The Disney Dream has reached a milestone in its development as it has now had its keel laying ceremony. This new ship is being built in an effort to greatly expand the Disney Cruise Line to ports all around the world.

The keel laying ceremony is performed when the first block of a new ship is lowered into the building dock. For good luck, a coin is attached under the keel. The new ship will continue to take shape through a block-construction process at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

The Disney Dream will join the Disney Cruise Line fleet in 2011. Shortly thereafter, in 2012, the Dream Fantasy will set sail. The total capacity of both ships more than doubles that of the current Disney Cruise Line fleet. The new ships weigh in at 128,000 tons and have 1250 wonderfully appointed staterooms onboard.

In order to create these wonderfully appointed new ships, Disney Cruise Line has called in the team at Walt Disney Imagineering to give the new ships creativity in imaginative storytelling. Along with superb shipbuilding from the Meyer Werft shipyard, they have created a truly distinctive design.

Each and every family member has something special waiting for them onboard a Disney cruise ship. The Disney Dream will be no different. It will boast spaces for everyone to enjoy.

Port Canaveral will serve as the homeport for both the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy. The new ships are larger than Disney’s current ships so expansion efforts are currently underway in Florida to accommodate these new vessels.

A new multi-level parking structure will be taking shape alongside an extended dock and larger terminal building in the near future. These expansions will serve the needs of cruisers by not only being more efficient, but also by having Disney’s storytelling nature woven throughout.

Keep an eye out for the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy as these new ships will be sailing to uncharted magic soon.