Main or Late dining?

[timweston]

all such good advice; still unsure of what to do!
DH and DD are "late nighters" DS and I tend to like to go to sleep early.
We can order room service any time of the day; and we are Concierge so there are plenty of snacks, etc.
So - I'm looking for a compelling reason - for main or late and I just haven't found it yet.

Have you reviewed navigators to see what else is going on at night? Perhaps there are late evening (10 PM+) that you would enjoy and rather not rush to them from dinner. Or, maybe there's stuff going on around 5 or 6 PM that you don't want to miss.

 

[hawaiialoha]

all such good advice; still unsure of what to do!
DH and DD are "late nighters" DS and I tend to like to go to sleep early.
We can order room service any time of the day; and we are Concierge so there are plenty of snacks, etc.
So - I'm looking for a compelling reason - for main or late and I just haven't found it yet.

You're right in that there is no real "compelling" reason -- but for us (myself, husband, toddler, and a teenager) who are all "late nighters" -- the later dining option just works for us. With all the port excursions and spa appointments I make, I honestly can't see how anyone gets themselves to the earlier dining time! But if that's not an issue for you all (as much as I love the later dining time for us) -- it does make more academic sense to choose the earlier time?

Like someone else said earlier in this thread, I think the earlier time is too early, and the later time is too late. So both options present their cons/problems? To help you out with scheduling, here's a link to some recent Navigator schedules posted by a blogger:

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/personal-navigators/

Another idea is since you're concierge like I am, we have the option of ordering the same full service meal you would have eaten in the restaurant delivered to your room. That way, you have a lot more flexibility to plan things on certain nights?

 

[dreamcat78]

I am having the same issue choosing between the 2 - I just think 8:15 is too late for my kids to eat dinner 3&8 yrs old. I feel like if we eat and re-charge at dinner we will be ready for the nights entertainment or activities

 

[Zeppelin]

Having done both, we prefer late dining. Seems to less hectic & a bit more on the quiet side. Plus we can hit the pools & aqua duck as they are less crowded during the main dining seating.
Just our opinion, but clearly there a lot of folks who prefer the main dining seating.

ditto here....we've done late on our first 4 cruises and are doing it again in August...like staying at the pool or Castaway Cay longer....especially if you're on the Fantasy- while everyone is getting ready for early dining there's no line at Aquaduck!!

that said, as someone posted earlier, if you're early eaters you may not like late dining...

 

[loricfam]

I am going on my first cruise this summer and have the same dilemma. Late or early dining?

Here's my question for all of you who prefer late dining. You've said that late dining is nice because you have more time to ride the Aquaduck, or take your time getting ready for dinner. But isn't that when the shows for the late dining group are going on? So if you're at the Aquaduck or taking your time getting back from an excursion to get ready for dinner, does that mean you're choosing to miss the show? Are there different shows scheduled every night?

 

[lisettemac]

There are 2 seatings of the show each night. Early diners eat first, then go to show. Late diners go to show first, then eat. Presumably, they all finish at same time so not sure how you get more time to get ready for dinner unless you miss the show.

 

[tajz90]

There are 2 seatings of the show each night. Early diners eat first, then go to show. Late diners go to show first, then eat. Presumably, they all finish at same time so not sure how you get more time to get ready for dinner unless you miss the show.

I've wondered the same thing, but was told by one poster that their family goes to the show as is and then dresses for dinner.

We have had early dining 7 of out 8 cruises with DCL. We are an older family, no young kinds. We prefer not eating too late. We don't rush in from excursions or ports and we don't leave the decks so early that we miss a lot of fun. If a port runs late, dinner is normally held a bit later. I

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

There are 2 seatings of the show each night. Early diners eat first, then go to show. Late diners go to show first, then eat. Presumably, they all finish at same time so not sure how you get more time to get ready for dinner unless you miss the show.

Because the show finishes at 7:15 and dinner is at 8:15. So you still have n hour in between to get ready for dinner. You can be show and dinner ready if you want but you don't have to if u want.

For me the biggest problem is that I get tired if I eat a meal and then sit down for an hour. I do better relaxing with a show after swimming n walking at the port. I'm pooped, grab a chicken tender or pizza at 5, go to the show at 6ish, change for dinner or take photos and then ready for nice dinner at 8ish. Instead of sitting down after dinner, we walk all over the ship or sing karaoke etc. Bottom line for me is if I eat and then sit for an hr at the show, I'll fall asleep. Then I end up going to bed at like 10:30 on my early dining cruises. This one, we had good energy n stayed up past 1 every night.

We had excellent service and i absolutely loved late dining. Its definitely for me!

 

[drb116]

On other cruise lines, we always choose early dinning, but on Disney we love late dining. Around 5 pm, the pool deck clears out. We get a snack for our two young boys (usually pizza), and enjoy the late afternoon. It really is the best time to be out by the pools.

We also found that trying to wait around after dinner for a show was hard. They kids would get sleepy and not want to see the show. Seeing the show first was perfect and with the late afternoon snack, the kids were fine until dinner.

 

[Dug720]

We are basically 4 adults, our 2 DD's are in their 20's. We have done both and all of us prefer early seating, even though at home we eat 7/7:30!

We like having the show to look forward to after dinner. We find after the late seating there is not much to do. So do you eat until 9:30 then go to bed at 10:30?? Also you are not hungry for Pirate Buffet, Mickey Bars from room service...

Just my 2 cents!

Ah, but we can order Mickey Bars for a pre-dinner snack if we want.

Also, who goes to bed at 10:30???? Seriously???

And about the Pirate Buffet...I thought that the Pirate meal replaced the regular meal so you got that regardless of when your dinner was in place of the regular menu (though honestly unless it's Enchanted Garden, I'd rather have the regular menu...but I think my sis is trying to find out our rotation and get it so that EG is in the middle (aka Pirate Night) book Palo for EG night.)

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Ah, but we can order Mickey Bars for a pre-dinner snack if we want.

Also, who goes to bed at 10:30???? Seriously???

And about the Pirate Buffet...I thought that the Pirate meal replaced the regular meal so you got that regardless of when your dinner was in place of the regular menu (though honestly unless it's Enchanted Garden, I'd rather have the regular menu...but I think my sis is trying to find out our rotation and get it so that EG is in the middle (aka Pirate Night) book Palo for EG night.)

Yeah I agree, there is so much to do after dinner is done at 9:30. For instance, even the cute kiddie karaoke in the DLounge goes until midnight. Early or late doesn't change the night activities offered. It just is a personal preference.

 

[tajz90]

Yeah I agree, there is so much to do after dinner is done at 9:30. For instance, even the cute kiddie karaoke in the DLounge goes until midnight. Early or late doesn't change the night activities offered. It just is a personal preference.

Total personal preference. I agree.

We eat early and still stay up late.

 

[RevKjb]

I have done both.
First cruise we were assigned late. Second cruise we asked for main just to try it.
Having done both I will say I prefer main. It is hard to eat so much so late. Also I preferred eating first and seeing the shows after....

I agree. With ours kids as well, early gave us time afterward to do shows, D lounge! Etc.....

 

[tvguy]

Late dining can last until well after 10pm. While I didn't mind starting late, finishing at 10pm was just a real problem for my digestion!

Sayhello

Yes, if you have issues with digestion, or need a fast meal, late seating may not be for you. We were routinely up until 1 or 2 am, so no issue for us. Your home routine may also be a consideration. Our crazy work schedules are such, that dinner during the week is usually an hour before bed.

 

[dpuck1998]

There are 2 seatings of the show each night. Early diners eat first, then go to show. Late diners go to show first, then eat. Presumably, they all finish at same time so not sure how you get more time to get ready for dinner unless you miss the show.

For us, we have done both early and late. The first couple cruises we wanted to see the shows and our kids were young so early worked best. Now we always do late and often skip the shows we have already seen. Like others mentioned that is the BEST time to hit the pools and aquaduck.

 

[mamaprincess]

I will not book a cruise if I cannot get early dinning. The one time we had late dinning I spent the entire cruise dealing with my son, 12 at the time, wanting to skip dinner because all of his friends had something going on. At dinner he just stayed impatient wanting to get out and join his friends. He is 16 now and it is no different. The kids meet in the evenings and want to go all night.

True. This is why we are doing early dining for our upcoming cruise. Choose early dining if I this available. You can always switch to late when you board the ship. Early dining is much harder to get later.

 

[tweis]

Ah, but we can order Mickey Bars for a pre-dinner snack if we want.

Also, who goes to bed at 10:30???? Seriously???

And about the Pirate Buffet...I thought that the Pirate meal replaced the regular meal so you got that regardless of when your dinner was in place of the regular menu (though honestly unless it's Enchanted Garden, I'd rather have the regular menu...but I think my sis is trying to find out our rotation and get it so that EG is in the middle (aka Pirate Night) book Palo for EG night.)

The pirate buffet is different from the pirate meal in the MDRs. It is after the pirate party in Cabanas.

 

[Dug720]

The pirate buffet is different from the pirate meal in the MDRs. It is after the pirate party in Cabanas.

Gotcha. I honesty haven't paid that much attention since the entire family isn't really into pirates. We're excited for the fireworks that night, but that's about it.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Yes, if you have issues with digestion, or need a fast meal, late seating may not be for you. We were routinely up until 1 or 2 am, so no issue for us. Your home routine may also be a consideration. Our crazy work schedules are such, that dinner during the week is usually an hour before bed.

I disagree. My issues with digestion are only improved by being active and moving around after dinner, not sitting down in a theater after.

Best not to generalize with regard to digestion since is it VERY VERY subjective...

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Our very first cruise (DCL) we were assigned late dining as that was all that was available. Never gave it a second thought. It's what we still choose! It works out great, as it's the normal time we eat at home (7pm-ish, we're on central time, so 8:15 is fine.) There's no rush to get back from excursions, and it allows time for late afternoon nap after a tiring day in the sun.