Best Disney Cruise Ship – I’ve Sailed On Every Type of Disney Ship

When trying to determine the best Disney Cruise ship, we looked at all the different factors and elements from each of the different types of Disney cruise ship. Right now there are six different Disney Cruise Line ships to pick from. The amount of Disney ships will more than double 13 ships by 2031.

Each Disney Cruise Line ship is a little bit different and has some offering that makes it stand out and impacts our ranking of the best Disney ship in the fleet. I have sailed every type of ship offered through Disney Cruise Line. I love the variety of experiences these ships have to offer whether it's the different itineraries or the different amenities like the exclusive Disney islands, unique Disney Broadway-style shows, or themed lounges.

We're going to break down the best Disney cruise ships and the various amenities and offerings that set each ship apart.

How We'll Rank Best Disney Cruise Line Ships

Rather than actually ranking each best Disney Cruise ship by ship we are going to break down the best ships by using the different ship classes. Disney has built three different classes of cruise ships where the layouts are pretty much the same between the different ships in those classes. These layouts impact the way you maneuver onboard the ship and certain elements like the pool area and adult lounges.

We'll break down the best Disney cruise ship classes and what makes them special, plus the best cruise ships within those classes. In the cruise industry, groups of ships are called “classes” which is used to categorize ships that were created with the same general design. The first ship in the class is what names the class of ships. For Disney Cruise Line, there are currently three different Disney Cruise classes for their fleet of six ships.

The Disney Cruise Line has three different classes of ship: Disney Magic, Disney Dream, and Disney Triton. The Disney Magic is the original Disney Cruise Line ship with the other ship in its class called the Disney Wonder. The Disney Dream is the second in the classes with its sister ship called the Disney Fantasy. And the most recent class of ships is the Disney Wish  and Disney Treasure. The next upcoming Disney class ship, the Disney Destiny, is also a Triton class ship. Many frequent cruisers call the Disney Triton class the “Disney Wish class” just out of habit since it's the first to break the norm of calling the class the first name of the ship in that series.

In comparison to other cruise lines, the Disney Cruise Line fleet is relatively small but there are also more ships coming soon. The Disney Destiny sets sail in 2025 followed by the new Asia based ship, the Disney Adventure, plus MORE unnamed ships coming soon in the future. We just heard that some of these unnamed ships will be part of a new class of ships that will be smaller in size and closer to the scale of the original ships.

With this context you'll have both an understanding of the different groupings of ships to look for and the best ships within those groupings so that you have some more flexibility when trying to select which Disney cruise ship would best for your family. So with that being said, let's get into which is the best Disney Cruise ship.

Disney Magic – The Original Disney Cruise Line Ships

The Disney Magic is the original ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet. The Disney Wonder is also part of the Disney Magic class. This is the smallest class of ships in the fleet averaging about 84,000 tons. The Disney Magic debuted in 1998 and was followed by the Disney Wonder in 1999.

While both of these ships are the oldest in the fleet, they've both had recent updates so neither of the ships feel outdated. But you will notice the small size in comparison to the Disney Dream and Disney Triton class. Percentage wise, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are around 20-30% smaller than the other classes.

For some guests, these are the best Disney Cruise line ships based on their itineraries!

Disney Magic Destination Based Itineraries

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Due to the ship's small size, the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are often used for itineraries that are more destination based where guests are getting off the ship more often like with European and Disney Alaskan cruises.

The small size is a plus for cruisers looking for a ship that is easy to navigate and does not require long winding hallways or long elevator waits. Sometimes bigger doesn't always mean better and you get a small intimate feel with the Disney Magic. As we wrote above, Disney is actually returning to this smaller ship scale for their future designs as it gives them far more flexibility of where to sail.

If you are picking an itinerary beyond the Bahamas, you are likely to end up on one of these two smaller ships which are used fro these more diverse itineraries. We loved the Disney Wonder sailing to Alaska.

Disney Magic Offers Best Tangled Experience

The Magic also has the plus of being home to the Tangled dinner show and the Tangled live Broadway show making it a win for Tangled fans! This is my favorite dining experiences on all of the Disney Cruise Line ships!

But if prioritizing Tangled isn't a big deal to you, each ship does offer it's own level of Broadway caliber shows! So regardless of which one you sail, you will see the best entertainment out there on any cruise line ship.

For Tangled fans, this dinner experience might make this one the best Disney Cruise ship.

Disney Dream- A Fan Favorite

The Disney Dream class includes the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy. This is a fan favorite amongst Disney Cruise Line fans for its spacious and easy to navigate design. The Disney Dream set sail in 2011 followed by the Disney Fantasy in 2012. The size of these ships are larger than the Disney Magic at about 129,000 tons. For many diehard Disney cruise fans, these are the best Disney Cruise ships!

The Disney Dream classes large size is very notable when compared to the Disney Magic including more space for all the offerings on the ship like the pool decks, adult only areas, and youth clubs. In fact, the teen club on the Disney Dream (called The Vibe) has its own private pool deck. The layout of the ship also segregates the adult lounges in their own space which makes the nightlife easy to access and also includes a late night buffet.

Disney Dream Adult Only Areas Are Best

The design of the adult only spaces is part of what makes the Disney Dream classes a fan favorite along with the abundance of offerings that just naturally come with a larger cruise ship.

This ship also offers one of the best Rainforest Room experiences on the Disney ships with an enclosed hot tub space that looks out over the water. You really can't beat the adult only areas on the Disney Dream class.

For adults looking for the best quality adult spaces, the Disney Dream ships might be the best Disney Cruise ship.

Disney Dream Lacks Interactive Dinner Show

While the adult only space and youth clubs shine, there is no interactive dining show on the Disney Dream class ships. The closest you get is Animator's Palette which includes screens featuring Crush that talks to guests.

You can find a Tangled dinner show on the Disney magic, a Princess and the Frog dinner show on the Disney Wonder, and a Frozen dinner show on the Disney Wish. So when it comes to your dinner experiences, they are a bit less immersive in this sense.

Dining is a big part of the Disney Cruise Line experience so this is a serious flaw to consider when picking the best Disney Cruise ship.

Disney Wish & Disney Treasure – The Newest Disney Cruise Ships

The Disney Wish and Disney Treasure are member of the Triton Class which is the newest in the lineup of Disney Cruise classes. The Disney Treasure which just debuted at the end of 2024. It's the biggest of all the classes but still pretty similar in size to the Disney Dream class at about 140,000 tons.

Surprisingly, this newest Disney class was met with a bit of controversy from regular cruisers since its design differed so much from the Disney Magic and Disney Dream classes. Most of the pushback seems to focus on two areas: the lack of midship elevators and the way the adult only areas are space out on the ship.

Disney Wish Ships Lack Midship Elevators

All the other class of ships offer midship elevators so the lack of midship elevators on the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure is pretty noticeable since you spend more time walking to the front or back of the ship to use them. This also does create long lines at peak times of day although we easily avoided that by just going up the stairs a floor to catch them.

We called out this specific issue and the other layout issues within our review of the Disney Treasure ship also. In that review we also discuss the lack of size of the central pools on this ship.

This is a common gripe with many Disney Cruise fans and one that we consistently hear the most about when it comes to considering which Disney Cruise ship is the best.

Impressive Grand Halls on Disney Treasure and Wish

But if the sacrifice of midship elevators was to create that impressive Grand Hall then I think it is worth it. The design and beauty on the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure are absolutely unmatched when compared to the other class of ships.

The design of the Great Hall is themed around the idea of enchantment and even includes a nightly show paying tribute to Cinderella.

Disney Wish and Treasure Offers Immersive Lounges

As for the adult only spaces, they are more spread out although the lounges on the Disney Wish are impressive especially with the cool Star Wars themed bar. But they are mainly located right off the Great Hall with the Princess & The Frog themed lounge being placed in the center of a walkway.

There are more lounges on another floor but that just further separates these adult spaces. So the critique here is warranted but the immersion of these lounges are so great that Disney likely did not want to hide them away off the beaten path.

Disney Treasure Offers Lounges for Theme Park Fans

On the flip side, the Disney Treasure offers the Haunted Manson themed lounge and Jungle Cruise themed lounge which both will be hits with theme park fans. In terms of themed lounges, the Triton class ships are really winning in this category.

For some guests, experiencing one of these lounges might be the top priority when picking the best Disney Cruise ship. These are truly immersive experiences that you can enjoy multiple times on your trip. During our last voyage on the Disney Wish, we visited the Hyperspace Lounge more times than I like to admit!

Newness of Disney Treasure and Disney Wish Ships Are Huge Advantage

Since the Disney Triton class is the newest, it does offer more than the other classes with that advantage of size and recency. The Disney Wish is the only class of ships to feature the first ever water slide attraction, the AquaMouse, which takes guests past immersive screens of Mickey and friends before the big slide goes around the ship deck.

Although both the Disney Magic and Disney Dream classes feature the AquaDuck water slide, which is a two person raft experience, but it is missing that element of interactive screens which qualify the AquaMouse as an attraction.

For guests that prioritize water play in their vacation on a cruise, then the Disney Treasure and Disney Wish should rank the best.

Which Disney Cruise Ship Is Best?

My gut instinct is to lean towards the Disney Triton class with the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure because the beauty and immersive elements on that class of ships are so breathtaking. Throw in the incredibly themed lounges and it's really hard to resist.

I spent so much time in the Grand Hall on the Disney Wish admiring the Cinderella inspired design and we visited the Hyperspace Lounge nearly every evening. As for the Disney Treasure, that immersion in the lounges is hard to top especially for Haunted Mansion fans

But this is something that's not necessarily linked to the layout itself which is often what really defines a ship class. As we've seen with the updates to the Disney Magic class, immersion and beautiful designs can be added later as potential upgrades to keep ships current. So when you're considering which Disney Cruise ship is best, layout should be a top consideration.

Disney Dream Is Best Disney Cruise Ship

So if we considering the superior Disney class in terms of layout and design, the Disney Dream class ranks as the best Disney Cruise ship. The layout of the adult only areas and youth clubs make logical sense plus they are both far more spacious on the Dream classes. The Rainforest Room on the Disney Dream classes is a win with the spectacular set up of the hot tubs with an ocean view.

As for navigation, the Disney Dream class is the easiest to get around with three elevator systems spaced throughout the ship making the ship itself feel quick to get around on. This comes in handy when you are doing back to back activities and need to get from one place to another in a hurry.

The biggest drawback on the Disney Dream classes is the lack of an immersive dinner show like the Disney Magic and Triton classes currently offer. But that's a small drawback when you compare the superior layout so based on my experience sailing on all these ship classes, the Disney Dream ranks as the best Disney Cruise ship!

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