DiningRoom Seating

[jsmla]

Does Disney try to seat like parties together? It will just be my six year old granddaughter and myself and we would much rather be seated with other families. On a cruise I took with my spouse (25 years ago!) we were initially assigned to a booth for six and the other four people were two much, much older couples traveling together. They looked at us like we had the plague. It was incredibly awkward.

I was able to get that table changed but was wondering if we stand the chance of being seated with, say, honeymoon couples with the early dining on the Magic.

Thanks!

 

[o&smom]

Our experience before the pandemic was that DCL did an excellent job matching cruisers. Have experienced them being more apt to keep people separate since then. You can call DCL and request to be seated with others and they will probably do a good job matching you with table mates.

 

[Girl of the South]

You can also request a private table if you’d like.

 

[CarolynFH]

I can’t speak to families with children, but on the Magic in January DH and I were seated with two other couples who were about our same age (two seats were vacant at our table for eight). I suspect DCL will try to seat y’all with parties with kids.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Our experience is that Disney does an amazing job assigning groups!!

We were a 3 generation family and they paired us with the same and our kids were only a year difference in age.

If you want to sit with others, have fun! Our experience was great!

 

[auntlynne]

My teen niece and I were seated with young marrieds. There were a genial bunch, representative of what I would expect from Disney fans.

Another time, we were seated with 2 mothers with a 5 yo and an 11 yo. My niece was 17. I guess they considered adult + kid as the commonality. My niece and the 5 yo interacted, providing relief to that mom. Ten nights. The mom and 11 yo wanted time alone. We just left them alone - we had extra seats at our table.

One other experience of our family of sisters was parents with preteen. Again, somewhat awkward.

Over the years, these awkward table assignments has not been forefront in my mind. I’ve had weirder when traveling alone. And some great random assignments On various cruise ships.

You just never know. It can be part of the cruise experience.

 

[Disneymadhouse]

We've had mixed experiences. On a Dream cruise nearly nine years ago we were seated with a family with a daughter the same age. We are now lifelong friends and have cruised and holidayed at WDW together many times since ( we are in the UK, they live in New York)
The two magic in the Med cruises we did were not as successful for table mates. First one it was two military families who knew each other and had slightly older boys. Second time it was with an English family and their little boy who was about 3 years younger than our daughter was at the time.
We are planning for Alaska next year, and now our daughter is an awkward teen who doesn't like people, I'm going to request a private table!

 

[jsmla]

Thank you everyone!

I‘ve been watching videos and got the impression that there are very few to no two person tables on the Magic. Also, DGD is extremely social and would enjoy having other kids at the table.

My past experience was pretty bad. The foursome didn’t even try to hide the fact that they were NOT happy to have us there. It was discussed extensively (among the four, they didn’t speak to us!) while we ate. We ate just enough to quiet the hunger pangs, skipped dessert and left as soon as we could. Our next tablemates were a couple nearer our own age and honeymooners who put in exactly one appearance.

 

[sponica]

My only experience was looooooooooong ago on my honeymoon and they seated us with 3 other young couples in about the same age range. It was a fun table, if I remember correctly.

 

[kiford]

We still correspond a couple of times a year with a couple we were seated with 15 years ago. We also travel with, and visit, friends we made 10 years ago. The first cruise where we met them, there were also two brothers at the same table and all six of us cruised together a second time along with another couple that the first couple met on a cruise several years earlier.

We ended up being seated with the same couple on two separate cruises about two years apart (we enjoyed their company quite a bit) - it was just a bit of coincidence that we were cruising at the same time. We usually have pretty good relations with the rest of the people we've been seated with and enjoy their company. Never had anyone we disliked but our last cruise they seated us on our own (which we found a bit disappointing but it wasn't a full cruise) and the previous cruise (3-day) we were ghosted by everyone else at our table after the first night. Other than that, I'd say they do a pretty good job of matching people.

 

[sjuncfan]

We had random tablemates for cruises before COVID - I can't remember but i'm pretty sure they always had kids near DS's age. On the two cruises we've taken since COVID, we always had a private table. I may have requested it... I can't remember.

 

[SnowWhite2]

My DD (29) is on the Magic today. She and her BF asked for a private table. They were put at a table with 3 other young couples. The ship is full and there were not any private tables available at any seating/rotation. They aren't happy but at least they are with other couples their age. Disney will do their best to seat you at a table with like families.

 

[meliscan]

As others have said Disney does a great job pairing up families. We are a family of 3 and were paired with a family of 5 back in 2014. We cruised with them 5 times after that initial trip. When my child, my mother and I cruised in 2022 they paired is another family of 3. Our kids were within 2 years of one another and they didn't bond but it wasn't uncomfortable. They could chat and we had a lovely time with the mom and dad. I hope you have the same luck we have had and meet some good tablemates for your trip.

 

[Cruisinonlydisney]

I have spent many pre cruises in the dining room with the head servers requesting a private table for 3. On our first cruise, we sat with a mother/daughter from Canada and a couple with a 3 year old from Miami. It was a bit awkward. The mother/daughter did not interact with any of us, and were not even friendly on deck during the day in passing. That was a one and done for us with group dining, as it is luck of the draw. And I’m in sales….I am an incredibly social person and talk all the time. This is why I need a relaxing break while on vacation.

Funny story, however. My husband and I decided to eat at Palo. Felt badly leaving our 14 year old son, but he insisted that he had such a great time at dinner with the waiters that he wanted to go eat alone! [BTW Disney, wish you would make Palo to be a 15 and up experience…they are high schoolers and know how to act.] When he got to dining room, the table next to ours invited him to sit with them, and he had a blast! So nice to include him. So, yes, you will find some fantastic people on all cruises. we just choose to try and vacation by ourselves.

 

[msmama]

Disney does a good job of paring but sometimes they can't make it perfect. My son (almost 16) and I have generally been sat with other adult/child parings (so Mom or Dad or Grandma, with a kid). Usually the kids have been within a couple of years of each other, but they also only have so much to work with (one time it was like a 10 year old, my 13 year old and a 16 year old). Even if it has taken time to warm up to our tablemates, I've never found it too bad. I'm a huge introvert and my son has terrible social anxiety and sitting with others at dinner is one of our favorite things about Disney cruises.

 

[teach22180]

On the Wonder in Alaska, there was a table of 4 solo cruisers. One was a mom of a cast member, and he sat with us most nights. That was fun, hearing the inside scoop. The other woman was in a similar life stage as me, but I did feel badly for the only man with 3 old ladies. LOL

When I went with my 19 year old, we were with a single mom with 2 boys and a young couple. The girl was 20, so I guess they thought she and my girl might hit it off. They did go to the young adult gathering one night. All three families went to the show together one night; it was very pleasant.

My other time as a solo they put me with a family with a single dad, and it was horribly awkward! The other family stopped coming. I should have gone and talked to someone after the first night. It was so odd.