Plan to miss some main dining - what shouldn’t we miss?!?

[Dug720]

How late does cabanas serve dinner till? On the last non-Disney cruise we found we weren’t waiting to eat until late because our lunches were so big, however, the dining area was closing around us. Still debating if late dining may be better for us.

I do not know - the one time I tried it, I left because the night menu in Cabanas (at least at that time) seemed to be cobbled together from my least favorite things on the MDR menus.

If you're eating late enough that the deck places are "closing around you" then yeah, it sounds like you'll be fine with late dining.

 

[MomOTwins]

You can try Cabanas at lunch and breakfast. I would not voluntarily go there at dinner unless you can't make your MDR time for some reason. They have a limited dinner menu and it is the place where they put people who are training to become servers so you are getting untrained service.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

On the Wonder, it's worth going to both nights at Animator's Palette and at least one night at Tiana's Place. We also really like Triton's, but it doesn't have a unique quality or show element like AP or Tiana's do.

You can look at menus on the app to help choose your MDR nights, too.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have been on several cruise lines and lots of Disney cruises. The Disney dinners are very different because of the theming and the fact that your servers follow you to each dining room. In our experience the DCL servers are top notch and become quasi family members at the end of the cruise. We just finished the Iceland cruise on the magic and our servers were the best we have ever had. Kind, sweet, efficient and funny. It was a joy to see tjem every night and I couldn’t hug them enough on our last day.

If this is your first dcl Cruise i would encourage you not to miss. You can order as much or as little as you want. You can ask your servers to hurry things along. And while my husband and I like to wear better clothes at dinner it is in no way dressy. We only do late dining and much prefer it. It’s nice to relax after a day, maybe go to the early show, then either drinks in the piano bar or some other activity before dinner. After dinner we go to the adult area for the over 18 activities.

And if you don’t like the main menu there is always a plain chicken breAst, a entree salad or a steak you can order. And there’s a veggie option.

 

[DISfirstTimer]

Thanks everyone. My husband and I are very different vacationers -our children are along for the ride! I like to have a plan and he likes to wing it so I usually over plan so I have a plan for whatever he decides to do, lol!! I just wanted to be sure not to miss any great entertainment or character interactions.

 

[meliscan]

I would say miss Pirate night menu if you have a night to miss. It is the menu I enjoy the least. We met some great friends as table mates and are now on our 6th cruise with them. I wouldn't miss the dining room based on being afraid of people.

 

[freshmanjs]

I would say miss Pirate night menu if you have a night to miss. It is the menu I enjoy the least. We met some great friends as table mates and are now on our 6th cruise with them. I wouldn't miss the dining room based on being afraid of people.

I'm not afraid of people...I just don't like to sit with strangers at dinner on vacation. It is easy to get a private table on DCL, though, so it's not a problem.

 

[Dug720]

I'm not afraid of people...I just don't like to sit with strangers at dinner on vacation. It is easy to get a private table on DCL, though, so it's not a problem.

It is not always "easy". If the ship is full, they are often unable to accommodate private table requests.

On the bright side, they are only "strangers" for the first part of the first night.

 

[freshmanjs]

It is not always "easy". If the ship is full, they are often unable to accommodate private table requests.

On the bright side, they are only "strangers" for the first part of the first night.

At late dining, it's easy.

 

[Dug720]

At late dining, it's easy.

Not on a sold out cruise. I was on a sold out Double Dip in July and they were NOT able to honor most private table requests. FOR LATE DINING.

 

[Travel60]

I agree with trying each MDR at least once. If you really think you will miss several MDR evenings, consider changing to late dining. Main dining is in high demand with waiting lists - especially families with young children. I prefer late dining because I don't have to cut any activities short to get ready for early dinner and the servers are a bit more relaxed. Your servers follow you from each dining room and will become your best friends if you let them. We also like to be seated with others. While we haven't become lifelong friends with all of our tablemates, we have not had any terrible events....a few that gave us funny stories

 

[Sakura1017]

On the Wonder, it's worth going to both nights at Animator's Palette and at least one night at Tiana's Place. We also really like Triton's, but it doesn't have a unique quality or show element like AP or Tiana's do.

You can look at menus on the app to help choose your MDR nights, too.

So would u say to schedule Tritons for pirate night if we wanted to skip it and go to Palo?

 

[Dug720]

You can try Cabanas at lunch and breakfast. I would not voluntarily go there at dinner unless you can't make your MDR time for some reason. They have a limited dinner menu and it is the place where they put people who are training to become servers so you are getting untrained service.

To be fair, they are not really “untrained servers”. They are likely new to Disney, but they are not totally untrained - many come from other lines or have served in their native country or elsewhere and are merely new to Disney. It is rare for them to hire servers (or housekeeping staff) with zero experience, but if someone is, their first training will be with the crew in crew areas.

 

[Dug720]

So would u say to schedule Tritons for pirate night if we wanted to skip it and go to Palo?

All the MDRs have the same menu for Pirate Night.

 

[Capitalangel]

So would u say to schedule Tritons for pirate night if we wanted to skip it and go to Palo?

You can’t “schedule” what MDR you eat in. It is assigned to you when you get on the ship. You can however call and REQUEST a rotation that would put you in Tritons for Pirate night but it is just a request and not guaranteed