Sippy Cup Travels: The Disney Cruise Line Brings Characters and Stories to Life!

One of my dreams is to go on a Disney Cruise and now I want to go one one even more! The Disney Cruise Line has a new Disney Ship called the Fantasy, which will set sail in March 2012.

Disney Fantasy Cruise Ship

Disney is truly set on making this newest cruise ship a fantasy by introducing technical innovations that will bring your favorite Disney characters and stories to life right before your eyes!

Here are a few amazing things that will delight you aboard the Disney Fantasy!

Enchanted Art

There are more than 20 pieces of Enchanted Art on the Disney Fantasy, all inspired by classic Disney characters and animations! Guests will pause to admire the works of art and it will magically come to life!

Here are some fun examples:

• Dual circus art posters featuring Dumbo and Timothy Q. Mouse flying from one frame into the other — a nod to the Disney Fantasy stern characters.
• Walt Disney animating three new clips that spring from his sketch pad featuring the “Fab Five” (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto).
• Scenes from Disney’s classic animated film “Fantasia” depicting dancing fairies set to “Nutcracker Suite” and a frolicking unicorn and satyr set to “The Pastoral Symphony.”
• Fanciful animations of “Alice in Wonderland” inspired by Disney Legend Mary Blair’s artwork.
• Pinkie Daisy” inspired by Thomas Lawrence’s painting “Sarah Barrett Moulton: Pinkie.”
• While Enchanted Art looks like other hanging art pieces around the ship, it is actually a framed LCD screen that utilizes technology to create special effects. Enchanted Art “recognizes” a guest is present and activates several seconds of animation. Guests may see new and different animation when they visit the Enchanted Art another time.

How amazing is that?

Animation Magic at Animator’s Palate

The Animator’s Palate on the Disney Fantasy brings the magic of Disney animation into the dining room with a new show called “Animation Magic.” The dinner show celebrates the magic of Disney animation and allows families to create and participate in a whole new way.

As guests are seated at their tables, they are invited to draw a character of their own using a simple template on their placemat. Then, just before dinner, house lights dim and a sprinkling of pixie dust illuminates the room.

Imagery is revealed on several large monitors showing black and white drawings of Mickey Mouse. Mickey then places the Sorcerer’s hat upon his head, transforming all of the animation into color.

Mickey invites guests to sit back, relax and enjoy a taste of animation as a montage of memorable food-themed moments from Disney and Disney•Pixar films is displayed, set to the show tune “Be Our Guest.” After the number is complete, guests are encouraged to complete their own drawings … so they may be whisked off to Mickey Mouse, who is conjuring a magical final act.

After dinner, Mickey returns for the exciting finale. With a musical crescendo, he works his magic and conjures the guests’ drawings – now fully animated and brought to life – into the onscreen action.

A parade starts as Mickey leads the guests’ drawings in a march across the screens around the dining room. The animation of the drawings becomes increasingly more elaborate, and then the drawings step into scenes from beloved Disney movies and skip, skate and dance side-by-side with characters such as Mickey Mouse, Jiminy Cricket, Cinderella and Snow White.

At the conclusion of the show, Mickey returns to say “so long” while credits roll on screen showing each guest’s name listed as a guest animator. To commemorate the experience, guests’ drawings are returned to them … with an added touch: a golden seal proclaiming them an Official Disney Animator.

How exciting to see your own drawings come to life!

Living Characters

In Disney’s Oceaneer Club and Disney’s Oceaneer Lab youth areas, Disney characters come to life and interact with children in one-of-a-kind experiences…

• Crush, the animated sea turtle from the Disney•Pixar motion picture “Finding Nemo,” and Stitch, the mischievous animated alien from the motion picture “Lilo & Stitch,” appear on a 103-inch plasma screen.
• The characters chat, play and joke with kids in live, unrehearsed, personalized conversations, using sophisticated, voice-activated animation.

Living Characters create ‘Undersea Magic’

The Living Characters fun continues at Animator’s Palate restaurant…

• Once guests are seated for dinner, the entire restaurant goes through a transformation as dinnertime is also show time for “Undersea Magic.”
• The transformation involves more than 100 wall-mounted LCD screens that switch to scenes of a vivid undersea environment – as if the restaurant is transported to the ocean floor and the screens are windows providing views of a colorful coral reef and creatures that reside there.
• Crush, the surfer-dude sea turtle from Disney•Pixar’s “Finding Nemo,” swims around the restaurant from “window” to “window,” engaging in live impromptu interactions with guests.

Magical Porthole

The Disney Fantasy carries on the spirit of innovation with a cruise industry first for all 150 inside staterooms – a “window” to the world with a real-time view outside the ship…

• Each room features a wall-mounted monitor framed to have the appearance of a porthole. The monitor displays a real-time video view outside the ship – sometimes supplemented by a little “magic” in the form of animated Disney characters that “fly by,” such as Peach the starfish from the Disney•Pixar film “Finding Nemo,” Dumbo the flying elephant and Mickey Mouse.
• High-definition cameras on the exterior of the ship feed the video to the monitors. Camera positions correspond with stateroom locations – port or starboard, from bow to stern.

Muppets Adventure Game

The Muppets are coming to the Disney Fantasy! While playing “The Case of the Stolen Show,” guests take an interactive adventure quest around the ship, uncovering clues via more than a dozen pieces of Enchanted Art and physical “evidence.”

The adventure begins with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal and a cast of more than 20 Muppets preparing to stage a big performance. But there’s a problem: Kermit’s banjo is missing, Fozzie’s squirting flower has vanished, Gonzo’s crash helmet has gone astray, Animal’s drum sticks have disappeared and the Swedish Chef can’t find his cleaver! All of the props for the big show have been stolen by a cunning thief (or more likely, another Muppet).

Pepe the King Prawn offers to take on detective duties to help Kermit and the rest of the Muppets find their missing props. Kermit, worried about Pepe’s lack of detective skills, turns to the guests for help.

Guided by a map and holding a unique game card in front of select pieces of Enchanted Art, guests unveil clues and find missing props. Elsewhere on the ship, guests may check a Muppets message board and find a Muppet-sized stateroom door to discover clues. Their mission is to identify the culprit and solve the crime before it’s time to raise the curtain and light the lights on the Muppets’ big show.

“The Case of the Stolen Show” is a self-paced adventure game designed for guests ages nine and older. It features several possible endings and multiple randomized events – so each time a guest plays, they have a different gaming experience.

This may be one of the things I’m most excited about! You know how much I love The Muppets!

Which new feature are you most excited about?

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I’m excited to share with you the latest Disney news.