How Disney Treasure Delivers True Theme Park Magic at Sea
“Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.” These are the first words you see when you enter Disneyland Park in California, but they might as well be scrawled on the bow of Disney’s newest cruise ship. The recently launched Disney Treasure is the sixth ship in Disney Cruise Line’s growing fleet, and the first to fully embrace the idea of delivering true theme park magic at sea.
For the first time, Walt Disney Imagineering looked to theme parks for design inspiration for its ships, and the result is something completely new. Aboard Disney Treasure, guests can immerse themselves in exquisite interpretations of iconic Disney Parks attractions such as the Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
“Coming from Imagineering, the division that created the attractions, we wanted to be authentic to these attractions,” Jason Roberts, Walt Disney Imagineer, told media aboard the Treasure preview at the start of the month. “We wanted guests to feel like the attraction is right there and you’re a part of it.”
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Haunted Mansion Parlor – Sampling Spirits with Spirits
Without a doubt, the Disney treasure everyone is dying to enter is the Haunted Mansion Parlor, a bar inspired by the park’s cult attraction Haunted Mansion. Imagineer Danny Handke, creative director of the Haunted Mansion Parlor, began his two-decade career at Disney working at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. He says the heart of any good theme park attraction is the story, and Haunted Mansion Parlor extends the Haunted Mansion narrative all the way to the sea.
Handke explained that the haunted mansion’s living room once belonged to a ship captain who entered “regions beyond” after retrieving his stranded bride-to-be. While guests sip their ghostly spirits, they are entertained by show segments where legendary characters from Haunted Mansion park attractions from around the world come to socialize. Fans will recognize Madame Leota, Hitchhiking Ghosts, and the Ghost Host himself.
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To create the Haunted Mansion Parlor, Handke dug into the archives to examine the original attraction designs created by legendary Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump. The centerpiece of the Haunted Mansion is an aquarium with “ghost fish” swimming throughout. The aquarium was an original Rolly Crump design created for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion that ultimately did not make it into the attraction. A “melting face” bust to the left of the Parlor fireplace is none other than Rolly Crump himself.
Sitting in the living room of the Haunted Mansion, it’s easy to forget that you’re on a cruise ship and being transported back to a Disney park.
Skipper Society serves specialty drinks and Bad Dad Jokes
Just off the atrium is the Jungle Cruise-themed lounge, Skipper Society. Similar to Jungle Navigation Co. LTD’s Skipper Canteen at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, the Skipper Society offers cocktails and snacks under a tangle of jungle foliage and canvas awnings reminiscent of Jungle Cruise steamboats.
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Disney Imagineers Megan Moore and Karyn Poore highlighted some of their favorite plants, including hibiscus and lowbiscus, as well as sneaky homages to the playful skippers who lead Jungle Cruise excursions through the world’s rivers . Fun fact: The photos of the skippers throughout the space are of project team members from Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Cruise Line.
As guests sit in camp-style furniture and listen to 1940s big band music like Doris Day’s “Sentimental Journey,” it’s easy to imagine being in Adventureland, waving goodbye to all those people standing on the quay. You’ll never see them again anyway…
The Periscope pub serves up a whale of history
The Periscope Pub at Disney Treasure is a bar inspired by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the classic Magic Kingdom Fantasyland attraction that opened from 1971 to 1994. The defunct submarine still attracts a passionate fan base even after it closed ago 30 years old. The highlight of this place is its Jules Verne Steampunk underwater style interior and its “glass” ceiling made up of video screens to simulate the effect of being at the bottom of an aquatic world with fish, sharks and many others swimming.
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Periscope Pub offers cocktails, mead, wine and craft beer, including three undiscovered beers that guests can’t find anywhere else. The nautical-themed bar also has some of the coolest beer tap handles I’ve ever seen.
AquaMouse attraction at sea
Those looking for a real Disney park attraction – not just an attraction-inspired bar – can put on their swimsuits and head to the upper deck for AquaMouse: The Curse of the Golden Egg. This water roller coaster propels two-person rafts through 760 feet of winding tubes above the water.
AquaMouse debuted on Disney Wish, but aboard the Disney Treasure, AquaMouse introduces a new storyline following Mickey and Minnie on an adventure through a mysterious temple in search of treasure. AquaMouse also includes the original Mickey Mouse shorts featured on Disney Wish.
The short ride is cute, offers a few splashes, and kids who like the current Mickey Mouse shorts will enjoy seeing the characters on screen.
Disney Parks entertainment and shows
Of course, the Disney theme park experience isn’t just about its rides like Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise, but also a world filled with characters and live shows. There are Disney characters throughout Disney Treasure who often appear in unexpected outfits. Spend time in the Great Hall between early and late dinners and you’re bound to see a gathering of characters.
Enjoy a character meal in the parks? La Plaza de Coco is a Pixar movie-themed, theater-in-the-round dining experience Coco. The story follows Miguel three years after the events of the film and invites families to join a festive dinner with traditional Mexican food and live entertainment.
Show director Juan Cantu said he was “honored to tell the cultural story of Dia de Los Muertos and show how music healed Miguel’s family after Mama Coco’s death.” The dinner show was an immersive and moving experience that brought back memories of my own childhood visits to Southern California.
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Finally, the performance of “Disney The Tale of Moana” at the Walt Disney Theater aboard the Disney Treasure blew me away. This show is hands down the best stage production currently performing on a Disney ship. With a predominantly Asian and Pacific Islander cast, the set design, music and choreography pay homage to traditional Polynesian culture.
Oahu native Kaena Kekoa plays Moana and was excited to perform in a show honoring the cultural heritage of the islands. Although she has never been on a cruise ship before, Kekoa enjoys “telling the story from coast to coast.” Kaena Kekoa also shares the stage with towering puppets, the largest ever created for a Disney Cruise Line show, by master Broadway puppet designer Michael Curry.
It’s visually stunning when Moana meets and is upstaged by the imposing and fiery Te Kā and restores Te Fiti’s heart. The enormous Te Kā puppet transforms into the gentle island goddess Te Fiti herself in a breathtaking moment of stage magic.
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Of course, a visit to a Disney park isn’t complete without fireworks. Don’t worry, Disney Treasure has you covered too. One night while sailing, fireworks are set off following the Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay Party.
The Disney Treasure takes the best elements of the Disney theme park experience and brings them together for a cruise adventure. So, “To all who come to this happy place (or better yet, to all who sail this happy ship)…welcome.” » The Disney Treasure is truly a Disney theme park at sea.
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