Families setting sail on the Disney Cruise Line fleet will have a new dining option for young cruisers as the popular “Dine and Play” option is set to return. Beginning on February 1, 2025, the program will be phased back in across all six Disney cruise ships.
Previously offered before the pandemic, the service has not been available since early 2020. Now, it will once again give parents and option to enjoy some quiet time while ensuring their children are supervised and entertained after eating together.
Dine and Play is a special program offered during late seating dinner times for children ages 3-10. The young passengers must be registered in the Oceaneer Club or Oceaneer Lab to participate in Dine and Play, and must have the 8:15 p.m. dinner seating. The service is not available during the early (5:45 p.m.) dinner seating.
During dinner from 9-9:15 p.m., youth activities counselors will be at the entrance to each Main Dining Room, and will then escort participating children to an evening of supervised fun in the kids’ clubs.
Parents will need to escort their children to the dining room entrance at the appropriate time before then enjoying a more relaxed, leisurely meal.
The dining room servers will ask families if they will be participating in Dine and Play, and will adjust service accordingly if necessary so youngsters still enjoy their meal before leaving for the nightly fun. The adults’ meals will still be served at a more sedate pace.
It is important to note that if the family is dining in a restaurant that has integrated entertainment, such as the engagement party featured in Arendelle aboard Disney Wish, youngsters joining in Dine and Play may miss the end of the show or the chance for character meet-and-greets.
Parents will then need to pick up their children after the meal as the play period ends. The exact timing and other details may vary and will be confirmed onboard.
Dine and Play will be returning to each of Disney Cruise Line’s ships in early February. The service will be offered from Saturday, February 1 aboard Disney Dream and the brand new Disney Treasure.
Disney Magic and Disney Fantasy will offer the service beginning on Sunday, February 2, while Disney Wonder and Disney Wish will offer Dine and Play from Monday, February 3.
The staggered dates the service is returning to each vessel coincide with sailing departure dates. This is to ensure there is no confusion onboard with Dine and Play beginning only partway through a particular cruise.
The service will be offered from all onboard main restaurants with assigned dining times, regardless of where in the rotational dining concept a family begins on the first night of their cruise. Dine and Play is not offered from specialty restaurants with reservations, however.
Other Dining Options With Young Cruisers
Of course, children will not be mandated to participate in Dine and Play and can instead remain with their families throughout the meal in any of the main dining rooms onboard.
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Similarly, parents do not need to take advantage of the service for every evening of their cruise vacation. Full details will be available at the Oceaneer Club or Oceaneer Lab as applicable.
If a full restaurant meal isn’t what a family might be interested in on any given evening, room service options are always available. Disney Cruise Line guests can also enjoy more casual fare such as pizza or the various sweet shops, though hours of operation may vary.