Dining inquiry with ABD

[tsouth]

Hello. Beginning to learn more about ABD. Please tell me how dining works on this type of vacation. Do you sit together as a group or can you sit with just your family?

Thank you.
T.

 

[bliscum]

Most people mix it up. At the welcome dinner sit is usually larger tables so you can get to know your fellow travelers. As the time goes on people just sit here one day with group of people and the next day with someone else's family etc. this is a great way to meet people. They will always try to keep your family unit at the same table.

 

[sayhello]

That's also another reason that they give you a few meals "on your own" so that you *can* have a meal with just your family if you'd like.

It does depend on the ABD and the particular meal, but you will frequently be seated at large tables and sometimes served "family style" (large dishes placed on the table, that you serve yourself from). Other times there will be buffets, and sometimes "regular" served meals.

But the Adventure Guides really foster a sense of community within the group, and sharing a meal, and stories, is a part of that.

Sayhello

 

[disneymath]

If you happen to be doing an ABD add-on package to your Disney cruise, you can request (through DCL) to be seated with "just your family" in the main dining rooms. (Disclaimer: You can make this request even without being on an ABD add-on, but either way, a request is never a guarantee, though they do their best.)

We made this request on our Alaskan cruise and it was granted. Not sure if ABD had any influence, but kind of think they did. We were seated by ourselves in the MDRs, but in relatively close proximity to our fellow ABDers. (A few tables apart.)

As a group of 3 adults, who were new to both DCL and ABD (and who were anticipating missing the nephews/grandkids who were not on the trip), we wanted to ensure that we could have some "low key" meals.

For us, the arrangement worked out great ... we had a blast during our excursions and special group meals with everyone else on the ABD (all families with children/tweens), but also enjoyed and appreciated our "just us" meals in the MDRs.

In terms of our group meals, as a PP stated, the arrangement switched up from meal to meal ... sometimes adults at one table, kids at another, sometimes individual families at small tables near each other, sometimes two or three families together, and once or twice all of us at one big table. Our ABD wasn't huge (I think there were maybe 20 of us, and 4-6 families total).

 

[Tozzie]

Hello. Beginning to learn more about ABD. Please tell me how dining works on this type of vacation. Do you sit together as a group or can you sit with just your family?

Thank you.
T.

Most of the ABD Trips I have done, the included meals were several tables of groups, the tables were anywhere from 6 to 10 at a table. On my Alpine Magic trip, one included meal in Switzerland, the dinner was at the Hotel and that meal was a semi on your own, there was no set time, you just went with your family or any others you chose to eat with.


ETA: I don't know if they still do that as I took that trip in 2010. Wow that was my first European ABD and I remember a family that it was their fifth ABD and I remember saying to myself I can't imagine getting to 5 ABD trips, well I just completed my 5th trip in May.