“Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.” Those are the first words you see when you enter Disneyland in California, but they might as well be scrawled across the nose of Disney’s newest cruise ship. The newly launched Disney Treasure is the sixth ship in Disney’s growing cruise line fleet and the first to fully embrace the idea of creating true theme park magic at sea.
Walt Disney Imagineering first looked to theme parks for inspiration when designing their ship, and the result was something completely new. Aboard Disney Treasure, guests can immerse themselves in immersive interpretations of iconic Disney parks such as Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and 20,000 Leagues Underwater.
“Coming from Imagineering, the division that created the rides, we wanted to be authentic to the rides,” Walt Disney Imagineer Jason Roberts told reporters during a preview of the Treasure ship that departed earlier this month. “We wanted guests to feel like the attraction is here and you’re a part of it.”
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Haunted Mansion – Try the spirits
Undoubtedly, the “Treasures of Disney” location that everyone is dying to go to is the Haunted Mansion Parlor, a bar inspired by the beloved iconic attraction in the Haunted Mansion park. Imagineer Danny Handke, creative director of the Haunted Mansion Parlor, began his two-decade career at Disney working on Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. He says the heart of any good theme park attraction is the story, and the Haunted Mansion Parlor extends the haunted mansion narrative to the sea.
Handke explained that the haunted saloon once belonged to a ship captain who entered “foreign regions” after taking his bride-to-be. While guests sip on the ghostly spirit, they are entertained by segments of the show where legendary characters from Haunted Mansion World Park come out to chat. Fans will recognize Madame Leota, the Hitchhiker’s Ghost and the ghost host himself.
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To create the haunted mansion, Handke dug into the archives to look at original ride designs created by legendary Disney illustrator Roly Crump. The centerpiece of the haunted mansion is a fish tank with ghost fish swimming around. The aquarium was an original design by Rollie Crump for the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, which ended up not being an attraction. The “melting face” bust to the left of the parlor fireplace is none other than Roly Crump himself.
Sitting in the Haunted Mansion, it’s easy to forget you’re on a cruise ship and being transported back to a Disney park.
Skipper Society offers drink specials and It’s bad Joke’s dad
Just off the atrium is the jungle cruise-style Skipper Society Lounge. Similar to the Jungle Navigation Co. dining room. LTD Skipper Canteen at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Skipper Society offers cocktails and snacks under a tangle of jungle foliage and canvas canopies reminiscent of Jungle Cruise steamers.
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Disney illustrators Megan Moore and Karin Poore celebrate some of their favorite plants, including hibiscus and biscus nigra, as well as a sly tribute to the pun-filled skippers who lead jungle cruises on the world’s rivers. Fun fact: Skipper photos throughout the space are project team members from Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Cruise Line.
As guests sit in camp furniture and listen to 1940s big band music like Doris Day’s “Sentimental Journey,” it’s easy to imagine yourself in Adventureland and waving goodbye to all those people on the dock. You’ll never see them again anyway…
The Periscope Pub is serving up a fairy tale whale
Disney Treasure’s Periscope Pub is a bar inspired by 20,000 Leagues Underwater, the classic Magic Kingdom Fantasyland attraction that ran from 1971 to 1994. The defunct submarine still has a fervent fan base even after it closed 30 years ago. The highlight of this place is its Jules Verne-style submarine interior and a “glass” ceiling made up of video screens to simulate the effect of being deep under the water world with fish, sharks and more swimming by.
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Periscope Pub offers cocktails, mead, wine and craft beer, including three undiscovered beers that guests can’t find anywhere else. The nautical themed bar also has some of the coolest beer tap handles I’ve ever seen.
AquaMouse attraction at sea
Those looking for a real Disney park experience, rather than just a bar inspired by the attraction, can don their swimsuits and head to the upper deck for AquaMouse: Curse of the Golden Egg. These waterslides propel two-person rafts through 760 feet of winding tubes high above the water below.
AquaMouse debuted on Disney Wish, but aboard Disney Treasure, AquaMouse introduces a new story line about Mickey and Minnie on an adventure in a mysterious temple in search of treasure. AquaMouse also includes the original Mickey Mouse shorts featured on Disney Wish.
The short ride is cute, offers a few splashes, and kids who love modern day Mickey Mouse shorts will enjoy seeing the characters on screen.
Entertainment and Shows at Disney Parks
Undoubtedly, the highlight of a Disney theme park is not only the attractions such as the Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise, but also the world filled with characters and live entertainment. Disney Treasures often features Disney characters in clothes you wouldn’t expect. Hang out in the Great Hall between early and late dinner and you’re sure to see a gathering of characters.
Do you like to eat in the park? Plaza de Coco is a movie theater dedicated to a Pixar movie Coca. The story follows Miguel three years after the events of the film and invites families to join him for a celebratory dinner with traditional Mexican food and live entertainment.
The show’s director, Juan Cantu, said he was “honored to tell the cultural story of Dia de Los Muertos and show how music healed the Miguel family after the death of Coco’s mom.” The lunchtime show was an exciting, moving experience that brought back memories of my own childhood visits to Southern California.
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Finally, the performance of The Disney Story of Moana in the Walt Disney Theater aboard Disney Treasure blew me away. This show is the best live show currently on a Disney ship. With a predominantly Asian-American and Pacific Islander cast, the set design, music and choreography pay homage to traditional Polynesian culture.
A native of Aahu, Kaena Kekoa plays Moana and was thrilled to perform in a show that celebrates the islands’ cultural heritage. Although she has never been on a cruise ship before, Kekoa enjoys “telling the story of the ocean on the ocean.” Kaena Kekoa also shares the stage with the towering puppets, the largest ever created for a Disney Cruise Line show by Broadway puppet master Michael Curry.
It is visually stunning when Moana meets and is dwarfed by the tall, fiery Te Ka and restores Te Fiti’s heart. Te Kā’s huge marionette transforms into the gentlest of island goddesses, Te Fiti, in an extraordinary moment of stage magic.
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Of course, a visit to a Disney park isn’t complete without fireworks. Don’t worry, Disney Treasure has you covered too. On one of the nights during the cruise, fireworks are set off after the Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay party.
Disney Treasure takes the best of the Disney theme park experience and brings them together for a cruise adventure. So, “To all who come to this happy place (or better yet, to all who sail on this happy ship)… welcome.” Disney Treasures is truly a Disney theme park at sea.