Created by Larry Shepherd
Pajama Breakfast
I’ve now organized this event on each of our last four cruises and we are planning one for an Alaska cruise this year. It has become one of my favorite events. Why? Because it brings group members together in a light-hearted, relaxed social activity, doesn't take time away from other cruise activities (everyone has to eat breakfast, right?), it's unique (the looks from other cruisers are great), equally fun for kids and adults, a great photo op, and you get to wear Pajamas In Public!
I'm always impressed by the response to this event. Last fall we had over 170 people show up wearing their jammies to breakfast.
Here is how this breakfast is organized:
Though this type of gathering happens with some regularity, it is not something that Disney will reserve for you in advance. You should start by collecting names and cabin numbers of those in your group who are interested in attending. I do a little advance publicity for the event within the group, including encouraging people to bring and wear Disney pajamas. Photos help sell the idea. I wait until the Paid in Full date to make a sign-up sheet. That’s plenty of time to have people sign up and it avoids the challenge of removing those who may have cancelled prior to that time. The sign up asks for a name, cabin number, and the number of attendees expected from each cabin.
After we board, I talk to one of the head servers about our group and this event. Every time I have done this the head server on my dining rotation has graciously agreed to coordinate with the restaurant that will be open for breakfast on our chosen day. I confirm with the Head Server again the evening prior to the breakfast to make sure they will be staffed and prepared to accommodate us the next morning and that they will, to the best that they are able, seat us with each other. They appreciate this request. One of their challenges with breakfast service is in seating people as they show up in smaller groups. They are happy to fill every table in one section as pajama-wearing people come in. It lets them use the space more efficiently.
A little bit about selecting the day and time. The breakfast should be held on a sea day in whichever restaurant will be serving breakfast from a menu. You should try to select a day with few other potential conflicts such as character breakfasts. 9:00 am was a good time on our most recent cruise. Be sure to confirm what time the restaurant will begin serving on the morning you have selected. The restaurants seat plenty of people to accommodate your group. (For example, Triton’s and Lumiere’s on the Wonder/Magic seat up to 470 people for breakfast.) Seating the group together is a big part of the fun of this event, sitting with other group members and sharing stories about the fun you have enjoyed during the cruise.
Feel free to get up and move around the room and talk with each other, meet people at other tables, and take photos. We want to make the non-pajama people jealous that they aren't part of the cool crowd! Ha ha, no, seriously, this is another great opportunity to interact with others from your Facebook group, some of whom have been counting down the cruise together online for many months.
Finally, there is a small chance that the Disney service team will need you to tweak your arrangements. That’s one of the reasons why I suggest collecting cabin numbers. On our last cruise we learned of a time change for breakfast only the day before and we were able to call every participating cabin to let them know. Even if there are no changes, I suggest planning to make reminder calls the day before the breakfast. You would be surprised how many people forget if they don’t get the reminder. Get a helper or two that will make a few calls. I’ve called 80 cabins to leave messages in an hour, so it really doesn’t take too long.
Several of my recent groups have enhanced the pajama breakfast by organizing some small gifts for those who attend. On one cruise we arranged for some small trinkets (trading pins and small toys) to hand out to each of the kids who attended. On another cruise, three of us who coordinated the event pooled some money and had small commemorative magnets made and gave one to each family who joined us, in addition to some small things for the kids. Of course, the kids love the little gifts.
PJ FAQ Taken from a post from Rhianna Ulrich with Larry Shepherd, and Leona Lessard Wilson
How did you get breakfast for everyone in the same main dining room if there are different dining rotations? Or is there only one dining room open for breakfast for every one per day?
In my experience, there is only one restaurant serving a sit down (non-buffet) breakfast and there is no set time for breakfast seating.
What time did you schedule it for to hit the most people attending?
We set the breakfast for 8:30 am on a sea day (restaurant didn't open until 9:00 am on a recent cruise). The day you select may depend on your cruise and other conflicts happening that day. If you are considering this for the morning of day 2 of the cruise, you should be prepared to talk with dining staff on embarkation day to alert them that the group is coming and give them a count of how many you expect. There is no way to set this up prior to the cruise, you will just alert them after you board. It's not a big deal and when I have talked with them before they have always said that they arrange for groups fairly regularly. They will then plan to hold tables in a section of the restaurant for your group.
I want to do this in place of an Embarkation Day meet N greet - so, day 2 breakfast. Is this a wise idea, oh Great One?
Embarkation days are hectic, but if you can I would recommend a quick call to leave a reminder message with each cabin that has expressed interest in participating. People quickly get into vacation mode and forget plans made previously.
Have you done this as a/the meet n greet?
No, but I don't know why it couldn't work that way if there are no other conflicts for attendees. If you are on a longer cruise there may be character breakfasts scheduled for the first sea day.
Would you recommend doing this in Cabanas or just in the sit down?
I have not done it in Cabanas. It seems to me it would be too hectic and too difficult to hold tables in a defined area where group members could sit together.
Did people come and go or stick around?
We had everyone try to arrive at the same time. There was a lot of interaction between tables, people moving around to greet each other and take photos, etc. On one cruise we had drawings for some small gifts. We were there about an hour or so.
Is there any benefit to me emailing Alma at DCL.Function.Requests@disney.com for this event?
Not in my experience. It’s not something you can reserve ahead of time. The dining teams I have dealt with have said it’s not a big deal, they can handle it with just a bit of warning. Honestly, here’s how I have done it: When the head server from my dining rotation comes to introduce himself on the first night of the cruise, I let him know what we have planned and ask if he will help to alert the restaurant. The head server has always been happy to take it from there and make sure all is ok. I check with him again the evening before to make sure. And, of course, there’s a little extra tip involved for his help. I know that you might feel better with something more concrete before you sail (I’m the same way) but this has worked well for me on two cruises in the past 6 months.
So we will be on the Wonder and the only option for breakfast at a sit down location would be Triton's correct?
We did a PJ breakfast in Tritons on both of our last two cruises and it worked really well.
Is there a cost to attend the breakfast?
There is no additional cost to eating breakfast onboard the ships, so there should be no cost for this event. In one group it was proposed by the organizer (not me) to collect a per-family charge to help offset the cost of some small gifts to be given to attendees. That idea was killed quickly when group members overwhelmingly objected to paying for what would otherwise be a no-cost breakfast.