disney cruise april 10 2023

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Disney Cruise 2023 Itineraries

Disclosure: This Disney Cruise 2023 Itineraries post contains affiliate links. Read full Disclosure Policy .

Considering a Disney Cruise in 2023?

If you’re looking for our best information about taking a Disney Cruise, I recommend you start here . Then come back to this page and find the 2023 itinerary that works best for you.

Looking for Disney Cruise 2022 itineraries ? or Disney Cruise 2024 itineraries ?

Where will Disney Cruise sail in 2023?

Disney Cruise Line has announced their itineraries for 2023.

The full line-up and itineraries are listed below for the months of January thru December 2023.

Disney Dream 2023 Schedule
Disney Fantasy 2023 Schedule
Disney Wonder 2023 Schedule
Disney Magic 2023 Schedule

Disney Wish 2023 Schedule

Disney dream 2023 schedule.

Sailing from Miami, Florida
Destinations: Castaway Cay | Cozumel, Mexico
Destinations: Castaway Cay | Grand Cayman
Destinations: Nassau, Bahamas | Castaway Cay
Sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida
Destinations: Castaway Cay (x2)
Destinations: Castaway Cay | Grand Cayman | Falmouth, Jamaica | Cozumel, Mexico
Destinations: Castaway Cay | Tortola | St. Thomas
Destinations: Castaway Cay | Nassau, Bahamas
Destinations: Azores | Lisbon, Portugal | Cadiz, Spain | Malaga, Spain | Cartagena, Spain | Barcelona, Spain
Sailing from Barcelona, Spain
Destinations: Toulon, France | Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy | Livorno, Italy | Naples, Italy | Palma, Spain
Destinations: Cannes, France | Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy | Livorno, Italy | Naples, Italy
Destinations: Marseilles, France | Livorno, Italy | Kefalonia, Greece | Piraeus (Athens), Greece | Santorini, Greece | Naples, Italy
Sailing from Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
Destinations: Naples, Italy | Mykonos, Greece | Piraeus (Athens) , Greece | Santorini, Greece | Chania (Crete), Greece
Destinations: Naples, Italy | Mykonos, Greece | Santorini, Greece | Chania (Crete), Greece
Destinations: Messina, Italy | Livorno, Italy | Toulon, France |Naples, Italy | Mykonos, Greece | Piraeus (Athens), Greece | Barcelona, Spain
Destinations: Cannes, France | Livorno, Italy | Naples, Italy | Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
Destinations: Cadiz, Spain | Lisbon, Portugal | Vigo, Spain | Le Havre, France | Southampton, England
Sailing from Southhampton, England
Destinations: Cherbourg, France | Reykjavik, Iceland | Isafjordur, Iceland | Akureyri, Iceland | Alesund, Norway | Copenhagen, Denmark
Sailing from Copenhagen, Denmark
Destinations: Kiel, Germany | Nynashamn, Sweden | Fredericia, Denmark | Oslo, Norway
Destinations: Kiel, Germany | Nynashamn, Sweden | Fredericia, Denmark | Oslo, Norway | Skagen, Denmark | Amsterdam, The Netherlands, | Zeebrugge (Bruges), Belgium | Copenhagen, Denmark | Southampton, England
Sailing from Southampton, England
Destinations: Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Skjolden, Norway | Nordfjordeid, Norway | Sandnes, Norway
Destinations: La Rochelle, France
Destinations: Bilbao, Spain
Destinations: Amsterdam, The Netherlands | Copenhagen, Denmark | Oslo, Norway | Sandnes, Norway
Destinations: Belfast, Ireland | Greenock, Scotland | Liverpool, England | Ringaskiddy, England | Portland, Englans
Destinations: Vigo | Lisbon | Bermuda
Sailing from New York
Destinations: Bermuda (2 days)
Destinations: Bermuda
Destinations: Bermuda (3 days)
Destinations: Saint John (New Brunswick)
Destinations: Bermuda | Tortola
Sailing from San Juan
Destinations: St. Kitts | Antigua | Aruba | Curaçao
Destinations: Castaway Cay
Sailing from Fort Lauderdale
Destinations: Cozumel | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Grand Cayman | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Nassau | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Nassau | Castaway Cay (2X)

Disney Fantasy 2023 Schedule

Destinations: San Juan, Puerto Rico | Tortola | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico | Grand Cayman | Falmouth, Jamaica | Castaway Cay
Destinations: St. Thomas | Tortola | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Bermuda (2x) | Nassau, Bahamas | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico | Costa Maya, Mexico | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Nassau, Bahamas | Castaway Cay (2x)
Destinations: Aruba | Bonaire | Antigua | St. Thomas
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico | Grand Cayman | Castaway Cay
Destinations: St. Maarten | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Cozumel | Grand Cayman | Falmouth | Castaway Cay

Disney Wonder 2023 Schedule

Sailing from San Diego, California
Destinations: Catalina Island | Ensenada, Mexico
Destinations: Ensenada, Mexico
Destinations: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Destinations: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico | Ensenada, Mexico
Destinations: Cabo San Lucas | Ensenada, Mexico
Destinations: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico | Mazatlan, Mexico | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Destinations: Victoria, British Columbia | Vancouver, British Columbia
Sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia
Destinations: Dawes Glacier | Skagway | Juneau | Ketchikan
Destinations: Dawes Glacier | Icy Strait Point | Juneau | Ketchikan
Destinations: Icy Strait Point | Skagway | Juneau | Hubbard Glacier | Sitka, Ketchikan
Destinations: Dawes Glacier | Ketchikan
Destinations: Dawes Glacier | Skagway | Juneau | Sitka | Ketchikan
Destinations: Hilo | Kauai | Maui
Sailing from Honolulu
Destinations: Pago Pago| American Samoa| Fiji | New Caledonia
Sailing from Sydney
Destinations: Hobart
Destinations:
Sailing from Melbourne
Sailing from Auckland
Destinations: Brisbane
Sailing from Brisbane
Destinations: Sydney
Destinations: Noumea

Disney Magic 2023 Schedule

Sailing from Galveston, Texas
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico | Grand Cayman | Falmouth, Jamaica
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico | Grand Cayman
Destinations: Progreso, Mexico
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico | Costa Maya, Mexico
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico | Progreso, Mexico
Sailing from New Orleans, Louisiana
Sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico
Destinations: St. Kitts | St. Lucia | Bonaire | Aruba | Curacao
Destinations: St. Maarten | Antigua | Dominica | St. Lucia | Barbados
Destinations: St. Thomas | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Nassau, Bahamas| Castaway Cay
Destinations: Grand Cayman| Castaway Cay
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico| Castaway Cay
Destinations: Nassau, Bahamas| Castaway Cay (2x)
Destinations: Tortola | St. Thomas| Castaway Cay
Destinations: Cozumel, Mexico| Grand Cayman | Falmouth, Jamaica | Castaway Cay
Destinations: Cozumel | Grand Cayman | Cartagena | Panama Canal | Puerto Vallarta | Cabo San Lucas
Sailing from San Diego
Destinations: Ensenada
Destinations: Catalina Island | Ensenada
Destinations: Cabo San Lucas
Destinations: Cabo San Lucas | Ensenada
Destinations: Puerto Vallarta | Mazatlan | Cabo San Lucas
Destinations: Cabo San Lucas | Puerto Vallarta | Panama Canal | Cartagena | George Town | Cozumel
Sailing from Galveston
Destinations: Progreso
Destinations: Cozumel | Progreso

Disney Wish has two itineraries for 2023, starting in January: a 3-night & 4-night.

3 Night Itinerary: Bahamas

January 6, 2023
January 13, 2023
January 20, 2023
January 27, 2023
February 3, 2023
February 10, 2023
February 17, 2023
February 24, 2023
March 3, 2023
March 10, 2023
March 17, 2023
March 24, 2023
March 31, 2023
April 7, 2023
April 14, 2023
April 21, 2023
April 28, 2023
May 5, 2023
May 12, 2023
May 19, 2023
May 26, 2023
June 2, 2023
June 9, 2023
June 16, 2023
June 23, 2023
June 30, 2023
July 7, 2023
July 14, 2023
July 21, 2023
July 28, 2023
August 4, 2023
August 11, 2023
August 18, 2023
August 25, 2023
September 1, 2023
September 8, 2023
September 15, 2023
September 22, 2023
September 29, 2023
October 6, 2023
October 13, 2023
October 20, 2023
October 27, 2023
November 3, 2023
November 10, 2023
November 17, 2023
November 24, 2023
December 1, 2023
December 8, 2023
December 15, 2023
December 26, 2023

4 Night Itinerary: Bahamas

January 2, 2023
January 9, 2023
January 16, 2023
January 23, 2023
January 30, 2023
February 6, 2023
February 13, 2023
February 20, 2023
February 27, 2023
March 6, 2023
March 13, 2023
March 20, 2023
March 27, 2023
April 3, 2023
April 10, 2023
April 17, 2023
April 24, 2023
May 1, 2023
May 8, 2023
May 15, 2023
May 22, 2023
May 29, 2023
June 5, 2023
June 12, 2023
June 19, 2023
June 26, 2023
July 3, 2023
July 10, 2023
July 17, 2023
July 24, 2023
July 31, 2023
August 7, 2023
August 14, 2023
September 4, 2023
September 11, 2023
September 18, 2023
September 25, 2023
October 2, 2023
October 9, 2023
October 16, 2023
October 23, 2023
October 30, 2023
November 6, 2023
November 13, 2023
November 20, 2023
November 27, 2023
December 4, 2023
December 11, 2023
December 18, 2023
December 22, 2023
December 29, 2023

Looking ahead to 2024? We will share Disney Cruise 2024 Itineraries when they are available.

Summer 2023 Disney Cruise Line Itineraries

Disney Cruise Line announced itineraries through Summer 2023 for the Magic, Wonder, Dream, Fantasy legacy ships, plus the brand-new Disney Wish! There are sailings to popular ports of call in the Greek Isles, Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Alaska, and the Caribbean. This post covers the destinations, followed by commentary on pricing, our recommended destinations, and why we’ll be booking on opening day instead of waiting for a deal.

Note that “opening day” booking for the general public will begin on May 9, 2022. (Do not call today–these itineraries cannot be booked yet by anyone.) Prior to that, there will be a staggered advance booking period beginning next Monday. Here’s the eligibility timeline:

May 2, 2022 – Platinum Castaway Club Members, Golden Oak Club Residents
May 3, 2022 – Gold Castaway Club Members
May 5, 2022 – Silver Castaway Club Members, Disney Vacation Club Members, Adventures by Disney Insiders
May 9, 2022 – All Guests

If you’re an existing member, Disney Cruise Line recommends that you log in to your account now to verify your Castaway Club status, so you’ll be all set to book on your designated date. You can also call (866) 784-1592 starting at 8:00 AM Eastern Time, or contact your travel agent.

Disney Dream Marks Inaugural Season in Europe – For its first-ever summer season in Europe, the Disney Dream will call on a wide variety of destinations among the most treasured in the world. With sailings anywhere from 4 to 11 nights, the Disney Dream will sail from Barcelona and Rome to picturesque ports of call throughout the Mediterranean, including a first-ever seven-night sailing to the Greek Isles with stops in the ever-popular ports of Santorini and Mykonos.

Starting in late Summer 2023 and continuing through early fall, departures of the Disney Dream from Southampton will feature cruises to a wealth of destinations including Spain, France, the British Isles, Norway and Iceland. New ports of call include the picturesque La Rochelle, France and two new ports in Norway, Skjolden and Sandnes.

Summer 2023 sailings to Alaska aboard Disney Wonder – The breathtaking natural beauty of Alaska will combine with the magic of Disney on 5, 7 and 9-night sailings on the Disney Wonder from Vancouver, Canada. Beginning in May 2023, cruisers will be invited to discover exciting ports like Ketchikan and Skagway, with their prehistoric glaciers, gold mining relics and spectacular land- and sea-life.

Three Alaskan itineraries call at Icy Strait Point, home to a coastal rainforest, wilderness tours and ziplining above the treetops.

Tropical Escapes to the Bahamas and Caribbean from Florida – Sun-splashed tropical isles throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean will await guests on three Disney Cruise Line ships from Florida in summer 2023.

For its first full summer of sailing, the Disney Wish will homeport in Port Canaveral near Orlando for a series of three- and four-night Bahamas cruises to Nassau and Disney’s private island oasis, Castaway Cay. The Disney Wish will feature exciting new additions including Disney’s first “Frozen”-themed theatrical dining experience and AquaMouse, a wild water adventure and first-ever Disney attraction at sea.

Port Canaveral will also be the departure point for the Disney Fantasy for sailings ranging in length from five to 10 nights. In addition to seven-night cruises to popular ports in the eastern and western Caribbean, guests will also be able to experience a five-night Bahamian sailing with back-to-back calls at Castaway Cay, a 10-night southern Caribbean itinerary to the islands of Aruba and Bonaire, and an 8-night cruise featuring two days on the beautiful pink sand beaches of Bermuda.

The Disney Magic will make its summer home in Miami for an assortment of destinations. Starting May 27, the Disney Magic will sail 4-night Bahamas cruises and 5-night western Caribbean voyages, followed by two 7-night sailings in July 2023 to the Eastern and Western Caribbean. Select summer voyages aboard the Disney Magic will include double days at Castaway Cay.

When it comes to commentary, I don’t have a ton to offer that is unique to the Summer 2023 itineraries. Most of it would be rehashed from the last couple of years, even though I haven’t taken a cruise since late 2019. (Sarah has done a couple, but she’s not the one writing this.)

I know we definitely will be booking one of these, as we have a 50% off future cruise credit from one of our Disney Wish itineraries that was cancelled. Which cruise we choose is subject to, ahem, internal debate , but we’re both in agreement that “going big” makes sense given the size of the savings. Leading candidates as of right now are to the Greek Isles or Northern Europe; both have many ‘new to us’ destinations that are on our travel bucket lists.

If you’re looking for a recommendation, pretty much everyone who has done one will shower the Alaska itineraries with praise. To be sure, that’s one of the better trips we’ve taken. It’s also pretty approachable.

However, our all-time favorite cruise is the Norwegian Fjords itinerary–by a pretty wide margin. We cover the similarities and differences in Norway v. Alaska Cruises , but the bottom line is that for us, Norway was much better. Others we know who have done both give the edge to Alaska–you really can’t go wrong either way.

Much like Walt Disney World on discount drop day, Disney Cruise Line’s phones will be jammed and the online system will likely slow to a crawl at peak times. Please do not exacerbate this by calling on a day before you’re eligible; they won’t make an exception and let you cut the line. It’ll just waste everyone’s time, including yours.

It’s always a good idea to use an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner to do the work for you, but especially for opening day bookings. For one thing, using them to book your cruise is a great way to save time and stress. For another, their services are free to you since they’re paid commission by DCL on the reservation.

Every year opening day price-points make waves on social media once they’re available to book for Platinum Castaway Club members, as prices always jump. This is not really a surprise at this point, but it’s nonetheless easy to be taken aback when first seeing each year’s prices…especially if you remember what prices were 5 years ago.

With that said, it’s worth noting that opening day stateroom rates are largely on the lower end of the historical pricing spectrum. As itineraries start to book up and stateroom inventory becomes more scarce, rates invariably increase. Pricing is demand-based, with cruises in recent years rarely decreasing in price–increases are far more common.

We’ve scored some good deals on Disney Cruise Line over the years (and cover how you can do the same in our How to Save Money on Disney Cruise Line Sailings post), but have had less luck since 2018 (with the exception of last fall and winter, when Sarah scored some exceptional deals).

With the sailings out of Florida–especially Port Canaveral–the odds of prices dropping are stacked against you. Normally, there’s a high probability that opening day prices are the cheapest that those sailings will ever be. Of course, this is assuming pent-up demand and the global economy remain strong heading into 2023, and that’s hardly a sure thing at this point.

Ultimately, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with Disney Cruise Line, just like all other aspects of travel. With that 50% future cruise credit, we’ll likely hedge our bets and book as soon as we’re eligible on May 2 (assuming we can settle on an itinerary between now and then).

If we didn’t have that, I think we actually might wait this time. Not because I necessarily think a recession is on the horizon, but because I think that–at minimum–the bulk of pent-up demand, excess household savings, stimulus money, and so forth will largely be exhausted by next summer. Even if that’s correct, it doesn’t mean the return of deep discounts, but it could spell some relief from the high prices of travel. Or perhaps all of that is simply wishful thinking on my part, and this summer’s stratospheric pricing will be even worse in Summer 2023.

Planning to set sail aboard one of the Disney Cruise Line ships? Read our comprehensive Disney Cruise Line Guide to prepare for your trip, plan entertainment and other activities, and learn what to expect from your Disney cruise! If you want personalized recommendations for Disney Cruise Line itineraries, ships, and more, click here to get a cruise quote from a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner . They can find you all of the current discounts, and help you plan the details of your cruise!

YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of these Summer 2023 Disney Cruise Line itineraries? Any that appeal to you? Any thoughts on pent-up demand given nearly two years off from cruising? Will you be booking on opening day, or taking a wait and see approach hoping to score a deal later? Do you think Disney Cruise Line is worth the premium pricing? Any other tips to add or recommendations? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!

Written by Tom Bricker

Any thoughts of them expanding to a Hawaiian cruise?

did the 12 night Northern Europe when it included St.Petersburg,.. have a feeling that stop will be omitted,.. but floating through the Stockholm archipelago was magical and you will flip out!

Wonder if other readers feel conflicted because of the environmental effects of cruises? I love the idea of visiting a lot of cities from my boat but i can’t seem to deal with the bad parts of cruising….

These statistics from Friends of the Earth might make you feel a little better about Disney cruising:

https://foe.org/cruise-report-card/

Finally taking our 2020 Mediterranean cruise this June, fingers crossed. We’ve done the Caribbean and one one-way Mediterranean cruise before but this one going to the Greek isles is our dream. We are sooo excited, the additional cruise credit for cancellations helps, prices have gone up so much, it’s hard to justify a future one, even though I will say the service and food quality are outstanding. But got to try the Wish!

I am cruising Norway in September, based off your post LAST year when the summer itineraries came out! We ultimately went with a different cruise line because of the price difference, but I still have you to thank! I’m getting so excited!

Here’s another vote for Norway! My wife and I did the Disney Norway itinerary six years ago and we’ve generally regarded it as the best trip we’ve ever taken.

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Disney Cruise Line Itineraries and Booking Dates Revealed for Early 2023

By Lydia Storks Leave a Comment

Have you ever been on a Disney Cruise?

Disney offers sailings to a variety of destinations throughout the year, as well as special themed voyages for Halloween and Christmas. And next year, we’re even getting a brand-new cruise ship in the lineup — the Disney Wish ! If you’re debating on taking a Disney Cruise in the next few years, then you’ll definitely want to check out the new sailing dates that dropped today.

Disney Cruise Line has revealed some of the cruise options that will be available in 2023 , all of which will be open for early booking soon! As of right now, destinations include Western Caribbean, Bahamian, Eastern Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, and Baja cruises for dates through April 2023 . All departures from Florida will include a stop at “Disney’s private island oasis, Castaway Cay.”

Select guests will be able to book 2023 departures early , including Platinum, Gold, and Silver Castaway Cay Club members, Golden Oak residents, Disney Vacation Club Members, and Disney Insiders. Booking opens to the general public on October 21st, 2021.

If you plan on booking, make sure to check out the list of available itineraries on the Disney Cruise Line website . You can book for any of the five cruise ships and voyages up to 8 nights in length.

If you’re interested in taking a Disney Cruise, we recommend booking with Small World Vacations to get expert service. We’ll make sure to keep reporting any Disney Cruise Line news, so stay tuned to DFB for more updates! We’ve got you covered with the latest!

Click Here to Learn More About the New Disney Wish!

Don't do it alone.

Our favorite people over at Small World Vacations are ready to help you save time, headaches, and best of all, money, when you book your Disney trip or cruise.

So book that trip now, then sit back and enjoy planning your Disney World Trip with a DFB-approved expert! Click here for a no obligation price quote today, and let them know DFB sent you 🙂

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Have you ever been on a Disney Cruise? Let us know in the comments!

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Disney Cruise 2023 Dates – The Ultimate Guide

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Are you thinking of sailing on a Disney Cruise in 2023?

There are now five Disney Cruise ships and they are sailing from an ever-expanding variety of port stops including:

Port Canaveral, Florida
Miami, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
San Diego, California
Galveston, Texas
New Orleans
Vancouver, Canada
Honolulu, Hawaii
Sydney, Australia
Melbourne, Australia
Brisbane, Australia
Auckland, New Zealand
Barcelona, Spain
Southampton, United Kingdom

DISNEY DREAM 2023 SAILINGS

Disney dream early 2023 sailings from miami, disney dream europe cruises, disney dream sailing from new york, disney dream sailing from fort lauderdale, disney wish 2023 sailings, disney fantasy 2023 sailings, disney magic 2023 sailings, disney magic sailings from galveston, texas, disney magic sailing from new orleans, disney magic sailings from san juan, 7-night southern caribbean cruise from san juan, disney magic sailings from miami, disney magic sailings from san diego, disney wonder 2023 sailings, disney wonder sailings from san diego, disney wonder sailings from vancouver, disney wonder hawaii sailings, 10-night hawaiian cruise from vancouver ending in honolulu, disney wonder australia and new zealand cruises.

Here is a guide to all the Disney Cruise 2023 dates with itineraries for each sailing.

Disney Dream has a very varied selection of sailings for 2023. She will:

Start the year in Miami from January to May 2023
Sail on a Transatlantic Repositioning Cruise from Miami to Barcelona
Spend summer 2023 sailing a variety of European cruises including the Mediterranean, Northern European, and British Isles Cruises.
She then sails from Southampton to New York for 4, 5, and 6-night Bermudian itineraries.
The Dream repositions to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the Fall to sail Caribbean Cruises.
Disney Dream ends the year with a Double Dip sailing with two stops at Castaway Cay.

The Disney Dream sails 4 and 5-night itineraries from Miami for the early part of 2023.

All of the sailings include a scheduled stop on Disney’s private island Castaway Cay.

There is also a Double Dip cruise – this is the popular name for Disney Cruises that have two port stops at Castaway Cay. These cruises tend to be very popular.

Disney Dream 4 Night Bahamian Cruise from Miami

Miami Florida
Nassau, Bahamas
Castaway Cay

Sailing on 1/12/21, 1/26/23, 2/9/23, 2/23/23, 3/9/23, 3/23/23 and 4/6/23

Disney Dream 5-Night Bahamian Cruise from Miami with 2 Stops at Castaway Cay

Sailing on 4/10/23

Disney Dream 5-Night Bahamian Cruise from Miami

Grand Cayman

Sailing on 1/7/21, 1/21/23, 2/4/23, 2/18/23, 3/4/23, 3/18/23 and 4/1/23

Cozumel, Mexico

Sailing on 1/2/21, 1/16/23, 1/30/23, 2/13/23, 2/27/23, 3/13/23 and 3/27/23

Want to discover more about the Disney Dream? Here are some essential articles for you:

Disney Dream Restaurants – A Complete Guide

Disney Dream Secret Staterooms – What You Must Know

The Disney Dream will be sailing out of Europe for the first time in the Summer of 2023.

This is usually the Disney Magic, but the Dream will allow a greater number of passengers as she is a larger ship than the Magic.

The Disney Dream will sail on an Eastern Transatlantic cruise to reposition to Europe for Summer 2023.

13-Night Eastbound Transatlantic Cruise from Miami ending in Barcelona

Ponta Delgada (Azores)
Lisbon, Portugal
Cadiz, Spain
Malaga, Spain
Cartegena, Spain

This is sailing on May 7 2023 for the Dream to reposition to Barcelona from Miami.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Food on a Disney Cruise

7-Night Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona

Toulon, France
Livorno (Florence, Pisa)
Civitavecchia (Rome) Italy
Naples (Pompeii) Italy
Palma de Mallorca, Spain

This sails on 5/20/23

Cannes (Monte Carlo), France

This sails on 5/27/23 and 7/8/23

7-Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles Cruise from Civitavecchia (Rome)

Mykonos, Greece
Santorini Greece
Chania, Greece

This sails on 6/20/23

Disney Dream 9 Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles from Barcelona to Civitavecchia

This is likely to be one of the most popular cruises – if you want to book this one previous patterns have shown that the price is likely to rise quite a bit from opening day.

Barcelona Spain
Marseilles France
Livorno Italy
Kefalonia Greece
Piraeus (Athens) Greece
Naples Italy

This sailing is on 6/3/23

8-Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles Cruise from Civitavecchia (Rome)

This sails on 6/12/23

11-Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles Cruise from Civitavecchia (Rome) Ending in Barcelona

Civitavecchia (Romer) Italy
Messina (Sicily), Italy
Piraeus (Athens), Greece
Santorini, Greece
Naples (Pompeii), Italy
Livorno (Florence, Pisa), Italy
Toulon (Provence), France

7-Night Western Europe Cruise from Barcelona ending in Southampton

Le Havre (Paris) France
Southampton

This sails on 7/15/23

11-Night Northern Europe Cruise from Copenhagen ending in Southampton

Copenhagen, Denmark
Kiel, Germany
Nynäshamn (Stockholm), Sweden
Fredericia, Denmark
Skagen, Denmark
Oslo, Norway
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Zeebrugge (Brussels), Belgium
Southampton, England

Sailing on 8/8/23

Disney Dream Sailing from Southampton 2023

7-night norwegian fjords cruise from southampton.

Skjolden, Norway
Nordfjordeid, Norway
Sandnes (Stavanger), Norway

This sails on 8/19/23

Disney Dream 7-Night British Isles Cruise from Southampton

Belfast Northern Island
Greenock Scotland
Liverpool England
Ringaskiddy (Cork) Ireland
Portland England

This sailing will be on 9/10/23

Disney Dream 10 Night Iceland Norway and France from Southampton to Copenhagen

Southampton England
Cherbourg France
Reykjavik Iceland
Isafjordur Iceland
Akureyri Iceland
Alesund Norway

The Dream will sail on 7/22/23

Disney Dream 11 Night Westbound Transatlantic Cruise from Southampton ending in New York

Vigo, Spain
Lisbon. Portugal
Kings Wharf, Bermuda
New York, New York

Sailing on 9/17/23

5 Night Bermuda Cruise from New York

King’s Wharf, Bermuda

Sailing on 9/28/23

6 Night Bermuda Cruise from New York

Sailing on 10/7/23, 10/21/23

4 Night Halloween on the High Seas Bermuda Cruise from New York

Sailing on 10/3/23, 10/13/23, 10/27/23, 10/31/23

6 Night Bermuda and Eastern Caribbean Cruise from New York and ending in San Juan

Tortola, British Virgin Islands
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Sailing on 11/4/23

7 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise from San Juan

Basseterre, St. Kitts
St. John’s Antigua
Oranjestad, Aruba
Willemstad, Curacao

Sailing on 11/10/23

5 Night Very Merrytime Western Caribbean Cruise from Fort Lauderdale

Sailing 11/20/23, 12/4/23 and 12/18/23

George Town, Grand Cayman

Sailing on 11/25/23, 12/9/23, 12/23/23

5 Night Bahamian Cruise from Fort Lauderdale with 2 Stops at Castaway Cay

Disney Castaway Cay

Sailing on 12/28/23

The Disney Wish will continue to sail 3 and 4-night itineraries from Port Canaveral.

Disney Wish 3 Night Bahamian Cruise 2023

Sailing on:

1/6/21, 1/13/23, 1/20/23, 1/27/23,

2/3/23, 2/10/23, 2/17/21, 2/24/23,

3/3/23, 3/20/23, 3/17/23, 3/24/23, 3/31/23,

4/7/23, 4/14/23, 4/21/23, 4/28/23,

5/5/23, 5/12/23, 5/19/23, 5/26/23

6/2/23, 6/9/23, 6/16/23, 6/23/23, 6/30/23

7/7/23, 7/14/23, 7/21/23, 7/28/23,

8/4/23, 8/11/23, 8/18/23, 8/25/23

9/1/23, 9/8/23, 9/15/23, 9/22/23, 9/29/23

10/6/23, 10/13/23, 10/20/23, 10/27/23

11/3/23, 11/10/23, 11/17/23, 11/24/23,

12/1/23, 12/8/23, 12/15/23, 12/26/23

HOW MUCH DOES A DISNEY WISH CRUISE COST?

Disney Wish 4 Night Bahamian Cruise 2023

1/2/23, 1/9/23, 1/16/23, 1/23/23, 1/30/23,

2/6/23, 2/13/23, 2/20/23, 2/27/23,

3/6/23, 3/13/23, 3/20/23, 3/27/23,

4/3/23, 4/10/23, 4/17/23, 4/24/23,

5/1/23, 5/8/23, 5/15/23, 5/22/23, 5/29/23

6/5/23, 6/12/23, 6/19/23, 6/26/23,

7/3/23, 7/10/23, 7/17/23, 7/24/23, 7/31/23,

8/7/23, 8/14/23, 8/21/23, 8/28/23,

9/4/23, 9/11/23, 9/18/23, 9/25/23,

10/2/23, 10/9/23, 10/16/23, 10/23/23, 10/30/23,

11/6/23, 11/13/23, 11/20/23, 11/27/23,

12/4/23, 12/11/23, 12/18/23, 12/22/23, 12/29/23

The Disney Fantasy will follow her usual pattern of Eastern and Western Caribbean 7-night sailings from Port Canaveral Florida.

There are some alternative itineraries for the Disney Fantasy Caribbean cruises and port stops can include Tortola, British Virgin Islands, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cozumel, Mexico, George Town, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, Jamaica Philipsburg, St Maarten.
Most of the Disney Fantasy sailings are 7 nights but there are some 5, 6, and 8-night itineraries available.
All Disney Fantasy sailings have a scheduled stop at Castaway Cay. There is one 5 night Disney Fantasy cruise that has two stops in Castaway Cay.

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida

St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Port Canaveral Florida

Sailing on 1/21/23, 2/4/23, 2/18/23, 3/4/23 and 4/1/23

Sailing on 1/7/23 and 3/18/23

7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida

Falmouth, Jamaica

1/14/23, 1/28/23,

2/11/23, 2/25/23,

3/11/23, 3/25/23

5/6/23, 5/20/23

6/3/23, 6/27/23

5 Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral with 2 Stops at Castaway Cay

Port Canaveral

Sailing on 7/23/23

6 Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida

Costa Maya, Mexico

Sailing on 4/23/23

4/1/23, 4/29/23

5/13/23, 5/27/23

6/10/23, 6/24/23

8/5/23, 8/19/23

9/2/23, 9/30/23

10/14/23, 10/28/23

11/11/23, 11/25/23

12/9/23, 12/23/23

Philipsburg, St Maarten

Sailing on 9/23/23

10/7/23, 10/21/23

12/2/23, 12/16/23

8 Night Bermuda and Bahamian from Port Canaveral, Florida

This sails on 4/15/23 and 9/9/23

Want to know more about Disney Fantasy? Here are some essential guides for you:

Disney Fantasy Restaurants – The Food, The Reviews, The Reality

The Disney Magic sails varied itineraries from Galveston, New Orleans, Miami, and San Diego.

The Magic starts 2023 in Galveston with 4, 5, 6, and 7-night Caribbean itineraries.
She repositions to New Orleans in late February to sail 4, 5, and 6-night Caribbean itineraries.
Disney Magic repositions to Miami following her San Juan, Puerto Rico sailings in May 2023.
She sails a variety of 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8-night cruises from Miami.
The Magic has three Double Dip Castaway Cay sailings for 2023 sailing from Miami.
She sails to San Diego via the Panama Canal in October 2023.
Disney Magic sails 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7-night itineraries from San Diego for Fall 2023.
She repositions to Galveston in December 2023 via the Panama Canal.

The Disney Magic will sail these Western Caribbean cruises from Galveston Texas.

Disney Magic 4 Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Galveston

Progreso Mexico
Galveston Texas

Sailing on 1/23/23

Disney Magic 4 Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Galveston Itinerary A

Sailing on 1/2/23, 1/19/23 and 1/27/23

Disney Magic 5-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Galveston

Progreso, Mexico

Sailing on 2/12/23

Disney Magic 6-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Galveston

Galveston,, Texas

Sailing on 1/13/23 and 1/31/23

Sailing on 2/6/23

Disney Magic 7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Galveston

Sailing on 1/6/23

4 Night Western Caribbean Cruise from New Orleans

Sailing on 2/23/23, 2/27/23, 3/9/23, 3/13/23, 3/23/23

5 Night Western Caribbean Cruise from New Orleans

Sailing on 2/28/23

Progresso Mexico

Sailing on 3/27/23

6 Night Western Caribbean Cruise from New Orleans

Sailing on 3/3/23 and 3/17/23

The Disney Magic home port for 2023 is now Miami. There will be a 4-night repositioning cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico so that the Magic can sail to Miami for the Summer of 2023.

8-Night Southern Caribbean Cruise from San Juan

Kralendijk Bonaire

Sailing on 5/5/23

St John’s, Antigua
Roseau, Dominica
Castries, St Lucia
Bridgetown, Barbados
St Thomas US Virgin Islands

Sailing on 5/13/23

4-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise from San Juan ending in Miami

Sailing on 5/20/23

Disney Magic 3-Night Bahamas Cruise from Miami

Sailing on 5/24/23, 9/1/23, 9/8/23, 9/15/23 and 9/22/23

Disney Magic 4 Night Bahamian Cruise

Sailing on 6/1/23, 6/15/23, 6/29/23, 7/27/23, 8/10/23, 8/24/23, 8/28/23, 9/4/23, 9/11/23 and 9/18/23

Disney Magic 5-Night Bahamian Cruise with 2 Stops at Castaway Cay

Great to see three Castaway Cay Double Dip Cruises for Summer 2023.

Sailing on 6/19/23, 8/19/23 and 9/25/23

Disney Magic 5-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Miami

Sailing on 6/5/23, 7/2/23, 7/31/23, 8/14/23

Sailing on 5/27/23, 6/10/23, 6/24/23, 7/22/23, 8/5/23

7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise from Miami

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

This will sail on 7/8/23

Disney Magic 7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Miami

Falmouth Jamaica

This will sail on 7/15/23

Disney Magic 8-Night Caribbean Sailing from San Juan

The Magic sails from San Juan on 5/5/23.

Disney Panama Canal Cruise Miami to San Diego 2023

This sails on 5 October 2023 for 14 nights. This is Halloween on the High Seas Cruise so the Disney Magic will be decorated for Halloween and have special events scheduled.

Cartagena, Columbia
Panama Canal
Puerto Vallarta
Cabo San Lucas

2 Night Baja Cruise from San Diego

Ensenada, Mexico

Sailing on 11/11/23

3 Night Baja Cruise from San Diego

10/19/23, 10/26/23

4 Night Baja Cruise from San Diego

Catalina Island, California

11/25/23, 11/29/23

5 Night Baja Cruise from San Diego

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Sailing on 11/13/23

7 Night Mexican Riviera Cruise from San Diego

Mazatlan, Mexico

Sailing on 11/18/23

Disney Panama Canal Cruise San Diego to Galveston 2023

The Disney Magic will sail from San Diego to Gavelston on a repositioning cruise on 3 December 2023. This is a Very Merrytime Cruise and will have special Christmas decorations and events.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

The Disney Wonder will start the year 2023 in San Diego.

Disney Wonder 3 Night Baja Mexico Cruise

These sailings are on 4/20/23 and 5/4/23

Disney Wonder 4 Night Baja Mexico Cruise

The sail dates are 4/12/23, 4/16/23, 4/30/23 and 5/7/23

Disney Wonder 5-Night Baja Mexico Cruise

Sailing on 4/2/23 and 4/7/23

Disney Wonder 7-Night Mexican Riviera Cruise

There is one sailing on 4/23/23.

Disney Wonder Repositioning Cruise San Diego to Vancouver

Victoria, Canada
Vancouver Canada

This will sail on 5/11/23

Disney Wonder 7-Night Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver

Dawes Glacier
Skagway, Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
Ketchikan Alaska

5/15/23, 5/22/23, 5/29/23

6/5/23, 6/12/23, 6/26/23

7/3/23, 7/10/23, 7/17/23

8/7/23, 8/21/23, 8/28/23

Disney Wonder 7-Night Cruise to Alaska

Icy Strait Point, Alaska

This itinerary that includes Icy Strait Point sails on 6/19/23 and 8/14/23.

Disney Wonder Cruise 5-Night Alaska

Dawes Glacier Alaska

Sailing on 8/2/23

Disney Wonder 9-Night Cruise to Alaska

Hubbard Glacier, Alaska
Sitka Alaska

This sailing is on 7/24/23.

Disney Wonder 8-Night Cruise to Alaska

Dawes Glacier, Alaska
Sitka, Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska

This sails on 9/11/23

The Disney Wonder makes a very welcome return to Hawaii for 2023.

Hilo, Hawaii
Nawiliwili, Hawaii
Kahului, Hawaii

Sailing on October 3, 2023

13-Night South Pacific Cruise from Honolulu ending in Sydney

Pago Pago, American Samoa
International Date Line
Lautoka, Fiji
Noumea, New Caledonia

This sails on October 13, 2023

4-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Sydney

Hobart, Australia

Sailing on 10/28/23, 12/24/23, 1/8/24

2-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Sydney ending in Melbourne

Sailing on 11/1/23

2-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Melbourne

Sailing on 11/3/23 November 3, 2023

4-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Melbourne

Sailing on 11/5/23, 11/12/23

3-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Melbourne

Sailing on 11/9/23

5-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Melbourne ending in Auckland

Eden, Australia
Aukland, New Zealand

Sailing on 11/16/23

4-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Auckland

Aukland New Zealand

Sailing on 11/21/23

3-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Auckland

Sailing on 11/25/23, 11/28/23, 12/1/23

4-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Auckland ending in Brisbane

Brisbane, New Zealand

Sailing on 12/4/23

3-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Brisbane

Sailing on 12/8/23

4-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Brisbane

Sailing on 12/11/23

5-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Brisbane

Sailing on 12/15/23

2-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Brisbane

Sailing on 12/20/23

2-Night Disney Magic at Sea from Brisbane ending in Sydney

Sailing on 12/22/23

6-Night Disney Magic at Sea Cruise from Sydney

Want to know more about Disney Wonder? Here are some articles to help you:

Disney Wonder Virtual Guide

Disney Wonder Restaurants – What You Need to Know

Alison Meacham is the founder of EverythingMouse Disney Blog. For over 15 years she has shared her love of Disney Parks, Disney Cruises and Universal Orlando. In over 30 years of Disney Travel she has spent countless months in Disney Parks and has sailed on over 45 cruises. A British native and now a United States resident she splits her time between California, Florida and the UK. And spends a serious amount of time sailing the seven seas. She helps over 200,000 people per month follow their Disney travel dreams.

Disney Magic - April 6, 2023

April 6, 2023

April 6 - 10, 2023

Disney Magic

Disney Cruise Line

4 Night Western Caribbean

from New Orleans, Louisiana

The April 6, 2023 cruise on the Disney Magic departs from New Orleans, Louisiana. On this 4 Night Western Caribbean sailing, the ship will visit a total of 2 different cruise port destinations, including its departure port. The Disney Magic sets sail on a Thursday (April 6, 2023) and returns on a Monday (April 10, 2023).

The Disney Magic was built in 1998 and is amoung Disney's 5 ships in it's fleet. The Disney Magic is included in the cruise line's Magic Class. In the cruise ship stats below you'll find the Disney Magic vs all other Disney ships.

All Itineraries

New Orleans

New Orleans is world famous for its crowd-pleasing parades and parties. Here, every day is an eating event featuring the best food in the world. From haute cuisine to hominy grits there are flavors of every taste. Witness living history in the fabulous French Quarter and shop in one-of-a-kind boutiques. Tour a world class zoo and aquarium, or just glide across the water on a paddlewheel boat.

Take advantage of the many on board activites during your day at sea. You'll have more than enough to fill your day!

Sitting just off the gorgeous Yucatan coast, Cozumel revels in its mythic white-sand beaches and world-class coral reefs. Yet Cozumel is also the last stronghold of the Mayas, who settled the island in 300 A.D. Residents still speak Maya, and sometimes wear traditional Mayan clothing. Nearby stand the great pyramids and temples of their ancestors.

More From Forbes

It's no surprise disney's stock price crashed below $100. here's why.

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Disney's stock price recently crashed below $100 (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service ... [+] via Getty Images)

Disney's stock should be on a roll right now. Last month, the company signed a deal with the local government in Orlando paving the way for it to build a fifth theme park at Walt Disney World as part of a $60 billion investment plan. Instead of having a magic touch on its share price, the stock fell below $100 a share for the first time since February. There is good reason for this.

Theme parks are the engine behind Disney's profits. Its six resorts are grouped under its Experiences division, which accounted for most of its $12.9 billion operating income last year.

It was far from a flash in the pan as Disney's latest results show that, over the three months to the end of March this year, Experiences generated $2.3 billion of operating income, which was almost three times more than the amount made by either of its other divisions — sports and entertainment.

The Experiences success stands in stark contrast to the Disney+ streaming platform, which has burned up more than $11 billion of operating losses since its 2019 launch and it isn't forecast to make a profit until the end of this year.

In an attempt to capitalize on the success of its theme parks, Disney announced in September 2023 that it would invest $60 billion in its Experiences division over the next decade. It was widely reported that this would all be directed at theme parks, but close reading of the filings reveals that the parks will only get half of the total, with the difference spent on Disney's cruise line as well as maintenance and technology upgrades.

Nevertheless, the $30 billion investment in its theme parks is still around 60 times the sum spent on Disneyland Paris last year , so it is far from a Mickey Mouse amount. Seemingly against expectations, it cast a dark spell on Disney's stock price.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, disney stock down and it wasn’t a one-off.

When the investment was announced on September 19 last year Disney's stock closed down 3.6% at $81.94 and was one of the worst performers in the blue-chip Dow. It wasn't a one-off.

In the middle of June, Disney revealed where the bulk of the spending would be going when it signed a new development agreement with the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which controls its site in Orlando. Under the terms of the deal, Disney is planning up to $17 billion in development over the next 10 to 20 years, including the possibility of a fifth theme park and expansions at its Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom outposts.

It is Disney's answer to heavy expansion in Orlando by its arch-rival Universal Studios. Universal already owns two theme parks in Orlando and is building a third one, called Epic Universe, which is set to open next year.

Reported to cost at least $1 billion, the 750-acre site will be Universal's biggest-ever single investment in a theme park and will become the media giant's largest outpost in the United States. Epic Universe will be home to 50 attractions as well as shops, restaurants and three surrounding hotels. There may well be more to come.

Disney is looking to counter Universal's Epic Universe with a fifth Florida park

The doors of Epic Universe haven't even swung open yet, but Universal has already got the green light to expand it. On June 7, the Orange County Development Review Committee approved a plan to expand Universal's development area to more than 2,000 acres making Disney's development agreement all the more important.

Despite this, when Disney's $17 billion investment was announced on June 12, its stock closed 0.1% down at $100.80. Two days later, it dipped below $100 for the first time in four months and then nudged back over that threshold before crashing back down at the end of last week. It closed at $99.29 which is a staggering 49.6% off its March 2021 peak, and it could take more than the wave of a magic wand to get it back there.

On the face of it, it may seem hard to understand why Disney's investment in its most profitable division has not been met with approval from stockholders. However, on closer inspection it soon becomes clear why it's not necessarily a dream ticket.

Developing top-flight theme park attractions isn't for the faint-hearted. It is common for construction crews to encompass hundreds of workers and for costs to come to more than $100 million. It isn't for the sake of it.

The wizards who design Disney's rides are known as Imagineers due to their imaginative use of engineering. It comes in all shapes and sizes as Björn Heerwagen, director of show design and production at Imagineering in Paris, explained. "Theme park attractions cost so much because it depends. It depends on what you are doing. It depends on your technology, it can depend on products that you use, it depends on size, it depends on capacity, it depends on the design period time that you have, it depends on the architectural aspects of the building itself. It can depend on legal changes with regards to how you build. Every time it’s unique. Everything we do is unique."

The top theme parks generate billions of dollars of revenue every year and have fat margins from merchandise, food and beverage sales giving them more than enough cashflow to fuel the development of new attractions. However, justifying it is far from child's play as entry tickets generally give guests access to all the attractions, so it isn't possible to attribute a revenue stream to specific ones.

It perhaps explains why Disney is increasingly introducing queue-cutting passes, which used to be free but now come at a cost to guests. This gives specific rides a revenue stream which enables the park operator's accountants to forecast how much money they will generate and therefore makes it easier to justify the investment in them.

However, queue-cutting passes aren't available for all attractions, guests don't need to buy them and many skip them because of how much they cost, which can be as high as $25 a ride at Disney's parks. The greater the number of guests that don't buy them, the longer the standard queues become and the higher the chance that attendance will fall as the wait times put visitors off.

This was less of a risk in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic as there was tremendous pent-up demand after lockdown and travelers were flush with furlough money. It meant they were prepared to pay a premium and wait in long lines in order to go on theme park attractions.

However, the furlough money has long since been spent and the travelers who wanted to visit parks have now done so, which explains why Disney's chief financial officer, Hugh Johnston, recently said that, "relative to the post‐Covid highs, things are tending to normalize."

Johnston described this as "a global moderation from peak post‐Covid travel," and added that the impact of this drop in attendance is expected to be felt when Disney announces its third-quarter results in the coming months.

There's no doubt that new attractions have the potential to boost attendance and therefore revenue but unless operators can show precisely how much they make, it is tough to calculate how much profit they will make and therefore how long it will take to recoup the amount that has been spent on them. The harder it is to calculate how long it will take to cover their costs, the harder it is to justify the spending on them.

Of course, if you exclude the queue-cutting passes (because guests don't have to buy them) then theme park rides don't generate any revenue at all. It explains why park operators survey guests to find out the reasons for their visit. If they can demonstrate that guests visited specifically to go on a new attraction then they can attribute the revenue from their tickets to it and thereby justify its cost.

However, this isn't a walk in the park as it’s not possible to survey all guests and many may have visited the park anyway, even if the new attraction hadn't been built. And therein lies the problem.

Disney’s Next Steps

Disney's parks are far and away the leaders in terms of attendance in every market they operate in according to the Global Attractions Attendance Report. Accordingly, investors in Disney might, quite rightly, question whether new attractions are necessary to attract more guests when the parks are already in the lead.

Disney can't afford to be complacent, especially in the face of aggressive expansion by Universal. However, staying in the lead isn't as simple as opening its wallet as the investment is so large, and it is spent on assets that have a low- to no-revenue stream. That's not all.

Once a theme park ride has been built it isn't usually possible to change its format. In contrast, movies, which can be just as cost-intensive as theme park attractions, have test screenings which can lead to reshoots and changes to the format of the film, even at a late stage. It raises the stakes for theme park attractions, and for Disney in particular, as the success rate of its recent theme park additions is choppy to say the least.

The re-theming of Splash Mountain in Orlando has been a flop with some fans (Bennett Stoops, ... [+] Photographer)

As recently reported , Disney came under fire from fans for re-theming its classic log flume at the Magic Kingdom to reference the 2009 movie The Princess and the Frog . Likewise, in April last year, scathing reviews led to the park to replace its Disney Enchantment fireworks display with its popular predecessor, Happily Ever After, just 18 months after it was introduced. In the same year, Disney's neighboring Epcot park dropped its new son et lumière show Harmonious after excoriating feedback from fans.

On the other side of the country, Disneyland was beset by criticism when it resumed its flagship nighttime show Fantasmic two months ago after a one-year hiatus. Fantasmic was put on hold following a fire inside the 45-feet animatronic dragon at the heart of the show but instead of repairing it, Disney has replaced it with an actor who stands atop a tall pillar.

The disenchantment from fans is a black mark on the resumé of Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences. Famous for his sparkling toothy grin, D’Amaro is a regular visitor to the parks and often stops for selfies with guests and staff, who are known as cast members for the roles they play in the themed environment. D’Amaro himself has 151,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts pictures of himself inside the parks riding roller coasters, brandishing lightsabers and eating soft-serve ice cream. Opening new parks and attractions adds to his resumé but the question investors may wonder is whether they are necessary.

Even if theme park attractions did directly generate revenue, the fattest margins are to be found on the high-priced food, beverage and merchandise. The higher the attendance, the higher the spending on them so the real magic formula is getting more guests through the turnstiles without spending vast sums on new attractions.

As revealed , earlier this year in The Guardian , Disneyland Paris has reported $238.4 million (€222 million) in operating profits since it opened its new land themed to Marvel Comics characters in July 2022. One of the two attractions in it was an update to an existing ride but the other was built from scratch after its predecessor was closed.

Building a new attraction contributed to the costs of the land hitting $397.3 million (€370 million) according to the land's design manager David Jaraudias . If Disney had instead updated the previous attraction by giving it a Marvel theme it could have saved a great deal of money and, if it had been done well, it could have got the same level of attendance and therefore revenue.

Disneyland Paris's new Marvels attractions have boosted attendance - but at a cost

Disney even has a term for these kind of updates. It is called 'plussing' rides and some updates are so successful that they are exported to other parks. In 2016, Epcot gave its log flume a makeover themed to the hit animated movie Frozen, and it was so successful that a clone of it opened at Hong Kong Disneyland in November last year. Disneyland Paris too will get the same attraction over the coming years.

Plussing attractions is a more cost-effective way of putting investment to use than building new ones or new parks which explains investors' concerns. However, even plussing comes with a risk as shown by The Magic Kingdom's Princess and the Frog ride experiment. Theme park attractions typically have an expected lifespan of several decades so even a weak one should eventually pay off by contributing to attendance gains but few investors will be prepared to wait that long to reap the benefits.

A quicker and cheaper solution could be reducing ticket prices or reinstating the free perks. In February, Disney raised its ticket prices again following an increase of up to 10% last year. The least expensive tickets have surged by 9.1% to $119 while the cost of visiting the Magic Kingdom on busy days, such as July 4, rose from $184 to $189 which now puts them at more than double their price in 2011.

Prices of food favorites at Disney World have risen even more according to a recent report by financial advice website Financebuzz. It found that they have gone up by 61% on average over the past decade compared to a 56% rise in the cost of a single park ticket and a 32% increase in inflation over that time.

The price of food at Walt Disney World has risen by 61% over the past decade (Photo by Mark ... [+] Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

It has led to furious fans riling against Disney on social media. In March, longtime Disney fan Jake Williams and his partner slammed Disney World for charging them $886 for one day at the Magic Kingdom as well as a night at the mid-tier Port Orleans hotel and meals in mid-range restaurants. He noticed that a lot of the cost was spent on services which were once free such as the queue-cutting passes, transportation from the airport to Disney hotels and the wristbands for wireless payment.

Earlier this week, Disney changed the name of the queue-cutting packages but didn't cut their price. Fans saw through it with the @DisneyGlimpses account summarizing that "most of the negative comments are about it used to being free, and I get it. In reality though, it's never going to be free again."

Waiving the fee for queue-cutting would remove a lucrative revenue stream which helps to justify the construction of new rides but it would also boost visitor numbers and thereby merchandise, food and beverage sales. In turn, this would increase profits, though not as much as the queue-cutting passes do as they come with no costs. However, if their price puts visitors off then the overall level of profit may not be as high as it could be.

"It is a very very tricking balancing act between raising prices and balancing a good strong healthy robust demand," said Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Media Analyst Geetha Ranganathan in May. "What is really spooking investors today is [Disney's] commentary on the parks business...They did say that they are seeing this moderation in demand and for the fiscal third quarter their guidance was really really choppy. They basically said expect absolutely no growth in theme park operating income." It comes at just the wrong time.

Disney’s Movie And Streaming Woes

The reason Disney's theme park profits are so dominant is that the fortunes of its studio division have been decimated by disastrous timing. As the pandemic gripped the globe in 2020, the curtain temporarily came down on theaters and Disney+ subscriber numbers surged. Disney seized the moment to heavily invest in new dedicated streaming productions but that was just the start. When theaters began to re-open they found that new releases were being shown on Disney+ at the same time that they debuted on the big screen.

Studios get around 50% of the box office from theaters so it was a risky move for Disney to go up against some of its biggest clients, especially when they were at their most vulnerable. Disney was blinded by the riches it expected to get from streaming but it was not to be.

The productions it commissioned in 2020 began coming on stream in 2021 and 2022 when the pandemic was receding. As people emerged from lockdown they had less time to watch streaming shows and canceled subscriptions to Disney+ so subscriber numbers dropped. At the same time, the platform's costs surged due to the content splurge causing Disney's stock price to plummet.

It caused Disney's chief executive Bob Iger to announce in early 2023 that he would prioritize theaters more but his timing couldn't have been much worse as it came just before actors and writers went on strike in Hollywood for more than six months in a bid to boost the royalties they receive. It delayed the release dates of many movies from this year to 2025 and put theaters in jeopardy again.

Earlier this month it came to light that Cineworld, the world’s second-largest theater chain, is in talks with bidders about buying its UK operations which could see more than 100 sites close down. The more theaters that close, the lower Disney's box office take becomes. Meanwhile, the colossal cost of Disney's sojourn into streaming has left Disney+ with blockbuster losses.

Disney's sports broadcasting division has been left in a sorry state due to cord-cutting of its ESPN network so its theme parks have become the media giant's principal cash cow even though they have huge costs and building new attractions generates low to no revenue. It doesn't stop there.

Many of the Imagineers who created classic Disney attractions and parks now run their own design agencies so other operators can match the creativity that the Mouse has become famous for. Architecture and design firm Gensler has also been hoovering up Imagineering's talent including its former president Bob Weis and Ann Morrow Johnson who was executive creative director of Disney's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge lands.

Disney was once the industry's biggest spender but now many theme park operators have bigger budgets, especially ones owned by sovereign wealth funds which commission theme parks to diversify the revenues of their home countries and get them on the global tourism map.

Faced with this kind of competition, Disney has had to use every trick in its spellbook to protect its position. One asset which its rivals cannot copy is its portfolio of characters which explains why Iger has confirmed they will be at the heart of its new theme park attractions.

Talking at the recent MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit, he revealed the impact that its Intellectual Property (IP) has on the return it makes from its attractions. "Interestingly enough, if you look – if you analyze carefully how we achieve those returns on invested capital in the parks, it was all about the IP. So, for quite a long time, new attractions in lands at the parks were based on essentially either very old IP or no IP, just an attraction. And starting really with Cars Land and Toy Story and there are a few others, I can’t remember this, all the specifics, we decided that almost all of our investment in the parks in terms of attractions and lands would be using that IP. And it’s very, very clear what that delivers."

It differentiates Disney from its competitors but it has angered fans as many of its most beloved attractions were showcases of pure creativity rather than characters. The Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Matterhorn roller coasters weren't based on Disney stories but became so successful that they are still standing decades after they opened. Characters have been added to other rides from their era causing a backlash from fans. If Disney wants to bring the magic back to its stock price then it might have to do much more to appease them.

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An Alaska tourist spot will vote whether to ban cruise ships on Saturdays to give locals a break

Each year, a crush of tourists arrives in Alaska’s capital city on cruise ships to see wonders like the fast-diminishing Mendenhall Glacier

JUNEAU, Alaska -- Each year, a crush of tourists arrives in Alaska’s capital city on cruise ships to see wonders like the fast-diminishing Mendenhall Glacier . Now, long-simmering tensions over Juneau’s tourism boom are coming to a head over a new voter initiative aimed at giving residents a respite from the influx.

A measure that would ban cruise ships with 250 or more passengers from docking in Juneau on Saturdays qualified for the Oct. 1 municipal ballot, setting the stage for a debate about how much tourism is too much in a city that is experiencing first-hand the impacts of climate change. The measure would also ban ships on July 4, a day when locals flock to a downtown parade.

The “ship-free Saturdays” initiative that qualified this week will go to voters unless the local Assembly enacts a similar measure by Aug. 15, which is seen as unlikely.

Juneau, accessible only by water or air, is home to the Mendenhall Glacier, a major draw for the cruise passengers who arrive on multi-story ships towering over parts of the modest downtown skyline. Many residents of this city of about 32,000 have concerns about increased traffic, congested trails and the frequent buzz of sight-seeing helicopters transporting visitors to the Mendenhall and other glaciers.

Deborah Craig, who has lived in Juneau for decades, supports ship-free Saturdays. Craig, who lives across the channel from where the ships dock, often hears their early-morning fog horns and broadcast announcements made to passengers that are audible across the water.

The current “overwhelming" number of visitors diminishes what residents love so much about Juneau, she said.

“It’s about preserving the lifestyle that keeps us in Juneau, which is about clean air, clean water, pristine environment and easy access to trails, easy access to water sports and nature," she said of the initiative.

“There’s this perception that some people are not welcoming of tourists, and that’s not the case at all," Craig said. “It’s about volume. It’s about too much — too many in a short period of time overwhelming a small community.”

The current cruise season runs from early April to late October.

Opponents of the initiative say limiting dockings will hurt local businesses that rely heavily on tourism and could invite lawsuits. A voter-approved limit on cruise passenger numbers in Bar Harbor, Maine, another community with a significant tourism economy, was challenged in federal court.

Laura McDonnell, a business leader who owns Caribou Crossings, a gift shop in Juneau’s downtown tourist core, said she makes 98% of her annual revenue during the summer season.

Tourism is about all the "local businesses that rely on cruise passengers and our place in the community,” said McDonnell, who is involved in Protect Juneau’s Future, which opposes the initiative.

Some schools recently closed due to factors including declining enrollment, while the regional economy faces challenges, she said.

“I think that as a community, we really need to look at what’s at stake for our economy," she said. “We are not in a position to be shrinking our economy.”

The cruise industry accounted for $375 million in direct spending in Juneau in 2023, most of that attributable to spending by passengers, according to a report prepared for the city by McKinley Research Group LLC.

After a two-year pandemic lull, cruise passenger numbers rose sharply in Juneau, hitting a record of more than 1.6 million in 2023. Under this year's schedule, Sept. 21 will be the first day since early May with no large ships in town.

The tourism debate is polarizing, and the city has been trying to find a middle ground, said Alexandra Pierce, Juneau's visitor industry director. But she noted there also needs to be a regional solution.

If the Juneau initiative passes, it will impact other, smaller communities in southeast Alaska because the ships, generally on trips originating in Seattle or Vancouver, Canada, will have to go somewhere if they can’t dock in Juneau on Saturdays, she said.

Some residents in Sitka, south of Juneau, are in the early stages of trying to limit cruise visitation to that small, island community, which is near a volcano.

Juneau and major cruise lines, including Carnival Corp., Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Group, agreed to a limit of five large ships a day, which took effect this year. They more recently signed a pact , set to take effect in 2026, seeking a daily limit of 16,000 cruise passengers Sundays through Fridays and 12,000 on Saturdays.

Pierce said the overall goal is to keep total cruise passenger visitation around 1.6 million, and to even out daily numbers of visitors that can spike to about 18,000 on the busiest days. Peak days in the past have felt “a bit suffocating," she said. Juneau traditionally has been the most popular cruise port in the state.

A number of projects around Juneau are expected to help make existing cruise numbers feel less impactful. Those include plans for a gondola at the city-owned ski area and increased visitor capacity at the Mendenhall Glacier recreation area, she said.

Renée Limoge Reeve, vice president of government and community relations for the trade group Cruise Lines International Association Alaska, said the agreements signed with the city were the first of their kind in Alaska.

The best strategy is “ongoing, direct dialogue with local communities" and working together in a way that also provides a predictable source of income for local businesses, she said.

Protect Juneau's Future, led by local business leaders, said the success of the ballot measure would mean a loss of sales tax revenue and millions of dollars in direct spending by cruise passengers. The group was confident voters would reject the measure, its steering committee said in a statement.

Karla Hart, a sponsor of the initiative and frequent critic of the cruise industry, said the threat of litigation has kept communities from taking steps to limit cruise numbers in the past. She was heartened by legal wins this year in the ongoing fight over the measure passed in Bar Harbor, a popular destination near Maine's Acadia National Park.

She believes the Juneau initiative will pass.

“Every single person who is going to vote has a lived experience and knowledge of how the cruise industry impacts their lives,” she said.

This story corrects a quote from Pierce about peak days.

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Juneau to vote on whether to ban cruise ships on Saturdays

A ship sailing through a channel into a city.

Each year, a crush of tourists arrives in Alaska’s capital city on cruise ships to see wonders like the fast-diminishing Mendenhall Glacier . Now, long-simmering tensions over Juneau’s tourism boom are coming to a head over a new voter initiative aimed at giving residents a respite from the influx.