On Tuesday night, the City of Avalon City Council met to discuss the approval of a preferential access agreement with Disney Cruise Line for calls to Catalina Island off the coast of California. The council voted unanimously in favor of the agreement which will bring a minimum of 120,000 Disney Cruise passengers to Catalina Island per year through September 2030 with contractual langue for two additional five-year renewal options.
The city’s agreement with Disney Cruise Line includes the following terms:
- Initial term length of five years commencing upon execution of the Agreement and ending September 14, 2030, with two additional five-year renewal 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 Line proposes to remit a Cruise Line Fee equal to the City Wharfage Rate plus an additional Passenger Service Charge equal to twenty percent (20%) of the Wharfage Rate for each passenger on the manifest as consideration for preferential scheduling.
- This rate will be subject to annual adjustments equal to 2.5% per year.
- 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 plus the applicable “Passenger Service Charge” set forth in the Agreement.
The Preferential Access Agreement between the City of Avalon and Disney Cruise Line can be viewed in this PDF, which is an excerpt from the full agenda packet published by the city here.
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You can watch the full October 7, 2025 City Council Meeting via the City of Avalon’s YouTube Channel.
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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. Disney began visiting Catalina Island as a seasonal port of call in 2022.
Appeared first on: Disneycruiselineblog.com
