Change in Dining Times

[bambilin]

Got a call from my TA last night. He received a letter from DCL advising him that the dining times have changed.

I don't know when this takes effect, or for how long, but we are sailing on the Magic on 7/13.

The letter inidcated that the early seating for dinner willnow be 5:30 and the late seating will be 7:45.

Thank goodness we have late seating, 5:30 would be rough! Just figurd I would share the info in case any of you want to check and possible make a change!

:rolleyes:

[bambilin]

PS Sorry about all my typos!!!! :rolleyes:

[RIDISNEYLOVERS]

Thanks - you have given me a lot of info!! Personally for us 5:30 is fine (we live on the East coast so that is right around dinner time for us, a bit earlier, but still good) This will give us more time to get to the show!!

We are really looking forward to bingo - will this cut into that time?

Thanks,
Lisa

[Michelle]

Just a note, this is a TEST ONLY by DCL and right now is only on four sailings:

7/13, 7/20, 7/27 and 8/3

[Lisa F]

This is pretty interesting! I can't wait to see how it turns out. We prefer late seating but would not mind if that was 7:45 instead of 8:30. I wonder if this will make people who scramble for early eating now want late seating?

Lisa

[Gillian]

Lisa, it makes ME want late seating! We almost never eat before 7 at home. 7:45 would probably work well for us, but 8:30 was just a little too late.

Let's see how this test goes...

[mmouse37]

I am on late seating....7:45 is not bad, but will they adjust the show times accordingly, I suppose.

We are sailing 8/3 and we will see what happens!!!

MJ

[Dave_from_Marietta]

That should probably even out the demand for the two seatings. As it is, many more people prefer the early seating. I think I'd prefer the later seating given these two times. Should be interesting to see the results of this test.

[llachance]

I am one of those who enjoyed the late seating because there were fewer young children around......it will be interesting. Glad to hear the test starts the week after my cruise.

[MFan]

We're still 11 months away from our next cruise, but we are all for the "earlier" late seating!! :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc

We're from the West coast, so we have always selected the late seating on Caribbean cruises. Before we had kids, it gave us extra daylight time in port to do things. We didn't have to rush back to prepare for dinner. Since we had kids, it gives us some extra time between our kids' afternoon nap and dinner. Although the 8:30 time was ok, it did keep our kids up a bit later than our preference. Moving it to 7:45 would be ideal!!!

Oh, please, please, please...let this "test" become permanent!!!!!!!!?

:Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[Michelle]

As an EARLY seating person, I don't like the new times...see how DCL can never please everyone? ;) :D

DCL actually did this as a test years ago, in the beginning when the Magic did the 3/4 night cruises. We had dinner at 5:30 and it was VERY hard to be ready for dinner that early, you don't want to stop what you are doing and rush back to your toom to get ready. A lot of people ended up showing up late and that put the servers in a real bind to get everyone served and out in time to set up the second seating.

I agree it is better for the late seating to be earlier but it is WORSE for the early seating to start so early.

DCL definitely listens to their guests, so time will tell if this change will be permanent. :D

[Fawn]

I think that 5:30 is wonderful for young families! Feed the kids as a family at 5:30, take them to kids club and go to Palo's with a late reservation...lovely treat!

[moocow35]

Wow! That is way too early for the early seating. I certainly can see how everyone would be late for the early seating. If they change our cruise to these times, I definately will change to the late seating! Basically you would lose out on alot of your day to stop so early to get ready for dinner. Definately not a good idea!

[TnRobin]

5:30 would definitely be too early for me. My body will think it is still in CST and therefore not be hungry at 4:30 CST. Plus I barely have enought time to get showered and dressed for dinner.

[4nana]

Anxious to hear if this works out.
We are assigned early seating and part of our family group is from Seattle ~ this would have them eating dinner at 2:30 :(

[Mjasp]

I agree Robin...My family of 4 will have to leave the pool area around 3:30-4:00 to go shower and get ready.

[DARWIN91]

I definitely would not want 5:30 even though I usually opt for early dining. I was always rushed but I felt 8:30 was too late for the kids. However, if they change the times then I would opt for the 7:45 Seating. I think you would now see there would be a waiting list for the later seating than for the main seating.

[tinkerbell4two]

I'm very concerned with the early 'early" seating just because we are from the west coast and we will be eating at 2:30 PT. Will our bodies get used to this 3 hour time change right from the start. What do other Westerners do? Early or Late seating? What would you do with 14 people, 6 of whom are ages 1 1/2 to 5 1/2?

[my3kids]

Makes me wonder if I should go ahead and change to late seating. I have early for a November trip, but if they keep it up after the test I think almost everyone would swarm to late seating. If I wait, I might not be able to switch. 5:30 is just too early, 8:30 is just too late. What to do....what to do.....:confused:

[prymsu]

we normally get early seating because there is no way my son would last through late seating. I think for us that 5:30 p.m. is too early. When you take in to account that you allow time to get ready for dinner, you cut your afternoon short. If the change goes through for these times, I guess we will have to give late seating a shot. I know a half an hour doesn't seem like much, but I have always thought that we got a full day in if we didn't have to start getting ready for dinner until after 5:00 p.m.

[BarbaraB]

I have been having really mixed feelings about the earlier dining times. We too have the early seating. It does seem like a rush to get everyone ready by 5:30. On the other hand I think my twins (4 1/2) will enjoy (and last thru) the shows better if they start at 7:45 rather than 8:30.

My question is, what is the lastest you can arrive for dinner (if you are running late) and still be served and not be rude? Is there a window (ie. for the 5:30 seating show up between 5:30 -5:45)? Not that I am planning on being late, but I can see it being a problem with the earlier times.

Thanks

[Michelle]

Please note that this change in dining is a TEST ONLY by DCL! Unless you are on one of the four cruises affected and want to change your time, I wouldn't change yet. DCL has NOT announced that these times are permanent, and I wouldn't switch to late dining yet unless you are prepared for it to be at the old time of 8:30.

Just wanted to make that clear to everyone. :D

[floridaminnie]

we are traveling on our seven day cruise 7/20 and this is the first time I've heard about the times changing. I ran to go check my docs, but all it says is that we have the main dining. So it looks like we might be eating at 5:30. At least I'll be able to make ressie at Palo's later one evening!

[mmouse37]

I just received my letter from DCL in the mail about the dining changes.

It says "We are pleased to announce that in preparation for your cruise, we have made slight adjustments to our rotational dining times. This enhancement is based on the guest feedback we have received. During your cruise, Main Dining will begin at 5:30 pm and Second Dining will begin at 7:45 pm".

It goes on to say about reading your Navigator to find out dining attire for each evening with the first night being casual. It also says they will rearrange the unique evening entertainment to accommodate the new dining times.

If you have questions, they ask that you call 1-800-WDW CRUISE m-f 8:00 am to 10:00 pm and Sat, Sun 9:00 am and 8:00 pm EST.

They did not mention which cruises this will be effect on. Forgot to mention we are on the 8/3 sailing, one of the ones Michelle mentioned as being a test.

Hope this helps a bit.

MJ

[floridaminnie]

Thanks MJ for the info!:p

[adkaul]

Got my letter from DCL today. We're on the 7/13 cruise. Seriously considering asking for the later time now. I'm going to consult those online navigators to see what I might be rushing from to go get showered and changed for dinner. 5:30 sure does seem pretty early

[Tiiiigergirl]

Although for right now it doesn't look like it is going to affect/effect (I always get those two confused!) the cruise I'm on I can see where 5:30 is pretty early. We are in the MT time zone and it will be like 3:30. Sadly, I can eat 24/7.

[mmouse37]

I pretty excited about the 7:45 start for late seating. We always opt for late but this will be a nice change to start eating a bit earlier. Now maybe we can leave the dining room by 9:00 ish instead of almost 10:00.

MJ

[peg2001]

It sounds like most people would be unhappy with dining at 5:30 but I think it would work out great for my family with young children. We are on Eastern Time and like to eat around 6:00. With all the activities, swimming, and fresh ocean air, I am sure that we will be starving by 5:30. . .unless we snack all afternoon! ;) Plus, the earlier showtimes would make it easier for my DDs to stay awake and enjoy the shows.

Also, I'm not sure how much "sprucing up" people do to need 1 to 1.5 hours to get ready for dinner!! I can't imagine it taking us more than 20 minutes to change clothes, wash faces and hands, and comb hair.

One vote for early early dining!

[floridaminnie]

I called DCL today, because I can't stand the waiting for maybe a letter arriving. They did say that the July 20th seven day cruise is going to have the 5:30 seating for main and 7:45 for the late.

[Fawn]

Consider this if you have a lot of people showering in your cabin. Anyone who had an appt. that day at the spa can get an all day pass to the Rainforest for like $8? You can shower there and free up the cabin shower! That gives you a bit more time by the pool hopefully!

Maybe Disney will consider alternating an earlier and later seating. Later for formal and semi-formal nights so people have more time to get dressed...and the new times for the more casual evenings when people don't need to dress up?

[Mjasp]

Peg...How about the time in the shower after having sunscreen all over you and being in the heat and chlorine or sand in your hair. I have 2 girls and then its drying the hair and putting it up and then my hair and makeup. Gee...I hope and hour and a half is enough time.

I found myself rushing for the 6 P.M. seating, I would go for the later one if it stays after the test.

[peg2001]

mjasp,

Thank you for the clarification. I truly was wondering what people were doing to need 1.5 hours to get ready for dinner. :D
I can understand how a woman with 2 girls who all need to shower, blow dry and fix hairstyle, dress, and make-up would certainly need plenty of time.

We have simple haircuts that don't require much styling, just brush out the sand and go. ;) Plus, I don't wear make-up.

I promise, however, that we will all be clean and wear appropriate clothing to the dining room!

Peg

[mmouse37]

Try getting three teens (two girls and one boy) plus mom and dad ready for dinner. Everybody is fighting for the hair dryer and the mirror...can get very hectic, especially Formal night!!!

MJ

[plutojudy]

I hope they decide to leave the dining times as they are now and don't change the times. After early seating for two cruises we tried late last time and really liked late seating. One reason was less small children in the dining room.