Disney Magic Dining-How does it work?

[eemullaney]

Total cruise newbie. This is very basic I know, but how many restaurants (that are free with cruise) are there to eat meals at? What are they and which are the best? Can you go to any one you want to at any time? As long as you go for dinner at the time you chose? Do you always have the same server? I'm confused and don't know where to start researching. The only thing I know is that you need a reservation for Palo and that it is an extra $25 pp. We reserved that one night since we will be on our honeymoon (Disney Magic April 26, 2015). Thanks anyone for any info!!!

 

[perditax]

My recommendations to people to check out travel guides aren't always popular, but I like having all the info in one centralized place. I like the "Unofficial Guide to Disney Cruise Lines" and also the Passporter guide. The first one is in print or kindle format, the second I think is only in traditional print. If you're overwhelmed and don't know where to start, with your trip coming up so soon having a book in your hands to flip through may be reassuring. Sounds like you also have a wedding coming up, so you probably don't have time to scour the internet for your answers right now.

(That said, someone will probably come along here soon and answer your specific questions. I'd still recommend picking up a book. Both the two I mentioned list ALL the food options on board and specifically how it works.)

 

[SillyInventor]

On the Magic there are three Main Dining Rooms (MDR): Animator's Pallet, Carioca's and Lumiere's. You will be assigned a rotation, so you will dine in another restaurant every night. The April 26 cruise is 7 nights, so you will dine twice in two of the MDRs and three times in one of them. You can choose between main (5.45pm) and late (8.15pm). You will have the same people sitting with you at the table if not seated by yourself and you will have the same serving staff for the entire cruise. The MDR is included in your cruise fare, except for alcoholic drinks.

If you want to have a special night you can book Palo. This is a very nice restaurant, reserved for guests of 18 years and older. Reservations are needed for this restaurant and you can either reserve Palo when checking in online or after embarking the ship. Palo costs an additional charge of $25 p.p. plus tip. Alcoholic and canned/bottled drinks are not included.
Palo also serves brunch on Sea days. You will have two sea days in your cruise, so give it a try. Some time slots are withheld for reserving on board, so try at the designated place to pick a time if you were out of luck online.

You can check out a recent set of personal navigators of you itinerary here: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/201...ruise-disney-magic-itinerary-november-2-2014/
Have a blast and enjoy you Honeymoon. Remember to note the honeymoon on your reservation and pick up the "just married" buttons at Guest Services, they might bring you some pixy dust.

 

[Quellman]

Total cruise newbie. This is very basic I know, but how many restaurants (that are free with cruise) are there to eat meals at?

With the exception of specialty coffee drinks at the cafe, any alcohol, and the Palo dining experience. All meals are included onboard and at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. Room Service is free but you are encouraged to provide a top to the delivery staff.

What are they and which are the best? Can you go to any one you want to at any time? As long as you go for dinner at the time you chose? Do you always have the same server?

People like different dining rooms based on the different meals and atmosphere. So it is hard to say which is the best since each dining room has its own unique menu. The only time the food is the same at each restaurant is when it is Pirates Night, Captains Gala, Prince and Princess night.
You are given your dining rotation when you are issued your room key. You are able to request which restaurant you want to start at once you embark the ship. You must show up at your selected dining time at the correct restaurnat. Your servers will be the same each night. They rotate with you!

If you don't want to dine in the main dining rooms you can:
1. Eat in cabanas whenever you want
2. Enjoy food from the pool deck
3. Enjoy Palo (the only up charge restaurant)
4. Enjoy room service. It is included, but you should tip the delivery person.

Congratulations on your wedding! We cruised on the Magic a few years ago and were seated with a Honeymoon couple.

 

[bceagle76]

i would book Palo for 1 night especially since you are on your honeymoon

 

[mmouse37]

Basically there are three main dining rooms as mentioned above that you rotate through for dinner during your cruise. Below is a cut and paste and I have changed Parrot Cay to Carioca's since below was not updated this site. Breakfast and lunch can be eaten at any time. Your choices for B & L would be one of the MDR's (your daily newsletter the Navigator, will tell you what dining room will be open for breakfast or lunch that day). You can also order food from room service or eat at Cabanas on Deck 9 which has a huge variety of food. There is also lunch options at the quick service places on Deck 9 like hot dogs, burgers, chicken fingers, etc.

Disney Cruise Line Dining Rotation: The Disney Cruise Line boasts a unique approach to Cruise Dining. The rotational dining system allows guests to enjoy each of the three themed restaurants on board each Disney cruise ship. Animator's Palate, Carioca's, and Lumiere's (Disney Magic) or Triton's (Disney Wonder). On the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy the restaurants include Animators Palate, Cabanas,Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace, Palo and Remy. One of the best parts of cruising is trying different cuisines. Don't be afraid to try something new! If you don't like it, your server can get you something else (or bring you more if you love it!).

When you get your Key To The World Card, you'll notice a series of letters. This is your dining assignment. For example, if you have ACL, your rotation will be Animator's Palate, Carioca's and Lumiere's. On a longer cruise, you will visit the same restaurants again, but the theme and menu will be different. You will also find tickets with your assigned seating time, restaurant schedule and table number in your stateroom. That will follow you for the duration of your Disney cruise.

On your first night, you will be introduced to your Server and Assistant Server (they will follow you from restaurant to restaurant each evening). You will be amazed at how attentive the wait staff can be - don't be surprised if they learn all your names right away (and even what you prefer to drink and how you like your food prepared!).

Main seating on the Disney cruise ships is at 5:45 pm and Second seating is at 8:15 pm. On the Dream's Caribbean and Bahamian sailings, your dinner seating time determines which evening show you will have tickets for. If you have Main dining, you will have tickets to the 8:30 show. Second dining will have tickets to the 6:15 show.


Special summer sailings (including Alaskan and Mediterranean sailings) may have dinner at 6:00 and 8:30 pm. On the 7 night Disney cruise, you'll dine in each of the three themed restaurants at least once. On the 3 night Disney cruise you will have the opportunity to dine in each restaurant once, and on the 4 night Disney Cruiseyou'll repeat one restaurant. Adults 18 and over on all of the Disney cruises may make reservations for Palo,an adults-exclusive restaurant on Deck 10. Keep in mind that if you make a dinner reservation at Palo's while on board the 3 night cruise you will miss the opportunity to dine at one of the restaurants in the regular dining rotation.

Seating Assignments and Requests: You will most likely be sitting with other passengers at dinner. Private tables for your party can be requested but cannot be guaranteed, but part of the fun of cruising is meeting new people! So, don't be shy - you might just make new friends and meet interesting people.

Be sure to request your preferred seating time and table size when you make your cruise reservation. Disney Cruise Line will do their best to accommodate you. You can also ask to be waitlisted for the dining time you prefer. If for some reason you don't get what you requested, there is a time and place listed on your Personal Navigator on Embarkation Day where you can make dining changes once onboard.

If you are traveling with a group you can have your reservations linked by Disney so that you are seated at the same table. They may be able to combine tables for a large group that wish to dine together. Disney or your travel agent will be able to help with this. You will be seated with the same people at your table for every night of your cruise. If you aren’t going to be dining in the dining rooms, you should notify your server.

 

[lanejudy]

Others have answered your question -- primarily regarding dinner. That is the only "assigned" dining time/location. For breakfast, lunch and any snacks you are free to choose from a variety of options for food. This links to DCL's website with all the various dining locations: http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/magic/dining/

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Weedy]

Here is one more website explaining what is included:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/483574078714135072/?CMP=SOC-FBPAGE20141212181642

 

[SlickWilly]

Definitely don't be shy about telling cast members that you are on your honeymoon. You will get the royal treatment lots of places. Especially tell your serving team. Like pp said, you can get just married pins at guest services. Or, if you have a chance to get bride and groom pins or ears from WDW before sailing you can do that too.

We honeymooned on the Wonder in 2001 and had a fantastic time. I am sure you will enjoy your trip.

 

[eemullaney]

With the exception of specialty coffee drinks at the cafe, any alcohol, and the Palo dining experience. All meals are included onboard and at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. Room Service is free but you are encouraged to provide a top to the delivery staff.

People like different dining rooms based on the different meals and atmosphere. So it is hard to say which is the best since each dining room has its own unique menu. The only time the food is the same at each restaurant is when it is Pirates Night, Captains Gala, Prince and Princess night.
You are given your dining rotation when you are issued your room key. You are able to request which restaurant you want to start at once you embark the ship. You must show up at your selected dining time at the correct restaurnat. Your servers will be the same each night. They rotate with you!

If you don't want to dine in the main dining rooms you can:
1. Eat in cabanas whenever you want
2. Enjoy food from the pool deck
3. Enjoy Palo (the only up charge restaurant)
4. Enjoy room service. It is included, but you should tip the delivery person.

Congratulations on your wedding! We cruised on the Magic a few years ago and were seated with a Honeymoon couple.

Thank you so much! Can't wait. Very helpful response, I appreciate it

 

[eemullaney]

Definitely don't be shy about telling cast members that you are on your honeymoon. You will get the royal treatment lots of places. Especially tell your serving team. Like pp said, you can get just married pins at guest services. Or, if you have a chance to get bride and groom pins or ears from WDW before sailing you can do that too.

We honeymooned on the Wonder in 2001 and had a fantastic time. I am sure you will enjoy your trip.

Thank you Can you request to eat alone some nights in the restaurants? Not sure we want to eat every single meal with strangers if we're on our honeymoon haha. Thanks for the response!

 

[eemullaney]

i would book Palo for 1 night especially since you are on your honeymoon

We did, thanks! Also for brunch too!

 

[gillenkl]

When we first got on the ship we went to Carioca's for lunch. I asked the server about our dinner table assignments. Our son is autistic and we only wanted to eat with our family which I had requested when I booked. Her exact words were: "you are on a disney vacation, if that is that you requested, that is what you will get" then she looked at our room key which had the table number on it and said it was a 4-top as I had requested.

 

[com_op_2000]

You can request a table by yourself. I find that the late dining usually has more options for two top tables than early.
Remember this is only a request.
At Cabanas & Palo, you will almost always get a two top table, if requested.

 

[jcarwash]

Thank you Can you request to eat alone some nights in the restaurants? Not sure we want to eat every single meal with strangers if we're on our honeymoon haha. Thanks for the response!

As noted above by com_op_2000, you (or your agent, if you used one) can put in a request for a private table in the rotational dining rooms, but if granted your assigned table will be for all of the nights, not some of the nights.

On the other hand...you may find that being seated with another party can be an interesting and rewarding part of your cruise experience. By the end of your cruise, and even by the second or third day, people at your table are no longer strangers.

 

[Cartcanuck]

It looks like you have your answers already. i was on the Magic last week as my first cruise and found the dining rotation to work out really good. We got Animators Palate 3 times (AWESOME!) and the food was terrific. Having the same servers each night was great for us and the kids (4 and 8). We celebrated our anniversary AND our youngests 4th birthday. make sure you tell the servers what day you are celebrating (or what you are celebrating) and you will be treated very very well.

If you dont want the set dining times, Cabana's has good buffet food. It's great for breakfast and lunch. We also often found ourselves having late night pizza and icecream up on Deck 9 around the Goofy pool.

When it comes to dinner in the dining rooms you have lots of choice on the menus - usually a chicken, beef, seafood dish as main entrees. Only once (the ribs) were we dissatisfied.

Enjoy your dining and make sure to order a Mickey ice cream bar for dessert. Sometimes that's just better than a fancy dessert.

Since you're on the Magic, i sincerely hope you get Raphael or Andrae as your servers. They were Magical Our kids loved them.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Thank you Can you request to eat alone some nights in the restaurants? Not sure we want to eat every single meal with strangers if we're on our honeymoon haha. Thanks for the response!

To be clear so you understand - they are the same people you eat with every night. So they are only strangers the first night.

This was the thing my wife and I were both most nervous about on our first cruise (and also a honeymoon). We were concerned that if we hated them the cruise would be downright miserable.

We were paired with 2 other couples on our first cruise (Disney takes great lengths to try to pair married people without kids with other married people without kids). They were marvelous people and we actually ended up changing our island tours to coincide in a couple of places and they have all become facebook friends. We even share future cruising and Disney World plans to try to meet up again (somehow we always miss each other by like a week).

Had similar experience with our second cruise and we still keep in touch with them as well (only one other couple on that one and we actually missed them when they didn't make it one night).

Note that you still end up with plenty of alone time. You will have a palo night. Chances are they will have a palo night. You or they might do Cabannas one night. We love the chicken nuggets on the pool deck (I kid you not - they are the best thing on the ship and sometimes I want to take a cruise just or the nuggets). You might do room service. You won't see them at breakfast or lunch (just dinner).

I would suggest you try not to let it concern you. it's actually really, really fun and you will almost certainly find that it's more fun to be with people even on your honey moon (again remember you will have PLENTY of time to yourselves!).

 

[uponastar8]

I'm also heading out on my first Disney Cruise and it's our honeymoon- How far in advance do you request a table to yourself?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm also heading out on my first Disney Cruise and it's our honeymoon- How far in advance do you request a table to yourself?

Anytime before 2 weeks out.