So far, the Disney Fantasy isn’t exactly batting 1000 when it comes to dinner. Enchanted Garden was good, Royal Court wasn’t so great. Hopefully Animator’s Palate will fall somewhere in the middle? There’s only one way to find out!
Located in the aft section of the ship, Animator’s Palate is the one dining room on the Disney Dream and Fantasy that offers dinner with a show, of sorts. If your table is located near one of the many large screens along the perimeter of the dining room, Crush from Finding Nemo will visit your table and offer some fun personalized interactions.
How Disney does this is still a mystery, but the conversations Crush has with guests can vary from wholesome to hilarious, and it’s all improvised! If you’re like us and kind of introverted, you may hate this feature of Animator’s Palate. We were thanking our lucky stars that our table was not near a screen, and thus we wouldn’t receive a visit from Crush. However, from our observations, kids seem to love this feature. So your experience may vary.
Let’s have some bread.
Bread service this evening was a variety of breads and rolls. They ranged from soft and delightful to a bit crunchy and crumbly.
According to the menu, we were to have a roasted garlic dip, but instead we had olive oil and herbs. Also butter balls, but those seem to come standard.
This is what they’re known for!
Animator’s Palate has a signature appetizer. These are Black Truffle Purseittes. This is what we were looking forward to the most ever since trying them on the Dream several years ago. “Pasta purses filled with truffle-scented cheese and coated with a delicate champagne sauce.”
We love the Black Truffle Purseittes! It’s our favorite appetizer at any of the Dream/Fantasy dining rooms, and the one item people seem to mention and remember if they’ve sailed on Dream or Fantasy before.
We’re suckers for squash!
We’ve been fans of Butternut Squash Soup after trying it at Panera Bread one snowy evening. Since then, it became our mission to try it whenever it appears on a menu. “Butternut squash soup, garnished with chives and drizzled with sour cream.”
Butternut Squash Soup, if you’ve never had butternut squash, sounds unappetizinng, but it’s curiously tasty. For us, we like it and we’re not exactly sure why, but we can’t stop eating it. It’s creamy, with a slightly sweet earthy flavor. Sour cream simply adds richness.
Yummy steak.
When in doubt, get the steak. Ginger-Teriyaki Dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin. “Served on Wasabi mashed potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind Barbecue Reduction”.
We didn’t really notice the ginger or the teriyaki. Nor did we really notice wasabi or tamarind in the barbecue reduction. It’s possible real wasabi was used, and we are used to American wasabi which is completely different.
Dessert time!
Lemon Icebox Pie sounded intriguing, so we decided to try it. If you’re familiar with Key Lime Pie (one of the best pies around), then you’ll enjoy this variation. They’re fairly similar.
The other good dessert.
Crunchy Walnut Cake was our other choice, which was equally good! On the side was a sweet raspberry foam of sorts. Very light, to contrast the heavier cake. It was a nice contrast and just fine on it’s own, thank you.
Here’s the menus!
Again, click on the menu for a larger image.
Potential was there.
Dinner at Animator’s Palate had all the potential to be good, but there were too many misfires. From the missing dip with bread service, to the missing raspberry sauce that was supposed to accompany dessert. The steak that felt like it was missing key components, and the show with dinner was canceled due to technical issues.
We left Animator’s Palate feeling underwhelmed and disappointed. The dining room decor is really well done, with plenty of color and things to look at. It’s a shame our dinner fell flat. But we’ll be back the next evening for Pirate Night! Luckily there’s a different menu that night, so let’s hope for the best!
Thank you very much for reading, and we’ll see you next time!
Disney Rover 