Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wonder will sail in Alaska in the summer of 2011. DCL president Karl Holz announced the new itinerary—a first for Disney—during a press conference held Friday at D23 EXPO, a Disney fan exhibition in Anaheim, California.

“Yes!!” cried a fan in the audience when Holz and Disney character Donald Duck unveiled a faux ice sculpture proclaiming the news, and thousands of paper snowflakes drifted down from the ceiling. Fans attending D23 outnumbered the journalists at the press conference, giving a raucous, festive atmosphere to an otherwise serious event. Beginning May 3, 2011, the Wonder will depart Vancouver, British Columbia, on the first of 18 roundtrip cruises that will visit Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan, Alaska. On each cruise, the ship will spend a day in Tracy Arm fjord, one of Alaska’s most scenic areas, and two days at sea will give passengers time to enjoy the ship’s popular onboard programs.

“Walt Disney visited Alaska, and in 1947, Seal Island became the subject of his first True Life Adventure documentary,” said Holz. “So it’s only fitting that we position a ship in Alaska.”

To give passengers some prime space for viewing Alaska’s breathtaking scenery, Disney will add a new space to the Wonder, called the Outlook Café, which will have floor-to-ceiling curved glass windows. A spiral staircase will connect the space to the existing Cove Café one deck below.

The Wonder will be based on the West Coast, beginning in 2011. Before and after the Alaska cruises, the ship will sail from Los Angeles on roundtrip Mexican Riviera cruises that include stops at Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas.

Disney will offer special shore excursions in Alaska, said Holz, noting some unique excursions planned for the Disney Magic’s Baltic cruises in 2010 and Mediterranean cruises in 2011. “When the Magic calls at St. Petersburg, Russia, for example, there will be a special “Princesses Ball” at Catherine Palace,” said Holz, “And when the ship calls in Italy, there’ll be an opportunity to learn Italian cooking in the kitchen of a Tuscan villa.

Holz also reminded the audience of Disney’s two new ships: the Disney Dream, which will debut in 2011, offering Caribbean cruises out of Port Canaveral, and the Disney Fantasy, scheduled to enter service in 2012. Both ships will be some 50 percent larger than the Magic and Wonder.

Castaway Club members who have completed five or more sailings are eligible to book the new Alaskan cruises early, beginning September 21 with general booking available September 28. Contact a AAA travel professional for more information.