Disney Cruise Ships Compared: Finding the Perfect Ship for Your Magical Journey!

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In Disney Cruise circles it’s known as the Grand Slam.

This is only achieved when you have sailed on all of the Disney Cruise Line ships in the fleet.

As the years go by, and the expansion of DCL gathers pace, it is becoming more difficult!

Right now there are five ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, but soon, with the launch of Disney Treasure, there will be six. All of the ships offer different experiences

Wait until 2026 and you will have to sail on eight Disney Cruise ships to get your Grand Slam title including the brand-new Disney Adventure. From having just four ships not so long ago, DCL is now becoming a major player in the cruise industry with a rapid expansion of the fleet.

Which Disney Ships Are Currently Sailing?

Right now Disney Cruise Line offers:

• Disney Magic
• Disney Wonder
• Disney Dream
• Disney Fantasy
• Disney Wish

By 2025, three new Disney Ships will be launched making the total fleet of eight ships.

• Disney Treasure December 2024
• Disney Adventure
• Triton Class Ship

The Different Classes of DCL Ship

Right now there are three different “classes” of Disney ships:

• The Classic Ships – Disney Magic and Disney Wonder
• The Dream Class Ships – Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy
• The Triton Class Ships – Disney Wish and Disney Treasure (her maiden voyage is set for December 2024).

There will be at least one more Triton Class ship in the fleet as this has already been ordered. It is not known when construction will start or when she will sail.

As yet there is no news on what the name of this Disney ship will be.

2025 will also see the launch of the new ship that Disney acquired which was already 75% completed when they purchased it.

The acquisition of Global Dream was a bit of a surprise. This almost completed ship was headed for the scrap yard unless a buyer was found. Disney stepped in.

The Global Dream reportedly cost $1.8 billion to build and lenders had financed about $1.6 billion of this.

DCL had an eye for a bargain and reportedly paid only $41 million for the partially completed ship. Considering that you could easily pay around that for a home in Malibu California (obviously, the ship has rather higher running costs), this was a deal.

This ship will be very much larger than any of the others in the Disney fleet. Not only that, but she will be one of the biggest cruise ships in the World.

She will even rival the largest Royal Caribbean ships in size – although will not be quite as huge as Icon of the Seas!

It has been announced that the biggest ship in the fleet will be named Disney Aventure.

We know that this Disney ship will sail out of Singapore – but very few other details are known.

Disney Buys New Ship – What Will She Be Like?

Disney Wish Cruise Ship Size

The Disney Wish is the newest addition to the fleet and is the first of the Triton Class of ships. She is currently the largest ship in the fleet, but she will soon be overtaken by the new Disney Adventure.

• Gross Tonnage: 144000 GT
• Length: 1,119 feet
• Beam: 135 feet (41 meters)
• Draft: 28 feet (9 meters)
• Max Speed: 28 mph (24 knots)
• Launched: 2022
• Capacity: 4,000 passengers
• Crew Members: 1,458
• Total on Board: 5,458
• Total Staterooms: 1,254
• Registered: Bahamas
• Ship Cost: $900 Million

Here is a look at the different types of staterooms available on Disney Wish.

• 1,254 staterooms (includes 53 concierge staterooms and 23 concierge suites)
• 1,133 outside staterooms (90%)
  • 948 verandah staterooms (70%)
  • 185 oceanview staterooms (20%)
• 121 inside staterooms (10%)

Disney Wish Restaurants:

• 1923
• Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Experience
• Worlds of Marvel
• Palo
• Enchante

How Big Is Disney’s Dream Cruise Ship?

There are two Dream Class ships. The Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.

They are smaller than Disney Wish – although they have the same number of staterooms and identical maximum passenger capacity.

Gross Tonnage: 129690 GT
Ship Length: 1,115 feet
Beam: 137 feet
Draft: 27 feet
Max Speed: 28 mph (24 knots)
Launched: 2010
Capacity: 4,000 passengers
Crew Members: 1,458
Total on Board: 5,458
Total Staterooms: 1,250
Registered: Bahamas
Ship Cost: $900 Million

Disney Dream Restaurants:

• Animator’s Palate
• Enchanted Garden
• Royal Palace
• Palo
• Remy

Disney Fantasy Size

The Disney Fantasy is identical to the Disney Dream in its capacity and construction. However, the interior design is different.

She was launched a year later than her sister ship, in 2011.

• Gross Tonnage: 129690 GT
• Ship Length: 1,115 feet
• Beam: 137 feet
• Draft: 27 feet
• Max Speed: 28 mph (24 knots)
• Launched: 2011
• Capacity: 4,000 passengers
• Crew Members: 1,458
• Total on Board: 5,458
• Total Staterooms: 1,250
• Registered: Bahamas
• Ship Cost: $950 Million

There are a total of 1,250 staterooms on the Disney Fantasy.

• 150 Inside Staterooms (12%)
• 1,100 Outside Staterooms (88%)
  • 199 ocean view
  • 901 verandah (includes 21 suites)

Disney Fantasy Restaurants

• Disney Fantasy Enchanted Garden
• Disney Fantasy Animator’s Palate
• Royal Court Restaurant
• Palo on Disney Fantasy
• Remy

Disney Magic Cruise Ship – How Big is She?

Disney Magic was the first Disney Cruise Ship to be launched.

The Magic and Wonder are both known as the Classic ships.

The Magic was built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy.

One fun fact is that she was built in two halves at two different locations of the Fincantieri shipyard. When each was completed they were carefully welded together. I

f you look at the exterior wall in the middle of the promenade Deck 4 you can see the welding join where the two halves were joined.

• Gross Tonnage: 83969 GT
• Ship Length: 984 feet
• Beam: 106 feet
• Draft: 25 feet
• Max Speed: 25 mph (22 knots)
• Launched: 1998
• Capacity: 2,713 passengers
• Crew Members: 945
• Total on Board: 3,658
• Total Staterooms: 875
• Registered: Bahamas
• Ship Cost: $400 Million

Disney Magic Restaurants:

• Rapunzel’s Royal Table
• Animator’s Palate
• Lumiere’s
• Palo

Disney Wonder Cruise Ship Size

The Wonder is almost identical in construction and capacity to Disney Magic.

However, the Wonder was not built in two halves as the Magic was. She was built in one shipyard location in one piece.

However, by the usual Disney attention to detail if you look at Deck 4 on the Wonder on the exterior wall in the middle of the deck you will see a join line.

This is a fake welding line but was included to make it look like the real one on Disney Magic.

Gross Tonnage: 83969 GT
Ship Length: 984 feet
Beam: 106 feet
Draft: 25 feet
Max Speed: 25 mph (22 knots)
Launched: 1998
Capacity: 2,713 passengers
Crew Members: 945
Total on Board: 3,658
Total Staterooms: 875
Registered: Bahamas
Ship Cost: $450 Million

Disney Wonder Restaurants:

• Animator’s Palate
• Tiana’s Place
• Tiriton’s
• Palo

DCL Ships Size Comparison

The Global Dream will be the giant of the fleet. This Disney Cruise ship will be one of the biggest in the world.

Disney is not known for the size of its ships. Royal Caribbean usually takes this distinction.

Ships Ranked Biggest to Smallest

• Global Dream – 208,000 GRT
• New Triton-class ship – 144,000 GRT
• Disney Treasure – 144,000 GRT
• Disney Wish – 144,000 GRT
• Disney Fantasy – 129,690 GRT
• Disney Dream – 129,690 GRT
• Disney Wonder – 84,000 GRT
• Disney Magic – 84,000 GRT

Which Disney Cruise Ship is the Biggest?

Right now the biggest Disney Ships is the Wish.

Disney Treasure will be equal in size to the Wish. So will the third Triton Class ship which will launch in 2025.

In 2024 with the launch of the new Triton Class ship, this will be equal between the Disney Wish and Treasure.

When we reach the launch of the Global Dream, she will be, by far the biggest of the Disney Cruise ships.

Which Ship is the Smallest?

The smallest is Disney Magic. Well, it is pretty much a tie between Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. They are identical in most ways.

One interesting difference is that Disney Magic was built in two parts and welded together. Disney Wonder was built in one part.

Look closely at Disney Wonder and you will see a “fake” welding line on the ship, in the same place that the real one is on Disney Magic.

Which Disney Ship is the Newest?

At the beginning of 2024, Disney Wish is currently the newest of the Disney cruise ships.

However, in December 2024 the Disney Treasure will be launched and will take over this title.

Which Ship is the Oldest?

Disney Magic is the oldest of the fleet, having been launched in 1998. She is the sister ship of Disney Wonder, which was launched just a year later in 1999.

She is from the time when most of the cruise industry was focusing on smaller ships and the mega cruise ships of today were simply a glimmer in the eye of the designers!

Just because the Magic and Wonder are the older sisters of the fleet doesn’t mean that they don’t have a lot to offer. These older ships still offer the signature cruise experience of Disney characters, themed main dining, kids’ clubs, Broadway-quality entertainment, specialty restaurants for adults, adult pool decks, family pools and character meet and greets.

All of the ships in the fleet are updated during frequent dry docks.

Where Will Disney Cruise Ships Sail in 2024?

Disney Cruise ships are now sailing from more ports than ever, including Disney’s Private island Castaway Cay. And in summer 2024 there will be port stops at their new island destination Lighthouse Point.

• Disney Wish – sailing from Port Canaveral on 3 and 4-night Bahamas Cruises with port stops at Castaway Cay
• Disney Fantasy – sailing from Port Canaveral on mostly 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean Cruises with port stops at Castaway Cay.
• Disney Magic – sailing from Galveston, New Orleans, Fort Lauderdale, and San Juan.
• Disney Dream – sailing from Fort Lauderdale on Bahamian and Caribbean Cruises
• Disney Wonder – sailing Australian, New Zealand, Transpacific, Pacific Coast, Alaskan, Mexican Riviera, and Baja Cruises.

Disney Cruise Sailings 2024

Disney Cruise Tips

Here are some articles and guides to help you if you are sailing on a Disney Cruise or thinking of booking one. These guides will help you decide which is the best Disney Cruise ship for your family vacation whether you are a first-time cruiser or have sailed with different cruise lines previously.

Disney Dream and Fantasy – Secret Staterooms Guide

Disney Cruise Money Mistakes – Avoid Wasting Money on Your Cruise

What You Really Shouldn’t Pack on a Disney Cruise

What Is Not Included in a Disney Cruise and What You Have to Pay Extra For

Things You Really Shouldn’t Forget on Your Disney Cruise