Disney Cruise Line has shared a new look at Disney Believe, revealing several of the characters and design features planned for the ship ahead of its late 2027 debut.
The details were announced during Disney’s D23 showcase on August 15, 2026. Tinker Bell, Moana, and characters from Toy Story will all have prominent roles aboard the approximately 4,000-passenger ship, which will become the fourth vessel in the Wish class.
But Disney Believe wasn’t the only cruise news to come from the event.
Disney also confirmed that the three ships scheduled to start arriving in 2029 will belong to a completely new class. They’ll sit between the cruise line’s smaller classic vessels and its newer, larger ships, giving Disney a different type of vessel to work with as the fleet continues to grow.
Tinker Bell Will Appear on the Bow
At the front of Disney Believe, Tinker Bell will take center stage in the ship’s bow artwork. The hand-painted filigree will feature the fairy from Disney’s 1953 animated film Peter Pan, along with silhouettes of several other familiar characters from the story.
Peter Pan, Wendy, John, Michael, Captain Hook, and Smee will all be incorporated into the artwork around her.
The choice fits with the wider “promise and possibilities” theme Disney has established for the ship.
Tinker Bell is one of several characters being used to represent ideas such as magic, adventure, and believing in something beyond the ordinary. Those ideas will continue inside the ship and all the way to the stern.
Moana Will Be at the Center of the Grand Hall
Inside Disney Believe, the Grand Hall will take its inspiration from Moana, with a bronze cast statue of the character positioned at the heart of the space.
Pua and Heihei will appear alongside her, while Disney’s concept artwork shows Moana facing toward the horizon in a confident, adventure-ready pose.
The theme will extend beyond the statue itself. Wave-like details will appear along the walls, and the carpet will include a subtle pattern designed to resemble water. Polynesian influences will also be incorporated throughout the Grand Hall.
Together, those elements are intended to connect the entire space with Moana’s story rather than relying on the central statue alone.
Woody and Buzz Will Take Over the Stern
The back of Disney Believe will feature Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, continuing Disney Cruise Line’s tradition of using well-known characters in sculptures on the sterns of its ships.
In the newly revealed design, Woody and Buzz appear to be putting the finishing touches on the vessel’s name with oversized yellow crayons.
The scene also ties into the broader theme running through Disney Believe, with Disney selecting stories centered on imagination, confidence, family, and possibility.
“This ship celebrates belief in magic, family, the power of nature, and belief in yourself,” said Claire Weiss, Portfolio Executive Creative Director of Walt Disney Imagineering. “And all the stories we tell onboard will be tied together by the core Disney notion of believing in something fantastical.”
With Tinker Bell at the bow, Moana in the Grand Hall, and Woody and Buzz at the stern, Disney is using different stories to carry that idea across the ship.
One Design Change Has Divided Disney Cruise Fans
One part of the stern design has already created some debate among Disney Cruise Line fans: the font used for the ship’s name.
Rather than following the familiar script-style lettering seen on the rest of the fleet, Disney Believe will display its name in large, angled block letters inspired by Toy Story.
It makes sense alongside the Woody and Buzz artwork, but it also means Disney Believe will look noticeably different from the other Disney ships.
“As part of the fleet as a whole I’m not a fan of the font, but as a stand alone ship I think it’s sweet and a nice homage to Toy Story,” one guest wrote on Facebook.
Other fans have been less convinced. One commenter felt having a single ship use different lettering made the change look more like a mistake or oversight than an intentional fleet-wide evolution.
Others have pointed out another quirk: “Disney,” “Believe,” and “Nassau,” which identifies the ship’s registry, will each appear in different type styles on the stern. Some feel that makes the finished design look a little disjointed.
Reaction has been mixed rather than universally negative. Some fans like the extra Toy Story reference, while others would rather see the same visual identity carried across every ship in the fleet.
What We Still Don’t Know About Disney Believe
Disney Believe is currently being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.
Steel cutting marked the start of the ship’s physical construction on August 8, 2025, while Disney confirmed the Disney Believe name in March 2026.
We also know more Disney stories will appear onboard. Characters and elements from Frozen, The Little Mermaid, and Encanto are expected to feature somewhere on the ship, although Disney hasn’t yet explained exactly where or how they’ll be used.
Two of the biggest practical details are also still missing. Disney has not announced a homeport or any itineraries for Disney Believe.
More information should come soon. Disney has scheduled a fuller reveal for October 7, 2026, which will be livestreamed ahead of the ship’s planned late 2027 launch.
Disney Is Building an Entirely New Ship Class for 2029
The other major cruise announcement from D23 looked further into the future. During the Disney Experiences Showcase, Horizons: A Carousel of Progress, Disney Cruise Line confirmed that the three ships due to begin arriving in 2029 will make up an entirely new class.
The vessels themselves aren’t new announcements. Disney first confirmed plans for the three ships at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in 2024 as part of its expansion toward a 13-ship fleet.
What wasn’t clear at the time was whether they would continue an existing design or introduce something different.
We now have that answer. The new ships will be larger than Disney’s classic vessels, such as Disney Wonder, but smaller than more recent ships such as Disney Wish.
That middle ground could be important when Disney decides where to send them. A somewhat smaller footprint than the Wish-class vessels could make the new ships suitable for ports and destinations where Disney’s largest ships may not be the best fit.
Claire Weiss said the vessels will be “right in the middle of our classic ships and our newer ones. That gives us some amazing opportunities to visit new places and reach brand new audiences we haven’t before.”
Disney also showed the audience the first teaser image of the future class during the presentation. Weiss noted that the image had not been shown publicly before the event.
Disney Has Shared Very Few Details About the New Ships
For now, the size range and arrival timeline are about as much as Disney is saying.
The company hasn’t announced names for the three ships, their passenger capacities, homeports, onboard attractions, or the destinations they’re likely to serve.
The first ships from the class are expected to enter service beginning in 2029.
Their arrival will continue a period of rapid growth for Disney Cruise Line.
The fleet originally centered on Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy. Since then, newer vessels including Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny, and Disney Adventure have expanded the lineup, with Disney Believe due to follow in 2027.
Once all three ships from the new class have arrived, Disney Cruise Line is expected to operate 13 ships in total.
That will leave Disney with a much broader spread of ship sizes than it had in the past and could give the cruise line more options as it considers new destinations and cruise markets around the world.
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