My Magical Disney Cruise Line Adventure to Disney Lookout Cay: Trip Recap

We made it back on shore! After the cruise, I spent a week nursing some congestion, and complete and utter chaos consumed our lives for the rest of July, but that happens sometimes! The Little Pixie had the best birthday onboard the Disney Magic! From Palo to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, the Aqua Lab to the Oceaneer Club, we explored every inch of the ship. My kiddo was a trooper, staying up every single night to go to the Walt Disney Theatre, where we caught the ship-exclusive Broadway-style shows like Tangled: The Musical and the brand new, record-breaking movie Inside Out 2! We also visited Disney's newest destination, Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point! I wanted to share a more in-depth trip recap than I could in an email.

Without any additional rambling, here is my Disney Lookout Cay sailing with Disney Cruise Line Trip Recap:

PALO BRUNCH

I will never go on another Disney Cruise without booking a Palo Brunch! From the start, our server, Joao, escorted us to our window-side table and greeted us with complimentary prosecco and mimosas. He walked us through the menu while serving incredible bread. We opted for the lunch menu instead of breakfast, and it was the right choice. We shared a goat cheese and sundried tomato flatbread and the seafood antipasti, and also ordered both soups as a middle course. All of this was not only more food than we expected but also more delicious!

Honestly, I could have stopped there because I was starting to get full… but then the entrees came. I ordered the Rollatini Melazane (lightly breaded baked eggplant with prosciutto, mozzarella, sweet ricotta, and Toscana sauce), which was heavenly, and my husband ordered the Veal Saltimbocca, which he enjoyed immensely. After we finished, we were given another full entrée to try… and that’s when I knew I had ordered the wrong thing. The Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast is a fan favorite for a reason. It’s essentially Chicken Parmesan, but it’s the best I’ve ever had in my life. If you know me, you know I’m not a big fan of chicken. One bite made me realize I had been eating chicken incorrectly for the past 30-something years. It was tender, well-seasoned, melted in my mouth, and I couldn’t stop eating even though I was the fullest I’ve been in a long time…

Then Joao brought out the dessert menu. I intended only to take a big bite for research, but the Buttermilk Panna Cotta Pot called to me. It’s a buttermilk panna cotta topped with strawberry popping pearls, a dusting of pistachio, and the cutest chocolate butterfly perched at the top of the glass. Of course, I had to order it. That "research bite" turned into an empty glass. The refreshing dessert left me feeling not overly full, as I had been after the Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast, but happily satiated. I still dream about this dessert and count down the days until I can be reunited!

Joao wished us a happy cruise, and we sauntered off onto the deck to see what else we could get into before picking up our child for her lunch. I mean it when I say it—stick your kids in the club or nursery and treat yourself to this brunch. This extra-cost meal, at $50 per person, was more than worth it.

OCEANEER CLUB AND LAB

Speaking of dropping your kids off at the club, the Oceaneer Club and Lab are a kiddo's paradise! Games, crafts, character meets, movies… you name it, the kids will have fun doing it! Little Pixie wanted to be there more than she wanted to be with us. The Oceaneer Club and Lab are exclusive to toilet-trained kids aged 3-10. There's also a club called Edge for tweens and Vibe for teens.

OUR ROOM

We decided to try something different this time and booked a Navigator's Verandah Room (category 07A). This cool room not only provided extra space on the verandah but also added a little security for families who may be hesitant about having little ones on a verandah. It felt like we were in a secret room, charting the course. There are only a few of these, so if your little one dreams of being a captain, you should consider it!

As an aside, I do take all videos in portrait for social media :D

The downside of a Navigator's Verandah is that it’s located in the aft of the ship. I know some clients are big fans of being in the aft, but for me, someone who gets seasick easily, feeling the engines in port and at night is not on the top of my "must-have" list.

When it comes to space, typically, you can't pry us away from a Deluxe Family Oceanview with Verandah room. This room didn’t change my mind either. The space wasn’t horrible, but we like to do outfit changes and dance in our stateroom. The space in a "Family" room is nearly necessary, in my opinion, if you're sharing a room with three people, and one of those people is a toddler. On the Magic and Wonder, the only "Family" rooms are the Verandah Rooms, but on every other ship, you can get a "Family" room with or without a verandah. Maybe I'm spoiled, or maybe we just like to sprawl out a lot, but I missed the space!

Our stateroom host was incredible. His towel-folding skills are unmatched, and he was so wonderfully helpful when we lost a couple of items in our room. The Little Pixie's swim cover-up happened to be the same color as the towels, and she balled them both up together, so it was mistakenly collected. After a couple of days, the cover-up was found by our host and returned to us! The one thing we didn’t find, and I didn’t bother making a lost and found report for, was our Kuromi brush (R.I.P. brush... you were okay at best).

DISNEY LOOKOUT CAY

Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point had its ups and downs for us. The 10-minute pier walk was fine, and Disney provided wagons and strollers to borrow on the long walk. There are also water stops along the way, but these stops are seemingly not refilled throughout the day, so be sure to bring a water bottle! Once you reach the entrance, there’s a little gift kiosk and a path to the tram that takes you to the main Lookout Cay area with the beach. If you borrowed a wagon, you’ll need to drop it off at the tram area before boarding. The tram ride is about five minutes long, and you’ll be able to see a lot of the ongoing construction.

Once you arrive at the main area, you’re greeted with a couple of shops and an incredible view of the ocean! We loved the ocean and the fact that we had our pick of the litter when it came to chairs! But you can still tell it’s not finished yet. I felt the island lacked a lot of directional signage. Unfortunately, the Family Water Play area, Rush Out Gush Out, was closed. Littles who couldn’t go to Sebastian’s Cove were left with only the ocean.

Sebastian’s Cove was kind of a cluster... though this wasn’t the crew’s fault. The systems went down right as we were dropping off our little pixie, and they never came back up. The check-in and out process became completely manual. We waited nearly 45 minutes in line to pick her up because the crew members had to stop and manually count the kids. The plus side is they DO feed them on the island! On the ship, you have to pick your kids up to eat. We were able to have lunch by ourselves while she played and ate on her own time.

The food was interesting… definitely not like the burgers and hot dogs at Castaway Cay, but I kind of missed that. Before we arrived, there was a lot of talk about flies around the food. The flies were there, but the crew members were really listening and trying to cover the food or provide fly deterrents at the tables. We first ate at Serenity Bay, the adults-only area. The food there wasn’t amazing, and the restaurant was very small. I didn’t eat my food… So we decided to try True-True BBQ (there are two of them if you feel crowded at one). The food was MUCH better but very spicy, even for my heat-loving husband. We gave up and went back to the bar, where I got another delicious Goombay Punch.

Towards the end of the day, there was a Junkanoo Parade with Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, and Donald in their new costumes. I do wish this was closer to the start of the day since most people had left the island by then. We were also on our way out when we saw the parade. This was one of the only times I saw characters on the island! Comparing it to Castaway Cay probably wasn’t fair. Castaway Cay overloads you with fun and characters (not a parade or celebration, but a Disney feel). Lookout Cay felt empty still...

This island will be AMAZING when it’s complete, but I’ll probably avoid it until then. Maybe the island’s emptiness is a huge benefit to guests, though! You’ll be able to hang out at the beach without feeling like there are so many people and you can’t find a spot to sit!

FAMILY DINING

Rotational dining is unique to Disney Cruise Line. You’ll get a chance to dine at each of the three main dining rooms with the same waitstaff. Depending on your cruise length, you may repeat restaurants. We ate at Artist Palette on the first night, Rapunzel’s Royal Table on nights two and three, and finished at Lumiere’s on the last night. Each restaurant has its own menu, with your repeated night featuring a Caribbean-themed menu to celebrate Pirate Night! My favorite, food-wise, was probably Lumiere’s, but experience-wise… it was a tie between Artist’s Palette and Rapunzel’s. Rapunzel’s had a fun character show and an interactive parade! Artist’s Palette ended the night with a FANTASMIC surprise!

Each night after dinner, we went to the Walt Disney Theatre and checked out the show or movie for that night. It’s a must-do! The shows were wonderful and used the whole theatre as a stage!

There’s so much fun aboard a Disney Cruise Line ship! Even though we weren’t thrilled with Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point (just yet), the cruise was magical, the crew members were amazing, and the whole trip was a dream.

If you’re looking to get aboard a Disney Cruise Line ship, visit the “Let’s Plan” page to fill out an inquiry or send me an email at LAUREN@PIXIEMOUSETRAVEL.COM! I’m a Disney Cruise Line expert and can’t wait to help you plan your magical voyage!