It goes without saying that Disney has raised several generations of children (and children at heart). 

Whether their childhoods were defined by Cinderella, Lilo & Stitch, Big Hero 6, Coco, or the Marvel superheroes, thousands of kids from across the globe had likely spent their afternoons and evenings watching their favorite Disney movies, and would even carry into adulthood that fascination with all these magical stories.    

It’s something you will bear witness to when you set foot in Disneyland — with the amusement park rides bringing you closer to the world of your favorite Disney characters. At sea, however, things are done a little differently. 

Step into the Disney Adventure, the Disney Cruise Line’s biggest and newest ship which embarks from Singapore, and you’ll see how. 

First open-air amphitheater on Disney’s fleet

All of the ships on the Disney Cruise Line’s fleet feature onboard entertainment in the form of live shows and theatrical performances, as Disney sees these vessels as “living theaters.” What sets the Disney Adventure apart, though, is the presence of unique stages and venues to bring all these different stories to life in as many ways as possible. 

One of these is the open-air Disney Imagination Garden. 

OPEN-AIR. The Disney Imagination Garden is an open-air amphitheater on the Disney Adventure. Photo by Juno Reyes/Rappler

“The Imagination Garden stage is the first venue of its kind on our Disney Cruise Line fleet. We have never had an open-air amphitheater with the kind of technical capabilities that we have on the Imagination Garden stage that are really comparable to the capabilities we have in [our] indoor venue of the Walt Disney Theatre,” said Jenny Fitton Weinbloom, vice president of live entertainment for Disney’s signature experiences. 

The offerings at the Disney Imagination Garden are designed to be experienced throughout your three- or four-night stay — not all in one go. When you first enter the ship, your stateroom won’t be ready right away, so this space is often the first one passengers head to while waiting. 

Before long, crew members will start signaling people to come closer, and the welcome show “Let’s Set Sail” begins. Disney legends like Genie, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Pluto, and Goofy will appear right before you to break into an energetic song-and-dance number. Weinbloom shared that this is what serves as the ship passengers’ first encounter with the iconic Disney characters. 

IMAGINATION GARDEN. Disney Adventure crew members welcome passengers with “Let’s Set Sail.” Photo by Juno Reyes/Rappler

What is arguably most impressive about the Disney Imagination Garden, however, is the “Avengers Assemble” show, where the entertainment team employs a 3D flying system to allow the Marvel superheroes and supervillains to soar above you. When watching this show, then, look ahead at the stage, but look up at the sky, too.  

SPECTACULAR. Marvel’s villains and superheroes clash in “Avengers Assemble” at the Disney Imagination Garden. Photo by Abigal Nilsson/Disney Cruise Line

“Something that the team is really proud of is every performer who flies in that show all have a unique flight pattern that only they have that isn’t mirrored by any other character in the show. Because if you know your Marvel, you know Spider-Man doesn’t travel by air in the same way that Thor does or the same way that other characters do. These are all unique characters with their own unique way of moving through the world,” Weinbloom explained. 

This open-air space is also where “Duffy and the Friend Ship” makes its premiere on the Disney Cruise Line. The character Duffy, a teddy bear, originated from themes of sailing and voyage, so the Disney entertainment team felt that it was finally time to tell his and his pals’ story on the Disney Cruise Line’s first ship with an Asian home port. After all, these characters are popular in Asia’s Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea. 

“The most important thing was to find the proper storyline,” said show director Mabrouk Reguigui. “And we found out that Duffy has a strong link with the ocean, due to Cape Cod, and the ocean has a strong link with the Disney Cruise Line as well. So all these dots connected together created our story.” 

SAIL AWAY. Duffy and his friends go on an imaginary voyage in “Duffy and the Friend Ship.” Photo by Abigail Nilsson/Disney Cruise Line

As the show’s title suggests, “Duffy and the Friend Ship” sees Duffy, ShellieMay, Gelatoni, StellaLou, CookieAnn, and ‘Olu Mel go on a voyage, and learn a thing or two about friendship and adventure. But Reguigui attested that it was their goal to make the story as immersive as it could be on stage — and they did that with the help of the seagull character TikiBlue, who became the show’s principal storyteller. 

The sky meets the sea, and the theater lights dim

Over at Wayfinder Bay, where things take a more tropical turn, island girl Moana’s story comes alive in “Moana: Call of the Sea.” The actors perform the full show in shallow waters — a first for Disney Cruise Line — to stay true to Moana’s deep ties to the sea. The Wayfinder Bay itself is located at the stern of the ship, where you also get a scenic view of the actual ocean while the performance happens. 

The show only lasts for a rather short 14 minutes, contrary to the nearly two-hour-long runtimes of both Moana films, but it’s the music, dance, and puppetry that make it worthwhile. 

HOW FAR WILL SHE GO? “Moana: Call of the Sea” condenses Moana’s story into 14 minutes. Photo by Abigal Nilsson/Disney Cruise Line

The music was a long work in progress. Producer David “Dstew” Stewart shared that the team behind the show traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to work with a studio that put together all the drums, strings, and horns audiences hear during the show. Of course, Moana also sings live the 2016 movie’s title track, “How Far I’ll Go.” 

But it’s at the Walt Disney Theatre where lengthier, Broadway-like stagings are held. 

Take for example “Disney Remember,” a Disney Adventure-exclusive musical where robots WALL-E and Eve are joined by characters from well-loved Disney and Pixar movies like Frozen, Beauty and the Beast. Coco, Tangled, and Princess and the Frog. 

REMEMBER. WALL-E and Eve lead the storyline in the ship-exclusive “Remember.” Photo by Abigal Nilsson/Disney Cruise Line

“We knew we had to deliver a show that was going to meet and exceed expectations and we wanted to do that through beautiful lavish production numbers and incredible choreography but we also wanted to figure out a way to make everybody lean forward and listen to a story,” said producer Nancy Pittelman. 

It’s regarded as the ship’s most emotional show, as WALL-E and Eve go through stories of love, loss, and friendship in one sitting. 

On the more technical side, what stands out is the engineering for WALL-E’s character. WALL-E’s puppet blends traditional puppetry techniques with animatronics. According to Pittelman, his bottom half is controlled by a puppeteer standing inside a box. He controls WALL-E’s arm and hand movements with his own arms, and can only see through the chest portion of the puppet. 

REMEMBER. WALL-E and Eve in “Remember” at the Disney Adventure’s Walt Disney Theatre. Photo by Abigail Nilsson/Disney Cruise Line

WALL-E’s head is operated animatronically, but most of the sharp movements you see the robot do (like picking things up off the floor) are entirely human. 

All this is done within the walls of the theater, where the dimmed lights and the performers’ graceful and steady movements begin to make you forget that you’re sailing in the middle of the ocean. 

Entertainment goes to you

The Disney Imagination Garden, Wayfinder Bay, and Walt Disney Theatre are all entertainment hubs you have to set out to visit during your stay. But every night during dinner, the fun comes right where you are. 

During your rotational dining experience at the Navigator’s Club, Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck go on a voyage of their own, and move between the restaurant’s tables for diners to get an up-close view of their journey. 

“A lot of it is really centering on a love of travel and what it is you take from those experiences,” producer Ruth Watkins said about the show’s story. Two human characters found a club for anybody who loves to travel, and from there, recruits as members all the people having their nighttime meal at the Navigator’s Club. Minnie and the rest make appearances later on. 

DUCK. Donald Duck makes an appearance at the Navigator’s Club. Photo by Juno Reyes/Rappler

It’s at the Animator’s Palate where things start to shift, though. Here, rather than just passively watching a show, it becomes your mission to become an animator for the night. You’ll be asked by your server to draw your own character on a paper, and by the time you start digging into the last course of your meal, the screens around the restaurant turn your static drawings into dynamic characters that appear in several scenes from Disney movies like Pinocchio and The Lion King. 

ANIMATORS FOR A NIGHT. At the Animator’s Palate, guests act as artists for the night as they draw their own characters that are then animated. Photo by Juno Reyes/Rappler

And for all the executives responsible for bringing all these shows to the Disney Adventure’s passengers, it was just their way of building on Disney’s legacy of storytelling using new technologies and unique elements specifically tailored to the ship. 

You just have to see it for yourself. – Rappler.com