Disney Cruise Line names new ship Disney Treasure
Disney Cruise Line is following up a Wish with a Treasure, giving Aladdin, Jasmine and the magic Carpet center stage.
The name of the second of three new ships coming to the fleet was announced by Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California on Sunday during a session named “A Boundless Future: Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.”
He said for the first time, three character will hold court in the Grand Hall of ship themed to adventure with the characters from the 1992 animated film “Aladdin” rendered in bronze in the massive atrium found on the new class of ship.
“That Grand Hall is inspired by the grandeur and mystery of a gilded palace. It draws on real-world influences from Asia and from Africa as well as the far off land of Agrabah,” D’Amaro said.
The promo introduction video also showed characters from the Pixar film “Coco,” Disney’s “Moana” and the three ghosts from the Haunted Mansion ride.
“The theme of the ship is adventure, celebrating Walt’s lifelong love for exploration,” he said. “This is going to be an epic journey into Disney stories.”
Known as the Trident class of vessels, Disney Treasure is slated to begin sailing in 2024 with an unnamed sister ship coming in 2025.
All three are the 144,000 gross-ton, 1,254-stateroom vessels are the largest of what will become a seven ship fleet, although still targeting a 4,000-passenger capacity that older ships Disney Dream and Fantasy provide.
Disney Wish became the line’s first new ship in more than a decade when it debuted in July sailing from Port Canaveral.
Port officials said two of the three new ships were on tap to call Port Canaveral home. Right now it hosts both Disney Wish, which sails the shorter three- and four-night itineraries to the Bahamas, and 2012′s Disney Fantasy that does alternating seven-night Caribbean itineraries. To make room for Wish, Disney Dream, which had only ever called Port Canaveral home since its 2011 debut, migrated to offer sailings from PortMiami. Beginning in fall 2023, though, DCL will send Dream to its new second Florida home — Port Everglades.
A long-term lease there will turn Cruise Terminal 4, one of the terminals closest to Fort Lauderdale’s convention center, massive renovated parking garage and a hotel, into a themed Disney departure site similar to its presence at Port Canaveral.
The line’s first ships are 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 may also coincide with the debut of Disney’s second dedicated destination in the Bahamas after is popular island Castaway Cay. Lighthouse Point construction began in February after 2021 approval by the Bahamian government and completion of an environmental impact report.
Located in South Eleuthera, the 758 acres will feature an open-trestle pier, but only 20% of the land to be developed. One fourth of the land is being donated back to the government, part of Disney’s attempts to assuage environmental concerns with development of the property. The donated land, which has a value of $6.29 million, according to a 2019 statement from the Bahamas government, includes the southernmost tip of the property to become a national park.
D’Amaro shared two new renderings of the project during the D23 event.
Envisioned to be similar to how Disney’s Aulani resort in Hawaii incorporates local culture, the cruise line will theme the destination with Bahamas inspiration, not only in design, but experiences.
Originally Disney had aimed to open by 2023, but COVID-19 as the environmental impact assessment delayed that opening, which coincides with the debut of the line’s next ships.
The cruise line has operated Castaway Cay since 1998, and with its fleet growing from four to seven, and an increase in sailings from Port Canaveral slated to occur in the next few years, the cruise line had been hunting for a second Bahamas destination for some time, as 75% of all Disney sailings, including those from Galveston and Miami, make visits to the Bahamas. Previous statements from Disney Cruise Line have said the plan for Lighthouse Point would see similar traffic as Castaway Cay, between three and five weekly visits from cruise ships year-round.
