Disney Cruise Line
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Disney Cruise Line | |
Industry | Hospitality, Tourism |
Founded | 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited 1998 as Disney Cruise Line |
Headquarters | Celebration, Florida, United States and London, England, United Kingdom |
Area served
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Alaska and the Pacific Coast, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Europe |
Key people
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Karl Holz, President |
Services | Cruise line |
Parent | The Walt Disney Company |
Website | Disney Cruise Line |
Footnotes / references [1] |
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[2] and is domiciled in London, England, with their operational headquarters located in Celebration, Florida.[1][3] The President is Karl Holz.[4]
Disney Cruise Line currently operates four ships: Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy.[5] Disney Cruise Line also owns Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas designed as an exclusive port of call for Disney's ships.[6] Disney Cruise Line operates the Disney Cruise Line Terminal in Port Canaveral, Florida, which is the home port for Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. Disney Magic is homeported in Galveston, Texas, Barcelona, Spain, and Miami, Florida, while Disney Wonder is homeported in Vancouver, and Miami, Florida. In 2012, it is estimated Disney Cruise Lines will own nearly 3% share of the worldwide cruise market.[7]
Disney Cruise Line offers a variety of destinations including; Europe, the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, Alaska & United States Pacific Coast, Canada and New England, The Bahamas, and transatlantic destinations.[8]
Contents
History
Disney Cruise Line was created in 1995 when Walt Disney Company commissioned Disney Magic and Disney Wonder from Fincantieri in Italy, ending the company's arrangement with Premier Cruise Line for the maritime segment of its vacation packages.[9] Disney had contracted Premier Cruise Line to provide cruise vacations in the 1980s, also sailing from Port Canaveral. The ships were similarly marketed as family vacations and featured costumed Disney Characters.[10]
In 2007, Disney announced the building of two new cruise ships.[11] Disney Fantasy set sail in 2012, while Disney Dream set sail in Jan 2011.[5][12][13] Meyer Werft shipyard, based in Papenburg, Germany, built the new ships.[14]
Fleet
Current
Ship | Passenger capacity | Entered service | Godmother | Homeport | Gross Tonnage | Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Disney Magic | 2,400 | July 30, 1998 | Patricia Disney | Copenhagen, Denmark / Dover, England / Miami, Fl / Barcelona, Spain / New York, New York / San Juan, Puerto Rico / Port Canaveral, Fl | 83,338 GT | currently in Miami, sailing various itineraries. | |
Disney Wonder | 2,400 | August 15, 1999 | Tinker Bell | Vancouver, Canada / San Diego, California/ Galveston, Texas / Miami, Fl / San Juan, Puerto Rico / Port Canaveral, Fl | 85,000 GT | currently sailing Mexico cruises. Will move to Galveston in November. | ![]() |
Disney Dream | 4,000 | January 26, 2011 | Jennifer Hudson | Port Canaveral, FL | 129,690 GT | 3-, 4-, and occasional 5- Night Bahamas Cruises. | ![]() |
Disney Fantasy | 4,000 | March 31, 2012 | Mariah Carey | Port Canaveral, FL | 129,690 GT | Alternating 7-Night Eastern & Western Caribbean Cruises. | ![]() |

Disney Magic began operation July 30, 1998.[15] Disney Wonder began operation August 15, 1999. They are 294 m (965 ft) long and 32.22 m (105.7 ft) wide. The ships each contain 875 staterooms[16] and are not identical in their design, with a lot of variations in interior design, restaurants and entertainment venues. Both contain areas designed exclusively for various age groups, including children, teenagers, and adults. Current routes are Alaska, Bahamas, Caribbean and Europe, depending on the ship.
The ships are the first in the industry to be designed and built from the keel up as family cruise liners, with the goal of accommodating parents and children. Unlike most ships of their type, they do not include casinos. Disney ships also feature ship's horns which play the opening seven-note theme When You Wish Upon a Star from Disney's Pinocchio, in addition to the traditional horn.[17] The line's two new ships expand on these tunes to include: "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (Cinderella), "Be Our Guest" (Beauty and the Beast), "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" (Pirates of the Caribbean), "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)" (Pinocchio), and "It's a Small World".[18]
Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy entered service in January 2011 and March 2012, respectively. These new 129,690-ton ships are 339.5 m (1,114 ft) long and 36.8 m (121 ft) wide. They are 2 decks taller than Disney Magic and Disney Wonder and have 1,250 staterooms each.[19]
With the arrival of Disney Dream in 2011, Disney Wonder was relocated to Los Angeles,[20] and with the arrival of Disney Fantasy in 2012, Disney Magic was relocated to New York City in May 2012 for only the Summer season, before relocating to Galveston, Texas.[21]
Future Operations
Disney Cruise Line has negotiated with the Port Canaveral port authority and has extended their contract until 2023.[22] As part of this contract, the port authority expanded and upgraded the dock in order to accommodate the new ships (both of which will be home-ported there), the terminal will be enlarged to accommodate more passengers and luggage, and a parking garage was built.[23] Both Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy have departed from Port Canaveral.[14]
In late 2012, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder began sailing cruises out of Galveston, Texas and Miami, Florida, respectively.[24][25] In Summer 2013, Disney Magic will relocate to Barcelona, Spain[24] and Disney Wonder will relocate to Vancouver, British Columbia.[26] In Fall 2013, Magic and Wonder will return to the United States of America but switch home ports, with the Magic leaving out of Miami and Wonder leaving out of Galveston.[24][27] In January 2014, Wonder will take over for Magic in Miami and Magic will join Dream and Fantasy in Port Canaveral, placing all four ships in the state of Florida for the first time.[3][28]
Executive Management
Current
Position | Name | Notes |
---|---|---|
President of Disney Cruise Line | Karl Holz | Also oversees Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, and Aulani. Previously served as president of Disney Cruise Line 2003-2004 and as Chairman and CEO of Euro Disney SCA 2004-2009. |
Senior Vice President of Operations | Anthony Connelly | Former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Disney Parks and Resorts. Effective Feb. 1, 2013, Anthony replaced Tom Wolber as "COO" of cruise line. |
Vice President of Hotel Operations | Ozer Balli | |
Manager of Island Recreation and Shore Excursions | Larry Stauffer | |
Director of Marine and Security Operations | Russel Daya | |
Vice President of Marine and Technical Operations | Bert Swets | |
Director of Finance | Jim Woodhouse | |
Director of Purchasing and Logistics | Tony Wills |
Former
Position | Name | Notes |
---|---|---|
President of Disney Cruise Line 2004-2009 | Tom McAlpin | Previously director of corporate and financial planning for Royal Caribbean International. |
President of Disney Cruise Line 2003-2004 | Karl Holz | Current president of Disney Cruise Line and New Vacation Operations, which includes Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, and Aulani. Chairman and CEO of Euro Disney SCA from 2004-2009. |
President of Disney Cruise Line 1999-2003 | Matt Ouimet | President of the Disneyland Resort 2003-2006. Current president and CEO of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. |
President of Disney Cruise Line 1994-1999 | Arthur Rodney | Founder and former president of Crystal Cruises from 1987-1994. |
References
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External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
Disney Cruise Line travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Disney Cruise Line
- DCL News
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