Disney Cruise Line divulges villainous details coming to Disney Destiny
Disney Cruise Line revealed more details for its forthcoming cruise ship Disney Destiny on the second of three days of news being released this week focusing on the more nefarious side of the ship’s heroes and villains theme.
The cruise line started off Tuesday with the revelation of its home port to be Port Everglades along with some info about more heroic-leaning interior venues including a dinner theater spot themed to “The Lion King” and a sweets shop themed to “The Incredibles.”
Disney Destiny is a sister ship to Disney Wish and Disney Treasure. Disney Wish debuted in 2022 out of Port Canaveral while Treasure is set to arrive to Port Canaveral this December. The reveal for Disney Destiny’s full itineraries beginning “late 2025” is set to be announced Thursday on the third day of announcements.
Disney Cruise Line’s new ship Disney Destiny will call Port Everglades home
But for day two, the line shifted to spaces dedicated to its villains including a new piano bar themed to the character Cruella de Vil from Disney’s “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” and a pub pulling inspiration from the theme park ride and film franchise for “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
It also revealed the ship will be the second home to a bar themed to The Haunted Mansion attraction, which will get its debut on this year’s Disney Treasure.
“The Disney Destiny is all about celebrating the bold, charismatic and driven characters at the heart of our favorite stories,” said Sharon Siskie, senior vice president and general manager for Disney Cruise Line in a press release. “And who are our beloved heroes without the antagonists who challenge them to prevail? We want our guests to have fun with the unique theme of this ship, and we are having a blast creating spaces and entertainment experiences that pay tribute to the villains, anti-heroes and mischief makers who have captivated Disney film and theme park audiences for generations.”
Taking a similar spot on the ship adjacent the Grand Hall as an “Aristocats”-themed jazz bar coming to Disney Treasure will be De Vil’s piano lounge.
The adults-only venue will feature a black-and-white, Dalmatian-spotted piano amid a red-white-and-black color scheme throughout the space that the line said would be designed with a Hollywood Regency theme.
“There will even be a glowing, fiberoptic Cruella that appears and disappears in the wall behind an eye-catching spotted piano,” the release reads.
The bar menu includes “trendy martinis, chic cocktails and glamorous wines and bubblies.”
For the pirates-themed Cask and Cannon on board, the line describes it as “an eclectic yet cozy watering hole furnished with treasures ‘acquired’ (read: pillaged and pilfered) during the pirates’ many voyages around the globe.”
This will be the place for live sporting events on board, and the menu will lean into “rare, specialty and vintage rums and a selection of ‘bootlegged’ brews developed specially for the venue and served straight from the barrel in true pirate style.”
For the repeat of the Haunted Mansion Parlor, it will again be “reminiscent of a first-class drawing room from the classic cruise liners of the golden age” with “spirited craft cocktails.”
“The venue will follow the nostalgic art style of the 1969 Disney Parks classic, blending humor with Disney’s distinct brand of spooky storytelling,” the release said. “Legendary characters from Haunted Mansion attractions around the world will come out to socialize in mysterious ways throughout the experience, along with a few new seafaring arrivals and an original storyline focused on a ship captain.”
It will feature an original musical score along with “an ever-escalating anthology of illusions” mirroring those found on the theme park rides.
Another villainous addition to the ship will appear in the line’s AquaMouse water ride attraction, which is making its third appearance after debuting on Disney Wish and set to appear on Disney Treasure as well. Starting out as a slow-moving dark ride, it spills out into a 760-foot-long water tube run that takes riders through a tunnel with modern, animated Mickey Mouse cartoons tied to water jets. For Disney Destiny, it will get a new show called “Sing a Silly Song.”
This tale takes riders “on a seemingly ominous trek to the peak of Villain Mountain. When faced with some of the most fearsome villains of Disney Animation lore, the duo will employ a silly song — and a bit of pixie dust — to transform each chilling encounter into a wacky surprise,” the release reads. Villains making an appearance will include the Queen of Hearts from “Alice in Wonderland,” Scar from “The Lion King” and Chernabog from “Fantasia.”
It will be one of four alternating shows played out on the ride.
The line promises interactive villain experiences as well, with appearances in either venues, meet-and-greets or in shows, with characters including Maleficent, Hades, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Oogie Boogie, Captain Jack Sparrow, Bruno and Loki.
Those include a dance party in “Oogie Boogie’s shipboard lair” and a trivia event with interruptions from Disney villains.
The ship’s debut in late 2025 will grow the DCL fleet to eight ships. The line’s first ship Disney Magic began sailing in 1998 with sister ship Disney Wonder following in 1999. Then came the larger Disney Dream in 2011 and Disney Fantasy in 2012. A decade later came the first of its new class of ship, Disney Wish, in 2022, which will be joined by Disney Treasure this year.
Another class of ship, Disney Adventure, is set to debut in 2025 and sail out of Singapore. That vessel will be the largest in the DCL fleet coming in at 208,000 gross tons. It was originally being constructed a the Global Dream ship for the Genting Hong Kong holding group that sold off assets as part of a bankruptcy filing.
A ninth ship in the fleet, also a Wish-class vessel, will be operated out of Japan starting in 2029 under an agreement with the company that runs Disney’s theme parks in the country.
All Wish-class ships are slightly larger than Disney Dream and Fantasy. They come in at 144,000 gross tons, but still with a target maximum capacity of around 4,000. All run on liquefied natural gas, a cleaner burning fuel the cruise lines have been using in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.