Disney Dream release even more interactive onboard experiences

I picked up this latest report of the Disney Dreams proposed designs, from Travel Weekly. It is very interesting and just shows how much Disney's designers have been thinking outside the box for their latest cruise ship.

Walt Disney Imagineering's video simulation of the world's first cruise ship watercoaster -- complete with a takeoff 150 feet above the ocean's surface -- might have taken place in the comfort of a darkened room 25 miles from the nearest ocean, but that didn't stop at least one reporter in attendance from getting a little dizzy.

With Disney Cruise Line's launch of the Disney Dream less than nine months away, the video illustrated the type of fine-tuning graphic artists, illustrators, story creators, computer programmers and other workers are doing to take what previous Disney Cruise passengers may already expect and enhance the experience.

That means creating plywood mock-ups of about two dozen Disney characters, ranging from Dumbo to the balloon-floating house from the movie "Up," whose virtual likenesses may adorn the "virtual portholes" in the 150 inside cabins. The portholes are actually video screens that will broadcast feeds from cameras posted outside the ship, but this being Disney, some familiar characters (and, presumably, homes) might occasionally pop into view. The mock-ups are being tested on their ability to amuse kids; the team will eventually choose the half-dozen characters or so that will be featured in the portholes.

Imagineering is also trying out what Disney says will be the first interactive, floor-based video game on a cruise ship by bringing in kids to play target contests and virtual board-tilt games, not to mention adults who might work up a sweat jumping over rotating lasers shooting across the 250-square-foot floor.

"Most of us are theme-park attraction designers," said Imagineering Senior Show Producer Bob Zalk. "It gives us something new to explore."

Meanwhile, a few miles away in North Hollywood, Pixar Animation is tweaking the voice interaction and lifelike movements of Crush, the "Finding Nemo" surfer-turtle character that will interact with diners during the undersea-theme show at the Dream's 700-seat Animator's Palace eatery. The restaurant will have 130 wall-mounted flat-screen monitors for the laid-back sea-turtle to appear on, but Crush won't be completely virtual; a cast member will be offstage, voicing him ("duuude") and controlling his virtual movements.

The play-floor, virtual portholes and virtual restaurant host are all being tweaked, tested and fine-tuned as part of the line's efforts to make the 4,000-passenger Dream even more family-friendly than Disney Cruise Line's Magic and Wonder, which both debuted in the late 1990s.

Disney is counting on the Dream, which launches in January, to help spur sales within its parks and resorts division, which accounted for about 30% of the parent company's fiscal 2009 revenue and 21% of its operating income.

All of which motivates the Imagineering and Pixar teams to make sure the interaction between Disney Dream guests and the technology-driven features is as vibrant as possible.

That effort might involve perfecting a hand-held card that can be twisted to "turn" a virtual key to solve a clue in the detective game the Dream will have as part of its Enchanted Art displays or tweaking the graphics that enable Crush to realistically "swim" across the Animator's Palate dining room's monitors.

Phil's comment: If you want to know more about Disney's cruise itineraries and prices, please call The Cruise Village on 01253 341014. We can book all your Disney Cruise Holidays.

This is a cruise blog entry by Phil