Animator's Palate - The Disney Magic

Animator’s Palate is located on deck 4 all of the way at the back to this ship. On this cruise it was actually directly under our stateroom and it was our meeting area for the muster drill. (We got to meet there twice thanks to a false alarm.)

This main dining restaurant focusing on the animation process, which is a HUGE part of the Disney business. Drawings in different stages, some only barely started and some finished decorate the walls inside and outside of the restaurant. There are also screens on the walls around the dining room that showcase the animation process throughout the meal. Famous scenes from Disney movies start out as line drawings and end up as full color, fully animated scenes by the end of dinner. There is also a special guest *cough* Mickey *cough* that joins the servers when they and the dining room changes from black and white to full color!

As with all Disney meals, this one started with a bread service.  The Garlic and Herb Focaccia was full of garlic and herb flavor, it was a soft bread which was great for dipping in the Roasted Garlic Dip that accompanied it. If you’re not familiar with roasted garlic, roasting it brings out a kind of sweetness. The bread and dip paired well together.

On this particular evening we tried three appetizers, all three of which were soups.

The Creamy Butternut Squash Soup was amazing! We love butternut squash, it has a great sweetness that makes a great soup. The soup was creamy and full of slightly sweet butternut squash flavor, but the sweetness wasn’t overpowering. It was drizzled with sour cream that added to the creaminess, but it also cut through the richness. We could have easy eaten a whole pot of this stuff.

Mmm did someone say baked potato with cheese? The Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup was creamy and loaded with potato and cheesy goodness. It was garnished with bacon and chives, the bacon added a bit of crunch and the chives added a bit of freshness. It was like eating a loaded baked potato.

The kid’s Boston’s Cream of Chicken Soup was delightful as well. It was creamy and full of rich chicken flavor. Delicious.

We also tried three entrees.

The Herb Crusted Pork Chop consisted of a huge pork chop that was brushed with Dijon mustard, which gave the dish a slight kick, but it paired well with the pork, it also helped the crispy herb crust stick to the meat. The crust was flavorful and the meat was tender and moist. It was served with a creamy and rich sun-dried tomato risotto and a Borolo wine sauce. The sauce was rich and paired well with the meat. Two pieces of asparagus also accompanied the dish. You will find that many Disney Cruise Line dishes come with some asparagus, and after taking to cruises we actually all started to like asparagus. Thanks, Disney!

We wanted to sample one of the vegetarian options and went with the Black Bean Chipotle Cakes. Three moist black bean cakes, with a bit of a kick from the Chipotle, served over brown rice and corn. The cakes were topped with a fresh tomato and cilantro salsa that added flavor, freshness, and texture to the cakes.

We also tried the kid’s Grilled Chicken Skewer. Since a long pointy stick could be dangerous to small people it is not left on the plate. Three pieces of juicy, grilled chicken and grilled veggies, in this case zucchini and pepper, were served with steamed broccoli, roasted sweet potatoes and fresh fruit. From what we, the adults, tasted it was quite tasty. The fruit consisted of cantaloupe, honey dew and pineapple. If you little one likes chicken, like ours does, they’ll love this. It is also a Mickey Check Meal!

We finished out meal with two satisfying sweets.

The Cookies and Cream Sundae was an amazing combination of well, cookies and cream. Creamy and chunky Cookies and Cream ice cream, chocolate sauce and huge chunks of chocolate chip cookies are all served in a sundae glass topped with a Mickey Mouse chocolate.

We also ordered the Make Your Own Pie. This dessert is great for those that like to be “hands on” with their food. A plate with crispy vanilla infused meringue, cocoa jelly, mango sauce, and lemon-raspberry curd is placed in front of you and you make your own pie. Everything was delicious.

We have enjoyed all of our meals at Animator’s Palate on both the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. We highly recommend it.

Want to see pictures of this amazing food? Feel free to email us at Miriya.whitaker@gmail.com or miriyawhitaker@worldofmagictravel.com. I (Miriya) would also be happy to help you plan your next, or first, Disney, Disney Cruise or anywhere else in the world vacation! Feel free to get in touch!