Disney Cruise Line has announced the name of the first Disney ship that will sail from Japan: Disney Imagination. According to the Disney Parks Blog, which published the news on 13 October 2026, the ship will start sailing from Tokyo in spring 2029.
Disney Imagination will be the first ship of Disney Cruise Line Japan, a Disney-branded cruise business run by Oriental Land Co. (OLC), the company that owns and operates Tokyo Disney Resort under a licence from Disney. Disney and OLC announced the agreement in July 2024, with year-round cruises in Japan from 2029.
Ariel on the stern
As on every Disney Cruise Line ship, a Disney character will decorate the stern. On Disney Imagination it will be Ariel, from the Walt Disney Animation Studios film The Little Mermaid, together with Sebastian and other characters from under the sea. In the design, Ariel writes the name of the ship with her dinglehopper, the fork she uses as a comb in the film.
The stern of Disney Imagination (artist concept). Rendering: Disney.
What the ship will have
Disney has not yet given details of the ship’s venues. The cruise line says Disney Imagination will have Disney stories throughout the ship, Broadway-style shows exclusive to Disney Cruise Line, meetings with Disney characters, restaurants and bars, separate areas for children, tweens and teens, and adults-only spaces.
According to the 2024 announcement, the ship is being built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg (Germany), is based on the design of Disney Wish, will run on liquefied natural gas and will have about 140,000 gross tons and around 1,250 cabins.
Disney says it will share more details as the debut of Disney Imagination in 2029 gets closer.
