Being an enormous fan of the AqauDuck aboard the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, I was beyond excited when details emerged last year for the re-Imagineering of the Disney Magic which included the announcement of the addition of the AquaDunk. A freefall waterslide dropping riders off the side of the ship – who else but Disney could imagine something like this?! I immediately booked a cruise aboard the Disney Magic, and we began counting down the days until we embarked!
Retrofitted onto the aft iconic Mickey smokestack during the Magic’s drydock, the AquaDunk is not your typical waterslide and definitely nothing like the AquaDuck. This slide is about as close as one would ever want to experience what it just might be like falling over the side of a ship. It plummets riders in freefall after the floor disappears down a fairly short, but incredibly fast and steep drop with winding curve extended out over the deck that ultimately ends in a big splashdown.
We watched the re-imagination of the Disney Magic with anticipation and finally our big day arrived. As if boarding a Disney Cruise Line vessel wasn’t exciting enough, the amazing new features of the ship (which are absolutely breathtaking) aside, we sought out the AquaDunk as our first experience once aboard (okay, we did manage to hit the new Cabanas for a buffet lunch before our dunk – but we intentionally wore our board shorts for embarkation in order to be among the first to ride).
There are 63 steps – yes 63 – to climb up to the top of the funnel where you now board the new AquaDunk. As you ascend the winding staircase, Disney storytelling comes to life. Who would expect anything less?! Like the AqauDuck, as the story goes this creation is one from the imagination of Huey, Duey and Louie and there are various blueprints along the staircase that depict their outrageous original plans for the AquaDunk. Thanks to Scrooge McDuck some of these prototypes did not make it past the drawing board!
On our first experience there was no line (the wait can be up to 80 minutes on “at sea” days) so we did not have much time to enjoy the new view from atop one of the highest points on the Magic (this would later change as we rode the slide on each day of our cruise with and without lines), nor did we have time to anticipate that we were acutally about to fall off the side of the ship!
When it is your turn, you enter the tube in a capsule that has a swinging door that is ultimately closed on you. You lean your head back against the wall (the back of the slide) where a waterfall stream is pouring down. You then cross your arms over your chest while crossing your feet on the platform that will soon be non-existent. There is no turning back now! The countdown is on: “3…2…1…Anchors away!” And at that moment the floor disappears and you freefall into the tube. And as a sidenote, playful Cast Members may not actually release the trap door at the end of the first countdown if they know it’s not your first time on the AquaDunk which builds further anticpation of when you’ll drop!
The drop is fast, but relatively short and before you know you are on your back curving around a sideways loop at lighting fast speed. The tube is a translucent blue, and you’re not entirely able to see that you are now high over the ocean – but in the back of your mind you know! As you complete the curve, you enter into a straightaway and the sky now opens up as the tube sends you careening into the splashdown. This is a fun place to watch riders, but look out as you may get drenched from the splash!
Upon splashing down on our first ride we raced back to the top to do it again. And again. And yes, again. And this was just the first day! It’s that much fun, and we ended up riding it repeatedly throughout our cruise (hint – lines are typically very short when the ship is in port). And while the experience lasts all but 7 seconds it is perhaps the 7 most fun, exhilarating seconds you’ll experience on any waterslide! Inevitably someone in front of you in the queue will end up “chickening out “ (we had several elementary aged kids in front of us decide to take the stairs back down versus the slide), but go early and slide often!
The AquaDunk is a huge hit and a great addition to the family-fun activities aboard the newly re-imagined Disney Magic!
