Can't decide between early or late dinner seatings??

[DisTeach1]

We booked the early seating. We do want to see the shows and enjoy our evenings on the ship. But, now I'm worried that 6:00 will be too early. Will we miss out on anything or miss any shows? We want to see Golden Mickeys and Disney Dreams. What seating is better. It is my husband and I, my mother (she's 70, but a true night owl, and my teenage son.

 

[WDWLVR]

My advice is to pick a dinner seating that matches what you do at home. If you are an early eater then go early. If you are used to eating late then go late. We are early eaters. We tried late dining once and it just didn't work for us. It works great for others.

 

[Skallywag]

We were on the 22nd October and booked early and had no regrets. We went for dinner and then had time for a stroll before the shows started. We personally would never take later as it would be too near bedtime as they do not seem to finish until about 10 p.m.

 

[lbgraves]

You will be able to see the main shows no matter which seating you have. They do them at least twice each night. There are also matinees on some sea days.

 

[GreenGirl8]

We decided on the late dinner because we normally eat around 7pm and we live on the West coast. We are also hoping to experience a bit of a quieter environment.

Look at the pros and cons of each and make your choice. There are navigators on the Castaway Club website which will let you know what type of entertainment is happening during each of the dining times.

 

[tvguy]

You won't miss any show no matter which seating. The disadvantage of early seating is there is less time on port days between the time when your excursions end, and dinner starts.
The best advice is to try and stick to the time closest to the time your body is used to eating dinner.

How ANYONE manages to get home from work, pick the kids up from their sporting events ( heck, little league goes until sunset here) help kids with homework, cook dinner, , and eat by 6 pm (or earlier) is beyond me.
Dinner around here is usually at 7:30, IF I fix spaghetti or something that can be ready in less than 15 minutes. Add in that we're West Coasters, late seating is really eating 2 hours early for our bodies.

 

[dzneprincess]

We have 4 kids ages 10 thru 2 and we OPT for late seating. We did early ONCE and it was sooo rushed for us. But like Tvguy, even at home, I can never get them picked up from the sitter, taken to taekwon do, homework done and dinnermade by 6pm......if it is done by 7pm most nights that is good.

 

[Disneyfan37]

We started off with early dining,and we always felt rush even in the dining room.One of our cruises we weren't able to get early dining.We weren't happy about it,but it ended up being that after that particular cruise we have asked for late dining.One doesn't have to rush to get ready especially after excursions.We love late dining,and we would never go back to early dining.

Maria

 

[Mickeyhugger]

One doesn't have to rush to get ready especially after excursions.We love late dining,and we would never go back to early dining.

Maria

Well said, Maria! We were so happy to have late dining with you and all of the other fellow DISboarders Thanksgiving week.

OP, we were assigned late dining on our first cruise (early dining was full,) and never wanted early dining after that. (We're on central time, so it didn't feel too 'late' for us.)

 

[lbgraves]

To me there isn't a great deal of difference between getting ready for early seating or the early show. The show starts at 6:30, just 30 minutes after early seating. I would have to get everyone dressed before the show so that we could get our pictures done & explore before late seating anyway. We have two kids though. If you have older kids or are traveling without children, it wouldn't take as long to get ready for dinner after the early show.

 

[Joyful!]

We are assigned late seating for the cruise in Jan. My only concern is the pirate party. By the time we finished our dinner, wouldn't all the good spots be taken already?

 

[lbgraves]

The deck party starts at 9:45. If we are stuck with late dining, we will do a quick dinner & tell our servers in the beginning that we will be leaving in an hour. We might as for our deserts to go & put them in our room on the way up to deck 9. The kids like to be right up front on the dance floor so they can see.

 

[Steph in NC]

We signed up for the early dining - my kids eat early at home - but they are younger (3 and 5)

I can see the advantages of both. I would go with what you usually do at home.

 

[pppiglet]

Late seating gets over too late and then you are too full to get a goods night sleep. I was miserable every night and we also missed most of the Pirate night show. Next time we are doing early seating.

 

[Dis Mama]

My family has done both and we all definitely prefer the late seating. We felt too rushed on the islands. My kids could order room service or pick up something by the pools if they got hungry and you can tell your servers that you'd like to finish early for the Pirates Night. We had no problems and were in the front rows for the Pirate party.

 

[Dis Mama]

Oh Ya......our kids are 5 and 7 years old. With all the excitement, they made it fine.

 

[Joyful!]

you can tell your servers that you'd like to finish early for the Pirates Night. We had no problems and were in the front rows for the Pirate party.

That's good to know! I guess my problem with the late seating has just been solved

 

[Mickeyhugger]

We are assigned late seating for the cruise in Jan. My only concern is the pirate party. By the time we finished our dinner, wouldn't all the good spots be taken already?

No. We were on the Thanksgiving week cruise (full ship) and had late seating. We were out by 9:30 (weren't even rushed, the servers know most people want to attend the party.) There were still plenty of spots, and we took excellent footage. As popular as the Pirate party is, there are still cruisers (definitely NOT US) who aren't interested, who still dine at Palo, go to a movie, etc. Enjoy your late seating!

 

[Joyful!]

Thanks for the reassurance Mickeyhugger!

 

[crisi]

I think you always miss something regardless of when you dine. It won't be the main stage shows (unless you choose), but it will be something. The ship is so busy, and the alternative shows they run aren't identical for first and second seating.

One think kids miss with second seating is some of the better kids clubs events that happen during second seating.