Disney Cruise Line Primer: Rotational Dining

One unique feature of Disney Cruise Line is its rotational dining system. All three Disney Cruise Line ships have three “standard” main dining room restaurants.

• Magic: Rapunzel’s Royal Table, Lumiere’s, Animator’s Palate
• Wonder: Tiana’s Place, Triton’s, Animator’s Palate
• Dream: Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace, Animator’s Palate
• Fantasy:  Enchanted Garden, Royal Court, Animator’s Palate

How does rotational dining work?

Over the course of your cruise (of three nights or longer) you will visit each of these restaurants at least once. Your table number, people seated at your table, and serving staff (server, assistant server, and head server) will remain the same throughout your cruise. Although you can request specific rotations before you board (for instance, if you want to make sure that you are in Royal Court on the second night of your three-night cruise), rotation requests are not guaranteed, and you will find out your rotation once you receive your Key to the World card at check-in. If you are not satisfied with your dining rotation, see Guest Services on embarkation day to see what options are available for switching your rotation. Your Key to the World card will have your table number and your dining rotation printed on it (with initials for the restaurants, like E for Enchanted Garden or A for Animator’s Palate), in case you forget where you’re dining that night or your table number.

Do breakfast and lunch also have rotational dining?

Rotational dining is only used for dinner seating (with one exception noted below). For breakfast and lunch, aside from the last day, you are free to dine at the breakfast or lunch buffet at Cabanas without a set time or a set table. If you want a sit-down breakfast or lunch, at least one of the main dining rooms will be open for first-come-first-serve seating. You do not need to come at a set time and you likely will not be seated at your “usual” table or have your regular serving staff.

What about dinner at Cabanas, Palo, or Remy?

For those who choose, on select nights dinner is available as a sit-down meal at Cabanas with no reservation required (but first-come-first-serve). For the premium restaurants, Palo (on all four ships) and Remy (on the Dream and Fantasy only), reservations are required. It is usually a courtesy to let your serving staff know the night before that you are dining elsewhere, so they know not to wait for you to show, but it is not required.

What’s the one exception to rotational dining only for dinner?

On the morning that you debark from the ship to head home, you will be asked to dine in the same rotational dining restaurant and table as you were assigned to on your last night, regardless of whether you ate there or dined in Palo, Remy, or grabbed a slice of pizza and called it dinner. The time you report for breakfast will be noted on your debarkation paperwork left in your stateroom–early dining means you have the early breakfast slot, late dining means you have the… well, not quite as early breakfast slot. (It’s still pretty early because they need to get you off the ship as soon as possible!)

If you’re dining in a restaurant that has some sort of show (like Tiana’s place, Rapunzel’s Royal Table, or Animator’s Palate) will it be the same show both times?

No — each time at the restaurant is unique. For Animator’s Palate on the Fantasy on a seven-night cruise, for example, your first time there will be an evening with Crush, the sea turtle from Finding Nemo, and the second time there will be animation magic, where you see your drawings come to life on the screen.

Have any other questions about rotational dining? Let us know in the comments.