PALO Brunch questions

[mrsfuzzmo]

I think I have talked myself into Palo for brunch instead of dinner. I am just one of those people who love the dinners with the same waiters and people at your table to hear the days events. Maybe we will do Palo for dinner too, but right now I have some questions regarding brunch.

First of all: Do they offer brunch everyday?

Second: What time does brunch run? I would prefer to have it the earlier the better.

Third: What is the dress code for brunch? (Suit required?, or can my sweetie get by with polo and long pants?)

Fourth: We don't have kids and have no need to go to the Character breakfast. Wee would like to do Palo for brunch when this is taking place (our fellow travelers have a daughter and will probably go to character breakfast, so that would be a great time for us to "palo").

Finally: Do brunch ressies fill up as fast as dinner? Do we have time to get into our rooms to find out when our character breakfast is before we go to book? (We plan on boarding asap), or should we just take a wild guess?

Thanks for all/any help on this matter!

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Sorry, should have mentioned that we are on the Magic 7 day western.

 

[KEH]

Right, let's see if I can help with any of these.

1. Brunch is only on "at sea" days (plus Key west day on the Western.

2. I think it starts from 10am but others may be surer than I am.

3. My Dh wore a polo and long pants as did most of the othger people we saw in there for brunch.

4. Your character breakfast falls on the first "at sea" day after your first visit to Animators Palate. (Someone jump in if I've got that wrong). Your dining rotation is on your Key to the World Card which you receive when you check in. SO by knowing your itinery and looking at your KTTW card, you can work out when your character breakfast is scheduled. You can then get in line for Palo ressies once you board. they do fill up fast but I have always been able to get what I wanted. We are usually aboard by about 12.30pm so not in the first wave to book.

Hope this makes sense and helps. I am sure others will add to and clarify where needed.

Finally, enjoy. The brunch is just wonderful!

 

[KEH]

Sorry, I also meant to say, don't dismiss the character breakfast. we thoroughly enjoyed it even though our kids are 15 and 13 and DH and I are, well a bit older than that! It was good fun.

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

KEH, Thanks so much! That does help and answers most of my questions!

I do appreciate it. Now I can figure out when we want to go and that we can go directly up and make reservations.

maureen

 

[Mickeyhugger]

BTW mrsfuzzmo, the brunch is excellent!

I don't think we'll do Palo dinner as we want to do all of our dining rotations, but I want to be the first in line to book the brunch!

 

[airbusdrvr]

What is the minimum age for Brunch at Palo's ? My 2 DD's want to know .

 

[makaylee]

I believe the minimum age is also 18 for brunch. I also think brunch ressies fill up a little quicker than dinner so get there early.

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Thanks, I will. I think that is the first place I am heading when I board the ship......well, maybe get a cocktail, then go to sign up!

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[ctdoc1]

As for the Palo Brunch it starts at 10:30 in a group format with everyone starting at the same time. Dress is what you would typically wear to dinner on non-formal nights (chinos with dress shirt). We just returned from the 1/17 Magic trip and had dinner at Palo as well. Both we and the families we traveled with felt that the difference between Palo and the other restaurants on board was much more significant for the brunch than the dinner (not that the dinner was not outstanding- just that the other restaurants are quite good themselves). Hopefully this will help you.

Another suggestion should you not get reservations when you board the ship would be to visit Palo personaly to f/u. We noticed that there were a significant number of empty tables at our dinner. Whether this was due to staff members of "According to Jim" not showing up or other cruisers I can't be sure. I will tell you that on our cruise we heard from various staff members on board that conciege had blocked-out significant blocks of time for Palo, the Spa, hair-braiding, etc. (basically anything that required advance reservations). This was confirmed when Palo initially would not grant us a party of 6 reservation despite that fact that we were within the first 10 on line after boarding. We ultimately did get our reservation, but not without feeling that the process had been unfairly biased towards the "According to Jim" staff members and their families which we were told comprised of some 400 people.

 

[KEH]

Has Palo brunch changed its format then so that everyone eats at 10.30am? On our first cruise we went at 12 noon and I thought that there were different time slots over a few hours. Is it different now>

 

[ctdoc1]

From what we just saw the brunch is handled as a group setting. When we made our reservation 10:30 was the only time offered. At arrival the waiters walk each group up to the food area and based on the congestion at that time you could tell that everyone was just starting. We also stayed through 1:00 or so and didn't see any new groups come in. Hope that answers your questions.

 

[ELIJAH'S GRANDPA]

Don't count out the character breakfast so quick. My wife and I have cruised twice with Disney without children and wouldn't miss it. If you want to see why, go to my cruise report http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=481040 and click on the link at the end for pictures and look at Michelle's smile at the breakfast with Chip and Dale.
Enjoy brunch,
John

 

[Rock'n Robin]

If you do decide to try the character breakfast, try to figure out when yours might be. I am guessing our dinner rotation will be PLA since we have kids ages 6,9,11,12 and 15. If I am right, Thursday will be our character breakfast--and that's the captains gala that I am already looking forward to. If I made our Palo brunch on that day (adults only) we wouldn't have room for our lobster tails! So I'm shooting for Monday instead with Key West morning as a backup--we could work it off walking around KW.
Robin M.

 

[jrabbit]

We too enjoy our servers and tablemates, that's why we don't do Palo for dinner. Won't miss Palo for brunch however. It is a terrific meal and not to be rushed. Lots of nummy appetizers, breads, main courses and desserts.

I thought that there were several seatings for brunch starting at 10:30 with the last seating around 12:30 or 1pm.

This summer there were many, many tables that were empty. I don't know if they didn't fill up or the tables were entended to be empty (not a full Palo staff).

For us it's a not to be missed "event"

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by mrsfuzzmo
Fourth: We don't have kids and have no need to go to the Character breakfast. Wee would like to do Palo for brunch when this is taking place (our fellow travelers have a daughter and will probably go to character breakfast, so that would be a great time for us to "palo").

In another recent thread, I posted how to figure out when your character breakfast will be scheduled. It's based on your dinner rotation and dinner seating time.

The character breakfasts are earlier than the brunches at Palo, which don't start until 10:30 a.m.

By the way, although you may have "no need to go to the character breakfast," it's fun for all ages, including adults. And it is a good breakfast, served by your dinner servers.

For the Disney Magic Western Caribbean itineary, here's the list:

• APLAPLA rotation, 6:00 p.m. seating — Character breakfast is Sunday at 8:15 a.m.
• APLAPLA rotation, 8:30 p.m. seating — Character breakfast is Sunday at 9:45 a.m.
• LAPLAPL rotation, 6:00 p.m. seating — Character breakfast is Monday at 8:15 a.m.
• LAPLAPL rotation, 8:30 p.m. seating — Character breakfast is Monday at 9:45 a.m.
• PLAPLAP rotation, 6:00 p.m. seating — Character breakfast is Thursday at 8:15 a.m.
• PLAPLAP rotation, 8:30 p.m. seating — Character breakfast is Thursday at 9:45 a.m.

The character breakfast is always in Parrot Cay.