Disney films come to life in new ways aboard the Disney Treasure

Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Disney Treasure, sets sail on its maiden voyage Saturday, and it’s already making Disney history.

Not only is it the first ship to take Disney parks-inspired experiences to the seas, but it’s also bringing beloved Disney film stories to life in new ways that honor the real people and behind them.

“We want to tell diverse stories. We want to tell engaging stories, but we also want to tell stories that you maybe didn't think we were going to tell,” Walt Disney Imagineering’s Jason Roberts, senior producer on the Treasure, told USA TODAY during a preview sailing.

Here are the firsts awaiting Disney film fans aboard the Treasure.

Plaza de Coco

Plaza de Coco is Disney’s first “Coco”-inspired theatrical dining experience. It’s built into the dinner rotation aboard the Disney Treasure and spread across two nights.

“We had a unique opportunity to take the story and pick it up three years later, and the beauty of that is that Miguel is a teenager, and we got to see how music has truly and intrinsically changed the Rivera family,” said Juan Cantú, show director for Disney Live Entertainment.

Guests begin to see that in the artwork leading to the dining area, which is built to look like a cozy public square. Both Hector and Imelda top a family tree on the wall, and Hector is back in the family portrait on a stunning, sprawling ofrenda, just like at the end of the film. Night one of the Mexican-inspired dining experience builds upon that togetherness.

“On night two, we are celebrating Dia de Muertos, and that's such an honor, as a Mexican American, to be part of telling that story in an authentic way, because it isn't just a story,” said Cantú. “This is part of a culture that is celebrated and honored in Mexico, and the beauty of culture is that it's meant to be shared.”

While dining on a mix of authentic and approachable flavors like mole, birria, and blistered poblano, guests can feast their eyes and ears on folklorico dancing, live mariachi performances, and of course songs by Miguel and his great great greatparents.

“As someone who pursued a career in musical theater, there weren't always stories that were written with roles for me,” Cantú said. He called it the honor of his life to be part of the solution, elevating authentic stories and voices, and sharing them in a way that connects with guests no matter where they’re from.

'Disney The Tale of Moana'

“It means a lot just because we don't ever see our stories on the big screen. We don't even see them on stage, rarely,” echoed Kaenaonālani Kekoa, who plays Moana in "Disney The Tale of Moana,” aboard the Treasure. It’s Disney’s first-ever stage production of the film. “Now, to be able to be that for some little brown girl or boy is a dream come true.”

Even though Moana is a fictional character and her island of Motonui isn’t real, the Polynesian people and places they represent are, so the show’s creators took great care in incorporating Polynesian voices from the very beginning.

Jenny Weinbloom, vice president of Live Entertainment for Disney Signature Experiences, said in addition to Broadway pros like director Connor Gallagher and puppet designer Michael Curry Design, they turned to cultural leaders from the Pacific Islands, like choreographer Peter Rockford Espiritu and music cultural consultant Aaron Salā.

“I would also be remiss not to acknowledge our unbelievable cast ... many of whom are from Hawaii and Pacific islands or the Hawaiian diaspora,” she said. “It's been so moving and powerful to have them deeply embedded in the development of this story, from our very first readings all the way through our workshops to today.”

Kekoa, who is Native Hawaiian, said she feels the weight of the responsibility in caring for her ancestors’ stories and passing them down, but that’s how she knows it’s so special, because she cares about it so much.

"The story of Moana and Moana herself, I mean, it's about a girl doing the bravest thing that she could do, leaving her Island, leaving her family, everything that was safe to her, her community. But she left because of them,” she said. “It wasn't because she thought that there was something bigger for herself, because that's not the Polynesian way. There's always ohana, that's who you do it for. You don't do it for yourself. You go and you come back, and you give back to those people. And that's what I want to do.”

She hopes guests in the audience feel invited into the village, too.

“That’s the Pacific style, yeah,” she said.

Scat Cat Lounge

Another first on the Disney Treasure is the elegant Scat Cat Lounge piano bar, the cruise line’s first venue inspired by “The Aristocats."

"Such a great film,” said Alyssa Markfort, senior show manager with Walt Disney Imagineering. “There's so much music in the film.”

Guests will see “Aristocats” cats in the lounge’s beautiful wallpaper, and if they’re lucky, hidden Roquefort, the friendly mouse from the film, instead of hidden Mickeys. Paw prints on the piano are double Easter eggs. They belong to Imagineers’ actual cats, including a memorial paw print from one of Markfort’s cats, who passed away.

Also, she said, "All those paw prints and the pattern is inspired by the dance that they do during ‘Ev’rybody Wants to be a Cat,’ We watched the film and made sure we matched their little paw prints to the dance that they do on the piano.”

There’s one set for each “Aristocats” kitten. The smallest represents Marie.

“The closer you look, the more details you start to see,” Markfort said. “And then it extends even out into the corridor. We have the poster on the wall that's the Thomas O'Malley house style, and actually, all of those cats are our team members’ cats.”

Walt Disney World fans should note the piano bar bears no relation to New Orleans-inspired Scat Cat’s Club at Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter.

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Jumbeaux’s Sweets

Guests will only find fictional animals in The Treasure’s “Zootopia”-inspired treat shop, Jumbeaux’s Sweets

“When you have a place like Jumbeaux’s, even though it's a small part of the film, it just makes perfect sense to bring it to life,” said Jay Abruzzese with Walt Disney Imagineering, who served as creative director for both Jumbeaux's Sweets and Plaza de Coco.

There’s a whole Zootopia land in Shanghai Disney Resort, but for many guests, this may be their first time stepping into the story.

“To see a life-size Nick and a life-size Judy and get your photo with them, that's really exciting,” he said.

Guests can’t miss the Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps statue front and center in the shop, but they’ll have to look and listen closer for other Easter eggs.

“When they walk in the space, you'll hear the music, you'll see Jumbeaux in the corner, keeping an eye out on all our crew,” Abruzzese said. “You’ll see the pawsicles. You'll see the lemmings. You'll see the elevator tube that the lemmings go in and out of, and then you also see they have their own little private entrance in the corner... There’s just the little hidden details that we love to bring to life that only Disney can do.”

The reporter on this story received access to the ship from Disney Cruise Line. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of reviews.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How the new Disney Treasure cruise ship is bringing movies to life