Let’s Talk Disney Cruise Line Growth!!

Let’s Talk Disney Cruise Line Growth!!

Meyer Werft is building the new Disney Cruise Line Ships. This is an exciting time for DCL!

 

Meyer Werft has built all but the original Classic-Class, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder ships for Disney Cruise Line. In 2011 and 2012 Meyer Werft delivered The Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. In 2022 and 2024 Meyer Werft delivered The Disney Wish and Disney Treasure, the 1^st of the Wish-Class Disney Ships.

 

In 2025 Meyer Werft will deliver the Disney Destiny, 3^rd of the Wish-Class and a unique ship called the Disney Adventure, Global-Class Disney Ship. Disney Destiny joins the Disney fleet for her Maiden Voyage, November 20^th, 2025. Disney Destiny will sail out of Fort Lauderdale, Fl. Destiny will be the 7^th ship in the Disney Fleet.

 

Disney Adventure is being built at what is now the second Meyer Werft shipyard at Disney’s behest. Adventure is a ship that was being built for the Hong Kong based, Star Cruise Line. Star Cruise Line commissioned the ship, to be named the Global Dream. Star Cruise Line went under during the Covid Pandemic and the Global Dream sat in the MV Werften Shipyard. The ship builder went under as well. In stepped Disney and they purchased the Global Dream for a good deal and asked Meyer Werft to re-imagine and complete the ship for them. Meyer Werft took over the MV Werften yard in Wismar, Germany and they are in the process of completing her. Disney Adventure will join the fleet, December of 2025. Disney Adventure will sail out of Singapore for at least the first 5 years. Adventure is the 8^th Ship in the Disney Fleet. Disney Adventure is 208,000 GT, length, 1,221 Ft, with a beam of 152 feet. She will be 231 feet tall. She can hold 6,700 passengers.

 

So that brings us current to 2025 with the Disney Cruise line and a fleet of 8 ships. What next?? On the Meyer Werft shipyards webpage, they list the ships that have been ordered until 2031. These ships have not been built or named as of yet. Let me share what is there to know.

 

After The Destiny and Adventure there will be a wait until 2027 for the next Disney Ship. The 2027 ship will be the 4^th Wish-Class ship to be built for Disney. Name and home port has not been released yet. The Wish-Class ships are 140,000 GT and have 1,250 passenger cabins, with a passenger capacity of 4,000.

 

In 2028 the 5^th Wish-Class ship will be completed. This ship is being built for Disney at the request of the Oriental Land Company. She does not have a name as of yet. We do know she will be sailing out of the Port of Tokyo doing 3-5 day cruises there. She will be the same size and layout as the other Wish-Class ships

 

In 2029 there will be a completely new class of Disney Ships starting to be built! The 2^nd will be completed in 2030 and the 3^rd in 2031. Unlike other cruise lines that are going bigger, Disney is going smaller! These ships will be 20% bigger than the Classic ships and smaller than the Dream-Class ships. They will be around 100,000 GT and carry 3,000 passengers. This is approximately 600 more passengers than the Classic-Class ships and 1,000 fewer than the Dream-Class. The ship(s) are being designed to be able to go to more ports that cannot accommodate the larger ships.

 

By 2031 there will be 13 ships in The Disney Fleet! This is exciting news for those who love the Magical Cruises Disney provides!

Why Use a Travel Agent to Book Your Disney Vacation? Why Use Pixie Dusted Memories Travel?

Why Use a Travel Agent to Book Your Disney Vacation?

Why Use Pixie Dusted Memories Travel?

The internet has made it easy to book your own vacation. You can even just call any Disney Park or the Cruise Line and book your vacation yourself. So why use a Travel Agent? There are many good agents and agencies out there. Find one that feel right for you.

 

First off you should find an agent who has specifically trained for Disney. They should be able to show you their College of Disney Knowledge Certification if asked. This training is covers every Disney Destination you can think of. You will have access to a wealth of knowledge by going with a Disney specialist. If it is your first time they can tell you the ins and outs of the destination.

Disney sometimes has discounts, free dining or other offers. Travel Agents are notified of these and can apply them, sometimes even after you have already booked. Travel Agents are aware of other ways to save a money and will assist. A great example is using Discounted Disney Gift Cards to pay for your vacation. Another way to save money is when you book and when you travel. Agents see the prices and how they change. They can also offer their experience on when pricing is lowest for where you wish to go.

Besides saving money a Travel Agent can help you understand what you may need to bring on your vacation. Are you cruising? Do you need a passport? What about Trip Insurance? Land or Sea considering Trip Insurance or Trip Protection is important. What does it cover? When do you purchase it? What are the risks of not purchasing?

 

What happens if something goes wrong and you cannot go on vacatin? Do you know the cancelation policy of your vacation destination? How do you get a refund? What if something goes wrong on the trip? Were you disappointed in the service or quality of the experience? Were there issues with your room? A Travel Agent can help you figure out how to talk to Disney to get assistance.

 

Do you need help with accessible accommodation? Do you need information on a destination and what is available for YOU with your accessible needs? A Travel Agent you specializes in Accessibility can be a great asset! Pixie Dusted Memories Travel does this!

 

Here is a big reason to consider using a Travel Agent. It is YOUR time and stress level. When new itineraries for Disney Cruise Line or Booking Opens for new dates at the Parks or Resorts the phone lines get overloaded. There can be a one to four hour plus hold before you can talk to someone to book your trip or make a modification/payment on an existing vacation not in the new booking time frame. Do you want to be on the phone stressing about making your Advanced Dining Reservations, Booking Port and Shipboard Adventures or adding special magic to your vacation? Would it not be wonderful to turn that over to someone else to handle for you? A Travel Agent does the work so you can PLAY!!

 

The best thing about the majority of Travel Agents that book Disney is there is no fee!! The first thing to ask any Travel Agent is do you charge any fees! The answer should be NO! Travel Agents get paid by commission. That commission is built into the price of the vacation. It does not matter if you book with a Travel Agent or directly with Disney, YOU pay that commission! The total will be the same for the exact same booking. Why not let someone else do the work for you?

We are Pixie Dusted Memories Travel. We do not charge any fees for our travel-related services. We do the work so you can play. We are here to answer any questions you may have. We will watch for special discounts that we may apply to any reservation you book with us.

Why Book a Disney Cruise Line Future Cruise or Placeholder? How to Save Money!!

Why Book a Disney Cruise Line Future Cruise or Placeholder? How to Save Money!!

 

Most people that sail Disney Cruise Line want to sail again. A Future Cruise Booking or Placeholder made on the ship while sailing is the best way to save money on a Disney Cruise!

 

Simply put a Placeholder is a deposit on a future cruise that you make while on your current cruise. You have 24 months from the date you make that $250 deposit to sail. An example is if you book a Placeholder while on the ship March 30^th, 2025 you have until March 29^th, 2027, to board using that Placeholder Deposit. You can also just book a Future Cruise that is available before then while on the ship as well. The $250 deposit made for a Placeholder is used towards the original deposit when booking the final chosen cruise!

 

How does this save you money? Disney gives you a 10% discount for Booking a Future Cruise or a Placeholder while on the ship! If you wish to save another 5% or more you can get discounted Disney Gift Cards at places like Target, Sam’s Club, CostCo or even some EBates stores. Follow the Disney Gift Card rules to combine them and use them to pay for the cruise! Combining them together can save you 15% or more! This adds up quickly!

 

If you book a cruise that costs $3,500 and use a Future Cruise or Placeholder for it that is a savings of $350! If you make that Future Cruise or Placeholder payment with Discounted Disney Gift Cards at 5% off that is $525 saved! That $3,500 cruise ended up costing $2,975! It is always worth looking into.

 

How to combine and use Disney Gift Cards:

•  Go to DisneyGiftCard.com and log in using your Disney log in.
• Add 2 – 6 cards.
• Transfer the funds from all cards onto just one card. You can dispose of the empty cards.
• Maximum allowed to be on 1 card is $1,000.
• Use this card to make payments for your Disney Vacation (parks or cruise).
• Only use this card to the $1,000 max.
• If the total payments are over $1,000 use multiple cards.
• SAVE the cards you used to make payments. If money is refunded it will go back onto these cards so you may need them later!

 

Here are some rules about Placeholders/Future Cruise Bookings made on the ship.

1.      Placeholders must be used within 24 months of booking it on the ship.

2.      If you wish to transfer your Future Cruise or Placeholder booking to a Travel Agent it must be done within 30 days of booking it!

•   If booked on March 29^th, 2025 you have until April 25^th, 2025 to transfer it to your favorite Travel Agent. The sooner you do it the better! If you wait until the 30^th day DCL may not have enough time to transfer it.
• You cannot transfer a Future Cruise Booking that is Paid in Full.
• You cannot transfer a Placeholder/Future Cruise Booking from one agent/agency to another without just cause. This is nearly impossible to do because of Disney’s policies designed to stop agencies from taking clients from each other. You cannot just decide to change agencies at whim.
• Exceptions:
• If you agent/agency changes pricing policies and now charges a fee.
• If the agency is not working in your favor. They are grossly mishandling your reservation.
• Be ready to have documentation of this.
• If you agent/agency no longer wishes to service your reservation.
• The agency you were working with informs you they are no longer in business and transfers the booking back to you.
• Be aware that, for legal reasons, both the old and new agencies will need to be required to sign forms from DCL documenting the fact both agencies agree to the transfer.

Disney Destiny Updates!! Latest News from the Heroes and Villains Ship! What Next?

 Disney Destiny Updates!!

Latest News from the Heroes and Villains Ship!

What Next?

By Disney Destinations

February 11^th, 2025 - Bow Art

With the final block of the Disney Destiny  in place, the team at Meyer Werft shipyard can turn their attention to installing the unique exterior features that will distinguish the ship. First on the list is a whimsical art piece on the Disney Destiny’s bow, which depicts Minnie Mouse striking a valiant pose in her new heroic ensemble. With her cape billowing behind her, Minnie Mouse’s outfit symbolizes the Disney Destiny’s first-of-its-kind “Heroes and Villains” design theme.

 

The elegant, hand-painted filigree continues a longstanding Disney Cruise Line tradition dating back to the fleet’s first ship, the Disney Magic, with every Disney Cruise Line vessel having a distinct character-inspired image embossed on its bow. In the lead up to the Disney Destiny’s maiden voyage in November of this year, the team at Meyer Werft Shipyard will continue to add details to the ship’s exterior and interior.

 

March 24^th, 2025 – Float Up!

Last week, the Disney Destiny completed another exciting construction milestone at Meyer Werft Shipyard when it touched water for the first time. The process known as “float up,” by flooding the building dock with water from the Ems River in order to lift the Disney Destiny from the floor of the chamber. The ship was then guided to another position in the hall, where the team will begin testing different systems onboard, including the main engines. In the coming months, the shipyard team will continue to focus on building out the legendary interior spaces coming to the Disney Destiny.

 

My thoughts:

Looking back at the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure I have an idea of the upcoming timeline. So far, I do believe The Destiny is ahead of schedule and will not miss her Maiden Voyage. Something unexpected would have to happen now to delay Meyer Werft handing the ship over.

 

June or July 2025 The Disney Destiny will do her Float Out where she will leave the shipyard building and move to the dock outside.

 

After the Float Out the ship will spend 1-2 months at the shipyard outside dock while they finish the inside of the ship and complete testing of all essential systems.

 

August-September 2025 the Disney Destiny will sail away from the port for Sea Trials. Sea Trials is where they that the ship out and test all systems under working conditions. They will take her up to full speed and do an emergency stop. They will test all navigational and emergency systems.

 

Sometime in September-October I expect the Disney Destiny to officially handed over to Disney Cruise Line. At this point she will make her Transatlantic Crossing for the first time. While they are doing the crossing they will be finishing any last minute things like specialty lighting, installing sound and other equipment for the theater and other venues, and maybe installing some carpet. During the crossing the crew members of the ship will be learning about her. They will practice serving in the main restaurants by serving the crew, and their families who are finishing installing things. The Cabin Stewards will be learning how to clean and set up cabins, by again taking care of those who are finishing the ship up. The entertainment crew will be practicing for the shows and the kids club will be open for the kids traveling with their parents. There will be a lot of things happening in the couple of weeks it will take them to arrive at their new home port in Fort Lauderdale. Fl.

 

When and where will the Christening of the Disney Destiny happen? That has not been announced yet. All the ships, except the Treasure were Christened at Port Canaveral, Fl. The Disney Treasure was Christened at Port of New York, NY. Keep your eyes open for the announcement!

 

Where will Disney Destiny call home Port? Fort Lauderdale, Fl.

 

When is the Disney Destiny’s Maiden Voyage? November 20^th, 2025.

Disney Cruise Line WEST Coast News!!

Disney Cruise Line WEST Coast News!!

 

Do you live closer to California than Florida? Would you enjoy a Land and Sea Vacation that included Disneyland and a Disney Cruise? Well, there is great news coming in the future!!

 

In 2011 DCL sailed out of the Port of Los Angeles. They did this for a few years and then stopped coming to the west coast for several years. Then they moved to San Diego for their West Coast Cruises.

 

We already know that Disney Magic is joining Disney Wonder in Alaska next year for the summer months in 2026. It is still to be seen if there will be more cruises out of California or beyond 2026. We are still waiting for the fall of 2026 Itineraries to let us know if Wonder is going back to Australia for Fall and Winger 2026 or coming back to San Diego. Were Magic will go has still not been announced.

 

What is the exciting news for the West Coast?? DCL and entered into an agreement with Santa Catalina Iland, Avalon officials starting September of 2027!! This will secure the preferred port location for the Disney ships to port there. This is a 5-year agreement with a built-in offer to extend it another 5 years twice for a total of 15 years!! It looks like Disney will be sailing to Catalina Island MORE in the coming years!!! This does not mean they are only going to Catalina they are going to have cruises that do not go to Catalina out of California as well.

 

What will happen to Catalina with DCL arriving more. Avalon is a small port city. You can easily walk the entire city during the time you have in port. There are fun and informative Port Adventures to be done in Avalon. DCL stopping there means increased tourism that brings jobs and increases money coming in. DCL has already pledged to help with additional costs for infrastructure, water, and waste management project improvements. It will add to the conservancy funds that help protect nature on the island.

 

With the new ships joining the fleet almost yearly between now and 2031 there is the possibility of the West coast getting a ship left on the West Coast most of the year! This means that those living closer to West Coast that East will have to travel less distance to get to the cruises. This will make Disney Cruises more affordable for West Coast fans.

 

Will any of the new or older large ships, such as the Dream or Triton/Wish class ships come to California? Sadly no. The Dream and Triton/Wish class ships are too large to fit through the Panama Canal. At this time only the Disney Magic and Wonder can do it. It is possible that the fourth unnamed class of ship will fit. We do not know yet. It has been announced that the next class of ship will be 25% larger than the Classic Class (Magic/Wonder) and 25% small than the Dream Class (Dram Fantasy).

 

No matter if it is just the Magic and Wonder or one of the fourth class of ships to come, we know DCL is investing in heading to the West Coast!

Robert Downey Jr. Crashes Disney Experiences Panel with Avengers Campus Updates

Robert Downey Jr. Crashes Disney Experiences Panel with Avengers Campus Updates

By Disney Destinations March 8^th, 2025

 

Make way, because a genius, billionaire philanthropist is setting up shop in Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure Park.

 

Announced at last year’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, two new thrilling attractions will be joining the growing campus at Disneyland Resort. Today, during The Future of World-Building at Disney panel at SXSW, President of Marvel Studio, Kevin Feige, and President and Chief Creative Officer for Walt Disney Imagineering Bruce Vaughn let the crowd in on more of the storytelling and extensive new technology that will bring these attractions to life.

 

With the one attraction, Avengers infinity Defense, you’ll assemble with the Avengers and battle King Thanos across multiple worlds. Join alongside the likes of Black Panther, Ant-Man, Hulk, and so many other favorites to save the universe – again.

 

But you can’t just wake up one day and know the ins and outs of battling like an Avenger, you know? You’ve got to train. The second attraction going into Avengers Campus Start Flight Lab, will put you inside Tony Stark’s workshop to check out some of the new tech he’s working on and allow your to test it out yourself. And who better to show off his tech than Tony Stark himself?

 

With thunderous applause, Robert Downey Jr. made a surprise appearance at SXSW, calling the Imagineers working on these new experiences, “the living embodiment of the Stark Enterprises mission statement.”

 

“The curiosity, the passion, the inventiveness, the occasional flair for the dramatic, most of all a drive to put something good out into the world to make life better, at the minimum more fun by the mile.” Downey told the crowd. “It’s the privilege a lifetime to be invited to participate.”

 

Downey was also pretty excited just to be invited into the Imagineering world, joking about the stealth of WDI headquarters. “You wanna talk about a closed set? It’s the Area 51 of fun!”

In Stark Flight Lab, guests will sit in “gyro-kinetic pods: and roll along a track before stopping in front of a giant robot ar. This robot arm will hoist you into the air where you’ll make several high-speed maneuvers inspired by Iron Man and some other Avengers (“That I will select based on merit and whomever picks up my FaceTime calls on the first ring,” Downey joked.)

 

“Transferring from a track to a robot arm and then back again – nothing like this has ever been done before in a theme park, and we’re so excited about it,” Bruce explained. “Usually, we hide all the tech behind the scenes so you can focus on the story. Here, the tech IS the story, so we’re putting it front and center.”

 

One piece of tech that has become important to Tony Stark’s lore is his beloved little robotic friend, DUM-E. when Downey first visited Imagineering, he commented how much the robot arm for Stark Flight Lab looked like DUM-E, and that quickly worked its way into the attraction.

 

Using dancers and motion capture, the team made a “virtual mirror” to incorporate some of these movements into early ride mockups. The Imagineers want to make sure the robots in Stark Flight Lab feel as lifelike as possible, just like DUM-E.

 

And this is only just the beginning of what guests will soon see in Avengers campus. “Even after we finish with the Flight Lab, I want to stay with you all for the long haul,” Doney told Feige and Vaughn amid screams from the crowd, “This isn’t a one-time deal. You need more me.”

Go Off-Roading with New Vehicles for Cars Ride

 Go Off-Roading with New Vehicles for Cars Ride

By Disney Destinations March 8^th, 2025

 

Life is an off-road rally race, and Lightning McQueen, Mater, and the rest of the Cars from Pixar Animation Studios’ Cars are going to ride it all night long.

 

First announced at last year’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, and brand-new Cars themed area is speeding in to Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Here, the Cars crew leaves Radiator Springs behind and heads off into the frontier to put their wheels to the test.

 

Now at The Future of World-Building at Disney panel at SXSW, Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Doctor, and Imagineer Michael Hundgen teased that guests will need to strap in because they’re in the process of creating a new type of ride vehicle for this experience.

 

“Our primary goal is creating an emotional experience for our guests,” Hundgen told the crowd. “For this Cars attraction we need to invent a new type of ride vehicle. No one builds these in a factory because it has to do so much more than just carrying you from one place to another. We have to create a car that conveys a feeling when you ride it.”

 

The team took a trip out to the Arizona desert to jump in a real off-road vehicle to see what it felt like driving over the rocky terrain. These are all things Lightning McQueen and Mater haven’t experienced before like racing over rocky terrain, ascending to mountain peaks, and dodging around geysers – how do you take these real-world elements and put a Cars spin on it?

 

From there, the Imagineers worked with a motocross company to build a real dirt track to race around on and took that data back to begin working on creating how the ride vehicles will eventually move and race.

 

“We’re using a customized production vehicle,” Hundgen continued. “It has sensors all over it, and we’re taking it for test drives on our dirt track to gather data on how the vehicle responds to different terrain. This is where we turn that feeling we want into real-world engineering,” Michael explained.

 

But all this talk about cars, what do they look like?

 

That’s where the Pixar team steps in. for some show and tell to get the crowd revved up, Doctor shared some early concept sketches with the audience, teasing that they’re creating “new race car personalities for this attraction. Each vehicle in the ride will have its own name and number, just like a real reace.”