After 20 months of construction, the Disney Dream cruise ship floated out of the enclosed building dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard Oct. 30, completing a major construction milestone. The ship was greeted by thousands of visitors lining the shore to see the newest Disney Cruise Line ship, which features the first water coaster at sea and other cruise industry firsts.
The “float out” is a special maritime event that celebrates the ship’s final stages of construction, where exteriors become complete and final touches are assigned to interiors. The celebration was punctuated with a fireworks display and the appearance of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. The Disney Dream is scheduled to sail its maiden voyage on January 26, 2011, from Port Canaveral, Fla.
The Disney Dream is the first of two new ships being built by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The Disney Fantasy is also currently in production and is scheduled to set sail on its maiden voyage on April 7, 2012.
The Disney Dream will remain alongside Meyer Werft’s outfitting pier in the shipyard harbor for about two weeks, while testing is completed on the ship’s stabilizers, rudders and other functional features, and work on the ship’s interior areas continues. The ship is scheduled to leave the Meyer Werft shipyard and be conveyed down the River Ems, the second weekend in November, where its destination is the North Sea at the port of Eemshaven, The Netherlands.