We only tend to watch Illuminations and the parade once during our stay, so for all other evenings, we tend to book our meals for shortly before the start time of the parade. We prefer an earlier evening meal too, and by the time we're finished eating, people are starting to get their spots for Illuminations so we get the quieter ride period.
When we do want to watch the parade and Illuminations, we eat late afternoon, but we only ever get half board, not full.
