Disney Believe | Full Analysis and Predictions | Disney Cruise Line

The Disney Believe sets sail on its inaugural sailing in December 2027. Last week, Disney hosted an announcement show aboard the Disney Wish, sharing new updates about the Disney Believe, including the names of select shows and dining locations, design concepts for the ship’s staterooms, and select entertainment. In this episode, I am joined by Steph and Danny from WDW Magazine as we discuss what they learned about the Disney Wish cruise ship about the Disney Believe. We also discuss a few elements of Imagineering aboard Disney Cruise Line and predict what Disney might announce next.

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Imagination Skyway is a Disney Parks and Imagineering podcast. Episodes explore attraction design, recap Disney news, and dive into the stories behind the magic, including interviews with Disney Imagineers, Disney Legends, and other Disney creators. Not affiliated with or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company. Disney is a trademark of The Walt Disney Company.

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What do we know about the. Disney believes setting sail with Disney Cruise Line in December twenty twenty seven. My guest on today’s episode discussed what it was like to attend the live presentation and scavenger hunt aboard the Disney wish. Welcome aboard Imagination Skyway, your guided tour through the worlds of Disney and Imagineering. I’m your host, Matthew Krul, and it’s my job to explore the stories and places we love and the people who bring them to life. Before we get started, remember that you can unlock ad free episodes and bonus content at patreon dot com slash skyway and get complimentary trip support from our sponsors at KMV travel dot com. Please be sure to follow Imagination Skyway on social media as well, for even more content and ways to connect with the show. In today’s episode, we dive deeper into the announcements about the Disney believe the latest Disney Cruise Line ship setting sail late next year, including the dining, entertainment and stateroom offerings we know will be a part of the experience. Plus our predictions for what Disney might still announce as we begin our journey. Please remain seated. Keep your hands and arms inside the podcast at all times and enjoy your journey aboard Imagination Skyway. Last week, I produced a news episode about the Disney Believe, which was really a highlight reel of the announcements we learned on Disney Parks Blog and through the parks panel like presentation that the Disney Parks team hosted aboard the Disney Wish. And that prompted me to want to dive a little deeper. I was not there to attend the panel. And what we’re going to learn about today, I think this incredible scavenger hunt that the Disney Cruise Line team organized for a number of journalists and creators across the Disney space. And because of that, I’m of course bringing two guests on who were there who are returning guests. Steph and Danny from WDW magazine. It’s great to have you both back on the show. Yeah. Always, always happy to come on the pod. And we love talking Disney Cruise and what better place to do that? I, I love it. I can’t believe how far these. Maybe I can because I know the people working on the Disney media team. Uh, Disney communications team, I should say, but I, you know, it’s, it’s incredible to see. I should say how intricate this was. Honestly, it was fun. Like, you know, aside from the media opportunities, aside from, you know, the joy of sailing on the Disney wish, like this was a fun days at work. And we’ve been on the wish a couple times before and we’ve been on the other wish class ships. And it was just like a joy to kind of rediscover some of the spaces in new ways. There were like little things that we were we were sent to paintings to decode things that were hidden within them. And that’s things that you might not pay attention to all the time. And it gave me an even deeper appreciation for all of the Imagineering efforts on the ship. Yeah, the scavenger hunt had us like bow to stern, top to bottom decks. Like we covered my I got my steps in while doing this scavenger hunt, and that’s for sure. The part of the scavenger hunt on Castaway Key was like a literal treasure hunt on this deserted island, which is just so, uh, not. It’s just so fitting. Yeah, like they literally at one point in the scavenger hunt, we had a treasure map with an X marks the spot on a desert island in the Caribbean. Like it was too perfect. It reminds me a bit of when I was, uh, a cast member at Walt Disney World Goofy’s Mystery Tour. I believe your team had the opportunity to partake in it. Covered it? Yes. We got to be a fly on the wall and tag along during the Goofy’s Mystery tour. Yeah, yeah. This is so incredibly interesting to me. And you know, the I should, we should probably take a step back. The, the purpose of the scavenger hunt was really to, to identify clues for what we’re going to inevitably inevitably be announcements for the Disney believe. And I think like you tell me, like, how did that scavenger hunt play out? Did one clue lead to another or how did that work? What was really fun about the scavenger hunt is that usually Disney only wants to report on confirmed things, stuff that has been formally announced. That is definitely going to happen. But the fun, the joy in this scavenger hunt is we were being encouraged, you know, how are you interpreting these clues? What do you think is going to come to this upcoming ship? Uh, and then so, you know, amongst ourselves and the other members of the media and the content creators and everybody who was participating in this. We all had a blast. And some of these, you know, we took some big swings. Nobody some people got a few things. We got a few. We got a few things quite accurate. And some people, you know, really swung for the fences. Uh, but that part of it was a lot of fun. The basic mechanics of the scavenger hunt. So, like, it began as soon as we boarded the ship, like even before muster drill, uh, we had the formal kickoff of the scavenger hunt. Uh, and each clue had layers to it so you would receive a cryptic message. Some of these clues were left in our state room. This one was given to us. We went to Luna to kickstart the scavenger hunt on day one, and there were different types of clues, like some would be very location based. Like there was a clue that you could decipher, that you realized you needed to go to the Oceaneers club in the morning, or to a specific coffee shop to get a specific latte with a clue printed on top of it, because they have those ripple machines like Joffrey’s at WDW. Some of them were like word puzzles that you needed to solve, and you might need to decipher out of symbols hidden somewhere. Some were more like they would send you to places on the ship, but not like a coffee shop somewhere where you didn’t really know. It was like, look for the painting of the reindeer in Stairwell deck seven. I thought this one was clever. So, for example, one of the clues you from the cryptic message decoded to go to deck seven and a half. So the stairwell in between seven and eight, where they have a collection of paintings from frozen. These paintings are always on the ship as part of the decor. They didn’t change them. They didn’t add anything to them. But looking at the paintings, they were like, oh, the shape of the antlers on the reindeer. That kind of looks like a letter E and you know, the clouds in this painting that kind of looks like the letter C. And so the point of that particular scavenger hunt clue was we decoded the word ice, which was one of many frozen adjacent clues. And then there would be what they called a story keeper, which was members of the communications and PR team with a special lanyard on nearby. And you would go kind of show them your work or whisper the answer to them. And then they would say, yes, you’re right. And they’d give you your next clue, which would send you to the next thing. So some things were puzzles and some things were more physical, like we got to go harvest ice, which was actually those glowing glow cubes they put in drinks, but we got to go get a tiny bucket and harvest a piece of ice. And we had to carry it through the ship for a few clues that eventually got us to go meet oaken. And we traded that ice to oaken for our next clue. So there was a lot of things. Now, knowing what we know about the believe, there were a lot of things that played into the IP that we see on the believe like frozen. But there were also a lot of things that just taught us about the amenities on a wish class ship. So Danny and I are very familiar with all of these. We actually haven’t done all of them. So like Danny ran the credit course for the first time. First time, the scavenger hunt. But he knew about it. But a lot of the media and creators don’t necessarily sail as often as we have, maybe not on all the ships that we have. So they were really discovering things like family photo shoots, meeting characters, doing drawing classes, or riding the aqua mouse, or doing trivia classes for the first time as part of this. And those are things that are going to be offered on the believe, just like they are on every Disney cruise. Yeah, it was really great. There was a portion of the scavenger hunt that was like a choose your own adventure. And they gave us what it was essentially a bingo card and it had, you know, go do a character meet and greet, find the cruise director and get a selfie with them. Take a learn to draw class. Run the end credit course. There were tons of options. It was so much fun. We had to do four options to get a row, but it was so much fun. We did a lot more than that because we didn’t like enjoying it. Yeah, we didn’t fill our bingo card, but it was fun and it really it took you all over the ship. What was very interesting to me, though, going in, I wasn’t sure how this would play out. I didn’t know if we would solve things and be like, yep, you figured it out. That’s what it’s going to be. Don’t tell anyone till the public reveal. But all of the questions that they gave us, we just had more questions. By the time it was just to the it was more questions and theories and like literally up until we sat down in the Walt Disney Theater for the formal reveal event, we were still making guesses as to what it all meant. Mhm. That’s incredible. This was all something that you were posting live as well? Yes. And it’s amazing that you were in a space that was occupied by other guests aboard the Disney Wish. Did you find other guests trying to give their own answers to you as you were on the ship? So the the, the Disney team that organized this was very conscious of the fact that there were other cruisers on board. And many of these activities happened, uh, you know, like when we were doing our event in Luna, it was closed to just our group. So the other cruisers were certainly aware. We had several parents say, oh, this looks like so much fun. Can I get one of these cards and go do it with my kids? And I actually think Disney Cruise Line should offer something like that. That’s a little bit more like an analog challenge that people could do, because I think like, we had so much fun with it and people were asking about it. And I think that it’s something that they could easily like you could go pick it up at guest services or something. I would love to see them add that in the future. Yeah. In a similar vein to like Midship Detective Agency, the concept of a scavenger hunt around the ship. That’s definitely appealing. And we did have other cruisers. You know, everyone was aware we were wearing our media lanyards, so we were not exactly incognito and were posting. So I’m wondering if anybody like, saw you posting about it and posting about it. It’s true. So, you know, people were aware and they were curious to participate. Um, there were lots of rumors flying all over the ship and everybody had a guess about something. There was a really fun event on the night before the reveal. They did a trivia, um, about the believe, but it wasn’t really about, it was about the IPS associated with the believe. So Encanto and frozen and tangled, for instance. Um, and everyone on the ship was allowed to participate. So they did it in a much bigger venue and they did that in a grand hall. Yeah, that was a trivia. And they did it in the Grand Hall. Uh, and everyone, the whole ship was invited to participate, so I really liked that they included at least something for the whole ship. And then of course, after after the reveal event, which was just for media, there was an incredible Broadway concert, um, that happened opposite Dining Times that celebrated the music of Zootopia and Tangled and Encanto and Big Hero six and frozen and all of those great shows. So that was, I’m really glad that the, that every, like all of the guests got to participate in some of the hype. And I think all of the guests actually got an in-room gift, um, of some of the artwork, uh, the Joey Chu artwork of the characters playing with the ship as well. That’s wonderful. When we get to the announcement, the announcements themselves, you know, this is the fourth wish class ship. So you’re on the first one, the Disney wish. And we’ve since had the Disney treasure and the Disney Destiny and now the Disney believe. So I believe the spaces are roughly for the same exact thing, right? Like the. Yeah. Where the Haunted Mansion parlor would be on the Disney Destiny is going to be a haunted Mansion parlor on the Disney belief. Steph had the opportunity to go to the shipyard to Meyer Werft in Germany, where they build these. I was on the show last year and talked. That’s right. We talked about it for the Destiny can listen to that episode after. And so some of these decisions, you know, the the superstructure of the ship, the physical design, where the pillars are, where the support beams, that that hasn’t changed across the four wish class ships. And you’re right, Matt, if something is, say, designated as a lounge space or an entertainment space, those do not change across the ship. What I learned from the Imagineering team when I was in Germany was that they. So there’s something that they called signature spaces. And these are things across the wish class ships that do not change at all, even the theming and the IP. So this would be things like the Walt Disney Theater looks identical on all of the ships. It’s the same carpet, the same sconces, all of that. Same thing with things like hooks. Barbary untangled salon Worlds of Marvel nineteen twenty three. The one exception to nineteen twenty three is they have these beautiful display cases of like maquettes and artwork. The individual artwork changes ship to ship, but the display cases are all in the same positions. Then all of the rotating and evolving spaces. And I think this is actually why we get a lot of things right, because many of our peers were thinking like, oh, they’re going to throw this restaurant out entirely and do something new. I knew that those things would not change unless Imagineering really changed their tune. Broke with tradition. Yeah. But I knew we knew the Bayou on the wish, which is also Skipper Society on the treasure. And it is them on the Destiny. We knew that would be an open bar space that is also used for family activities during the day that can be accessed without even going through a door. You’re just walking down a hallway and it’s open for all. So we knew that that was going to be a lounge space. And it turns out it’s wishing well. So to, for anyone who has been on, I think if you look at the fleet of ships, it’s especially given the ports of call, most guests listening or most listeners, I should say, have probably been on if they’ve been on Disney Cruise line on the Disney wish more so than they’ve been on the treasure or the Destiny. So comparing it to especially because it’s fresh in your mind, the Disney wish to explain to someone what is going to be from the announcements, you know, what is going to be the same on the Disney wish that will be on the Disney believe. What is an existing space that is going to be replaced, and what is it going to be replaced with from what we know on the belief. So the bayou which is lounge that’s going to become wishing well. Yeah. Um, hyperspace lounge, which Danny and I like to call the thematic or immersive or entertainment lounge that is going to be Haunted Mansion Parlor, which we have seen on a couple of the other Disney ships as well. Um, Nightingales, which is the piano bar on the wish, will remain a piano bar but will become themed to Little Mermaid called cenotes. Uh, keg and compass, which is the pub is going to be called Skygazers. And so it’s, uh, astronomically themed pub that is. We have an idea. So you know what’s interesting? Disney did announce and confirm a lot of details, but there’s still a lot of room for interpretation. And, you know, at most we’ve seen some logos and some concept art, right? And we’re still thirteen, fourteen months away from anybody actually sailing on this ship. So for people who are listening, who are familiar at the, uh, the twenty thousand Leagues Under the Sea themed pub, which is on the treasure periscope pub, periscope pub, they have a ceiling that is actually display screens, and it makes it appear as if you were actually underwater. And there’s like silhouettes of marine life swimming over your head. This is speculation. This is speculation. This is hope at this point. But we, Steph and I think that to match the Stargazer’s theme, we think there’s going to be an interactive ceiling that is going to have changing night scapes, different constellations appearing and disappearing. If they’re not planning that now, I hope they hear this podcast and decide to add it in. It’s not too late from w d. I wants to hop on a call and have some blue sky brainstorming the grand. Off the record, the Grand Hall will also remain the Grand Hall, but on the wish as a Cinderella statue and with Lucifer and also Jack, Jack and Gus. Gus. And it has a beautiful chandelier actually inspired by the shape of Cinderella’s ball gown. It has a floral carpet in the colors of the pinks and blues and golds that are really used in the film and the entire thing really looks like Disney’s Castle at Sea. It looks very regal and fairy tale ish on the belief. Believe it is going to be Moana themed. So we got Moana, Heihei and PUA statue. The chandelier will actually look like moving wave currents, and the carpet looks like it’s going to have more like an ocean, um, like current kind of effect as well. Ripple effect. And the archway does not look like the traditional proscenium archway that we have seen on the wish. It looks more actually like the a frame of the Alani building in our opinion. So it gives it that really like Polynesian. I think it’s like blues and oranges, like lots of tropical colors. Yeah, I think that archway is very evocative of the canoe, the shape of the boats. And I do think that is intentional. Uh, other things that are staying the same on the ship, or that are changing or that are changing on the ship. Uh, Arundel. Yeah. Um, uh, so on the wish, it’s called Arundel, a frozen dining dining adventure. And it takes place. It’s Anna and Kristoff’s engagement party, uh, that Elsa is throwing for them. And it takes place in the palace. Um, and then on the believe it’s actually still going to be frozen themed, but a totally new menu, totally new songs, totally new decor. It’s going to be set at Oaken’s wandering Oaken’s, um, summer house that is set deep within the forests. And all of his cousins are going to come and it’s just going to be a big family, like get together, backyard, get together. Essentially, we’ve been told by Disney that this is going to be, you know, sort of a fun, eclectic family gathering. You know, expect mismatched furniture and a very sort of casual vibe. Uh, we’ve been told that it’s going to be a new menu and new frozen music but done. Or sorry, new new recordings I should say of frozen music in a more pop rock punk rock kind of style. Live music. Because there are like singers and musicians that come in during these shows. Um, up on the pool deck is one of the, one of the things that a lot of people aren’t talking about that I’m excited about, which is that Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods, there are many. There’s like a taco stand, barbecue, a grill, some ice cream. They’re adding in another window where you’re going to be able to get shwarma. So it’s going to be called Pluto’s pita platters. Yes. All the food on the pool deck that you love and are familiar with remains. Uh, but if you can picture the deck, the Mickey’s Smokestack barbecue has two service windows. We assume that one of those two service windows is going to become the Pluto’s because. Because they’ve said everything else is returning, and I’m not sure where else they could fit in this new pizza platter. Also up on the pool deck on the wish is inside Out Joyful sweets, which is an added charge ice cream, sweets, cupcakes, Rice Krispies kind of shop. And it’s actually going to still be called an inside out joyful sweets on the believe, but it’s going to be reimagined for Inside Out too, with all of the new emotions. And then I think the the last the other updates are, yeah, are inside the Walt Disney Theater. So Seize the Adventure will return. That’s one of the sort of Disney jukebox musicals, a lot of your favorite characters and songs. Uh, we are getting a refreshed version of tangled, which you can currently see on the Disney magic. And right now what would take its place on the Wish is Aladdin, uh, which you can also see on the fantasy. And then the big headliner for the Walt Disney Theater is we are getting a brand new, uh, first ever stage adaptation of Encanto on The Wish. The brand new show was The Little Mermaid. Yes. So many updates ends. Returning favorites for people who love this class of Disney Cruise Line ship. The other thing that’s very important is where you’re going to be sleeping. And the staterooms. The it seems like, you know, each new ship, of course, is going to get different artistic inspiration. A lot of the same underlying structural, you know, blueprint like we’ve been discussing, it’s going to feel like the Disney wish class ship, but you’re going to have this updated storytelling in the room. So talk to me a little about the staterooms and what you learned from the the artwork is beautiful. The artwork is beautiful. On a personal note, I hope that when we sail on this ship, Disney will start offering, you know, prints and art pieces inspired like the stateroom art that you can bring home because I think it’s just lovely, the overall aesthetic. They’ve gone with this paper cut, layered, textured look, uh, the Walt Disney Imagineering Instagram channel, uh, recently put up a behind the scenes look and it’s really quite amazing, this process of hand cutting strips of colored paper and folding and rolling and crinkling them to create these lovely layered mosaic type artwork. And to be clear, they have now taken photos of those which will ascend or I don’t know what their process is exactly, but it’s something like take a photo of it and then print it on a canvas that will be in your room. So no worries about little hands pulling all the little bits of paper down. No, but they do. It offers this depth and texture to the artwork. Uh, state room themes are going to include inside Out, Moana, Zootopia, uh, Peter Pan. Yep. Um, I’m blanking on Coco Coco Toy Story lots. We, I feel like we’re missing a couple there. Uh, but lots of great state rooms and offer the concierge suites. They do these beautiful like over the top concierge suites on wish class. So in the tower there’s only one of these on the whole ship obviously, but in the tower it’s going to be the magic or it’s a Magic Kingdom themed suite, but it’s called the Believe Tower Suite. And then the, um, other, there are regular rooms that have concierge access like a veranda room, ocean view room, all of that. But there are additional larger suites that are called Royal Suites on Wish class. And there’s two one story and two two story versions of these. Um, and so two, one, one, one story and one, two story, I believe will be the Royal Reef Suites theme to Little Mermaid. And the other ones will be the Royal Rose suites themed to beauty and the beast. That’s amazing. I was really taken aback by the believe suites and the inspiration. I mean just the Like the Big Thunder Mountain mural and the. I was trying to identify each room which land inspired it. Obviously the big Thunder Mountain railroad room is clearly going to be frontier land, but the, the the, the main living space almost looked like certainly fantasy land or perhaps Main Street. I got some Mary Blair inspiration I was getting. I was getting Main Street vibes, especially the lighting fixtures, which they described to us as, you know, being inspired by the big bunches of balloons that you see floating in the air or the burst of the fireworks. Uh, they, they really are lovely. We’ve been fortunate. We haven’t slept in any of these suites, but we have been invited to tour, uh, these tower suites and they’re, they’re truly, I mean, honestly, like I’ve, I’ve lived in apartments smaller than these suites. They are marvels. Uh, you know, if you can afford it, if you’re able to book them, it’s a level of luxury that few get to experience? Yeah. This is, of course, a show about Imagineering while we talk about all things Disney. So I’m curious if you we got some information about the design, but anything else from an engineering perspective that you learned about the believe, if not one of the things you mentioned in the beginning is that you grew a deeper appreciation for the wish through the scavenger hunt. So was there anything that the experience revealed about the Imagineering of the the Disney wish? So because it was held more by like, usually when we do the christening sailings, the Imagineers are on board and they’re talking us through all the little details. And I really hope that we have that opportunity with the. Believe we didn’t have Imagineers on board with us this time, but what I can say is there’s so much that has not been announced about the believe yet, and that probably many things that won’t even have formal announcements, there won’t be a formal announcement about what the stairwell themes or what the elevator themes will be, for instance. But on all the wish class ships, the forward elevators and the aft elevators have a really distinct theme to them. So I think all of those little details, seeing them again on The wish, I started to dream up what they could maybe be on the believe. And I’m. The thing that I’m really excited about is to go walk all the stairwells, see all the artwork that the Imagineers pick, walk all the hallways that kind of connect maybe the coffee shop to the spa, etc., and see all of the different tapestries or paintings or mosaics that they put up there. Oh, a couple spaces we didn’t talk about are two of there’s a Cove cafe on all of the wish class ships at the back aft, and the adults and the adults area that’s themed to Moana on all of them. But there’s two kind of midship on deck four and five coffee shops, and they are the wishing star and the enchanted sword on the wish. And it’s going to be big hero sips and a cafe kakamora for the little big hero villains turned friends of Moana. Big hero six got a big reaction during the live event, but on the wish there very simplistically designed and on each, um. They’re beautiful and elegant, but they’re very simple. And on each concurrent ship we have gone further and further with the Imagineering, with the Jade Cricket cafe and then Cafe Merida. So I personally cannot wait to talk to the Imagineers about their theming of those spaces once they reveal a little bit more. One thing, Matt, that stood out to me on this cruise, often when we talk about Imagineering, we talk about huge pieces of physical infrastructure. You know, we talk about how they change roller coaster tracks, how they add new animatronics and all of these really big. But the, the storytelling and the design of these spaces extends all the way down to the smallest details. There was a lot of emphasis shown to us on some of the new bar spaces and the drinkware. Yes. And while you might not, you know, think of Drinkware as being something that requires Imagineering. One of the drinks that we sampled, it’s one of the non-alcoholic options that will be available in the wishing well. It has this unique, uh, it’s not exactly an ice cube because its purpose isn’t to chill your drink. Its purpose is to provide a smoke effect to your drink. But even this little plastic thing is patent pending from w d I because they have developed this mechanism so that, you know, we’ve seen a lot of the smoke bubbles on drinks, right? But the smoke bubble is a one and done. You have a little bit of a moment and then there’s some smoke and it goes away. This other gizmo, I don’t know what else to call it, is a patent pending invention from Imagineering that’s going to provide continuous smoke while you’re enjoying the drink. And so, you know, when we think about these ships and maybe when you hear Imagineering, you’re thinking of, you know, some huge grand, uh, apparatus, it extends down to these small details. Well, and I think also when you think Imagineering, I know before I got into this line of work, I thought, oh, they design roller coasters and that’s it. But we have talked to so many people from Imagineering who are in, um, like design, right. Um, designing staterooms, designing spaces, picking linens, picking light fixtures, obsessing over carpets. There are so many carpets on a Disney cruise ship, I think over seventy. Um, so that and that number might even be like, that’s a conservative number. I feel like there are, there are patterned carpets for every space that they individually curate. It’s amazing. And I think that that is where on, on the wish class ships, where Imagineering really comes to life is in all of those tiny details. There’s so much to look forward to. Um, and you’re right. The Imagineers are looking at every little detail, and you’d be surprised to know what roles some Imagineers are taking on and how how small of a part of an experience that is the macro to the micro. These are all, you know, conscious decisions that help in the storytelling. And I think that’s a large part of what is the Disney difference? Yeah. It’s true. Now this ship is going to set sail next December twenty twenty seven out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. Which begs the question, this is, of course, speculative, but I feel like whenever that happens, there’s a shuffling of of ships that happens. So do you what would you expect the believe to replace? I know this is just putting on a, you know, guess. Guessing hat here. I’m not sure exactly if it will replace it right now. The destiny and I believe the dream or sometimes the fantasy or sometimes the magic. But like the destiny. Plus one other ship is sailing out of there. So I could see it being the destiny and believe. And those other ships maybe going to the other ports like Galveston and New York and things like that, or if if one of the other ships is moving up to New York, maybe taking their place at Canaveral. Yeah, I personally, I think that we are going to see one of the wish class ships make its way over to Europe. I know they do seasonal European sailings, but I’m expecting this year or next year ships to be more permanently based in Europe, which will free. They can do Mediterranean cruises year round. Yeah. And so that’ll free up space. Like I think we will see something that is currently in Fort Lauderdale, move to Port Canaveral full time to make space for the believe, at least for its inaugural season, to be in Fort Lauderdale. And then, uh, you know, maybe some ships will shuffle around to the West Coast or start porting in and out of Galveston. Uh, I personally think that we’re going to see a more evergreen presence in Europe from Disney Cruise Line and maybe a longer presence each year in New York. I know it’s been gone for a few years, and now New York is coming back into the mix. Um, I know that during the winter time, that’s not a great place to be sailing out of January. Yeah, it’s a little cold. I think that they could maybe put a ship there for the warmer months and then move that easily down to Galveston for the summer or the for the winter, for the winter months. Yeah. But vice versa. Yeah. And I think it’s interesting strategically that they decided to start with four and five night sailings, sort of this middle spot between the, the three nights and the seven nights. So I think, I think you need it on a wish class ship. Honestly, there’s so much to do and three three feels very short on a wish class ship because there is so much available and seven is wonderful. If you can, you know, if you have the time, if you can take a vacation of that length. But you know, even for us, we’ve found it very hard to get onto the treasure, which has been exclusively doing seven night sailings because it’s just it’s a large time commitment. You know, you think about the time off of work and the, you know, or if you’re maybe a little bit anxious about sailing or maybe you get a little bit motion sick. It’s a lot more sea days. It’s a big commitment. Uh, I do think four and five is a sweet spot. Uh, and I think it will help get a lot of people onto the newest in the Disney fleet. I’m also very interested because I know that Disney is trying to work more with the Port of San Diego. And right now what happens is the magic and the wonder. They go do their Alaskan sailings in the summer, and then the magic goes wherever she’s going to go. And right now, the wonder is going down and doing like Baja Mexico, Pacific coast kind of sailing, which is great. But if they want to have more of a maybe a year round presence in San Diego or a larger presence during those winter months when everybody wants to go down south, I could see them moving, maybe a wish class ship, but it could also be the dream or fantasy. I could see one another ship, um, doing the canal crossing and then staying more permanently or almost permanently on the West coast. Yeah. You know, we can read the tea leaves all we want. The bottom line is Disney is investing heavily in DCL right now. They have slated a number of ships that are in various stages of planning and construction. The plan is to grow the fleet up to thirteen ships, and not a very long time from now. And there just isn’t room for all of those ships out of Port Canaveral or Fort Lauderdale. And also guests. You know, I don’t get me wrong, I love the Bahamas and going to castaway and look out. Those are some of my favorite destinations. But you can’t just run the cruise ships out to castaway and back. Well, there’s not even enough capacity at Castaway and Lookout. If they had all the ships going there every single day. Each one can only accommodate one ship, right? So that’s like fourteen possible ports there a week. Yeah. Amazing. So I’ll leave with this final question for now. Um, and I feel like there will be a return conversation when we do learn more. What is the biggest question you still have about the Disney believe after this past events and everything we’ve learned up until now. Um, can I go? Yeah, please. My biggest question is about extended live entertainment. We saw a bit of this on the treasure and then a lot of this on the Destiny. So I don’t mean the normal stage shows, the big Broadway style shows. I mean, um, little entertainment moments that happen throughout the ship. Um, there is sage and coriander. Our storytellers on the Treasure and gamble and zere, our storytellers on the Destiny. And they kind of come out on the first day, they introduce everything, they let the sail away party happen, and then you see them throughout the cruise interacting on pirate night, popping in and hosting like match your matey, um, doing little tiny shows in the, in the atrium that they are on the schedule, but they’re not like everybody comes sit down, get your popcorn, get your seat kind of things. It’s like, show up and watch this thing happen. And some of them are interactive, like on the treasure, there’s one where you, um, play around as if you were in a jungle cruise boat, and there’s kind of a story that goes along with that. On the Destiny, there are things with Loki and Black Panther and Sleeping Beauty and more. I think there’s an Aladdin one on the treasure as well, um, that are these smaller, funny comedic stage shows and also adult only shows on the treasure theme to Indiana Jones and on the Destiny theme to Marvel that are like these, like slapstick, comedic, uh, after hours kind of things for adults in, uh, oh, we didn’t talk about saga, uh, which is called gazelle Zootopia themed on the believe and it is Luna on the wish. It’s a multi story like multi-purpose entertainment venue they use for everything from like Encanto celebration to bingo to these kinds of shows like Choose Wisely. Um, they haven’t said anything about that. They have said that there will be two um, possibility seekers as their official titles, and that is all we know. So I’m hungry to learn more about what that expanded live entertainment because especially on four and five night sailings, you have time for that. I’m also looking forward to that. Uh, in the same vein, we are thinking about on the Destiny, they started this really incredible doctor facility, uh, character meet and play moment. It takes place in the Disney Studio, which is a very small space on the ship, usually used for like photo portraits and stuff. And it’s a small handful of guests who get invited in to Facilier’s parlor, where he does some up close sleight of hand magic. I’m not expecting a magic show, per se, on. But you’re wondering if the similar intimate environment. They gave a little tease during the live reveal. One of the. The hosts came out with a magic mirror frame and they said, no, no, no, we’re not ready to talk about that yet. And I have a suspicion that that might have a similar role on the upcoming ship. That’s a good call. Well, lots of questions still and lots of answers. I hope in the not so distant future. But it’s so it’s incredible to think, Steph, that our conversation was a year ago about the Disney destiny. And here we are a year later talking about the Disney believe. And we’re about a year out from more than a year out, from when it’s actually going to be setting sail for the first time. So. And absolutely incredible. They just announced the Disney Disney Imagination is going to be the ship that sails in Japan owned by OLC. So I’m sure a year from now we’ll have a conversation about that as well. Also a wish class ship that will have, you know, the same bones as these ships, but I imagine being very, very different. Yeah. We’ll see. Yeah. Different market for sure. Well, I am looking forward to future conversations with both of you about Disney Cruise Line and elsewhere. Of course, future articles in DCL magazine and then WDW and DLR magazine. But I appreciate you coming on to the show and sharing your stories from this past a week ago, a board that Disney believe it’s been a whirlwind. But Matt, we’re always thrilled to come on and talk Disney with you and thanks for having us. Same here. This is a lot of fun. Thank you. Welcome back to Imagination Central. Before you exit this episode, remember to follow Imagination Skyway on social media and share the show with anyone who might enjoy listening to our program. Remember that you can access ad free episodes and bonus content at patreon dot com slash skyway, which is also a great way to support the show. When you’re ready for your next vacation, remember that listeners of Imagination Skyway can get rewarded for booking a trip to Disney through KMV travel. Voted the top travel agency in Orlando in twenty twenty six. Simply fill out the form at KMV travel dot com and make sure that you select Imagination Skyway under the. How did you hear about us? Question. To be eligible for a special gift from the team. Terms and conditions apply as you disembark. Please remember to remain fully seated until the podcast comes to a complete stop. Then gather your belongings and watch your head in step as you exit. Thank you for joining me aboard Imagination Skyway. And remember, if we can dream it, we can do it.

Published by Matthew Krul

Host of Imagination Skyway.

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