Posts Tagged ‘Animator’s Palate’

Dining; it’s one the great pleasures of the cruise experience.  Disney Cruise Line ships have several unique dining venues and their rotational dining system allows passengers to experience them all.  On embarkation day, you’ll find dining tickets with your assigned restaurant schedule, seating time, and table number.  You’ll see a string of letters which represent the different locations; for example APLAPL would be Animator’s Palate, Parrot Cay, and Lumiere’s on the first, second, and third nights, then repeated for the fourth, fifth, and sixth.  You will rotate through three of the main restaurants on your ship which may also include Triton’s, Royal Palace, or Enchanted Garden.

Each evening, you, your tablemates, and your wait staff will move to a different restaurant.  You’ll be able to enjoy the menus and themes of each dining room while retaining a familiar team of servers who will quickly learn your preferences.

Every effort is made to pair you with appropriate dinner companions.  Adults traveling alone will typically be seated with other adults, while families will find children in a similar age group joining their tables.  If you wish, you can arrange to share a table with other specified passengers onboard.

There are two dinner seatings:  the Main Seating and the Second Seating.  The earlier of the two begins at about 5:30 p.m., depending upon your ship, and is generally the first choice for families with younger children.  The Second Seating starts at approximately 8:00 p.m. and may be a bit more serene as it often includes a larger percentage of older children and adults.  However, the Second Seating often works out very well for those traveling from an earlier time zone since it may be more in line with their accustomed dinner hour.

A meal at Palo is an adults-only option for dinner or brunch, and guests can choose where they would like to have breakfast and lunch each day.  Continental breakfast is available from room service for stateroom categories 4 through 12, while Concierge categories 1 through 3 can arrange for in-room delivery of a full breakfast.  Other alternatives for breakfast and lunch include two of the main restaurants, a buffet, and poolside meals.

Three- and four-night cruises include one “dress-up” night when a jacket for men and dress or pantsuit for women is suggested.  The dress code for other evenings is “cruise casual” – no shorts, tank tops, or swimwear.

On cruises of seven nights and longer, there is generally a special themed dining event, such as Pirate’s Night.  You can also expect at least one “formal” evening for which formal or semi-formal attire is appropriate.  You can arrange for a formalwear rental to be delivered to your stateroom.  Often, you will find a greater number of guests in formal (rather than semi-formal) dress on the longer ten- to fourteen-night voyages  Those preferring to forego formal night entirely can choose an alternative venue such as a buffet or quick-service location.

Of course, room service is a popular option and Disney Cruise Line offers a nice menu of sandwiches, pizzas, salads, appetizers, and desserts to keep the munchies at bay.  Guests staying in Categories 1 through 3 may also arrange for meals delivered from any of the rotational dining venues.  Keep in mind that while most of the menu items are complimentary, a gratuity is expected.

Consider one of the wine packages if you enjoy wine with dinner.  The overall cost is less than purchasing the bottles separately and unfinished bottles can be recorked and brought to you on subsequent nights, or carried back to your stateroom.  You are also allowed to carry up to two bottles off the ship, and can order more than one of your bottles on a given night.

Unlike many cruise lines, Disney offers complimentary sodas not just at dinner but also from 24-hour beverage stations on the ship, and other selected locations onboard and on Castaway Cay.  You will still be charged for sodas ordered from bars and room service.  For alcoholic beverages, the onboard drinking age is 21 and a photo I.D. is required.

Don’t forget that guests with special dietary requirements can generally be accommodated.  Advise your Whimsical World Travel concierge of any allergies and special requests so that they can be noted on your reservation.

In addition to the wonderful adults-only Palo mentioned in a previous post, Disney Dream offers creative new dining room themes and recreations of traditional favorites.

In the spectacular Royal Palace , elements from classic Disney movies set the stage for a regal repast.  Guests walk over inlaid marble and rose-strewn carpets to enter a fairytale, where they will dine in a splendid recreation of a famous ballroom under the shimmer of a glass-slipper chandelier.

Passengers can expect some exciting changes to the familiar Animator’s Palate.  Redesigned to incorporate the tools of animation, this imaginative venue will feature the flavors of the Pacific Rim.

Relax over breakfast, lunch, or dinner in the Enchanted Garden and enjoy the transformation from daylight to twilight as the bright surroundings magically begin to darken and glow with the onset of “evening.”

We invite you to spend some time touring the beautiful new Disney Dream on the dedicated website!

http://www.disneytravelagents.com/disneydream/minisite/

All images – Walt Disney Imagineering Concept Art