Disney acquires a partially completed ship to add to the Disney Cruise Line fleet

Nov 16, 2022 in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Disney Cruise Line Announces Acquisition of Ship

Posted: Wednesday November 16, 2022 4:19pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has today announced the acquisition of a partially completed ship to expand the Disney Cruise Line fleet and to travel to new global destinations from 2025.

Disney Cruise Line Announces Acquisition of Ship

Disney will work with the Meyer Werft shipbuilding company to complete the cruise ship previously known as the Global Dream in Wismar, Germany. The ship will be renamed with certain features reimagined by Walt Disney Imagineers and is expected to set sail in 2025.

“Our cruise ships give us the unique opportunity to bring Disney magic to fans no matter where they are, and the addition of this ship will make a Disney Cruise Line vacation accessible to more families than ever before,” said Josh D’Amaro, chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

The new ship, to be based outside the United States, will feature innovative Disney experiences and the exterior will be adorned in the iconic, Mickey Mouse-inspired colors of the fleet, complete with signature red funnels.

The 208,000-gross-ton ship is expected to be among the first in the cruise industry to be fueled by green methanol, one of the lowest emission fuels available. Disney Cruise Line expects the passenger capacity to be approximately 6,000 with around 2,300 crew members. In comparison, the new Disney Wish can carry 4000 passengers.

Construction will be completed at the former MV Werften shipyard in Wismar, Germany, under the management of Meyer Werft, the Papenburg-based company that built the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy and Disney Wish. The ship’s previous owner filed for bankruptcy before completing the vessel, enabling Disney Cruise Line to secure it at a favorable price and within the capital expenditure guidance The Walt Disney Company provided on its recent earnings call. The project also secures employment for hundreds of former MV Werften employees and will provide opportunities for numerous maritime industry suppliers in the region.

More details about the maiden voyage, itineraries and onboard experiences will be announced at a later date.

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abaker19752 days ago

I think 4 days looks about right to get a good chance at enjoying the ship. I am 50/50 on if this looks like a thing for me. So many places in South East Asia I think I would rather spend time at, plus if I was craving some Disney Theme Park in the area would much rather go to Hong Kong or Tokyo rather than a limiting Theme Park at Sea.

C33Mom14 days ago

We are definitely going to sail but it’s very hard to justify 6+ days (after dragging my kids across the world) in a Disney bubble. I’m hoping it will be like the RCCL cruises out of Singapore where there’s more local food options and a lot of Mandarin used on the ship…but even still, 7 days is a lot of time that could be spent in Singapore itself, or Bali, or Bangkok, etc.

Indy_UK15 days ago

Ive listened to a couple of DCL podcasts the last week or so and they all seem to confirm that this will be 3 and 4 nights at Sea cruises with no port stops. For me I would rather they did it as a 7 night rather than having to do a back to back in order to do all on the ship but I get for a new region why they want to quickly turn people over on the shorter cruises.

abaker197515 days ago

Agree - they seem to have gone the "floating" theme park route for this ship. Kind of makes the Wish class look boring. However, no word yet on if this ship will visit anywhere or just be a cruise to "nowhere" with the ship only being the attraction.

C33Mom23 days ago

So we had planned to take our kids to Australia for the first time Christmas 2025, with a stop in Tokyo on the way out and a long layover in HK on the way back…. After the Marvel Landing announcement I now need to rearrange EVERYTHING to work this into our antipodian adventure. At least they are short sailings…but I already find it stressful to do Wish in 3 days with so many options, no idea how we can accomplish everything on this ship in that time.

DCBaker23 days ago

Here's a look at the coaster on land: First and exclusive look at the roller coaster of the new Disney Adventure. Originally built for the Global Dream in 2020, the roller coaster has now been repainted and will be rebuilt for testing purposes in fall 2024. After the Disney Adventure float out in 2025, the roller coaster will be installed on deck. With a length of 303 m, it will be the longest roller coaster on a cruise ship.

SplashJacket24 days ago

Didn’t realize the original ship had a coaster (same as the one Disney is keeping).

Indy_UK24 days ago

I know they've just reworked the ship to make it Disney but what they offering on this ship sounds far more exciting than the current Wish class

Andrew C24 days ago

Reminds me of Oasis/Icon class ships from RCL...except Disney

Disney Analyst24 days ago

A lot of announcements today.

IanDLBZF24 days ago

We have a first sailing date for the ship: 12/15/2025

peter11435Aug 21, 2024

Yes

C33MomAug 20, 2024

I wonder if they will also use it for meet and greets and other activities that are currently held in the atriums on the existing ships.

DisoneAug 20, 2024

It's definitely going to be used as a performance venue. I believe specifically for The avengers show. So that's why there is not anything in the middle because that's where the audience is going to be, facing the stage.