Show times on the Magic?

[lovemickeyworld]

We are booked on the Jan 28th Western sailing on the Magic, our first Disney Cruise.

Unfortunately, we also have the late seating at 8:30, with a 5 year old. We're waitlisted for earlier seatings, but don't know if that will come through.

What times are the shows? Am I correct to assume that there are shows for the earlier dining seatings, and then for the late seatings as well?

I was also reading another thread about the staggered dining times and wonder how this impacts the shows. Someone stated that they were missing some parts or entirely, which is just sad.

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Think of it as "dinner first" or "show first." It's basically the same block of time. With "show first," your scheduled evening starts a half hour later (which I prefer).

1st Seating ("dinner first")
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. -- dinner
8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. -- show

2nd Seating ("show first")
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. -- show
8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. -- dinner

As far as I know, the staggered dining times are only on the Disney Wonder. (Staggered dining times are an awful idea.)

There are events scheduled during the block of time between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., usually starting at 7:45 p.m., such as family cabaret shows. Staggered dining times would really mess up the ability to enjoy such events from beginning to end.

 

[lbgraves]

As of the end of October the staggered times will be on the Magic as well.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

As of the end of October the staggered times will be on the Magic as well.

That would be very bad.

For example, the family cabaret shows in Rockin' Bar D traditionally have run from 7:45 p.m. until about 8:20 p.m. or 8:25 p.m.

The worked out well. After a family cabaret show, first seating guests could go to the 8:30 show in the Walt Disney Theatre; and second seating guests could go to their 8:30 p.m. dinner.

But if the second dinner seating can start at 8:00 p.m., 8:15 p.m., or 8:30 p.m., then anyone with an 8:00 p.m. will have to leave a family cabaret show 5 or 10 minutes after it starts! And anyone with an 8:15 p.m dinner start time will have to leave at 8:05 p.m. or 8:10 p.m.

And start times for family cabaret shows won't work out well either, because with 5:45 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 6:15 p.m. dinner start times, first dinner seating guests will finish their dinners at completely different times.

The easy answer for Disney would be simply to eliminate the family cabaret shows. That would be a real shame.

I will be very unhappy if I find staggered dinner start times the next time we sail on the Disney Magic.

 

[tvguy]

Disney is different than other cruise lines in that the late seating show is BEFORE dinner. Other cruise lines have the show after dinner no matter whether you have early or late seating.
That may be to your advantage with a young child. It was a nightmare for us because we request late seating so we don't have to be rushed for dinner or the show.
Disney draws an early to bed, early to rise crowd, so I guess that's why they do it. The ship is pretty dead after 11 pm, about the time we're ready for a show.

 

[fcrouch]

your 5 year old may be more interested in the clubs - ours was - and we never saw her at dinner - she ate with her friends supervised by the counselors at an earlier time - I would thne pick her up to go to the early show and then back to the club, and then wife and I would go to dinner.

also, on the 7 day, there are sometimes matinee versions of the shows - we did these a couple of days as well.

 

[pearlieq]

I'm very concerned about the family cabaret shows as well. We really enjoyed those on our last cruise and would hate to see them go, but I can't see how they'd work with an 8pm dining time. Honestly, if it's still the case when we cruise and we're caught in the time crunch, we're just going to be late to dinner and so be it. I'm not letting bad planning on DCL's part keep me away from the shows we liked.

One the whole I think the staggered time are a bad, bad idea. Who wants to eat dinner at 5:45pm? I never noticed any sort of problem while there were just 2 dining times. I don't get it.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

One the whole I think the staggered time are a bad, bad idea. Who wants to eat dinner at 5:45pm? I never noticed any sort of problem while there were just 2 dining times. I don't get it.

My guess is that DCL can save some labor costs by going to staggered dining. It's likely that they can cut some cooks from payroll. It also possible that server teams will be able to handle a few more passengers per seating, slightly reducing the number of servers and asst. servers. (Even though they're paid almost nothing by DCL, they still have to be housed, fed, given benefits, etc. by DCL.)

Unfortunately, the careful coordination between evening entertainment and evening meals will be a thing of the past.

 

[logan1_2000]

Horace--

i've read many a posting from you, joined in a few of the same threads, so I know you know DCL..

so please 'splain to me (this isn't a flame, this is me pleading "i dont get it") how the staggered dining times allow server teams to handle more diners and thus make it a labor saving exercise. I thought the the entire restaurant is all on the same time, and that the "stagger" is between the different rotations--so if you start out 6:15 in AP, you would go to PC and Tr/Lu at 6:15 as well, all while other rotations stuck to 6:00 and 5:45, respectively, as they went along. Hadn't the conventional wisdom been that the stagger was to reduce crowding outside fo the restaurants, perhaps including the photos and character appearances?

it does sound like a curious idea.

re: the entertainment, did i dream it or did i see somewhere that a third show nightly for the walt disney theater was going to be added? (which would surprise me as it would be a helluva increase on the cast and crew)