Disney Cruise Line

**Disney Cruise Line** is a cruise line operation owned by the Walt Disney Company and headquartered in Celebration, Florida. The business is run by President Thomas Mazloum and Disney Signature Experiences, as part of the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division.

The Disney Cruise Line currently operates four cruise ships, the Disney Magic, the Disney Wonder, the Disney Dream, and the Disney Fantasy, along with Castaway Cay, the Walt Disney Company's private island in the Bahamas designed as an exclusive port of call for Disney's ships.

## Background

In 1985, Premier Cruise Line became the licensed partner cruise line with Disney. This allowed Disney characters on their ships and combined cruise, hotel and theme park packages. In 1993, Premier ended their relationship with Disney and signed a new one with Warner Brothers, utilizing the Looney Tunes characters. Premier continued to offer Disneyland and sea packages while adding Universal Studios as an option. Thus Disney approached both Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines to replace Premier as an exclusive sea partner. This also featured an Island called Treasure Cay, which has since bee abandoned and then turned into a golf resort.

## History

The *Disney Magic* began operation July 30, 1998. The *Disney Wonder* began operation August 15, 1999. The *Disney Dream* began operation January 26, 2011, and its most recent ship, the *Disney Fantasy*, was launched on March 31, 2012. The ships each contain 875 staterooms  and are virtually identical in their design, with a few variations in restaurants and entertainment venues. Both contain areas designed exclusively for various age groups, including toddlers, young children, teens, and adults.

They are the first in the industry to be designed and built from the keel up as family cruise liners, with the goal of accommodating parents and children. Unlike most ships of their type, they do not include casinos. In October 2006, additional family amenities were added to the *Disney Wonder* including features specifically geared toward toddlers, making the ship even more suitable for families with young children.

Disney Cruise Line was created in 1995 when the company commissioned its two ships at Fincantieri in Italy, ending an arrangement with Premier Cruises for the maritime segment of its vacation packages.

## Ships

### **Disney Magic**

The ***Disney Magic*** is the original cruise ship operated by the Walt Disney Company under its subsidiary Disney Cruise Line. Its sister, the *Disney Wonder*, launched in 1999. Both, the aft and the forward of the ship were built in two different places before coming together.

Built in 1998 by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, the *Disney Magic* can hold approximately 2,400 guests. It currently sails on 7-day itineraries including Disney's private island Castaway Cay, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Tortola, Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel (depending on specific cruise).

In June 2005, the *Disney Magic* was dispatched to the West Coast in honor of Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. The *Disney Magic* made a transatlantic crossing in May 2007 to sail around the Mediterranean, visiting ports including Barcelona, Cadiz, and Gibraltar.

Beginning May 25, 2008, the *Disney Magic* sailed 12 consecutive seven-night cruise vacations from the Port of Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta. Disney Cruise Line offered two 15-night repositioning cruises, sailing from Port Canaveral through the Panama Canal, departing May 10, 2008, with the return sailing to [./https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Florida Florida] on August 17, [./https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/2008 2008].

The *Disney Magic* entered scheduled 10-day drydock refurbishment on October 1, 2005 at the Norshipco shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia. Several enhancements took place during this time. The Vista Spa and Salon received a 1,700-square foot expansion including three new spa treatment suites. Three conference rooms on deck 2 were transformed into an additional children's area called Ocean Quest. A 24-by-14 foot LED screen was affixed to the forward funnel in the family swimming pool area where movies and major sporting and broadcast events are shown. Starting in 2011, the ship has been based out of Long Beach, California and Vancouver, British Columbia for cruises to the Mexican Rivera and Alaska.

### **Disney Wonder**

The ***Disney Wonder*** is a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line.

The *Disney Wonder* alternates between 3 and 4-night cruises. Visiting Nassau and Disney's own private island Castaway Cay, with the 4-night cruise offering an additional day at sea.

In October 2006, the Wonder went into dry dock for a general sprucing up and the addition of new features, many of which were introduced to the Disney Magic in 2005.

A toddler pool was added that features interactive fountains and splash zones. A new computer simulator was put into the refurbished Oceaneer Lab that lets kids "steer" Disney Wonder in and out of port. A 24 x 14 ft. LED screen affixed to the forward funnel and overlooking the Goofy Pool offers Disney movies and television programs. The Vista Spa, as well as the meeting and conference facilities and the Quiet Cove adults-only pool, were renovated and expanded too. Beginning in 2011, Disney Wonder will be based in Barcalona, Spain for European trips.

### **Disney Dream**

***Disney Dream*** is the third cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line, part of The Walt Disney Company, which entered service in 2011. Dream currently sails 3, 4, and 5-day itineraries to The Bahamas. The Captain of Disney Dream is Tom Forberg; her godmother is Jennifer Hudson.

The *Disney Dream* is 40% larger than its two older fleet-mates, the *Disney Magic* and the *Disney Wonder*, with a design gross tonnage (GT) of 128,000 tons, a length of 330 meters, and a width of 37 meters. The *Disney Dream* carries 4,000 passengers and 1,458 crew.

Like other Disney vessels, Disney Dream's horn plays songs from Disney movies and parks, specifically: "When You Wish Upon a Star" (*Pinocchio*), "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" *(Cinderella)*, "Be Our Guest" (*Beauty and the Beast*), "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" (*Pirates of the Caribbean*), "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)" (*Pinocchio*), "It's a Small World", "Imperial March" "(*Star Wars*)", and " Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" "(*Frozen*)".

### **Disney Fantasy**

**Disney Fantasy**, structurally, is almost identical to Disney Dream, with gross registered tonnage of 130,000 GRT, a length of 340 metres (1,120 ft), and a width of 37 metres (121 ft). Disney Fantasy has 1,250 staterooms. Additional features not on other cruise ships include *Disney Wishes* and *Disney's Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular*. *Disney Wishes* is about three best friends going to Disneyland to celebrate their graduation, where they wish to go on the "Ride of Their Lives" and get taken on a magical journey, led by favorite Disney characters. *Disney's Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular* is a 45-minute comedy musical based on the movie *Aladdin*. Disney Fantasy also has the popular Aquaduck Water Coaster, the first Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at the sea that turns into the Pirates League on Mickey's Pirates in the Caribbean Party Nights. The Nightclubs District is called Europa and features a re-imagined and expanded Skyline Club, The Tube, La Piazza, O'Gills Pub, and Ooh La La, an adults-only lounge.

Disney Fantasy is based at Disney Cruise Line's terminal at Port Canaveral, Florida. The ship embarks on alternating Eastern and Western 7 night Caribbean cruises and will call on Disney's private island Castaway Cay. Both, the Disney Fantasy and the Disney Dream will continue to be home-based at Port Canaveral at least until the end of 2014.

The Disney Fantasy entered service on March 31, 2012. The maiden voyage called to the Western Caribbean. In early March, the Disney Fantasy was christened in New York City by Mariah Carey. Her husband, Nick Cannon, escorted Minnie Mouse to Deck 2 to christen the ship with a champagne bottle.

The Disney Fantasy's float out took place on January 8, 2012, at Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, where the Disney Fantasy was built. The sister ship, the Disney Dream, was built at Meyer Werft Shipyard as well. The Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder were built in Italy.

### Upcoming ships

On March 3, 2016, it was announced that two new vessels will be added to the line's fleet at currently unannounced dates. According to USA Today, "At 135,000 tons, the new ships will be slightly larger than Disney's two newest vessels, the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, which measure 130,000 tons a piece and debuted in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Disney said each of the newcomers would have about 1,250 cabins, the same number found on the earlier ships."

The first of these new vessels was revealed at the 2019 D23 Expo as the **Disney Wish** and is set to feature Rapunzel as its stern character.

## Islands

### **Castaway Cay**

**Castaway Cay** is a private island in the Bahamas which serves as an exclusive port for the Disney Cruise Line ships Disney Wonder, Disney Magic, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy. It is located near Great Abaco Island and was formerly known as Gorda Cay. It is widely believed that The Walt Disney Company owns the island. However, this is officially untrue. The island is, in reality, part of the Bahamas, and Disney has a 100-year lease on the island, which started in 1996. A post office on the island has special Bahamian postage specific to Disney Cruise Line, and a "Castaway Cay" postmark.

## Programs

Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons

1. ↑ Disney Cruise Line FAQ
2. ↑ [1]