The touch of Disney magic which sailed up the Tyne and huge crowds turned out to watch it
‘Some had been waiting for the liner to arrive from 6am’
South Tyneside eye-witnesses will remember the day when a very special cruise ship sailed up the Tyne.
Crowds flocked to the banks of the river to welcome the Disney Magic cruise ship to the North East in July 2017.
It will be nine years next week since the heralded occasion and we have memories of the day it happened.
A Shields Gazette report at the time said: “It was an early start for folk of all ages as they gathered yesterday to see the ship return to the region for a one-day visit.
“The grand spectacle of the ship as she cruised effortlessly through the piers and up the river was enjoyed by many, who snapped pictures and captured its arrival on video. Some had been waiting for the liner to arrive from 6am.”
Spectators included Alan Widberg from Biddick Hall who was out taking pictures of the ship as she sailed up the River Tyne with his daughter Alethea and grandson Alfie Robson. They had ventured down to the Groyne to see cruise liner come in.
He said: “We came down for 7am to see the cruise liner come in. It’s just unique. We saw it the last time she was here and it is still as grand.”
His grandson, eight, was living in Bahrain at the time but was on holiday in South Shields and had come back from spending three weeks in Disney World in Florida.
He said: “It is the first time I have seen the boat - it’s really cool.”
Disney Magic had11 public decks and a staff of 950 and its tour that year took in Le Havre in France, St Peter Port in Guernsey, Dublin, Liverpool, Greenock on the Clyde near Glasgow, the Hebrides, Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands and Invergordon, before arriving at Northumbria Quay in North Shields.
Another spectator was David Young who was down by Little Haven with his daughter Isabella, seven, to see the ship arrive. She said: “It’s a big dream to go on the Disney ship.”
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