6p or 8:30p dinner?

[mrsmouse]

i'm fairly new to these boards, so i'm sure this has come up before...

what are the pros and cons of the early and late dinner seating?

i'm reserving a secret porthole room... love to hear comments on that,too.

my daughters are 8 & 11. any chance they'll let them be together in a children's club?

thanks much!!

[inkkognito]

We enjoy the secret porthole rooms...we've been in them previously and have one booked on several of our upcoming trips. If you haven't already, check out the photos on my website at www.***************** to see how obstructed your view will be.
As for dinner seatings, we don't travel with children, so we prefer the late seating because it is more adults. Also, we prefer to eat later because it gives us more time to do things during the day and early evening without rushing to be ready for dinner. But the downside is that I find myself getting hungry during the day. There are plenty of in-between meal snack opportunities, but it's not good for my waistline! The late seating is also a bit more leisurely, since they don't have to get everyone out and get ready for another seating.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: ww.*****************

[mrsmouse]

thanks barb!

i have begun to explore your website, so i have seen the photos. it's not that obstructed. i like the idea of a bit of sunlight. has it been noisy for you? i think it will be so convenient for the kids with the activities right on the same level AND i like that its centrally located.

thank you for your wonderful website and i look forward to exploring it further, and probably printing most of it as a guide for the trip. i also found the magical disney cruise guide. ithink with the 2 websites and these boards i'm doing all right for a first time cruiser!

thanks and take care!

[HookedonMagic]

Hi Sue! We cruised last March with two 11 year olds (our daughter and a neice) and enjoyed LATE seating for many of the same reasons Barb lists. There were a FEW club activities the girls missed because of the seating, but nothing they were too concerned about. Travelling with older children, we found the 8:30 dinner to be ideal. The girls especially enjoyed the family pool around 5:00pm, when the early diners cleared out. Late diners are offered shows in the Walt Disney Theatre at 6:30 pm, which provides an extra half hour to partake in the ships many activities.

Whatever you choose, I hope you enjoy a MAGICal cruise--welcome to the DIS!:D

[Nasi]

We did both seatings with our children ages 11 and 13. We had early seating first on our 4 day and always felt rushed to get ready for dinner. Then we almost fell asleep at the shows. We did late seating on the 3 day and I was concerned because we always eat early at home. I found out that I prefered the late seating. We did have a late afternoon snack to hold us over though. I came home and changed my seating for our 7 day to late. Nasi

[mrsmouse]

thanks so much! i'm leaning towards the later seating. i don't want rush to be ready for dinner. this is the relaxing part of the vacation!

any chance they'll let my DD's be together in a children's club? the literature says 8 &9's are together and 10 to 12's are together. my DD's are 8 & 11.

thanks!

[inkkognito]

As for the noise in the secret porthole rooms, we only noticed quite a bit once...I think there was a large family in the two adjoiners next door to us, and they were running back and forth a lot, slamming the hall doors, etc. But that's just the luck of the draw and could happen in any stateroom. The SPRs tend to get more hallway traffic, since they are at the head of the hall, but it's not that bad. Our Thanksgiving trip was in an SPR, and it was peaceful most of the time. I had my white noise machine to block out any sounds at night.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.*****************

[gscott8075]

I've done both early and late.

One thing to consider - your kids will probably love the kids program. They will meet new friends and want to eat with them. The kids clubs eat around first seating.

We found that the nights the kids were with us, they got sleepy at dinner if we ate late and get sleepy at the shows if we ate early.

We did feel a bit rushed for 6, but the flexiblity with the kids made up for it.

We stayed in the secret porthole for the 7 day - it is the best place - besides the secret porthole, the hallway is off the beaten path, it is much wider than most stateroom floors, and it is a quick walk to the kids clubs.

We love Deck 5 forward!