crisp1 Posted November 15, 2017 #1 Share Posted November 15, 2017 We'll be taking our first Disney cruise with the grandkids on the Dream this coming August- they will be 8, 6, and 2- we are confirmed for the 2nd seating. On all our other cruises the show times were 8pm and 9:30- so we would go after dinner. With Disney being a family/ child friendly line, will we be able to see shows before dinner or should we switch to main seating and hope the young one's will be able to stay awake for a later show Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted November 15, 2017 #2 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Whether you do early dinner/late show or late dinner/early show is really a personal matter. Does it bother you more if a child falls asleep during the show or during dinner? The late show ends by 9pm, so it isn't all that late...but might be too late for the youngest even with a nap. It is easy to do a 4pm snack before the early show, so if someone sleeps thru dinner that isn't such a big deal. If you want to change to early dinner, call DCL (your TA will need to do this if you used one) and ask to be waitlisted for main seating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crisp1 Posted November 15, 2017 Author #3 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Whether you do early dinner/late show or late dinner/early show is really a personal matter. Does it bother you more if a child falls asleep during the show or during dinner? The late show ends by 9pm' date=' so it isn't all that late...but might be too late for the youngest even with a nap. It is easy to do a 4pm snack before the early show, so if someone sleeps thru dinner that isn't such a big deal. If you want to change to early dinner, call DCL (your TA will need to do this if you used one) and ask to be waitlisted for main seating.[/quote'] If the late show ends by 9 pm- how could we possibly get to see it with an 8 pm dining time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted November 15, 2017 #4 Share Posted November 15, 2017 If you have early dining, you will go to the late show. If you have late dining, you go to the early show. The shows are timed so that while one group is eating, the show is going on. There is a brief time where there are family activities in between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crisp1 Posted November 15, 2017 Author #5 Share Posted November 15, 2017 If you have early dining, you will go to the late show. If you have late dining, you go to the early show. The shows are timed so that while one group is eating, the show is going on. There is a brief time where there are family activities in between the two. So, if we have late- 8pm dining- the early show would 7, 6:45 or 6:30? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted November 15, 2017 #6 Share Posted November 15, 2017 If you have late dining, you have early show--typically 6pm. I've seen show and dinner times vary by 15 minutes on some cruises, but they are all basically in the same time window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crisp1 Posted November 15, 2017 Author #7 Share Posted November 15, 2017 If you have late dining' date=' you have early show--typically 6pm. I've seen show and dinner times vary by 15 minutes on some cruises, but they are all basically in the same time window.[/quote'] Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisefamilyforever Posted November 15, 2017 #8 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Read all of these August 2017 Navigators from the Dream and they will give you an idea of timing. Of course your actual cruise may have slightly adjusted times for some shows, but dinner is always served at the same times. http://disneycruiselineblog.com/2017/08/personal-navigators-4-night-bahamian-cruise-port-canaveral-august-14-2017/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted November 15, 2017 #9 Share Posted November 15, 2017 but dinner is always served at the same times. http://disneycruiselineblog.com/2017/08/personal-navigators-4-night-bahamian-cruise-port-canaveral-august-14-2017/ Not so. Dinner times have been adjusted slightly thru the years and continue to be adjusted on some of the special cruises like TAs, Panama Canal crossings, and European cruises. I do agree that they are standardized now on Bahamian and Caribbean cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisefamilyforever Posted November 15, 2017 #10 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Not so. Dinner times have been adjusted slightly thru the years and continue to be adjusted on some of the special cruises like TAs' date=' Panama Canal crossings, and European cruises. I do agree that they are standardized now on Bahamian and Caribbean cruises.[/quote'] I was only addressing the regular Dream cruises for the time of the year they were talking about and for them the information is accurate. Could they possibly change, sure but they have been the standard times since the Dream started sailing for the standard cruises. • 5:45 pm - First seating • 8:15 pm - Second seating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dateacher Posted November 26, 2017 #11 Share Posted November 26, 2017 We recently got off the Dream and we had originally booked late dining. We were overruled by our adult children because of their kids (6,4, and 1). The early dining turned out fine. We pushed it until 6 so we didn't feel like we were eating lunch. It gave us time to get to the late show and the 6 and 1 year old were able to stay awake, the 4 year old slept through each one (although he said he loved them). I'm not sure any of us could have waited for the late dining. Without kids, we normally eat between 7:30 and 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted November 26, 2017 #12 Share Posted November 26, 2017 We recently got off the Dream and we had originally booked late dining. We were overruled by our adult children because of their kids (6,4, and 1). The early dining turned out fine. We pushed it until 6 so we didn't feel like we were eating lunch. It gave us time to get to the late show and the 6 and 1 year old were able to stay awake, the 4 year old slept through each one (although he said he loved them). I'm not sure any of us could have waited for the late dining. Without kids, we normally eat between 7:30 and 8. Having 5:45 dining scheduled and not showing up till 6 is rude and gets makes things more difficult for your serving team. It will always be 15 minutes or more from the time the dining room opens till you see your appetizer. You probably had a table for just your extended family, so that's not as big a deal, but many servers won't put in their food order until they have taken the order from every table. That means that showing up late delays the entire serving station OR that they need to make an extra trip to the kitchen. But then, it was the Dream....short cruise doesn't amount to much. We love late dining, in part because it frees up early spots for people with little kids. We handle it by having a small "healthy snack" about 4pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dateacher Posted November 26, 2017 #13 Share Posted November 26, 2017 Sorry you think it's rude but I checked before we did it. Some of us got there at 5:45 and others by 6. We never ordered until everyone was there and were never the last to leave so we didn't hold up getting ready for the second seating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki'smommy Posted November 27, 2017 #14 Share Posted November 27, 2017 Sorry you think it's rude but I checked before we did it. Some of us got there at 5:45 and others by 6. We never ordered until everyone was there and were never the last to leave so we didn't hold up getting ready for the second seating. The crew will never tell you that you are inconveniencing them or that they would prefer that you not do something unless it is a clear policy violation. The issue is not holding up preparations for second seating. It is the system in the galley for getting out each course. People who show up late don't allow the system to run smoothly as it was designed. The other option that guests who don't like the dining times have is to eat at Cabanas for dinner. It is a sit down restaurant in the evening, not a buffet. The atmosphere and food are excellent--better than the MDRs. It is not open on the first or last night of a cruise. You show up at the podium any time during the hours it is open and will be shown to a table and given a menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dateacher Posted November 27, 2017 #15 Share Posted November 27, 2017 I meant to add that we were all one family at the table. We waited to order until everyone arrived and followed the staff's wishes that we order all courses at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicNac4498 Posted November 28, 2017 #16 Share Posted November 28, 2017 The crew will never tell you that you are inconveniencing them or that they would prefer that you not do something unless it is a clear policy violation. The issue is not holding up preparations for second seating. It is the system in the galley for getting out each course. People who show up late don't allow the system to run smoothly as it was designed. The other option that guests who don't like the dining times have is to eat at Cabanas for dinner. It is a sit down restaurant in the evening' date=' not a buffet. The atmosphere and food are excellent--better than the MDRs. It is not open on the first or last night of a cruise. You show up at the podium any time during the hours it is open and will be shown to a table and given a menu.[/quote'] 15 minutes does not cause a major issue whatsoever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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