ATTIRE FOR DINING

[SandyinMonterey]

I know there is a formal night and that some get really dressed up and some don't. But I'm wondering what the dress code for every day dining is, minus Palo and Remy, and what you where/pack.
Thanks everyone!

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Everyday dining in the dining rooms is whatever you want with the following exceptions: Swimwear, underwear or no wear.

We generally do business casual type wear but it's all in what you comfortable with.

 

[scootch]

Truly whatever you are comfy in. I am usually a capri/nice top kind of girl or nice jeans/nice top.

 

[Sir William]

Cruise Casual. I wear either a Disney polo or aloha shirt with khaki pants. I take two sets, alternating them. For Pirate Night, I wear a pirate themed aloha shirt and a pair of the khakis. DW typically wears a slacks with a nice top or a sundress for casual nights.

For both formal and semi-formal night I wear my tux both nights. Wearing it twice justifies the weight and space of taking it, plus DW likes it, who usually wears the same dress but with different accessories.

 

[DISGRL13]

There is a little bit of everything as far as type of dress in the main dining rooms. For a 7 night cruise my husband usually brings one pair of khakis and 3 button down shorts that he rotates. I usually bring a couple pairs of pants and several blouses and/or a sundress or two. We do dress up in pirate garb on pirate night.
Enjoy your cruise!

 

[bumbershoot]

I personally always wear a dress. We haven't been on a long enough Disney cruise to have a formal night, but I wear dresses. And nylons because I FREEZE in the dining rooms. And usually some sort of shawl or shrug or something.

DH and DS always choose to wear something like Dockers and then a polo-type shirt. If DS hasn't outgrown his nice shoes he wears those; if he did just outgrow them and we forget to get new, he wears athletic shoes. DH has some nice shoes that we made SURE are comfy on him, and he wears those.

We try to make sure our pretty clothes are also comfortable DS generally won't even change to go to the Lab, because his khakis and polo are comfy enough to play in.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm so done with all the dresses. I'm selling mine. Heels? Hahahaha! Riiiiiiight..... Dress shorts, maybe capris, & a blouse with sandals is my idea of cruise casual. I'll keep something I can pass off if I decide to eat at Palo. Remy I'd only do the champagne brunch anyway which isn't as frou-frou as the dinner (I've done both, muuuuuuch preferred the brunch experience). My guys wear khakis and polos or casual flat-front khaki shorts w/polos.

I'd rather skip anything formal at all. When we do (usually if my MiL is with us and wants to do it, you know how that goes) I'll wear a....**gasp**.....dress. I don't like it. Get that thing off ASAP. Guys have suits. We have done full formal with gowns & tuxes but we were like 1 of 2 families dressed that way and we were completely miserable. We took pictures but ended up skipping dinner. Complete waste of about $1k of clothes/shoes for 4. Live & learn.

 

[michellekcm]

DH and I tend to wear jeans. Or, if it's really hot, DH will wear shorts. We travel from Australia, and our cruises are part of a much longer trip. We don't have the suitcase room to bring different clothes for cruising as opposed to everything else, so if we're mainly wearing jeans at the parks etc., then we're wearing jeans on the cruise.

 

[Savikins]

I love to dress up so I pretty much always wear a dress. I've worn jeans and a plaid button down shirt to the MDR on the final night once before. I've seen everything except swimwear and pajamas.

 

[Skiton]

I always wear a cocktail-type dress for formal/semi formal nights, cruise casual I do a sundress, skirt, or nice capris/blouse. DH wears a suit for the fancier nights, and dress pants with a nice shirt for the other nights. We put our 7/8 year old boys in dress pants and button up shirts for formal nights, but let them wear dressy jeans and golf shirts for cruise casual. This probably makes me sound old (although I'm really not that old), but I wish more people made an effort at dinner. It doesn't have to be tuxes and ball gowns, but on a nice vacation, in a beautiful dining room with elegant service and sophisticated food, it's a little bothersome to see ratty shorts and t-shirts. JMO, I know others don't feel the same.

 

[elphie101]

Like you've seen, there's a range of responses. I like the idea of dressing up a little so I always wore a sundress, or a cocktail dress on formal/semi-formal nights (I also wore my semi-formal dress to Palo brunch). My DH wore his khaki pants and a polo for the cruise casual nights (though he would have dressed down more if it were totally up to him ) and a suit & tie on formal night, mostly because we were coming straight from our destination wedding so we already had the suit in our luggage!

 

[Expatriat]

I always wear a cocktail-type dress for formal/semi formal nights, cruise casual I do a sundress, skirt, or nice capris/blouse. DH wears a suit for the fancier nights, and dress pants with a nice shirt for the other nights. We put our 7/8 year old boys in dress pants and button up shirts for formal nights, but let them wear dressy jeans and golf shirts for cruise casual. This probably makes me sound old (although I'm really not that old), but I wish more people made an effort at dinner. It doesn't have to be tuxes and ball gowns, but on a nice vacation, in a beautiful dining room with elegant service and sophisticated food, it's a little bothersome to see ratty shorts and t-shirts. JMO, I know others don't feel the same.

My DH and I are with you 100%! To us, the elegance of the dining rooms does not in any way inspire us to "dress DOWN" as if we were having dinner at a fast food restaurant. When the serving team is well dressed, the food is beautifully presented, the decor is elegant and there are nice tablecloths and dinnerware, we would never feel comfortable dining in what passes for "cruise casual" these days. If that makes us old or old fashioned or doesn't fit in with what so many choose to do lately, so be it. We don't happen to think that making the extra effort is a bad thing, and we don't find our attire to be uncomfortable or difficult to pack at all. We always smile and deeply appreciate those who do bother to "dress for dinner" in the more traditional manner.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

When we were on the DCL Magic Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise last year, we saw a few people wearing pajama pants and sweatshirts at dinner . . . on formal night . . . AND they still were served. My point is, you can kind of wear whatever you want (barring, as one PP put it, swimwear, underwear and no wear).

For our family, the boys wear nice khaki pants or shorts and polo shirts and I bring sundresses, maxi dresses (that can kind of pass as "formal" but still pack well) and flat sandals (don't like taking up suitcase space with heels). I'll usually bring some type of neutral colored wrap as well that I can wear with any dress. Typically everything is washable, so I can re-use outfits and not bring a lot of luggage. We are clean, comfortable, nicely dressed, but certainly not formal. It's just not our style and we're glad DCL doesn't require it.

 

[over50visits]

Interesting...since Disney changed their "no shorts" rule to the current dress code, there seem to be plenty of people wearing shorts and t-shirts to the MDRs. Many believe a Disney cruise is a great chance to dress casually (shorts), many believe nice clothes are appropriate for the upscale MDR experience.

We're in the latter group. What is interesting to me is the experience seems to be heightened by simply wearing nice, comfortable clothing. Usually a nice dress or pants suit and tie/sports coat. Somehow the waiters and dining room supervisors (who always stop by to chat) seem to treat us, well, differently. Can't put my finger on it, but we treat the dining room with respect and get it back! Nothing obvious, just the feeling that they appreciate our effort, so they put out extra effort for us.

I hope, and believe, everyone has a good time in the MDRs regardless of what they wear, as we would no matter what we wear. But, it seems to trivially easy to upgrade that experience from good to great.

 

[DIS_Ag]

I will wear khaki shorts and a polo in the mdr.

 

[tinkerone]

I don't find the dinning rooms so much 'upscale' as I do 'themed'. as such, it does not bother me at all what is worn. I have one pair of black pants and 4 tops that I wear to dinner. dh is 2 pair of dress pants and 4 shirts, no tie. I have worn shorts occasionally and have never felt staff has treated me any different.

 

[JW9DVC]

I know there is a formal night and that some get really dressed up and some don't. But I'm wondering what the dress code for every day dining is, minus Palo and Remy, and what you where/pack.
Thanks everyone!

Jeans t shirts shorts. Just no swim wear. It's not strict at all. See the DCL website as well.

JW

 

[Sir William]

My DH and I are with you 100%! To us, the elegance of the dining rooms does not in any way inspire us to "dress DOWN" as if we were having dinner at a fast food restaurant. When the serving team is well dressed, the food is beautifully presented, the decor is elegant and there are nice tablecloths and dinnerware, we would never feel comfortable dining in what passes for "cruise casual" these days. If that makes us old or old fashioned or doesn't fit in with what so many choose to do lately, so be it. We don't happen to think that making the extra effort is a bad thing, and we don't find our attire to be uncomfortable or difficult to pack at all. We always smile and deeply appreciate those who do bother to "dress for dinner" in the more traditional manner.

I'm another in total agreement. I wear shorts during the day, but in the evening, given the ambiance of the MDRs, I like to dress a little nicer. I'm still comfortable, and I think it shows courtesy and respect for my fellow travelers and the servers. The shorts will be waiting for the next morning, and I can even change into them after dinner if I wish.

 

[DHSbutcher]

I try to be as comfortable as possible but also still nice, so usually a cute pair of jeans and a nice top will do it. A dress and sweater on formal nights seems to work just fine for me. I re-wear the jeans a bunch since i usually take them back off right after dinner and put on some relaxing pants and retire to the room.

 

[MammaMoe48]

It's neat, casual. No swim suits, baggy pants, ripped jeans, t-shirts. The usual. My husband wore khaki shorts and collared shirts. I even wore Capri jeans a couple of nights with sandals and a pretty top and was fine. They just don't want people coming into dinner like they are going to dig ditches. We do enjoy formal night so DH & DS wear suits and I have a couple of silky, knee length dresses. No heels though, just my wedges or strappy sandals.