Yesterday, we saw the grand reveal of what awaits on the new Disney Adventure, one of the latest ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet and one that is unlike Disney Cruise Line has ever done before? Why? This ship has been acquired by the Walt Disney Company, in an enormous deal where it was sold for pennies on the dollar, from the now defunct Genting corporation. The company was folding, and this ship (formerly the Global Dream) was left partially complete and left Disney to finish the gargantuan vessel. The ship can hold 6,000 guests, a substantial increase from the 2,500 that Disney’s newest ships can hold, and is now set to set sail in late 2025 out of Singapore.
However, while the reveal was surrounded with excitement, it was only after a few moments of thought that I started to get a bit nervous since this ship is so strikingly different from the rest of the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Now, I’m aware this ship is meant for a different market, but it only has a multi-year exclusivity agreement and could move to anywhere else in the world (including Florida) at some point after that. I’m also aware that this is just concept art, and not the final product just yet, so I will reserve actual judgment until we see the finished product.. However, based on the art we’ve seen, here are my concerns:
Stickers And More For Decor
Disney Parks fans may recall that at one point in time, there were plans to put simply a cut out or a facade of a castle in lieu of a full one when developing Hong Kong Disneyland before they opted to build a replica of Sleeping Beauty Castle from Disneyland.
That same philosophy of using cut-outs has seemingly made its way to the Disney Adventure. In the art released that shows off the Disney Imagination Garden, one of seven “themed” neighborhoods around the ship, we see what appears to be cut-outs of trees and other items.
This ship, whether originally planned by Disney or not, is clearly a contender against Royal Caribbean’s hugely-popular Oasis class. Those ships feature a Central Park right in the middle that is open air and features live greenery and “living walls” of actual plants and trees. That’s not to say none of the plants in Disney Imagination Garden aren’t real, but the trees that give the beautiful setting (based on the art) clearly are not. If other ships can do it, why can’t Disney?
Possibly worse, the ship’s Marvel Landing features what appear to be giant wall stickers on some of the ship’s structure to convey the Marvel theme. These look no different than just larger scale versions of what you might find in a kid’s bedroom, or even in the rooms of non-branded hotels or Airbnbs in Orlando or Anaheim. Even the popular Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure and the Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris don’t have giant wall stickers to convey that those are Marvel-themed areas. In fact, I personally wouldn’t even call this “theming,” as it does nothing to push a certain and specific story or even set a specific time or place. I’d call this decoration. We know much of this area was also already planned when this ship was being built by its prior owner, so perhaps this was just Disney working with what they already had. But no statues? No subtlety? Just giant stickers?
Another potential victim of the notion that the ship was already complete could be Mike & Sulley’s – Flavors of Japan. While I can write a whole other post about why this should simply be called “Harryhausen’s”, I’ll save that for now and focus on the released art. There is no indication whatsoever in the art that this restaurant is in any way inspired by the restaurant prominently featured in Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. aside from the small child holding the Sulley bag. While the lack of IP integration (outside of name) might be considered welcome by some, it doesn’t even channel the “if you know you know” energy of Remy’s aboard the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream, which has a loose Ratatouille theme in name and aesthetic, but if you are unfamiliar with the movie, you would just assume it’s a fine dining establishment with a French flair. Mike and Sulley’s in name alone sets a level of IP expectation that this art implies the restaurant itself will not convey.
Resurfacing Of A Theme Park At Sea
Fans of The Imagineering Story on Disney+ and those heavily interested in the history of the Disney Cruise Line may remember a string of rejected designs for the ships that leadership at the time considered to fantastical before settling on a more traditional design that paid homage to the oceanliners of the past. While the Disney Adventure will keep the same exterior aesthetic (mostly) with the Mickey Mouse colors and multiple (some unnecessary) funnels, it also is basically a floating theme park.
Complete with rides, including a roller coaster and a spinner, both of which can be found in Marvel Landing, that traditional nautical and maritime theme is kind of thrown out the door. I may have made the same argument in the past with the Triton class of ships (Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny) which forgoes the traditional oceanliner aesthetic on the inside, turning the ships into floating Disney hotels like Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort or Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. The Disney Adventure amps it up another notch, and channels the plans for the S.S. Disney, a floating supertanker that would have been a floating Disney theme park making its way around the globe to bring the Disney theme park experience into markets where Disney Parks don’t exist. That idea in itself was pushed aside in favor of a more traditional cruise line experience in the mid 90’s which led to the development of the Disney Cruise Line as we know it today. Now, here we are full circle with a ship with full rides aboard it.
Disney’s Marvel & Disney Disney Cruise Line Ship
Similarly, I have made the argument in the past that the Triton class injects as much Intellectual Property (IP) as possible wherever possible aboard the ship. Just when I thought that couldn’t be surpassed, enter the Disney Adventure. Based on what we know of this new ship, there is not a single offering outside of the Guest Relations desk that will not have IP attached. While I’m admittedly excited for the Luca theme in Palo Trattoria and its surrounding area, Palo alone is a recognizable brand attached to the Disney Cruise Line that didn’t need IP integration. Every bar, every restaurant, every pool, every coffee shop, every stateroom, and heck, maybe even every public restroom seems to feature some sort of character branding.
On the earlier Disney ships, there is IP prevalence for sure, but there are areas of respite. Those earlier ships have adults only areas that feature bars and lounges that are incredibly themed yet have no character integration. The Skyline Lounge aboard the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy surrounds guests with the various skylines of the world. Evolution nightclub subtly shows the (ready?) evolution of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Coffee shops aboard those ships don’t need character branding. This is largely true for the original ships, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder as well. That all changed with the Triton class (try finding a coffee shop with no character branding now), and is carrying over to this new ship.
Even the atrium of the Disney Adventure couldn’t be left without. On every ship that has preceded the Disney Adventure we have seen chandeliers or blown glass sculptures in the atrium that feature no obvious characters, for no other reason than they look beautiful. Not on the Disney Adventure, no. Their Town Square area, which appears to be the atrium, features a large lighting design that appears to feature many characters in lifted image assets that were seen in coloring books upon their feature film’s release.
Even the chandelier on the Disney Wish isn’t this obvious. While yes, it is Cinderella’s dress turned upside down, that’s not nearly as obvious as this fixture aboard the Disney Adventure, and really comes down to another “if you know you know” situation.
It also just makes us curious, with all the characters represented on the lighting, what character will be featured in the atrium of the Disney Adventure. Thus far, it has been different on every ship, and was not part of the grand reveal of the Disney Adventure.
NO KIDS ALLOWED
Another Disney Cruise Line feature that has been left out on the Disney Adventure is very surprising, especially given how large this ship is. There are no dedicated adults-only areas that have been revealed at this time. The only adults-only venue that has been revealed is Palo Trattoria, an adults-exclusive dining location similar to other Palo locations aboard other Disney Cruise Line ships, but with a Luca theme.
The release offers up a number of bars and lounges suggesting them as locations where adults can relax and unwind, but says nothing about them being exclusive to adults. Similarly, the ship’s spa also offers relaxation opportunities for adults, but says they will allow those 13 and older into the spa when accompanied by an adult. The fitness center has a similar rule, but with the 14 year-old minimum.
However, there is no Quiet Cove as Disney Cruise Line passengers have come to know it. There is no sanctuary on the ship that is a designated zone just for adults. On every other Disney Cruise Line ship, this area exists (in varying sizes) offering up the 18+ respite. Each has a pool and a coffee shop that also serves up spirits and libations, and some even feature smaller splash pools under the ship’s communications systems (Satellite Falls aboard the Disney Dream and Fantasy).
From what we know thus far, this kind of area, whether it be known as Quiet Cove or “Cinderella’s Royal Relaxation Zone,” simply does not exist on this ship.
Setting The Standard Or Copying The New Bar?
When Disney Cruise Line launched back in 1998, it shook the cruise line industry to its core. Subsequently, many cruise lines, we’ll just say “borrowed” a lot of Disney’s more unique features. Whether it was their split bathrooms, more spacious staterooms, or dedicated youth activities based on different age brackets (did you know you can’t entertain a 14 year-old the same way you would a 6 year-old?!), Disney was the one those other brands were trying to emulate.
Now, with the Disney Adventure, it seems as though Disney is trying to swing back at those other cruise lines when they acquired this ship. But they didn’t have to. Disney was an industry leader, winning awards consistently in the cruise line market, with high occupancy rates.
Many (myself included) are already comparing this to an Oasis Class ship offered by Royal Caribbean. Those ships are known for their split design, allowing open air areas anchored by two superstructures that make up most of the ship. Their ships are packed to brim with activities and amenities that were only amplified when they launched their Icon class of ships recently, which took everything from the Oasis Class and added more. Both classes offer Zip Lines, multiple water slides, dry slides, numerous pools, surfing pools, ice skating rinks, restaurants, bars, promenades with shopping, there’s so much. Some might even say too much.
The Disney Adventure, with a similar ship configuration, seems to be Disney’s answer to Royal’s Oasis class. Even Wayfinder Bay, complete with Moana-based show, seems to be a direct lift from Royal’s popular Aquatheater.
Is this just a one-off since this ship was such a good deal when Disney acquired it? Or can we expect Disney to basically rip-off other cruise lines from now on instead of setting the standard once again?
Is it also too much for a standard Disney cruise? Based on the release, these cruises will be Disney’s standard 3 and 4 night fare. Is this too much ship for that short amount of time?
I hope my trepidation and nervousness surrounding the Disney Adventure is proven wrong as we get closer to its maiden voyage in December of next year, and I look forward to hearing more about what this ship has to offer.