These Pinays are making magic on the happiest ship on Earth
A lot of Disney’s magic depends on storytelling. Many storytellers were tapped for the grand reveal of the upcoming cruise ship, Disney Adventure, in Singapore. Two out of the 13 presenters that day were Asians, and both of them were Filipinos.
Isabel Caruncho started her career at Disney when she was a student. She joined the Disney Imaginations competition, hosted by Hong Kong Disneyland, along with her friends.
“It’s open to university students and creatives from fields such as architecture, illustration, interior design. You’re basically tasked to design something based on the theme of that competition,” she told Lifestyle. Prompts are provided by the organizers, and participants can work their way around it.
“For example, you could design something that would tell people about life and culture in outer space. So it really gets people’s creative juices flowing,” she said.
During her year, they were tasked with designing a new land for the park. She enjoyed creating the hypothetical scenario with her team. They submitted their take on Neverland from “Peter Pan,” following Peter and Tinker Bell’s adventures. The team won first place, earning them several prizes, the most important being an internship at Hong Kong Disneyland.
It was an opportunity that allowed her to work with local Imagineers, getting a taste of what they do. Imagineers are Disney’s creative arm, in charge of designing hotels, parks, resorts and cruise ships worldwide.
“It was a really amazing experience. Afterwards, I kind of left to do other things, but then came back to Disney because it’s such a creative space. You really get to express your skills, especially if you are a fan of Disney and all these creative stories,” she said.
Interior designer
Caruncho received her degree in Visual Communications from the University of the Philippines before studying interior design at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Hong Kong. This was also when she joined the Imaginations competition.
She worked as an interior designer at another company for a year before being accepted at Hong Kong Disneyland, where she designed the interiors of several spaces, including the Adventurers Suite at Disney Explorers Lodge. She is currently a senior interior designer working on Disney Adventure, the cruise ship which will have its maiden voyage from Singapore on Dec. 15, 2025.
Caruncho moved to Wismar, Germany, for almost a year to work on the project. “I was there to be what we call boots on the ground. I’m making sure that our creative intent is something that is achieved when we’re actually building the ship. It’s going out and looking at materials and just saying, ‘You know what, this is what we’re looking for. This is the magic of Disney, and this is what’s going to represent all our creative ideas,’” she said.
Because her creativity is spread throughout the ship, it’s hard for her to pick a favorite area. But eventually, she named Town Square, where the Royals can be found.
“I also love eating, and I think Town Square is going to have the most fabulous and magical immersive dining that guests will ever see, especially if they are fans of ‘Tangled’ and ‘Frozen,’” she said.
She said the experience has been a lot of fun and different from what she’s used to. “I was born and raised in Manila. So to go somewhere that’s a little quieter, somewhere in the countryside, I think it’s a nice change of pace. Because you also learn to slow down a little bit. Of course, you’re working hard, you’re making sure everything’s good, but you also get the chance to take a bit of time for yourself and enjoy nature,” she said.
Her favorite animation growing up was “Hercules.” She finds the art style to be very cool, and it was her first time encountering a heroine like Megara. “She’s very sassy and she doesn’t need to be saved. And I think that’s very inspiring.”
She encourages those who want to follow in her footsteps to do something they’re passionate about because it will show in their work.
“Everybody who has touched this ship, really, is seeing the magic that’s coming out of it. We love it and we hope everybody else will, too,” she said.
Senior facility designer
Stephanie Jazmines is a senior facility designer for Town Square. Her parents emigrated from the Philippines, so she grew up in Glendale, Los Angeles. She humorously shared that she likes to tell people that she lives right across from the Disney Studio.
“My way into Imagineering was because I was in high school and I was looking for art classes, and there was a program called the Ryman Arts program that was founded by Herbert Ryman’s family after he died,” she said. “Herbie Ryman was the first person to draw the map of Disneyland. So I did that whole program.”
She went on to study architecture at the University of Notre Dame. While she was there, she was invited to join an internship competition offered to alumni of the Ryman Arts program. Jazmines won the internship, which allowed her to work in Paris, France, on “Ratatouille,” before returning to the United States to work on “Ratatouille” at Epcot.
She credits her parents for all her accomplishments. After Notre Dame, she earned a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a master’s degree at Yale.
“I wouldn’t be where I am if my parents didn’t value education so much,” she said.
Food connects Jazmines to her heritage. That and the values she has learned from her parents—“just growing up with respect and always being grateful and humble about things.”
Jazmines encourages aspiring artists to keep their minds open and never stop being creative. “Try out a bunch of things, because you get really well-rounded,” she said.
