PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — Disney Cruise Line’s new ship Disney Wish sailed into Port Canaveral for the first time Monday morning to the delight of fans let into Jetty Park to witness its arrival.
The first new ship in the DCL fleet in more than 10 years arrived to its new home port around 5 a.m. sailing by hundreds of fans who either woke up early, or didn’t sleep at all for the ship’s predawn arrival. With lightning in the background and under a moonlit cloudy sky, the pier was eerily silent despite the lines of people. The waves crashing along the pier were only interrupted by the sound of a buzzing drone flying overhead, but then the hoots and cheers of crew on board as the ship sailed by were met in kind with hollers of welcome from the crowd.
Then the ship blew its horn to the tune of “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Cinderella and the crowd shouted even more.
Shelly Thomas and Nicole Dugan or Orlando are Disney Cruise Line super fans having sailed on all four of the other ships, and are booked for its inaugural sailing on July 14.
“We just wanted to be one of the first ones to see it as she comes home,” said Thomas, who has been on 47 Disney cruises since 1999. “We’re really excited for that first day just to be able to walk around the ship and see what’s new.”
Theo Arnold of Tampa sporting a Captain Mickey T-Shirt was talking excitedly about the ship with fellow pier mates with a caffeinated glee.
“I got myself out of bed at 1 in the morning and just drove over. I didn’t go to sleep. I tried to, but got maybe 20 minutes,” he said. “I’ve only ever been on Disney. I mean I’ve thought about going on other ones, but when I go to book it, I’m just like I’ve got to come back to Disney.”
It arrived to North America after making the transatlantic voyage from Europe, having officially been handed over to the cruise line on June 9 by shipbuilders Meyer Werft who have been constructing the 144,000-gross-ton vessel since 2020.
The ship’s christening won’t be until June 29, and inaugural sailing with passengers not until July 14, but the first of DCL’s new Trident class of vessels pulled alongside Disney’s Cruise Terminal 8 after 6 a.m.
The port opened up Jetty Park at 4 a.m. to those who wanted to catch the first stateside glimpse of the Wish, which will be taking over the three- and four-night short Bahamas voyages that had been handled by Disney Dream. That ship left Port Canaveral after more than a decade calling it home earlier in June to make way for the new ship.
Dream’s sister ship Disney Fantasy will remain at the port for mostly seven-night Caribbean sailings.
Disney Wish is the first of three sister ships coming to the fleet, larger than the older vessels but still with a 4,000-passenger capacity like Dream and Fantasy.
It has the look and feel of its sister ships, but with its own signature offerings from stern character Rapunzel from “Tangled” to the new water coaster that also features a dark ride snaking around the top deck called the AquaMouse.
The lights on AquaMouse blared like a Vegas billboard as the ship made its way into port before the sunrise.
Inside offerings include dining venues based on “Frozen” and Marvel, both with interactive shows while Star Wars will get its first adult-themed space on a Disney ship with the Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge.
The popular Oceaneer Club with play spaces for kids ages 3-12 will feature its own Marvel Super Hero Academy seen on other ships along with spaces called Star Wars: Cargo Bay, Fairytale Hall and Walt Disney Imagineering Lab, the first time Disney Imagineering has been highlighted on board a DCL vessel.
The ship will debut a new version of “The Little Mermaid” on stage while bringing back a version of “Disney’s Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular” as well as an original production called “Disney Seas the Adventure.”
The ship only got its first taste of water on Feb. 11 when it was floated out for the first time. Wish left the shipyard in March and has since been completing sea trials in the North Sea in Europe. It was originally planned to have had a January debut but that fell victim to industry-wide delays during the COVID-19 pandemic. A planned June debut was delayed a further six weeks after the pandemic’s resurgence last fall.
