Theme Park Scope

I have sailed on exactly zero ships that have a Frozen family dinner, a piano bar inspired by Ariel’s grotto, and a lounge themed to Snow White’s gown, and that is the only reason I am sitting here today…

…a little emotional, after reading the Disney Believe venue list four times.

During the October 7 reveal livestream, Disney Cruise Line shared the new restaurants, cafés, lounges, and suites that will make up the Disney Believe, the fourth and final ship in the Wish class, which sets sail on December 18, 2027. Disney says the venues are shaped by powerful stories that ignite imaginations and quench curiosity, and several of the bars and lounges will have brand-new designs and menus with a touch of sophistication. Let’s go through all of it, one venue at a time, so you can see exactly where you want to spend your first evening.

Oaken’s Table: A Frozen Family Feast is the headline new restaurant. Disney describes it as a brand-new, untold chapter in the Frozen story with favorite characters like Oaken, Anna, and Kristoff. It is set in a sommerhus courtyard deep in the forest, where Oaken and his family invite guests to dine together while his cousins play reimagined versions of famous songs from the Frozen soundtracks. Disney says Oaken is setting the tables for a festive family reunion at his summer house, and I am already planning to arrive hungry and a little overdressed.

Café Kakamora is one of two new cafés on the midship. It is named after the curious, piratical coconut creatures from Moana, who are both friend and foe, and it draws inspiration from Motunui, the storied island. Disney says it will serve coffee, tea, and specialty drinks.

Big Hero Sips is the second café, described as a warm and inviting coffee shop inspired by San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6, and it also offers coffee, tea, and specialty drinks.

Joyful Sweets returns from the Disney Wish as Inside Out: Joyful Sweets, a sweet shop styled after Riley’s emotions’ command center. It adds new characters from Inside Out 2, with larger-than-life sculptures of Joy, Sadness, Anxiety, and Envy, and the Sense of Self structure, plus nearly 20 flavors of gelato and ice cream, daily handcrafted gelato specials, and a colorful lineup of signature sweets.

Pluto’s Pita Platters is a new offering at Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods on the upper deck, serving a Mediterranean-inspired menu.

The restaurants that Wish class sailors already know, 1923 and Worlds of Marvel, will return as well.

Sea Notes is a new piano lounge inspired by Ariel’s grotto. It is home to one of the forgotten treasures from Ariel’s secret grotto, a pearlescent piano, and the space is meant for nostalgic melodies alongside cocktails or non-alcoholic drinks. Performers sang Under the Sea during the reveal, which tells you the tone.

The Wishing Well is the Snow White lounge, and it is an open-space lounge. Guests sit beneath a canopy of white blossoms and red apples, the furnishings are draped in the colors of Snow White’s gown, and the hand-carved wood framing around the stage pays homage to the Seven Dwarfs’ cottage. Disney says it will offer a variety of activities and live musical performances. During the reveal, Disney also teased that the Magic Mirror may be found elsewhere on the ship, so I will be watching for that.

Skygazers is a venue where, in Disney’s words, time stands still. It is an observatory-themed pub where dreamers and wish-makers gather beneath a story-filled evening sky, with towering bookshelves, astronomical instruments, and celestial maps, plus props and nods to classic Disney stories, all dressed up like an astronomer’s laboratory. Jiminy Cricket appeared during the reveal, and Disney described it as a place where grown-ups can dream, too. Guests can watch live sports broadcasts or ponder their dreams while sampling a menu of custom-made craft brews, specialty cocktails, and light bites.

The Haunted Mansion Parlor returns as an adults-only lounge, and the other adult favorites are coming back too, including Palo Steakhouse, Enchanté by Chef Arnaud Lallement, The Rose, Quiet Cove, Senses Spa, and Sense Fitness.

Gazelle is the Zootopia-inspired entertainment hub, which we cover in our entertainment post, and from what Disney has shown, it appears to be the ship’s flexible entertainment venue.

A brand-new Monsters, Inc. entrance will lead into Disney’s Oceaneer Club, the ship’s kids club.

And the Believe Tower Suite is a one-of-a-kind, two-story suite inspired by Magic Kingdom. It sits within the forward funnel, covers nearly 2,000 square feet, sleeps eight, and has two main bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms, with floor-to-ceiling windows that give a rare view of the top decks and the open horizon. Each room is modeled after a different themed land, and the living room has fireworks- and balloon-inspired light fixtures and an art piece depicting Cinderella Castle. I am not sure there is a more Disney sentence than “a suite with its own fireworks light fixtures,” and I am a little jealous of whoever gets to book it.

For families, there are also the favorites we know from the other ships: the Pirate’s Rockin’ Parlay Party, Disney Cruise Line’s signature fireworks at sea, the Hero Zone, and the AquaMouse water ride.

If I had to pick one reveal that had me leaning forward in my chair, it would be Sea Notes, the Little Mermaid piano bar. There is something so charming about a lounge built around a single, quiet idea, a pearlescent piano from Ariel’s secret grotto, and I think it is the kind of space where you sit down for one drink and look up two hours later. Oaken’s Table is a close second, since a Frozen dinner with a musical family band sounds like pure joy, especially for families who want something warm and silly after a day at sea.

The one thing I am a little wistful about is that fans, including me, were predicting a Villains lounge, and that is not what we got. But with a Snow White lounge that also hints at a Magic Mirror, I will happily wait and see what Disney does next.

Which venue is going straight on your must-visit list? Tell us in the comments, and come hang out with us at Theme Park Scope for every Disney Believe update on the way to the maiden voyage.