Disney Cruise Line will debut a brand-new family dining experience exclusive to the Disney Destiny inspired by Disney Animation’s hit The Lion King, complementing two guest-favorite restaurants from the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure 1923 and Worlds of Marvel.
The iconic songs and legendary moments of “The Lion King” will come to life at Pride Lands: Feast of The Lion King, a first-of-its-kind dining experience celebrating the renowned 1994 film.
As families dine, a colorful ensemble of live musicians and storytellers will take the stage and present a retelling of Simba’s story from cub to king, along with a musical journey through the award-winning soundtrack.
Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King Menu (Sample/Preview)
A uniquely themed menu with authentic African spice blends, sauces, grains and produce will underscore this exceptional dining experience, allowing families to expand their horizons with traditional dishes from across the continent and discover new spins on Disney Cruise Line guest-favorite dishes. During the Disney Destiny Showcase event, we had the opportunity to sample a number of menu items as well as see a first look at some others. I was impressed by the flavors of the various dishes available to sample, but I reserve a full review until late November.
Below is a general sample preview of the menu items that have been developed for Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King based on the dishes available for sampling and additional information provided by the cruise line. Please DO NOT consider this the official menu and the samples were prepared by the culinary team at Walt Disney World for the Destiny event and plated from a buffet like service station. I placed “Disney” in the caption of the images from the cruise line.
Additionally, Pride Lands: Feast of The Lion King will feature a second themed menu during five-night sailings for guests who have a second dinner seating at the restaurant. More on this detail at the end of this article.
Specialty Drinks
Can You Feel The Rum Tonight?
Starr 7 Year Oak Aged Rum, Amarula Cream Liqueur, mango smoothie mix, a pinch of cinnamon, shaken with ice, and garnished with a fresh mint leaf
Slimy Yet Satisfying
Lime Jello, Sprite, Dragonfruit Syrup
Zero-Proof
Appetizers
Peri-Peri Shrimp
Sautéed Chili-Garlic Shrimp, Creamy Gouda Pap, Toasted Corn, and Peri-Peri Sauce
Heirloom Tomato Kachumbari
Golden beet caviar, nut and seed dukkah-spiced goat cheese, and pea tendrils
Cape Malay Shrimp Curry
Garam masala, turmeric, cumin-coconut curry sauce, aromatic basmati rice, cucumber sambal, and butter roti
Soups
Sweet Potato, Lentil And Coconut Soup
Pumpernickel Croutons
Entrées
Port Wine Braised Center-Cut Beef Short Rib
Served with Malanga Mash, Long Green Beans, Crispy Shallots
Pan-Served Berber Spiced Roasted Chicken
Served with Jollof Rice, Green Plantains, Blistered Tomatoes, Green Harissa Sauce
Swahili Coconut-Tamarind Red Snapper Filet
Served with coconut Rice, Pineapple-Mandarin-Capsicum Compote
Nala’s Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Black-eyed bean-chorizo casserole, fried yuca, thyme, and pickled purple onions
Desserts
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Moist Yogurt Cake, Caramelized Pineapple, Cherries, Rooibos Mousse
Warm Chocolate Malva Pudding
Decadent Chocolate Pudding, Apricot Jam, Warm Buttery Cream Sauce, Vanilla Ice Cream
Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King Kids Menu (Sample/Preview)
Starters
- Simba’s Sunny Carrot Soup
- Hakuna Matata Garden Salad
served with your choice of Dressing
Entrées
- Savanna Salmon
Baked Salmon with Jollof Rice, Sweet Pineapple, and Mango Salsa - Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Chicken Breast, Cheddar Cheese, on a Brioche Bun served wit Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce - Ham, Cheese And Tomato Plzza
- Minl Cheeseburger
on Brioche Bun
Entrées served with Fresh Vegetables and your choice of Smashed Potatoes, Steak Fries or Mac ‘n Cheese
Disney Check Meals
- Savanna Safari Turkey
Roasted Turkey Breast with Vegetable Quinoo, Carrots Sticks, and Apple Stices - Mufasa’s Jungle Pasta
Whole Wheat Penne Pasta with Tomato Sauce, Grilled Chicken Breast, Steamed Carrots, and Fruit Salad
Desserts
- Chocolate Bread Pudding
Dark Chocolate Bits, Vanilla Sauce, Cinnamon Mickey Cookie. Vanilla Ice Cream - Mickey Ice Cream Bar
- Selection Of Assorted Ice Cream
Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King will be joined by Worlds of Marvel, where families will eat to the beat of an awesome mix of hit songs and test their knowledge of the Marvel Universe, all as an onscreen story unfolds starring the lively duo of Rocket and Groot from the blockbuster Marvel Studios “Guardians of the Galaxy” films. Finally, guests will enjoy the legacy Disney animation when dining at 1923. The elegant setting imbued with classic Hollywood glamour was named for the founding year of The Walt Disney Company and is a Wish Class standard restaurant along with Worlds of Marvel.
The Disney Destiny will continue Disney Cruise Line’s innovative family dining concept, where guests experience one of three imaginative restaurants each night accompanied by a dedicated service team that is assigned to their family throughout the voyage.
But wait, there’s more…
Disney Destiny Dining Rotations
Finally, I mentioned Pride Lands: Feast of The Lion King will feature a second themed menu during five-night sailings for guests who have a second dinner seating at the restaurant – a tidbit mentioned in a Disney Parks Blog article. The Disney Destiny is the first new ship entering service for the line that will not sail alternating 3-/4-night Bahamian or 7-Night Caribbean voyages. As a result of the Disney Destiny’s 3-, 4-, 5-night Bahamian and 5- and 7-night Caribbean itineraries, it appears there are plans to set a new standard for the rotational dining room menus. Keep in mind, this is NOT an official clarification from Disney Cruise Line, but rather an educated summary based on historical offerings across the fleet with the new detail mentioned in the Disney Parks Blog and some off the record conversations with cruise line representatives. What I can say for certain is that Disney Cruise Line will share more official details at a later date. For now, this is how I see it playing out:
During a 3-night Disney Destiny sailings guest will visit each of the rotational dining restaurants once and be served a standard menu for each such as:
During the 4-night sailings, you will visit one of the restaurants twice where you will be served the Pirates in the Caribbean menu. Note: Pirate night may not always be the 3rd night simply putting it there as an example.
Historically across the fleet the 5-night sailings often featured the 3 unique menus for each restaurant, the Pirate night menu, and one other such as Let the Magic Begin – the last 2 would be served to everyone on the same nights regardless of your dinner rotation. The Disney Destiny appears to be sailing away from this historically common fleet dinner menu rotation when it comes to the 5-night itineraries. I think it is safe to speculate the 2nd menus in 1923 and Worlds of Marvel will be similar if not identical to the Disney Treasure maintaining continuity across the Wish Class restaurants of the same name.
Now the 7-nights naturally feel like the menus would be similar to offerings on the Disney Treasure, where over the course of the voyage each guest visits each restaurant at least twice and one of the restaurants a third time. On these longer voyages, guests will likely be served both menus at each restaurant along with the Pirate menu.
Again, the menu rotations presented above are my best estimation and may not be reflective of the actual offering. Plus, Pirate Night is sometimes offered on different nights based on the port order of the itinerary. I will provide updates as they become available.