Disney Believe lays its keel as a Disney Wish puzzle hunt teases the October 7 reveal

By entgrove · October 6, 2026

Disney Cruise Line has laid the keel of the Disney Believe, hull number 723 at Meyer Werft, with a Tinker Bell coin welded to the keel block for luck. The news opened a three-day scavenger hunt aboard the Disney Wish, where porthole puzzles led to new food and drinks for the Believe ahead of an October 7 livestream that will name its homeport and itineraries.

Disney Cruise Line has laid the keel of the Disney Believe, its next ship, and shared its hull number, 723, a figure Walt Disney Imagineering hides in every ship's design. The news opened a three-day scavenger hunt aboard the Disney Wish, where puzzles are hinting at what the Believe will offer before the ship is revealed in a livestream on October 7.

A three-day puzzle hunt aboard the Disney Wish

Disney Cruise Line is planting clues about its next ship around the Disney Wish for a hosted group of creators and media.

• Who is playing. Content creators and media sailing as a hosted group have to solve every mystery before the ship's official reveal.
• Kickoff in Luna. The hunt began on embarkation day with opening remarks in Luna, an entertainment venue on the Disney Wish.
• A surprise host. Trent Hitchcock, the Believe's opening cruise director, started the hunt; he will oversee entertainment, youth spaces and recreation on the new ship.
• Every clue counts. Hitchcock gave the group scavenger hunt tips and told them every task has a meaning and every clue is intentional.

Hull number 723 and a Tinker Bell coin for the keel

The first puzzle's answer was the Believe's hull number, and it opened the door to news from the shipyard.

• Three teams, one number. The opening group puzzle split the crowd into three teams, each decoding its challenge to find a single number.
• The answer. The numbers 7, 2 and 3 appeared on stage: 723 is the Disney Believe's hull designation at Meyer Werft, the German shipyard building the ship.
• Keel laid. Natacha Rafalski, president of Disney Signature Experiences, the Disney division that runs the cruise line, announced that the Believe's keel laying ceremony was held days earlier.
• A coin for luck. Following maritime custom, a specially crafted Tinker Bell coin was welded to the keel block to bring luck to the ship and its future crew.

Hitchcock explained why the number mattered before Rafalski took the stage with the shipyard news.

"You see, when cruise ships are built at a shipyard, they are assigned a hull number. Our friends at Walt Disney Imagineering have lots of fun hiding that number in the design as a little nod to every ship's beginning," Hitchcock said.

Hugo, Beatrice and four porthole puzzles

Two story-searching explorers launched the group's story hunt, then four porthole puzzles put Disney character trivia to work.

• Hugo and Beatrice. These Story Sea-kers, travelers and explorers known for searching out stories, joined just for this celebration to start the hunt for the Believe's tales.
• Porthole one. Its clues asked for the number of core emotions, which emotion is Anxiety and each emotion's color, a nod to Pixar's Inside Out films.
• Porthole two. A wishing well porthole led to a challenge to name each of Snow White's trusted companions.
• Porthole three. A porthole featuring Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio's conscience, led to a word scramble asking players to find five dreamers.
• Porthole four. Its hidden word led to a letter scramble that spelled Ariel, then a question about her hair color: red.

With that answer given to the group's Story Keeper, who handed out the next clue, players received a letter of The Little Mermaid songs to complete: "Under the Sea," "Kiss the Girl," "Part of Your World" and "Poor Unfortunate Souls." The letter then sent them to "the place where nightingales sing" to collect a reward.

New food and drinks planned for the Disney Believe

The scavenger hunt's first reward was an early look at food and drinks planned for the new ship.

• A piano bar finish. The nightingale clue pointed to Nightingale's, the piano bar on the Disney Wish, where teams traded their answers for the reward.
• One item per porthole. Each porthole mystery led to a different brand-new food or beverage item coming to the Believe.
• Three drinks pictured. Disney Cruise Line posted photos of three of the new beverages as clues, without naming them or giving prices.
• Clues inside clues. Disney left open whether each item hints at a venue, a show or a character on the Believe.

The reward came early: the Disney Parks Blog host for the hunt had not expected a first look at any Believe offering before Wednesday's livestream.

Homeport and itineraries revealed October 7 at 4:30 p.m. ET

The Believe's biggest open questions stay unanswered until Disney's reveal livestream on Wednesday afternoon.

• Four answers promised. The livestream will announce the Believe's homeport, itineraries, themed venues and entertainment, all hinted at during the scavenger hunt.
• Two more days. Day one ended after the porthole puzzles, with more clues coming aboard the Disney Wish before the reveal.

Our take. Anyone weighing a booking on a current Disney ship against waiting for the Believe should hold that decision until after Wednesday's stream: the homeport and itineraries announced then decide whether the new ship is even an option for a given trip.