On the second night of our cruise on the Disney Wish, we had dinner at Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure. Of the three dining rooms on the Wish, Arendelle is my favorite because of the live show. It’s fun, it’s festive, and you’re encouraged to sing along!
The premise of the dinner and show is that you have gathered to celebrate the engagement of Anna and Kristoff. There will be food, live music, and characters! The menu is Scandinavian themed (of course). After some great choices last year, we wondered if there were other hits on the menu. Long story short, we made some mistakes. At least one was intentional, though.
The bread!
We love free bread! At Arendelle, the bread service includes regular rolls and a 6-Grain Viking Loaf. Both are served with a roasted onion dip, or you can request butter. It wasn’t until after dinner that I realized my bread plate was sideways. Off to a good start already!
Not repeating last year’s mistake!
Last year we tried the baked scallops and were royally disappointed that it was basically a soup with pastry on top. This year we gave the Jarlsberg Cheese and Rosemary Ham Tart a try instead. To balance out the savory cheese and ham, a pear compote is included on the side. While this was just okay, we still liked this more than last year’s choice.
The other soup was better.
After two cruises on the Wish, one of the food lessons I’ve learned is if the menu has carrot soup, get the carrot soup. This is not the carrot soup. Instead, we tried the Split Yellow Pea Soup with pulled ham hock. Again, this soup was okay, but I was yearning for the carrot soup instead. Some times you don’t know until you try the other options.
Steak is our friend.
Not wanting to go overboard (figuratively) for dinner this year, we chose only one main course. While the main course options all seemed great, and we did enjoy the Swedish Meatballs last year, we couldn’t resist the Roasted Beef Rib-Eye with twice baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, and Cabernet Jus. Always a solid choice for dinner. We found the steak on any dinner menu to be a solid and safe choice, so when in doubt, get the steak. Hey, you’re on vacation, get your money’s worth!
We ordered this dessert on purpose.
So many people warned us about this dessert. “Do not get the Norwegian Pancake Roulade!” “Do not get the thingy on the dessert menu that looks like little pinwheels.” So naturally, we had to order the Norwegian Pancake Roulade, and you know what? We’re sorry we did! But it makes for a better article, so can you blame us?
What makes this dessert so terrible? It’s small. Those pinwheels are about the size of a US nickel. We originally said quarter, but that was being too generous. They’re small, they’re thin, and they barely taste like anything. There’s Lingonberry jam, but it’s practically dried out on the plate because it’s such a thin amount. The center garnish, crunchy on the outside and unremarkable on the inside, was not enough to save this dessert. In the words of Queen Elsa: Let It Go.
Signature Dessert!
Knowing we would be disappointed by the previous dessert, we ordered a second dessert, the signature dessert! Troll Family’s Rock Chocolate Bar. Chocolate cake with pistachio cookie rocks (some where), Elderflower meringue (the pink stuff) and two little raspberries.
This was the better of the two choices we made for dinner. The cake was soft without being too dense. The raspberries and meringue added a fun mix of fruit and chocolate, or flower and chocolate if you will. Looking at the other dessert options, there is also an apple cake and a butter cake. We had the butter cake last year and that might be slightly better than this dessert.
Ambience
In discussing the decor and ambience of Arendelle, it’s probably best to let the pictures do the talking. For reference, the dining room is located in the aft of the ship, so after exiting the aft elevators, it’s a long walk down the hallway before finally reaching the entrance to the dining room.
On the plus side, when going to dinner, there is most likely going to be a very long line that stretches past the elevator, so if walking is an issue, this walk will be taken very slowly. We found this easier to handle compared to the walk after dinner.
Along one side of the hallway are various paintings that reference the movie and characters.
And at the entrance to the dining room are busts of Anna and Elsa.
The dining room itself isn’t as decorated, since the stage in the center is where the majority of the excitement happens during dinner.
Just a friendly reminder: please keep your children away from the stage and in their seats as the show is going on. For the safety of them and the performers.
Wrap it up, Liz
Despite not making the best choices for dinner tonight, Arendelle is still my favorite of the three dining rooms on the Disney Wish. The show itself is energetic and enjoyable, with a few surprises. In fact, our Magicband+ even lit up and vibrated once or twice during the show! (wasn’t expecting that).
The food can be hit or miss, but I think between this year’s article and our review from last year, you’ll have a good idea what to try and what to shy away from. Carrot soup was a hit, steak was a hit, Swedish meatballs were a hit. For desserts, just don’t order the rolled up pancake.
And if you want an adult beverage AND a sparkly liver the next day, order the Frozen Fractals cocktail from the drink menu. We’re pretty sure at least a third of the drink is edible glitter.
Stay tuned for upcoming articles where we return to 1923 in the morning for breakfast, and then later we return to Arendelle for dinner on Pirate Night!
Disney Rover 