Skywalker Vineyards Dinner Experience

Last May, on our 5 night Pacific Coast repositioning cruise (trip report here), we were lucky enough to be able to attend a unique event – the Skywalker Vineyards Dinner Experience.  I wrote about this in my trip report, but have been meaning (for the last 7 months!) to make a dedicated post for it so that it is easier for people to search for and find on the blog.

This event was not listed in the Navigator, but apparently the sommeliers were telling people about it at beverage tastings.  We heard about it by chance from another couple (Kenney and Bunny) that we met on the cruise, and then went to guest services to check on availability because I knew there was limited space (I found out later it was 10 spots).  Luckily, there were 2 spots left!  The price was steep ($150 per person), but something inside of us was telling us to just go for it so we did.

After we booked it, it showed up on my Navigator app:

The Navigator app said it was at 6:30, and the tickets said 6:00, but the CM at guest services assured us when we booked it that it was indeed 6:30.

Earlier in the day, we talked to the girls about what they wanted to do for dinner since they would be on their own while we were at Palo.  They decided that they wanted to get food from deck 9 and then go to the main dining room just for dessert.  So, at 5:45, I went into Triton’s to let Lito know that we wouldn’t be eating there, but that the girls wanted to come for dessert.  He said they should arrive around 6:30-6:45.  So, I told the girls the plan and we went back to the room so we could get ready.

We arrived about 6:25, but it seemed like at least some people thought it started at 6:00 because we were the last ones there, which I felt badly about.  We were in the private room in the back of Palo, and there were 11 people in all (including the host and his wife).  When we arrived, there were quick introductions made and we got started right away.  Our host was Tom Johnson, the Director of Retail, Hospitality and Events at Skywalker Vineyards and he hosted the event along with his lovely wife, Kelly.  I had heard of Skywalker Ranch, but not being a wine drinker, was not familiar with Skywalker Vineyards.  This little dinner that we just stumbled upon and booked on a whim turned out to be one the more memorable meals of my life.  Tom began by explaining to us the history of the vineyard, what projects they are currently working on, and all about their wines and olive oil.  You can buy the olive oil online, which I plan to do.  He also told us about Skywalker Ranch, which was fascinating.  It is not open to the public, so details of it are hard to come by and it was so neat to hear about it from someone who works there.  He then surprised each of us with a gift. I love souvenirs so was very excited by this! We hadn’t started dinner yet, so I pulled out my camera for a quick photo:

We each got a Skywalker Vineyards coaster!  There were 2 different designs, and my husband and I both ended up with same one which was fine.  Ours has this winged sculpture on it and Tom told us the significance begin the sculpture (which appears on some of their wine labels).  I don’t want to get any of this wrong so I’m not going to be too specific, but many years ago, George Lucas saw this sculpture and it made an impression on him.  He eventually bought it for his personal collection, and Mr. Lucas used this sculpture as his inspiration for the character of Luke Skywalker.

We each had a menu, which we got to keep as a souvenir:

Dinner began, and guess who was our server?  LEO!  If you haven’t read my trip report yet, he was our server for brunch and we just love him.  It was so nice to see him again and he did an incredible job with the service.  Before each course, the chef came out to describe the food, and then Tom would tell us about the wine pairing.  I wanted so badly to take pictures of each course, but it just didn’t feel right to be whipping out my camera at such an elegant event.  But, the food was amazing and I hate that I don’t have photos to show you.  As we ate, we got to know the other guests.  We were able to chat more with Kenney and Bunny, and we also got to know Tom and Kelly, as well as another couple who we clicked with right away and ended up spending quite a bit of time with after that night and still keep in touch with today.  Over the 6 courses, we all talked, laughed, made new friends and had the best time.  Everyone there (minus Tom and Kelly) were staying on for the next sailing to Alaska which was nice as it would give us more opportunities to hang out.  It was such an enjoyable evening and one I’ll never forget.  I told you I didn’t take any pictures of the food, but I lied.  When the dessert course came out, I just couldn’t resist!  By this time the mood was more relaxed so I snapped a photo as quickly as I could:

It was the Death Star, complete with green laser!!!  I loved that the chef did this! We ended up sitting at that table in Palo for almost 5 HOURS because we were having such a great time.  The girls would message me every so often and let me know where they were.  They ate dinner on deck 9, went to dessert at Triton’s, spent some time in the room, checked out the shops, and went to see Frozen in the Walt Disney Theater at 8:30.  I love that they are now old enough to have some independence on the ship every now and then.

I found out at some point during the evening that this was the first Skywalkers Vineyards Dinner Experience aboard any Disney cruise ship, and could be the last.  They don’t currently have plans to do another one, but obviously that could change.  I feel so honored to have been one of the few to experience it.

Finally, at 11:00, the party broke up, we said our goodbyes (though not for long) and we headed back to the room.  The girls had showered and were in bed watching TV. They just could not understand how dinner had taken 5 hours.  We told them all about it our wonderful evening and went to bed.