Disney Is Right to Look Beyond LNG After Disney Believe

Disney Believe will complete a four-ship class built around LNG-capable propulsion. Disney’s next ship platform will not use LNG. That is the decision I would pay more attention to than the latest construction milestone.

I welcome the break. LNG has useful air-quality benefits, but its greenhouse-gas performance depends on more than what comes out of the exhaust during combustion. There is good reason not to make it the default for another generation of ships.

For now, Disney Believe is taking shape at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, with delivery scheduled for 2027. The approximately 144,000-gross-ton ship will accommodate up to 4,000 passengers and join Disney Wish, Disney Treasure and Disney Destiny as the fourth and final Wish-class vessel. Like its sisters, it will be able to operate on LNG and conventional marine fuels.

The next platform takes a different direction

According to plans outlined by Tracy Wilson, senior vice president and general manager of Disney Cruise Line Operations, the next platform will consist of smaller ships of approximately 100,000 gross tons. Three are under development with Meyer Werft as Disney works toward a fleet of 13 ships by the end of 2031.

Those vessels are being designed for adaptability to future fuels. That is a worthwhile design priority. It is not yet an answer about which fuels they will actually use.

The distinction matters because LNG’s benefits are uneven. Burning it produces lower sulfur oxide and particulate emissions, and it can meet MARPOL sulfur limits in emission-control areas without exhaust-gas scrubbers. Dual-fuel machinery also allows a ship to switch to liquid fuel when required.

The climate case is less straightforward. Combustion carbon dioxide emissions are generally lower than those from heavy fuel oil, but unburned methane escaping from engines or fuel systems can reduce or offset that advantage. Engine technology and upstream methane leakage also affect the overall result.

Those are material qualifications, not technical footnotes. I would give Disney credit for the potential air-quality benefits when its ships operate on LNG, without treating LNG capability as a settled climate answer.

Three enormous sections become one ship

Steel cutting for Disney Believe began in August 2025, followed by keel laying in September 2026. Meyer Werft has now completed and floated out the first of three large sections, known as gigablocks, that will be joined to form the vessel.

The completed midship section includes the space for the Grand Hall, with walls, plumbing and wiring already incorporated. Individual gigablocks can weigh more than 31,000 tons. Disney Signature Experiences president Natacha Rafalski attended the float-out.

The forward section comes next, followed by the aft section, before the three structures are welded together. The yard’s inland location adds another step: completed or nearly completed ships must travel along the River Ems to reach the North Sea.

Disney Believe’s maiden voyage is scheduled for December 18, 2027, from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. It will operate four- and five-night Bahamas and Caribbean cruises. Disney Destiny will move from that homeport to Port Canaveral in fall 2027.

Encanto leads a new onboard lineup

Onboard, Disney Believe’s theme of promise and possibilities will draw on Encanto, Frozen, Moana, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and The Little Mermaid. The Pacific Islands-inspired Grand Hall will feature a bronze statue of Moana with Pua and Heihei.

The theater’s most distinctive addition is Disney Encanto, the first stage adaptation of the animated film. The program will also include a revised Tangled: The Musical with new sets and effects, plus Disney Seas the Adventure.

A new dinner show, Oaken’s Table: A Frozen Family Feast, will feature reworked songs from the Frozen films performed by characters presented as Oaken’s cousins. Returning restaurants include 1923 and Worlds of Marvel. Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté by Chef Arnaud Lallement will remain extra-charge options outside rotational dining.

New venues include the Snow White-inspired Wishing Well lounge, Sea Notes, a Little Mermaid-themed piano bar, and Gazelle, a mixed-use entertainment venue inspired by Zootopia.

Eligible Castaway Club members can begin booking on October 12, 2026, with access determined by loyalty status. General-public reservations open on October 19, 2026.

The next platform gives Disney room to choose differently. Cleaner exhaust is a benefit, not a climate verdict.

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