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Disney Cruise Dining Times Explained

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What are the Disney Cruise Dining Times? Disney Cruise Line has two dining times for dinner.

One is very much more popular than the other.

Find out more about Disney Cruise dining times and the advantages and disadvantages of each sitting.

disney cruise dining times
Disney Wonder Animators Palate

Disney Cruise Dining Times

Each day on your Disney cruise you will dine in one of the rotational dining restaurants.

Each of the Disney ships has three main dining restaurants. Guests “rotate” around each restaurant so that they dine in each one at least once.

Disney cruise lines are unique as your dining team rotates with you, so you always keep the same wait staff throughout your cruise.

There are two dining times.

For many years they were called “Main” and Second”

However, now the title has changed and they are called “5:45 p.m.” and “8:15 p.m.”

5.45 pm Dining Time

Disney cruise early dining is at 5.45 pm every day. This is by far the most popular dining time choice on all of the Disney ships.

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Disney Wish 1923 Restaurant

There are many families with young children who particularly want early dining time.

If you have early dining you will see the show at 8.30.

Disney Cruise 8.15 pm Seating

Tritons Disney Wonder Menu

Disney cruise second dining time is at 8.15 pm.

Now that my children are all grown up I prefer the later dining. If I don’t want to see the show it means that I can spend longer in the pool, The Rainforest or just enjoying other places on the ship while they are quieter.

Also, the service tends to be quicker than for the first seating. I like this as the Servers usually have more time to talk at the end of the meal.

There is one service that I really wish that DCL would bring back as it was so useful for parents with young children.

At around 9.00 pm each evening the Kids Counselors used to stand at the back of each restaurant and you could check your kids into the Oceaneer’s Lab or Club.

This meant that you can enjoy your desserts in peace and the adults can spend some time together at dinner without the children.

Unfortunately this is no longer available. Another one of the things that I wish Disney would bring back!

If you do have 8.15 dining your Servers will always try and get the kids food out first. This does mean that they will finish earlier than you, so if you are able to take a break from dinner for a short time you can leave dinner and check your kids into the Kids Clubs. Not as convenient as the previous service used to be but it still means you can enjoy the final part of your meal with just the adults if you want to.

If you have 8.15 pm dining you can see the first show in the Walt Disney Theatre which will be at 6.15.

101 Essential Disney Cruise Tips

How To Request 5.45 pm or 8.15 pm Dining on a Disney Cruise

When you or your travel agent first book your cruise you will be given a choice of first or second seating for dinner. Although, if you book later you may notice that the early dining time is not an option online anymore.

What if you really want early dining but only second seating is left online?

You can do this on your Navigator App. Sometimes it still won’t be available but you can go on the waitlist.

If you get on board and find out that your dining time has not been changed then you can always try to get it moved.

There will be a designated place on the ship, which will be posted in Navigator’s, where you can ask the Head Servers to try to move your dining time.

Again, it doesn’t always work, but they will try to help.

Requests You Can Make Online for Disney Cruise Line

Firstly log in to your reservation.

On your Cruise Details page, you will find various options.

Scroll down to find this section:

When you click on the Make Special Requests Button you will be taken to this screen:

Then, click on Table Requests:

The first screen gives you the option to request a High Chair or Booster Seat.

Then if you click on the drop-down menu you get this screen:

As you see you will have the following options:

  • Near a window
  • In a quieter location
  • Near a screen for entertainment
  • At a private table
  • Neat the center of the dining room

You do not seem to be able to make more than one request. So you can’t for example choose a private table, near the center of the dining room.

You have to see which request you want to prioritize and pick that one.

There are other options available as well for Dietary Preferences which takes you to this screen:

You can also add whichever celebrations you may have during your Disney Cruise:

There is also an option to request Child Amenities where you will be taken to this screen:

Disney Cruise Dining Table Size

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Disney Wish Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure

Some people like to dine alone. Others like to be seated with strangers so they can get to know people.

Most people who do share a table say that Disney does a great job of allocating them to a group table with people with similar interests.

For instance, couples of a similar age would be seated together, and families with children of similar age also might share a table.

The Disney cruise dining table size is generally four, six, or eight. That is the basic table size.

If you have a party of 2 you can still request a private table but in my experience it is more unlikely that you will get this on Disney Wish or Treasure. These ships are generally at full capacity (although this is changing for Disney Wish) so it is more difficult to seat 2 people as the smallest table is for 4 people. If you are just 2 people and have a private table it will be a 4 top. So as these ships are more likely to be at or close to capacity, this makes it less likely your can be accommodat3ed.

So if you have a party of three you will most likely be seated on a four-top if you request that you would rather not be seated with strangers. If you have a party which is larger than eight they will put tables together up to a certain limit.

If you have a request for a particular Disney cruise dining table size you should do exactly what you do to change your seating. Request it before you sail and if that doesn’t work request it on the ship.

In the unlikely event that you are seated with people who you really don’t get on with you can ask to be moved after the first night.

It is rare, but it does happen. If you aren’t happy, Disney wants to put things right for you.

Disney Cruise Breakfast Times

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Breakfast is served in one of the dining rooms and at Cabanas Buffet on all of the Disney ships, except Disney Wish where the buffet is called Marceline Market.

Disney cruise breakfast times do vary so the only reliable way to know is to look at the Cruise Navigator which you get every day – or the Disney Cruise App.

Usually, the buffet hours at Cabanas and Marceline Market for breakfast will be from around 7.30 am until 11.30 am on Days at Sea.

On port days the breakfast hours will vary depending upon what time the ship is due to arrive in port. Hours will generally be shorter on port days but may start early.

There is always one dining room on each ship which is open for an a la carte breakfast. Dining times are shorter than in Cabanas.

Disney Cruise Lunch Times

Just like breakfast, lunch will be served in Cabanas and one of the Disney cruise restaurants.

On days at sea, the buffet usually doesn’t close for that long between breakfast and dinner. The lunchtimes in Cabanas are usually 11.45 until 2 pm.

This can actually be a little annoying that the buffet closes early if you are on a port day and get back to the ship just after 2 pm. You will probably want something to eat but your choices are limited to the food options on the pool deck.

This is where we wish that Disney cruise dining times could be extended a little.

One of the restaurants will have an a la carte lunch. This is usually served from 12 pm until 1.30 pm.

Although the buffet is easy and has lots of choices, it is nice to go for a sit-down meal for lunch at least once on your cruise.

Whatever your Disney Cruise dining time you can be sure that you will never go hungry.

Even if all the restaurants are closed and you want something to eat there is always Disney Cruise Room Service!

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