Imagining The Imagination: Picking and Choosing the Best of the Disney Cruise Line Fleet to Adapt in Tokyo
When Tokyo Disneyland was being developed, the owners of that park - the Oriental Land Company (OLC) - were basically picking and choosing the best from the parks stateside to bring over to the first Disney park outside of the U.S. Cinderella Castle and the size of the park feel very Florida, yet there’s a New Orleans-inspired area that plays home to Pirates of the Caribbean. The examples could continue, but it was a veritable mixing and matching of Florida and California when the park first opened, but is now quite distinguishable with its own identity.
Now, OLC is taking ownership of a Disney Cruise Line ship under their subsidiary, Disney Cruise Line Japan (operated by Oriental Land Cruise Co. (OLCC)). Recently revealed as the new Disney Imagination, the new ship (as promised) will be a Wish Class ship, and will use the template of the Disney Wish and its sister ships, the Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny, and upcoming Disney Believe.
That’s where this whole endeavor gets interesting - the Wish Class has the same general ship arrangement across the class, with different themes taking over the identical spaces on the same ship. For example, a central lounge space just off the Grand Hall can look like Tiana’s Bayou on one ship, but the same space turns into 177A Bleecker Street and becomes a lounge themed to Doctor Strange on another.
When the deal was originally announced back in 2024, it was said that the new ship “will feature many guest-favorite venues and experiences from [The Disney Wish] with select modifications specially designed with Japanese guests in mind.” Which, to me, sounded like the OLCC was going to - once again - pick and choose what they liked in a sort of best-of-the-best of the Disney Cruise Line. However, what if this not only extended beyond the Disney Wish, or even the Wish class, but rather to the entire Disney Cruise Line fleet?
Here’s what I think - in a perfect world - the Disney Imagination could do to make this unique Disney Cruise ship the best in the fleet in the same way that Disney Parks fans consider the Tokyo parks the best in the world.
Animator’s Palate
From the jump - the first thing that would have to be done is bring back Animator’s Palate. When the eatery first debuted as part of the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder with the launch of Disney Cruise Line, the restaurant (part of the fleet’s iconic rotational dining concept) started in black and white and surrounded guests with Disney artwork that would slowly turn to color as the meal progressed. As time went on and the tech improved, Animator’s Palate was brought to the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy but ditched the color changing in lieu of two experiences - one similar to Turtle Talk with Crush at the parks, and another, Animation Magic, which would see guests draw on a special sheet that through a little backstage magic, comes to life on screens surrounding the restaurant by the end of the meal.
The latter update proved so successful that when dry docks occurred on the original Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, they were outfitted with this special program as they updated the tech at Animator’s Palate. The show on the originals was also updated, still keeping that shift to color as an idea but with the newly installed screens now showcasing character sketches come to life before a stirring montage of classic Disney and Pixar moments plays throughout.
This restaurant is not featured on the Wish Class ships. While the Wish class celebrates animated favorites from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios in the restaurant, 1923, that eatery is more of an elegant gallery of sketches and props with smooth jazz renditions of classic tunes (think Carthay Circle at Disney California Adventure) that just happens to serve food. More closely resembling the concept of Animator’s Palate on the Wish Class is actually the restaurant known as Worlds of Marvel.
Guests are surrounded by screens at Worlds of Marvel that play out a whole Marvel hero story in one sitting, and might feature baby Groot (from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) in another playing trivia. Similar to character dining experiences at the parks, Marvel heroes then run amok through the restaurant and pose for pictures and greet each table. Like all things Disney or Disney Parks, the Marvel restaurant certainly has its fans, but this particular offering is often cited as the worst addition to the Wish class of ships, with many surprised it was recently announced to be returning with the new Disney Believe.
So, as the obvious first decision for the Disney Imagination - I would get rid of Worlds of Marvel and bring a tech-infused, updated, new iteration of Animator’s Palate.
1923
With the addition of Animator’s Palate, the idea of 1923 becomes a little redundant. But the idea of a gallery space with food could still remain. This could be where we get that requisite Marvel or Star Wars representation, paying homage to the characters from either of those worlds.
No restaurant from the rest of the fleet could easily be carried over into this split space, but would likely be what fans commonly refer to as “the beige ones,” should one be copied and translated to the new class.
These would be Royal Palace/Court on the Dream Class, or Lumiere’s/Triton’s on the Magic Class. First deemed as the “elegant” dining with the original mandate of the three dining types with the rotational concept - Elegant, Casual, and Entertainment. Over time that has been changed to (at least stated on Disney+’s Behind the Attraction) Elegant, Entertainment, and Technology-based.
The casual dining options (like Enchanted Garden on the Dream Class) have been transformed into musical dining/entertainment dining options on the Magic Class (Rapunzel’s Royal Table on the Disney Magic, and Tiana’s Place on the Disney Wonder), which do not exist on the Dream Class. That kind of offering would not work in the 1923 space on the Wish Class ships because they are split into two dining rooms.
Plus, musical dining has its own dedicated space in the Wish class, which brings me to…
Musical Dining
Before the reveal of the offerings of the Disney Believe, I would have said that no property has been adapted twice into a musical dining offering aboard a Disney ship. That changed as Arendelle aboard the Disney Wish represents Frozen, as will Oaken’s Table when it debuts aboard the Disney Believe.
Regardless, my thought process is not that one idea will be lifted and brought over to the new ship, but instead a brand new adaptation will arrive. But what?
For this one, I’m leaning more into prediction and branching out of my borrow-from-the-other-ships idea, and I think we’ll retain the musical dining idea, but get ready for something brand new and featuring Duffy and Friends.
OLCC has said that they will be adapting for the Japanese audience and Duffy is as popular as Mickey and his friends, and arguably moreso if you look at certain areas of the Tokyo Disney Resort - like certain sections of the American Waterfront themed port at Tokyo DisneySea.
There, Duffy has full merchandise locations, as well as a dinner show already. That’s not to say it would be exactly the same, but there’s even a precedent on another Disney ship - the Disney Adventure.
Say what you will about the Disney-acquired ship, transformed into another member of the fleet after being purchased from a failed venture by another line. The sheer size of this ship, homeported in Singapore, allows for more shows and offerings and also features a Duffy-based shop, as well as a full show in the ship’s Imagination Gardens area.
Given the same fandom in the same region, I would guess that, or rather, expect, the Disney Imagination to have some Duffy representation. Frankly, I think it will be in this dining zone, part of the rotational dining of the ship, guaranteeing everyone aboard would have the chance to experience a meal with the Disney bear and all his friends.
Palo
As you’ll see, I’m not a fan of injecting IP where IP didn’t exist or wasn’t needed before. On the Wish class, that has somehow extended into the adults-only dining space that is Palo. The fan-favorite adult getaway was the first premium (read: added cost) restaurant of the fleet and has been a staple on each ship since.
However, on the Disney Wish and its sister ships, that concept evolved from a signature Italian dining experience to one featuring favorite items and a full menu of steak chops with Palo Steakhouse. Additionally, it adopted the theme of a not-at-all Italian character from Beauty and the Beast, Cogsworth.
I’d like to see this restaurant - in its original form - lifted and returned to the Palo Steakhouse space aboard the new ship.
With the mandate of having IP though, once again I look to the Disney Adventure which adopted the Palo concept as well, elevated the menu a bit, and injected a theme to Pixar’s Luca with the new Palo Trattoria. At least the theme is Italian.
Lounges
Often dubbed a “Childless Millennial” or the perhaps the more offensive, “Disney Adult,” lounge spaces are among my favorite parts of a Disney Cruise Line voyage. Granted, I’m a little more inclined to the dedicated adult zones of the Disney Dream and Fantasy - The District and Europa, respectively - largely because of the lack of (or very subtle) IP. Let’s not overlook the champagne bar, Pink, very loosely themed to the “Pink Elephants on Parade” sequence of Dumbo. While the Wish Class is not equipped for such a zone, the lounge spaces on these ships exist and are, perhaps, the most interchangeable aspect of the new class.
For the central lounge, complete with a stage just off the Grand Hall of the Wish class ships, home of The Bayou, Sanctum, Skipper Society, et al., I would have to bring over probably my favorite addition to the Disney Magic since it first launched back in 1998, the Soul Cat Lounge.
Subtly themed to the Pixar film, Soul, more than anything this space resembles a back-alley Jazz club, complete with a stage for Jazz and other musical acts. The theming? Aside from a look right out of the aesthetic of the movie, there is a coat rack featuring the coat and hat of the main character, Joe Gardner, and some posters for Dorothea Williams (whom Joe aspires to perform with in the film). A small sculpt of 22 sits behind the bar, and screens (handy for shipboard trivia) show faux posters for musicians and feature transitions with Mr. Mittens the cat. It’s a space that doesn’t necessitate a full knowledge of the IP to appreciate or understand, enjoyable for all, but a great wink and nod if you’re a fan of the story represented here.
Another lounge space that kind of fizzled out for whatever reason on the Disney Wish is the Star Wars Hyperspace Lounge. Guests are invited to cozy up to the bar and look out into a galaxy far, far away, and see ships and planets from that universe. Demand to get in was high at first, but even higher when this concept was ditched for the remaining three ships in the class, and the Haunted Mansion Parlor was brought in. Now, the whole space brought guests into the classic Disney Parks attraction, this time at sea with its own original story, but still kept the bar that looks into a giant mirror/screen, showcasing visual effects like the classic Hitchhiking Ghosts, Madame Leota, and more.
The centralized, yet tucked in location of this lounge, draws in a surprising amount of guests - especially when you consider that there is a limited amount of guests aboard the ship. That said, when it was announced again for the new Disney Believe, it was an announcement that was met with more groans than fanfare. This will be the third of four ships in the class that the space has materialized upon. While for the Imagination I would suggest something new altogether, sticking with the original concept for this pick-and-choose plan, I would suggest going back to the Dream Class and tapping the original idea for this kind of venue with Skyline.
Skyline allows guests to enter a hip and elegant space, where the windows behind the bar overlook the various skylines of the world while music styles known from those regions play. It would also kind of retain a natural flow if you kept the Soul Cat Lounge where I placed it as well.
The Pub space on the Wish Class is another thought provoker. Cask & Cannon with its Pirates of the Caribbean theme (aboard the Disney Destiny) is easily my favorite in the class, paying homage to the attraction iterations around the world - but best of the best in this concept though - I’d look to the Disney Dream once again.
Pub 687 aboard that ship is so unique and interesting that it’s truly shocking it hasn’t been done again since. The pub space, named after the ship’s hull number in the Meyer Werft shipyard, pays homage to ship building and the Disney Dream in particular. The space features blueprints, concept designs, and more about the ship building process subtly laid out throughout the space, though most people go in to watch some ESPN, play board games, or partake in a round of trivia.
I’d throw in a new iteration of that idea here, though the Wish class has gone - what feels like out of its way - to make you feel like you’re in a floating hotel instead of a ship. Being a ship is something that the first four ships really embraced, but is largely overlooked in this new class. That’s even more reason it should be brought back here.
If we HAVE to inject IP, I’d go with O’Gills. It appears once in the Magic Class, once in the Dream Class, and has yet to appear in the Wish Class. Loosely (and I mean, loosely) inspired by/themed to the classic Disney film, Darby O’Gill and the Little People, this pub has little to no trace of the film that inspired it outside of a piece of art on the wall and some lighting fixtures. Yet, it remains a popular location for guests to gather for activities, drinks, and entertainment.
Quiet Cove
This is the one time that I ask for the design team to look again at the general arrangement of a Wish class ship. The Quiet Cove Adults-Only space aboard each of the Wish Class feels like an afterthought, and is a key argument in my conspiracy theory-of-sorts that Disney is trying to eliminate adults only spaces across the fleet. The pool area has a beautiful view, no disagreement there, but the pool size itself is more akin to a hot tub not only on other cruise lines, but other Disney ships as well.
The Magic and Wonder have a portion of the main pool deck dedicated to adults, and the Dream and Fantasy have a decent percentage of the forward portion of the top decks as well serving as the Quiet Cove, with the addition of Satellite Falls, a popular (and second!) plunge pool that is located near the communication equipment of the ship, complete with waterfall.
I, however, am not a maritime architect so I don’t know what weights and balances could be brought to a new Quiet Cove pool zone, my only ask is that it’s not pushed away like a smoking section at one of the theme parks. Even those on a Wish class ship are more prominent and somehow easier to find.
AquaDuck
While we are here on the pool decks - the gaudy monstrosity that is the AquaMouse needs to be swapped out for the less-of-a-gaudy monstrosity that is the AquaDuck. While the AquaMouse has been touted as the first Disney attraction at sea, that moniker exists because it has a lift hill with screens that tell a story based on the Mickey Mouse shorts.
What instead happens in that tunnel is sure, stories are played and shown, but instead ends up as more of a human car wash with flashing lights and water spraying in the faces of adults and kids. Fun? To some. Fun for all? The somehow both thrilling and lazy-river esque relaxing spin on the AquaDuck, which runs along the perimeter of the pool deck using water-based launches to propel your raft, but is otherwise a fun and speedy little journey through clear acrylic tubes that extend over the edge and actually give you a chance to look around.
The AquaDuck also doesn’t dwarf the pools and funnels it surrounds, which the AquaMouse arguably does.
As for the pool deck food, Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods, with its numerous stalls and variety of options in flavors, is quite great as it is. Though, given the regional change, I can see some of the culinary categories offering up different options - like the barbecue options being switched out for something else.
Stage Show
Much like the musical dining, the Wish Class has yet to repeat a musical adaptation within itself, nor has any other class. This rule doesn’t apply to revue shows, like Disney Dreams, Disney's Believe!, or Seas the Adventure.
Yes, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, Aladdin, and soon Tangled have all been repeated - but they have neer been repeaed within a single class. For example, Frozen appears once in each class - aboard the Disney Wonder, the Disney Fantasy, and the Disney Destiny. But it won’t appear on the Disney Treasure, because it’s a sister to the Disney Destiny.
So pinning down what will show up on the Disney Imagination is a bit more difficult, and whether or not the same rules apply to this new ship.
That said, I’d make a sure bet that Seas The Adventure will show up again, as it’s a popular (and short!) revue show that hits at some point with each member of the crowd. It also seems to be the go-to repeat show now, as it has also appeared on the Disney Adventure, and is now much like “Let’s Set Sail,” which has been adopted as the sail-away party fleet-wide, knocking out the unique sail away parties of each class previously featured on the different ships.
If Seas the Adventure were skipped over for the Disney Imagination, while I’d like to see an updated iteration of Disney's Believe! From the Disney Dream and Fantasy, Disney Dreams (the show, don’t get confused), with Peter Pan as its veritable host, feels more like it could be updated and adapted for the audience that the Disney Imagination will serve.
The Grand Hall
Similar to the Quiet Cove, I can’t adjust the stage being here or other aspects of this space. Each of the Wish class has its own theme, based around the characters featured on the bronze statue in the hall, which is unique to each ship.
If I had one wish for the new ship, it would be to bring it back to the original aesthetic of what made the Disney Cruise Line so special in the first place - and make it feel like a ship. Not a castle at sea, not Wakanda, but instead like a traditional ocean liner with an art deco or art nouveau look, as the original four ships have.
And while we’re here, yes it’s the Disney Imagination so a lot of folks are already expecting that Figment (from EPCOT’s Imagination pavilion) will be featured as the Grand Hall statue. While I’m not saying yes or no either way to this, I do think it’s highly unlikely.
Figment, while known to many Disney Parks fans, is relatively unknown in Japan. He does not have his own ride there, and (as of press time) there are no official plans for a movie or series in the region to launch before the debut of the new ship (likely 2029).
There are plenty of other pieces that could be swapped out and switched around from each of the Disney Cruise Line ships, whether it be room themes, coffee shops, the buffet (Pixar Market from the Disney Adventure, anyone?), but these, I think, would be the easiest to adapt to bring back the best-of-the-best from the previous ships.