Mouse Extra

News hit the internet yesterday that the Disney Cruise Line will in fact permanently move its ship the Disney Wonder to Los Angeles.  The change will come in 2011, the year the first of Disney’s new ships will take to the seas.  Check out the article in the Los Angeles Times.

In the face of slumping travel and tourism spending, Disney Cruise Lines and Los Angeles city officials announced plans Monday to base a Disney cruise ship in the Port of Los Angeles beginning in 2011, which could create an estimated 2,600 jobs in the region.

The 964-foot-long Disney Wonder, currently based in Port Canaveral, Fla., will move to San Pedro to make room for two new cruise ships that will begin operating out of Florida in 2011 and 2012.

The fact that it will be Los Angeles should come as no surprise to anyone.  In the last few weeks, there was some talk Disney was considering San Diego for their ship’s home base.  But it always seemed like nothing more than a move to gain some leverage over Los Angeles in negotiations.

News on the repositioning of the Disney Cruise Line and the mission these ships will be given has been trickling out at a bit faster rate over the past few weeks.  What we don’t know about the Disney Wonder is where it will go.  The report says the Mexican Rivera is a likely destination, but will the mission also include summer itineraries to the coast of Alaska?  Or perhaps a trip out to Disney’s soon-to-be-built resort on Hawaii’s island of Oahu?  Time will tell.