TV Review: New Episodes of "Behind The Attraction" Gives An Inside Look (Kind Of) at Origins of Disney Cruise Line and New Disney Destiny

Today we saw the debut of the third season of Behind the Attraction on Disney+, and it seems this season - complete with all new intro - is focused on Disney Cruise Line. As of this review, there are only two episodes available: one focused on the origins of Disney Cruise Line along with a secondary episode focused on the Disney Destiny. 

It seems like the template is there to have an episode for each ship, but I don’t see that happening - largely because each class is so similar. 

That said, I DO Think there should be an episode dedicated to the Disney Adventure and the backstory behind that ship - partially built by a different cruise line that sold it during financial collapse to Disney for (relatively speaking) pennies on the dollar. The season 3 setup also allows for more information on new ships, like say, the Disney Believe or even the new class that is coming a bit later down the pipeline. There are numerous references in the existing episodes to the fact that Disney Cruise Line is rapidly expanding. 

Working with what do have, though - let’s start with that first episode. The Disney Cruise Line Origin Story tackles exactly that - the origins of the Disney Cruise Line. We get to hear a lot from the people involved in the creation of the venture, including a lot from former Disney CEO Micheal Eisner himself. 

While there is plenty of archival footage of the creations of the first two ships (the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder), there is also a suspicious amount of promotional b-roll of the newer ships peppered throughout. Fortunately, the episode does largely stick to behind-the-scenes information, if even keeping it in the realm of a 101-style crash course on the topic. Most Disney Cruise Line aficionados already know the origins of the yellow life boats, fireworks at sea, and “Monica” blue. Still fun for first time viewers, but redundant for longtime fans of this particular division of the company, or anyone who has ever been on the free tours aboard the ships. 

Similar to other episodes of Behind the Attraction, we kind of blast through the actual topic at hand, and launch into how it evolved into newer iterations of the classics today. So, in the context of Disney Cruise Line - we start with the older ships and their design intents, and lurch forward through the evolution of the ships. It isn’t until the second episode that we really start to see that outside of a few creatives and those involved - most everyone interviewed for the episodes are involved with the new class of ships. Do you want to learn more about Castaway Cay and how that came into play? They acknowledge that it exists, but much of that story remains to be told - outside of mentioning that much of the island had to be cleaned up. But why, Paget Brewster and the interviewees? Why?

There was also some fun information that may be new to even hardcore Disney Cruisers and Pearl Castaway Club members - like the fact that there was no Cruise Director aboard the Disney Magic at first in an attempt to not be like other cruises, and a watch that was given to those involved with the development of the first ship, not to keep time but to countdown to the ship’s due date. 

Here’s where my biggest problem with this episode lies - overall I enjoy the episode. As a fan of Disney Cruise Line who has pored over this content, consuming books and listening to podcasts and watching specials, I am not particularly fond of how information is manipulated to play into what the Cruise Line has become/is becoming. For example, when listening to a podcast with Joe Lanzisero - who played a major creative role in the development of the cruise ships, eventually serving as the creative lead for the Dream and Fantasy’s development (who is also notably absent from this episode though he has appeared on previous entries of the series) - he explains that there were three types of restaurants envisioned for the innovative rotational dining. Casual, Entertainment, and Elegant. 

This was conveyed by (as originally debuted) Parrot Cay, Animator’s Palate, and Lumiere’s/Triton’s on the original ships, and by Enchanted Garden, Animator’s Palate, and Royal Palace/Royal Court on the Dream class of ships. Now, in this episode, they’re saying that the rotational dining plan was entertainment, tech-based, and elegant - reinforced by the arrival of Tangled and Tiana-based musical dining experiences that have since arrived on the original two ships, and validating the musical dining experiences (entertainment), Marvel dining (tech-based), and 1923 (Elegant) on the Wish class of ships. Those familiar know that the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy (as of press time) still retain their original restaurants and do not fall into the concept the way the new episode describes. 

So, in the episode when they say that “this is how we planned our rotational dining experience”- it clearly wasn’t for those in the know. Sure, it may have evolved into that, but now this episode reads as a form of twisted information to help bring what’s new into the foray instead of staying with the topic of the episode: “Disney Cruise Line Origin Story”

Perhaps a simple change in the title - “Disney Cruise Line Evolutions” would help ease the jarring juxtaposition of information for deep diving Disney Cruise Line fans. Or, bring up those changes in the next episode - “Disney Destiny.” Most people will consume both of these episodes back-to-back I presume, so it kind of flows that after we get into everything about the newest class of ships (Wish class), we also get to see more about the newest of the class with the Disney Destiny. 

We get a bit of an expansion on some of the ideas and concepts displayed by the first episode about the Wish class of ships, and how they apply to the Disney Destiny. This includes the theme of the ship, which is Heroes and Villains, and how the team came up with that idea. 

After we take a quick break to talk about Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point and its creation (which already has it’s own special somewhere on Disney+), we take a closer look at the different venues of the ship. Frankly, little “Behind the scenes” information is conveyed as opposed to a showcase of what the venues are. At a certain point it reads like those old Disney Vacation Planning Videos that would be delivered to your door after calling an 800 number, showing you what’s new at the parks (or on the cruise line) enticing you to come visit.

Let’s be clear. I understand that’s what this content boils down to - “come aboard our ships!” However, even the past episodes of the series (including the prior episode) showcase actual digestible fun facts and trivia, as opposed to “check out this floating drink that you can get at The Sanctum - a Doctor Strange-themed lounge aboard the Disney Destiny!”

Giving credit where credit is due, there is a strong emphasis on the creation of the Grand Hall aboard this ship, calling upon award-winning costume designer Ruth Carter, who worked on Black Panther, and the details she put into this space. The same can also be said of the design of Pride Lands - a restaurant on board themed to The Lion King. Though, it will have fans of behind-the-scenes Disney content asking out loud - “is Daniel Joseph the only person at Walt Disney Imagineering?”

While much of the first episode can be expanded upon with a supplemental viewing of The Imagineering Story with a deeper dive into the ORIGIN of Disney Cruise Line, it is still a fun watch with an entertaining way of presenting the information at hand - even if most of the viewers tuning in already know it, with the episode being (in this author’s opinion) mis-titled as we jump into a longer story. The second episode, focused on a single ship, is something I wanted to enjoy more, especially having been lucky enough to have already been on a voyage aboard it. However, it fell short with the information-style promised by Behind The Attraction, instead playing out more like a more in-your-face 46-minute commercial. The first episode I’d give 3 out of 5 faux funnels on the ship, the second I’d give 2.5 Hercules Hydra Heads out of 5. 

You can catch both episodes of Behind The Attraction streaming now on Disney+.