Disney Cruise Line Arrives in Galveston with Texas-sized Fanfare

The Disney Magic arrived in Galveston, kicking off the Disney Cruise Line inaugural season sailing from the Port of Galveston.

To salute its arrival to the Lone Star State, the Disney Magic donned a Texas-sized cowboy hat on the ship’s funnel as crew members and Disney characters waved from the upper decks of the ship. In 2012 and 2013, Disney Cruise Line will sail from Galveston on a variety of itineraries to the Caribbean and Bahamas, with some cruises taking guests to Walt Disney World Resort and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.

This hat is an astonishing 19-feet tall and 14-feet wide. To put it in perspective for you, if a real cowboy was to wear this hat he would need to be about 43 feet tall! Amazingly, the hat was installed while the ship was at sea, just one mile out from the Port of Galveston.

The larger-than-life cowboy hat was actually printed on a polypoplene cover, and engineers created a frame for the hat that includes the shape of the funnel’s Mickey ears. Check out this behind-the-scenes shot as the riggers bolted the frame in place.