Disney Magic Breakfast and Lunch - Cabanas or MDR?

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We are the really odd ones because we've discovered we actually prefer eating an early lunch on embarkation day at a restaurant before we even board! We ordered a late afternoon room service to share to tide us over before late dinner.

Our kids sleep later than us, and we found we like cabanas right when they open, and we would bring plates for the kids back to the room so we don't have to deal with it once it gets busier. We had breakfast in the mdr once and it was enjoyable, but not something I would do every day since I usually wouldn't want to take that much time. Lunch when we were on the ship was a combo of pool deck, cabanas, or room service.

 

[sethschroeder]

For embarkation day, we strongly prefer the MDR and will always do that

Is it easy to get in or do they run out of space?

 

[dclpluto]

Is it easy to get in or do they run out of space?

They will tell you a wait time that is longer than it actually is. On my last cruise they told us it will be about a 15 minute wait. I knew that was a lie they just like people to go to cabanas. I set my timer on my phone actually time was under 2 minutes.

 

[belle032]

I'll be completely honest, we were not thrilled with Cabanas on our British Isles cruise on the Magic just a few weeks ago. Breakfast seemed sub par-flavorless eggs, hard/dry Mickey waffles, mushy fruit, etc. I think we only had breakfast twice?

On Embarkation day, everything was delayed because the previous cruise had run into problems while disembarking. So when we showed up to embark at around 2PM, there was a HUGE line stretching outside the terminal where it usually would have been a "walk right on" situation. We didn't get on the ship until about 3PM and Cabanas was closed. So that was the first letdown. I also was a little frustrated that Cabanas closed everyday at 2:00PM. It just seems a little early, especially considering our dinner was at 8:30PM.

And I understand they have to get ready for dinner, but at least keep the dining room open to guests? I mean yes, there were still options outside on the deck to eat, but it's 65 degrees outside. Maybe we just want to sit indoors for lunch?

So I'm probably in the minority here, but Cabanas's wasn't our favorite this time around.

 

[BarlowFamily]

It's fun to read the different ways different families eat on DCL! We just got back from our 2nd DCL cruise (WBTA) and we enjoyed a combination of MDR/Cabana's for Breakfast and Lunch throughout the cruise. We defintely prefer to stat our cruise with Embarkation lunch in the MDR. We've only had to wait a few minutes both times. The MDR wasn't open early enough for breakfast on Port Days, so we went to Cabana's. On Sea Days, we got into a rhythm of ordering a simple breakfast from room service for DS4 and then checking him into the Club when it opened at 9am so we could enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the MDR. This was such a treat! Our first cruise was on the Wonder, and for some reason I remember having a different lunch menu in the MDR each day, but on the WBTA on the Magic the breakfast and lunch menus were the same each day. Is my memory deceiving me?? OP, enjoy your first cruise and all those MDR meals!! Don't be afraid to try one breakfast or lunch in Cabana's, you might be surprised.

 

[TRTRguy]

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

The buffet in the enchanted garden was done away with about 2 years ago. They started serving a sit down lunch with menu on embarkation day. And eventually moved the lunch to animators palate

 

[Calantha]

So with one cruise worth of experience (a party of 12)...we did MDR for lunch on embarkation day and that was great. Dinner every night in the MDR ran almost 2 hrs...so that being said...we did breakfast every morning but the last at Cabana's - pretty much as soon as it opened (some mornings we also had a 6AM room service). The rest of the party would drift in over the course of the hour or whatever. One morning was the character breakfast.

For lunch, if we were on the ship, I always ended up with quick service with my 4 yr old - except the day of Palo Brunch. Some of the other party did Cabana's for lunch...but DS didn't want another long meal - so it was usually just a slice of pizza for him/a panini for me and then back in the pool.

 

[pezgirlroy]

On the first day, we do the Concierge Lunch in one of the MDRs since we are in concierge. The other days we generally do Cabanas but my parents who travel with us do not like to deal with crowds so they end to always do the MDRs. I actually prefer the MDR for breakfast.

 

[tvguy]

We only did breakfast in the MDR on disembarkation day. We did one lunch in MDR, on a port day. MDR was almost empty and the wait staff seemed surprised that anyone ate on board in port.
We just found the buffet more to our liking for breakfast and lunch.
Dinner we always did in MDR, we had late seating and enjoyed the leisurely pace of late seating. Our dinner often went two hours.

 

[StartedByAMouse]

Our first Disney cruise was on the Wonder to Alaska. My father-in-law is a big fan of going to restaurants where he can be served so we had agreed to go to the MDR when we boarded. The crew was herding everyone towards the elevators to Cabanas and were a little hesitant to direct us to the open restaurant when I requested, being told that it would be a long wait. We said we'd still like that option and after being directed where to go, were promptly seated. So if you want the MDR, just politely but firmly request it.

We wound up misunderstanding the MDR at breakfast thing though and wound up at the location that was doing character breakfast and we weren't scheduled there that day so had to make other arrangements. We wound up at Cabanas and found that we enjoyed that more anyway. Everyone could get what they want and we could take as long or as short as we wanted to eat.

Our next cruise was on the Fantasy and my daughter wanted to hit the AquaDuck as soon as possible so we decided to eat at Cabanas for lunch instead of the MDR. My FIL seems to prefer this arrangement now, much to my surprise. So definitely try to dine the way you prefer but don't be surprised to like some of the other options DCL offers.

On our most-recent cruise, we skipped the MDR on our last morning and had breakfast in Cabanas instead. I admit I like the buffet more than sit-down restaurants anyway but this was -- for us -- a much better option than having to be up extra early (we had early dining at dinner so this was our assigned time the final morning) and we could enjoy the last meal at our leisure. I didn't even know this was an option until just before this last trip so I'm glad I had read about it here in these forums.

I like that there are plenty of options like this to fit everyone's needs. While they aren't necessarily secret, some of definitely not advertised as readily as others. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[TestingH2O]

The buffet in the enchanted garden was done away with about 2 years ago. They started serving a sit down lunch with menu on embarkation day. And eventually moved the lunch to animators palate

This is true for embarkation day. However, EG still has a buffet breakfast on some sea days which is what the poster was referring to. It's a blend of buffet and made to order.

 

[Marc D]

This is true for embarkation day. However, EG still has a buffet breakfast on some sea days which is what the poster was referring to. It's a blend of buffet and made to order.

Exactly. I was talking about the breakfast buffet, not the old embarkation buffet. I saw it myself last March on Dream and the vlogger Michael Kay went there a few weeks ago on Fantasy.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

9 times out of 10 I will go to Lumiere's for at least breakfast or lunch each day. It kind of depends on the plans that we have for the day/where we are stopping and how quick we need to be. If I need a quick 30 minute breakfast, I will be at cabanas but if there is more time to burn, I would prefer Lumiere's. Often times my serving team has been proactive in letting us know what meal they will be working the next day if not both and tell us to request them when we arrive. Definitely a perk to have the same excellent service. I always leave extra tips if we dine for extra meals.

I often find I like the sit down lunch menu's better on the Magic more than for some of the dinner menus. More options, different deserts, etc. Always worth a try to see if you like it.

On the Fantasy this was a bit different because the Royal Court breakfast was... lacking severely in my opinion and the food quality was far better for breakfast in Cabanas. Plus we all would wake up at different times so it made it challenging when everyone eats separately to sit down. I dislike sitting by myself at a table in the dining room. Its awkward and uncomfortable.

 

[YawningDodo]

I only ate one lunch in Lumiere's during my cruise (the Cruisin' Solo meetup lunch)--really enjoyed it, but apparently not enough to make time for it again later! I kept wanting to eat breakfast there but just didn't get up early enough on any morning other than MDAS, and on MDAS I had zero interest in spending time on anything non-Marvel. I will say I did not particularly enjoy Cabanas in the morning; it was me and every single family that also woke up later. I'd basically just bolt something down and then go to the Quiet Cove for a nice coffee and to sit down and actually enjoy myself. If Daisy's DeLights is open for breakfast...man, I wish I'd known that; grabbing something to go eat in the adults only area would have been a lot nicer.

I think for me at lunchtime it boiled down to just not wanting to devote the time. Dinner was already a long, luxurious table service meal every day, so I wasn't burning with desire for more. I always had plenty of other things to keep me busy. And, too, I generally enjoy snacking throughout the day when that kind of food is available, so I ate a lot of food from the quick service locations on Deck 9.

 

[BCV23]

It's fun to read the different ways different families eat on DCL! We just got back from our 2nd DCL cruise (WBTA) and we enjoyed a combination of MDR/Cabana's for Breakfast and Lunch throughout the cruise. We defintely prefer to stat our cruise with Embarkation lunch in the MDR. We've only had to wait a few minutes both times. The MDR wasn't open early enough for breakfast on Port Days, so we went to Cabana's. On Sea Days, we got into a rhythm of ordering a simple breakfast from room service for DS4 and then checking him into the Club when it opened at 9am so we could enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the MDR. This was such a treat! Our first cruise was on the Wonder, and for some reason I remember having a different lunch menu in the MDR each day, but on the WBTA on the Magic the breakfast and lunch menus were the same each day. Is my memory deceiving me?? OP, enjoy your first cruise and all those MDR meals!! Don't be afraid to try one breakfast or lunch in Cabana's, you might be surprised.

I agree it is fun to read everyone's habits and traditions.

Although the breakfast menu remains the same in the MDR other than the days on which brunch rather than breakfast is served, lunch has always changed in my experience. This has been true on the Fantasy, Wonder and Magic in our experience. Sure hope the lunch menu changes on the Wonder's PC cruises.

 

[buzzrelly]

Is the lunch on embarkation day and breakfast every day in MDR some sort of secret club? Do people just follow the crowds and not realise the MDR are open?

phew I found some people who know about MDR,

I've known about the MDRs, but have no desire to sit that long for either breakfast or lunch. I find the dinners to be painfully long sometimes and cannot imagine eating three meals/day like that.

I love being able to go to Cabanas and get however much or little food I'd like and finding a nice table to sit and enjoy it without servers hovering around me. Truthfully, if there was a buffet for dinner, I would most likely choose that most of the time too.

I see that it's not your thing and that's fine…whatever floats your boat, so to speak.