Dream's 'Magic Porthole' Gives Everyone An Ocean View

CASTAWAY CAY, Bahamas — If you've ever been on a cruise and had an inside stateroom you don't get the view that people on the outside rooms get; you don't have a porthole. Well, Disney has fixed that problem.

It's called the Magic Porthole and it gives guests a view of life outside the ship, even if they are in an interior room. It's just as if they had a porthole in their room.

"One of the things our guests don't get, when you're in an inside cabin you don't get to see what's going on in the outside world. That could be on a nice sunny day when the ship is docking, or even a rainy day when a dolphin is jumping, or catching a fish. And that is why we took the level of our stateroom to the next level and we said, no matter where you stay on board with us, whichever stateroom, everybody will have a view of what's going on outside," said Mike Mahendran, hotel director for the Disney Dream.

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Live video cameras on the outside of the ship send a picture of the outside world inside to the Magic Porthole. In fact, those with interior rooms many times have a better view of the world.

"In the inside you get to see every angle of the ship. When you have a porthole you only get to see the side, either port or starboard. But with the cameras, if one side is better than the other side, they continuously feed the side in which there is action and more excitement, " Mahendran said.

And, of course, it wouldn't be Disney Magic without that little extra; animated characters pay visits on occasion .

Mike Mahendran says the Magic Porthole is a popular feature.

"The guests who have sailed with us in an inside cabin have already told us that they don't feel that they are in an inside cabin. They are more happy. And we are actually running out of inventory because there are now more requests for inside cabins," Mahendran said.

Previous Stories: January 20, 2011: WFTV.com Casts Off On Disney Dream Christening Cruise January 19, 2011: Disney Dream Cruise Liner Christened January 4, 2011: Disney's 'Dream' Finds Home At Port Canaveral

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