Disney Cruise Line is making dreams come true for thousands of Central Florida children through a special “Benefit Preview Cruise” bringing community leaders and invited guests together to raise $750,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida.

The special two-night voyage takes place onboard the newest Disney Cruise Line ship, the Disney Dream, sailing today from Port Canaveral to Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay, and returning Sunday, Jan. 23. Disney Cruise Line leaders will present Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida with the official check at a special sail-away celebration this afternoon aboard the new ship in Port Canaveral. The event will include children from Boys & Girls Clubs who will be sailing on the Benefit Preview Cruise, along with Disney Channel stars representing Disney’s Friends For Change, a multiplatform initiative that empowers kids and encourages them to help the planet.

“Disney Cruise Line is dedicated to helping children fulfill their dreams in the communities it calls home,” said Karl Holz, Disney Cruise Line president. “The celebration of the arrival of our third ship, the Disney Dream, gave us a very unique opportunity to make even more dreams come true for the children in our home port of Central Florida.”

The Walt Disney Company has a longstanding relationship with Boys & Girls Clubs that was started more than 50 years ago when Walt Disney was made an honorary member of the organization’s national board of directors. The relationship continues today with ongoing funding by Walt Disney World to Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, including the 2008 opening of the Walt Disney World Clubhouse Branch in Orlando, Fla.

“We’re grateful and overwhelmed by the generosity Disney has once again shown Boys & Girls Clubs,” said Gary W. Cain, president, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida. “This contribution will have an immediate impact on thousands of young people throughout the Central Florida community and help to shape our future generation of local leaders. The chance to give some of our Club members and their families a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sail on the Disney Dream went far beyond any of our wildest dreams.”

As part of this special sailing, 45 children from local clubs will have the opportunity to experience a Disney cruise and all the unique new experiences aboard the Disney Dream such as the AquaDuck water coaster, as well as all of the family-friendly features for which Disney Cruise Line ships have become known.

Disney’s Friends for Change

During the cruise, Boys & Girls Clubs members will participate in a Disney’s Friends for Change activity on Castaway Cay with Disney Channel stars Brandon Mychal Smith, Doug Brochu and Allisyn Ashley Arm. Together, Friends for Change stars and children from Boys & Girls Clubs will paint a giant mural that will be donated to a Boys & Girls Club location.