For those of you who have sailed with Disney Cruise Line, and even for many of you have dreamed of sailing with Disney Cruise Line, PALO probably means something to you. For those of you who have not yet sailed or even considered sailing with Disney Cruise Line, it most likely won’t. But PALO is the subject of this next entry – “More Dining Magic.”
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On our second night of the cruise, we were originally
scheduled to dine in Parrot Cay, our regular rotational spot in the dining
rotation, but instead we had dinner at Palo, the adults-only restaurant onboard
the Disney Magic (and replicated on the other ships in the fleet as well). We, well, at least I, had heard and read a
lot of the hype about the restaurant, and kind of knew what to expect. We
were ready and willing to see what it was like, and to be wowed. We knew that we needed to dress, and night
two happened to be our itinerary’s “Formal Night”, so we just wore to Palo what
we would have worn to Parrot Cay anyway.
We saw no need to alter our plans simply because we altered our ultimate
table location.
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On the Magic, Palo is located on Deck 10, aft, or the very
back of the ship, on the upper-most “real” deck. (There IS a Deck 11, but it’s inside the
pretend smoke stack housing VIBE, the teen club area). Our table was in a lovely location, just
slightly off-center from the very back of the ship. As we sat enjoying the sunset, the one thing
that I certainly would have preferred about the restaurant, was if the walking
deck had been made to cross in front of the restaurant, rather than wrap around
the back of it. That way Palo could have
truly butted up to the very edge of the ship, and would have provided unspoiled
views of the ocean from the tables, vs. having the deck’s railing obstructing
the view.
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Despite the inability to secure reservations online prior to
departure for this “highly sought after location” for anything but the very
first night of the sailing, Palo was fairly empty throughout the entire hour
and a half that we were there. It was
fascinating to watch as there truly were only about 6 other tables filled the
entire time we were there. This was just
the first something about the hype not coming true during our dining experience
there.
Given the very light attendance, our server, Nikola, was VERY attentive - even moreso than he most likely no doubt usually is. He just kept coming around making sure we were enjoying ourselves, and that the food was good. I counted nine times when said “Bon appetite” to us. Once, maybe twice would have been sufficient. It was almost as if he were trying too hard.
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To start we had a very nice, freshly prepared at table-side
anti-pasti. The bread selection that
came with it was not exactly to our liking, but it was fun to look at (mostly
of the hard, cracker variety instead of soft, sumptuous breads).
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Neither of us could really decide what we wanted, but Nikola
certainly had his recommendations. For
appetizers, I had the very delicious shrimp, and my lovely bride had a
sumptuous mozzarella rose (I didn’t get
a picture of the actual menu insides, so I cannot remember the exact names of
the various dishes we ordered). For our
entrees, I went with the ahi tuna, and she had lobster ravioli. I also wanted the lobster farfalle, though I
didn’t eat the pasta itself, just the big, very delicious piece of
lobster. The lemon sorbet that came in
between the appetizer and the entrée was light, cool, refreshing, and oh so
delicious.
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For dessert, we definitely decided to go with the Chocolate
Souffle (which does indeed have to be ordered prior to your entrée as so much
of the hype indicates), and it was very good.
I am not a huge fan of dark chocolate, so I definitely toned it down
quite a bit with the provided vanilla ice cream – even my wife’s portion of the
ice cream, which she didn’t want. If it hadn’t
been for that, I would not have enjoyed that “chocolate bomb” – but with it, it
was quite good. I also added the vanilla
and chocolate sauces that were provided, and had a wonderfully tasty
dessert.
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We are not coffee drinkers, (hot tea yes, coffee no), so
coffee after dinner was not on our agenda – though my lovely bride did enjoy a
cup of tea. Nikola was sure to bring us
the second round of the lemon sorbet, though this time it was not in a dish,
but rather in a shot glass and infused with Absolut Vodka. It was good, though I didn’t finish it
all. Not something that I would have
thought to mix together myself, I must admit.
Overall, I will say that for us, Palo just didn’t live up to
the hype from the internet board and guide books regarding Disney Cruise Line. It was nice - very nice - but it just wasn’t “all
that” that so much of the hype makes it out to be. The food was great, but not worth the $20 per
person upcharge (plus added gratuity) that we had to spend to eat there. While slightly different, the food selection
itself wasn’t that far off from the menus throughout the week that we enjoyed
in the other dining rooms (as we discovered as the week passed by). Overall, if I were to place the experience on
a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a “must do again” rating, I would say our
experience at Palo rated a 7.5. It was
nice, but not something that we just absolutely “must” do again.
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We had been able to secure a Palo Brunch, also something
that is very hyped online, but after our dinner, with neither one of us being
overwhelmed - we decided we would just
skip the brunch. So on the way out of
the restaurant, I asked the general manager what the brunch menu included, and
then asked if we could cancel our brunch reservation. He was shocked and instantly wanted to know
what they had done wrong to upset us. I
assured him that they had done nothing wrong, and that we had enjoyed a
delightful dinner, we had just changed our minds about brunch. After a couple of minutes of convincing him
that his staff had not offended us, he graciously cancelled our
reservation. On a future voyage, we have
decided that we will try the brunch, but don’t really see a need to return for
dinner.
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As with the initial entry regarding dining, I do have more
to share, but once again will save those things for another entry. So for now, as before, I bid you adieu, or as
Mickey likes to say, see ya real soon!
Until next time,
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Throughout the week there was something going on in the main
theatre – The Walt Disney Theatre – every single night; three Broadway-style
shows, the opening night and closing
night variety-style shows, FRANKENWEENIE (Tim Burton’s new film which had just
opened in theaters) was shown, and one family night-show with the featured
magician’s act. What a beautiful theatre it is, too. It definitely reminded of many old-time classic theatres and movie palaces from back in "the day" in New York and Los Angeles. I just love the Art Deco stylings, and the Disney Magic is just filled with that design style. .JPG)
There were all kinds of smaller shows and experiences to be
enjoyed in other venues around the ship all week long. But one of the neatest features we found, was
the Buena Vista Theatre, which is their onboard movie theater. Classic Disney films, along with first-run
films are shown in there, as well as a ton of classic Disney fare plays on the “Funnel
Vision” screen up on deck 9. While
onboard we enjoyed THE AVENGERS, THE ODD LIIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN and started to
watch FINDING NEMO-3D (but ended up leaving after about a half an hour since it
really wasn’t all that different from the original version). On deck 9’s Funnel Vision we enjoyed PIRATES
OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL and parts of several other films
including THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE, TOY STORY, THE JUNGLE BOOK, ALICE IN
WONDERLAND, MARY POPPINS, CARS and WALL-E. 
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The original plans for the development of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World did not include a Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. The thought was that Florida was already close enough to the real location that guests would not enjoy the attraction in the same way that guests at Disneyland did. However as guest demand indicated, the planners and designers of the resort were wrong, and Walt Disney World's version of Pirates of the Caribbean opened in Adventureland in December 1973. 
More than 5,000 human performers joined in Walt Disney World's Grand Opening and dedication festivities on October 25, 1971 - and were joined by roughly 500 doves released over the Magic Kingdom. .JPG)
For those of you who have sailed with Disney Cruise Line, and even for many of you have dreamed of sailing with Disney Cruise Line, PALO probably means something to you. For those of you who have not yet sailed or even considered sailing with Disney Cruise Line, it most likely won’t. But PALO is the subject of this next entry – “More Dining Magic.” .JPG)
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On the Magic, Palo is located on Deck 10, aft, or the very
back of the ship, on the upper-most “real” deck. (There IS a Deck 11, but it’s inside the
pretend smoke stack housing VIBE, the teen club area). Our table was in a lovely location, just
slightly off-center from the very back of the ship. As we sat enjoying the sunset, the one thing
that I certainly would have preferred about the restaurant, was if the walking
deck had been made to cross in front of the restaurant, rather than wrap around
the back of it. That way Palo could have
truly butted up to the very edge of the ship, and would have provided unspoiled
views of the ocean from the tables, vs. having the deck’s railing obstructing
the view. .JPG)
Despite the inability to secure reservations online prior to
departure for this “highly sought after location” for anything but the very
first night of the sailing, Palo was fairly empty throughout the entire hour
and a half that we were there. It was
fascinating to watch as there truly were only about 6 other tables filled the
entire time we were there. This was just
the first something about the hype not coming true during our dining experience
there. .JPG)
.JPG)
To start we had a very nice, freshly prepared at table-side
anti-pasti. The bread selection that
came with it was not exactly to our liking, but it was fun to look at (mostly
of the hard, cracker variety instead of soft, sumptuous breads). .JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Neither of us could really decide what we wanted, but Nikola
certainly had his recommendations. For
appetizers, I had the very delicious shrimp, and my lovely bride had a
sumptuous mozzarella rose (I didn’t get
a picture of the actual menu insides, so I cannot remember the exact names of
the various dishes we ordered). For our
entrees, I went with the ahi tuna, and she had lobster ravioli. I also wanted the lobster farfalle, though I
didn’t eat the pasta itself, just the big, very delicious piece of
lobster. The lemon sorbet that came in
between the appetizer and the entrée was light, cool, refreshing, and oh so
delicious. .JPG)
.JPG)
For dessert, we definitely decided to go with the Chocolate
Souffle (which does indeed have to be ordered prior to your entrée as so much
of the hype indicates), and it was very good.
I am not a huge fan of dark chocolate, so I definitely toned it down
quite a bit with the provided vanilla ice cream – even my wife’s portion of the
ice cream, which she didn’t want. If it hadn’t
been for that, I would not have enjoyed that “chocolate bomb” – but with it, it
was quite good. I also added the vanilla
and chocolate sauces that were provided, and had a wonderfully tasty
dessert. .JPG)
We are not coffee drinkers, (hot tea yes, coffee no), so
coffee after dinner was not on our agenda – though my lovely bride did enjoy a
cup of tea. Nikola was sure to bring us
the second round of the lemon sorbet, though this time it was not in a dish,
but rather in a shot glass and infused with Absolut Vodka. It was good, though I didn’t finish it
all. Not something that I would have
thought to mix together myself, I must admit.
.JPG)
We had been able to secure a Palo Brunch, also something
that is very hyped online, but after our dinner, with neither one of us being
overwhelmed - we decided we would just
skip the brunch. So on the way out of
the restaurant, I asked the general manager what the brunch menu included, and
then asked if we could cancel our brunch reservation. He was shocked and instantly wanted to know
what they had done wrong to upset us. I
assured him that they had done nothing wrong, and that we had enjoyed a
delightful dinner, we had just changed our minds about brunch. After a couple of minutes of convincing him
that his staff had not offended us, he graciously cancelled our
reservation. On a future voyage, we have
decided that we will try the brunch, but don’t really see a need to return for
dinner. .JPG)
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As previously mentioned, our first night on the ship called for us to eat in Animator’s Palette. For those of you who haven’t sailed with Disney Cruise Line before, or if you have but have only sailed on the more recent ships (Disney Dream or Disney Fantasy), the three dining rooms onboard the Disney Magic are Animator’s Palette (A), Parrot Cay (P) and Lumiere’s (L). Disney Cruise Line revolutionized the industry back when the Disney Magic was first introduced by offering “rotational dining”, whereby each night you eat in a different restaurant/dining room. You either have the main (early) or second (late) seating, and each night you and your wait staff, move to another location. How neat is that?! That’s pretty neat. We were on the second seating, and our rotation was A, P, L, A, P, L, A. And with the information about Animator’s Palette only undergoing the beautiful transformation from “black & white” to “color” on your first time dining in that location, we absolutely had to eat there the first night. Plus we wanted to be able to meet our table mates as well. .JPG)
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Traveling without children meant that we would be eating with other guests, for certain. We would either be with 2, 4 or 6 other guests. We ended up at a table for 8, so 6 other guests. None of them had children. There was one couple - also traveling without their children, and then two pairs of women, each traveling separately but with a friend. As it turned out, too, our table was filled with travel professionals! You can imagine then what a good amount of our table conversation throughout the week consisted off – especially on that first night. But throughout the course of the week we had such a good time getting to know each other better, sharing life stories and just laughing and laughing. That definitely was something we would not have experienced had we brought the children along on the voyage. Instead of mixing and mingling with 6 other adults, we would have most likely been situated at a table for 6, with an empty chair throughout the week. .JPG)
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