Compare this approach to the blue sky segment at the end of D23 Expo 2022’s presentation where we received around 30 minutes of blue sky “what if?” ideas. If getting excited about stuff that’s never going to happen is your thing, that presentation sounds outstanding. I prefer to live in the real world, I want to know what is actually going to be happening, that is infinitely more valuable than blue sky ideas. Don’t get me wrong, blue sky ideas are fun, and I do not doubt they were born somewhere in reality. But finding out that Piston Peak in Magic Kingdom will have a rally-style attraction where you’ll feel the road and just how bumpy it is, that’s far more interesting because it is real, it is happening, construction is underway. 

Back in 2019, it was my first D23 Expo and I sat there and watched Step in Time being performed on stage, then Dick Van Dyke came out on stage to a thunderous round of applause. It was a great thrill, I was blown away and felt excited. This was the setup to a Mary Poppins attraction coming to Epcot as part of the park’s transformation. Well, that transformation is now complete, and that attraction is nowhere to be seen. What D23 does best is invigorate the fandom; fans leave the event feeling more connected to the brand and the stories they are creating, and indeed the company’s legacy. But if you keep announcing projects that never materialise, you get to a point where you lose the excitement for the event because you heard cool stuff and got blown away by big performances, but the things you heard don’t excite you because they’re not happening. 

I see D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2026 as a course correction. A bit of a reset if you will, one that actually started two years earlier. In late 2022, then-CEO Bob Chapek was ousted from Disney and Bob Iger was brought back to lead the company. Josh D’Amaro was brought in to lead the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division (as it was then called). Josh showcased quickly that he understood the needs of guests and fans. At the 2024 D23 event you saw the severe underinvestment in the Parks on full display. A lot of what was announced was very early-stage concept. Guests were allowed to board the train at the very start of its journey instead of in a final stage. That’s why in 2026 we sit here with a Disney Experiences presentation with what some would describe as “very little new”. It reflects more on the 2024 presentation than it does right now. D’Amaro said back then that the company was not just talking about these projects, but doing them. That was both a direct point back at the 2022 presentation, and also a promise to fans. And a promise very much kept. 

We know that Iger was very fond of intellectual property. Almost every project green-lit under him had a level of IP involvement. Josh’s new leadership is allowing the fans in – we learnt this weekend that good stories are good stories, regardless of IP. The Dreamfinder is coming back – those are the kinds of announcements that aren’t necessarily going out there to large-scale audiences; they’re for us – the fans. Fans know that good storytelling isn’t necessarily related to a movie, or a comic book. It can exist only in the physical space of a theme park, and guests will find something they love in those stories. 

Fans have also lamented in recent years the brain drain at Imagineering. Losing names like Tony Baxter and Joe Rohde did not inspire confidence. But hidden in announcements this week have been several items of note that indicate that this knowledge is being restored under the current leadership. Bob Gurr is being brought back to consult on the Carousel of Progress. Bob is one of the last living imagineers who actually worked with Walt Disney and is now working on restoring one of his great originals! Joe Rohde is involved in the Tropical Americas project, which is situated in the park he was the lead imagineer on. Tim Delaney seemingly has some level of involvement with Space Mountain: de la Terre à la lune, the attraction he designed and opened in Disneyland Paris back in 1995. If this does not inspire confidence in the current state of Walt Disney Imagineering, and the overall health of the parks division, I do not know what will! 

Looking forward, where do I think this leads us? I think D23 in 2028 will be another one of those exciting instalments. You look at all the projects announced this year, and the majority of them will be open by the time that fans once again assemble in Anaheim in 2028. That leaves the door open to 2028 being another very big year of announcements – and hopefully a year in which we can point to it and also say “all of this will be open by the time we meet again in 2030”. What can be better than going to a panel and knowing that everything you see is actually going to happen? 

Sure does beat getting excited and then seeing your favourite projects being cancelled down the line. 

Main image: The Walt Disney Company/Image Group LA

Other images: Disneyland Paris

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Drones, fountains and pyrotechnics: Technical Ambition

Disney Cascade of Lights uses a range of media to tell the story of various Disney heroes and how they inspire us to become more heroic in our lives. This includes the aforementioned drones, fountains, projections and pyrotechnics. The result is technically accomplished, the way Adventure Bay becomes a playground for all these storytelling techniques is well done. 

The highlight, as you may expect, are the drones. These bring to life various Disney characters and emblems during the show, but the creative teams have also found a way to make them create abstract shapes which showcase the technology almost better than the Disney touches. They also literally light up the nighttime sky providing a sort of starry night type scene which adds to the romanticism of the setting. From a more geeky perspective, this is the closest that many of us will get to drones, if you are stood on the lake-front you’ll see quite clearly the drones flying around (both illuminated and turned off). This is something I found rather exciting – typically you are a long way away from these pieces of technology. 

The water drones are probably worth an honourable mention here, they actually add quite a lot to the show in terms of visuals and certainly do provide an extra level of spectacular into the show. Pyrotechnics are quite minimally used throughout the show, but they do provide a good payoff when they are used. A fun note at the end, stick around and watch them drift off backstage in formation – it’s actually kind of cute. 

Where projections fail to tell a story

Projections seem a bit weak and your mileage will vary pretty significantly depending on where you are stood. I stood near a projector. These are located pretty much at the North/South/East/West points of the lake and it might be worth you spending some time during the day locating them, they’re the big boxes on the lakeside. My view was generally good but an issue I kept finding during the show was the opposite projector almost shining directly into the projections I was looking at, this dulled the projections somewhat – they were, however, still visible. From what I have seen online, should you happen to find yourself in between two projectors then your view can be less optimal. However, in terms of story, I found the projections probably the weakest part of the show’s technical elements. The projections were largely static and felt overly “Disney clip show” style. 

Since 2012, and Disney Dreams!, we have found that in these big nighttime spectaculars that projections do quite a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of storytelling. When I think of these shows, my mind always goes back to the scene in Disney Dreams! when Quasimodo was swinging around the spires of Notre Dame during the Out there song. The projections and story are one and the same thing and this intertwining makes both far better. Sadly, this is not the case here and it feels like clips were chosen from films to fit the soundtrack rather than to advance the story onwards. 

A narrative void that music can’t fill

Perhaps part of the problem here is that the story is very weak. When writing this review I had to go re-watch the show twice and even go to the Disneyland Paris website as I actually am not quite sure what the story actually is. Honestly, I’m still not completely sure. It’s something about heroes and how we can all be heroes, at least I think it is. What this leads to is, again, no real emotional connection to the show. I watched the show and thought it was very impressive technically, but I didn’t feel anything. When I see a show in a Disney park, I want to feel something. Disney has such a rich catalogue of beautiful and emotional stories and whilst the traditional show is quite formulaic (Intro, couple of set pieces, the “I want” song, it all goes wrong, villains, all is now fine, close), the formula works because it delivers a clear emotional arc. No matter how many times I see a new show with the same format, it makes me feel something at the end. 

The music choices, however, are generally pretty good. There is something for everybody including songs from Mulan, Zootopia, The Avengers, Up, Hercules. It’s generally well picked and provides a good contrast, with a lack of repetition, to Tales of Magic happening next door.

For the 15 minutes prior to the show, the regular Adventure Way background music is replaced with upbeat Disney bops, seemingly pulled from the We Love Disney albums. This provides a good energetic wait to the show, much like you see in the American Disney Parks prior to Fantasmic or Lumious. This deserves credit, but the issue is that it doesn’t quite match the show’s beat as it attempts, unsuccessfully, to strike an emotional note.

Design that works

Given that Adventure Bay was designed with this level of show in mind, you would expect that Disney had thought of all the practicalities and created a good viewing experience for pretty much anybody who happens to be watching Disney Cascade of Lights that evening. The answer is reassuring.

The great thing about the walkways around Adventure Bay is that they are pretty much all tiered – and not just two tiers, there are almost always three tiers of viewing platform. But also, given this is a 360 degree show, there is an incredibly large surface area you can view from. All this means that most guests are likely to get a near-front row experience (and if not front row, it’ll be pretty close to it) – and most of the show is played quite high up in the sky. What this means in practical terms is that you should not need to show up mega-early to procure your spot (although we shall see how this progresses), and that kids hoisted on shoulders should be less of an issue, since everyone can see. This bodes well for both this show, and any other future show that will be played here, and it’s great to see. 

Guest flow is also significantly better than shows playing in Disneyland Park, given that Adventure Way is very wide, I think it will allow for ease of movement both during the show and post-show as guests leave the park. 

In terms of Accessibility, the accessible viewing area is on the Lion King side of the lake and is accessible via ramped walkways. Plan for some extra time to find these, and they are quite long given the gradients. 

The Verdict

Disney Cascade of Lights is a technical marvel and provides a clear blueprint to the types of nighttime spectaculars that we can expect from Disneyland Paris going forward. That technical marvel, however, comes at the expense of story and emotion which are sadly lacking in the show. The show lacks a clearly defined plot, and most importantly, a heart. The technical elements do make up for it and provide moments of absolute wonder. The future of drone-driven spectaculars is strong. This just might not be the show that defines it. 

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The Town of Arendelle

When adapting Frozen to a Disney theme park, there are obvious challenges, the main one being that Arendelle is a vast and expansive land that covers multiple different types of environment – such as the Fjord where Arendelle is located, and the snowy mountains. The World of Frozen seeks to get around this by immersing you in the town of Arendelle, this area is inspired by the old town of Bergen and its wooden store fronts whereas in the distance of snowy peaks of the North Mountain and Elsa’s castle loom large. It works, you feel immersed in the town of Arendelle and the way the land draws you in allows much of the Adventure Way lake area to disappear behind other buildings within the World of Frozen. A star of the land is going to be the fountain at the entrance to the land, with its snowflake motif, and framed by the North Mountain, Arendelle Castle and the famous clocktower, this is going to be the spot to take photos. The marina area is especially captivating and adds a real sense of character to the area with a travellers boutique located alongside it. Overall, this area really does work from a design perspective. 

The tight focus that creates immersion also creates a problem, as the wide avenues of Adventure Way narrow and funnel people into the World of Frozen, crowding is going to be an issue. The area is not large, and the immersion works when the land is very quiet, as it gets more and more busy it will stop feeling that the nordic town and more like a pretty crammed corner of a theme park. 

Frozen Ever After

The sole attraction in the land is Frozen Ever After. This attraction is the same that some guests may have enjoyed in EPCOT or Hong Kong Disneyland. The attraction is a delight, and improves on the EPCOT version in a few key areas. Firstly, vibrancy, the lighting package in the Disneyland Paris version of the attraction is quite simply, stunning. From the moment you turn the corner at the very beginning of the attraction and meet Olaf and Sven, the lighting hits you and it continues throughout the entire attraction, I genuinely cannot remember the attraction looking this vibrant. 

The attractions across the world have recently been getting brand new animatronics, replacing the prior projected face animatronics. This is notable, and they all look rather fantastic. Disney Animation has had a certain face style in recent years and they have really struggled to get that looking correct in the figures in the attractions – until now. These look great. 

In Paris, there is always the question of language in attractions. The option taken by the imagineering teams for Frozen Ever After is having songs entirely in English, with dialogue being predominantly in French (but not completely). I think this works, generally speaking all audiences know the story of Frozen and do not necessarily need to have it retold back, but the singing voices in English are so strong that it would not feel quite right to have it any other way. 

This is an attraction that the Paris second gate does not have, and is sorely needed. It will make a great addition to the park. 

However, only having one attraction compounds that crowd issue that we have already discussed. With Adventure Bay being so large, and World of Frozen being the only land currently in this area – and a fair walk from any other land – the land is going to struggle of being incredibly popular, with very few places to put people. An extra attraction or two would have really have worked wonders here. 

Nordic Crowns Tavern

The land features a dining location named the Nordic Crowns Tavern. This is a large quick-service location serving nordic-inspired dishes – meatballs and salmon. The menus are sold as a main + side + dessert + drink type formula with prices between €22 and €24 depending on main selected. 

The restaurant is designed to be a favourite of Arendelle visitors and residents alike with design details and photos all telling the story of those who have passed through before – you might even spot photos of Anna & Elsa throughout the years. 

Ordering is a breeze with a large number of touch screen order kiosks. Here you order, pay and receive an order number. You then wait in a reception type area for your number to come up on screen and collect your food. From here you go into one of two dining rooms. This will be a very popular dining location, and the amount of seating is probably not quite proportionate to demand, I think you’ll see a lot of people wandering the rooms with their food searching for seats – something that is an issue in a number of Disneyland Paris restaurants. 

The food itself is not the best story I’m afraid. I tried the Turkey meatballs with a side of crushed (mashed) potatoes and carrots. Sadly, the meatballs and sauce were quite bland – and quite a small portion, the carrots tasted primarily of water. The saving grace of the meat was the potatoes, but even these were substandard compared to what you’d get in many locations in Britain or the USA. Disneyland Paris has always had an issue with food, whilst there was hope that this would not be the case here, sadly, we will just have to wait for better days to come. 

Royal Encounters

Anna and Elsa meet their guests in the Royal Encounter over in the Arendelle Castle. This is a ticketed (through the app) meet and greet location. When your return time arrives, head over to the castle and into a large reception room. This room is great, it features seating and standing room and is decorated top to toe with paintings you will recognise from the film. This is one of those locations that you wish you had more time to linger, the details reward it. Once your turn comes up, you’ll be guided to see Anna and Elsa in their regal outfits. This is a great location with stunning backdrop. As always with Paris characters you’ll get a good amount of time to chat before taking your photo with the Photopass photographer. The photopass photos in Disneyland Paris always come out quite well, and are in a high resolution format. 

In the land you might meet Oaken, and Mossi the troll, these are roaming characters and it is unclear yet as to whether Disneyland Paris will put their times on the application. This adds a layer of fun onto the land which works nicely.  

A Celebration in Arendelle

As part of the Snowflower Festival, a show takes place in the Arendelle Marina. A Celebration in Arendelle has many different viewing locations around the bay and lasts for around 15 minutes. Olaf and Kristoff appear on a barge and begin the preparations for the festivities and are eventually joined by Anna and Elsa for a thrilling finale. 

The show features unique songs written by the same songwriting duo as the film (Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez) and has brand new dialogue performed by Josh Gad (Olaf). This is a highlight of the land, despite the fact that many of the viewing positions can feel quite far away from the action. Fortunately, each boat moves around a fair amount during the show and so you will be able to see each character for a good amount of time. 

The star though has to be the new Olaf figure. He looks pretty great, and moves around really well. You do have that moment where you forget that he is a robot and you buy into him being Olaf completely. I think this is very well done. 

The Verdict

The World of Frozen is a solid addition to Disney Adventure World and one that does help to make the park move ever closer to that full day experience that Disney hope for. The immersion factor is strong and it is a very pleasant place to be. This success is also its pain point with the land not having enough to do for its inevitable popularity meaning it will often feel crowded and potentially could have access control for a not insignificant amount of time. Over time and as the park opens its next new expansions, this will iron out although the need for more Frozen will always be there, whether Disney provides it is the bigger question. 

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The wait might have been very long, but when you step into Adventure Way for the first time, it becomes very difficult to argue that it wasn’t worth it. 

I was invited to preview the land as part of a special preview for online creators, and over the course of the next several articles, I will be reviewing this expansion. First up, Adventure Way! 

A park transformed

Since the opening in March 2002, one of the biggest criticisms of the Walt Disney Studios Park has been the lack of greenery. A famous anecdote is from when Michael Eisner took the Disney board members around the park and one turned to Michael and said “this is great, but where’s the theme park?”. Disney have always been great at putting the park into the theme park and making them pleasant spaces – but this was forgotten with the Walt Disney Studios Park. 

Not anymore, this expansion is one of the greenest that I can think of, at least in recent years. It takes the second gate in Paris (soon to be renamed to Disney Adventure World) from concrete jungle to a beautiful piece of gardening and potentially one of the most green Disney parks globally. It’s no understatement to say that what has been done here with the plants is exceptional. 

We also have here secondary walkways and secluded gardens right across the land creating places to sit back and rest. Again, this is something that we’ve not really had before in this park. During the Spring and Summer this is going to be an absolute delight to sit back and relax within. 

There is also a new entrance to Toy Story Playland located just off Adventure Way, this entrance follows the garden-style layout of the entire land and sinks down below Adventure Way and snakes around to cleverly create that transition into the world of the toys and away from Adventure Way. 

 A true highlight of Adventure Way is the background music, this whimsical, waltz-like music feels romantic, dreamy and fairytale like. During my hours in the land I saw numerous guests dancing along with the music as if they were Cinderella at the ball. This is a future classic, it feels very Disney in the best way – it’s not like a spotify playlist like World Premiere now is, but captures a feeling better than anything else in the park. I couldn’t help but grin because of it, and take a seat to simply sit and enjoy it. 

It is at night where the land comes truly alive, the lighting package feels very much like that of Main Street USA, it gives off a warm glow with the popcorn lighting. I can’t think of a higher compliment, Main Street USA with its music and lighting becomes somewhere you truly want to spend time, and it is the same now for Adventure Way. 

The Attractions: A charming start

Adventure Way opens with only one attraction, Raiponce Tangled Spin. This charming attraction has a high re-rideability factor and features multiple songs from the hit film within it. As you board your gondola, take a look up and enjoy the whimsical artwork by Rapunzel and the floating lanterns. This is an attraction that comes alive even more at night when the lighting truly pops. 

In addition to that, a small area has been created just next to the attraction featuring cherry blossoms and a gondola in the water, something you’re almost sure to be seeing across Instagram and social media in the months and years ahead. 

Opposite this is the site of the future UP attraction that will be a spinning chair style attraction, the absence of this makes this area of the land feel unfinished which is a real shame as I think the pair of them will make a really nice pairing. It feels unforgivable really that this attraction is not ready given the ease of installation. However, the concept art does look pretty good and so when it does finally arrive, I think it’ll look nice. 

Dining & Bars: A Disneyland Paris first

Alongside this new land comes new dining locations, most notably a new table service location named the Regal View Restaurant & Lounge. This is a character dining location themed to the Disney princesses with menus taking inspirations from their woodland adventures – as well as characters appearing in specially created versions of their outfits. 

The location also features the very first bar location in a Disneyland Paris theme park. This location, again themed to the Disney Princesses, features a full-service bar with beers, wines, and cocktails. It was pleasantly surprising to learn that these cocktails are not served pre-mixed (unlike many locations in the American parks) but are crafted fresh by the bartenders in the locations. The bar itself looks onto Adventure Bay with one of the most gorgeously panoramic views you’ll see from a Disney Park location. Seating might be the issue here, this is going to be extremely popular and I can envisage large queues to get in. 

There are additionally two quick service locations with a small amount (and I mean small) of outdoor seating – Cafe Panoramique and Cafe Luminosity. These art deco style buildings are on either side of Adventure Bay and serve a range of bread bowls and hot dogs. 

There are also three smaller stands, Chez Marie, Chez Toulouse, and Chez Berlioz – which take their names from the Aristocats, which serve salad dishes, filled rolls and choux pastries. These have no seating, and the lack of seating in any of these outdoor locations will assume that you are comfortable walking and eating. 

Entertainment: A park that comes to life

The Gazebo Gardens begin as you enter the land and feature a musical moment that will cycle with the seasons. Upon opening, and for the duration of Spring, this will be a Rapunzel & Flynn musical moment which is simple, but extremely cute. During the Summer, we can expect this to become a Mary Poppins moment, and in Autumn we’ll be welcoming Miguel. This is a fun little idea to cycle these moments through the seasons and should allow for quite a bit of repeatability. 

There is a large amount of streetmosphere in the land with marching bands (reminiscent of the Disneyland Band in Anaheim), a mime, a traditional music box artist and more. It’s truly great to see the land come alive in this way and is something I hope we see more of across the Disney Parks. 

Mickey Mouse also meets guests on the banks of Adventure Bay in a brand new outfit – inspired by the lush green gardens of the land. This photo location is gorgeously framed against the Adventure Way area. Roaming characters are also a feature of the land and seem to be mostly inspired by the English garden vibe of the Gazebo area – I saw Mad Hatter and March Hare, Peter Pan and Wendy as well as Mary Poppins and Bert. 

The growing pains

Despite all that’s good about the land – and make no mistake, this is a very good expansion to Disney Adventure World – there are some issues that need to be addressed. 

Firstly, this area does not yet feel complete. The UP attraction is sadly missing and the Lion King area is very visible. It feels a very long walk to the World of Frozen land with very little to see or do. Whilst the reason for this is very solid, and indeed good, it does leave a bit of an impression. 

Secondly, sightlines are generally pretty poor. Some of this will improve over time as trees grow to hide some of the show buildings, but you can see very clearly into the Lion King construction area, right down into seeing construction vehicles drive around. Also when looking over towards Avengers Campus the large show building for Avengers: Flight Force really stands out. This one will be more difficult to fix. 

There will now be a disconnect between the old and new. This expansion is very good, very modern and feels like a brand new Disney Park. It features some of the most beautiful landscaping in the entire resort. The older area of the park does not live up to this, and some pretty significant work will need to be done across the World Premiere Plaza in order to bring it up to the same level – recent developments and refurbishments to the Studio Theater and Animagique Theater facades will not be enough to satisfy this need. 

The ugly duckling becomes a swan

This is a coming of age moment for the second park in Disneyland Paris and many of the issues outlined above are going to be growing pains as opposed to permanent issues. For anybody who has been visiting Disneyland Paris regularly, particularly since the opening of the Walt Disney Studios Park in 2002, this is a big moment; the ugly duckling is finally becoming a swan. Where the Studios was a park barely worthy of the Disney name, this expansion now feels like the park is, indeed, worthy of the Disney Park title. 

The imagineering team have delivered something truly special, and creates a blueprint for future growth around the lake. The ambition has now been set, the future is in motion. It’s exciting to see where this is going to go. 

You can watch Walkthroughs of Adventure Way right now on our YouTube, or below:

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At the end of this guide, you’ll have all the facts you need to decide whether the Disney Wish is the cruise ship for you. 

Disney Wish Overview

With the Disney Wish, Disney Cruise Line moved from an experience that was designed to mirror the classic cruising experience of the mid 20th century to a ship style that was dubbed the “Disney Castle at Sea”. Whilst there are a lot of differences in this new style of ship, the good news for Disney cruisers is that many of the things you know and love are still here – some look exactly the same, and some have had a few differences. 

You’re still going to be enjoying rotational dining, there is still a very large kid’s club, you will still enjoy three theatrical productions during your voyage and there is still the large pool deck.Some things will have moved, most notably for those who enjoy the adult areas onboard. In terms of size and crowds, however, it’s pretty much comparable to that of the Dream and Fantasy – although very moderately larger. 

Disney Wish main deck areas

The Grand Hall

The first difference is the classic atrium becomes the Grand Hall. The aesthetic is explicitly cinematic, heavily inspired by Cinderella and that is why Cinderella is the atrium statue on the ship. The space is expansive; the blue and gold palette creates an airy, composed atmosphere and makes this quite a pleasant place to be – in fact you’ll probably find yourself here more than you do on the other ships. Make sure you’re in this area on the hour in the evenings and you’ll see a rather charming little moment where the room comes to life – and return on Pirate night for a special version of the same! 

Luna

Luna on the Disney Wish is like the D-Lounge and adult entertainment stage all rolled into one. During the day it’ll be home to all your family friendly games and activities and then once the sun sets and the kids have gone to bed, it will host adult entertainment such as the popular Match Your Mate. This area is now split over two floors, and so if you want to participate the games it might be worth making sure you are on the same floor as the stage (Deck 4). 

Shops & Boutiques

On the Disney Wish there is one main shop on the lower indoor decks, Mickey’s Mainsail sells all your Disney Cruise Line needs from models, to artwork, t-shirts and plush toys, all unified into one mega store on Deck 5

If you’re in the mood for high end goods, that’s all still here on Deck 3 right next to the Bayou – watches, jewellery, handbags and Pandora charms it’s all right here. 

Disney Wish Kids Club

It wouldn’t be a Disney Cruise without a huge kids club! Deck 2 is almost entirely dedicated to this space. With a slide from the Grand Hall all the way down to the entrance of the club, there are five major rooms to enjoy. 

Marvel Super Hero Academy is where kids can meet and train with their favourite Marvel Super Heroes. This room will also occasionally hold meet and greet character opportunities for all ages – check the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app for times. 

Star Wars: Cargo Bay is full of creatures and high tech ship controls. Rey and Chewbacca will help make sure you are fully protected from the First Order. Much like the Marvel Super Hero Academy, this room will also hold occasional meet and greet opportunities for all ages. 

The Walt Disney Imagineering Lab is where kids can try their hand at designing a Disney attraction. Then, once designed, it’s time to go ahead and ride it in a special motion simulator. For adult Disney fans, make sure you swing by during the Open House hours (in the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app) and see all the Disney Parks easter eggs the imagineers have included – there are a lot! 

Fairy Tale Hall is a Disney princess themed activity area which features a few different areas themed to different princesses including from Frozen and Tangled. 

Mickey & Minnie’s Captain Deck is a Disney Cruise Line themed activity and soft play area featuring nautical motifs. 

And for older kids, Deck 12 features Vibe and Edge much like the ships on the rest of the fleet.  There is also the it’s a small world nursery for those with younger children who are unable to take part in the other kids club areas. 

Cinemas

The Disney Wish features two cinemas on board – one themed to Alice in Wonderland, The Wonderland Cinema, the other is themed to Peter Pan and is called the Neverland Cinema. Both are well worth looking in as they feature really charming seat decorations and wall motifs. These are located opposite one another on Deck 4. 

Disney Wish Staterooms

The Disney Wish features the same stateroom names that you will be familiar with. The rooms are generally more modern and lighter than the ships on the rest of the fleet with more plug sockets included. Each room features a headboard with a artwork piece from a Disney film. All room types have accessible room types available. 

Inside Staterooms – These lack external views and are situated within the ship’s interior. These rooms are perfect if you want to save some money on your sailing, or you don’t really use the stateroom too much and prefer to spend all your time out on deck. They typically will hold up to 4 guests (two on the main bed, one on a sofa bed and one on a pull down bed). Unlike the other room types where the bed is typically horizontal to the room, these beds are typically vertical and do not feature the split bathroom design that you may be used to experiencing on Disney Cruise Line. Unlike the Dream and Fantasy there is no magic porthole. 

Oceanview Staterooms – These staterooms are larger than the Inside staterooms and feature a large porthole allowing you to view the ocean – or port. The rooms sleep up to four, or five if taking a deluxe room, with two sharing the main bed, one on a sofa bed and one on a pull down bed. If sleeping five there is an additional pull down bed from the wall. These rooms alsofeature a split bathroom (shower and vanity in one side, and toilet and second vanity in the other). 

Oceanview Staterooms with Verandah – The majority of rooms of the ship are this type of room. These rooms feature a verandah (balcony) allowing you the opportunity to sit outside in your own private space and enjoy the views during your cruise. These sleep four in a standard type room, or five in a deluxe type. Two share the main queen bed, one on the sofa bed and one on the pull down bed from the ceiling – if taking the deluxe room there is an additional pull down bed from the wall. These rooms also feature a split bathroom (shower and vanity in one side, and toilet and second vanity in the other). 

Concierge Staterooms

Within the concierge staterooms there are a few different type of rooms. All these rooms feature concierge benefits such as a concierge lounge, priority booking for onboard activities and boarding, upgraded amenities and dedicated pool deck.

Concierge Oceanview and Verandah Staterooms – Two types of room, but very similar. The Oceanview room features floor to ceiling windows and the Verandah staterooms have a small balcony. Each room sleeps up to five with two on the king bed, one on the sofa bed, one on the ceiling pull down bed and one on a wall pull-down bed. Both feature a split bathroom.

Concierge 1-bedroom suites with Verandah – These rooms feature a living room style area with a dining table, a walk-in closet, two full bathrooms, a soda fridge (filled) and a private verandah. It sleeps five guests – 2 on the king bed, one on the sofa bed, one on the ceiling pull down bed and one on a wall pull-down bed.

Concierge 1 and 2 story royal suites – These rooms both sleep up to six guests with similar sleeping arrangements (two bedrooms with king beds, and one sofa bed in the living room that sleeps two). The verandah features a whirlpool spa and a dining area. You get 3 full bathrooms, and a soda fridge. 

Wish Tower Suite – New for the Disney Wish the tower suite is the ultimate luxury at sea. It features a 2 story living area, 4 full bathrooms, a library room and open dining area. It sleeps up to 8 with 2 main bedrooms each with a king bed, a children’s bedroom with bunk beds and a library pull down bed sleeping two.

Which room theme will I get? 

Stateroom themes are split by deck: 

Deck 2, 6, 7: Cinderella & Frozen

Deck 8, 9: Sleeping Beauty & The Princess and the Frog

Deck 10, 11: Moana & The Little Mermaid

Deck 12, 13: Tangled

Deck 12 Royal Suite: Sleeping Beauty

Deck 14 Wish Tower Suite: Moana

Disney Wish Dining

The Disney Wish maintains the signature Disney Cruise Line rotational dining concept. During your voyage you will rotate through three dining locations keeping the same serving team throughout the length of your cruise. This is great as you strike up a real bond with these super friendly – and helpful – members of the crew and they learn your tastes very quickly. On the Disney Wish the dining locations are: 

1923: This stylish restaurant is actually two dining locations in one. You’ll be either dining on the Walt Disney side, or the Roy Disney side – the two brothers who founded the Disney Studio way back in 1923. The restaurant has a distinct old-Hollywood, luxury feel with Disney concept art and sketches displayed in glass cases throughout the restaurant. The 1923 menu draws inspiration from Californian viticulture and cuisine.  You can read the current menu on the Disney Cruise Line Blog. 

Worlds of Marvel: At this restaurant you’ll watch – and participate in – the Avengers: Quantum Encounter, a thrilling new short film that takes place on the Disney Wish in locations you’ll be enjoying throughout your cruise. The menu takes inspiration from the Marvel films. You can read the current menu on the Disney Cruise Line Blog. 

Arendelle: This spectacular dining room is themed to the royal castle in Arendelle. It also hosts a special dinner show that you are going to be involved in. Throughout your dinner be charmed and delighted by Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Oaken as well as their royal band. The menu is inspired by Norwegian cuisine. You can read the current menu on the Disney Cruise Line Blog. 

Marceline Market – Buffet

If you’re used the other Disney Cruise Line ships, you probably will be familiar with Cabanas as the buffet restaurant on board. Here on the Wish, it is called Marceline Market (named after Walt Disney’s hometown), but largely it’s the same concept. Marceline Market is open for breakfast and lunch daily and serves a range of foods that will cater for all tastes and pallets. 

Adult premium dining

For many, a Disney Cruise Line sailing is not complete without enjoying a meal in the more relaxed and refined atmosphere of the adult premium dining locations. The Disney Wish has two of these: Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté. 

Palo Steakhouse is a twist on the Palo restaurant on the classic four ships, it mixes the classic Italian flare with a range of American style prime steak dishes. 

Enchanté is a gourmet restaurant from renowned chef, Arnaud Lallement. This restaurant features seasonal dishes with the highest quality ingredients making dining here a true culinary experience. 

Disney Wish Shows & Entertainment

Much like the other ships on the Disney Cruise Line fleet, the Disney Wish features three theatre shows that rotate in the Walt Disney Theatre. 

Disney Seas the Adventure: This musical revue style show features a wide range of Disney characters and songs that provides an upbeat evening on the cruise. It’s slightly on the short side but the vibes are truly there. This is a show that leaves a big grin on your face and perfectly sets your evening up on board the ship. 

The Little Mermaid: This show is a traditional broadway style theatrical production of The Little Mermaid. It features all the songs and characters that you know and love. This is a timeless tale that everybody will love. 

Aladdin: Another full-length broadway-style production on the Wish is Aladdin. With a wise-cracking Genieand excellent musical numbers , it is yet another show that everybody will enjoy .

Set Sail on a Wish

The sail away party onboard the Disney Wish takes on a refreshed look. Using a larger stage area, Set Sail on a Wish is an energetic way to start your Disney Cruise Line vacation. This show features truly unforgettable music and an outstanding set of characters. It will be one of the highlights of your sailing. 

Pirate Night

One of the key events on a Disney Cruise is Pirate Night. Good news, it’s here on board the Disney Wish too. The menu in the restaurants is the same as it is on the other ships (and so might be the perfect night to try out those adult premium dining restaurants). 

Activities around the ship will take on a Pirate theme for the night – expect pirate trivia, game shows, and films playing all over the ship. 

There are two deck parties to enjoy – the first is Mickey and Minnie’s Pirates in the Caribbean Party. If you have sailed on Disney Cruise Line before, you’ll likely be familiar with this. Captain’s Mickey & Minnie teach us how to become pirates and all the rules we need to follow. This musical show is a lot of fun and is always worth making time to go and see. The second is unique to this Wish class of ships, the Pirates Rockin’ Parlay Party is a rock music twist on traditional pirate night parties. Captain Redd and her band will perform some classic rock songs to get the party going and features some special character guests during the show.

Pool Deck

The pool deck on the Disney Wish is significantly different from the older ships. Rather than one large family pool, instead there are 8 pools spread over 4 decks. 7 of these pools are for all ages, with one reserved exclusively for adults. 

For those looking for a quieter family pool, the Chip & Dale pool on Deck 14 cannot be beaten. It’s quite far from the other pools – so much so that many people actually don’t even know it’s there. It’s also actually rather large and faces the front of the ship making the views also quite spectacular.  Younger sailors can enjoy the Toy Story Splash Zone, a multi-sensory child friendly splash area. 

The Aquamouse is often described as the “first Disney attraction at sea”. This is probably a bit exaggerated, but it is a really fun twist on the traditional water slide. On your inflatable ride vehicle, you go up a hill which features one of two Mickey Mouse cartoons – and will rotate during your vacation – before going down and around the ship on a water slide. This is a pretty low intensity water slide that pretty much anybody can enjoy. For younger sailors, the Slide-a-Saurus-Rex is a perfect introduction to water slides. 

For those wanting a light bite, the all-day quick service dining location Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods is a perfect way to get a hearty meal. With different booths offering multiple dining options with some unique to the Wish class of ships including a BBQ grill. There is also a Mexican food station with multiple sauces to put on your tacos, burritos etc. – this dining booth has become so popular that it was been added to the Dream and Fantasy! 

The Wish does not have a traditional outdoor sports deck area, but it does have something arguable better – the Hero Zone is an indoor sports area where you can enjoy basketball, air hockey, table tennis and more. The Hero Zone is also home to the Incredi-Course, which is a obstacle course involving climbing, sprinting, slides and more. 

The Adult area also makes a comeback with an excellent infinity pool towards the rear of Deck 13. You’ll also find here the Cove Bar and Cove Café, much like on the other ships.

Disney Wish Adult Areas

Disney Cruise Line is known for being a family-friendly cruise line, but it is also known for having excellent adult escapes. On the Disney Wish there are some changes to adult areas, they are more spread out rather than having a singular “adult district”. 

Keg & Compass is the sports bar area onboard the Disney Wish. This is where you’ll go for quizzes, to watch live sports and to try a range of beers. The design is very Nordic and nautical. Disney Parks fans should look out for references to the famous EPCOT attraction The Maelstrom. 

Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge is a Star Wars themed bar which takes heavy inspiration from the Skyline bar on the other ships. During your time in the bar you’ll visit several planets and enjoy Star Wars themed cocktails. During the day children are permitted to visit the lounge but in the evening the age restrictions are heavily enforced. 

The Bayou is a lounge type area on Deck 3. This area, themed to Princess and the Frog serves a range of drinks and you can even sample some of Tiana’s famous beignets (at an extra charge). There will often be live music in this area whilst you enjoy your beverages – much like the Hyperspace Lounge, children are permitted in this bar during the day. 

Nightingale is the Wish’s martini and cocktail piano bar. This bar is located within the Grand Hall on Deck 3. A piano player will play a wide range of sets throughout your voyage, check the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app to find a style of music that interests you. 

The Rose is located on Deck 12 and is a premium cocktail bar that can be visited as part of you visit to Enchanté, Palo Steakhouse or just for a more refined experience at your leisure. 

Senses Spa is also on the Disney Wish offering their full range of treatments. New for the Wish is an expanded Rainforest Room with indoor and outdoor areas on Deck 5. This outdoor sun deck is a great addition to those who prefer their cruises in the spa with all the amenities that comes with. 

Overall thoughts on the Disney Wish

The Disney Wish is a new class of ship that has a lot more Disney injected into it. If you are a Disney lover, then this ship is actually perfect for you. If you prefer your cruise holidays with a mix of Disney and the the classic light-touch Disney areas , then you probably won’t get on with the Wish as strongly. The loss of the dedicated adult area is felt particularly keenly on the lower decks with some strange design choices of placing some bars in the middle of corridors meaning that children are walking right through the adult bars. 

The food on the Wish, however, is the true star of the ship. These new menus are elevated beyond the other ships with the restaurant character being injected into the menu choices – that’s not to say that picky eaters will have a hard time, these menus are expertly designer to cater to all tastes. 

Overall, you’ll have a fantastic trip on the Wish, you may find this ship more to your liking that the older ships, or you might prefer the older ships. I see this as two distinctly different Disney Cruise Line holidays, it’s great that these options exist. 

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The result of the search was Josh D’Amaro becoming Chief Executive Officer, and Dana Walden (Current Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment – primarily responsible for television) to the position of President and Chief Creative Officer. D’Amaro is popular with fans as being a passionate advocate for the Disney brand, and is somebody who is very visible inside the parks, how he transitions to leading the whole company will be something that will be watched with keen interest. 

A 28 year rise through the company

Josh D’Amaro’s ascent through the company is that of somebody who has mastered the art of commercial and operational machinery of the Disney ecosystem. Josh joined the company in 1998 working at the Disneyland Resort and held positions in that early period such as Vice President of Sales and Travel Trade Marketing, and Chief Financial Officer of Disney Consumer Products Global Marketing. 

In 2010 he joined Hong Kong Disneyland as resort Vice President. When he joined, the destination had reached a critical juncture following a period of operational turbulence and fiscal stagnation. D’Amaro wanted to work to set the resort up for future success. In an interview with the Corporate Competitor Podcast, he recalls: 

Standing in front of a group of marketing and sales executives, he [Josh] told them what they were going to do, which was to “adjust, build and set ourselves up for the future”. Then all the executives went out and did exactly what D’Amaro had told them to. 

And none of it worked. 

When he pulled the executive team back together again to learn what had gone wrong, he received a swift reply. “These executives said, ‘you told us what to do. You never asked us what to do”.

Josh recounts that this approach changed how he viewed leadership and went from more of a person with answers, to a person that posed questions. He asked people’s point of view, and realised that they know the day to day operations better than he did. This is an approach we have recently heard Bruce Vaughn recently say that Walt Disney Imagineering is taking with local teams– potentially this comes directly from Josh’s experience in Hong Kong. 

From Hong Kong, Josh moved to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2013 to act as the park’s Vice President. His mandate was to transform the park from its reputation as a half-day park to a place that guests would spend a full day enjoying. Most significantly this involved the opening on Pandora: The World of Avatar and entering nighttime operations with shows such as Rivers of Light. As part of this transition Josh worked closely with Dr. Jackie Ogden (VP Animals, Science, and Environment) to understand how to balance the need to push Disney IP and expand the daytime experience with the needs and desires of the company to operate the park for the full day with the needs of the park operating as scientific and ethical needs of a Zoo. 

From Animal Kingdom, Josh enjoyed more roles at the Walt Disney World resort including Senior Vice President, Resort & Transport Operations – basically looking after the whole transport network within Walt Disney World and preliminary work on the Disney Skyliner – and in 2017 became Chief Creative Officer for the Walt Disney World resort. Josh left Walt Disney World in 2018 being fluent in both the storytelling of Disney, and the operations of running a complex logistical operation.

Resort Presidencies

In 2018, Josh became President of the Disneyland Resort – the place where his Disney career began twenty years earlier. It was here that his public persona really boosted into the next year launching Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but perhaps more importantly positioning himself as one of the faces of the resort – he would post on social media, take selfies with guests and fans in the park – but more than that, he used his position in the company to start telling stories. 

Josh describes the leadership approach he took at the resort as “The three C’s – Cast, Community, Commercial Success”.  He realised that in order to achieve guest satisfaction, you need to start with cast morale, part of this was deconstructing the barriers to the company executives – D’Amaro would frequently walk through the parks alone, approachable to any cast member who wished to have a dialogue with leadership. During the first few months of his time at the Disneyland Resort he concluded a major labour agreement – at its time raising new industry standards in the Orange County area. 

He repaired community relations by taking the surprising step of writing to Anaheim City leaders asking to terminate two of Disney’s major tax incentives. Josh realised that these tax incentives were actually sowing discord within Disneyland’s local community amongst claims that Disney was exploiting the city’s tax base. By walking away from the agreement, Disney cleaned the slate and had a new beginning of community relations which eventually resulted in the Disneyland Forward proposal being approved in 2025. 

In 2019 Josh was moved to become President of the Walt Disney World Resort, a move that many at the time saw as a precursor to climbing the ranks to head the Parks division in the future. During his six-month tenure at President, Josh continued to advocate for Cast Members as part of this inverted corporate pyramid and worked on improving their lives: 

“We could spend billions of dollars on a new land or attraction, but you need to be putting that money back into the [common areas] or the break rooms to make sure they are equipped to feel good. To me it’s a sign of respect to make people feel good about their surroundings”.

Josh’s tenure of Walt Disney World saw the completion of delivery on major projects including Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. His tenure was most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw the parks close for a period of time. D’Amaro quickly pivoted into using this closure to benefit the community and donated much of the excess food to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Early in the outset of the pandemic, Bob Iger suddenly announced his departure from the position of Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, promoting Park’s chief Bob Chapek to the head role. Josh D’Amaro was swiftly promoted to Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division of the company (which would later be renamed to Disney Experiences). 

Turbocharging: D’Amaro takes the Disney Parks Leader role

Josh’s fast acceleration up the ranks in the Disney Parks space was a clear vindication of his leadership approach, it endorsed his operational resilience, and stewardship of the brand during a very difficult time in the company’s history. Josh believes, and restates often, that “stories are at the heart of everything we do”. The core value of his tenure was to realign the division as a story-first division and working to create emotional bond with guests. 

In 2024, D’Amaro took to the stage at the Inbound conference in Boston and detailed Disney’s approach to their guiding principles: 

Emotional Connections: Josh goes back to the Walt Disney quote about not making films for kids, he wants to speak to the child in all of us. The anecdote about the emotional connection to Peter Pan’s Flight has led him to the position he’s in, Josh believes that storytelling can do that for a person and that the reason they return to Disney is because it is a brand they trust.

Innovation: Disney is curious about where technology and stories can go. He praises imagineers ability to continually want to move forward, bringing guests more deeper into the immersion of their favourite stories. 

Relatability: Josh believes that audiences need to see themselves in Disney stories, or at least who they aspire to be.  Characters become real to audiences by relating to audiences.

Attention to detail: One small thing can break the illusion of reality. If just one thing is out of place, you stop believing that the land and environment that you are in is real. Disney needs to pay close attention and make sure that everything is perfect. The integrity of the story is crucial.

Courage: Imagineers take big swings at big ideas – even if they’re not sure how to actually land the project. The imagineers started with the story they wanted to tell, then got the courage to pitch a crazy idea and then got it green-lit. Having the courage to try something different is essential. 

Boundless Thinking: Josh mentions that being a steward of Disney and its history is an honour, but also that Walt Disney was a forward thinker and that Disney need to continue to be that way. The company needs to think about the future and where it should go, without the shackles of history. 

Take a watch of this talk, I think it’s really key to understand Josh D’Amaro and what we might expect to see during his CEO tenure. 

In 2021, D’Amaro modified the Disney Keys for the first time in over 60 years. The addition of the inclusion key (adding to Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency) allowed Cast Members to become more individual in the way they expressed themselves – it was seen as not a rejection of tradition but a way of the company becoming more relatable, guests seeing themselves projected from Disney Cast Members. 

He coined the term “turbocharging” to describe the aggressive expansion of the division, a division that came out of the Chapek years with a negative outlook amongst fans and guests and in which projects would be announced, but never realised. In fact during the 2024 D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presentation, Josh directly responded to the disappointment of prior years by saying that “Everything you hear today is actually happening” – and so far, he’s spot-on. 

It’s positive news financially too, in fiscal year 2025 the division was contributing $10 billion in annual operating income, and in Q1 Fiscal Year 2026, the division hit revenue of over $10 billion for the first time ever – the Experiences division is currently contributing over 57% of the company’s operating profit. 

Of course, for some it’s not all good news. D’Amaro’s tenure as head of the Disney Experiences division has seen the introduction of paid Lightning Lanes, replacing the old free FastPass model as well as the removal of some complimentary services such as Disney’s Magical Express. The company claims that these paid services are not compulsory to having a good day at the theme parks, but Disney also attribute some of the Experiences division revenue growth to these new services – and these services do consistently raise in price. 

More recently, Disney invested $1.5 billion into Epic Games and Fortnite to create a persistent universe. Josh describes this as a new space for Disney to meet guests and customers in places that they are already inhabiting. The potential for a virtual Disney Park style experience could be key to Disney’s online future. 

Josh’s CEO era: Cause for optimism? 

In that Inbound presentation from 2024, Josh recalls a story of sitting outside Walt’s Apartment in Disneyland – he’d just taken the job and was talking about what it takes to run that resort. He mentioned that at that moment, he felt the weight of responsibility that fell on his shoulders and how Disney fans are passionate and how they hold the company to high standards. It’s difficult to imagine that as he takes on this new role, he’s not feeling that right now. 

Josh D’Amaro has been impressive, and many fans will probably admit that this move felt inevitable, he manages to strike the same tone as a Michael Eisner did when he became the face of the company taking that “Uncle Walt” role. This is a space that Josh can quite easily inhabit and spread good will and increase his personal brand. 

There will, of course, be questions as to how bedded in the Parks structure he is and how he balances that with his new responsibilities looking over linear television, ESPN, Theatrical and all the other pots that The Walt Disney Company has. It’s hard to also completely look over the shadow of Bob Chapek and what happened the last time the “parks guy” got the keys to the castle – although there is a fundamental difference between Josh D’Amaro and Bob Chapek’s approach to managing even the division. 

I think fans should be cautiously optimistic about the future, and his Chief Creative Officer and President – Dana Walden – will equally help him out in navigating those unknown areas. 

Josh D’Amaro & Dana Walden take up their roles at The Walt Disney Company Annual General Meeting on March 18, 2026. Bob Iger will, at that point, retire from the CEO position but retains his seat on the board and an advisory role until December 31, 2026. 

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Why the silence? Well through it all, I’ve always been keenly aware that I’ve created a site and social following around my thoughts when it comes to Disneyland Paris. But, here’s the thing. When you go to Disneyland Paris as much as I have, you start to notice its flaws especially when compared to other resorts. I’ve always been somebody who wants to say positive things and speak positively, it got to a point where I found that quite difficult in the Paris context. On top of all that, I wanted to expand my horizons and say and do things that are outside the confines of Disneyland Paris. 

Then we get to now, where I decided to bring it all back but with an expanded world view. We’re going to talk about it all – Disneyland; Walt Disney World; Disney Cruise Line; and, yes, Disneyland Paris. With this renewed focus and the ability to go anywhere I think I can safely say I’m back. 

Here’s the promise. Here, you’re not going to read everything that happens anywhere. You’ll read things that I find interesting, or important. There will be summaries of goings-on, and sometimes there will be more in-depth pieces. But it’ll always be through the prism of what is really interesting. This is very much a window on The Walt Disney Company, from a distinctly European perspective. With that in mind, you’ll start to see some changes around here including a new logo and site. Who knows what else? It’s simply going to be the content I want to make, when I want to make it. Let’s get started. 

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Fast forward, and now the menu is a balanced mix between fish and other dishes, each with a unique Caribbean twang. So, it was time to give it another try.

The Restaurant

The restaurant itself is a masterpiece of imagineering, much like the attraction you begin inside and transition to an “outdoor” environment (of course, in reality you are still inside). It’s night time in the Caribbean and time for dinner, the new restaurant owner Jack Sparrow has created new dishes for us to try.

Captain Jack’s is not overly changed from the Blue Lagoon, a few tweaks here and there to add in pirate flags and Jack Sparrow wanted posters, but nothing that feels too out of place – the theme here is very subtle. The big improvement is that the lighting has been increased allowing you to not be sat in near-darkness which was an issue in the old restaurant. Luckily, this extra lighting does not have too much of an impact from the ride.

Starter: Cod Fritters

I ordered the Cod Fritters which came with a creole cabbage salad and tamarind sauce. This dish is not overly large but the fried cod in the sauce with a bit of the cabbage all blended well together.

The plate was not too overbearing with 5 cod fritters and a very small cabbage salad, I found this the perfect size for a starter, it just wet the appetite for what was to come. A big dislike of mine is when a starter could almost be substituted for a main dish, this type of thing ruins the meal as you are full by the time mains arrive. Luckily, we’re all good here.

Main: Tender Beef with Jalapeno Salsa and Sweet Potato Mash

The main event of this meal was the Tender Beef. A good piece of beef should tear apart elegantly, this very much does. One poke of the fork and pieces of beef fall off and can be combined with the sweet potato mash, salsa or indeed be eaten on its own. The beef has a quality taste to it and had no gristle – thumbs up from me!

I must admit, I had not tried mashing sweet potato before, not because I don’t like sweet potato, it’s just not something I had ever considered. That changes from now, the mash here had a nice taste to it, not too creamy and not too harsh, it hit a sweet spot somewhere in the middle.

I really enjoyed this dish, it’s one of the more pricey on the menu and doesn’t feature on set menus, but it is worth every penny.

Desert: Rice Pudding with a Mango Purée

For me, this was the true island taste of summer. Nothing says summer like Mango, and here it was a-plenty. Firstly, this rice pudding is served cold – a little surprise but not an unpleasant one. Secondly, it is given a coca dust covering which just works in spicing it up somewhat. I really enjoyed this desert and would order it again and again.

Overall thoughts

Captain Jack’s is a real surprise entry to my list of favourite Disneyland Paris restaurants. The menu is so incredibly varied offering everything from fish, to chicken, to beef and to salads. The themed environment is something to die for, and Cast Members do not rush you through your meal (I was in the restaurant for around 2 hours). Speaking of Cast Members, Disneyland Paris really does excel at table service, cast are always extremely friendly and attentive, it was no different here at Captain Jack’s.

I will certainly be back.,

—

Meal Information

Starter: Cod Fritters with fried cassava, tamarind sauce and Creole Cabbage Salad €17.99

Main: Tender Beef with tamarind sauce, jalapeño salsa, and sweet potatoes €37.99

Desert: Island style rice pudding with mango purée €14.99

I paid for this meal myself, and did take advantage of the Infinity Annual Pass discount of 15%

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The press release states:

Disneyland Paris recently began construction on its ambitious new solar energy project, part of the ongoing commitment to develop and implement environmentally responsible practices at the resort, while also promoting sustainable development in the region.

The plant is being done in partnership and through a co-investment with French company Urbasolar, which specializes in construction and operation of solar power plants.  The project will be built over the resort’s main guest parking lot in phases through 2023 and aims to increase the amount of renewable energy produced and consumed locally by Disneyland Paris.

The milestone comes on the heels of the destination’s phased reopening of its two parks, Disney Village and Disney’s Newport Bay Club Hotel that began last week, as well as the restart of other construction and refurbishment projects at Disneyland Paris.

Disneyland Paris has a long standing commitment to the environment through the Water Treatment Centre and Geothermal Energy plant.

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Today, Disney released the way they hope to encourage guests to maintain a good level of hygiene featuring The Incredibles. The posters will feature characters including Frozone, Edna Mode, Dash, Mr Incredible.

Disney have said:

When you plan your next vacation to Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort (and eventually, Disneyland Paris), you’ll soon be receiving some good advice from the Incredibles and their friends that will help make your trip Super. Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, their incredible kids and some other familiar faces will show us how to use our powers to help everyone be well. 

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/06/together-lets-make-your-next-disney-day-incredible/

Disneyland Paris is expected to announce its reopening date next week according to documents seen by Le Parisien.

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