Dining and privacy

[2neverland]

Never cruised leaning toward disney.
So main concern is dining. We have a son who is 6 and autism spectrum. We don't care about missing out on fancy dinners. We want to know if dining is private seating or seating with others? Meals are daunting- I can get him to eat but it's not something I want to be around strangers. Can we have a tablet for him at the table if it's low volume? Not looking for any special accommodations just knowledge of dining seating/options. Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Never cruised leaning toward disney.
So main concern is dining. We have a son who is 6 and autism spectrum. We don't care about missing out on fancy dinners. We want to know if dining is private seating or seating with others? Meals are daunting- I can get him to eat but it's not something I want to be around strangers. Can we have a tablet for him at the table if it's low volume? Not looking for any special accommodations just knowledge of dining seating/options. Thanks!

You can request to be seated at your own table. Call DCL and have the request placed on your reservation. Be sure to mention why you'd like that type of seating, it may help.

I will point out that there really isn't "private" seating in the dining rooms. Most tables are real close to their neighboring tables.

You certainly could use a tablet, just be aware that low volume many not be workable in the dining rooms (they tend to be pretty noisy).

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Never cruised leaning toward disney.
So main concern is dining. We have a son who is 6 and autism spectrum. We don't care about missing out on fancy dinners. We want to know if dining is private seating or seating with others? Meals are daunting- I can get him to eat but it's not something I want to be around strangers. Can we have a tablet for him at the table if it's low volume? Not looking for any special accommodations just knowledge of dining seating/options. Thanks!

I would also add on to above that I've seen kids with ear buds connected to their tablets in the MDR. You can also eat in cabanas for dinner on all nights but the first and last. They do not have a buffet but I believe service is quicker and the tables are a little more spaced out than in the MDR's. I don't know if they have the outside deck open for dinner service or not.

 

[DHSbutcher]

Meals definitely aren't private unless you eat in your room you can order from room service. That being said, the waiters are fantastic and truly care about getting you the best experience possible and providing reasonable accommodations. You can always request to dine by yourself but during peak travel times when the ships are to absolute capacity it may not be possible- but most likely can happen easily. good luck on future cruises!

 

[MunFam]

I have found in my own unscientific research that people with special needs (mental, physical or allergy) always get their requests granted. We chose 2nd dining as it is less "crowded" and we were granted our own table for our family. Now...there was about 12 inches between our table and the tables of the two other families dining near us so it was not private by any means, but it did help with what we were trying to accomplish and that was to keep our table free of allergens.

 

[2neverland]

Thanks to the replays. Would you say the close seating would be equivalent to disney dining at disney world? I believe coral reef was very compact. How about bench seating? If any help possibly be a 4 night cruise on the disney dream ship.

 

[FindMeAFishingSpot]

On the tablet - you may want to consider headphones if he'll tolerate them. They will help with the noise issue.

 

[2neverland]

Meals definitely aren't private unless you eat in your room you can order from room service. That being said, the waiters are fantastic and truly care about getting you the best experience possible and providing reasonable accommodations. You can always request to dine by yourself but during peak travel times when the ships are to absolute capacity it may not be possible- but most likely can happen easily. good luck on future cruises!

Looking at November

 

[2neverland]

I have found in my own unscientific research that people with special needs (mental, physical or allergy) always get their requests granted. We chose 2nd dining as it is less "crowded" and we were granted our own table for our family. Now...there was about 12 inches between our table and the tables of the two other families dining near us so it was not private by any means, but it did help with what we were trying to accomplish and that was to keep our table free of allergens.

If no worse than Disneyworld on site dining should survive. I would prefer 2nd dining due to crowds. Kiddo wants to be in bed when it's dark. But maybe he will nap after pool time to make 2nd dining more doable.

 

[gismo1554]

Also might be worth asking for a table in a corner as they do have some that are a bit more away from the middle to avoid feeling too enclosed. DEFINITELY make sure you mention his autism as they will try and accommodate. Also when you get onboard go to the dining team to just make sure that you do actually have what you requested. It is listed on the navigator as "change dining assignment" or something like that and just go and make sure. They are really accommodating and will do there best for you. If however on night one it really isn't working for you let your servers know and as said you could try Cabanas as an alternative option. I've seen people with headphones and tablets on in the dining room and no one bats an eyelid. Remember its your vacation too and if it helps then do it. Worse comes to it there is always room service as they do great food but that should be your last choice as who wants to be stuck in the room if you don't have to!

 

[2neverland]

Also might be worth asking for a table in a corner as they do have some that are a bit more away from the middle to avoid feeling too enclosed. DEFINITELY make sure you mention his autism as they will try and accommodate. Also when you get onboard go to the dining team to just make sure that you do actually have what you requested. It is listed on the navigator as "change dining assignment" or something like that and just go and make sure. They are really accommodating and will do there best for you. If however on night one it really isn't working for you let your servers know and as said you could try Cabanas as an alternative option. I've seen people with headphones and tablets on in the dining room and no one bats an eyelid. Remember its your vacation too and if it helps then do it. Worse comes to it there is always room service as they do great food but that should be your last choice as who wants to be stuck in the room if you don't have to!

Thank you!