Disney Wish Review: Magical Days at Castaway Cay & Lookout Cay
After a five month travel break, we were back at it in a very Disney forward way. Rachel, our adult daughter and Disney Cruise lover, came along. A 4-night sailing aboard the Disney Wish was the main event, embarking in Port Canaveral, stopping only at Disney’s private retreats in the Bahamas: Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. We’d only ever been aboard the sister ships Magic and Wonder, Disney’s very first cruise ships, so this would be new to us.
We flew into Orlando the day before, experiencing one park-less night in the Walt Disney World Resort, staying at Bay Lake Tower. This is the second of three trip reports, including some more Disney Wish review details, and our time at Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. This post is part of our Disney Wish 2026 cruise review series.
Ship to Shore – Castaway Cay
On land and at sea, Disney beds are conducive to a good night sleep, and last night was no exception. We woke early to the ship docked at Castaway Cay, Disney’s original private island in the Bahamas. Because we were fortunate enough to have reserved a cabana, our plan was to get off the ship before 9 AM.
Rachel had ordered gluten free donuts and fruit via the room service slip, and left it hanging outside the door before bed. This morning she got ready while Rona and I went up to Marceline Market for breakfast. Like the day before, the buffet was a zoo, but we persevered, taking eggs, bacon, and a chocolate croissant for me outside to a table in the back of the ship. The food was fine and my coffee was functional. The view from out back was gorgeous, though. It was bright and windy, and the seagulls were having a go at a tray of food someone had left behind. The views were stunning.
Once we’d all eaten, the three of us strode off the ship, beach bag in hand and wearing the green cabana bracelets that had been left in our room upon arrival. The bracelets signaled to the towel-holding crew at the arrival plaza that we didn’t need towels, since there would already be plenty in our cabana. You can find all the details about Castaway Cay in DCL’s pocket guide but also be sure to review the map.
There is a tram that can take you from the edge of the travel plaza near Marge’s Barges to two locations at the family beach, plus Serenity Bay, the adult only beach farthest from the ship. We opted to hoof it toward the family beach since it was such a beautiful day, and far less windy now that we weren’t way up on the 11th deck of a cruise ship. We had reserved Sandcastle Cabana #12 on the far end of the family beach, but knew we only had to walk halfway there, stopping at Cabana check-in, from where we’d be transported the rest of the way by golf cart.
Snorkel equipment is included with cabana rentals, but you need to get it from a rental location. We had failed to do our research, so as soon as we reached the family beach area, we asked someone where we could get the equipment. They pointed us toward Gil’s Fins and Boats along the water at the beginning of the family beach. This is right near the blue snorkeling lagoon, with all its treasures to discover beneath the surface.
After showing our cabana bracelets and key to the world card, we walked away with a large bag of snorkeling equipment for three. I lugged that Santa Claus-sized sack of gear for the journey past Cookies BBQ and some shops until we got to the cabana check-in. That’s when we saw the sign for Flippers and Floats, another equipment rental location much closer to the cabanas. Oh, well.
Cabana attendant tip: If you scored a Sandcastle cabana and want to snorkel in the snorkeling lagoon, save it for the end of your day on the island, after cabana time. Stop at Gil’s on the way back from the cabana and snorkel at that blue lagoon. If you are okay snorkeling closer to the cabana, pick up the gear at Flippers and Floats instead.
Anyway, after showing our cabana bracelet at the check-in area, we were welcomed into a golf cart and our driver brought us to our cabana.
Inside the cabana is a couch and chairs plus a ceiling fan that’d be nice for hot days. There’s a mini-fridge stocked with complimentary sodas, water, and a fruit basket. On the counter is a basket of snacks, like chips and granola bars. There’s also a safe, private changing area, sunscreen, and a tablet on the wall to call the cabana host, order non-complimentary drinks, or control the music playing overhead.
The uncovered part of the cabana has loungers, a hammock and shower, the latter mostly to wash the sand off your feet. There’s also sand toys and floats and tubes sitting there and multiple low profile sand chairs you can bring down to the water. In addition to the snorkeling gear you have to obtain yourself, you can also find complimentary bicycles to ride around the island.
The Sandcastle cabanas have their own private stretch of beach with views of the ship in the distance. Cookies Two, the nearest food location was an easy 5-minute walk, with clean, quiet restrooms even closer. The night before, our server told us that Rachel’s gluten free lunch would be available at Cookies, not Cookies Two, so we thought we had a golf cart plus a walk ahead of us for lunch.
Within minutes of our arrival, our cabana attendant appeared and introduced himself, and provided us with all the information we’d need. It turns out he was going to bring Rachel’s lunch to the cabana from Cookie’s, and Rona and I could just grab our own lunch from the nearby Cookies Two. Score!
By 10 AM, the ladies were chilling (literally) in the water while I became one with the hammock, dryly soaking in the views. I did eventually grab a tube and join Rona and Rachel. The Atlantic ocean along Castaway Cay was 76°F, so it was a tad cool but comfortable enough, once you acclimated.
To avoid the worst of the lunch crowds, and since our cabana attendant was going to bring Rachel’s lunch at noon, Rona and I walked over to Cookies Two BBQ to grab our own lunch and take it back to the cabana. We weren’t feeling super adventurous, and so kept it traditional.
Rona helped herself to a burger, hot dog minus the bun and the same pickles she swore by at Mickey’s Smokestack Barbeque. I snagged a burger and chicken leg, and on the way back to the cabana we sampled some soft serve banana ice cream. As promised, Rachel’s burger, rice and gluten free cookies had arrived before we got back. All the food was decent, if not particularly hot. The ice cream was really good, though.
We didn’t do much else on the island beyond relaxing in and out of the water, the hammock, and loungers. Some fairly aggressive seagulls paid a visit during my afternoon hammock siesta, mot likely interested in any lunch scraps.
After six hours in Castaway Cay, the three of us decided to skip snorkeling, despite having lugged the gear around. Lame, I know. Fortunately, we were able to just leave all of it in the cabana. After packing up some of the included sodas and snacks that we hadn’t already scarfed down, we used the tablet to request a golf cart back out of the cabana area.
Within five minutes, our transportation and cabana attendant arrived. We thanked him with a decent gratuity (hadn’t considered that cost until after booking), and climbed into the golf cart, which brought us back to the cabana check-in area. As we had done that morning, we skipped the tram and sashayed our way back to the ship that awaited our return.
Disney Wish Review – Back on Board
Once back on board, the plan was for me to get coffees at the Cove Café, while the ladies returned to the room to order afternoon room service snacks and get the pre-show showering underway. After scanning our MagicBand+ and going through security to get back on the ship, we split up for our designated assignments.
In our previous post, we documented our aborted attempt to visit the Cove Café on embarkation day. This time, I anticipated success as I made my way toward the aft elevators. Cove Café is located on deck 13, in the Quiet Cove adult-only area at the very aft of the ship. Getting there can sometimes be quirky, though, if not downright annoying.
There are six aft elevators, only four of which will get you up to deck 12, where you can find Palo Steakhouse, Enchanté by Chef Arnaud Lallement, The Rose, and teen activity locations. Only two of those same elevators get you up to deck 13, and it’s all down to luck if you get the right elevator. For someone with mobility issues, this seems problematic. Waiting for an elevator back down from deck 13 presents its own challenges if lots of people are waiting.
Fortunately, I do not have mobility issues, so could not complain a whole lot when the elevator that came for me could only get to deck 11 – the pool deck. From the pool deck, I climbed the wide, outside stairs to deck 12 and then another set of stairs up to deck 13. The Cove Café is on the port side, but you can only get into the Quiet Cove area on the starboard side – another quirk.
I eventually found myself waiting inside the Cove Café looking slovenly in my swimwear and baseball cap, while the folks ahead of me were all quite presentable. This included an older gentleman in his sports jacket, reviewing the cigar options while holding what appeared to be a brandy snifter. I could have sworn he was the most interesting man in the world from the Dos Equis beer commercials. What cruise line was I on?
Armed with Rona’s iced café americano and my flat white, I avoided the elevators entirely, and took the various stairwells down to deck 8, before heading back to the cabin. The room service haul included a cheese platter that comes with crackers and grapes called All Hands on Deck, a great option for an anytime snack, as well as a spinach and feta pide, a tasty and filling flatbread. The cheese platter comes with some Babybel cheese, and, pro-tip: you can ask for extra Babybel’s. Outside of gratuities and soda, which comes in cans, room service is included in your cruise fare, so kudos to Disney for that.
Tonight’s plans included the Little Mermaid live show in the Walt Disney Theater followed by dinner at Worlds of Marvel. Before the show, however, we wanted to try Star Wars: Hyperspace Lounge, located on deck 3, across from the Bayou.
Speaking of which, I mentioned in our previous post that “S”, our favorite server at the Bayou, had expressed interest in the homemade earrings Rona and Rachel had worn the night before. So, before stepping into the Hyperspace Lounge, Rona and Rachel sought him out at the Bayou, and gave him an extra set of those earrings, for which he was so appreciative.
We walked into the Hyperspace Lounge, for which it is often hard to get a table, but given it was early-ish at 5 PM, we hoped for the best. Fortunately, a table had just opened up and we were quickly seated in a corner spot. The lounge is an upscale, Star Wars–themed cocktail bar where you can order a variety of themed drinks while watching ever-changing space scenes through a giant panoramic “window”. It was here we discovered that our MagicBand+’s react to the environment. As the scenes change in the window, the magic bands would blink in different colors and vibrate.
The menu resides on a tablet, and offers cocktails, wine, beer, and zero-proof drinks. They sell one ultra-expensive gimmicky drink called the Kaiburr Crystal, and described it as the galaxy’s rarest and most valuable cocktail. This is a $5,000 experience combining ultra-rare spirits like Pappy Van Winkle 23-Year Bourbon, Grand Marnier Quintessence, and Camus Cognac with exclusive souvenirs, theatrical presentation, and VIP perks. This was more than five times the cost of the cabana at Castaway Cay, so we gave it a miss.
Rona selected the Chancellor, from Coruscant, made with Hennessy James (cognac) and Calvados Menorval 1972 (apple brandy). I chose Freetown Reserve from Tatooine, made from Bantha hides mashed with fermented grains, though here on earth, it’s made from Woodford Reserve Double Oaked bourbon. Rachel had the zero proof Cloud City, a mix of Oat Milk, Blue Raspberry, and Galaxy Ice Cream, which is essentially vanilla ice cream with purple swirls.
The drinks were strong, they were tasty, but half the fun was the theatrical presentation that accompanied them. The Freetown Reserve is a show unto itself. First, our server plopped down a glass with a huge ice cube in it, then proceeded to shoot smoke into it from a futuristic weapon. She then sprayed smoke into an oversized beaker containing the drink and poured the finished concoction into my glass.
Moments after laying our drinks in front of us, she returned with another sci-fi looking weapon that created oversized bubbles floating atop our cocktails. These syruppy spheres don’t easily pop, so they were a pretty cool addition. Overall, we loved this place – both the drinks and the theming – we’ll definitely return on future sailings.
We caught the 6:15 PM stage show, The Little Mermaid. This was definitely a step up from Seas the Adventure, which we’d seen the night before. The Broadway style show featured puppetry for notable characters like Flounder and Flotsam and Jetsam, but huge compliments go to the memorable puppeteer/actors who inhabited the roles of Sebastian and Scuttle. There was one oddity that during several songs, we noticed the background music unfortunately exceeded the volume of the performers, especially Ariel.
Dinner tonight was at Worlds of Marvel (deck 4, aft), which we’d visited for the unfortunate muster drill on embarkation day. The on-the-table theming was no longer hastily covered by tablecloths, and we were not led through any crew-only areas (kitchen?) on the way to our table. This is a sleek, windowless, high-tech cinematic space broken up by several massive, hexagonal pillars and ceiling beams that creates pockets of seating. It features an Avengers aesthetic, with glowing Quantum Cores centered on all the tables that are oriented toward large screens.
Dinner here is an interactive experience, with a bunch of Avengers appearing on screen, such as Ant-Man, the Wasp, Captain America, Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel. Spider-man appears in person, but does not stick around for pictures. The show is about a tech demo gone wrong, in which we get to press some buttons and help Ant-Man and the Wasp defeat Ultron.
As always with Disney’s rotational dining, your servers rotate dining rooms along with you. This is nice, as over the course of the sailing they get to know you. Soon after our table mates from last night joined us, our assistant server brought over the same soft drinks as we’d had the night before. Because I’d had a cocktail last night, I had to wait for her to appear again so I could ask for a Coke Zero.
As you would expect, the menu is Marvel themed, especially the section names and the desserts.The selections did look pretty good. I failed to mention this in the last post, but in the DCL dining rooms, you order your entire meal up front, all the way through dessert. Rachel had ordered tonight’s gluten free meal at the end of last night’s dinner.
For appetizers, both Rona and I ordered the steamed bao bun. Rona also chose the iceberg wedge while I went with the dill & meyer lemon marinated shrimp. Rachel had picked a Caesar Salad, no croutons. The bao buns were bright and tangy, and we did not feel cheated with the size of the pork belly. The salads were salad-y in a good way, and the four shrimp on my plate were light and zesty.
Entree-wise, the three of us appeared to have synced up on the desire for chicken in some fried form. Rachel had asked for gluten free chicken tenders and mac’n cheese off the kids menu, while Rona and I both had the chicken schnitzel. The schnitzel was crispy and substantial and entirely delicious, if not particularly adventurous. Rachel was in her happy place with “chickie tenders and mac’n”.
For dessert, I’d ordered the Pym Doughnut Sundae, with Rona going for the no-sugar-added Wakanda Flourless Chocolate Beetroot Cake, and Rachel picking the Californian Citrus Lemon Slice. The sundae was sweet and delicious and featured Dulce de Leche ice cream, brownie, caramel fudge and a mini chocolate glazed donut. The flourless chocolate beetroot cake was moist, dense and fudgy – not too sweet and surprisingly good. The citrus lemon slice is a layered gluten free sponge cake with a tart citrus curd and vanilla frosting, all of which Rachel thought was decent.
Overall, we were quite pleased with dinner at Worlds of Marvel. The food was surprisingly good, and after our experience with the entrees last night at 1923, DCL had us feeling more positive. As for the Marvel interactive show, it is well done, if a bit loud at times, but is spread throughout the meal so you can enjoy the food and conversation.
Pirate night was scheduled for tomorrow, and though we were scheduled to be back at Marvel then, we had booked a dinner reservation at Palo Steakhouse. This meant we would not see our regular servers tomorrow, so with this in mind, Rachel ordered her dinner for the following night, which would be at Arandelle. Also, since the ship would be docking at Lookout Cay tomorrow, she ordered her island lunch.
After dinner, we wandered the ship some more, listened to music and lost at trivia, before ultimately returning to our stateroom to find our beds turned down, with a lobster towel animal lying in wait. As mentioned, tomorrow the ship would dock at Disney’s Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. Sadly, there would be no cabana dreams this time.
Ship to Shore – Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point
After a good night’s sleep, and hungry for a more relaxed and slightly more refined breakfast experience, the three of us returned to 1923, the main dining room open at this time. It wasn’t too busy and we were immediately brought to our own private table. Rachel ordered gluten free Mickey waffles and scrambled eggs, I had Eggs Benedict and Rona chose smoked salmon and hard boiled eggs. We weren’t rushed, the food and coffee was good, and the “yolk pop test” on the benedict’s poached eggs yielded an appropriate yolk flow.
After changing into our swimsuits, we disembarked around 9:30 AM. At Lighthouse Point, the distance from ship to shore is approximately half a mile across an open-trestle pier. Disney built this long pier to avoid dredging the seabed, which protects the native coral reefs that grow closer to the shoreline.
The pier has no shade, though there is a self service water station halfway across. Sunscreen is pretty important here. If you have mobility issues, Disney provides golf cart assistance, and they often have strollers or wagons available at the end of the pier for families with small children.
Mid-April in the Bahamas is beautiful, sunny and dry, and it sure was today, so we set out at a leisurely place across the pier, stopping repeatedly to take photos of the water and the ship that grew smaller as we approached shore. After about 20 minutes, we came to Mabrika Cove at the end of the pier.
This is only the first part of the journey, because next is a 10-minute tram ride to the Goombay Cultural Center and the family and adult beaches. In addition to the tram stop, Mabrika Cove has a small snack and coffee bar with rest rooms behind it, an even smaller merchandise kiosk, and the Mabrika Cove cabanas.
During the tram ride, island-vibe music plays over the speakers, interspersed with a light narration welcoming you to Eleuthera, the island on which Lookout Cay sits, giving you a bit of local history, and reminding you of the island’s commitment to conservation. There isn’t a whole lot to look at on the way, but that’s kind of the point.
Once we arrived at Goombay Cultural Center, we walked past some shops, heading left toward Serenity Bay, the adults-only beach. It’s such a different feel to Castaway Cay. The walk is a true nature trail, consisting of an elevated wooden boardwalk that winds through the natural Bahamian landscape, over preserved dunes and native flora. It felt so much more serene.
Disney’s Lookout Cay map shows that there are three main dining venues here. True True BBQ sits at one end of the family beach, with True True Two BBQ at the other end. We made our way along the boardwalk past True True Two toward Serenity Bay, where Serenity Bay BBQ can be found. Down on the sand, we eventually figured out how the beach umbrellas worked – the stop pin you need to keep an umbrella open is sitting at the base of the thing. Thank you to the kind fellow passenger for pointing that out.
A little less than an hour after getting off the ship, we were relaxing on some loungers on the beach. While the water at Castaway Cay is a man-made, enclosed lagoon, here it’s open ocean water with waves, though there is some protection from the reefs. In addition to the loungers, there are loads of low profile sand chairs you can bring to the edge of the brilliant, glowing electric turquoise water.
Serenity Bay was nice and quiet, and a relaxing place to hang out. The wind came and went, and so did our umbrella when the wind suddenly yanked it out of the sand between our loungers and tossed it unceremoniously into the coppice behind us. Coppice is the Bahamian term for the mix of salt-tolerant plants and low-lying shrubs that, much like the sand dunes, you aren’t supposed to walk on. But also, yeah, that happened. It was a good run. Nobody said or did anything. Shade is overrated.
There was no cabana to keep us on the island, and we aren’t good at the whole “sit on the beach all day long” thing. The plan was to have a light lunch on the island and head back to the ship in the early afternoon. So around 12:30 PM we packed up and trekked over to True True BBQ on the opposite side of Lookout Cay, since that’s where the allergy-sensitive orders would be. One must make do when living without a cabana attendant to pick up your food for you.
This part of Castaway Cay was positively humming compared with Serenity Bay. The allergy line was tucked away at the farthest end of True True, so Rachel went there and checked in for her hot dog topped with chili with a side of fries. True True BBQ has all the usual suspects, like burgers, hot dogs, rotisserie chicken, ribs, each of which had the longest lines, but they also offered some fish, and chicken and seafood rice bowls.
One line over from the allergy station had the rice bowls and almost no wait. So Rona and I got the saffron and vegetable rice with shrimp, mussels and scallops, and set off in search of treasure: a sheltered table. We were lucky to find one fairly quickly, considering how crowded everything was.
While I protected both our table and rapidly cooling lunch, Rona brought back Rachel and some crispy Coke Zero’s. The seafood rice was tasty and did have some of the noted seafood in it. Rachel’s hot dog came without the requested chili, but she didn’t like pursuing it. If you haven’t had or seen a gluten free hot dog bun, they’re usually massive beasts that require some level of demolition to get at the frankfurter within, and today was no exception. Still, Mickey Mouse had fashioned Rachel the allergen friendly lunch she needed, so there were no complaints.
With lunch mostly eaten, we gave up our table to one of the many tray-carrying drive-by’s looking for a place to sit, and headed for the tram stop at Goombay Cultural Center. About fifteen minutes later we stood by the pier, taking in the views of Mabrika Cove, the Disney Wish, and the impossibly turquoise water.
Even the half mile walk back across the pier toward the ship just takes your breath away if you let it.
We were back on board by 1:30 PM and wanted to give the Quiet Cove pool a try while the ship was less busy, so took the elevator/stairs combination to get up to the adult only area on deck 13 again. It seems like port days are an optimal time to take a dip in the infinity pool, which was not at all crowded. Towels are available, the water is warm and the view out the back of the ship is amazing.
The pool is also a few short steps away from the Cove Café, and while Rachel and I finished drying off, Rona went in and got us our regular order of an iced americano and flat white, with Sorcerer Mickey atop the latter. I was curious enough to google how they create that coffee character art, and it turns out to be through the use of a Ripple Maker, basically a coffee printer.
It was time for room service to supplement our light lunch, so caffeine in hand, and no longer dripping wet we returned to our cabin. Lunch part two consisted of both gluten-free and fully glutenized chicken fingers, as well as chicken noodle soup, of which we’d seen a lot of thanks to one of our absolute favorite vloggers and prince of positivity, Nate, a.k.a. Paging Mr. Morrow. He always seemed to have that soup at 3 AM, though. The poultry-based snacks of both finger and soup varieties were just what the doctor ordered.
It was Pirate Night, as indicated by the Mickey-themed pirate bandanas that were sitting in our cabin. This meant the entertainment was going to be pirate-oriented, but also meant we were dining at Palo Steakhouse, because we weren’t interested in the pirate-themed dining menu. Plus, we loved Palo on the Magic, and wanted to try the steakhouse version for dinner.
We showered and returned to the Bayou for some great live music, courtesy of the Wishers. Our favorite server “S” immediately found us, and we ordered a Bloody Mary for Rona and old fashioned for me. He brought back our drinks, and surprised us with complimentary beignets with chocolate to thank us for the earrings. Those were some good beignets, and not too dense.
The recently released movie, Hoppers was showing in the Walt Disney Theater tonight, but Mickey & Minnie’s Pirates in the Caribbean live-action show was happening up on the pool deck. We had a great view of the show from deck 12, one deck up. Captain’s Mickey and Minnie and the gang (Goofy, Donald, Daisy & Pluto) teach guests how to be “good” pirates before being interrupted by Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, who attempt to take over the ship. If you are rocking a MagicBand+, it reacts to the events in the show, lighting up and buzzing just like in the Hyperspace Lounge. It’s a fun show.
Afterward it was time for dinner, and so we slipped inside and into The Rose. This is an elegant, adult-exclusive lounge themed after the Enchanted Rose from Beauty and the Beast. It has amazing views via its massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The Rose serves as the grand entrance to the ship’s two premier specialty restaurants: Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté. We didn’t get a chance to have a cocktail here, but we would definitely do so if we sailed again.
Palo Steakhouse is a hybrid of an American steakhouse and the Northern Italian restaurant that is Palo on the older ships. It’s themed after Cogsworth, whereas Enchanté next door is themed after Lumiere. It blends warm metallic accents and dark wood paneling with panoramic floor-to-ceiling ocean views. Our dinner was on the late side so we only had that view for a short time before full darkness. While the dress code in each of the main dining rooms is cruise casual, here the dress code is semi-formal – think minimally business casual, or evening chic. Although you can wear shorts at Palo Steakhouse for brunch.
Our server, Matteo, brought over menus and checked with us for food allergies. At dinner, you can order a la carte, or for $55 you can order from a prix fixe set menu that includes an appetizer, salad, entree and dessert. The $55 was the pricing we saw on the DCL app when we had reserved Palo Steakhouse for dinner.
Drinks came first, and they included a crispy diet coke for Rachel, an iced tea for Rona that was crafted from big ol’ iced tea ice cubes, and yet another old fashioned for yours truly. Then came a delicious mushroom-based amuse-bouche, one of which was made gluten-free for Rachel.
Palo Steakhouse is incredibly accommodating for those with Celiac; there were very few things they could not make gluten free. Rachel liked the look of the prezzo fisso (prix fixe) options, and opted to start with the Frito di Calamari e Gamberi – fried squid and shrimp. The calamari appeared to have been grilled instead of fried, but was all the more tender. We all tasted this sizable appetizer, which was fantastic. Rachel also had a massive caesar salad.
We ordered the Ciuppin soup, a fragrant and delicious seafood stew with mussels, shrimp, calamari, red snapper, and monkfish in a well seasoned tomato broth. We also shared the Prosciutto di Parma, Basil, & Burrata Pizza, which was absolutely humongous. The combination of the thin, crispy crust, the salty prosciutto combined with the glob of fresh burrata on every slice was amazing. There was no way we could do justice to this sucker, given we still had entrees coming.
Speaking of entrees, Rachel’s choice was the 6oz Angus beef tenderloin, which on the prix fixe menu came with pancetta, truffle potato and spinach. I ordered the same steak a la carte, and added a side of pan-roasted mushrooms. Rona went with the Piquant Dover Sole. Matteo brought the whole fish to the table on a silver platter and skillfully removed the skin and bones right in front of us, reconstructing the fillets onto Rona’s plate. The fish was firm and delicious, and the rich, buttery sauce was smooth as silk.
The steaks were top notch: juicy, well-seasoned and cooked perfectly. The sides were delicious. But the Dover Sole is both dinner and a show.
Forks down, we were entirely stuffed. But dessert! Rachel’s prix fixe came with dessert, for which she had already chosen the chocolate soufflé that Palo is known for. Matteo checked on that earlier in the meal, since it takes some time to prepare. Rona and I went with the mantra, “ice cream fits in the cracks”, and so ordered 3 flavors of gelato, two for me.
All in, dinner at Palo Steakhouse cost $165 for the three of us, and we were really pleased with the entire experience. Our server Matteo was attentive, knowledgeable and always checking in on us. The food – every single item – was amazing. We would absolutely go back, though would love to check out brunch.
We wound up missing the signature fireworks DCL does on Pirate Night, though we have seen a lot of Disney fireworks over the years, including Happily Ever After from our balcony at Bay Lake Tower a few nights prior. A turtle towel animal sat on our bed awaiting our return.
One day without a cabana had left us over-priveleged travelers exhausted and ready for bed. Tomorrow was a sea day, promising loads of trivia, lunch that would not be barbecue, a stage show and dinner at Arandelle! Until then, here is more Disney Wish Art!
