Why have dress code for Signatures if it's not enforced?

Too many pages to read, so I'm sorry if this has been asked before. FI generally wears jeans, pants or shorts, with a polo or a nice graphic tee. I'm looking at mostly capris, jeans or khaki, with nice t-shirts, like those from the Disney Store. We'll be honeymooning in WDW in December and we're trying to make sure we have a little of everything just in case. Would what I just described be a violation of the dress code for signature restaurants? I don't think so, but I want to be sure. Considering that they haven't posted the hours for November yet and I'm scared to see how long it'll take them to post December, I'm not sure if when we make our ADRs if we'll have an acceptable amount of time to leave and come back to for our ADRs. Being that it's our first time we kind of want to wing it with the exception of our ADRs. If it helps our tenative signature ADRs are:

Narcoosee's
Flying Fish
Yachtsman
Jiko
California Grill
Garden Grill

The clothing you described is perfectly acceptable. Disney's dress code is pretty casual, except at Victoria & Albert's. As long as you stay away from tank tops, torn clothing, hats, and swimwear you will be fine.
 
To the poster who said something to the effect of: "to each their own, that's my motto," I think that response is indicative of the whole problem. That mentality goes back to my prior post about having respect for the rules of the restaurant and for your fellow diners. No offense, but I don't care how you dress at Le Cellier because (as far as I know) Le Cellier doesn't have a dress code. Wear whatever you want. If, however, you choose to go to a restaurant that does have a dress code and you flaunt it because you believe "what I do shouldn't affect anyone else" then your attitude shows a blatant disregard for the rules.

Hi there. :flower3: I guess some of your reply was in reference to me. Just wanted to say that you made a lot of good points there.

I also wanted to clarify that I didn't mean *I* agree with anyone breaking the rules - just that to each their own, I won't let it ruin my experience if somebody else "gets away with it", you know? I avoid signature restaurants because I'm not willing to pack for them but if I did go to one and dressed appropriately and someone else didn't, it wouldn't bother me any.

I guess the reason I brought up Le Cellier (no dress code as you pointed out) is because there were discussions in the past that people felt others were ruining their experience by coming to a steakhouse dressed in casual attire. I guess it wasn't entirely relevant to this discussion and I apologize for the confusion.
 
The impression i am getting from a lot of members on this thread is that people wearing:
flip-flops,shorts,t-shirts etc = loud,smelly and obnoxious.
So you don't get people in suits that are that way??.
When my family are on vacation we do wear shorts,flip-flops,t-shirts etc but we certainly are never rude,loud etc,why would someones attire reflect on the way they behave in public?
In all the years we have been going i have never seen anyone sitting in a signature restaurant in beach wear.
If Disney don't mind that maybe some people have been in the parks and haven't had time to change why should we,i am in a restaurant to eat and have a nice time,not to sit around watching other people,im sure if people are loud,rude etc the staff would intervene.
Thanks
:angel:
 
Hi there. :flower3: I guess some of your reply was in reference to me. Just wanted to say that you made a lot of good points there.

I also wanted to clarify that I didn't mean *I* agree with anyone breaking the rules - just that to each their own, I won't let it ruin my experience if somebody else "gets away with it", you know? I avoid signature restaurants because I'm not willing to pack for them but if I did go to one and dressed appropriately and someone else didn't, it wouldn't bother me any.

I guess the reason I brought up Le Cellier (no dress code as you pointed out) is because there were discussions in the past that people felt others were ruining their experience by coming to a steakhouse dressed in casual attire. I guess it wasn't entirely relevant to this discussion and I apologize for the confusion.

I understand what you mean. I could also clarify a bit that people who don't follow the dress code in WDW Signature restaurants don't really ruin my experience; they just annoy me. You're right. At the end of the day the restaurant experience is still, at its core, about me, my wife, our food, and the service from the waitstaff. The other factors (i.e., ambience, setting, other diners, etc.) are not quite as important. They still matter to me though, especially in a setting in which part of the experience being sold is a certain level of decorum.

At the same time, I find it somewhat amusing that people get upset over what people wear to Le Cellier. If there is no dress code, there is no expectation of any level of clothing (obviously beyond the general expectation that t-shirts with offensive language and other items of that ilk are taboo). I know that some people on this board equate Le Cellier with a Signature restaurant, but it's not. I wonder if the same people complaining about the dress of the patrons at Le Cellier dress up when they go to the local Outback. It's the same type of restaurant, just with an Australian theme instead of a Canadian theme.
 

The impression i am getting from a lot of members on this thread is that people wearing:
flip-flops,shorts,t-shirts etc = loud,smelly and obnoxious.
So you don't get people in suits that are that way??.
When my family are on vacation we do wear shorts,flip-flops,t-shirts etc but we certainly are never rude,loud etc,why would someones attire reflect on the way they behave in public?
In all the years we have been going i have never seen anyone sitting in a signature restaurant in beach wear.
If Disney don't mind that maybe some people have been in the parks and haven't had time to change why should we,i am in a restaurant to eat and have a nice time,not to sit around watching other people,im sure if people are loud,rude etc the staff would intervene.
Thanks
:angel:

Let me explain - Anyone, regardless of their attire, can be rude or loud, but, what we experienced on that particular day was people in very casual or dress code violators, in pool party mode. Several unrelated groups seemed to have trouble transitioning from their prior activities (some came from pool & some from theme parks) and this is where we had problems - the combination of very informal dress and their behaviour changed the atmosphere. I would even suggest that their pool party attire prevented them from transitioning into a finer dining mode. A man in a suit or a woman in a wedding dress although within dress code, of course could still be loud, but that is not what my intent of my post was. I questioned the enforcement and necessity of the dress code at certain restaurants.

I don't care if people have never seen people dressed this way, and, I may never see it again either, but we saw it that day, and it really took us aback, especially since it was Mother's Day. If I had wanted a pool party, I would have eaten dinner at Hurricane Hanna's. :thumbsup2

Tiger
 
The impression i am getting from a lot of members on this thread is that people wearing:
flip-flops,shorts,t-shirts etc = loud,smelly and obnoxious.
So you don't get people in suits that are that way??.
When my family are on vacation we do wear shorts,flip-flops,t-shirts etc but we certainly are never rude,loud etc,why would someones attire reflect on the way they behave in public?
In all the years we have been going i have never seen anyone sitting in a signature restaurant in beach wear.
If Disney don't mind that maybe some people have been in the parks and haven't had time to change why should we,i am in a restaurant to eat and have a nice time,not to sit around watching other people,im sure if people are loud,rude etc the staff would intervene.
Thanks
:angel:

It's not necessarily that what you wear dictates how you will act. It's the fact that a lot of us are annoyed when people ignore a dress code because they think it's irrelevant ("I'm in a restaurant to eat...not to sit around watching other people" etc.). The discussion has nothing to do with how people in a restaurant act; obviously well-dressed people can be just as boorish as casually-dressed people. The issue here is about people blatantly ignoring a stated dress code because they feel it shouldn't apply to them, for whatever reason (e.g., they've just come in from the parks, they didn't have room in their suitcase for nice clothes, they were sitting by the pool a hundred steps away, etc.). It shows lack of respect for the rules and the other diners. That annoys some of us (including me), which I think is justified because Disney has built the expectation of a dress code into the experience. It doesn't annoy everyone, and that's okay too. I'm not passing judgment on people because a loosely-enforced dress code doesn't bother them.
 
For what it's worth, some of the most annoying people I've come across in WDW are conventioners dressed in true business casual and above.

I understand what you are saying about rule-breakers being annoying. And for the record, I think I've always worn a collared shirt and dress shorts when I've gone to signature restaurants. The collared shirts are usually Aloha shirts, which I know some people don't like, but they are collared shirts.

My experience is that most people comply with the dress code, and while I don't really get why somebody can't comply with the current code, I learned long ago that it's just not worth worrying about. I may not understand why they can't just put on a t-shirt, but really, does it impact me? Nah.

Besides, if I want to get worked up about rude people and rule-breakers, there's much bigger fish in that sea.
 
My experience is that most people comply with the dress code, and while I don't really get why somebody can't comply with the current code, I learned long ago that it's just not worth worrying about. I may not understand why they can't just put on a t-shirt, but really, does it impact me? Nah.

Nice to hear it doesn't bother you or affect you. Clearly it does bother and affect others.

Atmosphere is a big deal when it comes to dining experiences--otherwise, why would they bother decorating the space at all? And the diners and what they wear can add or detract from the overall atmosphere, without question. I wish people would be more considerate of the requested dress codes. I love getting a little dressed up and being surrounded by others in that same headspace.

Besides, if I want to get worked up about rude people and rule-breakers, there's much bigger fish in that sea.

I suppose that's true. But I bet there are little and big things that rub you the wrong way that any of us might shrug at and not be phased by. To each their own.
 
And I would add once more--in my experience, for the most part the dress code IS enforced. A few incidents here and there as per the original post, but not much else to suggest that there are a flood of people dressed in swim suits eating at all the Signature restaurants.
I keep seeing "park attire" mentioned--but most park attire (t-shirt, shorts) meets the dress code as it now exists.
I still think this is mostly about the dress code itself---
 
That's true; I do remember a big thread a year or two back that started with someone complaining that the dress code was enforced on them at Yachtsman Steakhouse.
 
I'd love to see the dress codes enforced. I have dined at Jiko in really nice attire and had to sit next to an obnoxious family who let their kids run all over the place and the man was wearing a sleeveless shirt and swearing a lot, not angrily, but just in conversation. "I don't know what the /// half of this /// even is" was my favorite quote...

Oh, and he was not a guy any woman would be wanting to see in a sleeveless shirt, believe me. :eek: And someone at their table kind of smelled strongly of BO. We complained and we got to move our seat, but had the restaurant been full, I don't know.

I couldn't enjoy my meal at all if I had had to stay next to them.
 
A few other notes about this...

The additional fees airlines are charging for a second checked bag does not provide incentive for vacationers to pack additional clothing just to wear for dinner. This has been discussed in great detail, and with substantial animosity, on cruise-oriented websites, since cruises, with their traditional formal nights, will be most quickly and substantially affected by guests' unwillingness to bring additional clothing with them for that one use.

That's exuse moi just
We visited the USA for a month with only one suitcase per person. I managed to wash my clothes everywhere.
In Memphis,Vicksburg,New Orleans, Pensecola,Thalahassee and even in WDW I managed to wash my dirty undies :lmao:
And guess what? I flew back to Europe with practically no dirty laundry.

Every hotel/motel/resort has laundry facilities .You don’t need to pack just only crappie clothing’s its just a matter of planning.
We do like to dress up for signature dining and its not so difficult to pack some nice clothing’s into your suitcase.
 
That's exuse moi just bullsh.......
Perhaps, but it is a very common perspective held by a lot of reasonable people, therefore it is a perspective was are obligated to respect.

Every hotel/motel/resort has laundry facilities .
Which cost money. Remember, practically everything is all about money. Folks disappointed about having to pay $15-$25 to check a bag of luggage aren't going to pay to have clothing cleaned.
 
Which cost money. Remember, practically everything is all about money. Folks disappointed about having to pay $15-$25 to check a bag of luggage aren't going to pay to have clothing cleaned.

Not to mention the time involved in doing laundry in a hotel.

clotho said:
Nice to hear it doesn't bother you or affect you. Clearly it does bother and affect others.

Atmosphere is a big deal when it comes to dining experiences--otherwise, why would they bother decorating the space at all? And the diners and what they wear can add or detract from the overall atmosphere, without question. I wish people would be more considerate of the requested dress codes. I love getting a little dressed up and being surrounded by others in that same headspace.

I'm not calling anyone a liar. If you say it matters to you then it matters to you. But if you don't want to get wet you don't go on Splash Mountain. And if you don't want to dine surrounded by others who aren't a little dressed up, it might not be a good idea to go to WDW restaurants. With the exception of V&A's, it's a casual resort atmosphere and the dress code as well as what the patrons actually wear reflects that.

Of course we all have things at WDW that we don't like, but what I'm saying is we can't change them all to match what we like. So it's up to us to decide how to deal with it.


I'd love to see the dress codes enforced. I have dined at Jiko in really nice attire and had to sit next to an obnoxious family who let their kids run all over the place and the man was wearing a sleeveless shirt and swearing a lot, not angrily, but just in conversation. "I don't know what the /// half of this /// even is" was my favorite quote...

Oh, and he was not a guy any woman would be wanting to see in a sleeveless shirt, believe me. And someone at their table kind of smelled strongly of BO. We complained and we got to move our seat, but had the restaurant been full, I don't know.

I couldn't enjoy my meal at all if I had had to stay next to them.

That's not fun for anyone, but there was a lot more going on there than just a t-shirt minus the sleeves.

Funny you mention Jiko... on our last trip we went to Jiko after a day at AK. I wore a tank top to the park but brought a collared shirt to change into for dinner. I changed in the bathroom by the restaurant but checked in at the podium first. I did that partly because it was right at our ADR time and partly because I was curious if they would say anything about the tank top (I was going to change regardless).

As the lady at the podium checked us in a manager-type lady discreetly came over and asked if I had a "t-shirt or something" to change into. I told her I did and of course everything was fine. I don't know if they would have actually denied us service if I had said no, but it certainly seemed that way.
 
I'm assuming that no one here is complaining about people who actually comply with Disney's very lenient "dress code" for signature dining.

Which means those that are complaining most likely have been seeing enough people in swimsuits, torn jeans and muscle shirts to have it detract from their meal.

If you want to "dress up" knock yourself out. If you are wearing park attire that fits the dress code, no, you don't need to go change. Jeans, shorts, tee shirts and sneakers are OK per the dress code. If you are determined that you should not see anyone in that sort of attire, there's Victoria & Alberts, where they will MAKE you put a jacket on if you show up without one.

But I don't see how you can expect other patrons to exceed the stated code because it isn't what you'd wear at a fancy restaurant at home.
 





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