''Disney Fantasy'' is the fourth
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
owned and operated by
Disney Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through the first vessel, ''Disney Magic'' and is domiciled in London, England ...
, a subsidiary of
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, which entered service in 2012. Her sister ship, ''
Disney Dream
The ''Disney Dream'' is the third cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line, part of The Walt Disney Company. She is the first of the ''Dream''-class. She currently sails three-day, four-day, and occasional five-day cruises to the Bahamas. The ...
'', was launched in 2011. ''Disney Fantasy'' is the second ship of the Dream-class. The other four ships that are part of the entire fleet are the ''
Disney Magic
''Disney Magic'' is the first cruise ship owned and operated by Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. She has 11 public decks, can accommodate 2,700 passengers in 875 staterooms, and has a crew of approximately 950. The int ...
'', ''
Disney Wonder
''Disney Wonder'' is a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line. She was the second ship to join the Disney fleet on entering service in 1999. ''Disney Wonder'' is of the same class as . The other three ships in the fleet are the , , and . The ...
'', ''
Disney Dream
The ''Disney Dream'' is the third cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line, part of The Walt Disney Company. She is the first of the ''Dream''-class. She currently sails three-day, four-day, and occasional five-day cruises to the Bahamas. The ...
'', and ''
Disney Wish
''Disney Wish'' is the fifth and newest cruise ship owned and operated by Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. She is the largest ship in the fleet and the first of the ''Triton''-class. She entered service in June 2022 ...
''.
History
In February 2007, Disney Cruise Line announced that it had commissioned two new ships for its fleet with
Meyer Werft
Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...
shipyards in Papenburg, Germany. The first steel-cut, for scrollwork on the ship's hull, took place in March 2009. Later that month, the two ships were named, with the ''Disney Fantasy'' set to enter service on March 31, 2012, a little over a year after its sister vessel, the ''
Disney Dream
The ''Disney Dream'' is the third cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line, part of The Walt Disney Company. She is the first of the ''Dream''-class. She currently sails three-day, four-day, and occasional five-day cruises to the Bahamas. The ...
''.
The ship's keel was laid on February 11, 2011.
Disney Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through the first vessel, ''Disney Magic'' and is domiciled in London, England ...
president,
Karl Holz, along with
Minnie Mouse
Minnie Mouse is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a bow, polka-dotted dress, white bloomers, and low-heeled shoes occasionally w ...
, officially placed a magic coin beneath the ship's hull. The coin is identical to that which was placed beneath the ''Disney Dream'', however, featured the hull number S688, and the date of the keel laying.
On September 13, 2011 it was announced that the
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
character on ''Disney Fantasy'' would be
Dumbo
''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...
, the Flying Elephant.
On December 9, 2011, Meyer Werft found several water lines open on the cruise ship. 48 cabins were damaged at a cost of approximately €1 million.
''Disney Fantasy'' was floated out of the building dock on January 10, 2012, at Meyer Werft. ''Disney Fantasy'' was delivered to Disney Cruise Line on February 9, 2012, in Bremerhaven, Germany.
''Disney Fantasy'' arrived in the United States for the first time, calling on New York, on February 28, 2012. The ship was formally named on March 1, 2012, in New York City. The godmother of the ship is
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
. A ceremony was held on the ship featuring performances in the Walt Disney Theatre.
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...
hosted and comedian
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...
performed during the show.
Ever since, ''Disney Fantasy'' has been based at Disney Cruise Line's terminal at
Port Canaveral, Florida
Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo, and naval port in Brevard County, Florida, Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with 4.5 million cruise passengers passing through during 2016. Over 5.4 m ...
.
and cruises to the Caribbean including visits to Disney's private island
Castaway Cay
Disney's Castaway Cay, or simply Castaway Cay (), is a private island in the Bahamas which serves as an exclusive port for the Disney Cruise Line ships. It is located near Great Abaco Island and was formerly known as Gorda Cay. In 1997, The Walt D ...
.
In March 2020, cruises were suspended due to the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic. Disney Cruise Line extended its suspension of all departures several times, finally returning ''Disney Fantasy'' to active duty on September 11, 2021. On December 30, 2021, passengers were unable to debark the ship at
St. Thomas due to a rise in COVID-19 cases on board the ship.
Facilities
''Disney Fantasy'', structurally, is almost identical to ''
Disney Dream
The ''Disney Dream'' is the third cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line, part of The Walt Disney Company. She is the first of the ''Dream''-class. She currently sails three-day, four-day, and occasional five-day cruises to the Bahamas. The ...
'', with
gross tonnage
Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weigh ...
of 130,000,
a length of and a width of .
''Disney Fantasy'' has 1,250 passenger cabins.
Her facilities include a
water coaster.
Compared to ''Disney Dream'', ''Disney Fantasy'' has a water playground with pop jets, geysers and bubblers featuring
Huey, Dewey and Louie, instead of the Waves bar on the pool deck.
''Disney Fantasy'' can play songs from Disney movies and parks using its horns, specifically: "
A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" is a song written and composed by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston for the Walt Disney film ''Cinderella'' (1950). In the song, Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods) encourages her animal friends to n ...
" from ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', "
Be Our Guest
"Be Our Guest" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken for Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991). Recorded by American actor Jerry Orbach and English actress Angela Lansbury ...
" from ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'', "
Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)
"Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" is the theme song for the Pirates of the Caribbean attractions at Disney theme parks. The music was written by George Bruns with lyrics by Xavier Atencio.
Versions
* 1992: The song was parodied in a promotional ...
" from ''
Pirates of the Caribbean
''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with th ...
'', the ''
Pinocchio
Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
'' songs "
When You Wish Upon a Star" and "
Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)", "
Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" is a song from the 2013 Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney 3D computer-animated musical feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', with music and lyrics composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. , ...
" from ''
Frozen'', and "
It's a Small World (After All)". In addition to these music horns, during the "Star Wars Day At Sea" the ship can sound other horns, including: "
The Imperial March
"The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" is a musical theme present in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It was composed by John Williams for the film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Together with "Yoda's Theme", "The Imperial March" was premiered on ...
" and a segment of the "
Star Wars (Main Title)", and when in New York City, can play the beginning of "
New York, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...
" by
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
.
In total, the ''Disney Fantasy'' can play 11 horns.
References
External links
Disney Cruise Line
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Ships of Disney Cruise Line
2012 ships
Ships built in Papenburg