On Tuesday, February 18, 2025 the City of Avalon city council met for a council meeting which included an agenda item for preferential anchorage access for Disney Cruise Line for regular calls to Catalina Island, California beginning in Fall 2027.

In a unanimous vote, the Avalon City Council authorized the city manager to negotiate an agreement with Disney Cruise Line for preferential access to Avalon’s anchorage outside the harbor. However, the February 18th vote was solely to authorize the city manager to negotiate the “term sheet” included below, which will eventually lead to a formal port agreement during an upcoming council meeting. A port agreement would be the definitive agreement between the city of Avalon and Disney Cruise Line that would ultimately go into effect on September 2027.

The full city council meeting is available here with the specific discussion regarding the agenda item with Disney Cruise Line presented below.

According to City Manager David Maistros, Disney Cruise Line expressed its desire to enter into a port agreement establishing, among other terms, an allowance for defined scheduling dates in the City of Avalon. Currently, there is no written policy regarding the scheduling of cruise ship anchorage requests. In order to secure access to preferred dates, the City of Avalon and Disney Cruise Lines would establish a port agreement.

At this time, Disney Cruise Line has two vessels on the West Coast (as written in the agenda item) – Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. Both vessels have a maximum passenger capacity of approximately 2,700 passengers. At this time, there are no plans to bring another class of ship to Catalina Island. Though these vessels are approximately half the capacity of some of the cruise ships that currently visit Avalon on Tuesdays, the proposed increased wharfage rate is anticipated to offset any potential loss of wharfage revenue associated with diminished passenger counts. Additionally, smaller-capacity ships may provide an overall more enjoyable experience for passengers as well as other Island visitors and residents. The reduced crowds will result in less congestion, greater activity opportunities, and quicker queuing at the Cabrillo Mole.

The proposed Term Sheet establishes a requirement for Disney Cruise Lines to submit a berthing schedule eighteen (18) months prior to the start of either season— Peak (September 15th – May 15th) or Summer (May 16th – September 14th). If any Tuesday and/or Saturday are not booked by Disney Cruise Lines within 18 months prior to the start of the season in question, the date may be reserved by another cruise line.

More specifically, Disney Cruise Line would hold preferential rights for every Saturday and Tuesday during peak season and preferential rights for every Tuesday during the summer season. In the agreement, Disney Cruise Line would guarantee a minimum number of 120,000 passenger visits per year to the city. 120,000 divided by the maximum passenger capacity of approximately 2,700 passengers would suggest 44 ship calls per year to Catalina Island, California.

In addition to increased wharfage and a guaranteed minimum passenger count, Disney Cruise Lines also has offered to work collaboratively with the City to identify areas of opportunity or need and provide support and expertise to assist the City in developing strategies regarding design and engineering services, industrial engineering services, quality guest service culture and processes training, and operational efficiency analysis. The exact scope of services to be provided will be formally memorialized either in the final port agreement or by separate agreement(s) to be approved by the City Council.

The above details are available in the City of Avalon 278 page meeting agenda, with an excerpt below for the specific Disney Cruise Line preferential anchorage access agenda item.

A proposed port agreement would include the following terms as set forth in a formal Term Sheet:

• Initial term length of five years, with two additional five-year options.
• Preferential scheduling for Saturdays and Tuesdays during the “Peak Season (September 15 to May 15).
• Preferential scheduling for Tuesdays during the “Summer Season” (May 16 to September 14).
• Disney Cruise Lines shall guarantee a minimum of 120,000 passenger visits to the City per year.
  • In the event of a shortfall in any given year, Disney Cruise Lines will remit payment at the current wharfage rate.
• Disney Cruise Lines proposes to remit the current wharfage rate ($7.50 per person for each passenger on the manifest) plus an additional $1.50 per person as consideration for preferential scheduling.
  • This rate will be subject to annual adjustments equal to 2.5% per year.

We will continue to follow this story and report back when the port agreement is on the agenda. With 120,000 committed passenger calls per year, a finalized port agreement would strongly suggest Disney Cruise Line will homeport the Disney Magic or Disney Wonder on the West Coast for a significant portion of the year, if not all year starting in late 2027.