WDW dining plan - your thoughts

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I'm wondering what the aussies who have been to WDW and used the dining plan thought of it.

We are total foodies, but more savoury than sweet types. We love appetisers and mains, but desserts not as much. Don't get me wrong, I like a dessert, but if given a choice would always go a starter instead.

We also LOVE LOVE LOVE character meals.

So essentially I'm not sure whether the dining plan would be for us or not. I'm thinking maybe we could do better just paying as we go.

Is the dining plan a cheaper way to go?

[PrincessInOz]

May 2010 will be my first time on a dining plan. And because I'm doing a split stay, I've got a Quick Service DP for the first 5 days and then doing OOP for the next 5. Should make for an interesting comparison when I get back :)

Check out the menus at allears (and don't forget to factor in drinks and snacks):

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

I used it to get a gauge on how much I could potentially be out of pocket for per person per day; and then compared it to the dining plan prices.
For my family, table service 3 course meals once or twice a day does not suit our style of eating or touring. You'd need to work out if this works for your family.
We chose the QS because we like to pick things up when we feel like it ...and not be locked into an ADR months in advance.

We are doing 2 character breakfasts and 1 Signature restaurant; which we will pay OOP for. Any more than this, we would be better off on the basic Dining Plan.

[Sugarglider]

go to www.allears.net and you can see all the menus and all the prices.
I did the dining plan last year but I had to eat a lot of food to make it worthwhile. And I had a bunch of snack credits to use up at the endpopcorn::
This year we are not going to do it. Disney have increased the price (and introduced a higher price for summer - last $39.95/day this yr $42.95 or $46.95 :scared1:)
So going through all the menus at the current prices you realise how much you have to eat to break even - eating the most expensive dishes at the most expensive restaurants. Anyway I worked out that I would break even so I decided not to do it. Then I could eat a bit less and save money and my waistline!

OK - have to take back everything that I wrote - we are now doing Deluxe on this trip. Once I made all our bookings for character meals and the better table service, did the maths on the menu costs from all ears.net, realised that I would save about $100/hd by having the plan. We don't do counter service but having all the points on table service made it worthwhile. Even if we don't eat 3 course dinners every day they are restaurants I wanted to visit anyway, and we can miss a few courses and at least break even. Not sure we'll use the mugs cause we don't drink soft drinks, and we thought we would order the salad appetizers so that we didn't have to order and pay extra for the vege side dishes. Ordinary dining plan would still be a waste for me - not enough table service points

[Kalice]

We LOVED the dining plan. We used two credits for hoop-de-doo review. We also dined at Mama Melrose for the Fantasmic package, Le Cellier twice, SciFi, the steak house at the Yachtsman. We went to Cinderellas Royal Table for breakfast, but paid out of pocket for this as it worked best out for us. We had some great counter meals, particularly two dinners and Wolfgang Puck Express market place, the food here was great, similar to a cheaper sit down place in Perth. We also had a good counter meal at Sunshine Seasons in Epcot, and one in one of Asian Epcot countries. The kids loved the pizza place in Hollywood Studios, can't really remember all the others but they were pretty much burgers and the like, there was always a healthier option available. We took our desserts to go a few times. We used snack credits at Starring Rolls (YUM) and the odd icecream. We used all the leftover credits to buy take home treats, such as Disney Pez dispensers, Minnies bake house cookies, Disney chocolate coins. I'm a bit of a coffee addict, the places that sold proper coffee (espresso, etc.) would not accept the dining plan. As others have said check out the Allears menus and work out if it is worth it for your familly.

[Willow25]

We have used the dining plan on a few occasions and back when appetisers were included. If you do a lot of buffets/character meals then I am not sure if it is worth it especially since you have to tip out of pocket. We always check out the menus on allears and price it out to see if it is a savings. While you are not big on desserts we often got them packaged up for us and took them back to our room. Sometimes dessert became our breakfast. :rolleyes1 The other aspect of the dining plan that I loved was prepaying for it!! It was so nice to pay for it when the dollar was good and then not having to worry about what you ordered from the menus. It also provided us with the opportunity to eat at different places and to try out restaurants we might not have if we were paying out of pocket.

[queenie82]

I love the Dining plan and thought it was great but it depends a bit on what you like to eat and restaurants you like.

We did a split stay trying the deluxe and regular.
Deluxe Dining Plan
I agree with most people that the deluxe is too much food but it was useful in getting to try the “whole” experience at the ala carte restaurants, and getting to try lots over a fairly short period of time. We went to Epcot and Resort restauants as well as Planet Hollywood and Yak and Yeti.
You also get the resort mug which is GREAT!! Loved that. But some resorts are better with it than others. About the easiest we found was with Mara at AKL because it is open long hours and has a huge range including hot chocolate. Boardwalk by comparison was a pain in the backside with limited choices at a limited number of places with limited hours of operation.

Overall it is good but one of the “benefits” is getting the appetiser included as well, which I found redundant as the appertiser options I found pretty pathetic with nothing I would rush back for. I actually didn’t find anything appetising at The Wave and it took much discussion before it was decided we could have Fruit salad (a kids meal option). The only ones I really enjoyed were at Planet Hollywood, Tutto Italia and Yak and Yeti. But they were nothing special.
In terms of value I thought it reasonable if you can eat that much food over that period of time and have the time to go to the more expensive table service restaurants. But I don’t include the appetiser as a selling point.
For Snacks we got a number of our snacks as Gingerbread shingles from the Beach Club resort because they are a good value option that doesn’t need to be eaten right away. Also the odd Dole Whip as well as some fruit bowls from sunshine seasons and Caribbean beach. It wasn’t easy to get things to eat right away as there is plenty of food without it…lol…

If you want to try some of the 2 Credit places then that will reduce the amount of food in total, but I don't think any of the 2 credit places worth it.

Regular Dining Plan
I found this a good balance of food, You get your sit down meals, a counter meal wherever and a snack during the day. We would sometimes do buffet breakfast, late lunch and snack for dinner. Stuff like that. If we were only on this plan I would still buy the resort mug as it really is great for mornings and night! Savings in drinks is great. Although we did buy a slab of water from the supermarket as well.

The regular plan is obviously best value if you are dining at the more expensive restaurants however is great. Tutto Italia, Le Chefs de france, The Wave, 1900 Park fare, all great and more expensive options than others.
Biergarten however isn't very expensive although the food is WONDERFUL has a great show.

I think what we will most likely do next time though (assuming Disney doesn’t change everything by then) is some regular and some quick service. I would do enough regular to go to my fav restaurants and then the rest the quick service as you also get snacks and a resort mug so you get everything you need.

I found such WONDERFUL quick service restaurants I would love to go back to. Some of which will give you as much food as a Table Service restaurant. For example Sunshine Seasons. I could get Pork Chop and veggies, a Vitamin Water or other nice beverage, and Strawberry Shortcake dessert. And of course the ribs around the place was good too!
Also
- Mara at Animal Kingdom Jambo House. I really liked this place as it was convenient (when staying at AKL). There were great snacks - zebra domes anyone - and the counterservice food wasn't really african so really nice.
- Caribbean beach. LOVED this place. Burgers are great. The grill has great options as well but was always closed by the time we got there. And the drinks, you can get frozen/smoothie type things included.
- Flame Tree BBQ...nuff said
- Fairfax fare at DHS lunch was really great I thought. Ribs and Beef Brisket was delicious. It isn't great value if you are paying but it is GREAT on the dining plan. We sometimes mixed and matched because dad doesn't like chicken on the bone so we would get ribs and brisket and chicken and brisket and give him all the brisket and someone would have the ribs and the other the chicken
- Cosmic Rays was fun.
- Columbia Harbour House was nice.

Regarding snacks generally...people always whinge they have snacks left over blah blah so they don't get good value from them...
But as I mentioned above if you go at Christmas time you can load up on Gingerbread shingles from the Beach club which 1 - taste great 2 - don't need to be eaten immediately and 3 - would be a GREAT gift to anyone!!

We also LOVE LOVE LOVE Character Meals...they are SO much fun.
My ratings are
1 - 1900 Park Fare breakfast. I'm not a princess or face character person generally...but this is GREAT. It is the best quality buffet food out of all the buffets.
Breakfast you get the Mad Hatter, Alice, Mary Poppins, Tigger and Pooh. The Characters are very much in character.
Dinner is also good...but more 'princessy' as you get Lady Tremaine, The ugly step sisters, Cinderella and Prince Charming.

The food is DIVINE The custom omelettes are wonderful.
Strawberry Soup is addictive.
For the Dinner if you want well done beef just let the chef know and they will go cook it for you.

2 - Cape May
Breakfast and Dinner are great. It is so relaxed and while the food isn't as good as 1900 the atmosphere is perfect and the food is still very good.
It usually isn't as busy also so there really is quality time character interaction rather than the rushed production line.

3 - Crystal Palace
We tried Dinner buffet this time and was nice enough and good for getting Characters (pooh tigger piglet eeyore)
I think the breakfast is a better way of seeing the characters here.
A gripe we had at a couple of buffets (here and Boma) is we had very odd servers who wanted to "explain" the buffet and spend 10mins talking instead of just letting us go and explore. We shut them down both times...ordered our drinks...and got up to get food. I mean seriously...is it so hard to work out a buffet?

4 - Chef Mickey's
Breakfast is average food as is Dinner.
But you go here for the Characters.
I was quite happy with the Dinner food as it was more edible (to me) than Boma but it isn't going to please people who like more "interesting" food.
Donald is adorable.

5 - Tusker house
You go here for the Characters at Breakfast. The food is pretty good. Donald doesn't come into the Restaurant. You have to do the meet and great before going in. It unnecessarily creates a queue. Plus they had a character "break" 10 mins after him coming out Thankfully we convinced them to let us do a quick photo before he left for a break so we could go into the restaurant.

6 - Ohana
Ok only...
The breakfast was fun with Stitch and if you WANT Stitch it is the best way to get him. The service was however very ho hum. Family Style is fine but it relies on a good server who sees what you really liked and what you didn't as much and adjust accordingly. But there was no stand out. It was pretty much standard breakfast fare...and not a good version. The pineapple bread wasn't brilliant.

[Sugarglider]

2 - Cape May
Breakfast and Dinner are great. It is so relaxed and while the food isn't as good as 1900 the atmosphere is perfect and the food is still very good.
It usually isn't as busy also so there really is quality time character interaction rather than the rushed production line.

4 - Chef Mickey's
Breakfast is average food as is Dinner.
But you go here for the Characters.
I was quite happy with the Dinner food as it was more edible (to me) than Boma but it isn't going to please people who like more "interesting" food.
Donald is adorable.

5 - Tusker house
You go here for the Characters at Breakfast. The food is pretty good. Donald doesn't come into the Restaurant. You have to do the meet and great before going in. It unnecessarily creates a queue. Plus they had a character "break" 10 mins after him coming out Thankfully we convinced them to let us do a quick photo before he left for a break so we could go into the restaurant.



thanks for this advice re: Donald - he is one of our Faves and I didn't realise that at Tusker House he doesn't roam - this isn't mentioned on the website and the photo has him at the tables. At Chef Mickey and Cape May he does come to every table for photos. I thought Cape May food offerings were the average fare - Crystal Palace had a few more options - but the opportunity to meet Donald is what dragged me in!:love:

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Thanks for the suggested to spend some time on Allears researching approx. how much we would spend versus the DP. That is a great idea and I love reading menus so it should be fun :lmao:.

Queenie - lots of great information here. Thanks for taking the time to write it all down. So many of those places sound great. I will really enjoy trawling through each menu and deciding where we want to eat, then working out rough costs to see which way to go.

I'm thinking we would be better to just pay as we go, but will definitely research it alot first.

[queenie82]

Thanks for the suggested to spend some time on Allears researching approx. how much we would spend versus the DP. That is a great idea and I love reading menus so it should be fun :lmao:.

Queenie - lots of great information here. Thanks for taking the time to write it all down. So many of those places sound great. I will really enjoy trawling through each menu and deciding where we want to eat, then working out rough costs to see which way to go.

I'm thinking we would be better to just pay as we go, but will definitely research it alot first.
I'm glad it was of some assistance. I had written some of it up a few months ago but added some more useful information.

Dining has always been a dilemma for me as I'm pretty stingy food wise so this was the first time we really properly dined at Disney. We used to always have supermarket food with some Dennys etc. thrown in for convenience. But this was getting tiring, especially given how repulsive most American bread is for sandwich making.
We had only done Crystal Palace Breakfast, Cape May Breakfast and Chef Mickey Breakfast on previous trips OOP but with our first trip staying onsite we took up the opportunity to try the dining plan for the fully immersive experience. :thumbsup2

Especially with the seasonal surcharge the Dining Plan is becoming a more complicated thing with a proper look at where you want to eat required to know if it is worthwhile. It may well not be for you.

From memory your kids aren't both under 10? So certainly if you are all adults it does need consideration and calculations.

Even if you are paying OOP the Character Breakfast can be really fun so I would definitely try them. And having a look at the menu's for ANY restaurant is a good idea so you go in prepared. The menus can change and not everything will be quite what you expect (for the better or not)
We cancelled Nine Dragons as I decided the things on the menu we liked weren't very expensive so not good value. The more unusual things which cost more were just not our thing.
We went to Tutto Italia again instead which is WONDERFUL :cloud9:


Sugar Glider...yes I was surprised about Donald not being IN Tusker House and it was disappointing. It is a production line meet and greet.
I've become a real Donald fan *** he is sooo cute and always has great interaction.
In regard to Cape May - no the food isn't terribly exciting but it is better than Ohana. Plus as I say...the experience for us has always been great with the Characters...and the outfits are SOOOO cute...and again Donald is so much fun.
I was trying to take some photos of the restaurant and Donald nearly walked into the shot but spotted me and went tada!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/queenamidala82/PC223534.jpg


The other character one which I (surprisingly) really liked was the Garden Grill Dinner in the The Land at Epcot. It is Chip and Dale with Farmer Mickey and Pluto. [Poor pluto never gets clothes!!!!] Chip and Dale were hilarious!
But although it was good I wouldn't put it at the top of my list...

Finally - with just non character restaurants generally my top picks are
Biergarten [the germans know how t make great food and put on a show]
Tutto Italia
Chefs de France
And if you want to see Illuminations
Rose and Crown.

Have fun researching!!! :cool1:

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

You are right Queenie, my beautiful daughter would be 13 when we go and son would be 9. Son is a total nuggets and chips twice a day dude, daughter far more adventurous but happy to go nuggets and chips too if the food is too crazy for her. I did a bit more research today of menus of places I think we may want to eat (I definitely need to spend more time researching the restaurants though) and and I am getting the sense that we may well be better to pay OOP, or maybe even the Counter service plan would be okay. We would definitely only want one sit down meal per day, the other two would be counter service. We can eat breakfast on the run, however we do like to fill our tums well in the morning to give us energy for the day, :lmao: so probably a warm counter service breakky rather than a muffin on the run for our family.

And I totally agree, we will definitely have character meals. We did 2 at Disneyland and I am thinking we need to do at least 3 at WDW. I think I have to do Cinderalla's table, just because I soooo want to eat in the castle (how old am I, hehe). The Crystal Palace reviews are usually really good and DH and kids are total Pooh fans. DD would die to see Mary Poppins but I so would want to see Donald and Minnie so who knows how it would pan out once we really research it LOL. Queenie your reviews have been helpful.

We probably wouldn't do any of the fancy fancy restaurants like Cali Grill, mainly because it just seems like much more of a grown ups kind of experience than a family one and whilst we adore fine food, we also want to enjoy a meal and not be stressed that the kids can find food they like etc. The BBQ family style stuff sounds like fun too.

Has anyone been to Hoop De Doo? Would love to hear what that was like.

[aussietravellers]

We've done the dining plan before and loved it. But we did still have to buy OOP at least one TS meal day. We ate at a few signatures so that took up two TS credits and also at least two TS a day so we really didn't have enought TS credits. We are also kind of addicted to character meals :rotfl: We did most of them on our last trip (missed the princess meals) and did them all more than once and will be doing that again this trip but will be adding a meal at CRT this time, much to my sons horror :rotfl:

If I was to do it again it would be the deluxe plan. With the regular DDP and the dessert, I really didn't get to eat much dessert because of peanut and nut allergy so again the DxDDP would suit better so I can have an appertizer if I wanted and the fact that we eat at least 2TS a day and a few signatures.

This upcoming trip we are there for 21 nights and I have not booked the dining plan and the reason is that my son will be 11 years old and will still want to order off the childrens menu sometimes and so paying the $79 a day for him just seems ridiculous when the average childs full meals is $7.99 to $12.99. Paying OOP the only time I will have to pay adult price is at buffets (or shows/family style dining). I really LOVE the idea of having the meals prepaid and the dining plan but for this next trip it is not going to work for us. So we are going with OOP.

As we are there for a while we are also getting AP's (cheaper than 21 days in tickets) so we will also get a Tables in Wonderland card which gives 20% off at most TS restaurants. So this trip it will work out much cheaper for us, mainly eating at TS restaurants to go with TIW over the DDP.

Happy to give reviews of any of the restaurants if somebody wants them. Would just take forever and pages if I went through them all :lmao: So TS we went to, many we went to multiple times.....
Boma (breakfast about 11 times, dinner once)
Jiko (three times, SO GOOD)
Donald's Safari at Tusker House
Yak & Yeti (REALLY GOOD)
Cyrstal Palace (breakfast and lunch)
Tony's
The Plaza
50's Prime Time
Hollywood & Vine (NEVER AGAIN)
Brown Derby
Mama Melrose (Fantasmic package)
Sci-Fi
Beaches & Cream
Cape May's
Yachtmans Steak House
Captain's Grill
Beirgarten
Garden Grill
Chef's de France
Le Cellier
Ohana's breakfast (lilo and stitch)
Kona Cafe breakfast
1900 Park Fare (breakfast and dinner)
Chef Mickeys (breakfast and dinner)
Rainforest Cafe (AK and DTD)

I think that's it. Oh and the best CS we ate at was Mara at AKL, it was so good! mmmm can't wait to go back.

[aussietravellers]

thanks for this advice re: Donald - he is one of our Faves and I didn't realise that at Tusker House he doesn't roam - this isn't mentioned on the website and the photo has him at the tables. At Chef Mickey and Cape May he does come to every table for photos. I thought Cape May food offerings were the average fare - Crystal Palace had a few more options - but the opportunity to meet Donald is what dragged me in!:love:

When we went back in 2008 Donald did cruise around the restaurant and did both times we went, its a shame that he doesn't. But funny, in that same trip when we went to Chef Mickey's Donald didn't cruise the tables there, he stood near the exit and there was a huge queue of people so we didn't even bother waiting as we had already seen him at Tusker House. I love Donald, he is so cute, that's really sad that he nolonger cruises the tables at Tusker House!

[queenie82]

We can eat breakfast on the run, however we do like to fill our tums well in the morning to give us energy for the day, :lmao: so probably a warm counter service breakky rather than a muffin on the run for our family.Totally with you there. We loved the morning buffet character breakfast and then not needing anything (except drinks) until mid afternoon.
That is one thing worth mentioning while I think of it...GO EARLY!!
Dining at Disney is 'reserved' at a particular time but the later you go the more you will wait generally. Although as a party of 4 (which is what they MOST cater for) it isn't as bad as it is for bigger groups.
The point being if you are going for breakfast get the first dining reservation of the day. For one you get finished earlier so more time for other things....but you also don't wait.

And I totally agree, we will definitely have character meals. We did 2 at Disneyland and I am thinking we need to do at least 3 at WDW. I think I have to do Cinderalla's table, just because I soooo want to eat in the castle (how old am I, hehe). The Crystal Palace reviews are usually really good and DH and kids are total Pooh fans. DD would die to see Mary Poppins but I so would want to see Donald and Minnie so who knows how it would pan out once we really research it LOL.
How old...you are NEVER too old :woohoo:
But I gotta say that one of the great things about 1900 Park Fare is that you get a bit of everything.
You get Tigger and Pooh (half the crystal palace gang), Alice and Mad Hatter (who interact and have fun...oh....and get a hot chocolate!! The Hatter LOVES that...hehe) and then there is Mary Poppins.
Crystal Palace is still good as well though...and especially with all the construction and demolition of Pooh Corner it is likely one of the few places you will be sure to find Piglet and Eeyore.

decisions decisions....:surfweb:

[ehsmum]

Queenie - did you do the Rose & Crown restaurant or pub? I'm thinking of having dinner there to watch Illuminations but can't decide whether to book the restaurant or just try for a lakeside table and get fish and chips from the pub.

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Hahahahaha, how can you have eaten at all of those places and so many times? :rotfl2:

You are clearly Disney obsessed. And are you truly going for 21 days, now that makes me green with envy.

[aussietravellers]

Hahahahaha, how can you have eaten at all of those places and so many times? :rotfl2:

You are clearly Disney obsessed. And are you truly going for 21 days, now that makes me green with envy.

Yes I am a little Disney obsessed :worship: :lmao: We've eaten at that many places because going for 21 nights in a trip, thats 64 meals in a trip and have been more than once so thats even more meals. So that list even with some of them more than once is only about 48 meals at TS in one trip so add more trips we have our favourites so have been multiple times :eek: :rotfl: and we prefer TS meals and having plenty of time there we were not rushed so enjoyed taking the time at different restaurants and experienceing different food and enviornments. Imagine after our next 22 night trip in Sept, that list will be growing as I have added a few new ones this trip to try. When paying OOP then its easy to just go and have a starter or to share a main course. Not all of those TS did we have entree, main and dessert, I think I only had dessert twice the whole 21 night trip.

Yes going for 21 or 22 nights :banana:. Have currently booked for 21 nights but will probably actually stay another night. We don't spend every day at Disney, we go other places and this trip we are going to Universal, Seaworld, Discovery Cove, very important shopping days (Mall at Millenia, Florida Mall, the two outlet malls :rotfl: Now shopping, that is what I am obsessed with), last time we went to Kennedy Space Center too when there was a rocket launch which was pretty cool.

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Yes I am a little Disney obsessed :worship: :lmao: We've eaten at that many places because going for 21 nights in a trip, thats 64 meals in a trip and have been more than once so thats even more meals. So that list even with some of them more than once is only about 48 meals at TS in one trip so add more trips we have our favourites so have been multiple times :eek: :rotfl: and we prefer TS meals and having plenty of time there we were not rushed so enjoyed taking the time at different restaurants and experienceing different food and enviornments. Imagine after our next 22 night trip in Sept, that list will be growing as I have added a few new ones this trip to try. When paying OOP then its easy to just go and have a starter or to share a main course. Not all of those TS did we have entree, main and dessert, I think I only had dessert twice the whole 21 night trip.

Yes going for 21 or 22 nights :banana:. Have currently booked for 21 nights but will probably actually stay another night. We don't spend every day at Disney, we go other places and this trip we are going to Universal, Seaworld, Discovery Cove, very important shopping days (Mall at Millenia, Florida Mall, the two outlet malls :rotfl: Now shopping, that is what I am obsessed with), last time we went to Kennedy Space Center too when there was a rocket launch which was pretty cool.

Wow, I am in awe of you, hehe. I have no idea how you afford it, but I so wish I was coming with you. I mentioned to my husband you were going for 21 nights, he thought it was a little crazy. But when I pointed out good shopping, Kennedy Space Centre, Universal, etc he kinda thought it wasn't so crazy after all :lmao:

[ehsmum]

We've got 12 days in Orlando and it's not enough to do everything that I want to do. We won't be doing any shopping there as that will cut into our Disney/Universal time too much.

[queenie82]

Queenie - did you do the Rose & Crown restaurant or pub? I'm thinking of having dinner there to watch Illuminations but can't decide whether to book the restaurant or just try for a lakeside table and get fish and chips from the pub.We went to the restaurant for dinner.
This restaurant isn't anything special really but we went there in part to see Illuminations from there. Which we did. We got a lakeside table and it was WONDERFUL. :love:
I was never a HUGE Illuminations fan but I've come to really love it. And seeing it from the Rose and Crown if you get a lakeside table is just perfect.

Food wise I got the pork Loin which was very nice. But as good as it was it really wasn't much better than the one you can get at Sunshine Seasons in The Land as part of the counterservice. (Which is one of the BEST counterservice restaurants in the whole of WDW.)

When dining with the dining plan what drinks are included varies a LOT...so always ask for the FULL list.
We got Smoothies included here. Chocolate, Strawberry or Vanilla

Regarding just dining at the pub...I wouldn't bother. The Fish and Chips we get in Australia is far superior to anything in Disney. Even the fish we got at Coral Reef wasn't too impressive. I've had better Mahi Mahi at Mooloolaba for a much cheaper price.
The Americans are obsessed with the Fish and Chips here...but that is because they don't have the amazing fish and chips we get here.

[queenie82]

Just thought I would add this info I also wrote up a while ago for those considering the Counter service plan -

For Disney dining in the future there are WONDERFUL counter service options out there so I think I would do that plan in the future and then just a few table service.
- Sunshine Seasons is by far the best. As I mentioned the Pork Lion is great. The asian dishes are also nice.
And the desserts - Strawberry Shortcake :worship:
- Mara at Animal Kingdom Jambo House. I really liked this place as it was convenient. There were great snacks - zebra domes anyone - and the counterservice food wasn't really african so really nice.
- Caribbean beach. LOVED this place. Burgers are great. The grill has great options as well but was always closed by the time we got there. And the drinks, you can get frozen/smoothie type things included.
Most stuff is open until 10 or 11pm at CB
- Flame Tree BBQ...nuff said :lovestruc
- Fairfax fare at DHS lunch was really great I thought. Ribs and Beef Brisket was delicious. It isn't great value if you are paying but it is GREAT on the dining plan. We sometimes mixed and matched because dad doesn't like chicken on the bone so we would get ribs and brisket and chicken and brisket and give him all the brisket and some one would have the ribs and the other the chicken. HUGE servings
- Cosmic Rays was fun. :goodvibes
- Columbia Harbour House was very nice as always.

[Sugarglider]

Sugar Glider...yes I was surprised about Donald not being IN Tusker House and it was disappointing. It is a production line meet and greet.
I've become a real Donald fan *** he is sooo cute and always has great interaction.
In regard to Cape May - no the food isn't terribly exciting but it is better than Ohana. Plus as I say...the experience for us has always been great with the Characters...and the outfits are SOOOO cute...and again Donald is so much fun.
I was trying to take some photos of the restaurant and Donald nearly walked into the shot but spotted me and went tada!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/queenamidala82/PC223534.jpg


OMG - A Donald photobomb!! that's SOOOO cool!!:worship:

I love meeting the characters esp. Donald. Last year at Cape May I had come down with a cold at the beginning of the swine flu outbreak. Donald came around to the table and I said " Donald - you're a duck. You'd know all about bird flu. Well, I'm worried I've got swine flu" He then did this big :scared1: spun around and RAN right across the restaurant waving his arms madly in the air! So funny - such a great response :lmao:
If you are into ducks, seriously think about tokyo disney - Scrooge McDuck people!!

[queenie82]

OMG - A Donald photobomb!! that's SOOOO cool!!:worship:

I love meeting the characters esp. Donald. Last year at Cape May I had come down with a cold at the beginning of the swine flu outbreak. Donald came around to the table and I said " Donald - you're a duck. You'd know all about bird flu. Well, I'm worried I've got swine flu" He then did this big :scared1: spun around and RAN right across the restaurant waving his arms madly in the air! So funny - such a great response :lmao:
If you are into ducks, seriously think about tokyo disney - Scrooge McDuck people!!

I actually got my photo with Scrooge McDuck in Paris :goodvibes

[DizOz]

We too are using DDP for the first tiem on our next trip.

Our lovel tA recently booked all our ADR's

Our ADR's are
Day 1
Dinner - Artist Point as we arrive late easy to have dinner at our hotel.

Day 2
Dinner - Fultons Crab House - Loved the ambience of the old padlde boat last time.

Day 3
Lunch - Sci-Fi Theatr -My 2 DD have been bugging me for months to go to this one.
Dinner - Brown Derby (Fantasmic Package) - I Liked it last time although my DW hated it. Went for it again for the Fantasmic.

Day 4
Breakfast - Cinderella's Royal Table. How could you have DD's and not go?
Dinner - Flying Fish Cafe Went last time and food was great and service was so accomodating even though we turned up 1 hour late on Thanksgiving night.

Day 5
Dinner - California Grill in time to see wishes.

Day 6
Dinner - Ohana Last time had breakfast and it was so/so. Wanted to try the BBQ this tiem around.

Day 7
Lunch - Chef de France Love french cruisine and missed out last time. Keep threatening DD's they have to eat snails.
Dinner - Teppan Edo - Had a great time last time better when we fill the table this time.

Day 8
Dinner - Yachtsman Steak House Love my steaks and had a great meal here last time.

Day 9
Breakfast - Chef Mickeys Love Mickey Mouse and missed this one last time.
Dinner - Hoop Dee Doo Last time we did the dinner show at the Polynesian so this time we are doing Hoop Dee Doo

Day 10
Dinner - Whispering Canyon Let the kids go wild for a night.

Day 11
Dinner - We are splitting up her and I am taking DW to V&A for the night. Tried for chef's tabel but missed out so we got the Queen Vic Room. Rest of the group are heading to the Coral Reef

Day 12
Dinner - Le Cellier Could not fit it in last time so we are trying it this time around.

By the way anyone interested theplanning tool I developed is available in the tips section has an ADR planning section that not only calculates all your credits but also has links to each restaurant's menu.

[queenie82]

Dinner - Brown Derby (Fantasmic Package) - I Liked it last time although my DW hated it. Went for it again for the Fantasmic.Just remember you should still try and get there early if you have time because the reserved seating is far from prime seating. You are on the far side rather than in the middle. And even if you are using this you still need to be there at a reasonable time before as they will open this up to everyone if it is getting to crowded.

Day 6
Dinner - Ohana Last time had breakfast and it was so/so. Wanted to try the BBQ this tiem around.
I hope you have a better time then us. I hated the BBQ dinner. We didn't even stay for dessert and lodged a formal complaint.

[DizOz]

Just remember you should still try and get there early if you have time because the reserved seating is far from prime seating. You are on the far side rather than in the middle. And even if you are using this you still need to be there at a reasonable time before as they will open this up to everyone if it is getting to crowded.
I hope you have a better time then us. I hated the BBQ dinner. We didn't even stay for dessert and lodged a formal complaint.

Thanks for the advice Queenie.

In your opinion does the Fantasmic package save you on waiting time compared to lining up nornally? Thing I do not like about it is the dinner time is so early.

I will cross my fingers on Ohana. We went there for a character breakfast and must admit it was not great. But the dinner BBQ looked so nice when I watched it on a show called Disney Ultimate Fan Guide of Discovery Travel.

[aussietravellers]

Thanks for the advice Queenie.
In your opinion does the Fantasmic package save you on waiting time compared to lining up nornally? Thing I do not like about it is the dinner time is so early.


It does save you time waiting in line. That is the only advantage of the fantasmic package. I have to admit though, I am struggling with booking the Fantasmic package for this trip. The thing is we haven't ever lined up without it, so don't really know what the lines are like. But when we have done it, we actually ended up leaving the reserved seating area last time as it's off to the side and even though we have often made it to the front row and gone right over to the end where the roped off area is (which is as close to the centre as you can get to the centre in the reserved area). Because of the wind we were getting quite wet that night so we left the reserved area and went into the middle much closer to the back and still had an amazing view (and this was outside of the reserved seating area). To be honest, it isn't a huge stadium or anything and I think even if you were sitting in the back row you would still have a good view.

I have fantasmic on my list to call and make the booking but I am well inside our 180 day window now and I just haven't done it. Even last night at 9pm when I could have called and made the booking I did think, "it's 9pm, I can call now and book fantasmic" and I just didn't. I really don't feel that the reserved seating is better than the regular seating and we have to have dinner at something ridiculous like 4.30pm. So for us I am thinking that this time we may just wing it and line up for it as I would be happy even if we were sitting in the back row and we have seen the show more than once. :confused3

Oh the stress of organising Disney trip :lmao:

[DVCAustralia]

Originally Posted by DizOz

Thanks for the advice Queenie.

In your opinion does the Fantasmic package save you on waiting time compared to lining up nornally? Thing I do not like about it is the dinner time is so early.

I will cross my fingers on Ohana. We went there for a character breakfast and must admit it was not great. But the dinner BBQ looked so nice when I watched it on a show called Disney Ultimate Fan Guide of Discovery Travel.

Having done the dining plans for the first time last year I again investigated the option of fantasmic dinner, but I still found it to be a con. In particular there are too many compromises. Firstly I would never chose the restaurants at HS for a meal over other options, secondly you are stuck with a dining time that I would never chose, and thirdly the seating is off to one side and to get a reasonable seat in the reserved section you have to get there quite early anyway. I have never had trouble getting a great seat for Fantasmic. Whilst it is true that the significant reduction in Fantasmic performances made the demand for each individual one higher last year, if at least one or two people in the party take a break from the parks one evening for a hour to 90 minutes (depending on the time of year) you should have no problem getting better seats than the reserved seating and you will probably get great seats. You can always use counter service (Fairfax Fare is my recommendation and is near the entrance) or snack credits and eat whilst seated there.

If you thought the character breakfast was not great do not expect the dinner to be better, in fact it was really only the characters that saved the breakfast. If you thought it looked so nice on TV then by all means go to the restaurant one night and look around but save your credits for one of the many other better options.

[kyl]

O.k all my Aussie mates....:goodvibes. Disneyworld has FREE dining atm. I just booked our accomodation at POP and got free quick services dining and if you book mod or higher you get the full dining plan with table service. I know we wont want to sit down at table service so I am happy with the free quick service;). Just thought I would let you all know in case anyone is thinking of going. The special is on until October 2nd:lovestruc:lovestruc

[aussietravellers]

O.k all my Aussie mates....:goodvibes. Disneyworld has FREE dining atm. I just booked our accomodation at POP and got free quick services dining and if you book mod or higher you get the full dining plan with table service. I know we wont want to sit down at table service so I am happy with the free quick service;). Just thought I would let you all know in case anyone is thinking of going. The special is on until October 2nd:lovestruc:lovestruc

There is also another special that has been updated today. It doesn't seem to be working to book online but you can call or maybe use a TA in the USA. I'm not sure why you can't check for this online but its for 30% off Values & Mods and 40% off Deluxes & Deluxe Villas. We are going to take the % off as we are staying deluxe and that is a HUGE savings, much more of a saving than free dining for us. With both offers available it's a fantastic thing, there will be something for everybody to get great savings either with free dining OR a % off accommodation. :cool1:

http://bookwdw.reservations.disney.go.com/ibcwdw/en_US/specialOfferDetails?name=Promo&promotionCode=fy10q3summerroom&market=fy10q3summerroom

[platypus67]

I've been looking at the DDP option for our upcoming trip in Dec. For my family, (3 of us) it would cost around US$96.00 per day for the Quick service option or US$126.00 for the regular plan. I looked at what we spent on restaurant food on our last trip and worked out less than $300.00 for six days. I had water, fruit, snacks and cereal delivered to the resort so breakfast was covered most days. I think that it would cost us way more doing the DDP than we will actually spend just paying as we go. At this stage I'm looking at three or four ADRs and and the rest just counter service. We are planning 3 or 4 of our 12 days doing things outside of WDW so those days we will most likely be eating elsewhere.

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I've been looking at the DDP option for our upcoming trip in Dec. For my family, (3 of us) it would cost around US$96.00 per day for the Quick service option or US$126.00 for the regular plan. I looked at what we spent on restaurant food on our last trip and worked out less than $300.00 for six days. I had water, fruit, snacks and cereal delivered to the resort so breakfast was covered most days. I think that it would cost us way more doing the DDP than we will actually spend just paying as we go. At this stage I'm looking at three or four ADRs and and the rest just counter service. We are planning 3 or 4 of our 12 days doing things outside of WDW so those days we will most likely be eating elsewhere.

This is very interesting. I too think the regular DP would be too much for us but would definitely look into the QS plan. We would probably want to do sit down once per day 75% of the days were were there but we aren't really dessert people (my kids would beg to differ, haha) and I would prefer the freedom of not being tied down.

[dollarmite]

We had free dining on our visit last November:banana: so it was definitely worth it then, lol. We had actually decided to buy it anyway so it was a bonus that it ended up free. :cool1:

We had 3 adults, 1 child (DS12 was considered an adult; other DS was 8) and it was going to cost around $1800AUD for 12 nights on the standard dining plan. We chose it as we (I!) wanted to do lots of character meals, and having a DP seeemd to the most economical way of doing that. (As an aside, my local TA quoted me about $2800 for the DP:scared1:).

Most of our meals were character buffetts so I can't really comment on the desserts separately. I wasn't too impressed with the ones that came with the counter meal part of it though. As many other people have experienced, we ended up with lots of snack credits left on the last day so we were madly using them up in the food court of the hotel. 6 months later a lot of those chocolate bars are still in our pantry... :rolleyes1

Next time we go to WDW I would consider getting the quick service plan, as most of those meals are really very filling. I'd also ensure we used the snack credits a lot less stringently than we did. I'd book a few character meals and just pay out of pocket for those.

There was a great food court at Epcot in the building that houses "Soarin". I picked up one meal assuming it was a counter/quick service one only to find it was a snack! There was so much to it I ended up sharing it with with DS. So, I certainly don't think we'd starve on the counter service plan!

Alternatively, I'd buy gift cards when we arrived and just use those instead of a dining plan at all (won't seem as painful if I hand over a gift card instead of cash, lol). Closer to the time I'd look at the menus and work out exactly how much it would cost and go from there.

[australiankaren]

hey there

One of the highlights of my trip last year was eating at all the restaurants..so we had already bought the dining plan before they made it free...so we are saving around $520 usd after now paying $20 a day[ $10 each] to upgrade to table dining from QS. so very very happy...and I had made all my resi's 180 days before so we now have the places we really want.

50's prime time
tonys town square
Ohana's
crystal palace
kona
les chefs
le cellier
coral reef
sanaa @ AKL
whispering canyon @ WL

some we'll pay cash for..like the cheaper buffets... so very very happy

[PrincessBelle39]

We went for free dining last year and althouh we loved the food, don't think we would go for the dining plan again. We prefer savoury foods over desert and were paying extra at all our non buffet meals for appetisers. We also found that we didn't want desert at lunch time particularly with our QS meals. I also found I was not always ordering things I wanted. Like at California Grill, I would have liked to have a flat bread, sushi and and appetiser instead of a main. But couldn't do this on the DP. Next time I would just go with the TIW card (which we did use in conjunction with the DP this time)

[aussietravellers]

We went for free dining last year and althouh we loved the food, don't think we would go for the dining plan again. We prefer savoury foods over desert and were paying extra at all our non buffet meals for appetisers. We also found that we didn't want desert at lunch time particularly with our QS meals. I also found I was not always ordering things I wanted. Like at California Grill, I would have liked to have a flat bread, sushi and and appetiser instead of a main. But couldn't do this on the DP. Next time I would just go with the TIW card (which we did use in conjunction with the DP this time)

That's what we are doing this time using TIW and not DDP. We used the DDP last time and did like it but with nut allergies found that there were not many desserts that we could eat, so if we had it again we would use the DxDDP as we get an entree as well as main and dessert. But for this next trip we are getting TIW and just paying for our meals. My son is 10 now and classed as an adult, he is not going to eat $42 or $79 in food a day, even with free dining we are better to pay and use TIW and get 40% off the room. So TIW is better for us, he can order off the kids menu, pay $7 or $12 for his meal and we get 20% discount.

[PrincessInOz]

It does save you time waiting in line. That is the only advantage of the fantasmic package. I have to admit though, I am struggling with booking the Fantasmic package for this trip. The thing is we haven't ever lined up without it, so don't really know what the lines are like. But when we have done it, we actually ended up leaving the reserved seating area last time as it's off to the side and even though we have often made it to the front row and gone right over to the end where the roped off area is (which is as close to the centre as you can get to the centre in the reserved area). Because of the wind we were getting quite wet that night so we left the reserved area and went into the middle much closer to the back and still had an amazing view (and this was outside of the reserved seating area). To be honest, it isn't a huge stadium or anything and I think even if you were sitting in the back row you would still have a good view.

I have fantasmic on my list to call and make the booking but I am well inside our 180 day window now and I just haven't done it. Even last night at 9pm when I could have called and made the booking I did think, "it's 9pm, I can call now and book fantasmic" and I just didn't. I really don't feel that the reserved seating is better than the regular seating and we have to have dinner at something ridiculous like 4.30pm. So for us I am thinking that this time we may just wing it and line up for it as I would be happy even if we were sitting in the back row and we have seen the show more than once. :confused3

Oh the stress of organising Disney trip :lmao:

AussieTravellers - I don't know if this will also happen in October when you go; but the schedule for Fantasmic was changed in late April for May. There were 2 shows available for Sunday and Wednesday - 9 pm and 10.30 pm. We got to DHS at around 9 pm, ate dinner and went to queue at 10'ish for the late show. We got seats in the middle section in the mid/top section of the arena. The arena was full for the 10.30 performance but everyone got a seat.

[aussietravellers]

AussieTravellers - I don't know if this will also happen in October when you go; but the schedule for Fantasmic was changed in late April for May. There were 2 shows available for Sunday and Wednesday - 9 pm and 10.30 pm. We got to DHS at around 9 pm, ate dinner and went to queue at 10'ish for the late show. We got seats in the middle section in the mid/top section of the arena. The arena was full for the 10.30 performance but everyone got a seat.

Welcome Home PrincessInOz :wave: I can't wait to read your trip report :coffee:

Fantasmic is only on at 8pm a few days a week in Sept/Oct according to the calender at the moment. Who knows, they may change it. I have decided not to bother booking the Fantasmic package, we have seen it a few times now, I did book it at Disneyland and would again there (it's just dessert and SO YUMMY :rotfl:)

Did you do the package or just line up? Did you line up for long if you didn't do the package? I haven't watched it before without the package so really don't know what the queueing is like to see the show or when to start lining up.

[PrincessInOz]

Welcome Home PrincessInOz :wave: I can't wait to read your trip report :coffee:

Fantasmic is only on at 8pm a few days a week in Sept/Oct according to the calender at the moment. Who knows, they may change it. I have decided not to bother booking the Fantasmic package, we have seen it a few times now, I did book it at Disneyland and would again there (it's just dessert and SO YUMMY :rotfl:)

Did you do the package or just line up? Did you line up for long if you didn't do the package? I haven't watched it before without the package so really don't know what the queueing is like to see the show or when to start lining up.

Nice to be home, albeit with a killer cough and cold that I picked up in the first week :(

I didn't do the package. I joined what looked like a really long line at around 10. If you know the layout of DHS, we joined the line near the hat! They started to let people into the arena at 10.15; and we got in and were seated by 10.25. The line moved really fast and it seemed really easy to go in and get a seat for the 10.30 show.

I personally thought that the show at DLR was better as it uses the showboat and the pirate boat. But this is just a personal opinion.

[aussietravellers]

Nice to be home, albeit with a killer cough and cold that I picked up in the first week :(

I didn't do the package. I joined what looked like a really long line at around 10. If you know the layout of DHS, we joined the line near the hat! They started to let people into the arena at 10.15; and we got in and were seated by 10.25. The line moved really fast and it seemed really easy to go in and get a seat for the 10.30 show.

I personally thought that the show at DLR was better as it uses the showboat and the pirate boat. But this is just a personal opinion.

Near the HAT! :scared1: Good grief, my visual thinking has just made me pass out :lmao: But I do know how they do seem good at making their lines move pretty quickly. Think we will just wing it and turn up and join the line :faint:

I agree about DLR show, we much prefer that show too.

Sorry to hear you are not well :sick: Hope you get better soon :wizard:

[darthtatty]

Hi hope you dont mind me popping in but thought this may be a good thread for you all :goodvibes

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2450005

Ive booked a trip for next year, with free dining.
I too was worried about desserts as im not a dessert eater, though my son and husband love desserts.
anyway the details of the dining plan released by Virgin have changed.

with the basic dining plan, you now get an extra snack per day.
however desserts are no longer included.
The price of the plans has gone up slightly, yet theyve taken a lot of value away. :sad2:

like i said this is all announced by the UK brochures, nothing is official from Disney yet.

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Thanks Nicky, off to read the thread

[queenie82]

I truly don't believe brochures at all....I mean the crap they get filled with....so many errors. Especially when it comes to Disney
Especially airline ones...
Until DISNEY says something there is just no point believing this - especially as applying to the main plan.
I don't see them getting away with taking away the dessert as well as the appetiser....as well as putting up the price....for the NORMAL DDP.
Maybe the UK have some different sort of package.
I mean we are DVC so we pay for the DDP separately. If they do this DVC people are unlikely to continue paying for the plan.

If they were stupid enough to do this though.
To me the QSP really seems one of the best value. You can get some quite high priced meals and Sunshine Seasons has FANTASTIC quality food.

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I'm inclined to agree with you Queenie "gasp" :) - about the CS dining plan seeming to be the best value. After a little more investigation, I think it is the only plan option we'd consider. Whilst we do plan on doing some table service and character meals, I'm just not sure if the DP or DDP would be of good value for us. But I'll keep researching, no need to be hasty, we do love our food :rotfl2:

[queenie82]

I'm inclined to agree with you Queenie "gasp" :) - about the CS dining plan seeming to be the best value. After a little more investigation, I think it is the only plan option we'd consider. Whilst we do plan on doing some table service and character meals, I'm just not sure if the DP or DDP would be of good value for us. But I'll keep researching, no need to be hasty, we do love our food :rotfl2::scared1:
oh no...is the world ending!!!

But yeah...I love table service...but there were really only that many 'expensive' ones that I want to go back to. Biergarten and Cape May aren't very expensive atm.
Of course the whole 'dessert' thing doesn't affect buffets anyway.

I doubt we will be back before Dec '11 :sad: so it just depends how things go.
Splitting the stay so it is some of each will probably be the way to do it like last time :)

[aussietravellers]

None of the dining plans suit us for this trip.

QSDP is just not for us, we were on DDP last time and had QS left over as we are more TS diners, we have a few favourite QS restaurants but not many.

DDP, well it's ok but again we have one QS (which we don't always use) one TS and a snack, we always have at least two TS a day, so always end up playing for one OOP and with peanut and tree nut allergies we can rarely eat dessert so the TS is a bit of a waste.

DxDDP, this just seems like too much food with paying for a three course meal three times a day (or buffets). I know we can use them at CS too but really it's just a lot of food.

Another thing is with my son now 10 and a Disney Adult, he prefers to order off the kids menu. So on any of the dining plans he pays adult price. If we pay OOP he can order off the kids menu and pay the kids price, so he will not eat anywhere near the amount we would pay for him on the dining plans (except at buffets where he pay adult price regardless).

So we are getting tables in wonderland (TIW) and getting our 20% off, DS can order off the kids menu and we will pay OOP. We then won't have any extra credits left, we can eat how we wish and not be worried we've paid for dessert or something and not eaten it. We can order just a starter as our meal if we wish and not feel like we are wasting a dining credit. For kids I think the dining plan is great.

Don't get me wrong, last trip we had 21 night on the DDP and we absolutely loved it! Even though we did have to pay OOP for quite a few extra TS credits, but with DS still a child it was a bargain. But this trip I have done a lot of calculations to see how DDP or DxDDP or OOP will work for us and OOP comes out miles ahead.

I do agree though that until Disney releases the actual plans for 2011 we don't know what will be on them. It would be really rough taking out the dessert and increasing the price but they are planning on adding an additional snack, so maybe the extra snack replaces the dessert :confused3. They did that drastic change years ago taking out the appertizer and the tip and people still use it. I guess we will just have to wait and see what they actually do with the Dining Plan in 2011 popcorn::

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

aussietravellers - that's true what you say. Our DD12 will be an adult on the plan but often she would prefer to eat of the kids menu. The more I think about this, the more I think it won't really suit our plans.

[PrincessInOz]

aussietravellers - that's true what you say. Our DD12 will be an adult on the plan but often she would prefer to eat of the kids menu. The more I think about this, the more I think it won't really suit our plans.

Shuttergirl - If you decide to do a split stay, then you can choose to do a DP for one component of your stay (with your park tix) and then do OOP for the other component.
We did the QSDP and our son is still 9. We paid about $75 for 2 adults and 1 child per day and because we were doing a split stay, we only did the plan for 5 nights stay. So the total food bill was about $375 for the 3 of us. When we arrived at the resort, we got 30 Counter Service credits and 30 snacks, plus 3 resort mugs.

My son has a HUGE appetite but only ever ate about 3 kids meals in total (out of choice). We were lucky that the system worked to our favour because the system didn't "differentiate" between adults and child on the QS. I believe it does make this differentiation for TS meals. My son probably ate about $45 per day ... and we only paid $10 for him.

And because hubby and I shared meals some of the time (I was sick and didn't have much of an appetite) and we ate at T Rex for one night, we ended up having extra CS credits that we used for full breakfasts in the morning.

I'm still in the process of totally up my meals when we were on the QS and I reckon that if we had paid OOP for what we got, we would have spent about $500 - $550; quite possibly more because of the drinks. But there was a lot of food - and a lot of dessert. The CS meals come with dessert and thankfully my son loves fruit - otherwise we wouldn't have been able to eat all those desserts AND the snacks as well. The CS meals also come with a drink and we were getting bottled water for later on plus getting cups of iced water to have with our meals. So, we saved on having to buy water.

Our eating patterns reverted to more "normal" in the second part when we were off the dining plan and paying OOP. We were just buying 'mains' without dessert and went to a supermarket to buy bottles of water. We still got the cups of iced water with the meals...and spent a fortune on snacks in this week. We did spend a lot more on food in this second part but that was because we were also going to TS restaurants as well.

If the QS suits your family's style of eating, it is worth trying for a few days. I'm glad that I didn't have to eat QS for all 10 days as there really was quite average food in some places. But we did do a lot of research to work out the better places to eat at. I know you might have to pay for 3 adults and 1 child - but if you are sharing meals, you might find that you have enough CS credits to cover a full cooked breakfast for most of your mornings as well.

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I would say we are a half a CS family and half a TS family. My DH and I would do TS all the time :lmao:, but it's easier with the kids to do a combo of CS & TS I think.

I will have a bit better look at where we might want to eat TS wise and CS wise and do some rough sums. I think it might be good to do a plan for part of the stay if we split stay.

Thanks for all of the info on this ladies, so much to think over.

[Miriade]

We are going to WDW in next September and we'll be at POR so we got the free regular DP for our 14 nights.
I went through bariatric surgery 3 years ago and I think I won't be able to finish lots the main dishes and sometimes I know I won't try to share my fiancee b/c he likes too well done meat and I like it almost raw :rolleyes1 but as we do want to try to have some good time and a respite for all the walking at the parks we choose to do TS meals almost all days.
It was a tough decision 'where to do ADR' :laughing: so long before actually going there but we did a lot of researching, here and in wdwinfo.com and we decided to try Ohana, Biergarten, Yaki&yeti, Liberty Tree Tavern, San Angel Inn, Boma, Sci-Fi, Garden Grill, Chef Mickey, Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue, coral Reef, Rose & Crown Pub and Crystal Palace (in that order) for out TS... :woohoo:
But now we do want to try to choose our QS locations and we'd like to have some advice from you DISers!
Thanks!

[PrincessBelle39]

I love WPE at DTD Marketplace for CS. It seems to be pretty popular too.

[Kalice]

I second Wolfgang Puck Express, the food was fantastic for a counter service. As opposed to normal counter service, once you've ordered you find a table and they bring your meals out. The other counter service we liked was Sunshine Seasons at Epcot, there was suc a good variety of food here, you'd be hard pressed to not find something you like.

[Travel Mum]

I'm going to have a similar dilemma when it comes to our holiday. If we stay onsite for the first 7 nights (POR), as we hope to be able to afford, I definitely want to be on the Dining Plan as I know I'd get stressed if I had to look at the prices each time we ordered something as I know my mind would be converting back to NZ$ and freaking! We'd only do the CS one (plus a couple of character meals) as I know my girls, especially our 6 year old, will be exhausted after each day at the park and may not have the patience for anything else. However, it's very frustrating that my middle daughter who will be 10 by then will have to buy an adults meal plan as I know she will want to order off the kids menu and will never eat the value of the adults meal plan :headache:

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

I definitely think once you have a child who is too old to get the kids plan the figures don't quite add up. It's worth doing some sums to check.

[PrincessInOz]

QS locations that I liked:

Magic Kingdom - Cosmic Rays. We had the Chicken and Ribs meal and it was pretty good. I also ate at Columbia Harbour House. I wouldn't rush back in a hurry. I've also previously eaten at El Pirat y el Perico and the food was good then. I previously also ate at the Golden Oak Outpost - not one I'd rush back to. Main Street Bakery was great for snacks; and of course a Dole Whip Float.

Animal Kingdom - Yak and Yeti QS was okay. The TS seemed alright too. Pizzafari was reliable. We had Fruit as snacks from the Fruit Market in Africa; and a mickey icecream that we got in Dinosaurland.

Hollywood Studios - Surprisingly, I enjoyed a great salad at ABC Commissary (with added chicken). We also ate Catalina Eddies, not good but not bad either. I picked up snacks at Starring Rolls Cafe and yes, the Butterfinger cupcake was AMAZING (but then I have a pretty sweet tooth).
The last time we were there 5 years ago, we ate at the Studio Catering Co. I didn't go there this time.

Epcot - I love Sunshine Seasons and the Boulangerie in France! Tangerine Cafe was good as was the Mexican QS (a stall set up whilst San Angel is being renovated); Kringla Bakeri was good and the Yorkshire Fish and Chips in England was okay. LOADS of restaurants to choose from at Epcot.

WPE is my QS of choice at DTD.

[Kalice]

We too loved Starring rolls, only so filling good if you're having a late lunch or dinner. The rolls looked great, but we couldn't go past the cakes, yummmm. Didn't finish them either time.

We had an eleven year old so paid adult rate, he is a good eater so it worked out well. He did eat a kids meal a few times, we used these credits later on. We had a couple of two credit meals, CRT and Hoop-De-Doo. When he (or any of us!) couldn't manage dessert we got a fruit salad and had it either later in the evening or for breakfast.

We loved choosing anything off the menu and not bothering with the cost.

[Travel Mum]

We loved choosing anything off the menu and not bothering with the cost.

Yes, that's what I want in my Disney holiday :goodvibes

[australiankaren]

hey

we got the free QS dining and opted to upgrade $10 pp per day becasue we love the table service meals....thats half the fun at wdw, eating at great themed places and just enjoying the people watching that goes with it....remember the meals are huge so one sit down meal will be good enough for any aussie stomach.......

love free dining, even with the upgrade it will save around $800 usd for us...more $$ to spend on t shirts

[queenie82]

Heads up!!

News Flash! Le Cellier (Canada/Epcot) to require 2 Dining Credits for dinner only - beginning March 1, 2011.

I personally didn't find this a wonderful place. Cramped, crowded and overheated. With ok but not brilliant food.

This...will be interesting.
They will HAVE to pick up the quality of the food.
The only place I would consider using 2 credits is the California Grill....for the view...
But this....
no thank you...
Just confirms I will never return...

[Willow25]

Heads up!!

News Flash! Le Cellier (Canada/Epcot) to require 2 Dining Credits for dinner only - beginning March 1, 2011.

I personally didn't find this a wonderful place. Cramped, crowded and overheated. With ok but not brilliant food.

This...will be interesting.
They will HAVE to pick up the quality of the food.
The only place I would consider using 2 credits is the California Grill....for the view...
But this....
no thank you...
Just confirms I will never return...

Oh man this is devastating news. I know you are not a big fan Queenie but we loved Le Cellier but part of that was the fact that it was only one credit. Don't know if we will be back either. What a shame!!

[PrincessInOz]

bumping up

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Thanks for bumping this up Princess. It is a great thread

[shushh]

Ms Shuttergirl!!! Welcome back. We've missed you on the boards!

[PrincessInOz]

I just asked if she was back periodically or checking in more frequently on the other thread....

Yes. It has been quiet around here. Queenie and I might need to kick up a fight at some stage....when she gets back. Feel free to jump in Shuttergirl....Anyone wanna line up some topics for us? :lmao:

I think we've done:

United or United to death...
Inflight vs no inflight is also dead as a dodo....
Trip report promptness is a possibility...just depends on whether I finish mine before she even gets another update done....:scratchin


(Can anyone tell that I'm really bored from NOT being able to update my trippie....with pictures??)

princess::upsidedow

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Hey ladies, long time no disney chat. Miss you guys heaps but with no upcoming trip in the works (who knews if there will be another one sob sob) it really is just a little too painful to hang out here :rotfl:.

Sounds pathetic I know but I'm sure you can understand what I mean.

PIO - yes you, Queenie and I have had some great duels in the past and I always enjoyed them :rotfl2:

I check in from time to time though so don't forget about me LOL

[PrincessInOz]

Hey ladies, long time no disney chat. Miss you guys heaps but with no upcoming trip in the works (who knews if there will be another one sob sob) it really is just a little too painful to hang out here :rotfl:.

Sounds pathetic I know but I'm sure you can understand what I mean.

PIO - yes you, Queenie and I have had some great duels in the past and I always enjoyed them :rotfl2:

I check in from time to time though so don't forget about me LOL


Don't stay away too long. Painful as it may be to hang out here, don't forget that you have friends here....staying away just means that we don't get to chat. :flower3: