Disney Cruise Line at D23 Expo 2015

D23 Expo 2015 featured the Disney Cruise Line to a lesser extent this time around, but it did present a fun announcement roundup panel titled “Experience the World with Disney: Adventures by Disney, Aulani, Disney Cruise Line, and Disney Vacation Club” nonetheless.

Aulani was highlighted much as it has been in the past by passionate imagineer Joe Rohde, and Disney Vacation Club focused primarily on the enhanced Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World. Otherwise, there’s a video at the end of this post that gathers the majority of the cruise content together for you.

River Cruises with Adventures by Disney

The most intriguing cruise insights came when describing the development of unique river cruises for Adventures by Disney in partnership with AmaWaterways. Heather Killingbeck, Director, Trip & Program Development, spoke to how the market, which is ordinarily geared towards couples and an older clientele, had to be reimagined to cater to families.

Namely, AmaWaterways is building a family-friendly vessel that will accommodate thirds and connecting cabins and sport common areas that will appeal to all ages. Itineraries will also be tailored to minimize daytime sailing and maximize time in port with adventures such as playing medieval games and learning to make Hungarian goulash, for instance.

The Danube River cruises will expertly attend to the 160 passengers with 8 dedicated Adventure Guides onboard each sailing, of which, the 2016 ones are almost entirely sold out already.

Disney Cruise Line Highlights

Heading back to the oceans, of course, is the Disney Cruise Line and its four beautiful liners. An amusing cinematic voice-over trailer opened the panel discussion, and Walt Disney Imagineer Danny Handke briefly opened by reiterating the plans to update the Disney Dream this fall.

He ran the Star Wars Day at Sea teaser video that has made the rounds online ahead of the program coming aboard the Disney Fantasy, and speaking of the Disney Dream upgrades, he shared an earlier rendering of the Millennium Falcon zone coming to Disney’s Oceaneer Club, now populated with jedi masters and padawan learners.

Also included in the roundup were repeat announcements of Tangled: The Musical coming to the Disney Magic with new music from Alan Menken and news that the ship will be returning to Norway again in 2016.

For more information on Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney ocean and river sailings, visit the Disney Cruise Line website and Adventures by Disney website, and to book, call upon MiceChat’s very own Fairy Godmother Travel.

Disney Ocean and River Cruises Highlights Video

What do you think about these upcoming Disney cruise opportunities? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below…