We will be visiting WDW for the first time in October, staying at the Poly, and are doing the DDP. I am getting ready to make my ADRs in a few weeks. We have SIX TSCs but I have Seven Table Service ADRs (one being Calif Grill which takes 2 TSC's) so I will be paying OOP for two of them. After researching on this board, I know Sci Fi Lunch should probably be one of those that we pay for out of pocket. What would be your other options for paying out of pocket since we only have 6 TSC's. Thank in advance for your replies! 1) Ohanas Character Breakfast 2) Chefs de France Lunch 3) Ohana Dinner 4) Sci Fi Dinner Theater Lunch - Out of Pocket 5) California Grill (2 TSCs) 6) Mama Melrose Fantasmic Dinner Package 7) Coral Reef Dinner
i know this is a boring reply but when we do it we price it up. We know that we will probably pay oop for four meals next trip. Le Cellier is two ts credits for maincourse and dessert but DS and DH would prefer starter and main, DD would prefer an adults meal and no other courses so it makes more sense for us to pay for this one oop. From your list sci-fi and the breakfast (which tend to be cheaper) look the best to pay for oop. However, if you know you are going to not eat as per the dining package (main and dessert and soft drink) then another option maybe the better bet.
I would think either Ohana breakfast or Chef France lunch. Check Chef first and see what you really WANT to order (don't pay attention to the price), then see if that is cheaper/more expensive than the breakfast buffet. VOILA! You have your answer.
We normally look at CG on the other 2ts restaurants. A lot of times we pay for one person with credits and then get an appetizer and split them. We love the apps at the signatures and we only really need 1 dessert anyway. So at CG if it works for your family you'd pay the cost of app, drink, and probably a childs meal. Not sure if it works for you but it always saves us!
what you tentatively might spend at CG if you were truly ordering what you want not what the DDP allows and compare that to the two cheapest meals you have listed (also based on what you would WANT to order). My guess is you'd pay for CG but maybe not. I'd look at the lunches & the breakfast. One other suggestion, 2 years ago DD & took a quick trip. We paid OOP for an earlier meal as we had Brown Derby Fantasmic ressies (2TS). Well, on our last night we were really not hungry for a TS meal but went anyway not to lose the credits. If we had just used all our credits to begin with, we could have skipped the last meal and saved the price of the earlier OOP. Moral of the story, sometimes its better to just use all your credits & pay OOP when you run out.
I think you'd probably save the most by paying for California Grill as well. Just because it's 2 credits doesn't mean it costs twice as much. It all depends on what you're planning to order from each place. Price it out with the menus to find out for sure!
This is what we are doing at Le Cellier. We plan to each get the filet, which is $43. I will only drink 1 drink ($3?) and have 1 dessert($10) ...we might even share dessert. So my total will be around $56 per person. By paying OOP I can get a drink and dessert at 2 other meals, rather than 1 here. If my total was $40 at another restaurant, including drink and dessert, then using those 2 credits on 2 separate meals ($80 total) is the way to go.
