29.0°

Mickey Mouse is coming to the capital city.

Disney Cruise Line announced Friday its 1,750-passenger Disney Wonder is expected to make 18 visits to Juneau starting in 2011. Including crew, that could mean more than 45,000 new visitors to Juneau.

That's good news in the midst of a recession that's battered the tourism industry. Other cruise lines have announced four ships leaving the rotation, though this is the second new ship to be added.

That will help local tour operators who are struggling with the recession.

"Knowing that in 2011 we are going to have new ships back in the market is certainly going to be good for employment opportunities," said Lorene Palmer, CEO of the Juneau Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The additional visitors could mean $6 million in additional passenger spending that year and another $1 million in spending by the 945 crew members and the vessel, based on a recent analysis by the McDowell Group, a Juneau economic research firm.

Disney's public relations staff was unavailable for comment Friday, but said in a press release that the 964-foot Disney Wonder would be coming to Alaska from May 3 to Aug. 30 in 2011.

The cruise will depart from Vancouver, B.C., and will last seven days, also visiting Ketchikan and Skagway. Prices will begin at $939 per person, based on double occupancy of an inside stateroom.

As part of Disney's publicity campaign for the new Alaska cruises, the company photographed Disney icon Mickey Mouse in Juneau on Mark Morris' bright yellow Top Cub float plane.

"They told me they'd do something in the fall, and I wasn't allowed to talk about it until they did it," Morris said.

Disney's people were working with TEMSCO Helicopters to take pictures, but were looking for a distinctive plane for a shoot.

"They needed a plane with certain colors," said Morris, whom TEMSCO employees referred, saying, "we know a guy with a bright yellow plane, with yellow floats."

That's how Mickey Mouse wound up on a Juneau electrical engineer's plane.

Morris first saw the photograph Friday.

"There's Mickey standing on my plane," he marveled.

He hadn't seen them since the photo shoot.

"It was fun getting to see Mickey; he's always in character," he said.

The plane's distinctive yellow was the traditional color for the famous Piper Cub aircraft in the 1950s, and Morris chose it for his Top Cub with the support of his wife.

"My wife likes it because it sticks out really well from the background when I'm flying so other pilots can see me," Morris said.

Floats are traditionally gray, but Morris went yellow there as well, which he speculated may be what really attracted Disney.

Disney advertises its cruise line as "family friendly" and will be highlighting "breathtaking natural vistas, an abundance of wildlife and the rich history and customs of Alaska's Native culture."

Preparing for the Alaska sailings, Disney will remodel the Wonder with a brand-new venue called the Outlook Café. It's described as "sophisticated with contemporary art deco inspiration."

The Disney Wonder is currently sailing in southern California.

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, both issued press releases Friday praising Disney's decision to send one of its ships to Alaska for the first time.

Young called it a "show of confidence" in the state, and said the young families that are Disney's target market will love the natural wonders Alaska has to offer.

• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 523-2250 or patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.