Skipping the MDRs…what are our options?

[gumbypee]

Funny... DH and I hated Animator's Palate... but we love Royal Palace.

you are the first i have ever seen to "hate" AP

 

[gumbypee]

Thanks everyone! We tend to like more casual food. We don't eat seafood, lamb, etc. I'm sure we will go there most nights but I just wanted to know what the options are if we decided to skip. That Sports bar sounds fun and the kids would love that kind of food!

So my next question, if we do indeed skip the MDR one night, which night should we definitely NOT skip on a 4-night?

I am a very picky eater but i LOVE MDR for atmosphere and i order plain food or off the kids menu. best mac n cheese of my life

 

[mevelandry]

you are the first i have ever seen to "hate" AP

I know, right? I read great reviews of AP, I was so excited to try it before the cruise.

Once I was there, I could not eat more than 2-3 bites of each dish I received.

I loved every other restaurant I've tried (Cabanas, Tow mater's grill, RP, EG, Palo & Remy).

 

[Sytrace]

The MDR's also have simple dining menus which have steak, chicken and vegetarian dishes with rice or baked potato and steamed veggies. This is what my 13 year old daughter prefers. If there is nothing else on the menu that is appealing to my 12 year old son (which is rare) he likes to order the kids meals which have pizza, hamburgers, etc. Also, if you prefer a different appetizer or even an entrée, they can and will get it for you.

On a 3 or 4 night cruise, if I had to choose ONE MDR out of the 3 to go to, it would be the Animator Palate on the night they do the dancing artwork. Such good times and really fun to watch the show. And if you mention to your servers that you would like to move quickly thru dinner, I am sure they would be able to accommodate you on that.

 

[JTBE]

We liked all the MDRs, but enjoyed Royal Palace, atmosphere and more space. I felt that all the MDRs offered something on the menu that we wanted to try. The men in our party always got some kind of meat i.e. steak. We had first dining with 4 kids and we always requested the servers to bring out the kids meals earlier/faster and not at the same pace as our meals. The kids wanted to eat quickly and leave for the kids club. But I wanted to make sure that we at least ate dinner together as a family in the MDRs- 1) cost of Disney cruise is so much which probably takes into account the food in the MDRs 2) didn't want my kids to always eat fast and greasy foods from quick service options. The servers were always very accommodating and brought the kids meals out faster.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

On a 3 or 4 night cruise, if I had to choose ONE MDR out of the 3 to go to, it would be the Animator Palate on the night they do the dancing artwork.

The Animation Magic show isn't on the 3/4 night cruises.

 

[RRB]

The Animation Magic show isn't on the 3/4 night cruises.

Really? Why not?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Really? Why not?

It's only on those cruises where everyone has the opportunity to visit AP twice (not counting Pirate night) (so, any cruise 7 nights or longer). The "main" show for AP is either the color-changing show or the Crush show.

 

[Sytrace]

Aww.. that is too bad.
We have been on a couple of 4 nighters to the Bahamas, and I really thought they had the animation night on the 4 night cruise.
We mainly sail on the Fantasy though. Guess I got confused. Which these days is not hard to do. lol

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Skipping the MDRs....what are our options?

As my daddy loves to say,"Poke 'n grits! Poke your feet under the table 'n grit your teeth!"

 

[DCLSailing]

We skip MDR for Cabanas quite frequently. We do let our MDR team know in advance and explain that we simply enjoy the quiet atmosphere of Cabanas for dinner. We've been surprised on several cruises to have our MDR team send over something as a surprise to Cabanas, or run over to check in. Amazing.

Cabanas is a nice, quiet pace. The team there are often in training to move to MDR and also take very good care of us. It is a different experience entirely and much more low key. The food selection is wonderful as well. For new Disney cruisers Main Dining is definitely a great experience and not to be missed but Cabanas offers a wonderful alternative as well.

 

[SnowWhite2]

On our last two cruises, one was with the 2 of us at late seating and one was with the whole family (4 of us) at early seating. For the late seating, we were walking out of the dining room while the kids club counselors were rounding up the kids. That was about 9:15 so the dinner was 1 hour.

Our last cruise with the 4 of us during early dining got us out by 7 pm. That was about 1 1/4 hours.

Here are our tips for a quick dinner.
Call your TA or DCL prior to the cruise to ask to sit with your family only.
Look at the menus ahead of time to know what you want to order.
Don't get engrossed in conversation and slow down your pace of eating (not saying you have to gulp your food and not talk, but don't linger and chat without eating)
Tell your servers that you want a quick pace dinner. They will try to accommodate you if they can. If it isn't working out, talk to your head server.

There are some venues/themes that won't accommodate a quick pace such as AP so you'll have to go with the flow on those.

 

[sbridgeman]

One night we did not want to go to the MDR so the whole family went to the Sports Pub. We had drinks and played board games and cards with the kids. Then they put out the "bar food" and that is what we snacked on for dinner while playing games. There were sliders, nachos, raw veggies, and chicken wings I believe. It was a fun relaxing evening and we would definitely do it again.

That is awesome -- I think we will be trying this on our next cruise. I also agree with the OP - I sometimes feel that the MDR is a bit of a time suck. Don't get me wrong, we love the diner experience - but on our the last cruise, I felt like diner service took a little longer than I would have like.

 

[KashasMom]

Food is so subjective but I wasn't overwhelmed with the food in the MDR (MY opinion). Most nights (on a 7 night) I had the same old steak. In fact, the best thing I had on any of my Disney cruises were Mickey bars. One thing I really don't like on Disney is not having a (good) buffet at night. And a 2+ hour dinner with young kids? Ugh. If you want to speed up your dinner, make sure your family has its own table and let your servers know you want to get out quickly. The ONLY dining room I wouldn't miss is AP. Lots of fun for kids.

 

[shelbell77]

I am a very picky eater but i LOVE MDR for atmosphere and i order plain food or off the kids menu. best mac n cheese of my life

I mix and match off the main menu and kids menus all the time. I haven't met too many people pickier than me, and I manage just fine!!!!

 

[gumbypee]

I mix and match off the main menu and kids menus all the time. I haven't met too many people pickier than me, and I manage just fine!!!!

I always say i have the palate (sp?) of a two year old! LOL

 

[buzzrelly]

Food is so subjective but I wasn't overwhelmed with the food in the MDR (MY opinion). Most nights (on a 7 night) I had the same old steak. In fact, the best thing I had on any of my Disney cruises were Mickey bars. One thing I really don't like on Disney is not having a (good) buffet at night. And a 2+ hour dinner with young kids? Ugh. If you want to speed up your dinner, make sure your family has its own table and let your servers know you want to get out quickly. The ONLY dining room I wouldn't miss is AP. Lots of fun for kids.

I would LOVE a dinner buffet!

 

[aprincessatlast]

Cabanas is open every night except the first and last night's of the cruise. On a three-night, I guess that could be rarely but on a 7-night, that's 5 nights you could utilize Cabanas

That is not a given. I know for certain we tried to eat at Cabana's on our 3rd night of a 4 night cruise and it was closed. So always check your navigator!