Only Select Guests Will Get to See Disney’s NEW Interactive Experience

You may have gone on lots of Disney Cruises in the past, but the Disney Wish is introducing a whole set of new restaurants, bars, and experiences that are totally different from what Disney has offered on its previous ships.

Truly, the Wish is unlike anything you’ve seen before. We’ve already shared a variety of details about the new things coming to this ship, but today Disney has made a big reveal about an interactive game the whole family will be able to play while on board!

Earlier today, Disney announced that the Disney Wish will feature a brand new, first-of-its-kind, interactive game called Disney Uncharted Adventure.

Wondering what this game is all about? We were lucky enough to get a special peek at the experience during a recent Media Preview event. Let’s take a look at the story of the game, what it will involve, and what you’ll need to play.

The Story

During the media preview event, we got to hear from Davey Feder. He works as a software product manager at Walt Disney Imagineering. Feder noted that they wanted a story that would feel like it belonged on the Disney Cruise ship. Feder noted that wayfinders and navigators have relied on the stars for ears to sail the seas. That’s why the idea of stars and constellations is at the heart of this story.  It’s something that very much fits in with the sailing experience.

Feder showed a screen that showed the essential premise of the story: “If wishing upon a star makes your dreams come true, what happens when that star goes missing?” In the game, guests will get to go on adventures that take them through the worlds of different Disney and Pixar characters. Its an adventure that’s designed to be enjoyable for the whole family (and something many people can play together).

And while the game is predominantly one you’ll play onboard, there’s some important things that happen before your trip!

Before the Trip

Step 1: Download the App

Before you board the Disney Wish and set sail, you’ll need to download the Play Disney Parks app if you want to play Disney Uncharted Adventure. Keep in mind that you will need an internet connection to download the app, so it’s really important that you download the app well ahead of your trip, or even once you’ve boarded (but before you’ve taken off) so long as you still have access to your regular phone internet (5G, etc.). Once you take off on your voyage, accessing internet will be an additional cost, so (again) it’s critical that you download the app ahead of time.

Note that the Disney Uncharted Adventure experience will ONLY be available for guests sailing on the Disney Wish and once you’re on the ship and playing the game, you’ll only need to access the ship’s internal Wi-Fi (for free).

The game can be played by up to 6 devices per group at a time, but the app (and thus the game) are only available on mobile phones right now. So, if you’ve got a little one with an iPad or other tablet, that won’t work with this game for now unfortunately. If you’ve got 5 people in your group and they’ve each got their own phones, be sure that they each download the Play Disney Parks app so they can play individually. Phones can, however, be shared — so, for example, 3 people can play on their individual phones and another group of 2 in the same family can share a device, and they can all play together.

Step 2: Check Out the Prelude

After you’ve downloaded the Play Disney Parks app (and once Disney Uncharted Adventure goes live) you’ll be able to see part of the story at home. In this pre-boarding section, Capitan Mickey and Captain Minnie will visit you virtually to talk about the special relationship between the sky, the stars, and sailing the seas.

During the preview, we got to see some of the concept art featuring designs of Captain Mickey and Minnie for the game. The characters themselves were drawn in a really unique style (sort-of like their current cartoon versions, but different). Mickey was even sporting a very pirate-inspired look. It was neat to see and we look forward to checking out their final depictions in the game.

In this prelude section, Captain Minnie and Mickey will explain that while you and I see the traditional stars in the sky, there are actually “magical” stars and constellations guests can only see while on the Disney Wish. In order to see these once onboard, you’ll need a magical spyglass. Thankfully Mickey and Minnie can turn your phone into a magical spyglass for you so you can see all these special constellations!

While at home, you won’t be able to see the “magical constellations,” but you will be able to get a feel for the app and get excited for the adventure ahead! And be sure to watch out for another potential message from Mickey and Minnie ahead of your trip reminding you to bring your spyglass.

Time to Board

Step 3: Starting the Story on the Ship

Once you’ve boarded the Disney Wish (and had your fill of tasty treats), you can open up the Play Disney Parks app and access your spyglass. Because you’re on the ship, you’ll now be able to see those “magical constellations” as well as a very special Wishing Star in the center of them.

During the media preview event, we got the chance to see concept art for these constellations and actually got to play around with a prototype of it. Each of the constellations represents a different quest. The constellations we saw were stars shaped like:

• Crush and Squirt from Finding Nemo (identified as “Sydney”);
• Maui’s hook from Moana (identified as “Motunui”); and
• Louis’ horn from The Princess and the Frog (identified as “New Orleans” next to it).
• Glass slipper from Cinderella
• Genie Lamp from Aladdin

From an official standpoint, Disney has announced (so far) that the worlds of Moana, Princess and the Frog, Peter Pan, and Nemo will be included in the game.

During the preview event, however, we also saw a constellation shaped like Spider-Man, which was identified as “Avengers Campus.” That was only concept art though. Disney has not confirmed that Marvel experiences will be featured in the game. But, Feder did share that Disney Uncharted Adventure provides them with a neat opportunity to tell interconnected stories that play into other parts of the ship. More adventures/characters (i.e. constellations) may be revealed in the future, so we’ll keep an eye out for more details!

During the prototype test, we were able to hold a phone up and move around to see different constellations. Essentially, you could both move the phone and move your body physically around to see these stars appear.

And, at the center of the constellations was the magical Wishing Star. When you first open up the app on the Disney Wish, you’ll see the constellations and Wishing Star, but then, suddenly storms and clouds will fill the scene. The Wishing Star will get hit by something and shatter, sending little pieces of it flying toward the other constellations.

Oh boy! It seems Captain Minnie and Captain Minnie need your help to piece the star back together. Using your spyglass, you’ll be able to help them navigate the ship into the worlds of these Disney and Pixar characters to retrieve the missing pieces of the star. And that’s when the quests begin!

Step 4: The Quests

Each of the constellations represents different adventures/quests for the family to complete. Each quest is self-contained, and you’ll be able to pick where you want to go, directing your own adventure.

Let’s say you want to do the Peter Pan quest. You’ll select the Peter Pan constellation and then your spyglass will tell you what part of the ship to go to in order to start your adventure. Throughout the ship, there are various pieces of artwork, digital display boards, and even physical props that will all become part of the story. Something you walked past a million times on the ship that looked totally normal may suddenly light up and reveal itself to be a unique part of the adventure you otherwise would have never seen.

Various technologies will also be utilized throughout the game including video-game type mini-games with interactive screens, physical props, and Augmented Reality.

The great part about the game is that there’s re-playability. While the core story of the quest may be the same, you might be taken to new locations around the ship to play the games and find a spot you’ve never been to before. The games will be the same if you re-play a quest, but you might be able to unlock special things if you re-play it, or get good enough to unlock unique awards.

During one quest, families may get to meet up with Moana and other characters from her story. If a family selects that quest, they may be sent to a screen near another part of the ship that (again) will magically transform thanks to their spyglass. Moana may appear in the magical porthole that is revealed and tell the guests that she thinks she can help them find the missing star piece, but she needs their help first to get some canoes out of the reef. Each guest will then get their own canoe (which will appear on the screen in front of them) which they’ll need to navigate (using their phone essentially as a motion-based controller) to get out of the reef.

Once they get the canoes out of the reef, Captain Minnie may tell the family that she’s discovered something strange and needs the family’s help to figure it out. Then, the spyglass may direct them to an entirely different deck. There, they’ll see a normal-looking painting. But, when they hold their spyglass up to it, Augmented Reality will be utilized and the family will see there are Kakamora in the painting that are trying to hop onto the Wish! 

The family will need to use their spyglasses to capture the Kakamora. Even though each family member may be playing on their own spyglass, the game is interconnected so players will be able to see another player’s net catching a Kakamora.

Once the Kakamora are all caught, you may be sent to another location like the Realm of Monsters. But, the Wish is too large to get through to where you need to go. Not to worry — Captain Minnie says she can make some magic happen but you’ll need to do an activity to power up the ship. At that point, the family may be directed to another location, like the Grand Hall for example.

At the Grand Hall there are some elements that may look ordinary, but are actually incorporated into the game. Captain Minnie may ask you to input a special code into your spyglass while near Cinderella’s Glass Slipper or near the main chandelier. When you do that, the slipper of chandelier might light up, turn different colors, or do something else to activate a special effect.

Much like the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure/Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure that were in EPCOT, physical props around you are incorporated into the game and will interact in special ways with your quests.

Once you get through to the Realm of Monsters, you’ll be looking for that shiny piece of the star. But, you may just find that a certain someone who LOVES shiny things has discovered your star piece too. And another game will begin for you and your family/friends to enjoy.

Another game guests may get to play involves the Tiana storyline. In this quest, you may be sent at one point to Tiana’s kitchen in search of the star. There, Tiana may say that she can help you, but first you’ve got to help her make the perfect bowl of gumbo. That’s when your mini-game will begin.

In the preview, we got the chance to play test a prototype of this mini-game and it was really interesting. The cooking game consisted of4 parts: (1) a game where guests had to select the right ingredient to add to the gumbo; (2) a game where guests had to use their phone to add the right amount of hot sauce to the gumbo; (3) a game where guests had to stir the gumbo; and (4) a game where guests had to blow into their phones to cool the gumbo.

Each time, the phone was used in a slightly different way. The ingredients, for example, were selected on the phone by tapping. The hot sauce was added by moving the phone right and left. To stir, the group had to move the phones in a stirring motion.

Keep in mind these are all concepts and testing, final gameplay and stories may change, but it does give you an idea of what you’ll see.

The games in the app are designed to be communal and collaborative, where the whole group works together (for example, the entire group had to make sure they weren’t stirring their individual phones too hard during the Tiana game). But, of course, there are opportunities for a little bit of competitiveness between the group during individual games.

One of the things Disney has truly emphasized with this game is that it has a “heads-up” design. What that means is that Disney didn’t want guests to be walking around the ship, playing this game with their heads buried in their phones. Instead, the phones (a.k.a. spyglasses) are used as tools for the game. Sometimes they’re utilized in a motion-based controller type manner, other times it’s different, but ultimately what you’re doing is interacting with other things around you — not just looking at your phone.

Disney has shared a peek at some of the other experiences families will get to enjoy as part of Uncharted Adventure, including:

• “teaming up with Moana to navigate their canoes beyond the reef;
• helping Tiana cook up the perfect pot of her father’s favorite gumbo;
• summoning Tinker Bell to give the Disney Wish an extra dash of pixie dust; and
• making an epic dive into the East Australian Current (EAC) with Nemo and friends.”

In many ways, the overall game is a mixture of things like the Muppet Midship Detective Agency (seen on previous Disney Cruise Line ships), Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure and Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure (as mentioned above), and things like the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Datapad, with some extra fun touches!

Step 5: The Ending

Throughout your cruise, you and other guests can continue to participate in those quests at your own time. Over the sailing, guests will (hopefully) collect enough pieces to put the Wishing Star back together again. But, they won’t do it alone.

One unique feature of this game is that guests will actually get to participate in the ending together. At one point near the end of the cruise, there will be an event where players can come in and help put the Wishing Star back together at a central venue. Feder mentioned that Luna, an entertainment/multi-use space on the Wish would likely be used for this, but of course things can change.

During the ending event, guests will all get together (regardless of whether they’ve completed all of the quests previously), there will be a large screen, and there will even be Cast Members will their own unique roles in the story. As guests work together to put the Wishing Star back in the sky, they’ll hit one final hiccup. It turns out a Sea Witch you may know very well has been trying to get her hands on the Wishing Star to use it for her own nefarious purposes. Guests will then have to work together to fight her off utilizing their spyglasses in coordination with the main screen.

Overall

Overall, Disney Uncharted Adventure looks like a great game to play with the entire family. What’s nice about it is that it can be played at your discretion, in your own time, when and how you want to play it. You can spend an entire day dedicated to it, or just play it for a little bit at a time. It’s also a fun way to explore parts of the ship you probably would have never ventured to if not prompted to do so.

The game will also try to coordinate players and avoid congestion. So, the game will try to send you to a spot where ideally there are no other players, or where the players in front of you are at least playing a different game/quest than the one you’re working on.

See more about Uncharted Adventure in the video below:

 

We’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more news about Uncharted Adventure and we’ll let you know what we find.

What do you think about this game? Would you play it while on a Disney Cruise? Tell us in the comments.

Disclosure: We were invited by Disney Cruise Line to attend a media preview of the Disney Wish. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own. 

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