Disney Dream - More Details Revealed Part 3

This is the final of 3 blogs detailing my conversation with Walt Disney Imagineer Gary Hoffman and Disney Cruise Line’s Jason Lasecki. A thanks to both gentleman for their time!

Here is another exciting piece of news I just learned and it has to do with the ship’s horn. The Disney Magic and Wonder each share a wonderful Disney melody as their horn sound; “When You Wish Upon a Star”. So what is in store for the Disney Dream? Technology has evolved and the Disney Dream horn will be unique, in fact, don’t be surprised if you hear more than one melody! We’ll all have to wait to learn what it will be.

Hidden Mickeys – it’s always interesting to me how Imagineers react when you mention Hidden Mickeys. I have had them go from quickly acknowledging them, to totally disavowing their existence. With Gary, a smile spread across his face and I could tell, this was one of the fun things he can be playful with and enjoy. He assured me there will be Hidden Mickeys on the Disney Dream. He also mentioned that the enchanted art pieces will not only take the art to a whole new dimension, but they may also take the Hidden Mickey to a new dimension as well. I can see it now, folks lined up in front of the art work waiting for changes to appear before them; one eye looking through the video camera and the other directly on the artwork.

Shopping

Shopping area – Shopping on the Disney Magic and Wonder has become cramped and uninspired. So what will shopping be like on the Dream? Disney Imagineers have developed a streetscape promenade that will take 3 distinct shops and meld them into one contiguous space around a rotunda. They will be much grander and a little more elegant. Their location will be similar to that on the Magic and Wonder – you’ll find them on the way to the Walt Disney Theatre.

Where exactly is the Disney Dream in the construction process?

The ship is currently in dry dock. 80 separate blocks of steel will create the ship. Giant cranes bring in the massive sections and weld them together.. almost like a lego set. The pieces are ready to be put in place; it’s just a matter of following the build plan for the ship.

Imagineers have walked through the Atrium and the Theatre! The ship will take shape pretty quickly but the interior roll out will take much longer as all the details are put into place. The ship will remain in dry dock until probably late summer or fall of 2010.

The biggest challenge for the Imagineers was “Making sure our partners at DCL can operate an impeccable guest experience. Through the waiter stations, kitchen equipment, pantry spaces –allowing DCL to be as efficient as they can. Even though the Dream is 47% larger, the spaces still need to convey that intimate feeling you enjoy on Magic and Wonder.”

A few miscellaneous tidbits I haven’t mentioned yet….

The Promenade will have a walking jogging track; like on the Magic and Wonder.

While most cabins will have the Queen size bed, there will be a handful of twin bed cabins available. For the most part, guests were not separating the beds and folks complained about the “crack”. The solution was the queen bed with a one piece mattress.

Special attention has been made to audio portion of the theatres to enhance the experience.

And what about the Disney Fantasy? As the Magic and Wonder are “sister ships” so too will be the Dream and Fantasy! They are the same size and build but will have their own unique differences. There will be little overlap in the construction of the two ships. The keel laying for the Fantasy won’t take place until the later part of 2010, about the same time the Disney Dream begins to float out.

As with everything Disney, it’s all subject to change without notice. As Jason told me “Imagineering gives us the tools and then DCL can make things happen with great flexibility.”

I’ll end with a variety of photos I haven’t shared yet:

Jay Rassulo and Meyer Werft Shipyard Managing Partner Bernard Meyer

Jay Rassulo and Meyer Werft Shipyard Managing Partner Bernard Meyer