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August 17, 2025 103 mins

840 · Disney Destiny Shipyard Tour: Behind the Curtain of Disney Cruise Line’s Boldest Ship

Join me for an exclusive Disney Destiny Shipyard Tour inside Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, where the newest Disney Cruise Line ship is coming to life.

I take you behind the scenes to step aboard the Destiny during construction, explore first looks at venues like the Haunted Mansion Parlor, Doctor Strange Sanctum Lounge, and Pride Lands dining, and witness the unforgettable float-out as she touched water for the very first time.

The Disney Wish set the stage.

The Disney Treasure raised the bar.

And the Disney Destiny feels like a game-changer that embraces character-driven storytelling, immersive experiences, and a heroes-and-villains theme unlike anything Disney has attempted before.



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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Ahoy there, mates.
And welcome aboard our WaltDisney World ferryboat.
You and I will wish upon a.
Star, and sure as my name'sCricket, you'll see that wishes can
come true.
If you believe in them, that is.
Folks hereabouts say BrerRabbit's leaving home.
I say he's heading for trouble.

(00:24):
Wayne.
Thank goodness you're all right.
Is everything okay, honey?
I shrunk the audience anamazing story as old as time itself.
Now we are back in Disney World.

(00:45):
And to prove it, here's WDWRadio, your information station.
This week I'm giving you afront row seat to how Disney Cruise
Line transforms raw steel intoa floating storybook and the debut
of its newest ship, the Disney Destiny.

(01:05):
Because together on thisexclusive Disney Destiny Shipyard
tour at the Meyerwerfshipyards in Germany, we're gonna
virtually walk throughunfinished spaces themed to heroes
and villains, explore venueslike the Doctor Strange themed Sanctum,
Pridelands Dining hall, andthen witness the unforgettable moment
that Destiny floated out ontothe river.
Ems for the very first time.

(01:27):
The Disney wish set the stage,the Disney Treasure raised the bar,
and the Disney Destiny feelslike a game changer that embraces
character driven storytelling,immersive experiences, and a heroes
and villains theme unlikeanything Disney has attempted before.
Hello my friend and welcome toWWE Radio, your guide to the Disney
parks and experiences fromaround the world.

(01:49):
I am Lou Mongello and this isshown 840.
And whether this is your firsttime listening or you've been with
me since the very beginning,welcome home.
Couple of quick things beforewe dive in.
Come be part of the communityand conversation over at www.radio.com
clubhouse.
Watch and chat with me liveevery Wednesday at 7:30pm Eastern
on Facebook and YouTube andget weekly updates and exclusive

(02:10):
information delivered free toyour inbox every week, plus a free
gift when you subscribe overat www.comnewsletter connect and
chat with me on social I'mUmongello on Instagram, Facebook
and LinkedIn and this Octoberjoin me for my Momentum Weekend workshop
in Walt Disney world.
An intimate 4 day, 1 room, 50person event for creators and entrepreneurs

(02:31):
where you can learn fromexperts From Imagineering, marketing,
AI, finance, social media and more.
There are only 10 seats leftand our early bird special ends soon.
You can get more details andsign up@lumongello.com momentum and
if you're planning aconference, workshop or team event,
I bring Disney magic to thestage where with keynotes on storytelling,
customer experience,leadership and creating unforgettable

(02:54):
moments with lessons from theDisney Parks and Walt Disney that
you can implement in yourbusiness today.
Let's work together to makeyour event extraordinary.
You can learn more and reachout to me over@lou mongello.com and
when you're ready to plan yournext Disney vacation or come to Momentum,
visit mousefantravel.com forcompletely free expert planning just

(03:14):
like I have trusted but formore than 18 years.
And if you enjoy the show, andI hope that you do, please rate,
review and share it with a friend.
So sit back, relax and enjoythis week's episode of the WW Radio
Show.

(03:40):
Part of the wonderful ofDisney is just how seamlessly the
magic appears and sometimesfantasy becomes reality and a dream
that you never knew you hadcomes true.
Your wish gets granted and youget to experience a treasure trove
as we get to see a peek behindthe curtain and watch it being made.

(04:00):
Hopefully you caught the cornything that I did there incorporating
all of the Disney ship namesbecause we are going to dive in this
week to discover the how theDisney Destiny is literally and figuratively
taking shape.
I was recently on an adventureto the My Wharf shipyards and I was
not on this adventure alone.
And joining me are two peoplewho not only shared the experience

(04:22):
of walking through theshipyard and seeing the Destiny up
close from the shipbuildingsecrets we I don't think ever expected
to some of the hidden detailsand when the Disney Destiny finally
met the water.
I still believe in ladies first.
Megan dubois is a journalist.
She is a travel writer, coverstheme parks and cruising and all
things Disney and others onConde Ness Traveler, Business Insider,

(04:47):
Forbes Travel and Leisure,Delish Food and Wine the points Guy.
There's probably more I am forgetting.
And if you've ever read someof the latest park openings or cruise
reviews, chances are you havecome across her work.
Megan, welcome.
Thank you so much and thankyou for having me.
I kind of say to other peoplewhen I introduce myself.
I'm a journalist at places youprobably read and you named off quite

(05:09):
a few of them.
I'm sure there's some that Iforgot, but I think we sort of get
the gist of just sort of howfar and wide where you write can
be found.
And if you follow Disney Newson X, you probably know Scott Gustin.
He is the guy who always seemsto know what's happening before anybody

(05:30):
else and he always has suchgreat insight on how these big Disney
projects actually come together.
So Scott, welcome.
Still hurts me to hear itcalled X.
We gotta be accurate right?
So but yeah, thanks for Having me.
Yeah.
And thank you guys for being here.
And you know, we are gonnasort of relive this incredible trip

(05:54):
together and this amazingexperience that I'm still sort of
pinching myself for because,you know, I think we've all gotten
to do some pretty cool thingsin our, in our careers or this sort
of journey that we are on.
And this very much.
This very much is very closeto the top of the list, from seeing
the shipyard to the float out.

(06:15):
And this week I thought we, itwould be fun to sort of share some
of those things that stood outmo most to us.
But before we get into it, Iwant to just sort of set a little
bit of context.
And again, you know, ladies first.
What other Disney ships?
Megan and I know you'vecruised a lot on, not just Disney,
but other cruise lines.
But Megan and then Scott, whatother Disney ships have you actually

(06:36):
sailed on?
I've been on the whole fleetand I recently sailed with Scott
on the Disney Wonder toAlaska, which may or.
May not be the best sentenceever put.
The Wonder to Alaska is myfavorite itinerary by far.
Oh, it was so good.
It was so good.
I got to bring my family andget to know so many amazing crew
members on board.
And I will never forget theday we went and did a helicopter

(07:00):
glacier tour and walked on theMendenhall Glacier.
Like just mind blowing thingsthat we get to do with Disney and
Disney Cruise Line and once ina lifetime opportunities.
And our trip to Meyer Werftwas one of them.
Just right up at the top.
Yeah.
What about you, Scott?
Yeah, we've been on all the ships.
I think the Wonder Alaska isthe best vacation we've ever taken.

(07:23):
And this ship tour is one ofthe coolest things that I've ever
done.
Just like ship alone.
Do you have a favorite ship?
And if so, why Disney Treasure?
Yeah, she's beautiful.
And there's so much to do on board.
You wouldn't even have to getoff at a port of call to have a good
time.
Yeah, it's treasure or fantasy.

(07:45):
For me and for my family, it'salways been fantasy.
And then the wish came out andit was kind of like it remained the
fantasy and it wasn't even a discussion.
And then the treasure came outand I was like, ah, we got to talk
about this.
But I think it might be thetreasure at this point.

(08:05):
I mean, it helps when you haveseven nights sailings and the treasure
benefits from that, whereasthe wish is stuck at least right
now doing three and fours.
But it's also just a muchbetter ship.
Better venues, better decor,better theming, better everything.

(08:27):
And I think it might justovertake the fantasy for me.
It's amazing.
It amazes me how two ships,the Wish and the Treasure.
And we'll talk about, youknow, how this is going to impact
the Destiny have the exactsame layout, but can feel like two
very, very different ships and experiences.
And like you, I was afraidthat I was just having recency bias

(08:50):
on the Treasure.
But after we came back when wewere on the Destiny, I was like,
wow, I really love that ship.
I think it is some of the beststorytelling and place making.
Haunted Mansion Parlor I'mlooking at you that I think Disney
has ever done, which got meeven more excited for what we are
going to see when the Destinyfloats out later this year.
I think the Haunted MansionParlor may be one of the single crowning,

(09:14):
best crowning achievements ofimagineering in terms of place making.
Oh, 100 for sure.
Best on the cruises and one ofthe best things that they've turned
out post Covid anywhere inany, any venue, land or sea.
It.
It just felt like every oncein a while you'll see a project and

(09:36):
you're like, yeah, I don'tthink they had any budget cuts on
this one.
I think they just were able todo what they wanted without someone
saying like, we need to notput the floor in or whatever.
Everything in there, it ispacked, densely packed.
It's an immersive spot.

(09:56):
I wish it was bigger, butprobably the feeling wouldn't be
the same if it were.
So.
Yeah, I mean, it works inevery way and it is why I'm excited
for the spaces that they'vepromise to give us on the Destiny.
It's really well done.
Yeah, we.
Go ahead, Luke.

(10:16):
I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
I think for Haunted MansionParlor 2, I want an art tour before
it opens in the evening for guests.
I want somebody to take methrough and show me all the little
details that I miss.
When it's packed with peoplehaving a good time and watching the
story and drinking your drink,I want to notice those things that
I can't notice when it's full.

(10:37):
Yeah, it is.
I've always said that theHaunted Mansion Parlor feels like
not a space that was inspiredby the attraction, but that if you
were to pick up a piece of theattraction and put it somewhere else,
that is actually what thatplace feels like.
And in terms of the Destiny,you know, we had a chance to get
a little bit of a preview ofwhat is to Come when we visited the

(10:58):
Disney wish for a specialevent a few months ago, but this
one was very, very different.
And again, I want to be very,very clear, at least from my perspective,
understanding that theopportunity, the privilege we had
to do this.
You know, there was very fewof us that were there.
And I want to sort of, youknow, the reason why I wanted you

(11:19):
guys to come on, the reason Iwant to talk about it, is to be able
to convey that to others sothat they understand, because Disney
brought us to Amsterdam andthen we stayed in this beautiful
little town of Papenburg, Germany.
When I saw it, it was not whatI had in my mind.
And I said, it's like ifDisney were to build this quaint

(11:41):
little village for the peoplewho'd be bringing their Disney Cruise
Line dreams to life, thiswould be it.
I actually, I was very, very impressed.
Just even before we got to theshipyard with Papenburg itself.
It's the cutest place.
Yeah, it exceeded all of myexpectations, which were kind of

(12:02):
low.
I mean, I, you know, I, Iusually start whenever I'm going
somewhere I've never been.
I'll usually start withTripAdvisor Things to Do.
Just it's kind of the firstlook and not a whole lot comes up.
But, you know, like, you, youget there and they're maybe are not
that many attractions andplaces to go, but it is the cutest

(12:26):
little town that is just verycharming and everything you said.
But I came in maybe benefitingfrom super low expectations and it
blew it out of the water.
Yeah, I sort of had thismental picture of this gritty little
seaside town with old seamenin it that just been building ships

(12:49):
and that's just been in thefamily tradition for years.
But it was beautiful and fromthe hotel we stayed in and everything
else like that.
But, you know, Scott, you talkabout expectations, what were your
guys expectations going into this?
Because we really didn't knowvery much before we got there.
I think when we got ourinvitations, our reaction was probably
all the same as they weresaying, would you be interested?

(13:10):
Like the words yes were coming out.
I didn't need to know anydetails before I was, you know, pardon
the pun, on board.
Yeah, I can kind of jump in here.
When Disney invited me to go,it was the automatic yes, I'll move
anything else on my scheduleto make it to this, because I've
been really lucky and all ofus have been really lucky to be following

(13:32):
this ship for so long now andto kind of see its culmination in
the Shipyard, I thought wasgoing to be really important.
And as someone who covers thecruise industry, to go to Meyer Worth
to see Disney ship in ashipyard for the first time, I've
never been to a shipyard.
So to do it with Disney, withother journalists and colleagues
that I consider friends likeyou guys are my family, was really,

(13:56):
really special.
And it was just one of thosepinch me moments.
Just even getting the phonecall of, hey, we want you to go to
this.
And then everything else thatfollowed was just a dream.
Yeah.
For me, going to a shipyard,seeing a cruise ship in a shipyard
has been on my actual bucketlist for years.
And so I've been lookingforward to the destiny.

(14:19):
But I would have been happy togo look at any ship.
I would have been happy to goto a shipyard if they were taking
apart a ship just because theidea of how those places operate,
the number of people that arethere, the size of these shipyards,
just all that stuff I geek out on.

(14:40):
I've watched so many behindthe scenes videos building ships.
It's, it's always beensomething I've been interested in
just as a thing.
And then, you know, to combineit with Disney and then to be able
to go and then actually get onthe ship and really check a lot of
boxes that I had that I didn'tthink I would ever get to check off.

(15:03):
So good.
I'm happy it's not me becauseI, I love logistics and I love like
manufacture, manufacturing process.
I love watching things likemodern marvels and stuff on history
channels to see how thesethings we almost sort of take for
granted how they get made.
And a lot of times thosefactories and those lines, you know,

(15:24):
you talk about size and scaleand scope.
It's different when you'remaking, you know, a small device
or Ritz cracker, when you'remaking something that is the size
of a ship.
And you know, the Meyer Whershipyards were founded in the late
1700s, I think 1795, and havebuilt every ship in the Disney Cruise
Line fleet going back to theDisney Dream in 2010, as well as

(15:46):
ships for other cruise lines.
This obviously is the third ofthe Wish class.
It's the seventh in the fleet.
And she's getting ready forher maiden voyage, really in just
a couple of months in November.
Let's talk about arriving atthe Meyerwerf shipyards and the first
impressions in terms of sizeand atmosphere.

(16:08):
And again, you talked about,you know, when you pull up, you know,
when you stand next to abuilding like for, you know, you
go to Epcot and you see thesize of the show building for Guardians
of the Galaxy.
Cosmic Rewind.
It's massive, relativelyspeaking to other things.
When you go to a shipyard andyou see things like Doc Hall 2, you

(16:31):
cannot get a sense of just howmassive this space exterior on the
exterior and interior is untilyou, until you see it.
I was.
The anticipation was almostoverwhelming for me getting off of
the bus and just waiting inthat little check in area.
We were all kind of clusteredtogether and chit chatting and the

(16:54):
whole atmosphere was justbuzzing because everyone was so excited.
And it wasn't just us, it wasthe workers who were checking in
for their shift and it was theimagineering team waiting to welcome
us on board.
It felt so alive in a way thatI've never seen a construction project
like that before.
And we were with, with a lotof people that they had maybe been

(17:19):
in the day before, like toprep for things, but there was a
lot of people there that weregoing in a shipyard for the first
time.
Like everyone was kind of onthe same page.
Which, you know, added to that excitement.
Seeing it from the outside was.
I mean, there was a point whenwe were kind of checking in where

(17:41):
I couldn't see the end of thebuilding, which was just a wild.
It's kind of the angle wherewe were standing, which you literally
could not see where that Hall6 building ended, which is just crazy
to fathom.
And the fact that we werelooking at a building that could
fit almost two cruise ships,could fit almost two cruise ships

(18:07):
in it is wild.
And then that was just one ofthe buildings, right?
Or I think there's like six ofthe main halls.
And I've stared at the aerialmap of the place after having been
there and it's even more mindboggling after having been in most
of the halls.

(18:27):
To look at it on the aerialand just think about the amount of
space that they have and howit's actually all necessary.
It's not just wasted space,it's all being used as part of the
process, building a ship.
So yeah, it was just, justthe, the arriving at the shipyard

(18:48):
was a sight.
I felt the same way that I did.
And I sort of analogize it to.
You can watch videos or moviesor TV shows that show you the Great
Wall of China or the ForbiddenCity, but until you actually stand
there, you cannot fathom justhow large it is.

(19:09):
And that's exactly how I felt here.
And I've gone back and I'vewatched my video.
Scott, I did the same thing.
I said I want to see it fromthe bird's eye view.
And it's still, until you'vebeen there, doesn't really let you
understand just the scale ofwhat you're talking.
When you stand next to, youknow, a ship, when you get off maybe
at Castaway or you get off inNassau, you start to get a sense

(19:31):
of just how big these shipsreally are.
But when you see them in thesedifferent stages of construction,
too, it really helps youappreciate it.
And again, there was not a lotof us who were here.
There was maybe, I think sixof us total who were brought out
for this.
And that really too, itcontinued to.

(19:52):
Was not lost on me and justwhat a privilege and opportunity
it was to be there.
But, you know, I think the waythat we were brought through this
process from a storytellingperspective made so much sense because
we didn't just go there andstep foot on board the Destiny.
We really were given anunderstanding and taken through the

(20:16):
process of going from steel toship and starting off in this shipyard
supermarket, where every pieceof steel is marked with a number
and cut and they're shown.
We were shown this laserhybrid welding, how it all comes
together and we're able tohold a piece of steel.

(20:36):
You know, this.
Most of the areas are about 6millimeters, which is not.
It doesn't sound like it'svery thick, but the pieces of steel
are very, very heavy.
And it goes.
I think the hull pieces theysaid were about 20 to 25 millimeter.
But to be taken through thatprocess of going to.
Seeing how these massivesheets of steel are cut into sections

(20:59):
and then blocks and thenassembled in these.
You know, there's a.
What do they say?
There's a hundred differentsections that are put together and
the.
The process of doing it, howit's built upside down.
Take me through yourimpressions of that.
When we went into Doc Hall 2and this shipbuilding process and

(21:19):
going again from those steelplates to what we got to see along
our tour, which was thedifferent stages of the construction
process and, you know, gettingto a ship that the next day we saw
float out.
Yeah, I thought having thatgrounding experience of seeing steel
plate to full ship was soimportant and so valuable to our

(21:42):
experience because you get onthese ships and you're ready to have
a great time with your family,but you forget that somebody had
to actually build it.
So our guide, Philip from WDIGermany, who was just exceptional
and kind of went on littleside quests about how welding works,
like, I didn't know any of that.
And that Laser welding was, Ithought, was really interesting because

(22:04):
it takes one sheet and oneweld, where a normal weld takes two
sheets and takes two welds toput it together, and it's stronger
than a normal weld would be.
And then I also loved thepoint that he said that one of their
little, tiny, miniscule piecesthat don't have any timeliness to
it is put together by membersof the community who have disabilities.

(22:27):
That really touched me and howintegrated the German community outside
of Papenburg also isintegrated into that shipbuilding
process.
They told us about 80% of allof the materials that would be used
to build the ship was made inGermany, which I thought was really
cool.
It really is a local product.

(22:48):
The laser welding thing wasequally interesting.
I was fascinated by theprocess, and they talked about how
it speeds up shipbuilding, butalso that that laser welding device,
like, we saw a demo and thenwe saw, like, the big version of
it, which was just like this.

(23:10):
I don't even know how todescribe it.
Like, the biggest printeryou've ever seen is almost what it
looked like.
But, yeah, that was fascinating.
Just to see how I think theysaid they.
I think it was like 2002 iswhen they switched to this new welding
way.
And that essentially changedthe cruise industry and their ability

(23:31):
to build these big ships.
But, like, when I got home, Istarted researching that whole process,
the history of it.
Like, it was something thatthey had tested and been trying out
for, like, 10 years beforethey switched to this new method,
which something.
I didn't even know it existed.
And then I came homefascinated by, like, this one technological

(23:56):
development that changed allof this.
To make massive cruise ships,not only more cost, more.
More possible to make thesemassive ships, but also make it where
they don't have to build evenbigger facilities to build those
ships.
They don't have to flip themover to weld the other side.

(24:21):
It just kind of is essentiallywhy we have ships like the Destiny
and all these Royal CaribbeanCities on the sea is because of these
developments in technologicalchanges that changed everything.
And I didn't even know it wasa thing until we went there, so that

(24:42):
was really cool.
So I'm sure you guys weremaking fun of me along the way because
I admit that I was like anerdy school kid on the tour.
Like, I was right next toPhilip, and I was asking questions
the whole time because I wasso fascinated and I had so many questions.
You know, when we talk aboutthe process of building it, I remember

(25:02):
watching a video years agoabout the construction of the magic
and wonder and how they werebuilt separately.
The front and the back werebuilt separately and then literally
floated together and brought together.
We were talking about howthese blocks need to come together
with this insane amount ofprecision, right?
That the tolerance of just 20millimeters as they're putting these

(25:26):
things together, which isabout the width of your thumb.
It's incredible, you know, inthis ship.
And these ships now are builtfrom front to back, which, you know,
I almost wish we could see.
And we have seen sort of thesetime lapse progressions of, you know,
how they start at the verybeginning and they lay the keel and
go from front to back.
But what struck me was the waythis centuries old shipyard was able

(25:53):
to blend things that they'vedone and tradition.
You know, going again, it goesback to 1795 with this cutting edge,
you know, borderlinefuturistic laser hybrid welding and
precision assembly.
I think we probably.
I know it was me, you know,before I came in, and then when I
got there and then Scott, asyou and I were walking around, we

(26:14):
would see literally pieces ofships in the shipyard, you know,
asking what this is for.
And it made me think aboutbuilding Lego.
Right, it's building Lego, butagain, with a degree of precision
and accuracy, which has solittle tolerances.
Seeing it up close, you know,I sort of imagined it, you know,
having been on the ships before.
But seeing it up close wassomething I didn't expect and I almost

(26:40):
didn't understand andappreciate just how modern and just
how cutting edge this shipyardand this process really is, from
again, building things upsidedown to the automation of so many
of the processes and how thisshipyard is just going 24 7, which
is how they're able to buildthese ships, these massive ships

(27:01):
in such a relatively shortperiod of time.
You know, Walt talked about ittakes people to make a dream a reality.
That very much is true here.
They said, you know, on adaily basis during the height of
construction, there's about1500 to 2000 people working on these
ships all at one time in sucha variety of different disciplines.

(27:23):
Just a massive undertaking.
And the engineering and theprocess of making this all happen
is mind blowing to me.
I loved being able to see eachof those sections kind of in that
assembly line fashion.
And when I found out it onlytook five minutes for them to flip
a section right side up, mymind was just completely blown.

(27:44):
I thought that was going to belike a two or three hour process.
These sections are heavy.
Like, we felt how heavy thattiny steel plate was.
I'm like, there's no way thisis going to flip over in five minutes.
Like you're joking with me.
And then he's like, oh no,that's the truth.
And I was just like, I couldnot believe that.
And they do that for everysingle piece of the ship, right?
So they're built upside down.
So rather than having to reachup to put in ductwork or pipes, they

(28:09):
turn them upside down.
They.
They're able to bend down todo it.
And then these massive.
Again we.
The size of these cranes,which are all named after birds,
which is amazing.
Are just on a scale that youcan't picture.
And like you said, Megan,being able to move these.
What did we say they were?
I think they said they were800 metric ton blocks and just flip

(28:30):
them over in a matter ofminutes is wild to me.
In those pieces, the amount ofpipes and ductwork and all this stuff
that are sticking out thatlook like they're just randomly placed.
And knowing that it's thistiny pipe that has to fit perfectly
on this one of 100 blocks thatare going to be just in that section

(28:56):
of the ship is.
It was all wild to see it.
It was wild to see it and thento just in your brain kind of like
peel it back like an onion.
You're like, yeah, that's a pipe.
That's part of one block.
There's a hundred blocks Ithink in total.
It ends up being like close tolike a thousand total pieces that

(29:18):
make up the blocks or something.
I mean it's just.
And then to have that one pipehas to be put in.
Has to be put in that blocktwo years before the ship is done.
It has to be in the exactright place that when they piece
it all together, everythinghooks together.
I mean, I can't hang a pictureon my wall straight with a level,

(29:42):
you know, in my hand.
And they're doing that is.
It's really incredible to see it.
And then to just to thinkabout all the steps that are required
just to get your sink to workin your stateroom when you actually
are on the ship is.
It's crazy.
And the efficiency andefficacy of the whole process, again,

(30:05):
we went through so manydifferent stages and steps to see.
And you see the.
And as we were going through,you know, I tried to imagine how
does this cutaway that we'reseeing, how does this become a space
that we end up walkingthrough, right?
How does this become a guest space?
And there was just so much Ithink that I didn't expect as we

(30:27):
were we were going through andwe got, and I sort of left out that
we were able to see the.
The very first step in theprocess, right.
We saw the seal cutting forwhich was a surprise, one of the
first of many surprises.
We got to see the steelcutting for the as yet unnamed, although
we all have ideas of what itmight be as the ASNET unnamed fourth

(30:49):
ship in the Wish class fleet.
So we saw that initial moment,metaphorically speaking, of that
first piece of steel beingcut, and then we literally walked
through the entire process.
And again, I just sort ofloved being able to connect the dots
as we were going through howit goes from that piece of steel
to many pieces of steel tobuilding this skeletal framework

(31:09):
and then continuing to goalong and then almost you know, imagining
how it continues to cometogether from front to back.
But I think it wasn't until westepped on board that I got a real
true understanding.
You know, everything as wewere going through seemed very, very

(31:31):
sort of not just intentional,but everything had its place and
there was a place foreverything and everybody.
And he stepped on board theship and it was a little bit of like
controlled chaos.
And again, there was a lot ofstuff that has already been done,
but there was this cool, likefeeling of seeing the ship on the
inside in its literal finalweeks of construction and so many

(31:53):
different people from so manydifferent disciplines buzzing around
as and as we were takenthrough on this tour, navigating
these spaces that were underall of these protective covers and
active construction, very active.
Like we were in like hard hats sometimes.
We were in PPE at these verybeautiful, very stylish steel toed

(32:16):
shoes because there wasconstruction going on, there was
stuff hanging down and I'msure people who were of normal height
were banging their heads intothings hanging from the ceiling.
So it was a very active, verybusy construction zone.
And I was like a kid with myhead on a swivel, just trying to
take it all in and get a senseof place and space.

(32:37):
Again, give me a sort of yourthoughts and your first impressions
as you first stepped on boardand as we were taking through, and
we'll go through themindividually, but.
But a lot of the differentvenues in very different varying
stages of construction.
We were kind of told that thefront of the ship would be more complete,
like where the Walt DisneyTheater at is basically done.

(33:00):
But then once you get towardsthe midship and aft of the ship for
the grand hall and what willeventually be Prideland's Feast of
the Lion King will be less andless complete and My mind kind of
could figure out what thatwould be like, but I didn't really
understand what that meantuntil we saw that progression of
walking the forward to aft ofthe ship and literally seeing progression

(33:24):
of less done.
I just thought it was sointeresting even just stepping on
board.
We went up this really steepramp, and I couldn't figure out where
I was.
And I turned to Lou and I waslike, where are we on board?
I've never been on a cruiseship before.
I've been on 50 cruises.
I know what a cruise ship islike and where that embarkation point

(33:44):
is.
And he was like, megan, thisis where you do security and do your
embarkation.
They say your family name andyou go into the grand hall.
I'm like, okay, duh.
Of course, that's where we're at.
That's where every greatDisney Cruise line story begins.
That's, of course, where oursshould begin also.
And it was just this surrealexperience for me because I love

(34:06):
Disney Cruise Line.
I love the product they put out.
You go on board and you'reliterally buying memories for your
family.
But this was a memory that Icouldn't buy.
It was one that had to begifted to me.
And it felt so special thatthat gift was allowed to be mine.
Another memory you can't buyis anything in the luxury jewelry

(34:28):
places that no one wants to go in.
But I won't talk about thatright now.
I wish.
Part of me wishes that wecould have taken more photos because
I think it would help.
Like, just help.
But I think when I was on theship, I understood why there are
limited photos, because thereobviously are areas that you don't

(34:49):
even know what you're looking at.
We spent a lot of our timewalking through, like, crew areas,
like in stairways.
We're basically.
I felt like a lot of the tourwas in those areas of the ship as
we kind of darted around towhere they wanted to take us.
But there were even parts ofthe ship that were really.

(35:10):
And Megan, you mentioned,like, covered.
And Lou, you mentioned it too.
There were parts of the shipthat were basically done, but they
didn't look like it becausethey had been covered with so much
wood and plastic that in aphoto, someone would look at it.
If you put together 10 photosof what we actually saw without context,
someone could look at it andbe like, my ship is not going to

(35:31):
get done, even though it'sahead of schedule.
And the carpet in a lot ofplaces is in.
If you actually lookedunderneath your feet, where there
is, you know, two Layers ofplywood and plastic.
And the plastic, stickyplastic stuff that you peel off that's
so satisfying that you peeloff like an electronic or a TV when

(35:52):
you get it.
Like that stuff was like allover the walls and everywhere.
So it did make sense why theywould probably not view photos as
being helpful to like any.
Anything they would be tryingto communicate to the public.
But it would definitely help,like tell a story of kind of how

(36:13):
we walked around.
I would like to have some ofthose visuals, but I get why they
didn't let us have that.
But you know, there were likethe theater, they told us it was
basically done and it was.
There were other parts of theship forgetting how things look.

(36:34):
There were other parts of theship that I felt like I was expecting
it to be more done.
Again, the ship is ahead of schedule.
It's not.
These are not issues.
But it just made me even moremind blown that those are all things
that are going to get doneafter it was out of the shipyard.

(36:54):
Because we knew the ship wasnot going to be parked in Hall 6
for much longer when we wereon it.
And to have looked at the LionKing restaurant and just be like,
this is all going to get doneafter it's left the shipyard, that's
also pretty amazing because itdidn't look like anything.

(37:18):
It looked like if you'rewatching HGTV and you're about 10
minutes into an hour longrenovation or something of a very
industrial looking, I don'tknow, warehouse.
Or home, it's demo day.
If you're a Jason Chip Gaines fan.
That's what it felt like.
Yeah.
And like to know that all ofthat is going to get done.

(37:41):
I mean, they're going to beparked, parked at the dock for like
five weeks or something.
But, you know, it was amazingto see things like the theater and
be like, this looks likeexactly how it's going to be when
I'm on the ship.
And then to see thatrestaurant where you're just like,
what, where, where are weright now?
Made you just appreciate kindof the whole process and how they

(38:03):
had explained it and it metthe expectation.
So it was cool.
Yeah.
For me, there were certainsections that we went through that
again, I didn't know where we were.
It very much felt like thePoseidon Adventure to me, one of
my favorite movies.
Like, I had no idea where wewere and we were just trying to get
up to get closer to thesurface so we can, you know, weld
our way out.

(38:24):
But it also was like, ifyou've Ever built a house, and you
go to watch the constructionand it's just studs or there's not
even necessarily, you know,sheetrock up yet.
You're like, how is this goingto become the thing that I saw in,
you know, the walkthrough or,you know, now in a 3D model?
And there were places andspaces that were like that.

(38:46):
And again, you also mentionedones that were much farther along.
And I really appreciated thatbecause, like you guys said, I was
also going, how are they goingto get this done literally in a matter
of weeks?
But they are.
They're ahead of schedule.
And it is going to be, youknow, show ready before the very
first guest steps on board.

(39:09):
And as we got to see a numberof different venues, we went to the
grand hall, we went to theHaunted Mansion Parlor, we went to
the Sanctum, where we wereable to take.
Where they were able to takefor us, a photo.
We see that some places are alittle more completed than others,
but it was also cool to walkinto the Haunted Mansion Parlor and

(39:30):
see nothing there becausewe've been in that space and know
what it's going to look like.
And now we see it with justwallpaper and a couple of screens
on the walls and, you know,not even the bar sort of fully built
out.
There's a lot that's going tohappen in a very short period of
time.
And again, I just.
I imagine on its busiest days,what it's going to look like having

(39:52):
all these different.
Not just, you know,construction workers, but the people
who are coming in to do sortof the finishing work all at the
same time.
That's why I said sort ofcontrolled chaos.
What that must look and feel like.
Was there any of the spaces wewent into?
Right.
Including we spent some timein the grand hall that was most interesting

(40:16):
to you?
Most intriguing.
Most had space, maybe, thatyou're most curious to see once it's
finished.
I think it's one that I havemore of a deep connection to versus
something that's new orcurrently in progress is the Walt
Disney Theater.
I thought it was reallyinteresting on our tour when Philip

(40:37):
was saying that certain spaceshave a certain timeline that they
have to be commissioned fromMeyer Werft to Disney, and that Disney's
allowed to do whatever theywant in that space after that.
And the Walt Disney Theaterwas one of them because they have
to start bringing in sets andletting the cast for these shows
start to practice on a realstage, and not just at the performance

(40:58):
facility in Toronto, which Ivisited a few Weeks ago.
I thought, because I've kindof got this more background knowledge
of what it takes to put aDisney Cruise Line full production
show on now, that knowing thatthat space is ready for those performers
who are going to do HerculesFrozen, a musical spectacular Disney
sees the adventure is ready,the sets are there, is really exciting

(41:21):
because those shows are theheartbeat of the ship.
Like Disney is a storytellingcompany at its core, and the Walt
Disney Theater is that crownjewel for storytelling, and guests
are just going to eat thosethings up.
And the Walt Disney Theater isjust so special.
And knowing that people aregoing to get on board and start practicing
soon is really exciting.

(41:42):
Yeah, I want to put a pin inhere real quickly because one, I
was a theater kid growing up.
I actually started college asa theater major.
And I've been able to stepfoot on that stage a couple of times
before.
And I wish I would love,especially now, as it's getting closer,
to go farther back behind theproscenium and see just.

(42:03):
You forget when you're in thattheater that this is a true Broadway
like theater with multipleshows and multiple sets that are
sort of hiding behind all ofthese layers, both on a horizontal
and vertical scale, just howmuch there is back there in order
to make these shows come to life.
And I'm happy that you broughtup Hercules because I did sort of

(42:25):
follow along on your earlieradventures of going up to Toronto.
And we talked, as we wereusually while we were eating about
what that show is going tolook and feel like.
I was look.
I still think that Moana isone of the most impressive shows
I've not only seen on DisneyCruise Line, but anywhere.
And you were like, hold my.

(42:47):
Insert Hercules joke here.
Like you saying Hercules is ona similar, if not even grander scale
than that.
I think it's different.
It's hard to compare Moana andHercules because Moana is that classic
princess story.
She lives out her adventure,and Hercules is that classic villains
and heroes story.
And I grew up with Hercules inthe 90s.

(43:10):
It was one of my favorite movies.
I have really strong memoriesof seeing the Zero to Hero parade
at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
And there was a trip where myarm was broken as a kid and I got
a private meet and greet with Megara.
So that was just like thosetypes of things are ingrained in.
Um, but going through therehearsal facility in Toronto and

(43:30):
doing a puppeteering lessonwith the rehearsal Hydra, which is
going to be insane, seeing the.
The ideas that the producersand the musicians have come up with
to make Hercules Feel modernand fresh, but still being very much
have that touch point of theoriginal film is going to be really

(43:52):
cool.
And honestly, I'm so excitedfor the costuming too because it's.
It's this larger than lifegrand avant garde, met gala style
costuming for a show that'sgoing on a cruise ship.
These are things that youwould normally see on a Broadway
stage.
And it's happening right onboard your vacation, which is great.

(44:12):
So let's sort of talk aboutthis idea because one of the things
that I'm very excited for andI think is a shift from what we've
seen on the theming andstorytelling of other ships is this
idea of heroes and villainsreally sort of being the focus of
it.
And we see it in a number ofways and spaces, not just including

(44:33):
having Spider man and some ofthe spider bots on the stern of the
ship, which I'm super excitedabout because I'm a huge Spider man
fan.
But we see Black Panther t'Challa as the centerpiece of the
grand hall.
And we spent some time inthere getting a sense of the Wakandan
motifs, right?
The Dora Milaje inspired thespears inspired the pillars and Queen

(44:57):
Ramonda's headdress, sort ofinspiring the light fixtures.
But we see it the hero andvillain motif in other areas in the
staterooms and kids areas, right?
The murals inspired byHercules Mulan, brave Big Hero 6.
There's Sugar Rush in the kidsPlay Zone, Edna Mode and Jack Jack

(45:20):
in the Edna Alamode Sweet Shop.
And we also got a little bitof a sense of what is to come in
terms of how this hero andvillains theme is going to play out,
I think in a different andsort of next step, next gen way from
what we have seen on other ships.

(45:40):
Not just in terms of theplaces and spaces, but in terms of
what we're going to get fromthe characters.
One, I think they're going tobe leaning a little bit heavier into
villains in more than any ofthe other previous ships.
Especially in some of theadult spaces.
We're going to see people likeCruella and Dr. Facilier and Maleficent.

(46:04):
So while, you know, heroesseem to anchor a lot of the public
spaces, there's also a lot ofvillains in other spaces.
But a dining and entertainmentis really going to explore this battle
of good and evil.
And we got a lot more detailtoo in terms of not just the characters
that we're going to see, butthis next iteration of interactive,

(46:28):
more personalized.
And the way they weredescribing it it almost made me feel
like Galactic Star Cruiser.
Like, interactions withcharacters where you're not just
going to watch them perform,but you'll be able to interact with
them and potentially followthem from one destination to another.
What were your sort oftakeaways in terms of the character
experiences, the heroes andvillains, and some of this next level

(46:51):
of interactivity?
You can go first, Megan.
I love character meet and greets.
Like, number one.
Like, I am the girly who'sgonna stand in line at Magic Kingdom
to see Mickey every time I'mthere, even though I'm there all
the time.
I love when you get thesereally fun, unexpected character
meet and greets that you kindof remember, and it solidifies why

(47:11):
you choose to sail with Disney.
And I love a villain, so Ithink something that I'm most excited
about is Dr. Facilier is goingto be hanging around the grand hall
doing parlor tricks.
I love magic tricks.
My grandpa worked at a magicshop growing up, so I hung out there
a lot.
And I learned little Easy kidcard tricks.

(47:34):
So seeing stuff like that andreminding me of my childhood is going
to be really special.
And I'm more interestedbecause Disney's not really announced
a ton about the Maleficentmeet and greet opportunity that's
coming to Saga.
I want to know more about thatbecause I love Maleficent, but each
of the characters that they'rehaving these kind of, like, interactive

(47:55):
moments with has a verydistinct feel to what that moment's
going to look like for theguests, and they're very curated
to match what that villain'sstory is.
So Maleficent's very much thecharacter who is very petty and seems
kind of that nothing bothersher, but everything bothers her at
the same time.

(48:16):
So I'm interested to see whatthat looks like.
Yeah, I think this has been a.
This has been missing on theships, and I think we've all kind
of known that it was likethese character moments.
More time with characters.
That is not just a photo, but.
Which you'd sometimes get on,like, Star Wars Day at Sea or Marvel

(48:37):
Dead Sea to a certain degree.
Yeah.
It almost felt like it wasn'tright for a cruise ship and it had
to be part of a thing if itwas a special event or only on Pirate
Night or only as part of theMarvel Day at Sea or Pixar Day at
Sea.
And it feels like they'velearned from some of the stuff they've

(49:00):
tried and tested on theTreasure, and they're really going
to try to perfect it.
On the Destiny with the heroesand the villains.
I mean, the characters they'veannounced sounds really cool.
The idea of just being able togo have a moment with one of your
favorite characters.
I mean, the Loki show in thegrand hall, some from afar, some

(49:24):
interactive, like, some you'regoing to be participating in.
It feels like that should havealways been there, but it hasn't
been.
So I'm really excited to seehow that works into a day, especially
like a day at sea where youcan not only plan your day around

(49:46):
the show in the evening andyour dinner and a few things you
want to do during the day, butyou can catch one of Loki taking
over the grand hall orMaleficent doing her thing on stage
in the entertainment lounge.
It's just.
I don't know, it feels like.
Well, I'm really excited about it.
I'm also kind of like feelslike we should have always had it.

(50:09):
But that's not a complaint.
It's just.
It does make it a little bithard to explain to people how this
will be unique to the ship,which it is going to be.
And then all of these momentsthat the characters are going to
have with guests are exclusiveto this ship.

(50:29):
I think it'll be a.
We're just going to have to beable to show it, see it firsthand,
and then better tell peopleabout it.
I mean, you said, Megan, wedon't know much about the Maleficent
thing.
Like, we.
There's just one paragraph isall they've written.
And I mean, it could be.
You could interpret that to bebasically anything.
So there's some mystery there,which I think is fun.

(50:53):
And just to jump back, Megan,you said the shows are the crown
jewel of the cruises.
I completely agree, but I justdidn't want people to confuse that
with Enchanted Castle Jewels,which is the luxury jewelry shop
in grand hall off deck, ondeck three that no one goes into.
So you've got affiliate code for.

(51:15):
I think it's important to notetoo, on characters that you're still
going to have those, like,traditional character meet and greet
lines that are going to belisted on the Disney app.
And you can go take yourpicture with whoever and they're
in a special outfit every day.
But these really personalinteractions are going to be what
sets the Destiny apart fromthe other ships in the fleet.
I think it's also.

(51:35):
It's an iterative process andeven we just use with the Wish class
ships going from the Wish tothe treasure look.
I think one of the reasons forme personally, that I Love the Treasure
so much.
Comes down to two words.
And they are Coriander and Sage.
And they are two charactersthat were created specifically for
and are only on the treasure.

(51:56):
And you not just see in someof the entertainment venues, but
finally, I think tookadvantage of the grand hall in a
way that the wish does not do.
I think having those Junglecruise like multi person interactive
games and adventures was partof the fun.
And there was things that wereon the schedule and things that weren't.

(52:18):
These surprise and delightmoments, this next iteration of it
are going to be not justcharacter meets, but these character
meet and play moments.
Some will be scheduled, somewon't be.
You will have these sort ofpop up experiences.
Cruella De Vil, that is goingto be a new way to not just meet

(52:39):
these characters.
Stand there, take a photo orme have some sort of awkward conversation.
It's not you, it's me.
I just awkward with characters.
But now it's going to, theyare going to be truly interactive.
They are going to beactivations that kick off other things.
So when, when Loki comes intothe grand hall and the entire grand

(53:01):
hall changes color to matchthe character that's there and he
proclaims his gloriouspurpose, he is going to challenge
guests with, you know, quizzesand things that they need to do or
to answer that will start toactivate other things.
Cruella De Vil is going tohave this fashion Runway.
There's going to be, you know,she might appear in a venue that

(53:24):
is appropriate for hercompletely unannounced, completely
unscheduled, which is going tobe that surprise and delight.
Dr. Facilier may perform alittle bit of magic.
Maybe there's some games of chance.
And again, I think seeingMaleficent in Saga is going to be
very interesting.

(53:45):
And that for me, as someonewho loves to just sort of go and
wander the ship sometimes, Idon't like being married to the schedule.
I like things just to sort ofhappen around me, you know, oh look,
I happen to run across Spiderman and go take.
But now to have those thingshappen, much like I felt that they
did on the Treasure withCoriander and Sage, I feel like these

(54:08):
things, I think they saidsomewhere around 16 of these different
meet and play moments, it isgoing to bring a new sense of life
and energy and opportunity andsurprise to guests on board the Destiny.
And as somebody who digs thewhole hero and villain motif like

(54:28):
this has me very, very excited.
Not for what we know, but forthe things that we don't know and
have no idea what to expect.
And I think what's even betterabout these from a guest perspective
is you can choose to sit backand watch or you can choose to participate
and either way you're gonnahave a great time.
Because there are some parentsand kids who just don't care about

(54:51):
doing character stuff.
They want to watch it for afew minutes and continue on their
journey wherever they'regoing, whether that's to go do the
Aqua Mouse or get an ice creamcone or whatever.
But then there's other peoplewho really want to dive in deep and
have these really meaningfulmoments with characters and that's
what they go on these ships for.
So I think it's really funthat you can have both with the same
interaction and everybody canhave that opportunity to make it

(55:14):
what they want.
Well, I think it's.
I think it's also reallyinteresting too, you know, especially
with what we know is coming toMagic Kingdom in terms of villains.
Look, you know, the ships havealways leaned very heavily into princesses
and heroes a little bitbefore, but now they're leaning much
harder, I think into villains.

(55:36):
And so do you think that this,you know, villains heavy sort of
lounge focus, Cruella FacilierMaleficent, is going to change the
energy of the adult spaces atall sort of compared to a little
bit more of the lighterwhimsical vibe on the Wish or sort

(55:57):
of that sense of adventure onthe Treasure?
I think that's the point isimagineering so good at their jobs
and place making and gettingthe vibe of each distinct space correct.
That when you have a spacethat's dedicated to villains or dedicated
to Pirates of the Caribbean orto Dr.

(56:19):
Strange, that those placemaking elements help you to allow
yourself to immerse yourselfin the story versus be forced to
be immersed in a story?
Yeah, and I trust in them toget it right on the heroes and villains
ship too.
I mean, I, I think there's alot of people that'll sail the Destiny

(56:39):
that are not necessarilysailing for the heroes and villains,
but it is definitely the mostthing I'm most intrigued about is
how they, they pull this offwhile still feeling like a Disney
cruise ship and not a heroesand villain ship.

(57:00):
So it'll be a balance.
But I think they're, I thinkthey have a good plan and they're
still feel like they'reholding a lot back from us in terms
of what it is they are goingto do.
And I think they know thatthere's going to be some things they
want to do that don't work out.
So they're going to hold backfor that reason too.

(57:20):
Hopefully at destination D23,I have a feeling we'll get a little
more detail on some of thethings that they want to reveal there.
You know, one of thediscussion points about the design
of the Wish and the Treasureversus some of the earlier ships
was the lack of the adultdistrict in the back.

(57:40):
Although there are adultlounges in adult only areas and there's
a number of them that arereally well themed on the ship.
Right.
We went into deville's pianolounge again, made some minor, not
just thematic changes, butdesign changes to make that space
larger, maybe flow a littlebit better.

(58:03):
A lot of very cooltechnological enhancements to it.
Right.
To reference Cruella De Viland her car and her silhouette, we
know the Haunted Mansionparlor is going to be pretty much
the exact same as the Treasure.
But two locations that aredifferent that I'm very intrigued
about is the Cask and cannon.

(58:23):
That is the pirates themed pubwhich replaces the Periscope Pub
on the Treasure.
This too.
They changed the layout of thebar and seating which made that space
feel bigger.
And I really, really dig thetheming and the decor here.
Sort of making you feel almostlike you're in, you know, the, the.

(58:46):
The belly of a pirate ship.
I love that ceiling pirate map.
There's a lot of, if you're afan of, you know, old Mark Davis
artwork, you're going to see alot of those sketches that I think
they said they worked with thearchives to bring on.
And then the Sanctum, whichreplaces Skipper Society on the Treasure,

(59:10):
which is modeled after the NewYork Sanctum from the Doctor Strange
films, which I think this isthe one that I'm most intrigued about.
One, because they were sayingin, in no uncertain terms that the
beverage menu here, bothcocktails and mocktails, is going
to be unlike anything we haveseen or tasted before.
But I love the, the designhere and I have a feeling that some

(59:34):
of the decor, whether it's thesuspended spell books or the cloak
of levitation, are not justgoing to be like the Skipper Society.
A Trevor treasure trove oflike nerdy details, which is the
stuff I dig.
But I have a feeling thatthere's going to be like a theatrical
show, almost interactiveelement to this space that again

(59:54):
is going to sort of level upfrom what we have seen before.
Which of the lounge, which ofthese spaces are you most interested
in seeing are you mostintrigued by?
It is thundering at my house.
So I am sorry if you Guys arehearing that in the background, it
is getting ready to storm.
I think I'm excited for both,but for different reasons.
I'm kind of on board with you, Lou.

(01:00:15):
That the Sanctum is going tobe kind of the destiny version of
a Trader Sam's.
That the drinks are going tointeract with the space and what
you order kind of determineswhat interactive element changes
or what happens in the bar.
I think the, the cocktail thatwe've tried, because we've tried
one cocktail and one mocktailat our preview event in April, they

(01:00:39):
were pretty cool.
The.
The glassware is somethingthat I'm always really interested.
I'm a geek for glassware.
And that upside down martiniglass where the stem and the base
are at the top and the actualbowl is at the bottom and it's got
a hole cut into it and there'sa glass straw sticking out.
Like that stuff is really,really cool.
And I think the team thatworks on Disney Cruise Line's cocktails,

(01:01:02):
the evolution of them fromlet's say a Disney dream, Disney
fantasy to Disney wish totreasure to now Destiny, it's just
grown and they've gottenbetter and better and better at making
themed menus that match thespace that they're going into, but
with a purpose.
And that those cocktails don'tjust look the part, but they taste

(01:01:22):
the part.
We were kind of joking aroundon our tour that we wanted a Pirates
of the Caribbean waterflavored cocktail in cask and cannon.
I don't want to drink piratewater from the attraction.
That sounds gross, but I dowant that essence of pirate water.
If you're a Disney fan, youknow what that is, smells like and
it takes you instantly back tothe parks and brings you back to

(01:01:44):
being a kid.
And that's something thatDisney Cruise Line does so well in
these bar spaces.
Yeah, I think, I think it'sthe sanctum for me that I'm most
intrigued by.
I am a little.
I don't love that space on anyof the new ships because it's open
and it doesn't feel likeanything other than that.

(01:02:08):
We'll see if they pull it off.
With the Sanctum.
I feel like if it's reallygood, then I'm still going to just
look at it and be like, I justwish it was not in this space where
it could be like Hanamentioned parlor where it's separate
and I can feel more immersed.
You got to sit in the middleso you don't see the jewelry store.
Because clearly as adistraction for you.
I mean like, that area of theship can get really loud, like certain

(01:02:32):
times of night.
And I mean, it's.
If the drinks deliver on kindof the hype that has been teased
for that space, then I thinkit'll be okay.
But I still will probably lookat it and say they could have done

(01:02:52):
more if they had not made it.
This open lounge that justsits here in the middle of all of
what's going on here in Deck 3.
But I think I'm probably mostintrigued by it.
I was casting Canon.
I was a little.

(01:03:13):
It's a first look, so it'shard to put too much weight into
it.
I was a little underwhelmed byit and kind of revisiting the concept
art after having seen it in person.
It felt a little disappointing.
But, well, jury's still out.
We'll see.
So, yeah, at this point, Iwould probably say the Sanctum, even

(01:03:35):
though I think I'm going tolike Haunted Mansion Parlor more.
But we know it, right?
So I think for new, it's the sanctum.
See, it's funny when we wentinto Casking Canon because I think
it is so early on in puttingon the finishings in there.
Right.
So we know that there's goingto be this hand carved artwork around
the portholes, which wasn't there.

(01:03:55):
There's going to be nods toattractions in some of the decor,
which obviously wasn't there.
I want to sort of take thatmental image that we have of seeing
it at that point and thenseeing what it looks like in its
final finished state and withguests in there and certainly want
to try the menu as well.
We would be remiss if we didn't.

(01:04:16):
Speaking of menu, in terms ofdining locations, again, a lot are
the same from the Wish and theTreasure, except for Pride Lands,
which is going to be the Feastof the Lion King Restaurant, which
replaces Arendelle on the Wishand Plaza de Coco on the Treasure.
Again, we saw this very earlyin its design phase, but it is this

(01:04:37):
continuing this idea of thistheatrical dining experience with
this hallway entrance that'sgoing to be themed to the African
Savannah.
I think a Plaza de Coco, wherethey have that ofrenda is such a
great way.
It's almost, you know, there'ssort of a.
And I think the whole shipfeels this way.
There's a cinematic element toit, which I think the Destiny is
going to even sort of turn upto 11, and as you walk down that

(01:05:00):
hallway, it's sort of like,you know, the preview and then you
go to the.
Ofrenda and it's sort of theopening scene until you walk into
Plaza de Coco.
I think you get that samefeeling here with the live musicians
and the storytellers.
Any thoughts on Pride Landsversus Arendelle and Plaza de Coco?

(01:05:21):
I was not a huge fan of Arendelle.
I love Frozen, so I wasexcited to have like a frozen dining
experience, but I feel like itjust kind of fell flat.
And I. I think this in any ofthese dining venues, not because
of the theme of the venue, butthe venue itself, your experience
is determined by what tableyou're put at.

(01:05:42):
And that's not something thata guest can choose.
So if you're sat closer to thestage, you have a much better view
of the show and a much better,more holistic experience because
those performers are close to you.
They're making eye contactwith you.
You can see the stage better.
And if you're in that backcorner by the back of the ship where
all the windows are, you justfeel a little disconnected from what's

(01:06:04):
going on on the stage a little bit.
So I feel like it's hard inthat restaurant to say everyone's
going to have a greatexperience when the dining is always
great in there.
But being able to participateand see the show is very much determinant
of where your table's at.
And it's just a game of chance.

(01:06:25):
Yeah.
It's not like walking intolike a restaurant in Vegas and slipping
the guy a $20 bill on gettingthe, you know, Frank Sinatra seat
up front.
Exactly.
I am excited though, becausethe menu at Plaza de Coco is one
of my favorite menus on anyrestaurant in the fleet.
And I think they're reallygoing to do really well with Pride

(01:06:46):
Lands.
We got to try some of the foodand what they're testing out for
and it's quite tasty.
If you are a fan of BomaSanaa, any of the kind of more African
inspired places at AnimalKingdom, then this is going to probably
be one of your favorite menusduring the sailing.
Yeah, I think I'm also notcrazy about either of the dinner

(01:07:10):
shows that are in that space.
On the Wish and the Treasure,they're both fine.
I was hoping, and I'm stillhoping because we still have what,
two more ships of this classfor Tokyo and then the other fourth
ship, they're going to have asimilar space.

(01:07:31):
But from the first night thatwe went in on the Wish for the Frozen
show, I just said that I wishthat they had made the stage like
a concert stage where it hasthe legs in it, the walkways that
extend out where you canactually get from all four sides,

(01:07:51):
they could stick out so thatpeople could walk closer to people
that are in the very, very back.
And you would at least get amoment where you feel like you can
see some of the performers.
And they try to.
I try to take Olaf around andget people that are in the very,
very back, but it's not enough.

(01:08:13):
And there is a massive gapbetween having a really good seat
and having a not good seat.
Like, the gap is so big thatit's comical.
You can literally have aconversation with someone and say,
yeah, that was great.
And then the person that is atthe same show, dinner show as you

(01:08:35):
sang, no, that was not great.
That was not good.
So.
But I. I think the music fromLion King is so great that maybe
a bad seat and this one mightbe the best of the three, possibly
just because the music is so good.
But, yeah, I was hoping thatthey maybe would have made some changes

(01:08:58):
that would help, but we couldalready see the stage when we were
there and they had not reallymade any changes to that pain point.
Yeah, I mean, I'm sureDisney's aware and I wonder if from
a performance perspective, ifthey're able to somehow address that
to folks who are not as closeto the stage.
And here's my hack.

(01:09:19):
If you are, especially like,if you, for example, if you're a
Plaza de Coco and you're notas close to the stage as you need
to be, the way to get aroundthat is just order more empanadas.
Because empanadas at Plaza deCoco fix everything on night two.
Maybe that's just me.
I'm a big fan of that Nighttwo menu.
I'm a huge fan of that night.

(01:09:40):
Two menu that might be myfavorite dining on any Disney Cruise
Line ship is Rapunzel's Royal Table.
But that night two menu atCocoa is right up there.
Night two menu at Cocoa,Tiana's, and the tuna and steak at
1923 are.
That's a nice try.

(01:10:00):
Fact, don't even get mestarted on Marceline Market and festival
foods and late night chickentenders, because it's a whole separate
conversation.
The one last thing I want totouch on before we disembark the
ship again, this continuingthe theming of heroes and villains.
We did get to look at a coupleof finished staterooms, which was
really nice.
And we saw the headboardmurals inspired by, you know, Hercules

(01:10:24):
and Milan and Brave and BigHero 6, which I'm super stoked about.
I like the artwork.
I also like the wood tones inthe rooms are a little bit lighter.
They're a little bit moregray, which I really liked.
I thought the rooms, thedesign and decor of the rooms are

(01:10:44):
beautiful.
Any sort of thoughts justquickly on the staterooms or anything
else that you saw on board?
Yeah, I love Disney CruiseLine staterooms.
Anyways.
I sail on all types of cruiseships and I think they have some
of the best designed rooms for families.
The spaces are just theorganization on Disney Cruise Line.
Staterooms is so good andthere's so much storage that you

(01:11:04):
could sail with your family offour or five for seven nights in
one stateroom.
It might be tight, but there'splenty of room for all your stuff.
And your suitcases fit underyour bed, which is not something
you can say for every othercruise line.
And that's one of my biggestpet peeves, is I don't want to see
my suitcase every singlemorning when I wake up, it goes under
my bed.
I also just love, I love thatwe're Getting Big Hero 6 representation.

(01:11:27):
Even if it's just in astateroom, it's a start.
So I'm really thrilled about that.
I'm with you.
You cannot see it.
It's off camera.
But I have a 4 foot tallBaymax plush in my office.
Don't judge.
Hannah and MiFi are bestiesnow, right?
Yeah.
The rooms, I agree on the rooms.
I think the miss on the newships is the TV slapped on the wall

(01:11:51):
where it's not visible to,like, kiddos that sleep in.
So when we travel with ourtwo, if it's TV before bed, they
have to join us in our bed,which is fun on trips.
But, Scott, someday you willappreciate that.
You'll be like, thank you.

(01:12:13):
I do enjoy it.
It would be okay if one of thenights they didn't have to do that
to see the tv.
But that is one where it'sjust kind of like the TV feels like
they forgot about it until thelast second.
They're like, oh, crap, wegotta put it somewhere.
So just put it right there.
Well, I think so many kids areon their own devices too.
You know, they're watchingtheir own stuff and they're in their

(01:12:34):
headphones and they're intheir own space.
So it's like a.
It's not even a footnote for us.
Like, we don't even watch thatmuch tv.
It's just like a bedtime thing.
But it's the rest of the room.
100% agree.
Like especially rooms with thesplit bath.
Everything about those roomsmakes sense.
Fact check me on the amount of time.
But I think when they weretalking to us about the construction

(01:12:57):
of those staterooms and theassembly line, didn't they say that
they can roll off a stateroomwhen they're constructing them at
a separate off site place forthe ship?
Didn't they say like every 15minutes they can crank out a stateroom
off of that assembly line?
Every 15 to 20 minutes astateroom gets completed.
Which is wild.
That's crazy.
I really wish we could havegone there on our second after we

(01:13:19):
were done in Meyer Werft.
We could have gone to wherethey make the staterooms.
They make these pods thatessentially are created at this warehouse,
factory, whatever you call it,roll off every 15 minutes.
Then they just take them tothe ship and they just plug them
in.
Like a plug.
They said it's done.
They plug it in, they shut thedoor behind them.
They don't have to worry aboutthe stateroom until like way down

(01:13:42):
the road when they go checkand make sure all the pipes and everything
is.
It's a contemporary resort way of.
I mean they're still sort ofbuilding the same way that they were
in Walt Disney World in, youknow, the late 60s.
Yeah, it's awesome.
But yeah, in the decor.
Agree on all of that.
The changes, the artwork isalways beautiful.

(01:14:04):
But yeah, we love those staterooms.
I do love too.
We, we asked about the bunksbecause I, I don't like sleep in
the bunk because I'm an adultand I sleep on the couch because
my parents get the bed.
But I love that it's going tobe Hercules in the constellation
that's above the bunk bedbecause I think kids are really,
really going to love that.
Yeah, yeah.
So before we, before wedisembark the ship and just talk

(01:14:27):
about the float out the nextday, you know, I think the Destiny
is really going to be.
I think one of the takeawaysis that it's really going to be the
most character driven, wishclass ship so far.
I think with all of thosemultiple villain and hero encounters.
And you know, as we weretalking amongst ourselves and some
of the folks, somebody said itthis way, you know, the Wish is really

(01:14:50):
about princesses and theTreasure is really about the Disney
parks and the Destiny isreally just about letting loose and
having fun through all of thedifferent spaces on the ships.
And you know, I think theother thing too is I think there's
a lot more that we don't knowyet that we did not take away from

(01:15:12):
this that we're not gonna even hear.
At destination D23, there was a.
After our ship tour, there wasa presentation by Walt Disney Imagineering
that really helped pull andconnect those dots together in a
very clear, seamless way froma storytelling perspective, not just
about the ship, but about the process.

(01:15:33):
There were some things that wesaw in this presentation which we
are obviously like.
The entire experience we werenot allowed to take any pictures
of or record.
There was some concept art onthere that was intriguing and mysterious
to say the least.
None of us can figure out ordecipher what it was.
I'll be curious to see if thispays dividends later on at some point.

(01:15:56):
And a lot of these things thatwe don't know, a lot of the surprises
that they have in store willcome to light when the.
When the.
When the Destiny makes herfirst voyage in December.
Any final sort of takeawaysjust from the ship itself or comparisons
to other ships in this class?

(01:16:18):
I think this is going to be agame changer for Disney and Disney
Cruise Line.
I think the other ships allowyou to have vacation, which is fantastic.
That's what people go on theseships for.
But I think the Destiny isgoing to give you permission to let
go of your preconceived notionof what a Disney Cruise Line vacation
is and let you have thatexperience in a new and different

(01:16:40):
way.
And it's going to be just asenjoyable as if you go on the other
ships in the fleet, but justslightly different and more exciting,
I think.
Yeah, I'm hoping it's a steptoward more of these character moments
on all of the ships.
I like the idea that whatthey've teased is exclusive to this
ship.

(01:17:01):
But, you know, they're.
You're gonna have a lot ofships here pretty soon.
A lot coming and still existing.
And helping the ships bedifferent, I think will be a priority
for them as they have thisfleet of 13 ships.

(01:17:21):
You've got the adventurecoming, which is going to be completely
unique and a identifiable ship experience.
Whereas I don't think for mostjust regular guests, there's a huge
difference between, like, themagic and the wonder, other than
itinerary.
And I think you're going towant those ships to have some more

(01:17:47):
of a.
More of an identity outside ofwhere they're going.
So I think what they aretrying to do with the Destiny is
probably something thatthey'll learn from and find ways
to do that on the other ships.
So that gets me excited.
Yeah, I love the fact that theDisney Cruise Line menu lets you

(01:18:07):
sort of pick and choose eitherby the size of the ship, the theming
of the ship, the destinationsof the ship, and that the menu is
about to get a lot bigger.
I'm very, very curious to seenot just what these ships are going
to look and feel like andwhere they're going to go, but how
the themes change from ship to ship.
And it allows you to pick andchoose based on the type of vacation,

(01:18:30):
the type of voyage that youwant to have, whether you're going
with your family, whetheryou're going with friends, whether
you're going as a bunch of adults.
You know, more choices, moreoptions is a benefit to us as Disney
Cruise Line fans.
The last thing I want to talkabout is, again, this was a surprise
to us, again, something I'venever seen or done before, which
was the float out thefollowing day as it exited the COVID

(01:18:53):
hall into the river EMS forthe first time.
This was wild and unlikeanything I expected before because
they're like, you know, theship's gonna.
A tug is gonna pull her out,and it's going to take a couple of
hours.
So I'm like, oh, it's notgonna be anything.
First of all, we got there, wegot to the shipyard.

(01:19:14):
I've never been to a NASCARevent, but it was like this NASCAR,
like, crowd.
The parking lot was full ofRVs and people playing music and
food trucks and people, like,hanging out and camping out and cooking
out.
It was this, like, culturalevent slash street festival for,

(01:19:37):
like, the pulling out of aDisney cruise line.
Maybe there's not a lot to doin Papenburg, but people came from,
like, far and wide.
I met somebody there who was alistener who came from, like, the
Netherlands to come out andsee this.
It was and is a huge deal.
Like, this was a really,really big event.
It was huge.

(01:19:58):
They kind of warned us thatthey would be other people that weren't
our small group and people whoworked at the shipyard and imagineering
their.
It was like going to a summertailgate for a football game.
It is that first Sunday offootball, and you're getting ready
to watch your favorite team.
There were food trucks there.
There was a DJ playing Disney music.

(01:20:19):
It was a complete and utterparty for a ship float out, which
was not what I was expectingat all.
But I was surprised in thebest ways.
And I think the fact that our.
Our time there kind ofchronologically made sense.
Where we had saw and heardabout how important shipbuilding

(01:20:44):
is in Papenburg and how longof course, how long they've been
doing it and history of it andthe whole process.
And then you see all thesepeople that have just come out.
You know, they have family orthey work at the shipyard and it's
just, it's kind of this signthat things are good in the town.
Everything's great.

(01:21:04):
The shipyard is still crankingout ships, Everyone still has jobs.
The economy is doing well for,for that area.
And you know those folks werethere, the people that just come
out to watch every ship thatleaves all six.
And then you had your, yourDisney fans too that were, were there,

(01:21:25):
but there were plenty of people.
I, I took a walk kind ofaround and there were, there was
a huge crowds and there was anEnglish speaking group and a guy
that said he comes for, forevery ship and was there to document
all of it.
So all of it.

(01:21:46):
Those were things that I'dseen in pictures like the crowds
kind of coming.
But it being such an event waspretty cool and just knowing that
it was, it was exciting for usto see it, but it was kind of like
it was more meaningful for alot of those folks.
Like there was true meaning toseeing it from a different, from

(01:22:09):
their perspective.
It was, it was really cool forme to see it, but it actually, it
was, it actually meantsomething to them, which was, which
was fun to hear about.
Yeah, there was this, like,there was this cool energy in the
air and you know, there werepeople coming in matching shirts
and they brought their kidsand you know, they were on bikes
and scooters and they werejust making a day of it just watching

(01:22:31):
because they really just, youknow, it was like two hours and then
they sort of just watched theship there and just sort of spent
the day looking at the shipbecause that's, that's what's going
to happen.
The ship is going to stay atthe shipyard for completion of the
interior.
It will then after it finishesthe dock work, they'll have the conveyance
to open water, they'll do seatrials and then the delivery to Disney

(01:22:53):
Cruise Line before it makesits transatlantic voyage over to
Port Everglades.
And you know, as quickly asthe destiny came out, that spot inside
is being filled because theyare building ships and they're already
working on the fourth of theWish class ship and then they're
going to go to the threesmaller ships that are going to come

(01:23:16):
after.
So there, there's a lot to beexcited for and I, you know, I was
really happy and sort of putthe, the cherry on top, seeing her
float out because for us, and hopefully.
And the reason why I wanted tohave you guys come on and talk about
this and share the.
Share what we went throughwith you, our friend, the listener

(01:23:38):
who's sitting here with us, isto sort of let you sort of understand
the process of concept anddesign to the first cutting of steel,
to that moment when it doescome out and get into the water.
And for the folks that workedon, literally and figuratively on
that ship or physically onthat ship, I can only imagine what
that must feel like to seeyears of work and planning come to

(01:24:02):
fruition and then know thatwe're just weeks away from guests
getting on board for the first time.
For you guys, is there any onemoment from the.
The tour, any one area thatyou are most excited for things that
are most memorable to you?

(01:24:22):
I think the most memorablething for me was the people that
I got to do this experience with.
Our group was really, reallyspecial and we all bonded really
quickly, even though we allkind of knew each other.
Going in and sharing anexperience with friends and an experience
that you don't get to do every day.

(01:24:43):
I came up so hyped and I camehome so re energized about the work
that we get to do and beingable to tell these stories to readers
or to listeners and knowingthat Disney's the one thing that
connects all of us and doingit through Disney Cruise Line and

(01:25:05):
letting Meyer Werft kind of bethat through line was really, really
special.
Yeah, I think for me it wasjust seeing.
Getting a better idea of howbig the team is that works on the
ships.
Like imagineering having abase there.
Germany.
Hearing from Philip, like justcruise line is not as in terms of

(01:25:31):
like the theme park communityCruise line is.
Is much, much smaller thankind of the fandom.
But having been a.
A kind of super fan of thecruise line for such a long time,
it was cool to see how excitedthey get about this product that
they work on and at the sametime knowing that they have a lot

(01:25:54):
of work coming up on all these ships.
There was a huge gap betweenthe magic and the wonder and then
the dream and the fantasy.
And then from the fantasyuntil the Wish.
You know, it was another.
It was 12 years between thefantasy and the wish, 11 years.

(01:26:15):
And now all of this happeningat once is just an exciting thing
to think about.
As someone who's a big fan ofwhat Disney Cruise Line does and
knowing that also as a fan ofnews and things that are new just
in general about everythingDisney, it gets me excited.

(01:26:37):
Knowing that there's justgoing to be a lot to talk about for
at least through 2031.
So long time.
Yeah.
You know, for me, there was just.
There were so many differenttakeaways, just at the bare minimum.
Just not that I felt that thiswas not just the next iteration of
Disney Cruise Line ships, butmaybe starting to turn the page to

(01:26:59):
the next generation in termsof what our guest experience is going
to be like.
You know, these characterinteractions, some of the storytelling,
and not just the breadth andthe width, but the depth of the storytelling
that is going to be able tohappen on board.
I definitely got a muchgreater understanding and appreciation
of the process.

(01:27:21):
And as somebody, again, wholoves the logistics and when I go
to a space, I try and imaginehow it came to be to be able to see
that.
And hopefully we've been ableto convey that to you.
Who's listening?
What it looks and feels likegoing from steel to finished spaces
is absolutely fascinating andreally get an appreciation, too,
of just how many people itdoes take to make this happen.

(01:27:46):
Not just at the shipyard inPapenburg and the imagineers who
are there, but the folks outin Glendale, the folks from the Disney
Cruise Line team in Orlando.
There are so many intricate,tiny, moving parts and pieces that
have to come together soseamlessly, so perfectly, and so

(01:28:06):
well timed in order.
You know, certain things can'thappen until all those other dominoes
fall before it.
And it is a masterclass inprecision in terms of how they do
this in what I feel is arelatively short period of time.
And I'm more excited than everto sail on the Destiny in November.

(01:28:28):
And then we have our groupcruise coming up in February.
Anything else that you want toadd, anything else that you feel
or what's the first place thatyou go when you step foot on board?
Ice cream.
That is literally.
That's where I always go first.
I'm getting my ice cream coneand then my family and I just.

(01:28:50):
We love meeting theentertainment staff.
They're.
They're the folks who are justmaking sure you're having a good
time all week long.
So we typically try to hit upa trivia or two that first day and
really get to know the teamthat's going to be making sure we're
having fun.
The jewelry store, for sure,we usually go to if it's on that

(01:29:11):
older ship, cabanas orMarceland Market.
We usually just try to get upthere and get up, get our food before
it gets crazy.
That area can be prettyhectic, so we try to Stay ahead of
the crowds, get up there, eatand then usually if, if it's not
Alaska, we'll have our bathingsuits or our swim trunks and go,

(01:29:34):
go start that with the kiddosand then be ready at the room at
2:00'.
Clock.
So I mean our, my kiddos love just.
They love a hotel room, a stateroom.
Like when I, when I was inGermany, the one thing they asked
for the whole time I was gonewhen I would talk to them was for

(01:29:56):
me to show them the hotel room.
That's what they wanted to seewas the hotel room.
So I had to take videos as ifI was like, I don't really cover
like hotel rooms or anythinglike that.
But I had to do the, you know,don't touch anything when I walk
in the room to take a video ofit when it looks really nice just

(01:30:16):
for my kids to see the hotel room.
So they love the stateroom onthe cruise ship.
So that's usually us.
We're usually lunch, maybe icecream, swim and then go hang out
in the room.
What's the one place, based onwhat we've seen, based on what we,
you know, know or heard orthink, what do you think is the one

(01:30:38):
place on board the Destinythat is going to be most interesting
or intriguing or just jawdropping for guests?
Oh gosh, there's going to beso many.
That's the problem is this isa whole new ball game of things that
can happen and that are unknown.
I think the spot that I'm mostinterested to see the guests perception

(01:30:58):
of is Devilles.
Cruella is just going to popin every now and then.
You never know when it's gonna happen.
And she might get you upwalking a catwalk, which I think
is really fun.
Yeah, I, I mean it's kind ofa, a simple, easy answer.
But I think the grand hall ismaybe what I think will kind of set

(01:31:20):
the tone for the ship.
But it's also one that I feellike I don't have a good grasp of
just yet because concept artthat we have is not really how they've
done concept art for theseWish class ships.
It's more painterly style andyou don't really get a feel for what,
what it's going to feel likein that space.
And we certainly didn't get,you know, with our look at it, it

(01:31:42):
didn't feel anywhere near likewhat the grand hall will feel like.
The chandelier was not in place.
So I think I'm most intriguedby the final finished product for
that and how it's received by guests.
Like, the.
The Black Panther statue isvery different for a Disney ship

(01:32:05):
to have that.
That character there.
Like, what does that mean forthe next ship?
Like, how.
How is this going to go?
I mean, I. I personally love it.
I love it in the art, but it'sgoing to be interesting to see how
that translates into real life.

(01:32:25):
I agree.
I think the grand hall isgoing to be a level up from what
we've seen in the past,because based on what they've said
they're going to be doing withaudio and video and lighting and
how it's going to be atransformative space depending on
the characters that are goingto be in there, I think that is very,
very interesting.

(01:32:47):
Scott, you mentioned it.
We have not seen thechandelier in that grand hall space
yet.
Is that piece of concept artthat we saw meant to inspire the
chandelier?
I think so.
I think so, yeah.
And I think that piece isgoing to be one of the.

(01:33:08):
I think they're hiding it fora reason.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think it's going to be oneof the most impressive of any of
the.
On any of the ships.
So.
And they're all equally uniqueand gorgeous, but I think this one
maybe a little extra meaningbehind it.
So I'm excited to see that.
Yeah, I can't wait.
I cannot wait.
I cannot wait to experiencethe ship as she goes on one of her

(01:33:31):
very first sailings later onthis year.
And we will have to reconveneand talk about it all over again.
In the meantime, if peoplewant to find you and follow you and
read some of your amazingwork, Megan and Scott, tell people
where they can find you.
I am on Instagramnglingwithmegan and you can find

(01:33:52):
my work by searching my nameon the World Wide Web.
Megan dubois.
I write kind of all over theplace, so I would be here for another
45 minutes if I told youeverywhere that I wrote, but lots
of Disney content, lots ofcruise content.
So if you are into that kindof thing, I would love for you to
read my articles and come joinme in the party.

(01:34:12):
On Instagram.
Yeah.
And if I'm not in the jewelrystore, then I'm on Twitter, so.
Or X, whichever.
Find me there, you know,Depends on the day.
Sometimes I'm mostly justtweeting about news.
Sometimes I'm tweeting memes.
But, yeah, find me on Twitterand X. I'll be sharing more on the

(01:34:33):
the Destiny with the sailingcoming up later this year and lots
of parks stuff coming up herepretty soon too.
A destination and some cruiseline stuff in there, so.
But yeah, find me on X.
It is an exciting time to be aDisney fan.
Certainly an exciting time tobe a Disney cruise line fan.
And I will link to all of yourstuff in the show notes this week.

(01:34:55):
Megan and Scott, thank you somuch for joining me not just today,
but for making a remarkableexperience over in Papenburg even
more special because we wereable to share that and some frites
together.
Last question.
If you want to answer it, you can.
If not, you don't have to.
What is your prediction forthe name of the next wish class ship?
I know you probably have morethan one.

(01:35:15):
Throw one out there.
My top choice is Disney Enchantment.
Yeah, I feel like EnchantmentImagination, even though both of
those are un.
Used by cruise cruisecompanies too.
Right.
There's like a carnivalimagination and I guess it's Enchantment
of the Seas.
But there's not just anEnchantment, is there?
I don't think so.
But there's also a wonder, right?

(01:35:37):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So there's a lot of crossoverwith other brands.
Yeah.
I don't think they 100%.
I don't think it bothers them.
So I mean, I feel like thoseare two, two solid guesses.
I had an idea for one thatI've already forgotten.
I can't remember what it was.
I literally have a documentthat I like, write down all the names
that I think I have like 12.

(01:36:00):
No, I have like 15, but I'mnarrowing it down.
Could be the Discovery, couldbe the Believe.
I like Disney Infinity, whichis a callback to the old Disney Infinity
game, which unfortunatelynever, you know, became what it should
have been.
Skylanders.
I'm looking at you.
Yeah, it'll be, it'll be crazy.
Maybe I'll put a poll up inthe, in the, in the clubhouse to

(01:36:22):
see because there's a few thatI think it could be.
But thank you guys again.
I cannot wait to sail with youvery soon.
It's time for this week'sDisney Trivia Challenge where you
can see how well you know thesights, sounds, secrets and stories
of Disney.
You can test your knowledge,have some, have some fun and enter

(01:36:43):
for a chance to win a Disneyprize package.
This week's trivia contest isonce again brought to you by my favorite
foodie event of the year, theSwan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic.
They have just released menusand I am more excited than ever.
It's happening Friday andSaturday, November 15th and 16th,
right in the heart of WaltDisney World.
It is an incredible night ofworld class food, drinks, live music

(01:37:05):
and some Disney magic underthe stars.
More importantly, your ticketincludes unlimited food and beverages
with dishes from award winningchefs, wines, beers, cocktails from
around the world, all on thebeautiful causeway between the Swan
and Dolphin resorts.
It really is one of myhighlights of the year.
I cannot wait to be thereagain this year.
And if you love Disney foodand just having a great night, you're

(01:37:28):
going to love it too.
Tickets are on sale now andyou can get all the details over
at swan dolphinfoodandwinclassic.com and I hope
to see you there on the causeway.
And now, before we get to thisweek's trivia question, let's go
back, review last week's andselect our winner.
So last week I was talkingabout how music and audio play such
an important part of the parksand attractions and experiences.

(01:37:50):
And I asked you to tell mewhere in Walt Disney World can or
have you heard this?
It's Fall to be free.
Yes, thanks to all of you.
Entered, got this one correct,knew that this is it's fun to be

(01:38:13):
free from World of Motion in Epcot.
This was the theme song whichdebuted October 1, 1982, closed in
1996.
It was composed by Buddy Bakerand with lyrics by Existencio.
And what I love, not justabout the attraction, but really
about this music, was that itwas this looping underscore that
was woven into each of thedifferent scenes styled to match

(01:38:34):
the different eras and culture.
So ancient Rome, the WildWest, Renaissance Italy, the Surfer
60s and a lot more with thespeed tunnels and this rousing orchestral
finale.
And if you go back and listento the entire track, you can hear
playful renditions in likeRagtime and Disneyland jazz and Broadway
show tunes.
There's like a kazoo and aKeystone Cop style.

(01:38:57):
More importantly, if youlisten carefully, it's sort of punctuated
by vehicle noises.
Great soundtrack, great themesong for World of Motion, which was
not just a fun, whimsicalattraction, but one that I miss from
Epcot Center's earliest days.
Anyway, I took all the correctentries, randomly selected one last
week you were playing for theWW audio keychain, the stickers,
the pin, and a mystery prizethat I brought back just for you

(01:39:20):
from Disneyland.
And last week's winner,randomly selected, is Leanne Figueroa.
So, Leanne, congratulations.
I'll get your prize packageout to you right away.
If you played last week anddidn't win, that's okay because here's
your next chance to enter inthis week's Disney Cruise Line Trivia
Challenge.
So as long as we're talkingabout the Disney Destiny and the

(01:39:42):
process of building ships, Icannot wait to get on the Destiny
in February.
I hope that you can join us.
So tell me, on which twoDisney Cruise Line ships can you
play the Midship DetectiveAgency game?
On which two Disney CruiseLine ships can you play the Midship
Detective Agency game?
You're gonna have untilSunday, August 31st at 11:59pm Eastern,

(01:40:03):
giving you an extra weekbecause I'm traveling to speak at
not one but two conferencescoming from up this week, so you
have an extra week.
To answer, go to www.com clickon this week's podcast.
Use the form there.
Again, you're gonna play forthe keychain, the stickers, the pin
and a mystery prize.
Maybe from Disneyland, maybefrom Disney Cruise Line.
So good luck and have fun.

(01:40:28):
Thank you again for listening.
More importantly, for theincredible opportunity and privilege
to be invited out for thisvery, very, very special event.
It only happened because ofyou and your years of love, support,
friendship and help.
I am so incredibly grateful toand for you and I hope that the show
brought you a little bit ofDisney magic into your week.

(01:40:49):
After seeing the Destiny upclose and walking her decks, I am
more excited than ever for ourWW Radio Group cruise on the Destiny
February 9th through the 14thin 2026.
It is a five night cruise fromFort Lauderdale to Nassau and Lookout
Key at Lighthouse Point wherenot only you can you enjoy all of
the magic of a Disney cruise,but you can also be part of exclusive

(01:41:11):
WW meetups, private events andspecial surprises just for our group.
Whether you are a solotraveler, a couple, a family, sailing
with us is all about more thanjust a vacation.
It's about joining a communityof Disney fans who are just passionate
about the magic andstorytelling and chicken tenders
that make Disney so special.
It is a great opportunity tomake new friends, lasting connections

(01:41:34):
and share some magical moments together.
Whether you are a longtimelistener or new to the WWW family.
Not only is everyone welcometo join on this very special journey,
but I would love to personallyinvite you to come along as well.
You can learn more and get afree no obligation quote from my
friends over atMouseFanTravel.com by going to www.radio.com
destiny26.

(01:41:56):
But wait, there's more becausethe night before we depart Fort Lauderdale
it's the Super Bowl.
So I'd love to invite you tojoin us for a very special pre Cruise
super bowl party in FortLauderdale in a venue right near
the port.
And thanks to our friends atMouseFan Travel, we've reserved an
entire venue which means nocrowds, no no lines, no distractions.

(01:42:17):
Just great company, greatopportunity to meet one another,
great food of course and thebig game on multiple TVs throughout
the space.
And of course you can't have aSuper bowl party without food.
And by food I meet an all youcan eat buffet of some of your favorite
game day foods and soft drinks.
And right now this event isexclusively available to those of
us who are joining us on theDisney Destiny.

(01:42:38):
So ask your Mouse fan Travelfor more information and I would
to love love to see you on theDestiny with us in February 2026.
Once again, I hope you enjoyedthis week's show, an exclusive tour
of the Disney Destiny and itbrought a little bit of happiness
and Disney magic to your dayand week.
If it did and you enjoyed theshow, please help spread the word,
share the show and tell a friend.

(01:42:59):
Always remember to choose thegood to teach and lead by example.
And I hope that you have anamazing day and an even better tomorrow.
So until next time, my friendand you are my friend.
Whether we have met yet ornot, I love and appreciate you.
See ya.
Well, it sounds pretty good.
In fact, that's just the right spirit.
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