Changing from second to first seating?

[scoobdoo]

I put in my request to change about 1 minute after the booking was confirmed, but how often do those come through in this group's collective experience? This will be my first Disney cruise –– March 2024 on the Wonder –– and an 8:15pm seating time for our 3-year-old is a recipe for disaster...

 

[Agent 86]

We have the same issue, but for us, I think it may actually work in our favour.

Our daughter will LOVE the shows. That will be 100 times more interesting to her than a sit-down dinner.

So, it's most important for us that she is "awake" to see the shows. We'll get her "dinner" from the options around the pool (pizza and chips is okay on holiday) or Cabanas buffet either before or after the show. All going well, she might have a little something at our actual dinner (probably just dessert) and then - fingers crossed - go to sleep in the pram.

Of course best laid plans ... often go awry!

EDIT: since posting, I've learned that Cabanas is NOT open for dinner.

 

[Stormypetrel]

we booked our February cruise on the wish in august, and came off the waitlist after about a week. One thing I will note…I have no idea if this made a difference…but we are a party of 8 split between 3 staterooms. I kept checking the app for openings and saw one randomly come up for the stateroom with just my mom, and grabbed it. Very soon after that, the rest of us were magically off the waitlist. Idk if it was just a coincidence and they happened to be going through the waitlist at that time, or if we were pulled off the waitlist by my mom’s linked reservation, but keep checking the app and you may see availability pop up.

My kids are also young and I completely relate to 8:15 dinner being a disaster for them. I think if we couldn’t get off the waitlist, I’d have tried to see the silver lining and take the pp’s approach of room service “first dinner” and maybe send the kids to the childcare while the adults enjoy a sit down dinner. At 3 that might still be hard though…good luck!

 

[SnowWhite2]

There is no food in Cabanas after lunch closes at approximately 2 pm. It doesn't have a dinner option.

 

[scoobdoo]

There is no food in Cabanas after lunch closes at approximately 2 pm. It doesn't have a dinner option.

which means there's absolutely no alternative option other than poolside food or room service?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

which means there's absolutely no alternative option other than poolside food or room service?

Not currently.

 

[dwg]

We have been on 16 Disney cruises. With the exception of the initial few cruises we have always requested a table by our selves. Except for the most recent cruise this past September on the Wish we always had our request granted. We tend to book at least a year out and make our request at the time of booking.

There is a recent thread asking a similar question how-often-is-a-private-table-request-not-fulfilled.3931358

If you look at this thread I think there was a theme where more requests were not granted on the Wish compared to the other ships. Just my opinion. not scientific.

I also personally think that there are more people requesting private tables so everyone is not being accomidated.

 

[insureman]

As long as you can get to where you have to go on the Wonder to change dining seating options you should be fine to get 1st seating as long as you get there early enough. We've never had an issue.

 

[gatorlisa]

I only have a sample size of one, but we did not get moved to first seating prior to embarkation. Once on board, we went to French Quarter Lounge, where they were dealing with the dining requests, and were able to move to first seating with no problem.

 

[Agent 86]

There is no food in Cabanas after lunch closes at approximately 2 pm. It doesn't have a dinner option.

Thanks!

Gosh, so much has changed since we last cruised. This is good to know.

Can anyone confirm if Pinocchio's pizza (https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/pinocchios-pizzeria/) and Daisy's De-Lites (https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/daisys-delites/) are open for dinner.

Pinocchio's says "lunch" and snacks, not dinner. Daisy's just says snacks.

Pete's (https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/petes-boiler-bites/) says snacks, lunch and dinner.

That leads me to believe that only Pete's will be open for dinner. Well, that and room service (with tipping required).

 

[PrincessShmoo]

OK, this is from an old Navigator (back when they actually had information you could use). We've found the hours indicated are pretty much what we've found on all our DCL cruises. Except for the Cabanas information, maybe it's still the same.

Thanks!

Gosh, so much has changed since we last cruised. This is good to know.

Can anyone confirm if Pinocchio's pizza (https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/pinocchios-pizzeria/) and Daisy's De-Lites (https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/daisys-delites/) are open for dinner.

Pinocchio's says "lunch" and snacks, not dinner. Daisy's just says snacks.

Pete's (https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/petes-boiler-bites/) says snacks, lunch and dinner.

That leads me to believe that only Pete's will be open for dinner. Well, that and room service (with tipping required).

 

[Girl of the South]

As a solo traveller on a TransAtlantic I skipped meals in the main dining rooms and would just grab some stuff from lunch at Cabanas - mostly bread, cheese, shrimp. Cold stuff. I brought ZipLock bags. Between that and Room Service you could make a nice picnic dinner. I ate my largest (hot)meal at lunch.

 

[DisneyDad0315]

I put in my request to change about 1 minute after the booking was confirmed, but how often do those come through in this group's collective experience? This will be my first Disney cruise –– March 2024 on the Wonder –– and an 8:15pm seating time for our 3-year-old is a recipe for disaster...

I am sailing a full cruise this November on Thanksgiving week. As soon as we booked our 2 rooms, I noticed we got second dinner at 8:15PM. I have a 3 and 7 year old the first dinner would just be better for them. My wife made a great point that she didn't want our kids filling up on popcorn during the show and not eat a good dinner.

I put in our request right away, knowing the cruise was full. The request went through about 60 days later (60 days before my cruise). I did not get a confirmation e mail or an alert on the app. First dinner just appeared.

 

[Agent 86]

OK, this is from an old Navigator (back when they actually had information you could use). We've found the hours indicated are pretty much what we've found on all our DCL cruises.

Thank you! It looks like we'll be grabbing some pizza and fruit at 5:50pm

 

[MomOTwins]

So here’s the thing about the waitlist—don’t wait. Check the app yourself. I have gotten main dining on three recent cruises just by checking the app daily—people cancel or move their cruise and then main dining shows as available again. This is obviously more common before the pay in full date but can still happen after.

 

[LadybugsMum]

I second checking the app at random times. We were assigned second seating when I booked our cruise in July 2022. I checked just whenever I remembered and was able to switch about 2 weeks after booking.

 

[tvguy]

My kids are also young and I completely relate to 8:15 dinner being a disaster for them.

Everyone is different for sure. But I would mention that many that were "forced" to take late seating have posted here over the years that it really worked better than early given that you don't have to rush back from excursions to get to dinner.

 

[kshu2014]

We’ve been on the wait list a few times and have been successful in getting moved off it! One time I did the chat feature through the Disney Cruise website and within a few days, was notified that I had been moved. May be worth exploring!

 

[cinnamoroll]

I was able to move from second to main seating, both times on the Wonder. The first time, we were still on the waitlist by embarkation day and I was able to get it changed by speaking with the dining team at French Quarter Lounge. The second time, I was able to move myself from second to main on the app, about 40-50 days out. Keep checking the app, and if that doesn't pan out, speak with the dining team on embarkation day.

At age 3-4 (same age as my kiddo) they're much more interested in the shows than a looooong sit-down dinner. We're on the waitlist for Mar 2024 on the Wonder as well but I'm no longer worried about having second seating. If we don't get moved we're just going to grab quick-service food and enjoy the 6pm show while she's wide awake! This also means she won't be over-tired and super cranky from staying up until 9:30-10pm for the second show.

 

[tvguy]

. If we don't get moved we're just going to grab quick-service food and enjoy the 6pm show while she's wide awake! This also means she won't be over-tired and super cranky from staying up until 9:30-10pm for the second show.

I think my only concern would be about whether there is enough room in the theater to seat the both folks who are assigned to that show and people who elect to not go to their assigned show.