How Disney created a ‘Coco’ sequel on a cruise ship | The making of Plaza de Coco on the Disney Treasure
Plaza de Coco is on the Disney Treasure cruise ship; hear from artists who created the restaurant and Pixar filmmakers who made the movie.
Plaza de Coco is a multi-night dinner experience onboard the Disney Treasure cruise ship that continues the story of Pixar’s “Coco” and takes place three years after the movie. During an exclusive media panel, we heard from artists who created the restaurant and Pixar filmmakers who made the original film. This is an oral history of Plaza de Coco.
Danny Handke, senior creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering:
We were first brainstorming the Wish-class ships [2022’s Disney Wish, 2024’s Disney Treasure, and 2025’s Disney Destiny] and what kind of live entertainment restaurants we wanted to do across the three different ships. … When we thought “Treasure,” the idea of family as treasure … that works so well for the story of “Coco.”
We partnered with Pixar very early in the process. We worked with the filmmakers. We worked with the art directors to make the space as authentic as possible, including using some of Pixar’s cultural consultants.
We’re very proud of the interior design. You actually get to walk through the Rivera compound … You go through the cobbler shop, then you go through the Héctor memorial to the ofrenda room and then you’ll be entering the mariachi plaza from there.
Carlos Jimenez, manager of production resources at Disney Signature Experiences:
At the heart of Mexican culture is food, family, and music — and, of course, fun. … Family is everything, and we want to make sure we’re telling that amazing story in this restaurant.
Daniel Cowan, senior manager of dining standards and service excellence at Disney Cruise Line:
Rotational dining is a very unique concept to Disney Cruise Line where our guests rotate to a different dining room every single night and your dedicated service team follow you and your family. They get to know your likes, your preferences, and really build a great connection through the cruise.
On the Disney Treasure, there are two nights, two distinct experiences, in each dining room. That is going to be fantastic for the guests.
Juan Cantu, show director at Disney Live Entertainment:
Because this is a seven-night cruise, you’re going to come to eat at Plaza de Coco twice during your cruise. On the first night, it’s all about familia. Even the lighting in here is different. It just feels like you’re in the plaza. You’re in Mexico. The lights are amber. We’re focused on family, and we want our families — our guests — to spend time with their loved ones right there at the table.
Mario Trujillo, cultural consultant:
It was such an honor to be invited to be part of this project as the culture consultant to really focus and hone in on the authenticity of the musicals that we’re bringing on board, the performers, and respecting the culture of the musicians, the mariachi, as many of you have probably seen throughout restaurants and performances. It was such a critical part to find authentic musicians that played the instruments.
Juan Cantu, show director at Disney Live Entertainment:
Night 1 really just focuses on family. Because our story starts three years after the film, we wanted to let that sink in for our guests. It really is about seeing Miguel, meeting Abuelita Elena a few years later, where she’s allowed music into her life. Remember, she’s the one who broke his guitarra. I knew what that felt like. My parents never broke my guitar, but I certainly felt the way that Miguel felt in that moment [as I was] wanting to be an actor and a singer. We’re seeing how generational trauma has been healed through music, and that’s really, really powerful. I think everyone can identify with ways that their families heal through different means, but music can be a very powerful way to do that. I’m glad that we celebrate that. It’s a simple night on Night 1.
Grace Huertas, culinary standards manager at Disney Cruise Line:
My favorite on the menu is the spicy chocolate tart. It was important for us to incorporate chocolate in the menu because the history of chocolate started in Mexico with the Mayans and the Aztecs. We made sure that we got authentic Mexican chocolate. We imported it in. We have some chilis in there just to give it a little kick — not too much, just so that everybody can enjoy it.
Juan Cantu, show director at Disney Live Entertainment:
Night 2, we’re going to turn the dial up on our theatricality and actually celebrate Dia de Muertos. Of course, we will have Mamá Imelda and Héctor show up through a magical strum of Miguel’s guitar and really just celebrate that together. You’ll be eating the foods of Mexico, hearing the sounds, celebrating with the lovely characters from “Coco,” and authentic Mexican culture.
Mario Trujillo, cultural consultant:
There are so may different emotions I believe you’ll feel — all great emotions. Dia de Muertos is not a somber occasion. It’s a celebration of life. It’s a celebration of the future. It’s a celebration of the past, of those we loved. When it’s deeply rooted in culture and tradition, I think that’s the magic.
Anthony Gonzalez, voice of Miguel in “Coco” (2017):
It definitely feels like a dream. It’s almost as if I was in the “Coco” world itself. It’s so special to see and celebrate the amazing culture and tradition and music and food.
Lee Unkrich, director of “Coco” (2017):
It’s really magical. I spent six years making “Coco.” During that time, I went on a lot of trips down to Mexico, to different parts of Mexico, and spent a lot of time with very beautiful families all over Mexico. A lot of the look of the movie, the design, very specific details, came directly from families who I spent time with, who we were embedded with.
By extension, this space, Plaza de Coco, reflects that. I look around this room and I see little details that I know are from very specific research trips that we went on to Mexico. In the same way that “Coco” was an opportunity for us to bring to the world a beautiful culture that maybe a lot of people didn’t know about, or didn’t understand completely, now with Plaza de Coco, there’s an opportunity for guests from all over the world to be able to learn a bit more about Mexican culture and certainly just being enveloped in the beauty of it.
The thing that I love is the beautiful ofrenda you see out front. [During the making of the movie], we spent a lot of time creating the Rivera family’s ofrenda in their home and we based it, again, upon elements of the most beautiful ofrendas that we saw in rural Mexico. We would be with families that were very, very poor, yet they give over whole rooms in their homes to these beautiful ofrendas.
We wanted to capture that beauty, and it was crazy for me to walk in and see that ofrenda that the Disney team put together because it looks so much like the one in the film, but I’ve only ever experienced that ofrenda digitally. It’s always just been in the computer while making the film. It was really amazing for me to be able to walk up to it and touch it and just see the actual framed photos and everything. It was very surreal.
Anthony Gonzalez, voice of Miguel in “Coco” (2017):
It represents the love that Miguel has for all his family and represents the love that we have for our ancestors. To see Miguel’s family there and Mama Coco in the middle — it was a very special moment to see that in real life.
Jay Abruzzese, creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering:
You can’t help but walk into this space and feel that hush; you sort of get emotional, and you see the photos. You see the marigolds. Every part of it, every little element — the more you look at it, the more beautiful it is and the more emotional reaction you have to it. … I’ve been with The Walt Disney Company for 25 years, and I don’t think I’ve ever been on a project as powerful as this one.
Juan Cantu, show director at Disney Live Entertainment:
Both of my parents are Mexican immigrants and have passed, so what I love about this and what’s been the most special is that I get to honor them by doing my work. It just doesn’t get better than that. … I celebrate them every night when I see the show. There’s a beautiful moment where you will be invited to remember a loved one. … That’s the beauty of this. This whole experience. They were part of me going to Mexico to hold auditions for our actors. And then every creative decision along the way, I felt them whispering in my ear — and not just them. All of our ancestors we feel present in this space when we perform this show. It’s a very heartfelt, meaningful experience.
… I never really had the chance to tell a Mexican story when I was pursuing my career. But then all these years later, the fact that my life led to this moment of being part of the creation of this story that we’re presenting here on this stage — taking all the beautiful work that Lee created in the film and then continuing it, but then reaching deep into my family history and making sure that we were representing that in an accurate and authentic way — is the most important work I’ll probably ever do in my career.
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