Disney Spent Nearly Double Original $1 Billion Budget Retrofitting Newest Cruise Ship

A report from The Wall Street Journal reveals that Walt Disney Imagineering spent $1.8 billion to retrofit the Disney Adventure, almost double the original budget.

Retrofitting the Disney Adventure

Disney Spent Nearly Double Original $1 Billion Budget Retrofitting Newest Cruise Ship

The unique four-funneled Disney Cruise Line ship began her life in 2018 as the Global Dream, commissioned by Genting Hong Kong’s Dream Cruises. However, Genting went bankrupt before the ship’s completion, and Disney acquired the massive cruise ship in 2022. Executives believed the ship to be an absolute bargain at $40 million, but she would soon become the fleet’s money pit:

[Disney executives] figured it would cost about $1 billion to complete—less than half what the company typically spends to build a new vessel.

Then the Imagineers got their hands on it.

With the Disney Adventure retrofitting project, Walt Disney Imagineering faced a massive, totally new challenge. The layout of the gigantic cruise ship was designed for casinos and lounges, not families. The retrofit started in 2023 and was akin to “trying to turn a Honda into a Hummer,” according to project overseer and former Imagineer Justin Newton.

Turning the Global Dream into the Disney Adventure necessitated ripping apart the partially-built ship down to its girders, doubling the size of the galleys, adding more stage space, and creating spaces for a dozen restaurants. What started as a retrofit began to amount to a rebuild as Imagineers reworked nearly every aspect of the ship:

“It was like trying to turn a Honda into a Hummer,” said Justin Newton, a former Imagineer who oversaw the retrofit and now works at SeaWorld owner United Parks & Resorts.

The final cost of the Disney Adventure was $1.8 billion, almost double the original planned budget. The retrofit not only went over budget, but over deadline: the ship’s maiden voyage was delayed by three months, so thousands of reservations were either refunded or rescheduled.

Regardless of these challenges, Imagineering still believes it was worth it:

The Adventure will be Disney’s biggest and most immersive ship, and retrofitting it saved years of work compared with building it from scratch, Walt Disney Imagineering President Bruce Vaughn said.

While the Disney Adventure’s final cost may seem outlandish, it’s a drop in the budgetary bucket for The Walt Disney Company, which is investing $60 billion into its experiences through 2033, doubling the amount spent on the department over the last decade. The theme parks and cruises carry higher price tags for both the company and its consumers, but the initial investment results in decades’ worth of profit and unparalleled customer loyalty.

The Adventure will be Disney’s largest cruise ship, accommodating approximately 6,000 passengers, and will operate exclusively out of Singapore. The ship’s features include a Storybook Castle in the ship’s Imagination Garden atrium, a Captain Jack Sparrow show, a Duffy and Friends show, and Marvel rides. Her maiden voyage will depart on March 10, 2026.

Disney Adventure Sets Sail

Following her first float out in Spring 2025, a delay amid sea trials, and officially being handed over to Disney just last month, the Disney Adventure is currently en route to her home port of Singapore via Madeira, Port Canaveral, Los Angeles, and Tokyo before arriving at her final destination.