 |
Inside staterooms on the Disney Dream will feature Virtual Portholes that mix Disney characters with a real-time view outside the ship. // © Disney Cruise Line |
Disney Cruise Line has announced more features for Disney Dream, which will debut early next year. The emphasis is on the unexpected, from a restaurant that intends to transport guests under the sea to artwork that appears to come to life.
Guests choosing inside staterooms will have Virtual Portholes that offer a real-time view outside the ship via high-definition cameras. The live video feed will match the stateroom location, showing a port, starboard, forward or aft view. At times, the portholes may also be augmented with images of Disney characters as well.
The Disney Dream version of the Animator’s Palate restaurant virtually takes guests to the ocean floor, with Crush, the surfer-dude sea turtle from Disney/Pixar’s “Finding Nemo,” making special appearances on various LCD screens and engaging in live, impromptu interactions with guests.
One of the most intriguing features of the ship is the Enchanted Art concept of artwork that appears to come alive when guests pause to admire it. Enchanted Art objects will also be used as part of a detective-themed adventure activity in which guests of all ages work together to find clues throughout the ship.
For young cruisers, Disney’s Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab will have a feature that allows children’s movements to control the appearance of its interactive floor — a new technology for the line, which is still fairly under wraps. On the Oceaneer Club and Lab’s 103-inch screen, the sea turtle Crush or the mischievous animated alien, Stitch (from “Lilo & Stitch”), will make scheduled appearances to chat, play and joke with kids in live, unrehearsed conversations.
Disney has also announced that the ship will feature the AquaDuck Water Coaster. At 765 feet in length — more than two and a half times the length of a football field — and four decks in height, it is expected to make quite a splash. High-powered water jets will push guests upward at 20 feet per second, and a translucent, swing-out loop takes kids 13 feet over the side of the ship, allowing them to look down toward the ocean some 150 feet below. A series of river rapids brings the ride to an end on Deck 12.
Disney Cruise Line
www.disneycruise.disney.go.com
