We all know Hercules, but Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship – the Disney Destiny – is putting a spin on the classic film and story in more than a few ways. Disney has staged theatrical versions of its animated films for years, but Hercules aboard the Destiny isn’t just another musical and separates itself from more recent adaptations.
One way is that it’s a showcase for some of the most advanced projection, tracking, and lighting technology currently being used in live entertainment, and it also uses exoskeletons – more on those at a later date, though. One moment in particular, during Meg’s “I Won’t Say (I’m In Love),” pushes that tech further than you would ever expect inside a cruise-ship theater.
During the number, the five Muses stand elevated behind Meg, their white gowns wrapped in bold, animated stripes of light. In one of our exclusive images, the projection lands perfectly across their bodies and the columns beneath them. Yet Meg, who is standing directly in the projection’s path, remains completely untouched.
There’s no spill on her dress, no faint color halo around her, nothing that suggests a projector is firing straight past her torso. To the audience, it looks as though Meg is being “cut out” of the projection in real time – something you’d expect to see in film VFX, not on a moving live performer on a ship that’s moving.
The Walt Disney Theatre accomplishes this using a combination of real-time LiDAR spatial tracking, multi-projector pixel masking, and theatrical lighting. Cameras and sensors around the theater constantly generate a 3D model of the stage environment. As performers move, the system tracks them and delivers that data to the projectors at the back of the house.
It’s essentially live occlusion masking, the same principle used in mixed-reality stages and virtual production, but executed with theatrical projectors in front of an audience of hundreds. And yes, the theater’s lighting – which Disney custom-built – helps a lot with the effect.
Disney Live Entertainment Producer Arin Dale explained the foundation of the effect: “We have cameras all around the Walt Disney Theatre that allow us to project onto the walls but also onto the scenic pieces. We have LiDAR technology… to really create that immersive environment and that really fun moment for our Muses.”
Of course, an effect like this is only as good as the surfaces it hits. The Muses were costumed in bright white fabric that reacts predictably to projected light.
Dale recalled how early the team was testing the concept: “Our video designer was like, ‘Hey, I have this idea.’ And the directors loved it. We tested it in L.A.… We were workshopping it, asking ‘Is this going to work?’ And it was like, ‘Yep, that’s what we’re doing.’” She added that the very first test garments were “makeshift costumes that we cut by hand the night before.”
The Destiny, like the other Wish-class ships before it, was built with this level of projection technology in mind. Walls fit for environmental projection, scrim-based illusions, and dynamically mapped scenic elements have become signature tools for Disney Cruise Line’s newest productions.
Dale noted that “Moana was probably the first one that we used [this technology] in a really significant way. And then I would say Hercules, we’ve taken it and bumped it up even more. You learn new things every show.”
It’s a perfect example of how we can blend technology and storytelling to bring joy and wonder to the audience.
Arin Dale, Disney Live Entertainment Producer
But the scene isn’t just a tech flex. It’s a storytelling choice. The Muses appear mythic and stylized, their glowing projections turning them into something larger than life. Meg stays grounded, literally outside the projection’s light – a human in contrast to the goddesses advising her.
Dale said it best: “The scene adds a whole new immersive layer… and gives us a way to tell Meg’s story that we’ve never tried before. It’s a perfect example of how we can blend technology and storytelling to bring joy and wonder to the audience.”
It also works because the production itself is so strong. Much like the experience with the Haunted Mansion Parlor on the Disney Treasure – and even the new Olaf robot that will soon roam the parks – the tech here elevates the immersion and complements the storytelling rather than competing with it.
Hercules on the Disney Destiny is a modern retelling that takes classic songs and spices them up with new arrangements, pacing, and a tremendous cast that brings Hercules, Meg, Phil, Hades, Pain, and Panic to life in fresh, engaging, and genuinely entertaining ways.
It did make me want to watch the classic on Disney+, one of the best streaming services, again.
Beyond the effects themselves, the Walt Disney Theatre feels closer to a modern Broadway house than a cruise-ship venue. It’s equipped with technology designed to immerse audiences in the orchestra or up on the balcony. The Dolby Atmos soundscape is excellent, the projection system can extend imagery beyond the stage and onto the surrounding walls, and the theatrical lighting and tracked projections create a surprisingly expansive canvas.
Hercules was a standout of the voyage – tightly paced, thoughtfully staged, and supported by a cast that delivers sharp, coordinated movement even while performing on a ship that’s always in motion.
Specifically with Meg’s “I Won’t Say (I’m In Love),” this effect puts her into perspective with the Muses and adds immersion to the dialogue as she moves in front of them and eventually into the audience with a single spotlight – all while the Muses continue embracing the projection mapped across the scenic elements.
And that’s exactly what the effect does. It disappears into the moment, supporting the narrative while relying on a level of real-time technical precision rarely seen in live theater. If this is where cruise-ship entertainment is heading, the next era of stage technology is going to be far more ambitious – and far more seamless – than most audiences realize.
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jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol)
