Best Bites: A Foodie Guide to the Disney Wish

Yes, it’s magical; yes, it’s beautiful; yes, it’s innovative, but the newest Disney Cruise Line ship, the Disney Wish, is also something else: Delicious.

Like Disney theme parks, the Disney Wish offers quick service, table service, and fine dining (not to mention 24/7 room service). That means there’s something for every palate – from Disney Cruise Line’s famous chicken tenders to a three Michelin star-caliber French restaurant – and while there’s no shortage of great options, here are some of my favorite things to eat and drink on board.

Disney Wish Quick Service Best Bites:

As an avid foodie, I like to know where I can get a quick bite to satisfy any last-minute cravings. Here are my top quick service choices aboard the Wish.

Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods

Mickey and Friends Festival of Foods is where you can find the ever-popular chicken tenders (plus burgers and hot dogs at Goofy’s Grill), fresh thin-crust pizza at Daisy’s Pizza Pies, and unlimited chocolate and vanilla soft-serve at Sweet Minnie’s Ice Cream. But it’s also the location of DCL’s first dedicated quick-service venues for Mexican food and barbecue: Donald’s Cantina and Mickey’s Smokestack (for which DCL Culinary Director Chef Stephen Walker says the meats are smoked right onboard).

Everything is delicious, but being a California girl, I went straight for the Mexican food – and Donald definitely does it right. The fresh burrito, soft taco, and bowl ingredients can be mixed and matched (à la Chipotle). Plus, the extensive salsa bar completes your creation with freshly-made mild, medium, and hot options.

My favorite combo was a chicken bowl with brown rice, black beans, fajita-style vegetables, lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole (of course), and mango salsa from the fresh salsa bar.

Inside Out: Joyful Sweets

The colorful sweet shop inspired by “Inside Out” features great photo ops with figures of Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, but the real reason to go is the hand-scooped ice cream (16 flavors) and gelato (20 flavors).

And don’t skip the 32 toppings!

Despite unlimited soft serve at Festival of Foods, my family opted for hazelnut, Mars bar, peanut butter and jelly, birthday cake, and blueberry lemon gelato. Our favorites: Mars bar, peanut butter and jelly, and lemon blueberry.

There are also colorful macarons, cake pops, and signature Inside Out-themed treats like candy-filled chocolate “Memory Orbs” and cupcakes for each of the emotional characters – Joy (lemon), Sadness (blueberry), Disgust (pistachio), Anger (red velvet), and Fear (bubble gum).

Disney Wish Table Service:

The Disney Wish continues Disney Cruise Line’s unique rotational dining concept, where passengers dine in a different themed restaurant each night, but their serving staff follows them from restaurant to restaurant.

DCL Senior Manager for Dining Standards and Service Excellence Daniel Cowan notes that every Disney ship includes one entertainment dining experience, one technology-based dining experience, and one elegant dining experience.

On the Disney Wish those are:

Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure – Disney’s first “Frozen”-themed theatrical dining experience featuring musical performances by Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Wandering Oaken, and Olaf (presented in an all-new way) and a Nordic-inspired menu.

Worlds of Marvel – Ant-Man and The Wasp recruit diners to participate in Avengers: Quantum Encounter while they enjoy dishes inspired by locations within the MCU.

1923 – Named for the year The Walt Disney Company was founded, the restaurant features a pair of elegant dining rooms honoring Walt and Roy Disney, both decorated with sketches and maquettes representing the history of the studio’s animated movies.

“We follow the story,” Chef Walker said. “And we marry what we put on the plate with the story so it makes sense.”

Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure

My family ordered two appetizers: Blushing Oaken’s chilled white and green asparagus with pea tendrils, heirloom tomatoes, radish, and dill, and Elsa’s royal baked scallops with shrimp-tarragon bisque, rainbow carrots, and leeks in a flaky pastry.

For our entrees, we chose King Agnarr’s dry-rubbed roasted pork tenderloin with buttered Swiss chard, honey butternut squash, Yukon gold potato puree, and crisp shallots in a red currant port wine reduction; garlic and thyme roasted beef rib-eye steak with a double-baked potato, buttered broccoli, sweet honey-roasted carrots, and Cabernet jus; and Arendelle Kjottkake, which are braised meatballs in a rosemary-cream reduction and Lingonberry chutney over egg noodles (which I heard people referring to as upscale Ikea Swedish meatballs).  

And for dessert, Eplekake (apple cake with caramel sauce, vanilla bean ice cream, and Florentine almond crunch); Kvæfjordkake (butter cake with baked almond meringue, vanilla cream, and berry compote); the Troll Family’s Rock Chocolate Bar (chocolate cake, pistachio cookie rocks, and Elderflower meringue); and the “It’s Elsa’s Coronation Sundae” (mint chocolate chip ice cream, marshmallows, fresh whipped cream, and snowflakes).

The Disney Difference: Because the show is the focus of Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure (and Disney is first and foremost an Entertainment company), Cowan notes you won’t see servers disrupting the action on stage by offering freshly ground pepper. Instead, Cowan says, DCL bought “the best peppermills you can buy” and put them on the tables so guests can help themselves.

1923

Our appetizers were the Burrata mozzarella cheese and Prosciutto di Parma with crisp cranberry and sunflower seed phyllo and charred blood orange; the fennel, Bartlett pear, and Tatsoi salad with Manchego cheese, walnuts, and sherry dressing; and the guinea hen corn chowder with Yukon gold potato, cilantro, and smoked bacon.

For our entrees, we chose the seared Verlasso salmon filet with Californian wild honey parsnip purée, orange fennel essence, and sautéed black garlic rapini; the Italian flat parsley and rosemary-crusted rack of lamb with Dauphinoise potato, roasted petite turnip, carrot, and zucchini in a Zinfandel rosemary sauce; and the 1923 peppered filet mignon with buttered long green beans, smoked bacon, crushed fingerling potato hash, and a pink pepper Café Au Lait sauce.

For the table: Tortiglioni pasta with Prosecco cream, pancetta, shallots, cremini mushrooms, and lemon thyme

And for dessert, the Churros Calientes (sugar spice churros with Dulce de Leche sauce); the Burbank blueberry-lemon Bavarian Cream (Ecuador vanilla bean, lemon rocks, and dried raspberry meringue); and the Hollywood Hills hot fudge sundae (vanilla ice cream, fudge brownie bites, fresh whipped cream, and a glazed cherry).

Worlds of Marvel

This was our last night, so we definitely ordered a few extra dishes (thanks to a bit of encouragement from our server).

For our appetizers, we chose the crispy breaded fried shrimp with white cheddar and corn grits, bell peppers, collard greens, and smokehouse barbecue sauce; the iceberg wedge salad with candied pecans, smoked bacon lardons, black and globe radish, and Maytag blue cheese; and the cream of Porcini mushroom soup with sour cream, red beet, and lemon.

Our entrees were the panko-crusted chicken breast Schnitzel with butter sauteed potatoes, caramelized onions, long green beans, lemon, anchovy, and capers; Golden Mystic angel hair pasta with caramelized scallops, Chardonnay lemon saffron cream, roasted vine tomatoes, and savoy spinach; seared Turbot filet with sweet pea purée, roasted heirloom carrots, romanesco, pancetta, and tarragon Sandefjord sauce; and the Delmonico rib-eye steak with black truffle butter, whipped Yukon gold potatoes, green asparagus, and a Cabernet reduction.

For the table: vegetarian ricotta gnocchi with Fontina cheese, caramelized grape tomato confit, broccoli rabe, and arugula pesto.

For dessert, we ordered the Subatomic Sticky Date Pudding with salted coconut macaroon, balsamic caramel glaze, and vanilla ice cream; the Quantum Key Lime Pie with raspberry gel and whipped lime ganache; the Nano Dobos Torta (layered cake, chocolate truffle cream, and caramel; and the Cheesecake Byte with fresh berries, strawberry jelly, and whipped cream.

Plus (say it with me, y’all) for the table, the Pym Doughnut Sundae with Dulce de Leche ice cream, pecan brownie, caramel fudge sauce, a chocolate-glazed mini-doughnut, and whipped cream.

Luckily everyone gets to experience all three restaurants during their cruise, but my overall favorite was Arendelle (though the sticky date pudding in Worlds of Marvel was my favorite dish). I loved the theater-in-the-round set-up and charming new musical story about a royal engagement party for Anna and Kristoff (catered by Oaken’s “Hearty Party Planning Service… and Sauna”). Add the delicious Nordic-inspired menu, and it’s a huge win.

Disney Wish Fine Dining:

The Wish features two adult-only (18+) premium dining restaurants requiring reservations and a dress code: Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté by three Michelin-star Chef Arnaud Lallement.

Did You Know? There are only 135 three Michelin-star chefs in the world.

Both restaurants are themed to “Beauty and the Beast,” with Cogsworth as your host in Palo and Lumiere as the maître d’ in Enchanté (don’t miss him hiding by the entrance).

The Rose

Before you even enter Palo and Enchanté is the Rose, there is an elegant bar also themed to “Beauty and the Beast” (and no reservation is required).

The signature cocktail – The Rose – made with Komos Repisado Rosa tequila, Grand Marnier Cuvee Louis Alexandre, and Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Rosé champagne infused with Elderflower smoke – will set you back $50. 

Luckily, there are less pricey handcrafted cocktails on the menu (and zero-proof options for guests ages 18-20 or those who don’t drink), as well as more than 40 wines and champagnes by the glass.

I tried the Plant & Fleurs made with Grey Goose VX vodka, Vanderpump rosé, and blackberry and the Monkey Spritzer made with Monkey 47 gin, Cointreau blood orange, cranberry, and Evian lemon ginger sparkling water, and both were delicious.

Spendy Splurge: Behind the bar at the Rose is a Watenshi gin (one of only 100 bottles in the world) and a Taylor Fladgate Port (one of only 300 bottles in the world). According to DCL Beverage Director Salah Chetbi, the gin is $650 for one ounce (over which they spray a whisper of tonic with a perfume atomizer), and the port is $650 but for a “generous” three-ounce pour.

Palo Steakhouse

While previous Disney cruisers may know Palo as an Italian restaurant (and it still is), this is the first Palo Steakhouse, which features an extensive menu for meat-eaters (including Japanese A5 Wagyu and American Snake River Black Wagyu) in addition to its popular Italian dishes. Another change is that Palo now offers both à la carte options and a prix fixe menu ($45 per person).

I was not able to dine at Palo during the christening cruise; however, I did attend a tasting and can report the Japanese Wagyu strip loin and broccolini with black garlic, breadcrumbs, parsley, and lemon are amazing.

I also highly recommend the soft potato gnocchi with roasted tomatoes, pine nuts, and basil pesto in Prosecco wine sauce for a vegetarian option.

“I’m very proud of this dish because we really make everything from scratch,” said Palo Steakhouse Chef de Cuisine Salvatore. “The gnocchi are made out of Yukon gold potatoes and the sauce is a pesto made from basil, pecorino cheese, and pine nuts. It’s simple, but simple doesn’t mean that it’s easy.”

Enchanté

Cruisers who have dined at Remy restaurant (also from Chef Lallement) on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy will recognize the same five-course Passion menu ($125 per person) at Enchanté. However, on the Wish, the Chef has added a new nine-course “surprise and delight” Collection menu ($195 per person) featuring some of the signature dishes from his Michelin-starred restaurant in France – and for which, says Enchanté maître d’ Benoit Roustaing, you need to trust the kitchen.

“Some you’re going to say ‘Wow;’ some you’re going to say ‘Ok;’ and some you’re going to say, ‘Never again,’” Roustaing says. “But the purpose of the experience is to make you discover things you may have never seen.”

Fun Fact: Imagineers designed the chandelier in Enchanté’s foyer with 397 golden globes representing bubbles rising inside a bottle of champagne (a tribute to Chef Lallement’s home in the Champagne region of France).

Both premium restaurants offer brunch (though it’s no longer buffet-style), and Enchanté has a dessert experience ($60 per person). Brunch is $45 per person at Palo and $75 per person at Enchanté.

Also worth noting is that Disney Cruise Line partnered with Italian winemaker Ferrari and French champagne house Taittinger to create special Disney Wish sparkling wines for Palo and Enchanté that will only be served during the Wish’s inaugural year (or until they run out).

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Let’s Hear From You!

What are you most excited to try on the Disney Wish? Would you go for the nine-course Collection menu at Enchanté, or are you more of a chicken tenders person? Let me know in the comments below.

More About the New Disney Wish Cruise Ship:

• Explore the Disney Wish – Deck by Deck
• New Treasures Aboard the Disney Wish: Shopping & Merchandise Guide
• Welcome to Disney Cruise Line’s Newest Ship – the Disney Wish!