Disney Magic Breakfast and Lunch - Cabanas or MDR?

[PurplePencil]

Especially in Europe, the timing for Cabanas works out better. When you have an early morning excursion, which many in Europe are, a quick in and out meal is much more convenient than a 40 minute sit down meal (plus the MDR opens later than Cabanas). I have gone to the MDR for breakfast and lunch, especially on Sea Days; but find that I have more options in Cabanas. It’s just like how Daisys De-Lite’s is open every morning, but most trip reports don’t mention it.

 

[gotomu212]

It’s definitely worth trying, but one lunch and one breakfast per cruise is enough for us. The wait is pretty long (usually at least an hour to 1.5 hours for a burger or pancakes), the service isn’t the normal top notch MDR service (which is odd since it’s regular MDR servers), and the menu choices aren’t very diverse (I think last time for lunch there was a fish, a pasta, a hamburger, and some chicken wrap for entree and 2 dessert choices that were blah compared to the many choices at cabanas).

 

[Wmuflyguy]

Room service, English muffin and cereal after I go for a run.

Cabanas on the days I choose not to exercise.

 

[alavoi]

We haven’t been on a Disney Cruise for about 5 years, but it used to be that once a week, one MDR would have an extensive seafood and sushi buffet (I think it was always in Parrot Cay). Do they still do that? We are on the Magic in November and would love to hit the MDR that day.

 

[msmama]

I like sitting outside at Cabanas rather than inside. Also, like other have said, at the buffet we get to go at our own pace and I can try lots of little things instead of a meal.

I do have to say, I ate the best quesadilla in my life at the MDR, though.

Also, though I haven't cruised since I've been gluten free so I can't confirm this officially, it seems easier to eat GF at Cabana's than in the MDR (the lunch menu's I've seen online seem to have limited GF options). And while I'm sure they could get me something GF, it would just take longer.

 

[Mommb]

We haven’t been on a Disney Cruise for about 5 years, but it used to be that once a week, one MDR would have an extensive seafood and sushi buffet (I think it was always in Parrot Cay). Do they still do that? We are on the Magic in November and would love to hit the MDR that day.

Unfortunately, on the Magic this summer, there were no buffets in the main dining rooms. On embarkation day, the dining room that was open had a menu. I think the buffet disappeared when Parrot Cay/Carioca’s became Rapunzel’s Royal Table.

 

[MomOTwins]

The worst meal I ever had was an MDR lunch and it turned me off it. I had bone dry fish that tasted like it had been left under the heat lamps for 5 hours, a drink that arrived well after my food, and it took 90 minutes to boot. I’ve looked at the embarkation lunch and if anything it looked even more limited and uninteresting than the regular MDR lunch. And it couldn’t hold a candle to the selection at the cafe (bottomless crab legs, I am coming for u!). I would maybe do a breakfast in the MDR but it seems like a big time suck when I can get all the same food at the buffet—and we are early risers so it is never crowded when we go.

 

[mmmears]

It's not a secret. It's just personal preference. We like the MDR on embarkation day since Cabanas is a madhouse, but just didn't really enjoy the breakfast and lunch we tried there on our last cruise. Not picky eaters, but Cabanas has a better breakfast selection and longer hours, plus we can sit outside. As for lunch, we also like Daisy's selection up on deck 9. I find the MDR takes longer, too, and we generally aren't looking for a long, drawn out experience, especially on port days.

 

[TestingH2O]

We always have embarkation lunch in the MDR. It is so much easier not having to wrangle luggage and buffet trays. DD has started taking a quick snooze at the table too. She never sleeps well the night before we board.

For breakfast, I prefer Cabanas because it is easier to get a small portion since I rarely eat breakfast and, when I do, I just want something small. The MDR had preset options and it feels wasteful to toss all that food. My parents eat in the MDR almost every day.

I've enjoyed the MDR for lunch on days we've been on the ship. It all really just depends on what we're doing each day.

 

[hippiechicken]

I loved Cabanas!! I only went once for lunch, on the day before the last, then I was sad because it was so good!! Next time, I cruise, I am definitely eating lunch at Cabanas more. I also had a late night dinner there once, and it was so good, too!!
I loved the breakfast as well. Several days, I had multiple breakfasts there.. I had planned to try the MDR for breakfast, but never did because Cabanas has everything!
I do recommend Palo brunch!!

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Those meals at the MDR aren't secret. It's just that some people want a more casual buffet experience instead of full-service dining for those meals. Also, the MDR breakfast hours are a lot more limited than Cabanas', so I think that plays into it, too. And Cabanas offers a lot more food options. It also offers a view out to sea.

 

[dclpluto]

At breakfast in the mdr. They have coffee as soon as you sit down for the coffee drinkers but if you don’t drink coffee you have to wait 30 minutes for your drink.

 

[Sun_soakin]

The only time I managed to eat breakfast or lunch in the MDR was embarkation day of our first cruise. After that my family didn’t have the patience to spend that long on breakfast or lunch. One sit-down meal per day seems to suit them best. Our last cruise was in the med and it was best for us to do room service breakfasts on excursion days and then just a snack before dinner. On sea days everyone slept too late for MDR breakfast, so cabanas was the only choice

 

[Marc D]

We haven’t been on a Disney Cruise for about 5 years, but it used to be that once a week, one MDR would have an extensive seafood and sushi buffet (I think it was always in Parrot Cay). Do they still do that? We are on the Magic in November and would love to hit the MDR that day.

The only dining room that still does a buffet is Enchanted Garden on Fantasy/Dream, and it’s basically the same things as you can get in Cabanas. It is only on some sea days. The MDR buffets were removed from Wonder and Magic when they added Tiana’s/Rapunzel’s

 

[Geomom]

Our Embarkation Lunch in Lumiere's, Disney Magic August 2018


Beef Empanadas


Grilled Salmon Salad


Sliced Roasted Beef Sirloin


Welcome Aboard Sundae


Carrot Cake


Oreo Cheesecake

 

[ScooterScott44]

Lots of opinions on which is better for each persons style so far. I’ll add a couple of observations that hopefully will help someone choose.

The MDR breakfast can be quite crowded depending on a few items. I have seen a line stretched across the atrium at breakfast opening before so plenty of people will utilize this option, do not anticipate the MDR is always a hidden gem. Here are a couple of things that might increase the MDR - first would be if it is a sea day, number of higher level castaway cay club members, overall age of cruisers/couples vs family.

The choices in cabanas would be pretty consistent but there are sometimes good surprises. On our last cruise there was a number of Indian dishes (at least 5-6 choices) at cabanas and some were better than expected.

 

[Geomom]

Lumiere's Breakfast

Fresh Fruit and Yogurt

Vegetarian Omelet, bacon, Hash brown

Traditional Eggs Benedict, sausage, hash brown


Debarkation Breakfast

Blueberry Pancakes and Hash Browns

Route 66

Buttermilk Pancakes, Hash Browns

Denver Omelet, hash browns

Fresh Fruit

 

[clten]

I don't think it's a matter of people not knowing about it. For embarkation lunch, where we eat depends on who we are traveling with, what the weather is like and what time we've boarded. We typically eat at the quick service spots rather than Cabanas but if we are with my parents or the weather is iffy, we'll go to the MDR.

For the rest of the cruise, we go to Cabanas more often that the MDR for a few reasons - first we don't need to spend a lot of time on breakfast/lunch, more choices at Cabanas although my cruise breakfast is usually the same every day, and the most important is the hours of the MDR. They are usually limited. So on the days that we have more time to linger, we usually linger too long and then miss the hours the MDR is open so have to go to Cabanas anyway. We do try to do at least one lunch in the MDR per cruise and are usually successful. We do try to do at least one breakfast there but usually that isn't as successful and the one MDR breakfast turns out to be disembarkation breakfast!

One other thing that wasn't mentioned - sometimes if we are up during MDR breakfast hours and remember to head there rather than go to Cabanas on auto-pilot, if we see a line, we'll keep moving and head to Cabanas anyway. When it is crowded, they will seat you with others during breakfast and lunch. It's not usually a problem and I do like chatting with others on a cruise. But it is too much for me at breakfast.

 

[ahain]

Embarkation day lunch at Cabanas is part of our cruise tradition and is something we really look forward to. We get an early PAT and get on the ship as early as possible. We head to Cabanas almost immediately and snag a table outdoors near the railing, if possible, so that we can bask in the sun and enjoy the "we're on vacation" ambiance. On our first Panama Canal Cruise (my mom was along with us), we did eat lunch in the MDR instead, and it was fine, but not the same experience for us. During cruises, we almost always eat at Cabanas buffet 1) because of the options available; and 2) because DH wants to eat quickly so we can get on with other activities, which is difficult to do when eating in MDRs.

 

[Pens Fan]

In our experience the CM's try their best to steer you to Cabanas on embarkation day. We have even had them tell us the MDR was already full, only to try anyway and find the MDR about 25% full . A lot of first time cruisers don't even realize they have an option and just go where they are told, though. As we really don't care for lunch in Cabanas, we avoid it as much as possible. The crowds are usually crazy, and frankly we just don't care for the food. During the cruise, we will try to have lunch off of the ship on port days and sea days either hit up the MDR (slow service / pretty good food in our experience), the pool deck options or even room service - anything to avoid Cabanas.

Now, breakfast is another story. We enjoy the offerings at Cabanas for breakfast. For a buffet, we think Disney does a pretty good job. My one complaint is that on port days when everyone's trying to eat at the same time, it's usually a zoo. At times you can't even find a table, though if it's a cooler day we've learned to just wear warm clothes and eat outside where there often are empty tables. We do enjoy the MDR's for breakfast, but the menu is a bit limited and it takes quite a while. We'd usually rather just get on with our day and stick with Cabanas.