ANAHEIM, CA – Disney Cruise Line teased its brand new class of ships over the weekend.

Disney previously said the three new ships would be sized between older and newer ships. At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the company shared the new class will be larger than the 2,713-passenger Disney Wonder but smaller than the 4,000-passenger Disney Wish.

Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum told USA TODAY about the strategic decision to go smaller, even as other cruise lines continue to build increasingly larger vessels.

“We did this very intentionally because not every ship is suitable for every destination in the world. And as we expand, it’s extremely important for us to ensure we have enough flexibility so we can access new destinations around the globe, wherever our fans are,” said Mazloum, who previously headed up the Disney Signature Experiences, which includes Disney Cruise Line.

Not only will this fourth class of ships be able to reach more fans, but they’ll be able to transport them to new destinations.  

“We’re growing the fleet, we’re becoming more global,” Disney Signature Experiences President Natacha Rafalski said during a D23 media panel with fellow Disney Experiences executives. “And by late calendar 2030, our fiscal ’31, our fleet is going to include 13 ships. And those are all going to be new entry points for a lot of guests across the world.”

Disney’s next ship class will begin launching in 2029. Additional specifics on the ships’ features and itineraries are still to be announced.

What’s new on the Disney Believe cruise ship

In the meantime, Disney will continue its rapid fleet expansion with its fourth Wish class ship, the Disney Believe, launching in late 2027.

Many details on the ship are being held for this October, but Disney revealed few of the ship’s signature features during the D23 Disney Experiences Showcase.  

Fans erupted in cheers when Claire Weiss, portfolio executive creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering, revealed that a hand-painted filigree of Tinker Bell, surrounded by other “Peter Pan” characters, will be front and center on the Believe’s bow. Its stern, meanwhile, will be adorned with sculptures of Buzz Lightyear and Woody, who will appear to be painting on the ship’s name in a “Toy Story”-like font. And a bronze cast Moana statue will anchor the ship’s Grand Hall, alongside Pua and Heihei.

All of Disney’s cruise ships feature unique Disney characters on their stern, bow and atrium, who embody the spirit of the ship.

“This ship celebrates belief in magic, family, the power of nature, and belief in yourself,” Weiss said. “And all the stories we tell onboard will be tied together by the core Disney notion of believing in something fantastical.” 

Disney expands Alaska, West Coast presence

Disney Cruise Line is growing in other ways, too. 

This summer, the cruise line added a second ship to its Alaska service. Weiss said the Magic and Wonder will both return to Alaska in summer 2027. Additionally, “The Disney Wish is going to Europe for her first time ever and visiting all new ports of call.”

In April, the company announced plans to roughly double its annual sailings from San Diego as part of an agreement with the port through at least 2031. Disney Magic will sail from the port from October through November, while Disney Wonder will homeport there between October and April 2027, according to a news release. 

“That means all of you will have access to one of the beautiful ships for years to come,” Weiss said to roaring cheers and applause.

Stephanie Goldberg-Glazer, chief experience officer and owner of the travel agency Live Well, Travel Often, told USA TODAY that the move “is a great tie in for longer trips that can also include theme parks.”

The Port of San Diego is less than 100 miles, or a little more than an hour and a half’s drive away from Disneyland in Anaheim, so while Disney cruises are their own self-contained experiences, San Diego sailings can be part of larger Disney vacation, particularly for travelers coming from far away.

“Disneyland Resort is typically the gateway to a Southern California holiday,” the resort’s President Jill Estorino said at a D23 media event. Disneyland Park is the second-most visited theme park in the world.

San Diego is “also a good option for Californians to have an easy to get to port without any (hassle),” Goldberg-Glazer said in an email. “As it is a smaller city, but with lots to do, San Diego is also nice for those wishing to avoid large cities like L.A. or Miami.”