I’ve Been on 5 Disney Cruises, and These Are My FAVORITE Places to Eat

By Quincy Stanford
Posted on October 2, 2024

I’m in the Disney World parks nearly every day for my job, but I will never turn down the offer to go on a Disney Cruise.

Celebrating Marvel Day at Sea with Mickey and Minnie!

At this point in time, I’ve cruised 5 times with Disney Cruise Line, and while most of them have been for work and I’m running around capturing as much content as I can for the site, that doesn’t mean I don’t still have a great time. Especially when it comes to the food. I’m the most adventurous eater on the AllEars team, which means that I’ll try just about anything — especially on a cruise where everything’s already been paid for. If you’re heading on a Disney Cruise soon, these are the restaurants that I 100% recommend trying out while on board.

Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure (Disney Wish)

The restaurants change depending on which ship you’re sailing on, and on the Disney Wish, one of my top picks is certainly Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure. Just like the title suggests, this restaurant is themed entirely to Frozen, but that’s not the only reason I enjoyed it so much.

Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure

This isn’t just a dining experience — it’s a whole SHOW. One where you get to briefly meet Anna and Elsa, see Kristoff and Olaf, and even Oaken! The menu is inspired by Norwegian cuisine and it was my favorite restaurant that’s included in the rotational dining. On my first trip on the Wish, I tried the Sea Bass which I really enjoyed.

Pan-Seared Chilean Sea Bass

Now, if you’re not a fan of Frozen, dinner and a show, or different cuisine than you may be used to, this may not be your favorite! However, if you’re more adventurous like I am, it may high up on your list as well.

Enchanté (Disney Wish and Disney Treasure)

Enchanté by Arnaud Lallement was also a huge favorite of mine. This is a restaurant that is not included in the base fee of your cruise and must be reserved ahead of time for an additional cost. Formal or semi-formal attire is recommended, and this restaurant has a big focus on seafood.

Enchanté

The restaurant is themed to Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast. There are two different tasting menus — I tried the 5 course meal, the Passion, but there’s a 9 course meal available as well. This is certainly for those who appreciate a more expansive menu with elegant offerings — no chicken fingers or simple chicken breast here! (Tomato water is served here and it was delicious, that’s what I mean when I say elegant offerings.)

Enchante on the Disney Wish

Since I’m a big fan of seafood, I was a massive fan of this whole menu. My personal favorite course of the meal was the Halibut, but it was a really tough call with all the fantastic dishes.

Palo Steakhouse (Disney Wish and Disney Treasure)

The other restaurant on the Disney Wish that requires a reservation at an additional fee is Palo Steakhouse. However, while this is a bit of a hot take, I much prefer the dinner here over the brunch. Palo restaurants are on many of the Disney Cruise ships, but at the time of the Disney Wish’s inaugural sailing, it was the first steakhouse on board a Disney Cruise ship.

This beautiful restaurant is themed to Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast, and is another location where you’ll need to enjoy fine dining. Not as fine and fancy as Enchanté, however, so this might be a good middle ground.

Palo on the Disney Wish

My favorite thing I ate here was the Agnolotti pasta that Fry Bucket actually got that she let me try, or the Amaretto Souffle for dessert, which was one of my favorite things I had on the whole cruise.

Palo Agnolotti

Animator’s Palate (Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, & Disney Fantasy)

Animator’s Palate is a staple rotational dining restaurant on four of the Disney Cruise Line ships, but you’ll find that the experience on the Disney Wonder and Disney Magic are a little more geared toward the history and process of animation as a whole, whereas the restaurants on the Disney Fantasy and Disney Dream are more geared towards Crush from Finding Nemo.

Animator’s Palate!

I do love Crush coming around and chatting with the different tables on the screens, don’t get me wrong, but it is a little distracting when you’re trying to eat. For me personally, I prefer the experience on the Wonder and Magic, where the restaurant comes alive around you and you see everything change from black and white to color over the course of your meal.

Dining on Disney Cruise Line at Animator’s Palate

However, the food at Animator’s Palate was my favorite of the rotational dining when I sailed on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, specifically the Tuna Steak. It was cooked perfectly with lots of interesting flavors that I wasn’t necessarily expecting. It was an Asian-inspired dish, and it was overall fantastic.

Rapunzel’s Royal Table (Disney Magic)

This Tangled-inspired restaurant was one I was so unbelievably excited for, and it didn’t disappoint. This one is also dinner and a show, where the Kingdom of Corona is celebrating the return of Rapunzel.

Rapunzel’s Royal Table

I adored the Corona Shrimp, along with probably half the people in the restaurant since it is very popular, and while some of the entrees were fine, but a little bland, the Captain of the Guards Roasted Prime Rib of Beef was the best prime rib I’ve ever had on a Disney Cruise.

Prime Rib

Overall, what really makes this restaurant stand out is that Prime Rib, the fact that it has some simpler options that picky eaters and kids are most inclined to enjoy, and for anyone who loves Tangled, you’ll love the show!

Emma and I at Rapunzel’s Royal Table

I’d also like to give a few shoutouts to some of the smaller restaurants and areas around Disney Cruise Line ships, because not everything is about your rotational dining or signature dining add-ons.

Room Service (because you get whatever you want, even a Mickey Bar, delivered right to your room at whatever time you want, and that’s incredible)
Pizza Counters (these are spread over the Disney Cruise Line ships, and I love grabbing a quick slice of whatever catches my eye as a snack or a quick lunch. Seriously, don’t knock these ’till you try them.)
Cove Cafe (this is always my go-to for coffee every morning. You can find it on the Disney Magic, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, Disney Wish, and Disney Wonder — paying for coffee every morning from here was 100% worth it)
Heads Up Bar on Castaway Cay (a lot of the bars on Castaway Cay serve the same items, but this one is easily my favorite because it specializes in beer, frozen specialty drinks, and cocktails, and it’s located right on the water in about the middle of the island)
Plaza de Coco (this restaurant is coming to the Disney Treasure — have I technically dined here yet? No, but I’m adding it to the list because Coco is my favorite and I’m sure I’ll love it no matter what)

I’m really looking forward to sailing on the Disney Treasure later this year and trying out those new restaurants on board, so be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for all our new Disney Cruise Line content that will be coming to the site and YouTube Channel soon!