Animator’s Palate on the Disney Fantasy is a wondrously themed restaurant located on Deck 3, Aft.  Animators Palate serves contemporary Pacific Rim cuisine with an American flair for dinner and features 2 amazing shows, “Animation Magic” and “Undersea Magic.”

On the night we visited Animators Palate, we experienced the all new “Animation Magic” show where you get to become a Disney animator!  As you’re seated, you have a placemat with an open “stick figure” area for you to create your very own animated figure.  Just like when you were a kid, though, you have to stay in the lines!

Animation Magic Placemat

Animation Magic Placemat

Once you’ve completed your drawing, the server takes the placemat away to some secret location for later in the evening.

Now, on to dinner!

We loved our dinner at Animators Palate, although there were a couple tweeks that could be made….very minor, though.  With the Animation Magic show, Disney Fantasy crew wants you to get through the meal as quickly as possible so that you may enjoy what’s to come with Animation Magic.  Therefore, your appetizer and soup is pretty much selected for you so all you have to decide on is the entree.

I couldn’t even manage that, so I chose two entrees; the Venison and the Lobster.  A final night surf and turf creation of my own!

Animators Palate Venison

Animators Palate Venison

Animators Palate Lobster

Animators Palate Lobster

Normally, you’d select from a number of appetizers and soups, including any of the appetizers, soups, or entrees that you had on the menu at the other rotational dining locations on the ship.  This was not allowed on this night to speed the service for the Animation Magic show to come.  I really don’t recall what the appetizer was so it must not have been too great, but the soup was amazing!  Buttered Popcorn Soup with Caramelized Popcorn and Spiced Cornbread!

Buttered Popcorn Soup

Buttered Popcorn Soup

I’ve heard it described as a caramel popcorn flavored Jelly Belly and that’s just about exactly what it tasted like.  The venison and the lobster were both wonderful, as well.  Very flavorful and cooked to perfection.  I ate them both!


Of course the night builds to a climax as do all nights in the Animators Palate, whether on the Disney Fantasy, Disney Dream, Disney Wonder, or Disney Magic.  On the Fantasy, on this night, the meal concludes with Animation Magic!

Animation Magic is an experience that’s exclusive to the Disney Fantasy, Sorcerer Mickey leads the fun as black and white explodes into color and “Be Our Guest” reaches new heights. Don’t be surprised if your own hand-drawn characters join the colorful production!

Remember that drawing you did at the beginning of the evening?  Well, you’ll be seeing it again as your drawings come to life with a little help from Sorcerer Mickey!

Of course, the theming and decor of Animators Palate was absolutely stunning!  It’s such a fun dining experience for the kids and adults, alike.  We had an amazing time at Animators Palate and can’t wait to come back and experience the full 7 night voyage aboard the Disney Fantasy.
 

{ 0 comments }

During our preview cruise aboard the new Disney Fantasy cruise ship, the Disney Dream cruise ship passed us 3 times while near and at Castaway Cay! The Disney Fantasy cruise ship was docked in Castaway Cay during one of these encounters and we captured video of the cruise ship passing Castaway Cay. In the video, you’ll hear 5 of the 6 ship horns on the Disney Fantasy!

See if you can guess which Disney Fantasy horn we missed!

The Disney Fantasy is Disney Cruise Line’s newest cruise ship that just made it’s maiden voyage on March 31, 2012. We were fortunate enough to sail on the Disney Fantasy before the maiden voyage and explore the ship!
Newly imagined and now a magical reality at sea, the Disney Fantasy has come true—and the cruise ship is now sailing to spectacular ports of call!

Building on the classic style of her sister ship (following Walt Disney love of classic cruise ships), the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy™ is the regal fourth cruise liner in the expanding Disney Cruise Line fleet. This 130,000-ton vessel offers:
* 14 towering decks
* 1,250 staterooms
* The capacity to comfortably accommodate 4,000 passengers—along with the over 1,450 Cast and Crew Members who tend to the needs of every cruise Guest each day
* Total ship length of 1,115 feet and a maximum width of 125 feet
Building on the classic style of the previous ships as imagined by Walt Disney, the Disney Magic, the Disney Wonder and the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy is a majestic sailing vessel where early 20th-century design—recalling the golden age of cruising when Walt Disney cruised—meets state-of-the-art technology. The cruise liner is designed with families in mind, combining sleek style and convenient facilities with splashes of Walt Disney magic.

{ 0 comments }

Disney Characters at the Fantasy Sail Away Party

by TimJones

Ahhh…you have done your fire drill and now you’re ready to set sail aboard the Disney Fantasy! Disney Cruise does a great job sending you off on a cruising adventure with your favorite Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and more! Join us for our own Sailing Away party on [...]

Read the full article →

Disney Fantasy Cruise Ship Departure from Port Canaveral

by TimJones

We had a unique opportunity to preview the new Disney Fantasy cruise ship on a special preview cruise in late March out of Port Canaveral, Florida. This video shows our trip aboard the Disney Cruise bus and boarding of the new Disney Fantasy cruise ship in Port Canaveral. The Disney Fantasy is beautiful and will [...]

Read the full article →

Florida Guana River State Park Conservation Project and Education

by TimJones

We headed south on Florida A1A to the Guana River State Park for an outdoors conservation project and some environmental education with the Cub Scouts. Our tasks for the day included hanging a couple owl nesting boxes for Guana River State Park. We also received some environmental education about our Florida outdoors, the flora and [...]

Read the full article →

Magic Kingdom: One More Disney Day

by TimJones

We made a last minute decision to go down to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World on Leap day to celebrate the theme park being open for 24 hours for the One More Disney Day event. We arrived at the park around 4:30PM and met a friend in the theme park. We spent some [...]

Read the full article →

Blue Man Group Show at Universal Orlando

by TimJones

The Blue Man Group creator, Phil Stanton has updated the Universal Orlando show to include more sketches that include references to more current “pop culture” items and stories. We had the opportunity to go down to Universal Orlando for a grand re-opening celebration for the new show where we got to see the entire new [...]

Read the full article →

Civil War Battle Reenactment at Olustee Florida

by TimJones

Every year, we travel about an hour west to the Lake City, Florida area to participate in the Civil War Battle Reenactment at Olustee. This year was my 17th year doing so and was really looking forward to another at Olustee. Unfortunately, the weather did not really cooperate….well, it did, just not on the right [...]

Read the full article →

Dune Buggy Races with Kid Drivers!

by TimJones

We decided to try out a new family adventure, this past weekend by going to a dune buggy racing facility in Jacksonville, Florida where even our kids could drive the dune buggies! It was a great adventure that included an hour of drive time! We paid for a special event that provided the unlimited riding [...]

Read the full article →

Learn The Best Thing To Do In Charleston If You Only Have a Few Hours

by TimJones

Over the holiday break, we visited Charleston, South Carolina. Well, we really were kind of out in the country near Holly Hill, but that’s another story. We knew we had to get into town and explore some of the great history and sites that Charleston had to offer. We started by doing some searches about [...]

Read the full article →