Why hasn't Disney solved the main/late dining debacle already?

[PrincessShmoo]

With many families with young kids on board. I think many would choose the 3:30pm main dining room dinner then have to keep their kids up for an 8:00pm dinner they got assigned.

If we had cruised when the kids were young, I would not have been interested in a 3:30 dinner option. Coming from the west coast, that puts dinner at 12:30 (noon).

 

[lilsonicfan]

^^Same here, being west coast, but even if not west coast, my choice would be a short afternoon nap or rest if late dining were the only option. But every family is different. I couldn't possibly eat my dinner at 3:30-4pm, but obviously it works for your family, ArielRae. But then I get up around 6:30am and probably if you're eating dinner at 4pm you are getting up rather earlier as well.

 

[ArielRae]

If we had cruised when the kids were young, I would not have been interested in a 3:30 dinner option. Coming from the west coast, that puts dinner at 12:30 (noon).

Being west coast the current times early or late both work for you. The current early seating is 2:45pm your time and late dining 5:15pm. This is why late dining works for you. Even if you usually eat early at home you can get early dining and still be happy. We don’t get a true early dining choice. We are talking about those who find the current times like late dining they get stuck with not working for them. The late dining is way too late for some east coast families so a third earlier main dining option would be a good alternative besides having to eat table service in cabanas, stuck eating pool deck food or room service food. We all are paying good money to take this cruise and it would be nice to be able to enjoy the main dining rooms and food at a reasonable hour for our families. Offering another dining time choice would be a big help in families enjoying their trip no matter when they booked it or what time they were originally assigned. Having cabanas open all day is another good choice but you are paying to enjoy the main dining rooms too.

 

[squirk]

With many families with young kids on board. I think many would choose the 3:30pm main dining room dinner then have to keep their kids up for an 8:00pm dinner they got assigned.

One issue with a 3:30 seating is that a lot of the MDR staff also work in Cabanas.

My guess is that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for them to close up, clean and reset Cabanas for dinner, and then prep the MDR (and themselves) in time for a 3:30 seating.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

current times early or late both work for you.

Except, since we tend to take the longer cruises, we try to adapt to the local time where we are. And eating dinner at 9:00 at night just doesn't work well with my stomach. Early dinner is what works for me.

I'll just say again, most of our cruises were booked late, and we had to accept late dining at the time we made the reservation. But I'd always ask to be put on the wait list. Every time we've gotten the early seating change.

DCL does it's best to accommodate as many requests as possible. Unfortunately, not all can be.

 

[pixiedustedme]

I'm currently dealing with the stress of hoping to be moved off the waitlist for main dining. Every time I get some version of "no we can't tell you where you are on the waitlist, but everyone wants main dining because everyone has small kids." Two people in my [social media not-to-be-named] group actually cancelled the cruise because they could not get main dining before PIF. And I recall seeing a man flipping out at guest services on day one because his travel agent apparently didn't explain dining times to him and he had a baby and toddler who couldn't wait until 8:15.

So since this is a known issue for every cruise, do you think Disney should move the dinners earlier? 5pm and 7:30 would be so much more manageable for families than 5:45 and 8:15. What do folks think?

Or (more controversially) do you think main dining should be reserved for parties with children age 5-and under? Let's be real, if I were sans-kids I would pick main dining too if given an option, even though I don't really need it. 6/7pm-ish is when I eat at home, plus I'd much rather enjoy a show and entertaining after dinner than watch one before and go to bed straight after eating. But realistically, if the only option for me was an 8:15 dinner, I could live with that, unlike my kids who, the last time a late flight to WDW made us eat after 8, were sobbing their eyes out because they felt so bad, couldn't eat a bite, and then fell asleep in their chairs.

Some families like late dining because the kids are fed quickly & then sent off to the clubs.

Personally, we always prefer late dining. It allows us to enjoy lunch yet still be hungry for dinner.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Of all the options to solve this, I think a 3:30 dining time is the most unworkable. It would be unprecedented on any cruise line in an MDR, and I suspect it would be poorly attended. On MSC, early dining is 5:30 or so, mid-evening dining is 7:30 or so, and late dining starts around 9:30. I honestly think eating dinner at 4pm or earlier is an anomaly.

 

[ArielRae]

And eating dinner at 9:00 at night just doesn't work well with my stomach. Early dinner is what works for me.

This is how I feel about both early and late dinner seating. We eat at 4:00pm normally so eating 2hrs later then usual and being on a moving ship messes with the stomach. Cabanas closes for lunch at 2:15pm and all your left with is deck food and room service for dinner then unless you want to wait for main dining at 5:45pm

We all are not going to agree on how to fix this but we do all agree something different needs to be done to help this situation.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

but we do all agree something different needs to be done to help this situation.

Well, I'm not sure I agree with that.

 

[squirk]

We all are not going to agree on how to fix this but we do all agree something different needs to be done to help this situation.

Not really.

 

[ArielRae]

Well, I'm not sure I agree with that.

Ok then maybe not.

If it isn’t an issue to you then guess no need for a fix I guess.

 

[pixiedustedme]

This is how I feel about both early and late dinner seating. We eat at 4:00pm normally so eating 2hrs later then usual and being on a moving ship messes with the stomach. Cabanas closes for lunch at 2:15pm and all your left with is deck food and room service for dinner then unless you want to wait for main dining at 5:45pm

We all are not going to agree on how to fix this but we do all agree something different needs to be done to help this situation.

I don't happen to agree that anything needs to change. I'm wary of too many "choices" diluting the MDR experience (due to money & manpower being funneled elsewhere). 4pm is also a very unusual dinner time. If that's what works for you, fine, but it's unreasonable to expect DCL to cater to that. I might as well tell them that I always have breakfast at 4am, so I expect Cabanas to be open then.

 

[ArielRae]

I don't happen to agree that anything needs to change. I'm wary of too many "choices" diluting the MDR experience (due to money & manpower being funneled elsewhere). 4pm is also a very unusual dinner time. If that's what works for you, fine, but it's unreasonable to expect DCL to cater to that. I might as well tell them that I always have breakfast at 4am, so I expect Cabanas to be open then.

The DIS offers good debate topics.

Disney is only offering one main dining room open for breakfast, cabanas and room service (5am). They never tout this meal as anything special unlike their dinners. They make dinner a big deal and tout it as part of why you are paying more for a Disney Cruise. This why those other people canceled before PIF. They weren’t going to get what they were paying for. (In a way they found reasonable to enjoy their trip)

It’s going to be 8:00pm eastern time here in a few minutes. That’s bed time for us not dinner time so off to bed and I’ll check back here tomorrow morning probably while your all still sleeping.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

They make dinner a big deal and tout it as part of why you are paying more for a Disney Cruise. This why those other people canceled before PIF. They weren’t going to get what they were paying for.

That's like saying "I can't go to see a movie at the 7:00 showing because it's too late for me. I need to have the movie start at 6:00."

Same thing. The dinner experience on DCL is a set time/show. Just because it doesn't jib with someone's actual dinner time at home doesn't mean DCL has to change it.

If someone doesn't like a product (for whatever reason), certainly they shouldn't purchase it. But asking to change the product just so they will buy it won't fly with most companies in the world.

 

[FigmentSpark]

One thing that would be nice and probably not too onerous would be to add a "fruits and veggies" station to the deck food area. If something of a healthy nature was available people might feel they were able to keep their kids happy until late dining. Is there a fruits and veggies plate on the room service menu even? Still, I think having it offered on deck would be helpful to a lot of parents and to everyone that just wants something other than carb/sugar calories.

 

[pixiedustedme]

One thing that would be nice and probably not too onerous would be to add a "fruits and veggies" station to the deck food area. If something of a healthy nature was available people might feel they were able to keep their kids happy until late dining. Is there a fruits and veggies plate on the room service menu even? Still, I think having it offered on deck would be helpful to a lot of parents and to everyone that just wants something other than carb/sugar calories.

They do have a healthy option on the far side of the pool deck. I never get it (vacation and all), but I've seen it.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

"fruits and veggies" station to the deck food area.

Has this changed? This was on the Fantasy (at Flo's V8 cafe):

Lots of fruit options.

 

[serenitynow]

Anyone who thinks the lack of dining choices isn’t an issue for some passengers on a Disney Cruise need to hang around outside Cabanas on the last night of the cruise. I was waiting for my guys at a table outside of Cabanas while they rode the Aqua Duck over and over.

On the last night of the cruise, a number of people kept coming up to the doors of Cabanas to dine and were upset that it was closed. At one point, a large family group arrived, planning to dine at Cabanas together and demanded to talk to a manager about the issue.

The group was unaware that Cabanas was closed the last evening, as they had been busy packing and missed their MDR dining time. They were upset that their only food choices were the very limited room service menu or hamburgers from Flo’s.

A ship’s officer was eventually called to help defuse the situation. He stated that Disney was aware of the issues some families had about the dining options onboard, especially for those who were used to cruising on other lines with a 24 hour buffet available.

The ship’s officer explained that the Cabanas staff was busy preparing for the next cruise. This just made the group angrier, so finally the crew member simply apologized and asked that the guests let Disney Cruise Line know about their concerns.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I don’t have young kids anymore but our grandkids started going on DCL with us at age 4 or 5. We always eat late seating and never had a problem. Eating at 4 at our house is called a late lunch! We are from Chicago and typically eat at 7 or later. We love seeing the show before dinner and then either a family show or listening to to music, then a nice relaxed dinner and going to an adult area after. I do understand parents of young children being concerned but it’s nit a big enough issue. I’m guessing, that would make Disney change. Also I don’t understand why if late dinner is a problem, then why wouldn’t going to the late show after early dinner be a problem? We have done lots of other cruises on other lines and many have open seating but may still offer the option to eat st the same time and sit at the same table. We enjoy meeting our table mates and have made good friends.. I’m an old school parent and grand parent who always believed that kids need to fit in your schedule, not the opposite. And that bedtimes and eating options are meant to be stretched on vacation. But I also don’t believe in having electronic media at the table. My grandkids have had their phones taken away if they come out at meals.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Anyone who thinks the lack of dining choices isn’t an issue for some passengers on a Disney Cruise need to hang around outside Cabanas on the last night of the cruise. I was waiting for my guys at a table outside of Cabanas while they rode the Aqua Duck over and over.

On the last night of the cruise, a number of people kept coming up to the doors of Cabanas to dine and were upset that it was closed. At one point, a large family group arrived, planning to dine at Cabanas together and demanded to talk to a manager about the issue.

The group was unaware that Cabanas was closed the last evening, as they had been busy packing and missed their MDR dining time. They were upset that their only food choices were the very limited room service menu or hamburgers from Flo’s.

A ship’s officer was eventually called to help defuse the situation. He stated that Disney was aware of the issues some families had about the dining options onboard, especially for those who were used to cruising on other lines with a 24 hour buffet available.

The ship’s officer explained that the Cabanas staff was busy preparing for the next cruise. This just made the group angrier, so finally the crew member simply apologized and asked that the guests let Disney Cruise Line know about their concerns.

And, if they'd done any research about it, they would have been aware that Cabanas was closed the last night. Even as late as the night before when they get their next day's Navigator.