I really don't want to pack formal attire... what will I miss ?

[gsquaredstwins]

We will be away for 12 days total on our trip (including 7 nts on the Magic). I am really trying to pack us as lightly as I can.

 

Formal attire requires almost an entire extra suitcase for my family of 4 once I include extra shoes, etc.

 

I would not mind eating in the buffet for 1 night if thats what it means to us if we don't dress up.

 

I know we can't go to Palo's either- but I am really fine with that (considering I can't get a reservation anyway).

 

Anything else I will miss ????

 

Thanks

 

Gina

[lvsatman]

Read down on the board, this has been addressed recently. We are doing the seven day Magic out of LA, and will not be bringing any formal gear, including jackets. I will bring a couple pairs of dress pants and a couple nice shirts with ties, but that's it. You do not have to dress up on formal night, just dress nice. You are on vacation, why would you want to bring all of that stuff with? You also do not need to wear a jacket in Palo, regardless of what anybody tells you.

[Amlee]

Think church casual with out the jeans (no big deal to pack a pair of dress pants instead of jeans). No coat or ties required.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

I cant think of anything else you would miss. many people do not dress formal on formal night so if you just dress nice as normal you can still do it in the restaurant if you want. Nobody will even notice.

 

The buffet is a sit down restaurant in the evening accept for the salads so you can go there is you want and still get a great meal served to you. casual attire in there.

 

mom x4,grandma x4

[cruiserbryce]

formal nights are what you make of them...you might miss some different food but overall if the experience of the night doesnt add any enjoyment to the trip then skipping is great...we havent gone to all the formal nights on our cruise...sometimes we just arent in the mood to get dressed up...I wear a suit every day...sometimes I just am not feeling it while on vacation

[yndygo]

Okay, I'll be the lone voice of dissent...

 

How often do you get the chance to dress up and BE a princess or prince? We will bring our formal wear because outside of the occasional charity event, unless you are a celebrity, there aren't a lot of opportunities to wear a ball gown and tux for the average adult once you've gotten past high school prom.

 

Our DD is really excited about Mom & Dad dressing up in 'fancy dress' along with her.

 

Part of the lure of the vacation for us IS the fact that there's a formal night. You can wear 'casual' wear any day - but how often do you have the chance to wear black-tie without looking silly? :)

 

You know - it's kind of a to-each-his-own... but while there are those for whom dressing up is a chore, there are those for whom it's a treat.

[HisChildBeth]

I don't have the problem of planning for 4 people, but I felt much the same way you do when I first heard about formal night since I never go anywhere formal. Let me tell you what I found out when I sailed on the Magic.

 

You can go all out if that is your thing or you can go simple with understated elegance.

 

First, formal does NOT mean a fancy ball gown or tux, unless you choose to go that route. I bought a pair of black chiffon over satin pants/skirt (big ballon legs) on sale for almost nothing. All poly so no ironing after hanging out in the closet in the humidity. Now I have the perfect 'bottom half", easy, breezy, comfortable for any other cruise I take. You can teem the bottom half with any kind of lacy or sparkly top. I can't wear heels and went with a pair of cheap, discount shoe store shoes that cost $10.

 

I saw a lot of little girls in Disney princess outfits because you can get all those cute pictures with your little girl dressed like Cinderella standing next to Cinderella. You could also do any pretty little dress with cute shoes.

 

The teen girls I saw looked like they were wearning prom dresses. Good way to get more mileage out of them since they probably won't know anyone on the ship who has seen it.

 

Your husband can go with a suit or a fancy sport coat and tie.

 

I saw little boys wearing a dress shirt, slacks, and a bow tie.

 

The teen boys for the most part were dressed like their Dads in suits.

 

Yes, there were people dressed to the nines, but at no time did I feel out of place! I saw many people go way underdressed, even on regular nights, and NOBODY WAS ASKED TO LEAVE BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY WERE OR WERE NOT WEARING. That was by biggest fear -- embarrasment.

 

Same thing goes for Palo. You can wear what you bring for formal night or just a nice dress. Men are asked to wear a jacket and tie, but I saw many who did not, and they were not asked to leave.

 

I think you can make it a lot of fun for the whole family to "play dress up" for one night and get that wonderful family photo. They have several places to get photos taken. Go early (30 minutes at least) because all the lines are LONG! If you end up with extra time on your hands before dinner, then you can go to one of lounges for a drink or Shirley Temple. Yeah it costs a bit because it is being served, but this is memory night!

 

I was with my adult daughter and we had our pictures taken in the Atrium on the Magic in front of Mickey at the Helm that stands right in front of Lumiere's. It was wonderful and such a memory! It was such a good picture that we not only bought the picture, but we paid extra for the picture to be etched in glass and then it sits in a lighted stand. We haven't had a portrait together since I became ill several years ago so this was a very special memory that we will treasure always.

 

If you have young kids, it is really neat to stop by the Promenade lounge and dance with your kids after dinner on your way back to your stateroom. I saw a lot of blushing young teen girls having their first dances with their Dads. Little girls in frilly dresses, and white lace anklets, "dancing" with Daddy standing on his toes. I didn't see boys with Moms, but why not?

 

It is also a good time to brush up on those often not used formal table manners which you can't get in a buffet line. I haven't used my skills in so long I felt slightly ill-at-ease until I just lightened up and asked my servers which was the appropriate fork or spoon if I was unsure. Same thing at Palo's. The waiters were wonderful! They know that formal dining is a new experience for many people, and they were gracious and helpful. Never did I feel embarrassed!

 

Don't forget that you are paying for all this really good food in the dining rooms with all their elegance! Why not enjoy it! You can eat burger, fries and buffet food when you get back home. It was fun to "dress for dinner" each night. We'd change into a nice skirt and blouse, or a pair of capris and blouse, throw on some extra eye shadow and go have a wonderful time over a long. easy meal with the new friends we made at our table. If you have little kids you may have to eat faster or they can go with their age group to their activities and they will be escorted up to Topsiders for dinner. It's a wonderful vacation for you too.

 

Disney provides so many options for every age level, family, group, etc. that there is no way all of you cannot have a wonderful vacation together! I don't have a problem being an unofficial spokesperson. I know we will be cruising with Disney again!

 

OK, I tend to run off at the mouth. I see a lot of people have already replied, but I like to answer with exactly what I experienced so that the person can possibly find just the exact piece of information they wanted, but didn't realize that was what they were looking for.:) You will be so glad you took this vacation!

 

Beth

 

Oh, by the way -- when you get aboard the Magic go straight to the Rockin' Bar D to get a reservation for Palo. You can do dinner or brunch or both. If they don't have the day and time you want, they will put you on a waiting list. Many people change their reservations when they board and some openings are held for people who don't use computers. You may not get a confirmed booking right then, but you could well get a slot later on because we did. They notify you by phone.

[California4Me4Ever]

We are a family of 3 and the luggage/packing can be an adventure to say the least. Here are a couple of suggestions from my own experience:

 

Don't try to pack enough clothes for 12 days! Pack enough underwear, but for everything else plan on wearing it more than once and plan on doing a load or two of laundry. Bring some quarters, detergent and dryer sheets and plan on some quiet time doing laundry. Also bring Tide to go pen (for colors), Clorox bleach pen (for whites), and some Downey wrinkle releaser. And maybe some Febreze to freshen things up. (Seriously I don't work for P&G but I should!) Everyone is on vacation and no one really cares if you wear things more than once! (Unless you have a teenage daughter--but we won't even start that discussion!)

 

As for the formal night, it is fun to have a nice night out in your fancy clothes. Sometimes it even turns into just a night out for mom and dad since the kids want to be in the club, so how nice is that to have a dress-up date with your spouse and no kids! Just like dating! My hubby hates ties so he wears a sport coat and dress shirt, I wear a skirt or dress. We have enjoyed getting dressed up as a family and giving our DD a chance to use her best manners.

 

Have fun no matter what you end up doing! You're on vacation so enjoy!

 

Happy Sails!

[LSKC]

we are going semi formal. i am not renting tux's and the like.

my daughter (4) is wearing a pretty pink frilly dress,

my son (6) is just wearing dark navy pants with a white shirt and tie.

i am wearing a black cocktail dress with a big of shimmer. not ball gown-ish.

my husband is wearing suit pants, dress shirt and tie. i 'm telling him to leave the jacket at home. too hot anyhow.

 

:)

i think you can attend formal night without going overly formal.

the shoes are a pain to pack though.

[HisChildBeth]

Shoes do take up room, but if you put each shoe in a large plastic bag from the produce section of your grocery (turn the bags inside out so the writing doesn't wear off on your clothes) then they will tuck into nooks and crannies in your suitcase.

 

I saw they had fancy flip flops in the store on the ship that were just black with crystals on the bands. I think they were Swarsovski crystals with a hefty price tag. They have several clothing pieces with crystals too. Drool!

 

Flats are making a come back so that could be a consideration. I found all kinds of metallic and sparkly shoes very inexpensive at the discount shoe stores. Since you only wear these once or twice why pay a ton of money for something that will just sit in a box on a shelf for another year.

 

I sure hope you decide to go to formal night because I think you will find out that it is a lot of fun to get dressed up.

 

Also, I thought it would be a pain to change for dinner every night since they ask for no shorts or jeans in the nice dining rooms -- resort casual (some people don't care and wear what they want and still get served), but it was actually fun to do. My daughter and I would go back to the room and change together and put on our make-up. Something we haven't done for years. We never went over the top with our clothes. We just wore a nice skirt or capris with a nice blouse. It was quite appropriate to what others were wearing. Some people got really dressed up because that is what they liked to do.

 

The dining rooms were so nice compared to eating out at the local chains when we are at home. Real cuisine, not just food. We were all adults at the late seating and we would take 2 to 2-1/2 hours casually eating and chatting through dinner. It was special and made our vacation memorable. You should plan on letting your kids eat with their clubs while you and your spouse have a nice dinner together a few times at least.

 

I write too much, but I like to chat with people.

 

Beth

[yndygo]

...

my husband is wearing suit pants, dress shirt and tie. i 'm telling him to leave the jacket at home. too hot anyhow.

 

:)

i think you can attend formal night without going overly formal.

the shoes are a pain to pack though.

 

 

Just FYI? It is most decidely NOT too hot for a jacket on board the ships in November at night... lol.

In March, when it's 10 degrees warmer in general, it still gets low enough on board that a jacket is a nice thing to have - and the restaurants are air conditioned - I'm always freezing! :D

 

That said? Yep, semi-formal works just fine and there are no dress-****s at the door! :)

[Host Mick]

...

That said? Yep, semi-formal works just fine and there are no dress-****s at the door! :)

 

That's funny, the software beeped n-a-z-i.

It's an automatic invocation of Godwin's law.

[traveljen1027]

Hi all - thought I'd throw my thoughts in as well - I agree with a lot of the other posters (especially Beth's) that it can be a lot of fun to dress up onboard. It just makes for a nicer experience in my opinion. The cuisine is really great, and the dinners in the main dining room are nice & long, so dressing up just makes it that much more special...at least to me. We have a three year old and don't get many opportunities to dine in nicer restaurants when at home. But again, if you don't feel like that is what you want to do, you definitely won't be alone - there is a big range of dress in the dining rooms. My husband will be wearing a dark suit for the formal nights, and I will be wearing a cocktail dress & heels (I think there are two formals on the 7 night so I'm bringing two dresses...not sure if DH is bringing two suits or just one and two shirts/two ties). Our daughter is going to wear her Snow White dress one night and we'll bring another dressy-dress for the other. Devin has never been too warm in his suits (nor have our fellow diners in their tuxedo's), and we've cruised in September, one of the hottest months of the year. One more thing I like about dressing up is the opportunity to take a lovely photo - they always have nice backgrounds and photographers all over the place on the way to & from dinner, so it is a great way to get a nice photo w/o having to go to a photographer at home. Enjoy your cruise!!!

[caldebi]

When we travel on Disney my husband takes a pair of khakis and a pair of black pants. However, sometimes he just wears one of them every night with a different shirt. He did wear a tie on formal night and I wore a dress but that was it. We had the Palo brunch on Sunday and I wore capris and a pullover top and he wore his pants and a Hawaiian looking shirt. No one has ever said anything to anyone we have been around that they were not allowed in to the dining room. Just wear a pair of black pants and a top and go for it. For us, dressing up is not in our "vacation plans."