Earlier today, Disney Cruise Line updated the Wish's website with information about the Wish's non-rotational dining options, like the poolside restaurants. All of the restaurants announced follow the standard set by the previously-announced restaurants: They're unlike any of the existing DCL restaurants. Disney didn't reveal much about them, but let's take a look at what we do know!
First, we'll talk about the largest of the restaurants that were announced today: Cabanas Marceline Market. Contrary to what the name suggests, this is a restaurant, not a shop. It's named after Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri. According to its description, Marceline Market will have ten separate food stations, all based on different Disney movies. Disney didn't say which movies will be featured, but in their rendering of the restaurant, there's art on the wall that gives it away. Take a look at this screenshot:
I think each food station will have food related to its theme. For example, the Zootopia station might have a focus on salads and vegetables, while the Ratatouille station may feature French food. Do you think the food from the Ratatouille station will be as fancy as food from Remy (named after the rat from Ratatouille) on the Dream and Fantasy? In addition to the ten food stations, there will be a "café-style beverage bar". I hope there's more than one, because Marceline Market is probably going to be pretty big.
I think it's good that Marceline Market won't only focus on one movie, and the distinct stations will make it easier to find the food that you want. Also, telling others where you got food will be very easy:
"Hey, that looks good, where'd you get it?"
"It's from Beauty and the Beast."
The Marceline Market description says that guests will enjoy "a walk-around experience for breakfast and lunch, and table service at dinnertime." Is a walk-around experience a buffet? It might be, but maybe Marceline Market won't be a buffet. The pandemic may have influenced the design of the Wish, so maybe guests won't be able to serve themselves food. Instead, crew members might be serving food. As long as it's flexible and works efficiently, I'll be okay with it. Also, the restaurant's table service dinner is like what's been done at Cabanas for dinner. Guests will be able to eat inside or outside, like at Cabanas.
Marceline Market is very different from DCL's existing casual restaurant, Cabanas. I've always enjoyed the tropical theming of Cabanas, since it fits perfectly with the atmosphere of a cruise. I was surprised that Disney chose not to put Cabanas on the Wish and instead try something new. They had renovated the buffet restaurants on the Magic and Wonder into Cabanas to keep them in line with the Dream and Fantasy, and I thought that they would want to keep the branding the same across the fleet, like what they've been doing with other things like the Walt Disney Theatre and the youth clubs. It seems unlikely, but maybe the four Cabanas restaurants will be updated into Marceline Markets in the future.
Before hearing about Marceline Market, I didn't know about the city of Marceline. According to Wikipedia, it had a population of 2,233 people in 2010. The Wish will be able to hold 4,000 passengers, so Marceline Market will likely serve more people in a day than the entire population of the city.
I'm looking forward to getting more information about Marceline Market, like what food it'll serve and how getting food at breakfast and lunch will function.
I'm also looking forward to the other type of casual restaurant, the poolside quick service restaurants! Together, the Wish's poolside restaurants are known as the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods. Included in this festival are Daisy's Pizza Pies, Goofy's Grill, and Sweet Minnie's Ice Cream, three restaurants that are similar to what we've seen on the existing DCL ships, just with different theming and, possibly, different menus. In addition to these, two other restaurants, Mickey's Smokestack Barbecue and Donald's Cantina, will be part of the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods. This is exciting! Other than Cookies and Cookies Too on Castaway Cay, we've never had a DCL barbecue restaurant. Also, Donald's Cantina will be the first DCL Mexican restaurant. The Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods will have more variety than those on the current DCL ships, which helps to solve an inconvenience that I never considered. On the current ships, if you're on the pool deck and want to eat something that's not at one of the outdoor restaurants, you'd have to go into Cabanas which has air conditioning and is cold. But on the Wish, with its additional two restaurants, there'll be more outdoor food options and less of a chance that guests won't want anything from them.
Unfortunately, there isn't a rendering of the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods on the Wish's website. However, since all five restaurants are grouped under the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods name, I think they'll all be close to each other, similar to Flo's Café on the Dream and Fantasy. I'm hoping that the Festival of Foods flows better than Flo's so that it doesn't get too crowded.
Unlike Marceline Market, the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods will have a tropical boardwalk theme, which will work well, since it's right by the pools. Also, since the Wish's family pools are all named after characters from the Mickey Mouse universe, the restaurants will fit in perfectly.
I'm glad Disney finally announced more of the Wish's guest areas. I'm looking forward to learning more about Marceline Market and the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods. Specifically, I want to know the menus for each of the restaurants. What foods will Donald's Cantina and Mickey's Smokestack Barbecue serve? Will I be able to order a whole pizza at Daisy's Pizza Pies? Could guests order combination foods, like a barbecue chicken pizza or a hot dog in a tortilla? Will Sweet Minnie's Ice Cream have blueberry ice cream? Will there be a soft drink station near the Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods? I can't wait for that next delicious announcement!
Fantastic post! I like your comments and ideas. I, too, was surprised we don't see a 'Cabanas' on the Wish. Maybe this will be better!
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