The Disney Wonder is back in service after a 14-day dry dock, and Disney Cruise Line just pulled back the curtain on what happened in the shipyard. Crews finished more than 100 projects across the ship, laid over 12 miles of new carpet, and rolled on a new sustainable hull coating. Nearly 1,000 crew members and cast members worked on it.
For scale, Disney says that much carpet runs the length of 46 basketball courts, and the hull coating covers the equivalent of 10 football fields. Each ship in the fleet gets a dry dock about every five years for inspections and maintenance, and Disney uses that same window to refresh guest spaces.
The Wonder wasn’t alone. The Disney Fantasy and Disney Magic went through their own updates recently, and the three ships share one change guests will notice right away.
What changed on the Disney Fantasy and Disney Magic?
The Disney Fantasy received Ramone’s Cantina, a Cars-inspired quick service dining location, updates to Senses Spa & Salon, and the new Fantasy Tower Suite inspired by Fantasia. Below the waterline, the Fantasy got a new bulbous bow, while the Magic and Wonder received advanced hull coatings. Disney says both changes improve performance and help minimize environmental impact.
Across all three ships, the Edge club for tweens now has a new color scheme and modular pieces that can be rearranged for different activities. Crew spaces got attention too, including a reimagined crew dining location.
Why does Disney Cruise Line refresh ships this way?
Tracy Wilson, senior vice president and general manager of Disney Cruise Line Operations, says every enhancement starts with one question: “How can we make the guest experience better?” She added that the investments “are designed to build upon the experiences our guests already know and love while adding thoughtful, new touches that make vacations even more memorable.”
Wilson says innovation isn’t limited to new ships, and every vessel in the Disney Cruise Line fleet gets evaluated and updated on an ongoing basis. Disney says nearly 90 percent of its cruise guests rate their experience as “excellent.”
Walt Disney Imagineering is part of every dry dock. “Every dry dock is an opportunity to reinvigorate spaces with new magic by responding to how guests use areas of the ships,” said Alexis Cummins, creative director, Walt Disney Imagineering. The Imagineers plan how each refreshed space can become more immersive and more functional, not just how it looks.
Marine and technical teams, designers, Imagineers, and crew members work around the clock during the dry dock to finish hundreds of tasks before guests come back aboard.
What to know: If you’re sailing on the Wonder, Fantasy, or Magic, expect refreshed spaces and a redesigned Edge club for tweens.
Source: Disney Experiences
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