Disney Releases Details on New Ship & Private Destination

Disney Cruise Line has shared exciting details on their fifth cruise ship (including its name!),  along with some secrets on their new private destination in the Bahamas. 

A New Ship

With a little help from Tinker Bell, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Bob Chapek revealed the name of Disney’s next ship at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California on Sunday. The fleet’s fifth ship will be named Disney Wish, and it’s scheduled to be delivered in late 2021. It will set sail beginning in January 2022. “There couldn’t be a better name for our incredible new ship because making wishes come true is part of the Disney DNA and is at the heart of so many of our cherished stories,” Chapek said.

A rendering of the atrium on the upcoming ship shows a bright and airy three-story space, inspired by the beauty of an enchanted fairytale. And like every other vessel in the fleet, Disney Wish will include a character on the stern. This time, Rapunzel will be seen painting the ship’s name, hanging safely off the ship wrapped up in her long, blond hair. 

Disney Wish is the first of three new ships in the works for Disney Cruise Line. All three will be powered by liquefied natural gas, weigh approximately 144,000 gross tons, and have 1,250 cabins.

Lighthouse Point

A new rendering has been revealed of Disney’s second private destination in the Bahamas, which we previously reported was going to be on the southern tip of Eleuthera Island at a place called Lighthouse Point.

Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde, who was the mastermind behind Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, has embarked on an in-depth cultural tour of the Bahamas to meet with local artists and cultural experts to aid in the process of designing the look and feel of Lighthouse Point. “The Lighthouse Point site is so beautiful and so full of nature that we want to preserve this and use our designs to call attention to the extraordinary quality of the place itself – a place of natural beauty with a rich and fascinating cultural tradition,” Rohde said. “We will be directly involved in conservation efforts to preserve and protect the environment that creates this beauty, and we will be working with artists of every kind, much like we did with Aulani in Hawaii, to create a unique destination that is rooted in Bahamian culture and imbued with Disney magic.”

Since completing their purchase of Lighthouse Point, Disney has committed to develop less than 20 percent of the property, use sustainable building practices, establish environmental monitoring programs during construction and operation, and donate over 190 acres of privately owned land to the government. Construction at Lighthouse Point will begin after an Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan are reviewed and accepted by the Government of the Bahamas and a public consultation has occurred. Construction should begin in 2020, and the destination will be completed and ready for Disney’s ships in late 2022 or 2023.