One thing that I think a lot of people struggle with is whether to choose early (usually 5:45) or late (usually 8:15) dining on their Disney Cruise. My family has always done the same one, but I don’t want to tell you which one. I just want to tell you my thoughts on why they both have their advantages and disadvantages. Here are the things I have thought of or experienced in regards to each. Note that these are just my ideas, and may or may not be true for everyone or every sailing.
Early Dining
Probably closer to the time that most families with kids eat dinner at home
Young kids may not be as tired, so probably better behaved
May have to rush back from an excursion or cut short ship activities to get there on time
May have more kids than late dining, so the dining room may be louder
Some people claim that they felt rushed by their servers, who have to get you out of there & the table ready for the next group by a certain time
Late Dining
Some kids may be really tired by this time, especially if they don’t nap
Usually no need to rush back from an excursion since all aboard time is typically much earlier
Some people don’t like eating so close to bed time
May have fewer kids, thus a quieter dining experience
Servers may not seem as rushed
I think each person or family has one or the other that works better for their particular situation, although they may not be able to figure it out until they have cruised at least once. If you are still trying to decide, I suggest just going with your gut feeling and don’t stress too much about it. You’ll be on a Disney Cruise, after all, so how bad could it really be? If you get there and realize that you hate your dining time, you can always talk to your head server and ask if there is any way to move you to the other time. They may be able to accommodate you depending on how full your sailing is.
Do you have a strong preference of dining times? If so, what are your reasons? Please let me know by leaving a comment below!
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ETA: A commenter was nice enough to point out that I didn’t mention show times and how that relates to your dining time. If you have early dining, you will eat dinner at 5:45 and then go to the second show at 8:30. If you have late dining, you will go to the early show at 6:15 and then eat dinner at 8:15. If you have a preference of which order you do the show and dinner, then it may influence your decision on dining time.
I agree with your statements but I think you are missing some other reasoning.
The Disney shows and Movies can have a effect on your choice and I think that they have their own Pros and Cons that would also make you possibly chose which dining time you may pick.
Thanks for your comment! Do you mean that some people may prefer the early stage show over the later stage show or vice versa? I can see that. I have heard some people say that they prefer seeing the shows before dinner vs. after dinner. Thanks for pointing that out!
We didn’t have a choice. Dream June 20 2016 we had to take late dinner which makes me very nervous as it doesn’t start until my kids bedtime
Yes, early dining does tend to fill up quickly. Perhaps you could have your kids rest for a while in the afternoon so that they can stay up later without too much trouble? There is a slight chance you could get switched to early dining after you board. There will be a location on the ship designated for dining requests (it will be listed in the daily Navigator that you get when you check in at the port). Go there as soon as possible after boarding and make your request. Sometimes they can accommodate it.
I was also think about which time zone you travel from. If you are taking a cruise to Nassau and coming from the west coast then the late dining time would probably work better for some families. If you have the early dining then it would be like eating at 3:30 in the afternoon at home.
Good point Dawn! Definitely something to consider!
We are confirmed Early Diners, having tried both. Unfortunately, we had to agree to being wait-listed for the early seating when we did the on-board booking of our upcoming cruise. We haven’t been able to change it yet, and have been told that we can do it when we board. Do you know where we would go to request dining changes? Phone reps have simply advised us to “check your Navigator” when you get there. Do you or your followers have any experience with changing your dining time?
Hi Dianna! I have never personally changed my dining time, but I have heard of people having success doing it, either online before the cruise (check regularly once your online booking window opens, especially around pay in full date when many people cancel) or after boarding. The phone reps are right, you need to check the daily navigator when you check in at the terminal because the location for dining changes varies from sailing to sailing. Sometimes it is one of the main dining rooms, others it is one of the lounges. It will always be listed on the front page of the navigator.
We prefer early dining, but also realize that if it causes us to leave a port early we just decide to eat ashore or at another location on the ship. We enjoy seeing the shows and tend to miss them if we have late dining. Luckily our daughter adjusts easily so that has not been a factor.
Yes, we will have this problem on our upcoming Alaska sailing. We have early dining but a couple of the ports have a 7:45 all aboard time so we will likely miss the MDR those nights. But like you, we love the shows so much that I’m afraid we wouldn’t make it to the early ones if we had late dining, and early dining ensures that we see them all.
We would like to request a table just for our family of 4 is that possible ? And best way to do that
Thank you
Hi Stefanie! All you need to do is call DCL and request a private table (or have your travel agent call, if you are using one). They try to honor the request, but there are no guarantees.
This is our first Disney cruise. Is there a buffet that we can go to anytime and just skip the sit down dinners if the time is not right for us? TIA
Hi Amy! There is not a dinner buffet on DCL. Cabanas has a buffet at breakfast and lunch, but at dinner it is table service. It is not part of the dining rotation, so anyone can go eat there at any time. It’s ususlly not crowded. I don’t think it’s open on the first or last nights of the cruise, but double check the Navigator on that, I could be wrong. Your other dinner options are room service, or the food counters on the pool deck (burgers, chicken strips, hot dogs, sandwiches, wraps, salads, pizza, etc). I hope this helps!
Thanks! Glad I asked!
Another pro to late seating I’ve read is that it’s the only dinner time where “dine and play” is offered. The kids get served earlier than adults when you notify your server that you will be participating and then the kids club counselors will round up the participating kids and escort them to kids club while adults finish their meal at their own pace…..
Good point! But, if someone still really wants to do this with early seating, I have heard that people request their children’s food to come out ASAP and then one of the parents runs them up to the club. It only takes about 5 minutes.