Disney Reveals New Believe Ship Details: Moana Statue & Polynesian Grand Hall, Toy Story & Tinker Bell

During the 2026 D23 Expo, DCL revealed new details about the upcoming Disney Believe cruise ship, which sets sail in late 2027. This shares a first look at the Grand Hall statue, and other whimsical details for the next addition to the Disney Cruise Line fleet.

As basic background, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro announced the ninth ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet would be named the Disney Believe back in March during the annual shareholder meeting. That also included a teaser trailer for the ship and vague info, which has led to rampant fan speculation about which characters and stories the ship will showcase.

More recently, Disney Cruise Line announced that October 7, 2026 would be the big reveal, with a showcase of what will be offered aboard the new Believe ship. This will likely include the rotational dining, Walt Disney Theatre stage shows, lounge themes, pools, staterooms, suites, and the Grand Hall, assorted entertainment, and more.

Accordingly, we weren’t expecting a ton of news for the Disney Believe during D23. Basically, just enough to remind fans that it’s coming and build anticipation among the broader audience, since only a subset of fans will watch the DCL-dedicated livestream reveal.

Honestly, it was a bit less than we were hoping to see, as reflected in our Our 6 Bold Predictions for Disney Cruise Line D23 Announcements Before Believe’s Big Reveal. Given the big stage that D23 offers, we were expecting a couple of ‘sexy’ announcements–such as a new stage show, themed lounge, or rotational dining concept–to be pulled from the full reveal and spotlighted during the Parks Panel. Instead, DCL appears to be playing its cards more close to the chest and will wait until October for the biggest news.

During D23, Imagineer Claire Weiss, Portfolio Executive Creative Director for Disney Cruise Line, took to the stage to share new details about the Disney Believe during the Horizons: D23 Disney Experiences Showcase. Here’s what she shared…

Like its Triton-class sister ships, the Disney Believe’s Grand Hall will serve as a central gathering space for guests. Onboard the Disney Believe, the Grand Hall will be infused with the optimistic spirit of exploration from Disney Animation’s Moana films.

A bronze cast statue of Moana, accompanied by her faithful companions Pua and Heihei, will be a focal point inside the venue. The never-before-seen rendering also hinted at influences from the film’s idyllic South Pacific setting, which will be layered with artisanal Polynesian finishes that honor the cultural traditions of the region.

I’m cautiously optimistic about this! Moana for the Grand Hall statue was one of our “safe” D23 predictions, so it’s not a huge surprise to see this. Moana is a good fit for Disney Cruise Line, and we look forward to seeing how the Polynesian theme is pulled off in the Grand Hall. Our expectation is that it’s similar to the Disney Treasure, which is infused with an Aladdin influence throughout, and is easily the best Grand Hall of the Triton class.

The Disney Believe could dethrone the Treasure. Pulling from that playbook with the same attention to detail and design, but with a Polynesian twist, is a winning formula. The serene South Pacific stylization is perfect for Disney Cruise Line, and could offer a well-appointed but relaxed setting, on par with Aulani Resort or the Polynesian (most likely a cross between the two).

The whimsical details designed for the Disney Believe’s exterior hull were also unveiled. Following a well-established Disney Cruise Line tradition, each new build, including the Disney Believe, features its own unique character artwork.

A new rendering showcased larger-than-life sculptures of Woody and Buzz Lightyear hitching a ride on the Disney Believe’s stern. The dependable duo from Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story films will appear working together to etch the ship’s name across the back of the vessel with large yellow crayons.

In place of the classic looped calligraphy seen stamped across the Disney Cruise Line fleet, Woody and Buzz will opt for playful lettering that mimics the franchise’s famous block-style font.

While I love the Moana statue and South Pacific styling of the Grand Hall, I don’t care for this. Perhaps I’m just too much of a purist, but this looks cheesy to me. I get that they’re keeping it true to character with Woody and Buzz, but I think that level of logic is unnecessary.

The classic calligraphy just looks better, and this is a case of overthinking it or fixing what isn’t broken. In the end, it’s not that big of a deal, as I usually see the stern sculptures like once or twice per cruise. By contrast, I see the Grand Hall several times per day.

D23 attendees and livestream viewers also learned that the Disney Believe’s bow will be decorated with a hand-painted filigree of Tinker Bell as she first appeared in the Walt Disney Animation Studios 1953 classic Peter Pan. The spunky fairy will be flanked by the silhouettes of Peter, Wendy, Captain Hook, and other characters from the film flying amid the swirling design.

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

This looks great, of course. Nothing thoughtful to say beyond that. It continues DCL’s streak of great bow detailing.

All in all, not a whole lot revealed about the Disney Believe during D23. The Moana statue and the Polynesian theme of the Grand Hall is the biggest and best news. Again, if done with the level of detail found in the Treasure, this South Pacific style has tremendous potential.

Suffice to say, there’s a reason why Disney fans love the Poly and Aulani, and if this is like either or both, it’ll be a huge hit. This Grand Hall has us excited to learn more about the Believe–only a couple more months to go until the big reveal!

Given the gap between this and the Destiny, and nothing here designed in the shadow of COVID, we anticipate more originality here. That’s clearly the direction that Disney has been going lately, and the announcements at the last D23 Expo for the parks reflect that. On top of that, DCL will be increasingly reliant on repeat cruisers with the fleet expansion, so variety is important.

Otherwise, it doesn’t really seem like it’s worth speculating about the Disney Believe. This is a really open-ended theme. It’s hard to think of any movie that doesn’t satisfy the “promise and possibilities” premise or contain a character who believed in themselves. Disney movies aren’t exactly known for characters who give up on themselves, and that’s the end of the story.

Believe Background

The Disney Believe is the fourth installment in Disney Cruise Line’s Triton class. The Disney Believe will join the enchantment-themed Disney Wish, adventure-themed Disney Treasure, and heroes and villains-themed Disney Destiny. According to Disney Cruise Line, the Believe has its own unique story to tell: one of promise and possibilities.

The Disney Believe will be filled with stories of characters who believe in themselves, in their dreams, and in the promise and possibility of a better tomorrow. To that end, DCL revealed that the Disney Believe will bring to life the magical worlds of “Encanto” and “Frozen,” the wishing wells of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” and the depths of the sea with “Moana” and “The Little Mermaid.”

Here’s the reveal for the Disney Believe logo/name:

“It begins with a WISH. That WISH becomes something you simultaneously have to let go of and hold on to.

It turns into hope and WONDER, and at times can feel like a far-off DREAM. Maybe even a FANTASY.

But when your WISH comes true, it’s MAGIC, taking you on an ADVENTURE you… pic.twitter.com/2MRmwdbRZL

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) March 18, 2026

The previous teaser hints at other IPs that could appear on board the Disney Believe.

Based on that: Tangled, Inside Out, Iron Man, Monsters Inc, Zootopia, Fantasia, Star Wars, Toy Story, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

I wouldn’t necessarily put much stock into that being accurate. Some of those seem like givens. There will presumably be something Star Wars, and Zootopia is too big to ignore on the next ship. It’s getting something major. I hope Nightmare Before Christmas doesn’t get a themed space, but an entertainment offering might make sense. Maybe DCL will do Hocus Pocus and Nightmare Before Christmas, really leaning into the Halloween (or holidays) year-round angle!

DCL Expansion Plans

The Disney Believe is just the latest ship that’s part of DCL’s aggressive expansion plans. This is the fourth and final ship that’s part of the Wish-class for the Walt Disney Company (a meaningful distinction), and is expected in late 2027.

Following the Disney Believe, another ship is coming to Asia with the new Disney cruise ship announced for Oriental Land Company, which is the fifth Wish-class that will set sail in 2028/2029 out of Japan. There are rumors of another OLC ship after that, too.

Construction officially began on the Disney Believe during a steel-cutting ceremony in August 2025 at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. The event featured Disney and Meyer Werft representatives, including Captain Mickey Mouse, who initiated the symbolic cutting of the first piece of steel.

All ships in the Wish-class are powered by liquefied natural gas and, at approximately 144,000 gross tons, are slightly larger than the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.

As with its sister ships, the Disney Believe should measure 1,119 feet in length, and accommodate up to 4,000 passengers in 1,254 staterooms with a crew of around 1,555. It’s structurally the same ship, which regrettably means no material changes in layout, either. Just different themes and concepts in the same spaces.

There are elements of the Wish-class ships that I really like, especially aboard the Disney Treasure. That’s my favorite ship of the current trio, and of the entire fleet. That’s in large part because it draws so much inspiration from the parks and is fairly focused in its execution of storytelling and theme.

I was also excited for the Heroes vs. Villains duality of the Disney Destiny, and a decent amount of this is present on the actual ship. At the same time, it doesn’t fully follow through on that compelling concept, outside of the Marvel characters in the atrium.

The upside to all of them is their entertainment programming, which surpasses the legacy ships. The downside is the layout, which has been discussed/derided at length already. Beyond that, I’m concerned with the four new ships having a ‘sameness’ problem, especially the Wish and Believe.

Ultimately, the Disney Believe is starting to sound more like the Disney Treasure than its other sister ships, as evidenced by the Grand Hall. That’s a relief since the looser focus originally made us worry that the Believe would be a grabbag of whichever IPs they feel like incorporating.

Hopefully, the extra time between the Destiny and Believe gives Imagineering and other teams more time to learn lessons from guest feedback on the other Triton class ships and apply them to the Believe. I may not love everything about the current class ships, but the Treasure is fantastic and even the Destiny is very good.

It’s also fair to say that Disney has learned lessons as it has gained more experience in the cruise industry, allowing the company to iterate on past designs and make technical and functional improvements in the process. If that trend continues with the Disney Believe, plus the 4 ships in the next class and Disney Cruise Line maintains its exceptional guest and soft services, the bar will be raised even higher.

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Your Thoughts

What do you think of the Moana Grand Hall aboard the Disney Believe? What about the Toy Story stern and Tinker Bell bow? Thoughts on the Disney Believe? Predictions for the lounges, stage shows, rotational dining, or anything else? What Disney Cruise Line news do you expect at the 2026 D23 Expo? Agree or disagree with our predictions? Any other thoughts or ideas about this? If you have questions or thoughts, please share them below and we’ll try to respond!