Disney to Launch Floating Theme Parks to Attract Rich Indians, Southeast Asians

From Fran Golden, published at Thu Jan 23 2025

When it launches its largest-ever ship in late 2025, Walt Disney Co. is hoping it will be filled with a lucrative and fast-growing set of travelers it’s never targeted: Indians and Southeast Asians.

The 6,700-passenger Disney Adventure—a takeover of bankrupt Genting Hong Kong’s half-completed, €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) World Dream—is expected to begin sailing in December. In a deal with the Singapore Tourism Board, Disney has committed the ship to sail year-round for at least five years from the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore. From there, Disney Adventure will head out on three- and four-night itineraries to nowhere, effectively functioning as a floating version of a theme park that’s been designed to appeal to the India and Southeast Asia market. Consumers in these markets seeking the Disney experience typically head to Shanghai, Hong Kong or Tokyo to visit Disneyland and Disney Resorts.

Take its main attraction. Towering up to 30 feet above the upper decks at its highest points will be an 820-foot-long Iron Man-themed rollercoaster called Ironcycle Test Run, billed as the largest rollercoaster at sea.

“There are Disney fans all over the world,” says Thomas Mazloum, who oversees Disney Cruise Line as president of the company’s “new experiences” portfolio and Disney Signature Experiences. “We are really targeting the entire Southeast Asia market, which doesn’t have easy access to a theme park.” When it comes to acquiring new customers, he adds, no region is more ripe.

Disney’s theme parks and experiences business has been a big profit generator coming out of the pandemic, accounting for about a third of the company’s overall revenue and almost two-thirds of its operating income. The division is run by Josh D’Amaro, one of the four internal candidates being considered to replace Bob Iger as chief executive officer when he steps down next year. Its Asia Pacific business, including theme parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai, is a relatively small part of the company overall. It accounts for about 10% of sales and profit, with $1.31 billion in operating income reported for the region in 2024.

Like many multinational companies seeking to grow in Asia, Disney is aiming to tap a vast and increasingly aspirational middle class in India. According to McKinsey & Co., Indians are expected to make more than 80 million international trips annually by 2040, up from just 13 million in 2022. And particularly in the country’s urban areas, Disney, Pixar and Marvel occupy a prime spot in the cultural consciousness—girls and boys of all ages and income segments, for instance, celebrate birthdays and other special events with party favors that feature characters such as Moana and Spider-Man. With less than a year to go until the Disney Adventure sets sail, the company has been marketing its cruise product there with inserts in newspapers and billboards ads. The tagline: “Where Magic Meets the Sea.”

Singapore itself has also increased tourism marketing to Indians, who can fly to the city-state in as little as five hours and 15 minutes. Last March its tourism ministry brought an extravagant 3D anamorphic installation—depicting Peranakan Shophouses and the Supertrees of Gardens by the Bay—to a Mumbai shopping mall in a bid to draw widespread social media engagement. Then it opened a series of pop-up restaurants and AR experiences across Mumbai and Delhi.

Beyond the subcontinent, Disney Cruise Line sees potential with Singaporeans, Indonesians, Malaysians and Filipinos. The company is targeting locals in those markets with advertisements on mass transit and social media platforms. A call center has been added in Malaysia for consumers and the travel trade throughout Southeast Asia, though Disney declined to specify the size or scope of the facility.

Mazloum says consumers in India and Southeast Asia have shown a strong affinity for the Disney brand, making it an easy bet. “Now with a ship out of Singapore, there’s an option for all these countries to access Disney faster, simpler in a great environment,” says Mazloum. The sizable footprint of theme parks would make it difficult if not impossible to create offerings on land given the real estate crunches in countries like India, Singapore, Indonesia and elsewhere in the region. Cruises, therefore, are a novel workaround.

Bookings for Disney Adventure opened on Dec. 10 for sailings through March 2026, with staterooms for two starting around $1,100 for three-night sailings. At the high end are a pair of royal suites themed on Anna and Elsa from Frozen that come with private whirlpools on their oversize balconies. Fares start at about $18,000 for two guests, also for three nights. Sales were brisk in all stateroom categories, Disney says—though there was still availability at press time.

Disney declined to break down which countries the bookings were coming from. It did say that 90% of them are from guests who will be new to the cruise line and that most are from the region. Fewer than 10% are from the US, it adds.

The basic layout of Disney Adventure has seven distinct neighborhoods, or “lands,” in a floor plan that’s atypical of Disney ships. It includes a three-deck garden and a reef-themed neighborhood with an open-air boardwalk.

Onboard are several features that will represent firsts for Asian cruise ships, in part because Disney Adventure’s guests will never leave the ship, making it a destination unto itself.

Near the largest roller coaster at sea is the Ant-Man- and the Wasp-themed Pym Tech racetracks, where guests can drive oversize toy cars around obstacles. Another ride, the Groot Galaxy Spin, will be similar to the flying Dumbos at the theme parks, but based on the character Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. In the Toy Story Place neighborhood, a large family pool will have waterslides and splash features.

Food will be geared toward local tastes. A cafe designed around The Little Mermaid villain Ursula, for instance, will serve varieties of bubble tea; Mowgli’s, based on the character from The Jungle Book, will serve an Indian menu with many vegetarian dishes; Gramma Tala’s Kitchen, inspired by Moana, will serve Pacific and pan-Asian flavors. For an added fee, Mike & Sulley’s (named for the main characters in Monsters, Inc.) will welcome adults with multiple restaurant concepts, including a Japanese steakhouse, a teppanyaki room, a chic bar with omakase-style dining and an outdoor sushi and sashimi option.

As on other Disney Cruise Line ships, there will be all-you-can eat Mickey Mouse-shaped ice cream bars and an outpost of the fan-favorite interactive restaurant concept, Animator’s Palate. It will also feature an adult lounge inspired by the evil queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

In another Disney Cruise Line first, the movie Big Hero 6, which is especially popular in Asia, will be the basis of one of the themed neighborhoods. The big attraction there will be a large interactive family video game lounge. One feature—a high-tech obstacle course—will be set up for groups of four.

In 2023, Disney announced it would invest $60 billion over 10 years to “turbocharge” its resorts division, with 20% of the capital going toward cruises and other projects that haven’t yet been disclosed. In August, as part of an extensive expansion of its resorts business, the company unveiled a slew of theme park attractions, including its first “land” devoted to movie villains and a doubling of its Avengers campus in Anaheim, California. It also plans to more than double its fleet of ships to 13 by 2031. Thanks to its rabid and often well-heeled fans, Disney is able to charge a premium price for its cruises, sometimes netting double or triple the nightly rates that rivals list.

Disney Adventure won’t be the cruise line’s only venture in Asia. Last year, Disney and Oriental Land Co., which owns and operates Tokyo Disney Resort, announced a deal for OLC to build and operate a Japanese-centric ship, ordered from Germany’s Meyer Werft shipyard, expected to make its debut in early 2029. Details are still to come.

Another four Disney ships are currently on order from the same shipyard, to be delivered between 2027 and 2031, representing Meyer Werft’s largest-ever order. While Mazloum demurs on most of their intended destinations, he notes that Disney is far from finished penetrating the Caribbean, where it has only a 5% share among cruise operators. One more ship, the 4,000-passenger Disney Destiny, is in the works from the same shipyard and will set sail for the Caribbean this December, departing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Mazloum says committing to grow from the current 6 to 13 ships isn’t a big bet. Occupancy reached 97% across the five Disney ships that were sailing in the first half of 2024, he notes—the data was taken before the sixth ship launched at the year’s end. And, Mazloum adds, the entire cruise industry is in growth mode.