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Disney Adventure’s Price Tag Goes Overboard as Disney Spends $1.8 Billion Retrofitting New Cruise Ship
What started as a too-good-to-be-true bargain turned into one of Disney Cruise Line’s most expensive glow-ups ever. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Walt Disney Imagineering ultimately spent about $1.8 billion retrofitting the Disney Adventure, nearly double the original $1 billion estimate. The massive ship was originally commissioned in 2018 as the Global Dream for Genting Hong Kong, but after the company went bankrupt, Disney swooped in and purchased the unfinished vessel in 2022 for just $40 million, a deal executives believed would save both time and money.
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Once Walt Disney Imagineering got to work, reality set sail in a very different direction. The ship had been designed around casinos, lounges, and adult nightlife, not families, characters, and Broadway-style shows. Imagineers ended up stripping the ship down to its structural bones, doubling galley sizes, reworking layouts, adding multiple theaters, and building out space for a dozen restaurants. Former Imagineer Justin Newton famously compared the process to turning a Honda into a Hummer, and that scale of transformation pushed the project well beyond its original scope and budget.
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The final price tag came with another hiccup: time. The Disney Adventure’s maiden voyage was delayed by three months, forcing thousands of guests to either reschedule or receive refunds. Still, Disney leadership maintains the retrofit was worth it, noting that building from scratch would have taken even longer. When she officially launches, the Disney Adventure will be the largest ship in the Disney fleet, carrying around 6,000 passengers and sailing exclusively from Singapore. Onboard highlights include an Imagination Garden atrium with a storybook castle, shows featuring Captain Jack Sparrow and Duffy and Friends, and multiple Marvel-themed attractions. Her first official voyage is set to depart on March 10, 2026.
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