As if four new ships in a four-year span weren’t enough, Disney Cruise Line announced Tuesday that it plans to launch another new cruise ship in early 2029.
The as-yet-unnamed new ship will be based in Tokyo and will offer Disney fans a short trip that can easily be combined with a theme park vacation at Tokyo Disney.
Disney is partnering with Oriental Land Company, which manages Disney’s Japan-based theme parks and resorts. Construction of the Tokyo-based ship is part of a 10-year, $60 billion expansion of Disney’s theme park and cruise business. Oriental Land Company will build and operate the Disney-branded cruise business in Japan.
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The ship, modeled after the Disney Wish, will be Disney’s ninth ship and is expected to carry 4,000 passengers. The ship will be designed with Japanese guests in mind and will primarily operate short trips from Tokyo throughout the year.
Construction of the new vessel is expected to begin in 2025 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
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After a decade of no growth, Disney will now more than double its fleet in a few years with the introduction of this ship. After the launch of the Disney Fantasy in 2012, the four-ship cruise line did not increase in size until 2022, when the line launched its next new ship, the Disney Wish. Sisters Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny are slated to launch in 2024 and 2026, respectively, and Singapore-based Disney Adventure will debut in Asia in 2025.
Disney’s other new investments in Asia include a major expansion at Tokyo DisneySea, its ocean-themed amusement park in Japan. The theme park recently opened Fantasy Springs, which recreates the worlds of “Frozen,” “Tangled” and “Peter Pan.” Additionally, in late 2023, World of Frozen opened for the first time at Hong Kong Disneyland and “Zootopia” was experienced at Shanghai Disneyland. Just last month, Disney also announced the expansion of Marvel-themed offerings for Hong Kong Disneyland.
More details about Disney’s Tokyo-based ship will be announced at a later date.
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