Disney Cruise Line used the biggest stage in its fandom calendar to drop a surprise that cruise fans have been buzzing about ever since. During the Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim, the company pulled back the curtain on an entirely new class of ships, one that doesn’t yet have a name but already has a very specific place carved out in Disney’s growing fleet.
The reveal was light on hard details and heavy on mood, all sketches, silhouettes and a few tantalizing engineering buzzwords. Still, what Disney did share gives a pretty clear sense of where this new class fits, what it might look like, and why the company is betting on something smaller rather than bigger for its next wave of shipbuilding.
A teaser fit for a treasure chest
The announcement came courtesy of Claire Weiss, portfolio executive creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, who joined host Neil Patrick Harris on stage for the reveal. On Saturday night, during the Horizons showcase at the Honda Center, Disney Cruise Line shared the first look at the cruise line’s next generation unnamed class, with Claire Weiss joining host Neil Patrick Harris to talk about the new ships.[1] It was less a full unveiling and more a carefully staged tease, the kind that leaves fans with more questions than answers.
That seemed to be entirely the point. Claire revealed that these three ships will introduce an entirely new class to the fleet and occupy a unique place in Disney Cruise Line’s growing lineup.[1] Beyond that, the details were kept deliberately vague. This was literally a teaser, as fans will need to wait a bit longer to learn more about these ships and the cruises they’ll offer.[1]
Sizing up where this class fits
One of the clearest facts to emerge from the presentation was scale. Fans attending the event got a sneak peek at the new class, which will be larger than the 2,713-passenger Disney Wonder but smaller than the 4,000-passenger Disney Wish.[2] That places these ships squarely in a middle tier that Disney Cruise Line hasn’t really occupied before, not the intimate scale of its original ships, but also nowhere near the mega-ship territory of its newest vessels.
Weiss put it in her own words during the panel, describing the new vessels as sitting “right in the middle of our classic ships and our newer ones,” which “gives us some amazing opportunities to visit new places and reach brand-new audiences we haven’t before.”[3] Reporting following the event also pointed to a specific tonnage figure, noting the ships will be able to carry 3,000 guests and measuring approximately 100,000 gross tons, making them 20 percent larger than the Disney Magic class and smaller than the Disney Dream and Disney Wish classes.[1]
Engineering ambitions behind the design
Disney didn’t just talk aesthetics. Video shared during the event leaned heavily into engineering language, and reporters picked up on notes describing a “state-of-the-art, lightweight design,” being “more energy efficient,” having an “optimized hull,” and aiming to “capture the magic of the ocean.”[3] Those phrases suggest Disney is treating this class as something of a proving ground for newer shipbuilding techniques, not just a scaled-down version of what already exists.
Follow-up coverage from the cruise industry press echoed that framing. The company highlighted a few fundamentals of the new class project, noting it will have an optimized hull, alongside a state-of-the-art lightweight design that will allow for more energy efficiency, all in service of a ship designed to capture the magic of the ocean, with new features set to be revealed at a later date.[4] It’s a clear signal that sustainability and efficiency are baked into the concept from the start, rather than being an afterthought.
Three ships, a real timeline
Unlike some Disney teases that stay frustratingly vague on timing, this one came with actual dates attached. Deliveries are scheduled for 2029 and 2030, with the series of newbuilds initially including three 105,000-ton vessels.[4] That means fans aren’t looking at a decade-long wait, this is a project already on the shipyard’s calendar.
A more granular breakdown surfaced from Disney’s own earnings disclosures. According to The Walt Disney Company’s Q3 2026 earnings report, the new class is scheduled to launch as follows: early 2029 for ship 11, late 2029 for ship 12, and late 2030 for ship 13.[1] Notably, none of the three vessels have been named yet, and Disney has been tight-lipped about what each one might be themed around.
Fitting into a much bigger expansion
This new class doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s part of a broader, genuinely ambitious buildout of Disney’s cruise fleet that’s been unfolding for years. Three new ships are planned as part of Disney Cruise Line’s previously announced expansion to 13 vessels, with the first expected to begin sailing in 2029.[2] Considering Disney Cruise Line launched with just two ships back in the late 1990s, that number represents a staggering scale-up.
Before any of the new class ships hit the water, though, Disney has other milestones to clear first. Disney is introducing the new Disney Believe in 2027, a 140,000-ton vessel currently under construction at Meyer Werft that will be the fourth in the company’s Wish-class series.[4] The Believe itself got its own spotlight at D23, with Imagineers revealing character-themed sculptures for its bow, stern and Grand Hall.
A ship built for a very different audience
Sandwiched between the Believe and the new unnamed class is another vessel that breaks from Disney’s usual playbook entirely. The Wish-class series also includes a fifth, yet-unnamed vessel scheduled for delivery in early 2029, a 2,500-passenger ship that will mark Disney Cruise Line’s debut in Japan through a partnership with Oriental Land Company.[4] This ship stands apart because of who actually owns it.
Oriental Land Co. already operates the Tokyo Disney Resort, and it’s stepping into a similar role on the high seas. Oriental Land Co. is the owner and operator of Tokyo Disney Resort and the only Disney-branded theme park resort in which Disney doesn’t have an ownership stake, and it will own and operate this cruise ship, which will sail exclusively out of Japan year-round starting in early 2029.[5] It’s a distinctive arrangement that shows Disney is willing to get creative with partnerships as it chases new markets.
