Oriental Land unveils Disney Imagination, its first cruise ship for Japan

Oriental Land Co., The Walt Disney Company's Japanese partner, revealed the name of its first cruise ship, Disney Imagination, at a ceremony held in Tokyo. The vessel, representing a $2.1 billion investment, is being built at the German shipyard Meyer Werft and will begin sailing from the Tokyo area in spring 2029, becoming the first ship of Disney Cruise Line Japan.

This is the fifth vessel of the Wish class, with a gross tonnage of 140,000 GT and LNG propulsion, and will carry a crew of around 1,500 people. Sources differ on its passenger capacity: Cruise Industry News reported it will hold 2,500 passengers, while Splash Cruise stated it will carry approximately 4,000 passengers across 1,250 staterooms.

The event was attended by Yumiko Takano, President and CEO of Oriental Land Co.; Ryotaro Shiiba, President of Oriental Land Cruise Co.; Natacha Rafalski, President of Disney Signature Experiences; and Tracy Wilson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Operations for Disney Cruise Line. The business will be operated by Oriental Land Cruise, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oriental Land, while Disney will receive royalties from sales. The ship will feature Ariel, the character from The Little Mermaid, on its stern as a tribute to her curiosity and adventurous spirit.

Oriental Land's venture is part of the Japanese government's push to boost the cruise industry: according to Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in 2025 only 243,000 Japanese passengers took cruises, 30% below the pre-pandemic peak, and the official goal is to reach 1 million cruise passengers by 2030. Oriental Land, which posted record revenue of 704.5 billion yen in the fiscal year ended March 2026, projects its cruise business will generate annual revenue of around 100 billion yen and attract 400,000 passengers in its first years of operation.

The launch of the Disney Imagination adds to Disney's expansion in the Asian cruise market, following the start of operations of the Disney Adventure from Singapore in March of this year, aimed at the family audience in Southeast Asia.