doggie bag at Palo?

[Lisa F]

Does anyone know if they will wrap up your leftovers at Palo (either brunch or dinner) to take with you, or do you just have to leave it there? (I know brunch is more questionable due to the quasi-buffet status.)

I can't eat a whole lot in one sitting but when I am more active I tend to eat more often so when I go to WDW I will time my expensive meals for when I can bring leftovers back to the room (I stay in DVC). I actually love leftovers cold (yes I'm weird) and I can see myself only having room for a couple of bites of chicken parm at palo brunch after indulging in the buffet, but then eating it later in lieu of a room service snack.

Is it a no-no to ask for your leftovers to go at these places? I understand there are no facilities for reheating anything.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

I would image they would "doggie bag" your left overs, but as you pointed out, where would you reheat them? At Remy we couldn't eat the dessert (way to full) so they boxed up some pastry pieces and several chocolates for us to take back to our room. Very nice packaging, bow and all.

 

[Dug720]

I believe the fact that there is no way to reheat and/or keep the food at the correct temperature prevents them from wrapping leftovers. Also, if they allowed that, while not your intention, I can see people abusing and ordering extra for kids and/or other party members who did not want to pay for the meal.

You can ask, but I would expect them to say no. Maybe save the room for the chicken parmesan if that is what you want?

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Does anyone know if they will wrap up your leftovers at Palo (either brunch or dinner) to take with you, or do you just have to leave it there? (I know brunch is more questionable due to the quasi-buffet status.)

I can't eat a whole lot in one sitting but when I am more active I tend to eat more often so when I go to WDW I will time my expensive meals for when I can bring leftovers back to the room (I stay in DVC). I actually love leftovers cold (yes I'm weird) and I can see myself only having room for a couple of bites of chicken parm at palo brunch after indulging in the buffet, but then eating it later in lieu of a room service snack.

Is it a no-no to ask for your leftovers to go at these places? I understand there are no facilities for reheating anything.

We have not had success in bringing leftovers from Palo. We inquired about taking the rest of our flatbread on one occasion. The server actually went and got a manager who explained to us that they were not allowed to let leftovers leave the restaurant due to the fact that there was no way to guarantee guests would properly keep them safe to consume. It really wasn't a big deal to us-just a quick inquiry. We were honestly surprised when a manager came over with the response. We just felt bad that the food was going to go to waste!

 

[MomOTwins]

Hmm, seems odd for them to give that rationale because it would hypothetically seem to permit someone to doggie bag a breakfast pastry that does not need refrigeration. I am guessing still no because of the possibility for abusing the system (i.e., taking 10 each of all the different breakfast pastries for an extended family to try).

Regardless, I would just feel too uncomfortable even asking since I wouldn't want to be perceived as trying to take advantage of the buffet to "stock up". If food waste is a concern, a buffet is not a good fit since buffets by definition involve a ton of food waste since they can only leave items out for so long.

 

[Rob1872]

Also, if they allowed that, while not your intention, I can see people abusing and ordering extra for kids and/or other party members who did not want to pay for the meal.

Definitely a prime reason. (But they might try to be diplomatic and say that you can't safely store and reheat the food as opposed to saying, "No, your mother-in-law can't try the Chicken Parm without paying.")

 

[ajo]

On our most recent cruise the table next to us asked to take their leftovers from Palo and their server told them it was not allowed.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Our daughter who can only eat small amounts at a time (has been that way since an infant) asked if she could take her leftover pizza with her and was delivered a lecture about why it was not allowed, i.e., safety issue. She felt so bad about asking that she now refuses to go to Palo with us. Frankly, I cannot see an issue at all. It is ok to pick up pizza from Goofy's and bring it back to your room but not bring your leftover pizza from Palo??? It makes no sense to me. I think it is because "they" think it is unclassy (no such word but it works in this case) to carry "doggy-bags" out of Palo.

 

[tinkerone]

Our daughter who can only eat small amounts at a time (has been that way since an infant) asked if she could take her leftover pizza with her and was delivered a lecture about why it was not allowed, i.e., safety issue. She felt so bad about asking that she now refuses to go to Palo with us. Frankly, I cannot see an issue at all. It is ok to pick up pizza from Goofy's and bring it back to your room but not bring your leftover pizza from Palo??? It makes no sense to me. I think it is because "they" think it is unclassy (no such word but it works in this case) to carry "doggy-bags" out of Palo.

I doubt that because on our last brunch we declined dessert, way to full. The waiter ask if he could send us off with some, he said he could box it and it would not be a problem. We declined that as well but the offer was there and it would have been in the form of a doggy bag. Not sure what the reason would be though other than they don't want sharing outside of the restaurant. After all, you can order from room service and no one worries if your left overs there are safe or not.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

When it comes to reheating...that is a good question, but I always found it strange that there was no microwave available in Cabanas because some people may need to heat up formula or maybe make some popcorn. Even the value resorts have a microwave available to use. I guess you can request to have something heated?

I never tried to take anything back after Palo but the MDR servers have always been super accommodating when it comes to taking food back to the room; they always sent me back to the stateroom with desserts. For my last cruise we enjoyed the rolls and the server brought us a fresh batch along with peanut butter and jelly to snack on for when we watched movies on-demand.

 

[Dug720]

I’m 99% sure they do not allow it from Palo because it is an extra-fee experience and sad but true we all know that while there would be people who legit were asking for themselves, there would also be people who would book a smaller number than their actual party and take the food to them - though they will use the food safety reasoning because it sounds more reasonable.

As for the no microwave, I’m sure it is because there is a higher fire risk with them (idiots putting metal in them and such) and they do all they can to minimize fire risks at sea.

 

[lanejudy]

I guess you can request to have something heated?

No. DCL will not heat any food a guest has provided. They provide bottle warmers on request, and there are other ways to warm a bottle (microwaving is not recommended). As for snacks there is popcorn at the theaters and plenty of food available throughout the ship for a snack.

I don’t know if the kitchens have s microwave or not, but those are a huge power draw and also a fairly big fire risk, so i’m not surprised microwaves aren’t available.

As for Palo, I expect the no-doggy-bag policy is technically due to avoiding people paying for 1-2 people but then trying to take enough food back for the whole family. They won’t phrase it that way though.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[JulieODC]

A few weeks ago during dinner, we got a call from the kids club that our daughter needed to be picked up. Palo would not let us take dessert to go - so we had to skip completely.

 

[Lisa F]

Hmm, seems odd for them to give that rationale because it would hypothetically seem to permit someone to doggie bag a breakfast pastry that does not need refrigeration. I am guessing still no because of the possibility for abusing the system (i.e., taking 10 each of all the different breakfast pastries for an extended family to try).

Regardless, I would just feel too uncomfortable even asking since I wouldn't want to be perceived as trying to take advantage of the buffet to "stock up". If food waste is a concern, a buffet is not a good fit since buffets by definition involve a ton of food waste since they can only leave items out for so long.

I eat very little - there is basically no way I'd eat even $40 worth of food, let alone $40 premium over whatever meal I'm missing worth of food. But I'd pay the $40 for the experience - I pay more for less at character meals to take my son to them because he loves them. But I didn't mean stock up from the buffet with a huge plate and take it back or order tons of entrees, but if I order one entree and only eat a few bites, it seems a shame that I can't keep the rest of it, especially since I paid for it. I'm not talking about bringing a a container to clean out the buffet, but I can see how it is a grey area with a buffet involved. Still for $40 it's not insane to think you'd be entitled to your entire piece of chicken that is just going to go in the trash anyway.

Our daughter who can only eat small amounts at a time (has been that way since an infant) asked if she could take her leftover pizza with her and was delivered a lecture about why it was not allowed, i.e., safety issue. She felt so bad about asking that she now refuses to go to Palo with us. Frankly, I cannot see an issue at all. It is ok to pick up pizza from Goofy's and bring it back to your room but not bring your leftover pizza from Palo??? It makes no sense to me. I think it is because "they" think it is unclassy (no such word but it works in this case) to carry "doggy-bags" out of Palo.

yup that's me too, I just can't eat a whole lot but when I go to nice restaurants I take my leftovers home and enjoy them later. I can see people abusing it I guess, but a half eaten dish ordered off the menu is different than taking doggie bags from a buffet. That said I'm glad to know so I don't have to be made to feel like an idiot in the restaurant and ruin my experience. I almost wish they would just say "no, we're sorry, it's just our rules that everything must be enjoyed in the restaurant" rather than give someone a whole lecture making them feel bad about it... when you give someone a lecture it's almost like saying "geez, how stupid can you be?"

 

[DIS_MIKE]

A few weeks ago during dinner, we got a call from the kids club that our daughter needed to be picked up. Palo would not let us take dessert to go - so we had to skip completely.

That is unfortunate. Again...it’s odd to me how the MDR is so lenient when it comes to taking food back to your stateroom and Palo is the complete opposite. Every night we had a dessert to take back with us.

 

[Dug720]

That is unfortunate. Again...it’s odd to me how the MDR is so lenient when it comes to taking food back to your stateroom and Palo is the complete opposite. Every night we had a dessert to take back with us.

Just reinforces that it is really to prevent people booking less than in the whole party and taking the food back for them thus saving money.

 

[MomOTwins]

I eat very little - there is basically no way I'd eat even $40 worth of food, let alone $40 premium over whatever meal I'm missing worth of food. But I'd pay the $40 for the experience - I pay more for less at character meals to take my son to them because he loves them. But I didn't mean stock up from the buffet with a huge plate and take it back or order tons of entrees, but if I order one entree and only eat a few bites, it seems a shame that I can't keep the rest of it, especially since I paid for it. I'm not talking about bringing a a container to clean out the buffet, but I can see how it is a grey area with a buffet involved. Still for $40 it's not insane to think you'd be entitled to your entire piece of chicken that is just going to go in the trash anyway.

Nobody thinks you were trying to abuse the system, but surely you can see how if they made an exception for one entree, they'd be flooded with people who make multiple trips to the buffet, fill up, and then take an entree back for family or a second meal.

Besides, they do have a point about food safety. The last thing you want is to get stomach upset from unheated leftovers that are stored in a fridge that is not cold enough for food, and then you'd be quarantined the rest of the cruise. We know from experience; quarantine is not fun.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I had my first bout with seasickness on a cruise on the Wonder. We were dining in Palo that night and I couldn't eat anything. I just drank mint tea and ended up heading out before my husband was done eating. I asked if I could take my meal to my room. The server talked to the manager and said that I couldn't take it, but they would send me down a different meal to my room later on. The meal arrived after I was already in bed and the plate was much to large to put in the fridge, so we just put it out in the hallway.

I've read so many posts about Palo servers offering to box up desserts for couples' kids. I was really disappointed that they wouldn't let me take my meal with me when it was obvious that I wasn't comfortable eating at the table and I wasn't feeling well.

The excuse of not being able to heat food properly is a lame excuse when we can also get hamburgers and other food on deck and bring it back to our rooms and let it sit there before we eat it.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The excuse of not being able to heat food properly is a lame excuse when we can also get hamburgers and other food on deck and bring it back to our rooms and let it sit there before we eat it.

The difference being - with a doggie bag, you're bringing the food back to your room to eat later. The fridges in the rooms are not guaranteed to keep things cold enough to keep them safe for eating later. And no way to reheat it.

The food from the quick serve locations (hamburgers, etc) you're bringing back to your room to eat now. In theory, it's still fresh and warm when you eat it.

 

[MomOTwins]

The difference being - with a doggie bag, you're bringing the food back to your room to eat later. The fridges in the rooms are not guaranteed to keep things cold enough to keep them safe for eating later. And no way to reheat it.The food from the quick serve locations (hamburgers, etc) you're bringing back to your room to eat now. In theory, it's still fresh and warm when you eat it.

This was my thought as well. Plus the fact that you have the ability to do something unsafe on your own does not mean disney has to enable it. Like if you were on boat excursion and you were told you had to wear lifevests, you wouldn’t say “but I could have chartered an boat myself and not had to wear life vests.”

But at bottom I do agree this is probably mostly because people who abused the system rather than food safety (though I don’t want to be totally dismissive of the safety issue)