The Walt Disney Company loves to tell a great story. It’s something they’ve been really good at for over 100 years. In 1955, Disney’s storytelling prowess leapt from the movie theater screen and into the physical world with the opening of Disneyland. Since then, the company’s immersive storytelling continues to evolve and take on many forms, from dark rides and live stage shows to highly themed restaurants and bars.
The latest iteration of Disney’s proclivity to put the guest experience at the center of great storytelling is the Disney Destiny, the seventh ship to join the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Your voyage puts you in the middle of the most timeless story of all: heroes and villains. This theme manifests in multiple ways across the Destiny, from epic superhero conflicts to subtler nods in the details around the ship.
The result is a truly unique cruising experience, one that fully commits to its theme in ways we have yet to see aboard a Disney Cruise Line vessel. I was invited by Disney Cruise Line to experience the Disney Destiny ahead of its maiden voyage, and here’s what some of that experience was like.
The Marvel of it all
In the months leading up to the Disney Destiny’s launch, there has been a lot of chatter over its heroes and villains theme. As more details about the Destiny were revealed, fans noticed a pattern: a Black Panther-themed Grand Hall featuring a statue of T’Challa, Spider-Man swinging across the ship’s stern, a Doctor Strange-themed lounge, and even a red cape-clad Superhero Minnie Mouse.
“Wait,” you might be thinking. “Is this…a Marvel ship?”
I’ll be honest: I had that exact question before my cruise began, and it gave me some pause. Not that I take issue with Marvel (I’m rather fond of most of what Marvel Studios puts out), but I was concerned that Disney would be limiting the ship’s potential to focus just on Marvel, especially when Disney has an unparalleled deep well of other stories to draw from.
Don’t worry, Disney knows this. Calling the Disney Destiny a Marvel ship overlooks a massive swath of what you can experience onboard. It is worth noting that several characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe play a sizable role throughout your voyage in a way that’s nearly impossible to avoid.
The Disney Destiny is not a Marvel ship, but you’ll get more Marvel here than on any other Disney Cruise Line ship. MCU fans, this one is definitely for you. But if you’d rather stick to stories straight from the Walt Disney Animation Studios or Disney Experiences, there’s more than enough to fill a voyage.
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Disney’s most ambitious character experiences yet
As it turns out, Disney’s big swing with the Destiny doesn’t have to do with the increased presence of Marvel characters. Rather, it’s the total commitment to reinventing the character experiences passengers are accustomed to.
The onboard character interactions – “meet and play” experiences rather than “meet and greets” – are what set the Disney Destiny apart from not only all other Disney Cruise Line ships, but from all of the Disney theme parks as well.
Throughout the media preview sailing, I heard multiple people compare the Disney Destiny to Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, the short-lived immersive overnight experience at Walt Disney World that took live-action role-playing to a whole new level. While the Destiny doesn’t tread anywhere near that level of “LARP-ing,” I can see the similarities: you, the guest, play an important role in the story that’s woven through the cruise.
That story features two original characters, Zayah and Gamble, who frequently appear around Disney Destiny. Their “main stage,” as it were, is the Grand Hall, where much of the Destiny’s story takes place.
For example, early on in the itinerary, the God of Mischief himself, Loki, takes over one of Zayah and Gamble’s story times (and subsequently the entire ship) and names himself king. Rather than have a short stage show that ends there, the story breaks the fourth wall as Loki greets his new subjects (that’s us, the passengers on board). It’s not a traditional character interaction where you wait in a line; Loki will gladly approach you as he roams around the Grand Hall.
Storytelling moments like this are frequent throughout the 3- or 4-night itineraries the Disney Destiny is currently scheduled to sail. In “Treble Making With Cruella,” passengers brainstorm with Cruella de Vil to come up with a new theme song (because that old one Roger wrote about her in 101 Dalmatians is a little unfair, don’t you think?). As luck would have it, De Vil’s, the first-ever villain-themed space at sea where this all takes place, is a piano bar, and there’s a musician seated at the piano ready to compose the new song with you.
Another character encounter that’s sure to be one of the most popular is Dr. Facilier’s Parlor. This limited-capacity experience brings guests face-to-face with Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog for a sleight-of-hand card-trick magic show. The Cruella Fashion Show is another interactive experience where passengers can strut up and down the runway where Cruella herself is the judge.
Calling these character experiences fun is putting it mildly. It changes what we know as character meet-and-greets – something that has been integral to the Disney parks and cruise ships for decades – and transforms them into a new kind of Disney entertainment: part immersive theatre, part theme park attraction, and part viral social media content. In that sense, it very much does harken back to some of the concepts of Galactic Starcruiser, only this time you can come as you are.
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Disney Cruise Line’s legacy continues
If what I just described so far seems too much and you’d rather kick back and relax, I have good news. You aren’t at all forced to take part in these character interactions (pro tip: the balconies above the Grand Hall provide excellent viewing for the various happenings, plus they provide a safe distance from otherwise coerced audience participation). If you want a more traditional Disney Cruise Line experience, the Disney Destiny delivers in spades.
All of the classic features of Disney Cruise Line can be found aboard the Destiny. Rotational dining brings you and your family to one of three restaurants nightly: 1923, Worlds of Marvel, and Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King, a new restaurant exclusive to the Disney Destiny. Pride Lands, in particular, is a standout dining experience with an African-inspired menu and stellar vocal renditions of those oh-so-hummable songs from The Lion King. Do not skip this one.
At night, you’re invited to the Walt Disney Theater to enjoy Broadway-style stage shows, including Disney Hercules, a new and fresh adaptation of the 1997 animated film exclusive to the Destiny. It doesn’t get more “heroes and villains” than the timeless story of Hercules and Hades, two of the most iconic Disney characters from their respective categories.
If you want to admire the heroes and villains theme with some degree of separation, there are plenty of details and Easter eggs to find. The ship itself is divided into the two factions, with the forward staircase landings and elevator lobbies featuring artwork and carpets dedicated to villains, and the aft dedicated to heroes.
Expert Disney cruisers, especially those already familiar with the Wish class ships, will already know how to structure their day: coffee from Cove Cafe, lunch at Marceline’s Market, drop the little ones off at Oceaneer’s Club, enjoy adult-exclusive dining at Palo or Enchanté, spend relaxation time at Senses Spa, etc. There’s still endless soft serve ice cream, there are chicken tenders, and there is Castaway Cay. In many ways, you can completely dip in and out of the heroes and villains trope as you see fit.
The Destiny’s grand finale on the last night of the itinerary brought us face-to-face one more time with the heroes and villains that shaped our throughout the 3-night sailing. There was thunderous applause throughout the Grand Hall as it gave us the chance to give one final ovation to the Cast Members, the true magic behind making the voyage so memorable.
Whether you went full-throttle in interacting with the characters as much as possible or you chose to play the role of the curious bystander, you’ll debark and head home knowing that you just experienced something unique and truly different from what Disney Cruise Line has offered in the past.
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Disclosure: I was invited by Disney Cruise Line to attend a hosted media preview sailing of the Disney Destiny. When I attend events as invited media, I am not required to review that event on my channels, nor am I required to review that event favorably. My goal, as with all of my coverage, is to provide an unbiased and honest recap of any event I attend. This includes coverage where I pay full price for my own travel as well as hosted events. Thank you for your support!
Disney Cruise Line’s New Ship Invites Fans to Step Into Their Destiny was originally published on The World of Spark.
