The Disney Believe is shaping up to be quite the ship! We already know Moana’s taking center stage in the Grand Hall, Tinker Bell’s claiming the bow, and Toy Story’s getting the stern treatment. But there’s still a lot of mystery left to unpack. So we grabbed John Magi, Chris Vorobek, Teresa Echols, and Jimmy Valdes – four people with *very* strong opinions – and let them loose on what they think is coming for the restaurants, lounges, entertainment, shops, and where this beauty might actually sail from.
John Wants His Disney Ships to Respect Tradition
Chris showed up wearing a Moana shirt (because, come on, Moana’s going to be everywhere on this ship), and John immediately reminded him who was actually running the show.
Here’s what we know: The Disney Believe is the fourth Wish-class ship – coming after Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, and Disney Destiny. The whole vibe is supposed to be about promises and possibilities. Sounds nice, right?
John’s already picturing the Grand Hall with that classic Polynesian Village Resort aesthetic. Think warm browns and muted tones instead of all the bright colors from earlier ships. He’s hoping it’ll feel more like Aulani than anything we’ve seen before.
Teresa’s got one wish, though: she wants Maui hanging out with Moana in that Grand Hall. Chris is betting Disney will at least scatter some supporting characters around the statue, like those mice next to Cinderella on the Wish. And between you and me? Nobody thinks HeiHei’s getting left out.
Now here’s where things get fun: Buzz and Woody are heading to the stern, and the ship’s name is using actual Toy Story lettering.
Teresa *loves* this. She’s all for ships having their own personalities instead of looking like carbon copies of each other. The lettering helps Believe stand out, and she’s here for it.
John? Not so much.
Look, he’ll admit he’s the traditionalist of the group. As he put it, “Disney fans love change as long as everything stays exactly the same.” His issue? Disney didn’t give every other ship character-specific lettering. Believe’s the exception, and breaking the pattern? That bothers him. A lot.
Tinker Bell on the bow, though? That got a much better reaction. For the first time ever, it won’t be Mickey or Minnie up there, and John genuinely thinks Tink deserves that spotlight way more anyway.
He’s also already predicting that Tinker Bell and Peter Pan are going to inspire the tower suites, with characters like Pinocchio showing up in the concierge staterooms (obviously tying into that whole “wishing and believing” theme).
Oh, and John’s got one more prediction that might take a while to prove: he thinks Auliʻi Cravalho – Moana’s voice – could become the ship’s godmother. Chris pumped the brakes on that one though, reminding us that Disney usually waits until much closer to the actual christening to announce something like that.
The Lounge Predictions Got Dark Quickly
Here’s the thing about Teresa: she doesn’t drink, but she will literally sit in the Haunted Mansion Parlor for *hours*. So whatever replaces that iconic lounge concept on the Believe? It needs to feel dark and grown-up. An “it’s a small world” bar isn’t going to cut it.
Chris is throwing out Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas as an option. He and Jimmy recently caught Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland, and Chris is convinced Disney could adapt that vibe into an intimate shipboard lounge. Jimmy’s on board with this one too. And if Teresa wants dark, The Nightmare Before Christmas basically writes itself.
Then John floats the idea of a Snow White lounge centered around the Evil Queen. Think the Magic Mirror, the mine, maybe even a poisoned apple martini situation. Sure, Disney Adventure already has Spellbound (which also leans into the Evil Queen), but that’s not stopping him from thinking bigger.
Chris is leaning toward Tangled for the central lounge instead. He’s picturing the Tangled stage production from the Disney Magic getting a second life on the Believe, with a Rapunzel-themed lounge right nearby to tie everything together.
Teresa immediately imagined guests tangled up in Rapunzel’s *hair*, and that basically turned into everyone joking about a “hair bar.” Pretty sure that’s not what Disney’s designers are actually going for.
Jimmy brought it back down to earth, though. He’s into the Tangled concept, especially with lanterns hanging from the ceiling. That softer lighting in one of the ship’s darker spaces? That actually sounds really nice.
John’s final pitch: an Ursula lounge with a whole undersea vibe. Chris thinks the concept works, but he’s not convinced that the Believe is going full villain. That “promises and possibilities” theme sounds more like it’s leaning into princesses and happier stories overall.
Jimmy Is Ready to Eat Inside the Casita
Okay, Jimmy’s got one crystal-clear request: give Encanto the theatrical dining restaurant.
Seriously, he can already see it. The Casita wrapped around the dining room, moving details and colorful decor everywhere, music pumping, and the family gathering on that center stage. And Colombian food on the menu – specifically arepas. He wants this *badly*.
If Disney doesn’t build an Encanto restaurant, Jimmy freely admitted he might actually storm the gates over it. (John joked about it too, and Jimmy basically didn’t deny anything.)
John and Chris both think Encanto would be perfect for spaces like Plaza de Coco or Pride Lands: Feast of The Lion King on other ships. And here’s the bonus: Colombian dishes would give the Believe’s menu something noticeably different from what’s already out there.
But Teresa’s got a bigger-picture request that’s not tied to any specific character. She just wants the food in the three main dining rooms to actually be *good*. The recent menus feel too samey to her. She’s not asking for weird or crazy elaborate dishes. She just wants something memorable enough that she’ll be thinking about it the next day, craving it again.
She gives a lot of credit to places like Marceline Market and the quick-service spots on the Wish class ships. The grilled food, the tacos, those stations actually work for her family. Her son apparently destroys plates that look like they came straight out of The Flintstones.
Worlds of Marvel is the one she’d really like Disney to rethink. It’s her least favorite restaurant across the entire fleet because it’s just *too loud*. She doesn’t expect Disney to scrap it, but she’d be thrilled if they gave it a different concept or seriously dialed things back.
Galveston Versus Fort Lauderdale
Teresa made the safe call here. She’s predicting that the Disney Believe will do three-night and four-night cruises out of Port Canaveral. She even admitted she doesn’t really take many risks with her predictions.
John also thinks Port Canaveral is where the Believe gets christened and starts sailing from. But then he thinks Disney could make a bigger move and send the ship to Galveston year-round.
Here’s his reasoning: there are gaps in the 2027 schedule, and Disney’s mentioned potentially putting a bigger ship in Galveston permanently. The Believe might be the only ship without an established schedule that fits what they’ve been saying.
Plus, a Galveston assignment could mean seven-night cruises or longer. Getting to Disney’s island destinations from Texas takes time, and John doesn’t think Disney introduces a new ship without making sure those stops are happening.
Chris is betting on Fort Lauderdale instead. Disney’s got passenger commitments there, and he sees room for another ship once the Destiny moves to Port Canaveral. Fort Lauderdale also just makes sense logistically. The airport is super close to the port, there are hotels at every price point, and getting in and out is pretty easy.
That said, Chris isn’t anti-Galveston. He actually did back-to-back cruises on the Disney Magic from there and loved it, even on a cold February morning. Progreso isn’t his favorite port, but he’s always found something worth doing in Cozumel.
The Shows, Shops, and Spaces They Want Changed
Chris is genuinely excited about the new Broadway-style stage production coming to the Believe. His personal dream? A Zootopia musical with extra music from Shakira. Though he’ll be the first to admit the movie doesn’t exactly have enough songs right now for an obvious stage adaptation.
A lot of other spaces will probably stay pretty similar to what’s already on the other Wish class ships: 1923, Worlds of Marvel, Palo Steakhouse, Enchanté, The Rose, Marceline Market, the kids clubs, AquaMouse, the pools, all that stuff.
Now, John’s biggest practical concern? The high-end jewelry store always looks empty to him. He’ll wander in to chat with the cast members and gawk at the incredibly expensive necklaces, but he just doesn’t think that’s what most Disney Cruise Line guests actually want to shop for.
Meanwhile, the Disney merchandise shop right across from it is always packed. John would rather see that valuable retail space filled with stuff Disney fans are actually excited to browse through.
Chris would go even further and move things around completely. The way the shops and lounges are currently arranged sometimes feels like a shopping mall to him, especially with that diamond store taking up such prime real estate. He’d shift the bar closer to the windows and move retail into the center to actually improve traffic flow.
Neither of them expects Disney to renovate the whole physical layout though. So for now, Teresa’s still hoping for a main dining meal worth ordering twice, Jimmy wants dinner in the Casita, and Chris wants an amazing new stage show. John? He mostly just wants that Toy Story lettering changed before anyone notices how much it’s eating at him.
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