Let’s Talk about Arendelle — A Frozen Dining Adventure
With every vacation on the Disney Wish, guests gain access to three unique dining experiences.
Disney Cruise Line calls them rotational dining venues, each with its pros and cons.
Today, we’ll discuss the most family-friendly option in the bunch.
Let’s talk about Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure, the Nordic meal that allows your family to come face to face with Anna and Elsa.
Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure on the Disney Wish – Credit: Disney
What Is Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure?
You can think of this meal as dinner and a show. In a way, it’s like Akershus at EPCOT, only substituting Anna and Elsa for the Disney Princesses.
You’ll know you’re in the right place on the ship as you walk into the restaurant.
The theming will feel familiar to anyone who has ridden Frozen Ever After.
This restaurant’s exterior could double as an extra section from that attraction’s line queue.
On one side, you’ll walk past a suit of armor holding the sweetest sign. It’s a congratulatory note from Olaf and Sven to the recently betrothed Queen Anna and Kristof!
In fact, you soon learn that you’re an invited guest at Anna and Kristof’s engagement party!
The restaurant’s main corridor also features family paintings of beloved Frozen characters like Olaf and also Anna and Elsa as children standing with their parents.
I’m in awe of the art in these paintings, as one shows Anna’s intense affection for Elsa. A companion piece does the same for Sven with Kristof.
Once you reach the restaurant, you may be tempted to spike a football into the end zone, as it is a loooong corridor.
However, you’ll quickly grow distracted by more artwork, including a majestic painting of Elsa encountering the Nokk.
All the illustrations here are of the highest quality, and Disney has done a remarkable job with the theming.
You’ll walk past trashcans and bathrooms and not even realize it!
About the Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure Experience
Dining in this restaurant definitely qualifies as a communal experience. The tables are long, and most seat at least eight.
Disney has broken them down in a way that you could feasibly eat at a four-top or six-top, but odds are good you’ll sit close to someone you don’t know.
That’s a feature, not a bug. After all, you’re eating here to enjoy an unprecedented Frozen show, the first of its kind.
So, the dining hall doubles as a theater setting, only one with dining room tables rather than stadium seating.
Since every Disney Wish guest can and likely will dine here once, the space must host several hundred people at once. So it’s a cleverly designed theater-in-the-round.
During your experience, you’ll meet several Frozen characters, including Anna, Elsa, Kristof, Olaf, and Oaken.
Notably, they won’t always be the ones singing the classic Frozen hits. Instead, various cast members break into song as well!
You’ll hear classics like For the First Time in Forever, In Summer, and – of course! – Let It Go.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but the Let It Go performance is an absolute show-stopper…and DEFINITELY not in the way you’d expect.
A royal announcement occurs during one of the songs when Queen Anna and former Queen Elsa enter, along with Kristof and Olaf.
Disney’s idea for Olaf is SPECTACULAR! A cast member wheels him around on a tray table.
The Audio-Animatronic (I assume?) dances and sings in time with the music! Cleverly, the cast member also sings along.
So, Olaf’s pusher seems right at home beside him, unlike many Disney musical performers over the years. This entire implementation is very well done.
Eating at Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Experience
Your meal here consists of plenty of Nordic flavors, which is why I mentioned Akershus.
After a couple of songs, an announcement will signal that dinner is served!
Remember that you’re on a cruise! So, you can eat as much as you want.
A cast member will hand you a menu that includes appetizers (well, a Smorgasborg), Salads, Bread Service, and soups (“From the Kettle”).
You’ll also choose among several Entrees, including lighter and vegetarian options.
Unlike at Akershus, you don’t need to settle for one! Order anything you like. You already paid for it!
The one caveat here is that Disney has designed the entire Arendelle experience for families.
As such, the early consensus is that Arendelle finishes third out of the three rotational dining venues on the Disney Wish.
Please don’t understand me. The food here is terrific by any conventional standard. It’s just that the other two places are otherworldly.
So, Disney emphasized more comfort food here along with the Nordic cuisine. Not everyone is a fan of traditional Kjottkake, after all.
Kids will have their choice of stuff like cheeseburgers instead. And you’ll be thankful for that as a parent.
You know the face your kid makes when you ask them to try something new.
Final Thoughts
Overall, everyone will find PLENTY to eat here. It’s just that 1923 is…pretty hard to beat.
If you want to skip a rotational dining experience and are a foodie who doesn’t love Frozen, this is probably the one.
For fans of Frozen, family dining, dinner theater, and/or Swiss meatballs, this place is Heaven on earth at sea. You’ll love EVERYTHING about it.
Seriously, the Olaf tech blows my mind…and who doesn’t love the music from Frozen?
This restaurant is a 10 out of 10. Somehow, there are better 10 out of 10 restaurants on the ship, though.
The Disney Wish is amazing, y’all!
