It’s not every day you get to visit Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) in Glendale, California let alone the facility in Orlando, Florida. But I have now had the opportunity to go to both and cannot be more overjoyed to share the experiences with you. The first I had a chance to check out as part of Adventures by Disney’s Disneyland Resort and Southern California Escape, and the second I was able to recently see to preview mock-ups of Disney Cruise Line’s new Disney Wish, launching on June 9, 2022.
Nestled in the backstage area of Epcot in Walt Disney World is a collection of nondescript metal-sided and -roofed structures behind Test Track, Mission: Space, and the former Wonders of Life pavilion, as well as in the shadow of the monstrous new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind show building, which serve as several WDI satellite offices.
Beyond a lobby in the main one is a set of cubicles under a high-loft ceiling, where I discovered the greatest surprise of the visit: the Mary Poppins audio-animatronic from The Great Movie Ride hovering in the rafters beneath her umbrella. She is now silent and motionless, but it was sure great to see our old friend receiving the honor she deserves. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo to share as we were not permitted to take any, but official imagery below tells the rest of the story.
My Great Movie Ride fandom notwithstanding, we were there to learn all about the Disney Wish, and that we did including many hands-on demonstrations. Just past Mary is one of WDI’s DISH (digital immersive showroom) installations, and inside we were treated to a three-dimensional rendering of the ship’s upper decks and Grand Hall atrium projected all around us as WDI’s Laura Cabo, portfolio creative executive, and Sachiko Handke, project coordinator, show design and production, gave us a virtual tour.
But it was the physical mock-ups that really shined.
Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge
First up was Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge, which as a super fan of the franchise, I must admit was my favorite to see. Stuffed in a relatively small room was about 16,000 pixels wide worth of 65-inch 4K LCD monitors, all seven of them turned on end and stacked sideways to resemble windows looking into space.
Animated on the expanse of screens will be Ace Squadron, Tatooine, Mustafar, Coruscant, the moons of Endor and even Batuu from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, each for seven to ten minutes a piece before light speed transitioning to the next. Since the bar will be located on the side of the ship, it will be the first time light speed is visualized as a horizontal streak.
Patrons should be on the lookout for a Lucasfilm library full of spacecraft to make cameo appearances including a StarSpeeder from Star Tours. And for those wondering, the lounge is not set within any specific timeline in the canon.
To enter the elegant bar space — reminiscent of Dryden Vos’ spaceship and Canto Bight — a dark vestibule will open an airlock door, with an appropriate swooshing sound at the press of a button.
Then, inside guests will be met by custom furnishings, a very cool holographic column (the actual one to be installed we saw), bubbler effects, mysterious specimen jars and themed cocktail bottles and beer taps. The venue will be just for adults in the evening but open to children during the day, and there will be drinks for all ages accordingly.
AquaMouse
Also impressive to see in person was a section of the AquaMouse water coaster, touted as Disney’s first attraction at sea. The portion of the conveyor belt lift section we saw will be substantially larger in circumference than the AquaDuck predecessor on Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy to fit all the new tech inside, including nine 85-inch “porthole” screens alternating the tube’s left and right sides, 60 different spray effects and lots of lighting and audio cues.
When the AquaMouse was first announced, I wondered whether it would be a remounting of the animated shorts featured in Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. While the shoreside ride’s designers did collaborate on the seagoing slide, I’m happy to report that the two featured storylines will be entirely original to the Disney Wish. As part of the mice’s Port Misadventures — playfully in contrast to the cruise line’s own Port Adventures, more commonly know as shore excursions — the previously announced “Scuba Scramble” will take riders to Mermaid Lagoon, and the newly announced “Swiss Meltdown” will act as a sled tour conducted before the snow melts.
In fact, the latter narrative spawns several of the slide’s easter eggs, not the least of which are an homage to Disneyland’s Skyway buckets from yesteryear, as well as a yeti modeled after the Matterhorn Bobsleds’ original “Harold,” plus a bronze Mickey as seen on Disney Magic among others.
Following the 75-second ascent, AquaMouse will ramp up with master blaster downhill and uphill thrills along with a more relaxing lazy river-style conclusion to include Chip and Dale playfully attempting to hitchhike their way to Disney’s Castaway Cay private island. Overall, the AquaMouse clocks in as a longer attraction than the AquaDuck by comparison.
While only two stories have been announced thus far, the screen-based technologies allows Disney to swap in additional narratives in the future.
Worlds of Marvel – Avengers: Quantum Encounter
Similar to another recent experience in the parks will be Worlds of Marvel — one of the ship’s three rotational dining rooms — with its Avengers: Quantum Encounter, an experience exclusive to the Wish. Seeing it staged in person, it is reminiscent of Pym Test Kitchen at the new Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, but at sea, the concept will be amplified thanks to greater interactivity and expanded storytelling.
Danny Handke, senior creative director, WDI, describes the overall aesthetic as featuring “Stark-itecture” (Tony Stark-inspired architecture) flanked by glass panels that can transform the look and vibe of the venue, say, from warm and welcoming to red alert. Its horseshoe layout will further ensure that all 700 seats will be close to the action.
So the story will go, during a technology demo of Quantum Cores, hands-on tabletop props developed with Marvel Studios, foods will be scaled to larger-than-life proportions. The three-act structure will consist of an Ant-Man and Wasp introduction when orders are taken before dinner service and a showcase of existing Infinity Saga footage and graphics.
The show’s villain, Ultron, will eventually intrude to steal the tech in an eight-minute finale including the aforementioned protagonists calling on Captain America, Captain Marvel and diners themselves to help defeat the nefarious AI robot.
Disney Parks fans will appreciate a size-appropriate allusion to Adventure Thru Inner Space, formerly found at Disneyland, with a sampling of the attraction’s “Miracles from Molecules” song written by none other than the Sherman brothers.
Disney’s Oceaneer Club
Children will even have the opportunity to simulate battling Ultron at Marvel Super Hero Academy in Disney’s Oceaneer Club, which will serve as either a prequel or sequel depending on the order of voyage activities. Also in the Marvel Cinematic Universe section of the kids facility will be their ability to digitally suit up in a custom costume akin to Ant-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Iron Man or Spider-Man amid vibranium power tubes.
Or instead of the Oceaneer Lab, the replacement Walt Disney Imagineering Lab will show kids what it’s like to work at WDI, from blue sky design to construction, in a space inspired by the geometry of Epcot’s Spaceship Earth and showcasing three-dimensional prints and other props from previous projects.
Mockup bays will not only allow participants to map out their own track layouts of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, said Matterhorn and Space Mountain, but also virtually ride them in projected spaces not unlike a miniature version of WDI’s DISH.
Also reprised as part of the club will be It’s a Small World Nursery and Fairytale Hall, the latter made up of Rapunzel’s Art Studio for classic crafts, Belle’s Library for a more serene retreat and Anna and Elsa’s Sommerhus for gestural gaming hosted by Olaf.
Disney Uncharted Adventure
Last but not least, we were treated to a new, ship-wide interactive game designed for all ages: Disney Uncharted Adventure. Think Midship Detective Agency 2.0, employing more capable smartphones running the Play Disney Parks mobile app over analog cards as found on Dream and Fantasy. Making participants “the hero on their own adventure,” according to Davey Feder, software product manager, WDI, on quests “that could only take place on a Disney ship,” guests will use their “spyglasses” to find the wishing star that has shattered and gone missing.
Quests will cast the likes of Moana, Nemo, and Tiana. Way-finding screens, as well as physical props and pictures, will all come to life in service of the experience designed as a collaborative full-family, multiplayer game. And if members have a limited number of smartphones to go around, they will still be able to participate.
And the experience will begin even before boarding as Captains Mickey and Minnie introduce the stellar game play and count down the days before cruising at home. Self-contained quests are designed to last the length of the voyage but can be repeated or changed out for other characters.
For instance, gamers may help Moana guide canoes out of a reef and capture pirate coconuts from the Kakamora via augmented reality. Or our hands-on demo challenged us to make gumbo with Tiana, gesturally selecting and adding the proper ingredients into a stew pot.
The “ship itself is a character,” added Feder, in a game intended to be a “heads-up experience,” not buried in devices. To that end, way-finding screens will temporarily transform for play. Additionally, physical props will employ all of Disney’s visual effects knowhow culminating with a grand finale to ultimately place the wishing star back in the night sky as a team. But beware one last battle where Ursula may appear!
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Let’s Hear From You
Things are starting to feel more real for the Disney Wish. What are you most looking forward to on the brand new ship? How well do you think Marvel and Star Wars fit into the Disney Cruise Line? Let us know in the comments.
For even more information about the Disney Wish, plus information on the MiceChat sailing, click on the article below!