Early or late Dining? For young family of four?

[Alohakoa]

Just wondering what your thoughts are on the meal times. I have 3 kids 8, 7, 6 . No problems staying up late. We were automatically given the early meal time (which I was excited about).. but now I am thinking, would that rush us for dinner? You basically eat all day and you might not be ready for another big meal at 5:45PM? I was thinking with the 8m dinner, the kids can eat first and they can be whisked away for their activity... we would have already seen the show at 6pm...What are your thoughts/comments on this? Also, is it a mad rush to get to the shows to get your "first-come-first-served" seats after dinner? Do you get your seats reserved if you were Concierge Level?

 

[llqool]

We have always done the late dining. My thought is I would rather have them awake and behaving during the show (which is before dinner if you have the late seating). If I had to, I could feed them from the fast food options up on deck. And during the second dining, the counselors from the kids' clubs will come and get them right from the dining room, a big plus, allowing the adults to finish out their meals in a little peace

 

[kcashner]

No reserved seats in the theaters, not even for concierge.

You probably got main seating because you are concierge and because many families with young kids want this. There is no rush for seats after the show--dinner starts at 5:45 (most cruises) and the show isn't till 8 or later. That's plenty of time. In fact, there are 7:30 activities that you may choose to participate in. The exact dinner and show times do vary slightly from one cruise to another, but are always moved in relation to each other.

Only you know whether your family would prefer 5:45 or 8:15 dinner, remembering that you won't see your entree till about 30 minutes after the "start" time. You can request that your children get their entree and appetizer at the same time if you wish.

 

[acourtwdw]

A friend of mine just did a 4 night Dream with his kids 1,5, and 7. He said the best tip I gave him was to ensure that they had early dining. He felt that the kids eating that late would not have been good for anyone.

Also, as someone who always does late dining since there aren't a lot of kids, I appreciate the peace.

 

[Tolson70]

We prefer the early dining for our family, 9 and 13 at time of our last cruise. 8PM would be way too late for my kids, 545 is a little early but easier for us to deal with.

 

[jbuckent]

We go back and forth on this.

1st trip with 12 month old, late dinner, PERFECT!
2nd trip with 3 year old, late dinner, PERFECT!
3rd trip with 5 year old and 20 month old, early dinner, we felt rushed to get to dinner, the kids were well behaved but they didn't make it through the shows we left early every night.
4th trip with 7 year old and 3.5 year old, late dinner, they did great in the shows but were grouchy for dinner.
5th trip with 8 year old and 4.5 year old, late dinner, they did great in the shows and did ok for dinner.

I am hopeful that next year with them both being a year older the late dinner will be PERFECT again. We really hated the early dinner. We felt very rushed to get to dinner on time, rushed through dinner, had little time for photos between everything, and the kids were too tired for the shows (which being older might not be the case anymore). With late dinner we go get the kids some chicken nuggets or similar around 4:00 and order the all hands on deck cheese platter from room service and chill out in our room while getting ready for the night. Gives everyone a little snack so no one is hungry until dinner time and everyone gets a little rest. We then have time to wonder around and have any photos we want taken or we go sit in a lounge and have a little cocktail hour before the show. We don't seem to get that time with early dinner. Photos were also then taken after dinner before the show and one of the kids always had spilled something on their clothes. LOL We are definitely second seating kind of people.

 

[Alohakoa]

Thanks so much... No, we were are not concierge~ and being that this is our first family cruise and a big wedding anniversary to celebrate, I would not hesitate paying.. but still not absolutely convinced about that service~ I may change my mind (I've read so many forums about this to death!!!)... so if it is meant to be, perhaps there will still be one available then... lol!!! Thanks again!!!

 

[jetskigrl]

On our first cruise, we had early dinner and changed it as soon as we got on board the ship. We realized that we would be missing watching the boat "sail away" because we would be having to get ready for dinner at that time. Plus we wanted the later breakfast on the last day. Then my DS (7 at the time) discovered the dine and play and we knew that late dinner was the right fit for our family

We specifically booked late dining on our B2B on the Dream and again, it worked out perfect for us. We loved not having to rush to get ready after being in port during the day, etc.

But then again, my kids had no problem staying up until midnight every night so it all balanced out, LOL.

 

[cyclenut]

We did late dining on our Alaska cruise. We usually eat late at home anyway and didn't feel we would be ready for dinner that early (same thought you had). However, as Disney does the shows before dinner for late dining, we still felt rushed to get to the show before dinner. I prefer to see a show AFTER dinner.

As for the kids staying up late enough to enjoy the show, I would say that you know your kids best. If I were you, I would stay with EARLY dinner.

 

[SDKMom]

On our Dream cruise last February, we did late dining. Our kids were 10, 8, and 4. For me to get myself and all 3 kids ready for 5:45 dinner, I would have had to be back in our room by 4:30 at the absolute latest. I much preferred the later dinner time with the show before, but my youngest fell asleep most nights in the dining room as soon as she finished her meal. Not a big deal for us, she just put her head in my lap and closed her eyes! On the last night, even my oldest was wiped out by dinner time. We are booked in early dining for our Spring Break 2013 Fantasy cruise, but I fully intend to switch to late dining again. Neither time is perfect, but I would rather have more time to enjoy the day and feel less rushed when it's time to get ready for the evening. One perk of late dining -- the pool is much less crowded if you're interested in a late afternoon swim!

 

[faithtrustpixie]

We traveled with DD6 last month and had late dining. DD always did great at WDW in the past when we ate later and she was usually on the go until 11:00.

But -- All the fresh air, swimming, playing, etc. during the day on the Dream wore her out! She was wide awake and happy for the 6pm show, but she was too tired to eat after that (she even fell asleep during dinner!)

We're booked again next year and we're doing early dining.

Happy travels!

 

[WicketsMom]

We have had late dining on two of our previous cruises, and early on the one we took our son on (at age 2). We did not like the early dining. We missed sailing under the big bridge in Tampa, and were very rushed to get back from shore and get dressed for dinner. I like to relax and watch the sunset, and the only way we could do this was to skip dinner and go to the buffet instead (which we did on one night).

We're booked for late seating on our upcoming Disney cruise. The ship's time is an hour ahead of our local time, so late seating is actually more in line with our 'normal' dinnertime of about 7:00pm anyway. Will probably grab a snack and enjoy the pools and sunset while everyone else rushes to get to the early dinner!

Of course my little guy is a night owl anyway and is rarely in bed before 10:00pm.

 

[Aurora's Mommy]

We've done early with a 4 and 7 year old. I felt rushed to get to dinner, but the kids did great at the shows.

Then, we did late when they were 7 and 10. I hadn't wanted late, but by the time we booked, that was all that was left. I don't know why I didn't try to change it, but in the end, it was great. I didn't feel so rushed, we would order a cheese plate from room service while we were getting ready to hold us over, and the kids did great at dinner (and the 7 year old did dine and play almost every night, 10 year old had check in/out privileges so would take off when he was ready).

Note, I do not know if you are east coast/west coast, and whether your cruise is east coast/west coast. Don't forget the time difference. I would think that an east coast family on an Alaska cruise with young kids/late seating could be a recipe for disaster.

 

[Alexis Green]

I don't know about you guys but after the meal they serve you each night, I was stuffed. I couldn't imagine eating a big dinner and then having to sit in a dark theatre with music lulling me to sleep.
Plus we really enjoyed having time to relax before getting to dinner. We also took naps during the day or after a long excursion and then heading to the show.

 

[poohssmum]

We have always had late seating with our children. Our very first cruise, when the boys were 3 and 6, I was nervous about eating that late with the kids. It worked out great! One of the things that we took advantage of was letting the kids have some pool time later in the afternoon without the crowds. We found that most families were clearing out of the pools to get everyone cleaned up and ready for dinner.

 

[MoxieandPixie]

This will be our first cruise with the kids, ages 2 and 4 at sailing. We wanted the early dinner. We start our day early. I don't want to push them to a late dinner at a time they are not used to eating. I'd rather see them eat (they are picky) than be too tired and grouchy to eat. We can always leave a show early, but getting them to eat food, not junk, is more important to me.

 

[emtmom0104]

Just wondering what your thoughts are on the meal times. I have 3 kids 8, 7, 6 . No problems staying up late. We were automatically given the early meal time (which I was excited about).. but now I am thinking, would that rush us for dinner? You basically eat all day and you might not be ready for another big meal at 5:45PM? I was thinking with the 8m dinner, the kids can eat first and they can be whisked away for their activity... we would have already seen the show at 6pm...What are your thoughts/comments on this? Also, is it a mad rush to get to the shows to get your "first-come-first-served" seats after dinner? Do you get your seats reserved if you were Concierge Level?

We had main dining on our first cruise and it was our only complaint. We chose late seating for this one. My kids at the time were 10,5 and 4. They had no problem playing in the clubs until midnight and were crying when they had to leave. On disembarkation day they had to be up at 5 for breakfast at 6 and were not happy at all and made for a ridiculous flight home. They were miserable. We had no problems getting into shows what so ever.

 

[TitanBrett]

Always do late dining with my now 7 years old

 

[IceBonesPartyof3]

After reading this, I think we are going to change from early dining to late. Should I ask my Travel Agent to do this? We are three weeks out for the cruise on April 1st? Or just wait til we get onboard?

Thanks for the info. I originally wanted late, but TA encouraged the early for some reason?!?

 

[trimix]

IceBones, one last thing to consider is your family schedule. If your family normally eats an early dinner, say 6 pm, AND you are doing a west coast cruise, your kids may not like waiting until 8 to eat. I would prefer late dining for my Alaska cruise this summer, but I know my wife would not be happy with eating so late.

Your TA should be able to make the change with a quick phone call, and I am sure some family will be very happy they can be moved up from second dinner.