Disney Cruise Line just released a ton of info on the Disney Believe during a live event, and the new ship is bringing a surprising amount of original material to the Wish-class family.
The Disney Believe will begin sailing from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale with her maiden voyage set for December 18, 2027. The ship will operate four- and five-night cruises to the Bahamas and Caribbean, with bookings opening to the general public on October 19, 2026.
Yes, Fort Lauderdale will get a brand new Disney ship, while Port Canaveral will have to find a way to process this news.
The Believe will be Disney Cruise Line’s fourth Wish-class ship and the ninth ship in its overall fleet. It will share its basic size and layout with the Disney Wish, Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny, but Disney is giving it a collection of new restaurants, lounges and entertainment inspired by Moana, Frozen, Encanto, Snow White, The Little Mermaid and several other films.
Here is everything Disney has confirmed so far.
Disney Believe at a Glance
The essential details are:
- Maiden voyage: December 18, 2027
- Homeport: Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Initial itineraries: Four- and five-night Bahamas and Caribbean cruises
- General booking date: October 19, 2026
- Ship class: Wish class
- Fleet position: Disney Cruise Line’s ninth ship
- Shipyard: Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany
- Opening cruise director: Trent Hitchcock
Disney has not yet released the complete itinerary list, introductory pricing or the mix of calls at Disney Castaway Cay and Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. Those details are important because a four-night itinerary can feel very different depending on whether it includes Nassau, one of Disney’s island destinations or both.
The Ship’s Theme Is Believing in What Comes Next
The Disney Believe is built around the ideas of promise, possibility and looking beyond the horizon. Disney says its featured stories will focus on characters who believe in themselves, their dreams or the possibility of a better tomorrow.
That is a fairly broad theme, even by Disney standards. Still, it gives the company room to use everything from Moana and Encanto to Snow White and Peter Pan.
The ship’s central Grand Hall will be themed to Moana and the Pacific Islands. The space will include a carpet designed in shades of the ocean, constellations across the ceiling and railings inspired by the patterns on Moana’s skirt.
Its chandelier will mimic the movement of the ocean and conceal the heart of Te Fiti. A statue of Moana, Pua and Heihei will serve as the space’s main character feature.
The Grand Hall is also expected to function as an entertainment venue, following the model used aboard the Disney Wish, Treasure and Destiny.
Oaken’s Table Will Be the Ship’s New Frozen Restaurant
The most important new dining announcement is Oaken’s Table: A Frozen Family Feast.
Guests will enter a Scandinavian-inspired summer courtyard where Oaken and his extended family are hosting a celebration. Disney says the meal will include reimagined songs from Frozen along with appearances by Anna and Kristoff.
The concept sounds closer to Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure aboard the Disney Wish than to a conventional character meal. Disney has not yet released the menu, so we do not know whether it will lean toward Nordic dishes, familiar cruise food or a carefully negotiated peace treaty between the two.
Disney also confirmed that 1923 and Worlds of Marvel will return on the Believe. Together, these are the three family restaurants Disney has announced for the ship:
- Oaken’s Table: A Frozen Family Feast
- Worlds of Marvel
- 1923
The return of Worlds of Marvel and 1923 is not especially surprising. Both restaurants have already been reused across multiple Wish-class ships, allowing Disney to introduce one new rotational dining restaurants while retaining two familiar concepts.
A Snow White Lounge Called Wishing Well
Disney Believe will introduce Wishing Well, an adult lounge inspired by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The venue will be divided into three areas. One section will resemble a gothic castle bar with stained-glass details. Another will evoke a courtyard filled with white blossoms, red apples and colors inspired by Snow White’s dress.
A performance area will feature wooden framing designed to recall the dwarfs’ cottage.
Disney has not yet shared the complete drink menu or explained how much live entertainment the lounge will offer. The concept, however, sounds like one of the more elaborate adult spaces announced for the ship.
The Little Mermaid Gets a Piano Lounge
Sea Notes will be a piano lounge inspired by Ariel’s grotto from The Little Mermaid.
The venue will feature a pearlescent piano, nostalgic music and an underwater-inspired setting. Disney says it will serve cocktails and nonalcoholic beverages.
This appears to be one of the ship’s quieter evening venues, which could be welcome on a class of ships that sometimes prioritizes heavily themed rooms over places where passengers can simply sit with a drink.
The precise entertainment schedule has not been announced.
Skygazers Will Be the Believe’s Pub
Skygazers will be an observatory-themed pub filled with astronomical instruments, maps and references to Disney stories involving wishes.
The pub will serve craft beer, cocktails and light bites while showing live sporting events.
That description suggests it will fill a role similar to Keg & Compass on the Disney Wish, although Disney has given the Believe’s version a theme that connects more directly with the ship’s promise-and-possibility concept.
Zootopia Is Getting an Entertainment Hub
Gazelle will be a Zootopia-inspired entertainment venue for families during the day and adults at night.
Disney says Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde will appear aboard a Disney Cruise Line ship for the first time in a new family detective show. Details about the show’s plot, schedule and audience participation have not yet been released.
The venue’s name is presumably a reference to Gazelle, the pop star voiced by Shakira in the Zootopia films.
Gazelle will become an adult-exclusive space later in the evening, continuing Disney’s practice of letting some family venues perform double duty after younger passengers head to bed.
Inside Out Returns With More Emotions and More Ice Cream
Joyful Sweets, the Inside Out dessert shop previously introduced aboard the Disney Treasure, will return on Disney Believe.
The Believe version will be updated with characters from Inside Out 2. Anxiety, Envy and Sense of Self will join Joy and Sadness in the shop’s décor.
The venue will offer nearly 20 flavors of gelato and ice cream, handcrafted gelato specials and signature sweets.
It is a visually clever venue, although guests should remember that these treats cost extra. Joy may be included. The gelato is not.
Two New Cafés Are Coming
Disney Believe will have two themed specialty coffee locations.
Big Hero Sips will be inspired by Big Hero 6 and the world of San Fransokyo. Café Kakamora will use the tiny coconut-armored pirates from Moana as its theme.
Both locations will serve coffee, tea and specialty beverages. Disney has not yet published menus or pricing.
These venues appear to occupy the same general role as the themed coffee bars found aboard the other Wish-class ships.
Disney Believe Will Debut an Encanto Stage Musical
Disney Believe will present the first stage adaptation of Encanto created for Disney Cruise Line.
The new production will follow Mirabel as she works to save her family and the magical Casita. Disney says the show will draw from Colombian culture, costuming and dance while using songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
That includes “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” because putting Encanto onstage and leaving out its biggest song would be a strange way to start a mutiny.
Disney has not announced the show’s official title, full running time or which characters will appear. It is nevertheless one of the Believe’s most significant original attractions and will be exclusive to the ship when it debuts.
Tangled: The Musical Is Moving to the Believe
Tangled: The Musical will transfer from the Disney Magic to Disney Believe.
The production will receive a reimagined set and updated theatrical effects for its new home. It will continue to tell the story of Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Mother Gothel and the journey to see the floating lanterns.
Moving the show gives Disney a proven production with familiar music while freeing the company from building an entirely original second musical for the Believe.
Disney Seas the Adventure will also return as one of the ship’s theatrical productions.
Based on the information released so far, the Believe’s announced stage lineup consists of:
- A new Encanto musical
- Tangled: The Musical
- Disney Seas the Adventure
Staterooms Will Feature Moana, Coco and Inside Out
Standard Disney Believe staterooms will contain papercut-style Disney artwork. Announced themes include Moana, Coco and Inside Out.
Most rooms will feature Disney’s split-bathroom design, allowing one guest to use the shower while another uses the separate toilet and sink. Cabins will also have raised beds with luggage storage underneath.
Disney says 70% of the ship’s staterooms will have verandahs, while more than 450 connecting doors will be available for families traveling together.
Those numbers reinforce that the ship is being designed heavily around families and multigenerational groups, which is not exactly a plot twist for Disney Cruise Line.
Concierge Rooms and Two Royal Suites
Concierge staterooms will feature themes based on Peter Pan and Neverland.
Special oceanview concierge rooms located above the ship’s bridge will instead use a Toy Story theme. These unusual forward-facing rooms have appeared on other Wish-class ships and provide expansive views through angled windows.
Disney Believe will also have two-story royal suites:
- The Royal Reef Suite, inspired by The Little Mermaid
- The Royal Rose Suite, inspired by Beauty and the Beast
Disney has not yet revealed full floor plans, prices or the specific decorative differences between the one- and two-bedroom configurations.
The Believe Tower Suite Will Sleep Eight
The Disney Believe’s most elaborate accommodation will be the Believe Tower Suite.
The two-story suite will be built inside the ship’s forward funnel and accommodate as many as eight passengers. Its rooms will be themed to lands found at Magic Kingdom, with decorative elements including fireworks-inspired lighting, hot-air balloons and artwork depicting Cinderella Castle.
As on other Wish-class ships, the funnel suite will be the largest and almost certainly the most expensive accommodation aboard.
Disney has not announced its introductory price. If you have to ask, Mickey has some bad news.
Haunted Mansion Parlor Is Coming Back
The Haunted Mansion Parlor will return aboard Disney Believe.
Disney says the Believe version will offer new “ghoulish” drinks, but it has not yet revealed the complete menu or explained whether the storyline and special effects will differ from the versions aboard Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny.
The announcement makes the Believe the third ship expected to feature the Haunted Mansion lounge concept.
That is either good news for fans who have struggled to get inside the busy venue or further evidence that Disney has discovered a successful idea and intends to clone it until every happy haunt has a beverage package.
What Disney Has Not Announced Yet
For such a large reveal, several questions remain unanswered.
Disney has not yet provided:
- Complete itineraries and individual sailing dates
- Introductory cruise fares
- Castaway Club early-booking dates
- The frequency of visits to Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay
- The Believe’s complete adult dining lineup
- Full menus for Oaken’s Table and the ship’s lounges
- Details about the pool deck and water attractions
- Complete youth-club information
- Spa and fitness facilities
- Nursery details
- The complete list of shops
- Port transportation and terminal details for Fort Lauderdale
Disney also has not said whether every familiar Wish-class feature will return unchanged. The absence of a venue from the first announcement does not necessarily mean it has been removed.
More details will almost certainly arrive before reservations open and throughout construction.
Disney Believe Is Already Under Construction
The Disney Believe is being constructed at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
Its first large hull section, known as a gigablock, was floated on September 18, 2026. Disney held the ship’s keel-laying ceremony on October 5, marking another traditional construction milestone.
Trent Hitchcock has been named the opening cruise director.
Considerable work remains before the December 2027 maiden voyage. The ship must be assembled, floated out of the enclosed shipyard, transported along the narrow Ems River and completed through sea trials and final outfitting.
Why the Fort Lauderdale Deployment Matters
The decision to base Disney Believe in Fort Lauderdale gives Port Everglades another major Disney Cruise Line commitment.
Short four- and five-night cruises are especially accessible to families who cannot commit to a full week aboard. They also allow Disney to offer more frequent departures and package its private destinations into relatively simple itineraries.
The tradeoff is that these cruises can feel rushed. A four-night sailing offers limited time to explore a large ship, particularly one with multiple stage shows, rotational restaurants, lounges and family activities.
The deployment also strengthens Disney’s presence in South Florida instead of concentrating its newest ships entirely at Port Canaveral.
Disney Believe begins sailing from Fort Lauderdale on December 18, 2027. Reservations open to the general public on October 19, 2026.
