Changing dinner seating

[smtmmj]

Hi! I just had to change our reservation due to my husbands work sending him out of town. The cruise we had to switch to does not have Early Seating available. The gentleman said he would put us on a waiting list and I can keep calling to see if it opens up.
What are the chances of this? My 5 yr old was falling asleep during the Early dining last time, so I know he will never be able to make it through Main dining.
Any suggestions?

 

[NAB]

Do you usually put him to bed right after dinner then?

If you have main seating they can bring out his meal early then yours and he can go to the club. The counselors come down and collect kids right there and will take them up to the club for you too.

Or you wait on the ship they can put you on a list and if they have an early one for that day you can do that. We were offered this but we didn't like switching out and not knowing day by day.

I remember when my kids were little they fell to sleep to between two chairs with table clothes on them for a blanket at one time...lol

 

[RafikiTiki21]

We booked relatively "late" for our September cruise and were assigned late dining with no early option available. I did the same-- called Disney and was told I could be on a wait list. I read on this forum that Disney tries to accommodate such requests but no guarantees, and they reiterated this on the phone.

Maybe two weeks later I received what appeared to be a generic confirmation email of my entire cruise from Disney. Reading the details, and logging onto the Disney Cruise site to confirm everything was straight, I see the only change was my dining time and I DID get the early seating as requested. You can keep calling back, but the switch will likely be made automatically on your reservation when available.

I think you did the right thing in requesting, may very well get it, and if you don't-- go to the desk upon embarkation and request a change then.

Good luck!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi! I just had to change our reservation due to my husbands work sending him out of town. The cruise we had to switch to does not have Early Seating available. The gentleman said he would put us on a waiting list and I can keep calling to see if it opens up.
What are the chances of this? My 5 yr old was falling asleep during the Early dining last time, so I know he will never be able to make it through Main dining.
Any suggestions?

A little clarification - "main" seating is early. "Second" seating is late.

If you are on the wait list, that's pretty much all you can do right now. However, as you were told, call every once in a while to "confirm" that you are on the wait list (remember the squeaky wheel?). If you still have second seating when you check in at the port (it'll be noted on your KTTW card), go to where the dining changes are being handled (it'll be noted in the Navigator you get in the terminal where/when this is) and make the request again. Most times these steps will be successful. Sometimes not.

If all else fails, you can always eat at Cabanas for dinner. It's a sit down table service with open seating hours nightly (except the first and last nights of the cruise).

 

[smtmmj]

I'll definitely keep calling then!
Yes, I confused main and second seating. Last cruise we had main and he barely stayed awake. I truly dont think he would make it through second seating service.

 

[PackYourPixieDust]

I wrote an article about this. http://wp.me/p6IpdX-k I was in your boat about 3 times and was always switched. (Once was on the 2nd day.) cabanas isn't open the first day, but it is the 2nd. But there is quick service on the deck open until 6 which is what I'd do in the future. Fear not! But I don't think calling a bunch of times makes a difference. The people that note the wait list aren't the same as the ones that can get your through.

 

[Tulip2796]

Hi! I just had to change our reservation due to my husbands work sending him out of town. The cruise we had to switch to does not have Early Seating available. The gentleman said he would put us on a waiting list and I can keep calling to see if it opens up.
What are the chances of this? My 5 yr old was falling asleep during the Early dining last time, so I know he will never be able to make it through Main dining.
Any suggestions?

We booked our 7-night cruise less than 3 weeks before the sail date. During booking I was told that only 2nd seating was available. With 2 young children dinner at 8:15 is not an option for me. I was ready not to book bc of this and left my reservation on hold while i thought about it one more day. A friend convinced me to throw caution to the wind so to speak and not let one aspect of the cruise derail our plans so we booked. We were placed on the waiting list but I made peace with the idea that we wouldn't enjoy the MDRs (and it was our 1st Disney cruise!). I called about the waiting list twice and was told they couldn't see how far down on the list I was. I'd read about asking/begging for a seating change once on board but with such a late booking and a late port arrival time I didn't have much hope there either. I checked the Disney reservations page every day, several times and always saw 2nd seating until just 8 days before our sail date when it suddenly said Main seating. I took a picture and checked twice bc I couldn't believe it. Never got an email from Disney. I keep checking and it still says Main with just a few days to go.

So, it can happen

 

[smtmmj]

We booked our 7-night cruise less than 3 weeks before the sail date. During booking I was told that only 2nd seating was available. With 2 young children dinner at 8:15 is not an option for me. I was ready not to book bc of this and left my reservation on hold while i thought about it one more day. A friend convinced me to throw caution to the wind so to speak and not let one aspect of the cruise derail our plans so we booked. We were placed on the waiting list but I made peace with the idea that we wouldn't enjoy the MDRs (and it was our 1st Disney cruise!). I called about the waiting list twice and was told they couldn't see how far down on the list I was. I'd read about asking/begging for a seating change once on board but with such a late booking and a late port arrival time I didn't have much hope there either. I checked the Disney reservations page every day, several times and always saw 2nd seating until just 8 days before our sail date when it suddenly said Main seating. I took a picture and checked twice bc I couldn't believe it. Never got an email from Disney. I keep checking and it still says Main with just a few days to go.

So, it can happen

Thank you! That makes me feel so much better! The kids really enjoyed the MDR service and I would hate to have that opportunity taken away from them!

 

[smtmmj]

I wrote an article about this. http://wp.me/p6IpdX-k I was in your boat about 3 times and was always switched. (Once was on the 2nd day.) cabanas isn't open the first day, but it is the 2nd. But there is quick service on the deck open until 6 which is what I'd do in the future. Fear not! But I don't think calling a bunch of times makes a difference. The people that note the wait list aren't the same as the ones that can get your through.

Thank you! I'm going to cross my fingers!!