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Disney Cruise Line’s “Disney The Tale of Moana” Show Coming to the Disney Treasure

Disney Cruise Line’s “Disney The Tale of Moana” Show Coming to the Disney Treasure

Disney Cruise Line‘s Broadway-style show Disney The Tale of Moana will debut exclusively at the Walt Disney Theatre aboard the new Disney Treasure in December 2024.

This innovative production—the first stage adaptation inspired by the 2016 Walt Disney Animation Studios film—will take audiences on a transformative journey across land and sea. Disney Cruise Line has shared that the classic coming-of-age tale will feature a set design and music inspired by elements of Pacific Islands culture.

Disney The Tale of Moana will debut aboard the new Disney Treasure in December 2024 (artist rendering courtesy of Disney Cruise Line)

DCL promises amazing puppetry in new Moana show

According to a press release, Disney Live Entertainment creative director of puppetry and articulation Jeff Conover collaborated with master puppet designer Michael Curry (whose works are seen in Disney’s Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The Lion King) to create the amazing puppetry that will bring some of the characters to life on stage.

The enormous Te Kā will be a puppet of a size never previously created by Disney Cruise Line. Te Kā will shed its fiery exterior and transform into the kind island goddess Te Fiti when Moana encounters Te Kā and restores Te Fiti’s heart.

“An Innocent Warrior” will set the scene

With a set design evoking the vibrant cultures of the Pacific Islands, Disney The Tale of Moana will open in the present day on the fictional island of Motunui. The narrator, Gramma Tala, will present her granddaughter in spirit, and guests will learn about the ocean’s selection of little Moana for an amazing trip to mend Te Fiti’s heart through lively dance and songs in a variety of languages, including Tuvaluan, Tokelauan, and Samoan.

Disney The Tale of Moana will feature dance and songs in a variety of languages, including Tuvaluan, Tokelauan, and Samoan (artist rendering courtesy of Disney Cruise Line)

Transforming The Walt Disney Theatre in “How Far I’ll Go”

The Walt Disney Theatre will change from the island of Motunui to the wide ocean in this memorable sequence, representing Moana’s journey from her home to the epic voyage she has been dreaming of her entire life.

As Moana finds renewed courage, twinkling stars will swirl overhead and a massive, brilliant manta ray will emerge and fly over the audience. Moana’s path to saving her people is illuminated by the manta ray, which represents Gramma Tala’s spirit.

During the “How Far I’ll Go” sequence, the Walt Disney Theatre will transform from the island of Motunui to the wide ocean (artist rendering courtesy of Disney Cruise Line)

The deleted “Warrior Face” song will be included in Disney The Tale of Moana

The Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned song “Warrior Face“, inspired by the Māori Haka, was deleted from the final cut of Disney’s Moana film.

However, Moana and Maui will perform the song “Warrior Face” for the first time in the stage production when the demigod teaches Moana how to overcome her anxieties before going into the Realm of the Monsters to battle Tamatoa. “Warrior Face” will be performed on stage along with beloved songs from the Grammy-winning soundtrack, including “You’re Welcome,” “We Know The Way,” and “How Far I’ll Go.”

The Tale of Moana will debut along with the Disney Treasure in December 2024

Disney The Tale of Moana will join the Walt Disney Theatre’s lineup of fan-favorite shows like Beauty and the Beast and Disney Seas the Adventure aboard the new Disney Treasure.

Disney Treasure—sister ship to Disney Wish that debuted in 2022—will embark on her maiden voyage on December 21, 2024. Departing from Port Canaveral, Florida, it will kick off with a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise, followed by a series of seven-night itineraries to both the Eastern and Western Caribbean from the same port.

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Are you and your family big fans of Disney’s Moana? Are you looking forward to seeing the characters come alive on stage aboard Disney Treasure? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Carrie Ann Karstunen