Question about formal nights/attire on the Magic

[wishiwasgolfing]

Hi, I know on the 7 day cruise there are 2 formal nights.
(sun. & thurs.) . Is it formal in ALL the restraunts on those 2 nights? I know Animator's and Parrots Cay are labeled as casual in the brochure but I'm guessing that the exception to the rule is that on sunday and thursday those 2 restraunts are also formal.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Also how dressy do children 6 and under have to be on formal night (if they come with us) and also on casual nights?

I think it's funny in the recent brochure I got from the Disney Cruise Line that says something like "Don't bring much. It is a casual atmoshphere". Something like that. Yeah Right! It sure doesn't seem to casual to me as far as dining goes.

 

[myjeep93]

Great question, wishiwasgolfing! We too, are very confused about formal attire. If formal nite fall on the nite of Animators and Parrot cay, then you also have to dress formal(or semiformal) for Lumiere's and then for Palo's if you chose to dine there. I'm trying to figure out exactly how many dressy outfits to bring. Dh is lucky, he can wear the same suit to all!

 

[Michelle]

On the formal/semi-formal nights on the Magic, the attire is the same for ALL dining rooms, no matter where you are eating. Those two nights plus Tropical Night are the only nights where the attire is any different from the normal "resort casual". They do list "jackets requested" for men the night you eat in Lumiere's (as long as it does not fall on one of the three nights above), but honestly many men do not wear jackets that night.

Men can definitely get away with one suit and a couple of shirts. If you eat in Palo you will want a sport jacket or the suit can be worn there too.

Children under 6 simply wear nice clothes on formal night...a range of dresses for girls (some like to get all decked out) and you'll see boys in everything from khaki pants and button-down shirts to suits. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[wishiwasgolfing]

thanks webmaster Michelle.
Hey myjeep93, I know what you mean because my wife is going
"nuts" trying to figure out what to bring. I guess people really go crazy dressing up on formal nights. My wife just wants to dress in something appropriate without going overboard (no pun intended) and spending alot of money on dresses that she will probably wear once. Don't get me wrong! We are not party poopers or anything but after all it is supposed to be a vacation.
If you or anybody else has any suggestions or ideas on appropriate attire for the formal nights for my wife please reply. She will be very happy to see opinions and ideas from other cruisers.
thanks,
wishiwasgolfing (but it's 15 degrees windchill. hurry up cruise! )

 

[bweppner]

I wish I was golfing too - same temp here in the Chicago area. We are going on the 4/6 Magic and have been deciding on the formal attire thing as well. We are going "whole hog." I will be wearing a Tux - you can buy them for about a rental cost if you scout around on eBay and various other web sites. My wife did some bargain shopping and bought a couple of dresses at about 70% off (JcPenney's I think). We have four kids - DD - 12, 7, 4 and DS - 11 who will be in dresses and khakis, etc. This is a big event for us and we are desperately balancing spending budgets vs. wants and needs. However, we know that we should get some pictures to cherish forever so why not do it right? I will be bringing the Tux w/ two shirts, an additional sport coat, khakis, tropical shirt, some shorts, and bathing suits - that's it.

On previous cruises, it's been my experience you spend most of your time in you bathing suit, maybe shorts on excursions, then you dress for dinner. The tux will cover two formal nights, sportcoat - one @ Lumiere's, and one Palo. Tropical shirt one night, and khakis for the two remainders. THAT should cover it for a guy. Your wife could use the same logic for planning her outfits - my wife and I will be doing our planning packing this weekend - 14 days away.

 

[tkd lisa]

Here's what our family (DH, DW, DD-10, DS-8) is doing.

Me, DW: I have a "formal" dress from a dressy office function. I got it on clearance at Penney's, it's basically a sheath with rhinestone straps and a fancy scarf thing. I found some velvety pants and a sparkly tunic top on clearance (at wal-mart of all places) and that's my "semi-formal" night. I'm bringing two sun dress, one of which is tropical. Target is getting a bunch of them in for the season right now. I'm bringing two pair of dress slacks, and three summer sweaters. I plan to mix and match them for the remaining nights dinners. We don't plan to go to Palo's. If we do, I'll probably just wear the dressier sun dress.

DH: He's taking one dark suit, with two or three dress shirts and ties. Three pairs of dockers style slacks with assorted open collar shirts.

DD: I got an easter style dress for the formal night, and a two piece skirt set for semi-formal night. One tropical type sundress for tropical night. The rest of the time, she's going with sun dresses or skort sets. Again, the majority of the clothes were Target or Wal Mart.

DS: He happened to have a sport jacket that was a hand me down from a wedding, so I got dockers, a clip on tie and dress shirt for it. For semi-formal, I got a sweater vest from the supply that was out for Easter and he's wearing his cub scout pants with that (they're basically blue dockers). We've got a tropical shirt and some open collar shirts and polos.

So all told, I think we're outfitting the whole family in dress clothes for about $100, and that covers us for Easter Sunday and summer weddings as well. Of course, DH already had the suit, I had the formal. I think that as long as you open your minds to clearance sales, and discount stores, you can do it (except the men's suits) without breaking the bank. Remember, that if you don't wear dress clothes often, you don't want to pay for the best quality, since the kids will outgrow them before they wear them again. Of course, this is just my humble opinion

 

[peter pans family]

yes, everyone dresses up. on the first formal night (sunday) i was at lumieres so it was formal anyways but my friends were in the other restaurants and every one dressed up. on the second formal night (thursday) i was at animators palate and people still dressed because they knew it was formal. any other questions ask!!

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by wishiwasgolfing
If you or anybody else has any suggestions or ideas on appropriate attire for the formal nights for my wife please reply. She will be very happy to see opinions and ideas from other cruisers.

This one is a no brainer. Have her get a long black skirt and two or three matching tops. One pair of shoes. She's set for the week. Total cost should be around $150 if she shops sales.

Anne

 

[wishiwasgolfing]

Thanks Everybody. You gave alot of great ideas.
Happy Cruising!

 

[juniorbugman]

We are going on our first cruise Magic April 27. After reading these boards we decided to go all out and enjoy our cruise, this includes formal for everyone. Our group has my two adult sisters and one nephew. We tried to get DN (9 _ he turns ten on first nite of cruise, cruise is a birthday present from his Grandma) a suit but he would not really try one on. I took him to a formal store and he just loved the tuxes, he says he looks like James Bond, so as long as he is happy thats the point of trip. I intended to rent or buy a tux for myself and join him. I think it really comes down to what makes you feel the most comfortable.

 

[dizneykids]

...but my dh decided to rent a tux (so he didn't have to lug a suit with him). i found him mickey bow tie and suspenders on ebay and gave them to him for his birthday (2 weeks before cruise). in a fit of inspiration, i bought two more mickey bow ties on ebay for my older two ds and kept them a surprise until they dressed for sunday's formal dinner. both boys had suits for their 1st communions. we bought a suit for youngest ds. all will double for easter as well.

the boys were the hit of the evening with their mickey bow ties! i'm surprised we didn't see more men/boys in them. we have several wonderful formal portraits with my guys all decked out!

as for me, i bought several fancy pantsuits at foley's on 66% sale after the first of the year. my only complaint is how hot the lobby area got before meals...too many people in such a small space. took a while to cool off in the restaurants.