*COMPLETE* "You know he won't remember!" - 9 wk old baby's 1st visit to the World!

[DisneyParkLover]

After lunch we were all tired and decided to head back to the room. We stopped for a couple more Everest shots on the way out.






You can see how tired the guys were on the drive back to the resort!






When we got back to POR, we took it easy for a little while.




We napped and swam for a couple hours. (I did not take Luke in the pool. He still didn't temp regulate well and the water was a little chilly.) After our rest, my dad, my mom, and I wanted to try out the boat to Downtown Disney. DH wanted to rest a little longer, so we left him in the room. We waited just a few minutes before a boat arrived. We barely had time to take any pictures!






We were off! Luke was very excited for his first boat ride.





It was a really peaceful ride with some beautiful scenery!




After about 20 minutes we arrived at our destination!




We headed to World of Disney first. My mom went in to look for a gift for my niece. I found a shady spot to nurse Luke. My dad decided he had really only wanted to ride the boat and did not want to stay for shopping. So he turned around and took the boat right back to POR!

After I nursed Luke, I met up with my mom and we finished looking in World of Disney and also looked around the pin store. We also decided to split a Ghiradelli sundae! No pics, sorry. There is a serious shortage of pictures for the rest of this day. Maybe we were just tired of pictures at this point? Anyway, I do know that the sundae was delicious! After a little more browsing, we took the boat back to our resort.



We had just enough time to get cleaned up for our dinner reservation! We had an 8:20 O'hana reservation during Hallowishes! We had a very hard time finding a parking spot and then we had quite a long wait to be seated. But we were finally seated and had a MK view! They started us off with the pineapple bread. It was very good, but it was no pretzel bread. I only had a little since I knew there was a lot of food coming. Next up was the salad. Nobody cared much for this and very little got eaten. The potstickers and wings were a big hit, and I know we got extra of the potstickers! Noodles and broccoli were both good, but nothing special. We were excited about the different meats! We were not disappointed - they were all very good! The first few pieces of steak were overdone, so we asked if we could get it a little rarer. They said that was no problem, and all the steak came out perfect after that! Sometime during the meats, they dimmed the lights for Hallowishes. I was really glad we got to see it, especially since we didn't see Wishes this trip. Plus I really loved all the Halloween theming! I cried like a baby (does anyone else do this every time?). We were all stuffed, but we still had dessert coming! This may have been my favorite part! The bread pudding was so good! I wish I had room for a couple helpings. But I may not have been able to walk back to the car if I ate any more!

After a great dinner, it was back to the resort and straight to bed!

 

[Dugette]

So nice to be able to take the boat to and from Downtown Disney!

Mmmm, Ghirardelli sundae!

How cool that you got a view of Hallowishes at dinner! I love those potstickers too, not to mention the other yummy things and dessert.

 

[blabbermouth]

I've just read your whole report over the past few days. Luke is so cute! Then and now! It seems like you guys got so much done considering you had the kiddo with you. I guess it really helps having your parents there for rider swap etc.

I loved your update with the Dinosaur recreation and the alligator! He seemed pretty big to me. Now there's a job 'Disney Gator Catcher', hope it's not full time

 

[DisneyParkLover]

We have finally arrived at the last day of the trip! We will be leaving for our next trip in a short 11 days! Still hoping to get this trip report done before we leave. So here goes...

We had a very late start this day. Truthfully, we were all pretty exhausted and we were taking advantage of any rest that Luke would let us get! We were up and on our way around 11:30. DH and I dropped my parents off at DHS, since we knew we would be going straight to World Showcase. We decided it would be easier for them to just ride the boat and go in through the International Gateway. Then we parked at Epcot so the car would be there after we did Future World in the evening.

My parents took some beautiful pictures on the boat ride. I am hoping to have a chance to take the boat this trip - it looks so peaceful!










When we all arrived at Epcot we realized we had very different ideas of how the day would go! We all wanted to limit the walking to as little as possible - we were pretty tired at this point. But I wanted to make sure I got over to the Character Spot and the Chase Visa character area. My dad had decided that he wanted to go around the whole World Showcase and get his passport stamped. We were in World Showcase and had to be in World Showcase at 4 for dinner. But the Visa characters were only available from 1-4. And we wanted to finish eating at Food and Wine early enough to be hungry for dinner. So we wound up having to go around the whole World Showcase as quickly as possible, then go over to get pictures, then come back to World Showcase, then go back to the front of the park to leave. Definitely not the "minimal walking" plan we had in mind! But I'm getting ahead of myself. So we decided to start by hitting up some Food and Wine booths.

We stopped at Greece and had the Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey.




This was delicious...one of my favorites from the festival! And one of the few that will still be there this year. Sadly, the menus show that my other favorites (blue cheese souffle, the lobster roll, and the spinach and cheese pocket ) will not be returning this year.

Next up was Terra, where DH and I shared the Chocolate cake with Coconut Mousse and Passionfruit Sauce.




This was just okay. Not bad, but nothing special. Our next stop was Desserts & Champagne. DH and I shared the Hazelnut Chocolate Cheesecake (no picture) and my mom had the Moet & Chandon Imperial.




The cheesecake was also just okay. My mom thought the champagne was very good. At Hawaii, DH and I shared the Kālua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole® Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise. (No pic for this one either, sorry!). We both really liked this one - lots of flavor! Looking forward to having another one this year!

Our next booth was Scotland where my parents ordered Seared Scottish Salmon with Cauliflower Puree, Watercress and Malt Vinaigrette.




They really enjoyed this. I stole a bite and agreed that it was very good. I don't usually care for salmon, but this was good and not too "fishy". At Brazil, my parents ordered both Seared Scallop with Ragout of Tomatoes, Peppers, Hearts of Palm and Steamed Rice and Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Onions, Avocado and Cilantro. DH and I also got a scallop to share.






The scallop was delicious! My parents really liked the pork belly too. I didn't try this as I am only so-so on pork and pork belly sounded really fatty to me. But I have read only good reviews on this dish, so maybe I will try it this year!

Argentina was up next. DH and I had the Beef Empanada and my parents had the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Purée.




I think my parents thought the skewer was good, but they weren't raving about it. The empanada was really bland. I had hoped for something flavorful and spicy, but this wasn't it.

We got two orders of Garlic Shrimp with Roasted Tomatoes, Lemon Myrtle and Rapini from Australia.



We thought these were very good. (Although we love almost all shrimp!) At Mexico DH and I got the Taco de Ribeye with Salsa de Chipotle. No picture of the food, but here is a lovely picture of us eating it!




By this point, we were getting really stuffed. But we had set a goal of trying something from every booth and we were going to do it! At Singapore we had Seared Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice and “Singa” Sauce. At China we had the Chicken Potstickers. And finally, we finished all the booths by having the Kimchi Dog with Spicy Mustard Sauce from South Korea! Sadly, we took no pictures of these (maybe we were getting burnt out on F&W food pics?). We thought the Mahi Mahi was very good. The potstickers were good but very generic. Same thing you would get frozen from the grocery store. Neither DH or I liked the kimchi dog at all, but my dad liked it. He has had kimchi on previous overseas trips and seemed to think this was pretty authentic. Just not my cup of tea.


Next up: Character meets and a great dinner!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Just a heads up...this post will consist almost entirely of Photopass pictures from our character meets. So if that's not your cup of tea, you may want to skip this post.

When we left off, DH and I were finishing the remaining F&W booths. While we were getting our last couple items, my dad ran around trying to hit some extra booths he missed initially. My mom decided to stop for one of these babies!




Sadly, since we were not together at this point, I did not get to try a bite. I have yet to try the famous schoolbread. Maybe on our upcoming trip (one week from today!!! ). After that, we trekked all the way to Future World. I was not leaving WDW without letting my baby meet the mouse! He slept through the meeting, but it did occur and we have lots of adorable photos to prove it. So I present for your viewing pleasure....
























We did both the Chase meet and greet and the character spot. These were such great meets! All the characters really fawned over Luke. And I love the photos. This was the first trip that we purchased the Photopass CD (now Memory Maker), and I'm so glad we did! I am usually behind the camera, so I loved being in that moment and not just seeing it from behind the viewfinder. We have already purchased it for this trip.

Up next: the conclusion of the trip report.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

So nice to be able to take the boat to and from Downtown Disney!

Mmmm, Ghirardelli sundae!

How cool that you got a view of Hallowishes at dinner! I love those potstickers too, not to mention the other yummy things and dessert.

Hallowishes was amazing! And it kind of felt like cheating, since we got to see it without going to the Halloween party! We didn't even plan it that way - it just worked out.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

I've just read your whole report over the past few days. Luke is so cute! Then and now! It seems like you guys got so much done considering you had the kiddo with you. I guess it really helps having your parents there for rider swap etc.

I loved your update with the Dinosaur recreation and the alligator! He seemed pretty big to me. Now there's a job 'Disney Gator Catcher', hope it's not full time

Thank you! We think he's cute too (we may be biased though!). We really did get a lot done. We had to stop more frequently for feeding, changing, etc. but we managed to get a lot done anyway. I think the super low September crowds really helped!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

If it makes you feel better, I've never had the school bread either - just not a big coconut fan so doesn't appeal to me like so many other options. If that sort of thing is your bag I hope you get to try it!

speaking of which - hope you have an amazing upcoming trip! Will be cool to see how different this trip is than your last

Great character meet pictures - absolutely love the one with Goofy and everyone making the international "shhh" sign

 

[Dugette]

Ha, Epcot is tricky that way with all the walking. You can have good intentions, but it always seems to work out that way.

Mmmm, we loved that griddled Greek cheese back in 2011! One of our favorites too. Sad they got rid of so many others.

You did an impressive amount of F&W booths in a short time!

Love your character meet photos! That's so cute to see them fawning over the sleepy little guy! How sweet!

Yay for your next trip being just around the corner! It will be a whole different experience now.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

If it makes you feel better, I've never had the school bread either - just not a big coconut fan so doesn't appeal to me like so many other options. If that sort of thing is your bag I hope you get to try it!

I actually love coconut. But somehow I have just never gotten around to it.

speaking of which - hope you have an amazing upcoming trip! Will be cool to see how different this trip is than your last

Thanks! We are super excited! I think this will be a great age as Luke loves Mickey and characters in costume.

Great character meet pictures - absolutely love the one with Goofy and everyone making the international "shhh" sign

thank you! We love how all the pictures turned out!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Ha, Epcot is tricky that way with all the walking. You can have good intentions, but it always seems to work out that way.

Yes, and we were pretty tired by our last day!

Mmmm, we loved that griddled Greek cheese back in 2011! One of our favorites too. Sad they got rid of so many others.

You did an impressive amount of F&W booths in a short time!

we did! And we completed our goal of trying something from every booth. But we are not planning to repeat that goal this year a t was really too much food.

Love your character meet photos! That's so cute to see them fawning over the sleepy little guy! How sweet!

Yay for your next trip being just around the corner! It will be a whole different experience now.

I'm so excited about this trip, but also a little nervous. I really enjoy the age Luke is at now. He is so interactive. And he loves dancing and giving high fives and hugs. Super age for characters! Unfortunately, he is also at an age that is very stubborn and impatient, so that may pose a problem for meals and lines.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

We are here! The last post of the trip report! I will probably add a couple extra posts about baby tips and dining plan analysis, but this will be the end of the report.

When we left off, we had just finished some awesome meet and greets with Mickey and the gang. I got out of order. I forgot that before the meet and greet Luke was hungry. Instead of going to the Baby Care Center, I suggested that we visit Universe of Energy. The opening portion was almost over when my husband needed to go to the bathroom. . I told him that I didn't think he would make it back in time, but he couldn't wait and said he would hurry. He did not make it back in time. Luke was getting impatient, so we went without him. Half an hour later Luke was fed and we reunited with DH. Next time I will ask him if he has to go before we get in line!

After the meets, we were early for our dinner reservation, so we took a leisurely stroll back to World Showcase. We stopped for some photos of Luke.






We also stopped to admire some wildlife.




Then we headed over to check in at our much anticipated dining reservation. We were at...




We were very excited about this dinner. We had gone back and forth a little about this. When talking about restaurants, this was the one signature that was at the top of everyone's list. But when I found out they had the filet and the cheese soup at Food and Wine, I wavered a little. But we kept the reservation. Then when the filet at F&W wasn't that great, I wavered again. But something kept pulling me to this restaurant, so we kept the reservation. I am so glad we did! But let's not get ahead of ourselves. So we made it over to Canada, and asked at Le Cellier if we could check in early. Sadly, we could not.

So we took some pictures of the gardens.






My parents decided to just grab a bench and wait until we could check in. But Luke would not tolerate just sitting still. So we went and watched O Canada!
When we got finished, we still had a while to wait. So we went and watched it again. Fortunately, by the time we had finished the second viewing it was time to check in! (I like Martin Short, but I don't think I could have watched it a third time in a row!)

After we checked in we were seated fairly quickly. We got a table in a corner of the room. I really liked the atmosphere of the restaurant. Our server here was really great. I wish I could remember his name. My mom and I both ordered the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - made with Moosehead Beer and Smoked Bacon. This was delicious and perfect for dipping the pretzel bread.

Up next was the star of the show - the steaks! My dad and DH both ordered Dry Aged Bone-in Ribeye - with fingerling potatoes and roasted garlic butter. (My dad substituted asparagus for the potatoes.




My mom and I both ordered "Le Cellier" Filet Mignon - AAA Canadian Beef Tenderloin, smoked bacon and spinach risotto, heirloom toy box tomatoes, Parmesan butter sauce.




OMG! This may be the best thing I have ever eaten. I eat at a lot of high end restaurants with my job, but this was the best steak I have ever had! Cooked perfectly, tender and juicy. It paired perfectly with the creamy mushroom risotto. My mom agreed, and the boys were equaling enamored of the ribeye.

Next up was dessert. I don't think anything could top that entree, but the dessert came close. DH and I each had a dessert that I haven't seen on the menus. It was a Neopolitan Cappucino Cake - layers of cappucino mousse, caramel-pretzel, and chocolate cake.




This was a delicious combination of flavors. Chocolatey, but not too rich, with lovely notes of cappucino and caramel. My second favorite dessert of the trip (1st place goes to the fried wontons).

My mom ordered the maple creme brûlée.




She liked this, but would probably order differently next time. Nothing against the dish, she just prefers the classic creme brûlée.

My dad was able to order the cheese plate for dessert. He was super excited that he could order a dessert he could actually eat.




He really liked this, and I remember the server spent a lot of time describing all the cheeses to him.

We all agreed this was a perfect meal to end the trip. Everything was truly wonderful here - service was outstanding, food was fantastic! DH and my dad wanted to eat here every night of our upcoming trip!

After dinner we were stuffed and tired, so we headed slowly back to the car. We stopped at Riverside Mill before heading back to the room. We used the rest of our credits to buy food for the trip home. I believe we had one quick service credit each. DH got a turkey sandwich and chocolate cake. The rest of us had the roast beef and blue cheese sandwich. My mom and I got carrot cake and my dad got a chocolate cake, which the rest of us shared I believe.

We got up early the next morning and headed home! It was a great trip!!

Photos from the ride home:







That's the happy face of a baby who had a great first trip to Walt Disney World!!!

Stay tuned for my summary of the trip, baby tips, and dining plan analysis.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Final Thoughts

Resort:

We absolutely loved Port Orleans Riverside and were very disappointed it was not eligible for free dining this year. The landscaping was beautiful and the boat to DTD was really nice. The only thing I didn't like was that the resort was so spread out that it was a long walk to the car and a very long walk to the lobby! It wouldn't have been as big a deal, but I was frequently carrying Luke in the infant seat which was quite heavy.

Dining plan:

This was our first trip with free dining. Prior to this trip we ate primarily food we bought into the parks with us and counter service here and there. We really enjoyed the luxury of eating wherever and whatever we wanted with no regard to cost. We are excited to be going during free dining again this year. For those interested in the breakdown of what we would have spent on food and whether we would pay for the plan OOP, I will do a separate post.

Restaurants:

Le Cellier was far and away our favorite. I think we would all have different rankings of the rest of the places we ate, but we can all agree that every place we ate was good. There is no place we ate where the food or service was bad and overall we were impressed with the quality of the dining.

Time of year:

It was very hot! Way hotter than I expected. In reviewing historical data, it matched the record high on one day! The crowds were very low, but I am not sure that for us the low crowds were worth those temps. So we are going in November instead this year. I will let you know how it compares when we return.

New Stuff:

New this trip was new Fantasyland. We did not get to Enchanted Tales with Belle. I like the new Dumbo area and love Be Our Guest. I was a little underwhelmed with Under the Sea.

Luke's Faves:

Luke loved Fantasmic! So many different sounds and lights. He also really enjoyed Illuminations and Dumbo!

Food and Wine:

This was our first trip during Food and Wine and we all really enjoyed it! I'm glad I tried all the booths, but it was too much food. This year I will limit myself to favorites like Griddled Greek Cheese. Other favorites that aren't returning this year: blue cheese soufflé, lobster roll, and spinach and cheese paneer pocket. I am very excited about some of the new items: the hash, the cheese bread, and the coconut candy sound delicious!


In conclusion, this was a wonderful trip! It was not without it's frustrations - there were definitely tired, overheated, crabby moments. But we had a really good trip overall and were sad to go home. It is a trip we will always remember and a great first trip for Luke!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Baby Tips

I am by no means an expert, but here are some of the things I learned bringing a young baby to the World. Hopefully they will help someone.

Travel:

We drove and it would have been about a 10 hour drive with the car issues. We stopped every time he needed to eat and got out and stretched our legs, etc. overall he did great in the car. He was young enough then that he mostly slept. We flew with him a couple months later and he was very good then too. Just nursed for take off and then wore him the rest of the flight! Cannot say much on the Disney transportation with a baby as we mostly drove. But Luke did take one bus and one boat ride. They both went very smoothly and it was nice having our home stroller (a Britax B Agile) which is very light and easy to fold.

Weather:

Prepare for it to be HOT! Even in late September it was in the 90's with high humidity during our trip. Bring stroller fans and plan to be out of the sun at the hottest part of the day. Babies can't regulate their temps as well as adults so this is important! I did not anticipate how hot it would be. Make sure baby gets plenty of fluids. I did bring some bottles of expressed milk into the parks after the day he got so upset that he didn't want to nurse. Layers are a good idea if you go in winter.

Nursing:

I brought my pump with the thought that I may pump and feed in the parks. I quickly abandoned this idea as it was much easier just to nurse him. I did try to pump occasionally, though, to keep up my supply and so I would have bottles of expressed milk if he refused to nurse. The baby care centers were very nice, and were great for getting out of the heat. But they weren't that convenient. Frequently I was on the other side of the park when Luke was hungry. So I found it easier to just find a nearby place. An out of the way bench worked fine, but dark rides/shows were the best. Universe of Energy, Carousel of Progress, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid worked great. I just waited until they cut down the lights and was very discreet. No one was aware and it kept him happy and us both cool!

In park transportation:

A carrier is great! We only use a carrier some at home, but used it a lot at Disney. It is helpful for places you can't have a stroller (lines, restaurants) or times when a stroller is inconvenient (heavy crowds). Luke liked the carrier best and so we wore him most of the time. When he was in the stroller he preferred to be in the infant seat. I don't know if it was because he faced me or because it snuggled him tighter, but he just seemed more content in it. That was not something I anticipated. I did not expect to use the car seat out of the car.

General:

It will be a slower trip than usual. Be prepared to get a lot less done than you have in the past. There were days we only got a few rides in. It will be an awesome trip but it will be different. Try lots of things because you never know what your baby may like. I was prepared to skip fireworks because I thought my son might be scared. I'm glad I didn't because Fantasmic was his favorite thing the whole trip!

Despite all the naysayers, I think this was a great age for his first trip! He was aware of a lot more than I expected and seemed to enjoy it. It was very easy at this age with travel and restaurants. Just put him in the carrier and he was happy and he slept well in the car seat. I think it will be a lot more challenging on our upcoming trip! He won't remember this first trip, but we have some great memories that we will share with him!

 

[Dugette]

Glad you had a great meal at Le Cellier! It's been awhile since I've heard much about it, but we have certainly enjoyed our meals there in the past.

Aw, that is one happy baby on the ride home! So cute!

Great wrap-up and baby tips! Hope you'll do a TR for the upcoming trip - I'd love to see the toddler Luke's reaction to WDW.

 

[daisygirl902]

Despite all the naysayers, I think this was a great age for his first trip! He was aware of a lot more than I expected and seemed to enjoy it. It was very easy at this age with travel and restaurants. Just put him in the carrier and he was happy and he slept well in the car seat. I think it will be a lot more challenging on our upcoming trip! He won't remember this first trip, but we have some great memories that we will share with him!

I agree with you! We just got back last week from our trip with Sawyer (10 weeks when we left) and it was amazing! We had so much fun. Travelling when they're that young is easy...when he's 1 it'll be a different story! I live blogged about it too, to try to help others taking on the task of travelling with a little one.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Glad you had a great meal at Le Cellier! It's been awhile since I've heard much about it, but we have certainly enjoyed our meals there in the past.

Aw, that is one happy baby on the ride home! So cute!

Great wrap-up and baby tips! Hope you'll do a TR for the upcoming trip - I'd love to see the toddler Luke's reaction to WDW.

Thanks for hanging with me this whole time! I am hoping to do a trip report for our upcoming trip - hopefully it will go quicker this time!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

I agree with you! We just got back last week from our trip with Sawyer (10 weeks when we left) and it was amazing! We had so much fun. Travelling when they're that young is easy...when he's 1 it'll be a different story! I live blogged about it too, to try to help others taking on the task of travelling with a little one.

Can you link the live blog? I would love to read it!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Dining Plan Analysis

For those interested, I thought I would post my analysis of the dining plan value.

Below I am going to list the totals for my meals. My DH probably got better value than I did as he got more expensive entrees at Le Cellier and possibly a couple other places. My parents may have had worse value as they had a couple breakfasts with counter service credits. The totals are before tax and tip.

Counter Service:

Riverside Mill - pasta, sundae, and soda - $19.47
Be Our Guest - croque monsieur, cupcake, and soda - $19.17
Boulangerie Patisserie - apple and brie sandwich, apple tart, soda - $16.99
La Cantina de San Angel - nachos, churros, and soda - $16.87
Be Our Guest - same as above - $19.17
Starring Rolls - ham sandwich, cupcake, soda - $17.17
Starring Rolls - same as above - $17.17
Flame Tree - chicken and ribs, key lime mousse, soda - $21.78
Columbia Harbor House - fried shrimp, fries, and cobbler - $16.97
Riverside Mill - beef and blue sandwich, chips, carrot cake - $16.78

Counter service total: $181.54/$193.79 after tax
Per credit: $19.38

Table Service:

Coral Reef - lobster pasta, wave, soda - $39.73
Yak and Yeti - steak and shrimp, fried wontons, soda - $38.97
Biergarten - buffet , soda - $36.50
San Angel - traditional dinner, soda - $36
Via Napoli - indiv pizza, zeppole, soda - $34
Crystal Palace - breakfast buffet, juice - $23
50's Prime Time - Mom's sampler, Dad's sundae, PB&J milkshake - $33.08
'Ohana - all you care to eat, soda - $39
Le Cellier (2 credits) - filet, neopolitan cake, specialty drink (non-alcoholic) - $59

Table service total: $339.28/$362.18 after tax
Per credit: $36.22

Refillable Mug - $17.99/$19.20 after tax

Snacks - we used our snack credits at Food & Wine. If the snack was $5 or over, we used a credit. If it was under $5, we paid OOP. We got several of the more expensive snacks (filet, lobster roll, etc.), so our average was about $6 per snack. Total: $60.

Grand total: $635.17

The total cost of the dining plan if we had not gone during free dining would have been $555.90 per person. So as you can see, we all exceeded the cost of the dining plan. DH did the best, likely exceeding the cost of the plan by over $100. Our total cost for the trip was just over $1000 per person, and if ~$650 was food, that means that all we spent for lodging was about $350 per person for 10 nights! You can't beat that, even with a good room discount. That's why I love free dining!

However....I don't know that I would pay for the plan OOP. While I really enjoyed the freedom of never having to look at the price tag, it doesn't necessarily match up to how I would normally eat. I drank a soda or specialty drink at every meal. At home, I normally just have water. I had a dessert with every meal. At home, I only rarely order a dessert. I actually order an appetizer more frequently than I do dessert. And it was A LOT of food. We found ourselves ordering desserts we weren't hungry for, or trying to squeeze in CS meals when a snack would have sufficed because we wanted to make use of the plan we had.

So in conclusion, the dining plan is an awesome value if it's free! For us, it is the best discount offered. It you are paying for it, take into consideration how you normally eat and what meals you have planned to evaluate if the dining plan is your best option.

 

[ericstac]

So in conclusion, the dining plan is an awesome value if it's free! For us, it is the best discount offered. It you are paying for it, take into consideration how you normally eat and what meals you have planned to evaluate if the dining plan is your best option.

Can you give some details about your package you had, how many disney adults, children etc.. thanks.

looks like a great deal to me