Aaah.. I'm so confused! And a bit overwhelmed.

[livetocruise]

First off, hi! New to this site, and new to Disney.

Hubby and I just set in stone our first trip to Disney, at least since we were both little kids. He has a work conference that his company is flying us out for in September, and we decided to stay a few days after the seminars to enjoy Florida.

We are booked in the All Stars Movies resort for September 22-26, which is during the free dining promotion. Because we are staying at a value resort, we just have the QSDP, and we think that will be enough. Hopefully. If we do choose to upgrade to the next level up for dining, how much more would that be per person?

I am a planner, which is why I am here in the first place, but I cannot seem to wrap my mind around the way you folks are able to plan almost every meal before you even leave for your trip. I normally cruise for vacations, which means I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and not have to think about what I might be in the mood for weeks in advance. The thought that I need reservations for places well before we go is causing me a great deal of anxiety. How do you do it? I've browsed through several menus and a lot of them look appetizing, but I don't know what I want now, let alone months from now. Do you need reservations for most table service restaurants or just a select few?

The free plan we have is just the quick service, is that basically all fast food style? Not quality wise, but serving wise? If we choose to eat at a table service restaurant a couple of nights, will we be allowed to pay those out of pocket? Do they ever combine QS credits to equal a TS credit?

We are staying 4 nights, but have tickets for 3 days, will we be able to use the credits from check in all the way to check out?

I figure we'll use the QS credits for lunches and dinners, is there a good place to use the snack credits for breakfast?

We would really like to go to the Coral Reef one day just to experience the aquarium, but we do not eat seafood, can we just stop in one day for a dessert?

I'm am already so overwhelmed trying to plan this trip, please help this all to make more sense to a Disney virgin!

 

[sharonabe]

First off, hi! New to this site, and new to Disney.

Hubby and I just set in stone our first trip to Disney, at least since we were both little kids. He has a work conference that his company is flying us out for in September, and we decided to stay a few days after the seminars to enjoy Florida.

We are booked in the All Stars Movies resort for September 22-26, which is during the free dining promotion. Because we are staying at a value resort, we just have the QSDP, and we think that will be enough. Hopefully. If we do choose to upgrade to the next level up for dining, how much more would that be per person?

I am a planner, which is why I am here in the first place, but I cannot seem to wrap my mind around the way you folks are able to plan almost every meal before you even leave for your trip. I normally cruise for vacations, which means I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and not have to think about what I might be in the mood for weeks in advance. The thought that I need reservations for places well before we go is causing me a great deal of anxiety. How do you do it? I've browsed through several menus and a lot of them look appetizing, but I don't know what I want now, let alone months from now. Do you need reservations for most table service restaurants or just a select few?

The free plan we have is just the quick service, is that basically all fast food style? Not quality wise, but serving wise? If we choose to eat at a table service restaurant a couple of nights, will we be allowed to pay those out of pocket? Do they ever combine QS credits to equal a TS credit?

We are staying 4 nights, but have tickets for 3 days, will we be able to use the credits from check in all the way to check out?

I figure we'll use the QS credits for lunches and dinners, is there a good place to use the snack credits for breakfast?

We would really like to go to the Coral Reef one day just to experience the aquarium, but we do not eat seafood, can we just stop in one day for a dessert?

I'm am already so overwhelmed trying to plan this trip, please help this all to make more sense to a Disney virgin!

$18 pp/per night would be the upgrade cost. That would give you 4TS, 4QS, and 4 snacks each. Your credits are good from the time you check in until midnight of the day you check out.

In late Sept with just the two of you, you'll probably be okay with walk-ups or day before ressies especially if you can eat at off times.

As to the aquarium and Coral Reef, you can see the aquarium without going to the restaurant...it's in The Seas after you ride Nemo. But if you want to get dessert at the restaurant, you can do that.

If you'll look at the beginning of the dining plan forum, you'll see a sticky with confirmed snacks on the DDP. That should give you some ideas of how to use your snacks for breakfast or otherwise.

No, you cannot combine QS credits to pay for TS meals. So if you decide to keep the QSDP, you will need to pay OOP for any TS meals you decide to do.

 

[tlpbupu]

and Congrats. on your trip! You're right, it can all be overwhelming.
I don't get to go to Disney very often, but I do spend WAY too much time here on the DIS so I will do the best I can to help you out. To answer a few of your questions 1. Yes all QS meals are served fast food style. You order your food and carry it to your table. 2. You are always welcome to pay out of pocket (OOP) for your meals. No one is required to have the dining plan or is limited to it. 3. I'm sorry, I don't know right of the top of my head how much it would be to upgrade to the regular dining plan. 4. You do need and advanced dining reservation (ADR) for TS. Someone else could probably help you with which ones you have a better chance at for getting an ADR day of but don't ever count on it. 5. No, you cannot combine 2QS meals into 1TS.

Personally, I think you get plenty with the QS plan. I would look at the Dining website and see if there are enough ADR's that you would like to book before upgrading. We're not going until Oct. but for the times we would like to eat the places are already limited. However, going without children you may be more flexible in your plans.


No matter what you decide I hope you have a magical trip!

 

[ses1230]

First off, hi! New to this site, and new to Disney.

Hubby and I just set in stone our first trip to Disney, at least since we were both little kids. He has a work conference that his company is flying us out for in September, and we decided to stay a few days after the seminars to enjoy Florida.

We are booked in the All Stars Movies resort for September 22-26, which is during the free dining promotion. Because we are staying at a value resort, we just have the QSDP, and we think that will be enough. Hopefully. If we do choose to upgrade to the next level up for dining, how much more would that be per person?

I am a planner, which is why I am here in the first place, but I cannot seem to wrap my mind around the way you folks are able to plan almost every meal before you even leave for your trip. I normally cruise for vacations, which means I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and not have to think about what I might be in the mood for weeks in advance. The thought that I need reservations for places well before we go is causing me a great deal of anxiety. How do you do it? I've browsed through several menus and a lot of them look appetizing, but I don't know what I want now, let alone months from now. Do you need reservations for most table service restaurants or just a select few?

The free plan we have is just the quick service, is that basically all fast food style? Not quality wise, but serving wise? If we choose to eat at a table service restaurant a couple of nights, will we be allowed to pay those out of pocket? Do they ever combine QS credits to equal a TS credit?

We are staying 4 nights, but have tickets for 3 days, will we be able to use the credits from check in all the way to check out?

I figure we'll use the QS credits for lunches and dinners, is there a good place to use the snack credits for breakfast?

We would really like to go to the Coral Reef one day just to experience the aquarium, but we do not eat seafood, can we just stop in one day for a dessert?

I'm am already so overwhelmed trying to plan this trip, please help this all to make more sense to a Disney virgin!

I'll answer some of them:

Dining credits are per night of your stay, and has nothing to do with the number of days you have on your tickets. Credits are available to you drom the time you check in until 11:59 on the day you check out.

You can not combine CS credits to equal TS credits.

You can pay OOP for anything you want.

As for ADRs - yes, they are recommended if: you want to eat at regular meal times at popular restaurants, character meals, and many restaurants in the parks. You can probably find availability either early or late in the seating, and may have the best luck at the resorts. Places like BOG, Ohana, LeCellier, they might be more difficult because they do book up at 180 days.

For planning, what I personally do is pick park days first, using a crowd calendar or easywdw.com recommendations, then I pick restauramts after I have decided on the park days.

 

[crystaltink]

First off, hi! New to this site, and new to Disney.

Hubby and I just set in stone our first trip to Disney, at least since we were both little kids. He has a work conference that his company is flying us out for in September, and we decided to stay a few days after the seminars to enjoy Florida.

We are booked in the All Stars Movies resort for September 22-26, which is during the free dining promotion. Because we are staying at a value resort, we just have the QSDP, and we think that will be enough. Hopefully. If we do choose to upgrade to the next level up for dining, how much more would that be per person?

I am a planner, which is why I am here in the first place, but I cannot seem to wrap my mind around the way you folks are able to plan almost every meal before you even leave for your trip. I normally cruise for vacations, which means I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and not have to think about what I might be in the mood for weeks in advance. The thought that I need reservations for places well before we go is causing me a great deal of anxiety. How do you do it? I've browsed through several menus and a lot of them look appetizing, but I don't know what I want now, let alone months from now. Do you need reservations for most table service restaurants or just a select few?

The free plan we have is just the quick service, is that basically all fast food style? Not quality wise, but serving wise? If we choose to eat at a table service restaurant a couple of nights, will we be allowed to pay those out of pocket? Do they ever combine QS credits to equal a TS credit?

We are staying 4 nights, but have tickets for 3 days, will we be able to use the credits from check in all the way to check out?

I figure we'll use the QS credits for lunches and dinners, is there a good place to use the snack credits for breakfast?

We would really like to go to the Coral Reef one day just to experience the aquarium, but we do not eat seafood, can we just stop in one day for a dessert?

I'm am already so overwhelmed trying to plan this trip, please help this all to make more sense to a Disney virgin!

Hi! I think I can help make this a bit less confusing. You may pay out of pocket for any table service restaurant you desire. However, you may need to book reservations especially if the restaurants are inside the theme parks. I don't like to plan my Disney vacation around eating, lol, so we use the quick service dining plan. It's a lot of food, even though it doesn't "sound" as if it is. That being said there are places in Disney that is quick service dining but isn't your typical fast food fare... such as the Tangerine Café in Morocco for example. Also, Disney does not limit you to burgers and nuggets for your entire visit. They have a multitude of choices on the quick service plan. If you own a smart phone you may want to download the app called WDW Dining.

I don't know if you can go to the Coral Reef for a dessert, but I don't see why you couldn't. However, if its an aquarium that you are wanting to see.. you won't need to go to the restaurant just head over to the Nemo ride.

Even though we have the QS plan, we usually eat a couple sit down meals at area restaurants. For example, we always go to the T REX in Downtown Disney..no reservations needed, usually just a short wait during busy times. We also love Biergarten in Germany at Epcot and I do book reservations there.
My husband and I will share a QS meal just so we can try something different later. This works well at Epcot especially! Plus, I don't want to walk around with a stuffed tummy, not fun. Anyway, I hope I've lessened your confusion. Have a great time!

 

[purple figment]

We are booked in the All Stars Movies resort for September 22-26, which is during the free dining promotion. If we do choose to upgrade to the next level up for dining, how much more would that be per person? Here's a link to the upgrade costs:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2772063


Do you need reservations for most table service restaurants or just a select few? Yes, it is hard to plan so far in advance, but if there are Table Service restaurants that sound interesting or that you know you'll want to go to (like Coral Reef), it's better to make reservations. For QS places there are no reservations.

The free plan we have is just the quick service, is that basically all fast food style? Not quality wise, but serving wise? If we choose to eat at a table service restaurant a couple of nights, will we be allowed to pay those out of pocket? Do they ever combine QS credits to equal a TS credit? QS is the same as a fast food restaurant in that you walk up to the counter to order, then carry your own trays to a table. Be Our Guest is an exception in that the food is brought to your table - it's well worth having lunch here.

Do they ever combine QS credits to equal a TS credit? No, you cannot use QS credits at a TS restaurant.

We are staying 4 nights, but have tickets for 3 days, will we be able to use the credits from check in all the way to check out? Your credits are based on the number of nights you are staying and will be available from the moment you check in until 11:59 PM on the day you check out.

I figure we'll use the QS credits for lunches and dinners, is there a good place to use the snack credits for breakfast? Here's a list of items that can be ordered using snack credits:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3039087


We would really like to go to the Coral Reef one day just to experience the aquarium, but we do not eat seafood, can we just stop in one day for a dessert? Because of the aquarium tank, Coral Reef is extremely popular. You'll need to make a reservation, even if you just want to enjoy dessert because it's unlikely they'll be accepting walk ups. The dessert menu is identical for both lunch and dinner so that gives you more time choices.

I'm am already so overwhelmed trying to plan this trip, please help this all to make more sense to a Disney virgin!

to the disboards.

It can be overwhelming because a vacation to DW involves a lot of pre-planning. Since your trip is in September it may be harder to get reservations at Table Service restaurants since reservations open up 180 days in advance. If there are TS places you're interested in you should try making reservations as soon as possible. If you can't get what you want, keep checking online to see if any cancellations come up.

 

[Cafeen]

For first timers, with only 3 park days, I'd stick with the QSDP rather than upgrading. WDW itself will be overwhelming and you're going to want to get as much time out of it as possible. TS meals tend to take a bit more time.

The best thing you can do for your first trip is use it as recon for your future trips (yes, even if you're saying this is a one time thing... you WILL be back!) Hit your highlights and make sure to research Fastpass. FP (short for FastPass) will be the biggest thing you can learn about for your trip and will help you immensely in ride queues.

For Coral Reef, as mentioned, it's very popular normally, add free dining into the mix and it will be mobbed. You will need an ADR (shorthand for reservation...basically) even just for dessert there.

 

[julie4423]

The best thing you can do for your first trip is use it as recon for your future trips (yes, even if you're saying this is a one time thing... you WILL be back!)

This cracks me up! It's sooo true. I had to drag my DH the first time, and now he is in love. We were like, we have to take the kids ONE time. Yeah right

All good info on here! Maybe just pick one TS meal that you really want. The dining can be so much fun, but I agree that for a first time short trip you don't want to overdo.

 

[livetocruise]

Wow! You guys are great! Thanks for all the tips, looking into everything slowly.

We'll probably only do a nice sit down dinner one night. What is one can't miss restaurant that I should make reservations for?
We are not terribly picky but not very adventurous either and we do not eat any pork or seafood products for religious reasons, so mostly just chicken and beef. We love Mexican and Italian. We are not planning on going to Magic Kingdom and do not have park hopper tickets if that makes a difference.

Thanks again, looking forward to planning this trip with all of you smart people's advice.

-Angie

 

[Cafeen]

Wow! You guys are great! Thanks for all the tips, looking into everything slowly.

We'll probably only do a nice sit down dinner one night. What is one can't miss restaurant that I should make reservations for?
We are not terribly picky but not very adventurous either and we do not eat any pork or seafood products for religious reasons, so mostly just chicken and beef. We love Mexican and Italian. We are not planning on going to Magic Kingdom and do not have park hopper tickets if that makes a difference.

Thanks again, looking forward to planning this trip with all of you smart people's advice.

-Angie

While it's not Mexican or Italian, since you'll have a non-park day, I'd have to look at Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village. Alternatively, Boma over at AKL - Jambo House would also be a bit different than the norm, and since it's a buffet, may be a better choice to ensure there's something you like.

You can also look at the menus to San Angel Inn or Hacienda de San Angel. Both are at the Mexico pavilion in Epcot (SAI is inside, whereas Hacienda is along the lagoon) and both are very good. They are much more traditional/real Mexican though than many people are used to, so I highly suggest you check those menus out beforehand. If those don't work, the 2 restaurants in Italy may be to your liking, Tutto Italia and Via Napoli. Via Napoli is more focused on their traditional pizzas and Tutto is more the traditional Italian fare. I can personally vouch for SAI, Hacienda, and VN, though I haven't been to Tutto personally.

If you're looking for a bit of a different style meal, you may want to check out the character meals. Garden Grill in Epcot is served family style rather than buffet and is pretty highly regarded on these boards (I haven't done it myself). Tusker House over in Animal Kingdom would also work for breakfast or lunch and is a bit of a different buffet for lunch (along the lines of Boma above, some different, African-inspired offerings alongside more traditional buffet offerings).

You may also hear about 'Ohana quite a bit. I haven't done it and it's super hard to get a normal time ADR for, so your mileage may vary there, but Kona Cafe right next door (both are at the Poly) is very good.

 

[bdklein]

Wow! You guys are great! Thanks for all the tips, looking into everything slowly.

We'll probably only do a nice sit down dinner one night. What is one can't miss restaurant that I should make reservations for?
We are not terribly picky but not very adventurous either and we do not eat any pork or seafood products for religious reasons, so mostly just chicken and beef. We love Mexican and Italian. We are not planning on going to Magic Kingdom and do not have park hopper tickets if that makes a difference.

Thanks again, looking forward to planning this trip with all of you smart people's advice.

-Angie

Just curious. What religion doesn't allow pork or seafood? But can eat chicken or beef?

 

[Dizneydaz]

We've had the QSDP 3 times now and loved it. During those 3 years I don't believe I ate more than 1 burger and no chicken nuggets.

One of the great CS choices is Wolfgang Puck Express. There are 2 locations in DTD. You order at the register and then they deliver to you. Check out the menus on allears.net. They have 1/2 Rosemary Chicken, Delicious Pizza and Pastas, Salmon, Bacon Wrapped Meatloat, and more. Google Wolfgang Puck Express images and you'll see some yummy photos.

A PP has already provided you a link to my snack thread. That will give you some ideas on SC items you can use for breakfast. What we do is have breakfast in the room. Cereal, toast, poptarts, etc. And after we are there fora few days we have desserts we've brought back to the room and have those for breakfast.

Have a great first trip!