Disney Ship Color

[cyberfilly]

Anyone know why Disney ships are black (or are they dark blue) and most other cruise ships are white? Just a random curiosity question!

 

[plutojudy]

It is dark blue, looks like black. Why not white? Because the ship is done in Mickey's colors.

 

[misseulalie]

If I'm not mistaken, they wanted it to look like the old liners on the late
1800's and early 1900's. Plus, the Mickey colors as well. Isn't that why they petitioned the Coast Guard to let them have yellow life boats instead of orange?

 

[Amlee]

If I'm not mistaken, they wanted it to look like the old liners on the late
1800's and early 1900's. Plus, the Mickey colors as well. Isn't that why they petitioned the Coast Guard to let them have yellow life boats instead of orange?

Yup!

 

[bicker]

Well, white is a Mickey color -- you can see it prominently used on the upper decks of the ships. misseulalie hit the nail on the head. The darker color evokes images of old ocean liners.

 

[eva]

Well, you learn something new everyday. I could have sworn the special that they had on the Travel Channel said that the ships are black, white, red, and golden yellow to match the colors of Mickey Mouse. I didn't realize the black was actually dark blue. Guess I need to pay better attention to things.

 

[cyberfilly]

What's dark blue about Mickey Mouse?

 

[Amlee]

I always thought it was black also. Never heard of the ships being dark blue.

 

[beachblanket]

If I'm not mistaken, they wanted it to look like the old liners on the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Actually, the dark hull and general oustide design of the Magic and Wonder are an homage to the golden age of the transatlantic liners, which was much later (1930s-early 1960s).

All of the great ladies of that era - the Rex (1932) of the Italian Line, Cunard's Queen Mary (1936), the Normandie (1932) and France (1962) of the French Line, and the S.S. United States (1952) all had black hulls with a white superstructure and (generally) dark stacks. These are the sorts of liners Disney wanted there ships to look like.

That stated, having had the very fortunate opportunity to sail on the S.S. France as a child, I can state that while I appreciate Disney's "homage" to the great liners, it really doesn't go much beyond the exterior paint job. The interiors of the Magic and Wonder -- and for that matter any current cruise ship -- don't even approach the quality of finish and detail one found on the real classic liners.

Or put another way, yes, they don't build 'em the way they used to.

 

[tiggr33]

Isn't it is maritime bad luck to paint a hull black?

 

[Amlee]

Each ship was built at the legendary Fincantieri Shipyards in Italy.
The bow of the Disney Magic® was constructed in Ancona; the stern built 100 miles from there, in Marghera. The two sections were then welded together!
Gross tonnage is 83,000.
The ships' registry is The Bahamas.
The overall length is 964 feet; the maximum width is 106 feet.
The ship's draft is 25.3 feet.
The ship's cruising speed is 21.5 knots; its maximum speed is 24 knots.
Each ship has 875 staterooms and a crew size of 945.
73% of the staterooms have outside views; 60% of those have private verandahs.
The home port is Port Canaveral, Florida.
There are approximately 1,850 telephones aboard each ship.
The total portable water storage capability is 82,000 gallons.
The total diesel fuel storage capability is 20,000 gallons.
The weight of the anchor is 14 tons.
The weight of the propeller is 18.8 tons.
The horsepower of one engine equals 15.448. The horsepower of all five engines equals 77.243.
Each ship can distill 1,200 tons of fresh water each day from sea water.
The water used to operate the laundry is water from the atmosphere, collected as it drains from the air-conditioning system. Specifically, 280 tons a day are retrieved; the laundry uses 220 tons.
The colors of each ship are Mickey's colors: red, yellow and dark blue.
Sorcerer Mickey stands at the bow of the Disney Magic®; the bow of the Disney Wonder® has Steamboat Willie.
The stern of the Disney Magic has Goofy painting, while Donald Duck and his nephew Huey are painting the stern of the Disney Wonder.
The interior of the Disney Magic is art deco, characterized by slender forms, straight lines and a sleekness expressive of modern technology.
The interior of the Disney Wonder is art nouveau, characterized by an "art from nature" feel, with whimsical, swirling wave designs.
The statues in the lobby of each ship are different: Helmsman Mickey in the Disney Magic and Ariel from Disney's "The Little Mermaid" in the Disney Wonder



source Disneycruiseline.com

Learned something new today!

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

On the Panama Canal crossing cruise in May '05, Tom McAlpin was onboard and did an amazing presentation about the ships. We were told that Disney did not like the look of the ships painted black and while they were discussing colors a female Disney employee walked into the meeting wearing a dark blue suit that almost looked black. Disney "colour-matched" her suit and they have always referred to the blue colour by her name...for some reason I think it's Natalie Blue....or something like that.

 

[eva]

I did go to the DCL website and you guys are right. The ship is dark blue. It does say "The colors of each ship are Mickey's colors: red, yellow and dark blue." Guess I always though Mickey was black and white (tan, peach, whatever), with black jacket, red pants, white shirt and gloves, and yellow shoes and bowtie. Like I said, my attention for detail must be going.

 

[mmouse37]

To the poster who thought they heard on the Travel Channel special that the hull was black...you are not going crazy...they do indeed say the hull is black in that special....BUT THEY ARE WRONG....actually quite a few things they say in that special are wrong or now just outdated.

But...that being said the hull is a very dark blue that is supposed to look very much like black to match Mickey's colors....there was a special reason they used that dark blue...one of the officers explained it to us one cruise. Not sure if was superstition or some other reason but they did match the color of a co-worker's suit (I heard that story as well).

Something keeps telling me it has to do with the dark blue being more reflective on the water or something.....

but it is supposed to represent Mickey's colors.

 

[eva]

Thanks, MJ! Glad to know I am not losing my mind.

 

[mmouse37]

Thanks, MJ! Glad to know I am not losing my mind.

You are welcome!!!

 

[KimberlyC]

Actually, the dark hull and general oustide design of the Magic and Wonder are an homage to the golden age of the transatlantic liners, which was much later (1930s-early 1960s).

All of the great ladies of that era - the Rex (1932) of the Italian Line, Cunard's Queen Mary (1936), the Normandie (1932) and France (1962) of the French Line, and the S.S. United States (1952) all had black hulls with a white superstructure and (generally) dark stacks. These are the sorts of liners Disney wanted there ships to look like.

That stated, having had the very fortunate opportunity to sail on the S.S. France as a child, I can state that while I appreciate Disney's "homage" to the great liners, it really doesn't go much beyond the exterior paint job. The interiors of the Magic and Wonder -- and for that matter any current cruise ship -- don't even approach the quality of finish and detail one found on the real classic liners.

Or put another way, yes, they don't build 'em the way they used to.

Do you know what the status of the SS France (aka Norway) is? Last I heard it was iffy whether she would be saved or scraped. I sailed her too, 15 years ago as the Norway.

 

[Tink rules]

On the Panama Canal crossing cruise in May '05, Tom McAlpin was onboard and did an amazing presentation about the ships. We were told that Disney did not like the look of the ships painted black and while they were discussing colors a female Disney employee walked into the meeting wearing a dark blue suit that almost looked black. Disney "colour-matched" her suit and they have always referred to the blue colour by her name...for some reason I think it's Natalie Blue....or something like that.

Maybe black isn't an easy color to paint or wouldn't come out looking as good as the dark blue...

And if Tom McAlpin was on board...guess who must have been staying in the WD suite?????

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

Maybe black isn't an easy color to paint or wouldn't come out looking as good as the dark blue...

And if Tom McAlpin was on board...guess who must have been staying in the WD suite?????

Nope...Tom wasn't in the WD Suite....the owners of All Seasons Travel were...they were nice enough to open their suite to the Dis'ers onboard to have a tour.

 

[dpuck1998]

Or put another way, yes, they don't build 'em the way they used to.

Thank goodness..one titanic is enough