Definitely miss not having to book a PAT time. Having to get on the computer at midnight just to try and secure an early PAT time and then having issues with the entire online check in process before securing the PAT time is ridiculous. The fact that other than for these Disboards,
DCL does not have a detailed check list of what is needed prior to actually logging on for online checkin is just shameful.
As for PALO's I was able to secure a brunch time when I logged on at midnight for 2. Just got lucky with that I guess. Probably going to cancel PALO's anyway as it is not the same without the buffet for us and not sure we want to get dressed up for brunch for a couple of hours in the morning especially on the new ship where we would rather be enjoying/exploring the ship.
I think when PALO's is unavailable for platinum members because of concierge guests than Disney has gone too far because this also means that the majority of the guests (not concierge or platinum) basically have no shot of getting a reservation for PALO's brunch or dinner. I think that maybe some percentage of reservations should be held back to allow others to secure PALO reservations and also maybe there should be a concierge level dining experience in addition to the other specialty restaurants to take the pressure off of PALO. Having concierge level guests should not mean locking other guests out from taking full advantage of what the cruise offers.