We’re Going Below Deck on the Disney Destiny

“We are below the water line. The water is one deck higher. You’re walking underneath.”

This man, smiling mischievously at our wide-eyed reactions, is Johan Blokstra, Chief Engineer of the Disney Destiny. He knows everything there is to know about the dense, intricate network of pipes, wires, and machinery here in the bottom of the ship.

Johan recently invited Disney Parks Blog on our first-ever tour of the inner workings of a Disney Cruise Line ship. And here, below deck one, we’ll see how the entire Disney Cruise Line Wish class of ships work, and, well, how they work again to conserve every resource possible.

Johan moves fast, so we’d better get going.

Just minutes ago, our small group passed through an unassuming door on Deck 1. Like the famous-yet-mysterious utilidors in Magic Kingdom, this hidden thoroughfare branches off into specialized operational rooms and allows crew members to quickly get to guest areas of the ship.

It was just before dinner and there went a crew member headed up to Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King (I could tell by the costume). Right behind her, a group passed by in their Worlds of Marvel vests and pointed, in kind, toward my bright yellow safety vest. For a moment, I felt like one of the crew.

A place Johan calls “The heart of the ship,” the Engine Control Room is where every system on the Disney Destiny is monitored, optimized, and managed. Media could not take photos during this part of the tour but just look up there at my face after seeing the Engine Control Room; it was so cool. So, I’ll paint a picture for you with words.

In ride pre-show terms, which is how we measure all spaces here at Disney Parks Blog, the Engine Control Room was larger than the chess room on the Millennium Falcon, but smaller than the Xandarian teleport room where the Cosmic Generator goes missing.

I told you this had to be vague.

And like a cross between the Falcon’s cockpit controls and something straight outta Xandar, this room had analog buttons and switches alongside touchscreen displays and four big monitors lining the walls.

The deep hum and steady whooshes of machinery and ducting blanketed the room in white noise, occasionally cut with shrill beeps and bloops. A main console stretched across the middle of the room where crew members sat in chairs, able to roll within reach of phones, screens, and keyboards. It was, in short, what you might picture an Engine Control Room to look like. Was that helpful?

As our small group feasted our eyes, Johan pointed at a softly shifting web-like graph, “This is how we control our power plant, how we control our LNG [liquefied natural gas] plant … air conditioning, everything that’s going on in the ship is being controlled from here.”

Disney Cruise Line is focused on working to reduce emissions on the entire fleet of ships. And what Johan was showing us here was the ABB Ability OCTOPUS system, a high-tech energy efficiency coach for the ship. The system cuts down on fuel usage and emissions by giving the crew instant, easy-to-understand guidance on the most efficient way to run every part of the ship, from LED lighting to fan and pump speeds.

By continually striving to run in the most efficient way, Wish Class ships emit 20 percent less greenhouse gases than a similar-sized vessel without these innovations. Even the shape of the ship helps save fuel. The hydrodynamic hull and an optimized propulsion system save nearly 1,800 tons of fuel per ship annually.

On this warm day docked at Disney Castaway Cay, it was easy, even for me, to decipher a bit of the web. Johan explained the display, “Currently, one of the engines is running which is being converted into electricity. Propulsion is off right now … the chillers are going for the air conditioning, and we’ve got a lot of ventilation going on upstairs.” The energy-efficient HVAC systems aboard save nearly 700 tons of fuel per ship each year.

Johan told us that the system constantly monitors the vessel’s condition to ensure maximum reliability and efficiency. “There’s a lot of heat. The engines generate a lot of heat, so we also have [heat] losses. We use those losses as much as we can to recover that heat in our power generation.” All the operational data is securely shared with specialists ashore, who use it to analyze and improve the performance of every ship in the fleet. With these systems, Disney Cruise Line can make smarter decisions on energy efficiency.

And with that, Johan was ready to take us down below Deck 1 to see the engines themselves.

But first, a quick stop at the Recycling Room, a place that can be found on each Disney Cruise Line ship. Everything that you throw away on a Disney ship ends up in a room like this. Here, teams sort waste to process recyclable materials like glass, paper, cardboard, metal, and plastic. Big can crushers and cardboard balers prepare materials for recycling instead of ending up in a landfill. On each ship across the Disney fleet, up to 400 tons of materials are recycled annually.

Disney Cruise Line has eliminated nearly all single-use plastics from its ships and island destinations in The Bahamas, with the goal of sending zero waste to landfills.

That’s right, from bow to stern, teams on land and at sea across Disney Cruise Line have found ways to replace items once made from single-use plastics with more sustainable options. From reusable cutlery and cereal dispensers to all paper cups and lids for your morning to-go coffee, these simple swaps to everyday items can make a big difference.

So, the next time you grab a snack, use a shampoo dispenser, or even buy a souvenir on a Disney Cruise Line ship, you might notice something is missing. And it’s a whole lot of single-use plastic. Know that each time you reach for these familiar onboard items, you’re partnering with Disney Cruise Line to reuse, recycle, and re-think our impact.

Our group soon went down a series of tight, winding stairways. Many required a backward descent (ladder-style). This tempted the Multiverse to open up, and I eventually ended up on Deck 31(c). I don’t get it, either, but I’m here to see the engines, so let’s move on.

We emerged into a forest of pipes and beams stretched between ducted ceilings and metal floors. Gauges and lightning bolt stickers hailed something important to the trained eye. Bundles of multicolored wire ran like arteries and nerves all over the walls and ceilings toward glorious purpose.

We all popped in earplugs to control the din of innumerable machines, and I found myself continually refocusing my eyes to pick out proper hallways from mere gaps between Very Important Things. We pressed on to view the engines.

Lift the proverbial hood on the Disney Destiny and you’ll find five huge engines. Our group took a catwalk above Engine 1 for a better look. Johan told us that the engines don’t run all the time; they are carefully managed to meet the needs of the ship.

While each engine boasts a large amount of (sea?) horsepower, their use is constantly optimized in the Engine Control Room to run as efficiently as possible. Johan gestured and I realized the other behemoths were in view, lining yet another hall of wires and beams. He said, “Here are 3, 4, and 5. Number 1 is running by itself, and when we leave [Disney Castaway Cay] tonight, we’re going to start two more.”

Disney Cruise Line has invested in using new fuels across the fleet, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) onboard the Disney Destiny.

Johan explained that the LNG fuel is stored in a few huge tanks (each three decks tall) at a cryogenic temperature of 250 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. The fuel expands over 600 times as it warms into a gas, so it is stored at this cold temperature to be able to store the fuel in a smaller space (like, inside a ship).

Our group turned a corner, and Johan directed us toward a new chiller, “This takes all the hot water from the engine that we use for cooling. Part of it goes through this machine and there is a chemical reaction happening inside.” Johan explained that it turns the hot water into cold water, which goes back into the air conditioning system for the ship. “This is a new technology, and we’re really happy we have this machine onboard.”

And while the Cold Recovery Unit was out of sight, tucked amid twisting tubes, Johan explained that it uses gas from the engines to help chill the water. “That again helps us with the generation of the air conditioning upstairs. We use the energy to help us keep the ship cold as well,” Johan clearly loves this science, adding, “Pretty neat!”

And again, the air conditioning reuses water. The naturally occurring condensation produced by the air conditioning system is turned into fresh water for onboard laundry facilities, which saves each ship approximately 10 million gallons of water annually. Something to think about when you’re watching your clothes swirl around at Fairytale Fresh on Deck 8.

Up to 99% of the freshwater onboard a Wish class ship is produced onboard using energy-efficient reverse osmosis systems. To translate; the ship turns seawater into freshwater. Disney Cruise Line is committed to tracking every drop of water to maximize use and avoid having water delivered to the ship from ports of call.

So, there’s another type of water use you might be wondering about — everything that goes down the drain from showers, galleys, and yes, even toilets. When you flush, it’s all processed via the Advanced Wastewater Treatment system to be safe for marine life and can be released off the ship.

Johan had a purified water sample to display, “This is what we discharge overboard. It is clean.” Johan explained that the process is similar to a household septic tank, where oxygen and bacteria go to work to help clear the water to levels far exceeding international standards.

Soon it was time to climb back up each narrow stairway and emerge on Deck 1, where we thanked Johan for this exclusive look at the inner workings of a Wish class ship, and watched him disappear through that unassuming door to get the Disney Destiny ready to depart from Disney Castaway Cay.

Amid giant engines and remarkable technology, the most memorable part of our tour was Johan’s enthusiasm for the investment Disney has made to sustainability. He was excited to educate us about every remarkable system that reuses, recycles, and repurposes resources on the Disney Destiny. He upcycled us into engineering superfans.

And Johan was always looking ahead to the future of sustainability. As Johan said during our tour, surrounded by humming machines, fully comfortable with this dense, futuristic world far below the waterline, “Things are moving. Things are evolving. At the moment, this is the best way forward, but in a couple years’ time you’ll see changes.”

Learn more about Disney Cruise Line’s commitment to conserving our oceans via Disney Planet Possible, and The Walt Disney Company’s environmental goals at impact.disney.com.