Disney Cruise Line has used its latest D23 showcase to reveal new details about Disney Believe and offer the first glimpse of an entirely new class of ships that will begin joining the fleet in 2029.
The announcements provide a clearer picture of both the cruise line’s immediate expansion and what will follow once its current generation of Wish-class ships is complete.
Disney Believe, which is scheduled to debut in late 2027, will become the fourth vessel in the Wish class. Disney has now confirmed several of the characters and design elements that will feature prominently across the ship, including Tinker Bell, Moana and characters from Toy Story.
At the same time, Disney Cruise Line confirmed that the three ships due to arrive from 2029 will form an entirely new class rather than extending the existing Wish-class design.
The new generation of vessels will be positioned between Disney’s smaller classic ships and its newer, larger vessels, a move intended to give the cruise line greater flexibility when choosing destinations and developing future itineraries.
Disney Believe To Feature Tinker Bell, Moana And Toy Story
Disney Believe will carry a theme centred around “promise and possibilities”, with characters selected to reflect ideas of magic, adventure and believing in oneself.
Tinker Bell, from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 1953 film Peter Pan, will feature in the ship’s bow artwork.
The hand-painted filigree design will place Tinker Bell at its centre while also incorporating silhouettes of Peter Pan, Wendy, John, Michael, Captain Hook and Smee.
Inside the ship, the Grand Hall will be themed around Moana.
A bronze cast statue of the character will serve as the centrepiece of the space, accompanied by Pua and Heihei. Concept artwork shows Moana looking towards the horizon in an adventurous pose.
The surrounding Grand Hall design will continue the theme with wave-inspired details on the walls, a subtle water pattern incorporated into the carpet and Polynesian influences elsewhere in the space.
Disney has also chosen Toy Story for Disney Believe’s stern sculpture.
Woody and Buzz Lightyear will appear to be completing the ship’s name using oversized yellow crayons, extending Disney Cruise Line’s tradition of placing character sculptures on the sterns of its vessels.
“This ship celebrates belief in magic, family, the power of nature, and belief in yourself,” said Claire Weiss, Portfolio Executive Creative Director of Walt Disney Imagineering. “And all the stories we tell onboard will be tied together by the core Disney notion of believing in something fantastical.”
One particularly noticeable change will be the lettering used for the ship’s name on the stern.
Rather than using the familiar script-style font seen across much of the Disney Cruise Line fleet, Disney Believe will carry its name in large, angled block lettering inspired by Toy Story.
The choice ties the ship’s name directly into the stern artwork, although it also makes Disney Believe visually different from the other vessels in the fleet.
Reaction among Disney Cruise Line fans has been mixed, with some welcoming the additional Toy Story reference and others preferring a consistent fleet-wide appearance.
“As part of the fleet as a whole I’m not a fan of the font, but as a stand alone ship I think it’s sweet and a nice homage to Toy Story,” one guest posted on Facebook.
Disney Believe is currently under construction at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Steel cutting for the vessel began on 8th August 2025, while Disney confirmed the ship’s name in March 2026.
The approximately 4,000-passenger ship is also expected to incorporate characters and stories from Frozen, The Little Mermaid and Encanto, although Disney has not yet explained how those franchises will feature onboard.
Its homeport and itineraries have also not yet been announced.
A fuller Disney Believe reveal is scheduled to be livestreamed on 7th October 2026, when further details about the ship are expected.
Three-Ship New Class Will Follow From 2029
Disney Cruise Line also used the Disney Experiences Showcase, Horizons: A Carousel of Progress to confirm more about the three ships that will follow Disney Believe.
The vessels were originally announced during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in 2024 as part of Disney Cruise Line’s expansion to a 13-ship fleet.
Until now, however, relatively little had been revealed about how the three ships would fit into the company’s existing lineup.
Disney has now confirmed they will form an entirely new class.
The ships will be larger than Disney Cruise Line’s classic vessels, such as Disney Wonder, but smaller than newer ships including Disney Wish.
That places the new class in the middle of Disney’s fleet by size and could allow the company to operate in destinations where the larger Wish-class ships may be less suitable.
Claire Weiss explained that the ships will be “right in the middle of our classic ships and our newer ones. That gives us some amazing opportunities to visit new places and reach brand new audiences we haven’t before.”
Disney showed D23 attendees the first teaser image of the new class during the presentation, with Weiss confirming that the preview had not previously been shown publicly.
Few further details were disclosed, including the names of the ships, their capacities, homeports, onboard attractions or intended destinations.
The first vessels from the new class are expected to begin entering service from 2029.
Their arrival will mark another major step in Disney Cruise Line’s expansion. The fleet has grown beyond the original Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy with the additions of Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure, while Disney Believe will follow in 2027.
Once the three newly confirmed vessels arrive, Disney Cruise Line is expected to operate a fleet of 13 ships, giving the company a considerably broader range of ship sizes and potentially allowing it to expand into additional cruise markets around the world.
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