Ahoy, Jennifer!
Congratulations on your inaugural sailing with
Disney Cruise Line! What a practically perfect way to kick off a new year AND decade than with a magical voyage with your favorite
Disney Pals! I have a feeling this will be the first of "Minnie" sailings for your crew.
You've asked a great question about a program offered on Disney Cruise Line called "Dine & Play." This is available for cruisers ages 3-12 who are participating in the
Oceaneer Club and
Oceaneer Lab that have second seating dinner (around 8:15 p.m.). How it works is that the Youth Activity Counselors come to the entrances of each restaurant a little over an hour after dinner begins. If your sailor chooses to participate, you'll meet the counselors by the door when you see them in their brightly colored shirts. The dining servers are great at expediting meals, so you'll just let them know when you sit down that your Mousekeeter is participating in "Dine & Play." This will be available for your 11-year-old on your upcoming sailing. If your teens would like to go to
Edge (ages 11-14) or
Vibe (ages 14-17) before dinner is over, just let your servers know, and they can also expedite their meals. Since they can check themselves in and out of these programs, they can leave whenever they are finished.
My family always enjoys second seating dinner when we cruise, Jennifer. We've taken advantage of "Dine & Play" when my two were younger, and it has been nice to have time both as a family and time to finish our meal as a couple. Now that my kids are teens, they typically leave dinner as soon as they are done to get to Edge and Vibe, and we've always found the servers to be very accommodating to our needs.
It was my pleasure assisting you with your question. As others come up, please sail back over to "sea" us. We are always happy to help.
Nancy