasons...and once from GS, my daughter was given 2 stuffed animals. This was a near Christmas cruise and we showed up in the lobby wearing reindeer ears.[/quote']

 

Thanks, I was just curious. I have no illusions that we'll ever be Family of the day.

[Loonbeam]

Each ship has a budget for 'guest recognition'. It's up to the CD/HD to decide what programs are available and how complex they are. Any crew member can nominate one family, but only so often (so as to avoid favoritism).

 

I've heard it done by lottery from all nominations, pulled from a list of frequent cruisers, special occasions, etc.

 

Some crews do more smaller things, some choose one family to get a lot, some do both.

 

There is one key. NEVER EVER ASK. Same rule that applies to being in a parade at DW when they do it. We learned that when this happened in 2003:

 

Edited March 29, 2015 by Loonbeam

[AndreaDH91483]

I hadn't heard of the Family of the Day, but the last cruise I was on was the Disney Magic in 2003, so that's probably why. But one of the things I love about Disney in general is that they tend to go above and beyond and add little touches that can make your trip even more special. My DH proposed to me on the Magic, while we were having dinner at Palo's, and since it was one of the specialty restaurants, we had a different server instead of our regular waiter for the rotational dining. But word of our engagement got back to our regular waiter and when we saw him the following night at dinner, he presented us with a beautiful congratulatory cake. Not a piece of cake, but an entire cake!

 

Then at Disneyland a few years ago, we were visiting with DH's family, and it was during the time that Star Tours was closed for the remodeling. It was only about a month before the scheduled re-opening, and while we were a little bummed about missing it, we figured we'd just have to ride it the next time as we usually end up going on a family trip to Disneyland every few years or so, and went about enjoying the other attractions. Anyway, my DH just happened to be wearing his Star Wars t-shirt and the two of us we were coming out of Captain E.O., when a cast member pulled us aside and told us to go stand near the entrance of Star Tours at a certain time, but didn't say anything else and went on his way. So of course we were curious, and we did as he instructed. There were only a few people waiting there when we got there, and most of them had some sort of Star Wars clothing on. Then they opened the gate and let us on the ride! It was totally unexpected, but it was really cool to be able to get a sneak peak at the new version of the ride.

 

Even if we don't get any perks, we've always had good experiences with Disney, but you never know what surprises are around the corner! 😊