Pirate Night on the Disney Wonder

We’re back!

We have not disappeared. We know it has been quite some time since we last posted, and for that we apologize. Right after our last post I was starting to get this one organized when our littlest Disney fan – Isabella – was born four weeks early. So with a new baby, that had to spend some time in the hospital, as well as a class that took over my life for the last two months writing for fun was pushed to the side. The class is over now and things are clam and we have found our new normal so I finally have some time to sit down and share some Disney love with you.

Today we have for you an overview of Pirate Night on our last two sailings on the Disney Wonder. (For those that don’t remember or haven’t read previous posts, our last two cruises were back to back.) We’re going to talk about Pirate Night as a whole, the Pirate theme in the Main Dining Rooms, the Pirates in the Caribbean Deck Party, and the Pirate Buffet.

Throughout the day on Pirate Night you have the opportunity to meet characters like Mickey, Goofy and Minnie in pirate attire. Guests are also welcome to dress as pirates, especially for the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party, which we’ll talk about a little later.  You can go all out with your costume, we’ve seen some really good ones, or you can simply wear the bandana that is provided for everyone in your stateroom before dinner.

When it’s time to make your way to the dining room for dinner you’ll find the pirate flags, the servers in pirate gear, and if you’re dining in Animator’s Palate the screens will be showing pirate images throughout the meal. The menus have an old look to them, like a pirate map might, and the kid’s menus can be folded in half to be made into a pirate hat. During the meal kids of all ages are invited to take part in the parade around the dining room.

We’ve talked about the look of the menu, now let’s talk about what’s on the menu. The food all has a pirate feel to it, and everything we tried during our two pirate dining experiences were delicious.

To start the meal a bread service of Johnny Cake with Mango Dip is brought to the table. If you’re a fan of mango then you’ll love the dipping sauce, if not then you’ll be happy with just the Johnny Cake. If you’re not familiar with Johnny Cakes, it is corn bread – yum! Crusty dinner rolls are also provided like at every meal, and there is also lots of butter available.

Over the course of the two Pirate Nights we tried four total appetizers.

The Fennel, Orange and Quinoa Salad – a salad of crispy lettuce and fennel, juicy oranges, fluffy quinoa, crunchy pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and saffron. All of the flavors paired well together, and the quinoa was really flavorful with all of the additions, which is great because quinoa can be bland by itself. I would love to eat this salad again.

The “Boucanier” Smoke Saucisson, Baked Brie, Brioche and Honey is one of my favorite things on the entire ship. Think of it as a savory, buttery bread pudding of brioche, brie and saucisson. It’s a combination of buttery, salty, and a hint of sweetness. It is delicious.

I’m sure you’re thinking, it’s a salad, how good can a salad be? Well the Romaine Wedge was exactly that, a wedge of Romaine. Think an Iceberg Wedge Salad, but with a heart of Romaine instead. It was served with grape tomatoes for a hint of sweetness, radishes for a bit of a peppery bite, shallots, pecans for a bite of nutty crunch, Thousand Island dressing, and blue cheese crumbles. We’re not fans of blue cheese normally, but the crumbles were small and paired well with everything so they weren’t even really noticed here outside of giving a little salt to the dish – which is a good thing.

The last appetizer was a Chilled Mango Soup. Just like with the dip at the start of the meal, if you’re not a mango fan go ahead and skip this dish. If you like mango, you’ll love it. As the name implies the soup is served cool and is packed with sweet mango flavor. It also has hints of passion fruit, coconut and ginger.

 You know that you like a dish a lot when you order it more than once, and that was the case with the two entrees that we ordered on Pirate Night. We each ordered the same entrée both nights since we enjoyed them so much.

The first of these was the Shanghaied Noodle Stir-fry. This dish is listed as one of the vegetarian options, and although we’re far from being vegetarians we like to give everything a chance. I’m really glad I tried this one. This dish is a big bowl of noodle-y happiness. As the name implies it has an Asian flair to it. The egg noodles are served with marinated tofu, thinly sliced red and green peppers and carrots, edamame, sesame seeds, scallion, Nori and a salty and slightly sweet white soy sauce. Yum.

We also enjoyed Tia Dalma’s Jerk Chicken which was especially appropriate on the second Pirate Night since it fell on the day we were in Jamaica. Tender grilled chicken with a bit of a kick from the Jerk seasoning served with Rice and Peas (a Jamaican specialty), pineapple-chili salsa, and fried plantains.  

 Over the course of the two Pirate Nights the three of us order five different desserts. On the first Pirate Night Christian ordered a Mickey Ice Cream Bar. Vanilla ice cream coated in a rich chocolate coating shaped like Mickey Mouse!

The Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake Tart – yum! A rich, creamy cheesecake filling in a graham cracker crust topped with caramel sauce, macadamia nuts and whipped cream.

Bananas in Paradise is a great option for those of you that like bananas and chocolate! Moist banana bread with caramel fudge filling and a banana spice puree.

We were really glad that we ordered the Bounty Fruit Cobbler. Seasonal fruit topped with a sugary cobbler topping is served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It’s fresh and sweet, hot and cold. It’s the perfect pairing.

Last we tried the Pirate’s Treasure Sundae. Sweet Rum and Raisin ice cream served with pineapple, whipped cream and an edible Pirates topper. This is a sweet sundae, which we like.

The Pirates in the Caribbean deck party, just like the rest of the day, is a celebration of all things pirate. Like most of the deck parties aboard the Disney Cruise Line ships it is mostly a dance party with characters, like Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, etc. in themed clothing.

Near the end of the party Captain Hook and his men threaten to take the fun out of the party. The day, well night, is saved, though by Mickey Mouse. Following his entrance the ship is treated to fireworks at sea!

The whole party is a lot of fun. Be sure to get there at least a few minutes before the party starts, however the earlier you arrive the better spot you’ll get.

Perhaps the best part of the night comes after the fireworks end - the late night pirate buffet!

On our most recent cruise we, and many other guests, made our way to Cabanas for some late night eats.

The buffet was decorated with pirate themed fruit carvings and the food all had at least a slight pirate theme. Our favorite item on the buffet was crepes! Chocolate sauce, whipped cream strawberries and more are there for you to fill yours!

Other buffet items included...

Turkey legs

Fresh fruit

Bread

Baked Potatoes

Tacos

Cous cous

Rice

Fajitas

Desserts

More

We’ve enjoyed all of the Pirate Nights that we’ve taken part in and we highly recommend attending dinner in the main dining room, the deck party, and the pirate buffet.

Are you ready to start planning your next magical vacation? Disney World 2019 vacation packages are now available! Disney Cruise Line vacations are also available through the end of 2019. Disneyland vacation packages for 2019 should become available sometime next month. I can also help you plan a trip to just about anywhere in the world. To get started contact me at miriyawhitaker@worldofmagictravel.com. For more Disney and travel information feel free to follow me on Facebook.