Disney Cruise Line hits construction milestone for new ship Disney Treasure
Disney Treasure, the sister ship to Disney Wish is set to take shape after the traditional keel-laying shipyard ceremony to begin the marathon of construction in the works before its arrival in 2024.
Officials were on hand at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany this week to install a commemorative coin with the likeness of Captain Minnie Mouse into the steelwork under the keel for the second ship in what was originally referred to as the Trident class of vessels,
Disney Wish debuted out of Port Canaveral in summer 2022, the first new ship for the cruise line in more than a decade. Where Disney Treasure will call home, or when its debut sailing will be has yet to be announced. A third yet-to-be-named ship in what the cruise line is now calling the Wish class is expected to be completed in 2025.
Port Canaveral officials had previously stated that two of the three Wish class ships would be calling the Central Florida port home, although the cruise line will also be juggling eight ships by 2025 including one that’s headed for five years of service in Singapore. The line is opening a new terminal this fall at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, which will be home to the Disney Dream to start, but could see a Wish class ship as well.
Few details about Disney Treasure have been released so far, although the statue in the Grand Hall will feature characters Aladdin, Jasmine and the magic Carpet from the 1992 animated film “Aladdin.”
The design of what acts as the ship’s atrium will be inspired by “the grandeur and mystery of a gilded palace,” said Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products last summer. “It draws on real-world influences from Asia and from Africa as well as the far off land of Agrabah,”
Promotional video has also shown characters from the Pixar film “Coco,” Disney’s “Moana” and the three ghosts from the Haunted Mansion ride, all tied to the main theme of the ship: adventure.
All of the Wish class of ships come in at 144,000 gross tons with 1,254 staterooms, which makes them slightly larger that the line’s Disney Dream and Fantasy ships, but still targeting a 4,000-passenger capacity.
Like Disney Wish, the ship will run on liquefied natural gas, one of the newer generations of cleaner burning fuel cruise lines have begun to use in their efforts to reach zero emissions by 2050.
The line’s first ships were the smaller Disney Magic that debuted in 1998 and Disney Wonder that debuted in 1999. They come in at 84,000 gross tons with 875 staterooms.
Disney Wish featured what Disney calls its first attraction at sea, the AquaMouse, which is a combination of water coaster similar to the AquaDuck on Dream and Fantasy, but also a dark ride like at the theme parks, this one themed to the animated Mickey Mouse shorts from the last decade.
It also had the first Marvel-themed rotational dining space and a Star Wars bar among its growing display of Disney’s various intellectual properties that also includes Pixar on top of traditional Disney Princess and Mickey and the gang. Its main stage show is a version of The Little Mermaid.
The next ship’s debut will come shortly after the opening of Disney’s second dedicated destination in the Bahamas, Lighthouse Point.
