Newbie: Dining Rotation Question

[fditore]

My family and I are going on our first Disney cruise aboard the Magic in three weeks. I plan on signing up for the "Romance at Sea" package but I am very confused about the dining rotation and where to fit in our Palo's dinner.

Can anyone suggest or give input on what the preferred dining rotation would be so as to not miss out on the better menus and special dinners?

Looking forward to our first adventure!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

if that is the case i would miss the first parrot cay nite. it ok but fun. for sure you dont want to miss animators. i think its great. i dont want to miss the extra meals they have on a 7 day. if you and an idea of what the ratation might look like goto www.castawayclub.com lots of great information there

 

[KEH]

I believe that if you book REAS you can request a preferred rotation but that this is not guaranteed, though most people posting lately seem to have had their request met. I would have a look at the menus on Barb's site (www.castawayclub.com) which will give you an idea which night you might not mind missing.

 

[crisi]

Check out the menus. They may be more of a driving point than theming.

I'd agree not to miss the first night at AP. To some the show is overrated, but it will be your only chance to decide for yourself. Parrot Cay and Lumieres can be eaten in any afternoon for lunch.

A lot of people like to be in Lumieres for formal night. I'd perfer to go with the "recommended" rotation that gets you in the dining room with the most appropriate family match, as I'm more sensative to my children annoying adults dining alone and also more sensative to other peoples children annoying me when I'm doing adult dining than most people seem to be.

 

[fditore]

Thanks for the replies.

Just to be sure I understand this rotation system, based on the castawayclub.com site, your rotation is the first three days at sea, dining off the standard menus for the three resturants. The next 4 days are the special menus. Is this the way it works?

The suggestions I have read is to use the Parrot's Cay roatation during the first three days as the day to go to Palo's. Is this correct?

Last question (like there is ever a last question), what resturants do you dine in for the last 4 days? Is it a rolling rotation that follows the first three days?

Again thanks for the quick replies and usefull information. The suggeted website is great!

My family and I are very excited about this vacation!!!

 

[KEH]

Yes, rotation menus first 3 days; same menu in each restaurant for the next 4 days. The dining rotation is indeed a rolling rotation following the pattern of the first 3 days so you end up having 3 dinners in one restaurant and 2 in each of the others.

Personally, I like Parrot Cay better than Animator's Palate but I would be driven by the menus rather than anything else.

 

[fditore]

Thanks KEH!

Is there a prevailing preference on what resturant offers better ambience or service? Is there a preference of resturants for any particular event during the last 4 nights?

 

[KEH]

The service will be the same each night because your servers move round the restaurants with you. As to ambience, it comes down to personal preference and maybe the ages of your children. I like all 3 restaurants. Lumieres is a little more formal in its setting (but not stuffily so) and Parrot Cay and Animators are charming in their own way. I have to say that I am not knocked out by the show in Animators. It is fun but not (in my opinion) breathtaking.

On our last 2 cruises (both western) we went to Palo on the Wednesday which was Mexican night but we were a bit sorry to miss this and will be doing another night this year so that we can go to Tropical night - I don't like to think I might be missing something!

 

[skyhawk]

We are going on the Magic in August, and we are planning on skipping the second night at Animator's. I understand they only do the "color change" thing on the first night, so nothing to miss the second night. This is my first DCL cruise, so I'm not sure about the food differences between the 3 restaurants. Thats just my 2 cents.

 

[Jules1]

We went to brunch at Palo on our first day (Sunday) on the Western cruise, before we got off the ship at Key West. It worked our great.

Our least favorite restaurant is Parrot Cay. We ended up there on formal and semi-formal night. It just doesn't have the atmosphere that Lumiere's or Animator's has. Parrot Cay reminds me of dining somewhere in the parks.