Am I missing something?

[Kerri G]

Hi! This is my first post so I hope this works! I have two dining plan credits left and wanted to see if any of you think I am not going somewhere that I should. This is my first time going to Disney on a Dining Plan (we ar eon the deluxe). My DH and I are going in May with our daughters who will be just 5 and just 4. The 5 year old is a very picky eater. Here is our plan so far:
Day 1 Thursday May 1st
Arrive from LI at 9:30 AM
Go straight to MGM
Lunch at Sci Fi Drive In (1 dining credit)
Dinner at Brown Derby (for Fantasmic package) (2 dining credits)

Day 2
Morning at Typhoon Lagoon
Dinner at Biergarten in Epcot (1 dining credit)

Day 3
Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at Cinderella's Castle (2 dining credits)
Dinner at Tony's Town Square (1 dining credit)

Day 4
Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare (daughter is an Alice Fanatic) (1 dining credit)
Lunch at Crystal Palace (1 dining credit)

Day 5
Since it is the last day we are not on the dining plan but we are going to Chef Mickey's for breakfast
Plane doesnt leave until 8 pm

Any advice would be apprciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

You should be able to use your dining credits on your last day. I don't think the credits expire until midnight on the day you check out. The credits are based on the number of nights so for 4 nights you would each have 12 credits (total of 24 adult and 24 children's credits) on the deluxe plan to use any way you wish. You can use 6 credits each in one day if you wanted to.

On day 4, what about dinner at Liberty Tree? It is our favorite character meal. It is like Thanksgiving dinner served family style. I know you have two other buffets planned that day so there is the potential for a lot of food, but no one says you have to eat everything. DS and I are doing the deluxe plan in August and we plan to go to several character breakfasts but won't eat much. Coffee/tea and some frult probably. We just want to enjoy the characters and then have room for lunch and a late dinner.

 

[hmillerbarilla]

Or on day 4 you could do another WS place. We love Chefs de France, Le Cellier and Mexico has a really great atmosphere. It looks like you will get to see Wishes/Illuminations anyway so you could just choose the park you want to end up in.

I know my kids LOVE the MK, but we usually end up eating over in Epcot since the restaurants are so much better. and they're not the ones making the ADRs!

Enjoy your trip!

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

Where are you staying?

If you are at the BW or BC, Cape May has a very nice character breakfast that you could add before Typhoon Lagoon, and I have heard great things about the breakfast buffet at Boma if you are at AKL. If you are not at these resorts, transportation sometimes is a problem early in the morning for resort breakfasts and it would cut into your day at TL if you made a later breakfast ADR.

We have done the Cape May breakfast at 7:30 when we stay at the BW.

And you can use a dining credit for Chef Mickey's. Your credits are good until midnight on the day of checkout. So any snack or CS credits you have left, you can also use that day.

 

[marivaid]

Hi! This is my first post so I hope this works! I have two dining plan credits left and wanted to see if any of you think I am not going somewhere that I should. This is my first time going to Disney on a Dining Plan (we ar eon the deluxe). My DH and I are going in May with our daughters who will be just 5 and just 4. The 5 year old is a very picky eater. Here is our plan so far:
Day 1 Thursday May 1st
Arrive from LI at 9:30 AM
Go straight to MGM
Lunch at Sci Fi Drive In (1 dining credit)
Dinner at Brown Derby (for Fantasmic package) (2 dining credits)

Day 2
Morning at Typhoon Lagoon
Dinner at Biergarten in Epcot (1 dining credit)

Day 3
Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at Cinderella's Castle (2 dining credits)
Dinner at Tony's Town Square (1 dining credit)

Day 4
Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare (daughter is an Alice Fanatic) (1 dining credit)
Lunch at Crystal Palace (1 dining credit)

Day 5
Since it is the last day we are not on the dining plan but we are going to Chef Mickey's for breakfast
Plane doesnt leave until 8 pm

Any advice would be apprciated! Thanks in advance!

Your credits will expire at midnight on the day you check out, so you'll still be able to use your credits on Day 5. Since you're staying 4 nights on the Deluxe DDP you have 12 credits.

Personally, I wouldn't do Crystal Palace for lunch on the same day you do 1900 Park breakfast. I'd do dinner instead (food is more or less the same).

 

[Hopefully]

I agree, your credits are good until midnight of checkout day, so you definitely will be able to use that for your Chef Mickey's breakfast. That leaves you with one credit to add. What about a late lunch on departure day?There is not much food served on planes these days and you will most likely not get dinner that night.
I also would not do Crystal Palace at lunch on Day 4. That is way too much food in too short a period of time for me. Could you make that ADR for dinner instead?
I agree too with adding an ADR in World Showcase in Epcot. If you have hoppers you could spend your day at another park, and hop over for dinner in WS.
We love Teppan Edo in Japan where the chef grills your dinner right at your table. It is entertaining and the food is delicious. The Biergarten would also be fun for your family. It is a German style buffet with entertainment during dinner. Restaurant Marrakesh in Morroco is a beautiful restaurant with warm, friendly servers and the food is very good. Not too exotic. A Belly Dancer entertains and invites the kids up to join her at the end of her act. We like the Rose & Crown in the UK and the San Angel Inn in Mexico too.
Have a Great Trip!

 

[lynninpa]

As the other posters have said, your DDP credits are good up until midnight of your check out day. And you have 3 more credits per person to use (4 nights x 3 credits = 12 credits per person) which will take care of Chef Mickeys. Have a fabulous adventure!

 

[ampc3]

what about adding the lilo and stich breakfast before TL on tuesday? Or I would find a somewhere for lunch on your last park day at what ever park you will be it..

 

[Kerri G]

Thank you for your responses! I had a feeling my husband was wrong that the DP wouldnt work on the last day. Should I call WDW Dine back to have it specifically put on the DP? I have a reservation already. We are staying at the All Star Movies. I am very very nervous about this decision. The reviews are mixed on the boards. However I think my girls will like the atmosphere and we dont plan on staying at the resport much. Also since I have never been to DW maybe I am thinking everything is so far away from each other. Should we do Hoop De Doo or Ohana one night? I am planning too much???

 

[lynninpa]

Should I call WDW Dine back to have it specifically put on the DP?

Not sure what you are asking, Kerri By the way, to The DisBoards!

 

[LSchrow]

.........Should we do Hoop De Doo or Ohana one night? I am planning too much???

is there really such a thing as planning too much for WDW?
i think you have some great choices. tho do consider LTT, as another poster suggested. coral reef in EPCOT is an excellent choice, also ~ very good food (chocolate wave dessert is soooooo good ), with a huge "wall of glass" that is actually an aquarium with sharks, turtles, all sorts of fish as well as an occassional diver, swimming by.

btw, i see you're from long island also ~ are you leaving out of mcarthur? we love that airport........matter of fact, DH & i will be arriving at WDW on may 3rd (thru the 10th). so, if you see a woman with a lime green mickey head (which is actually a luggage tag ) hanging from her bag, say "hi!"
enjoy your trip!

 

[distherapy]

Should I call WDW Dine back to have it specifically put on the DP? I have a reservation already.

I hear you -I guess it couldn't hurt. Since they ask whether you're on the DP when you make your reservation...

Good luck! We're going for the 1st time in a few weeks and using the Deluxe Dining Plan. And I'm one of those who agree that there is no such thing as too much planning!

 

[Kerri G]

is there really such a thing as planning too much for WDW?
i think you have some great choices. tho do consider LTT, as another poster suggested. coral reef in EPCOT is an excellent choice, also ~ very good food (chocolate wave dessert is soooooo good ), with a huge "wall of glass" that is actually an aquarium with sharks, turtles, all sorts of fish as well as an occassional diver, swimming by.

btw, i see you're from long island also ~ are you leaving out of mcarthur? we love that airport........matter offact, DH & i will be arriving at WDW on may 3rd (thru the 10th). so, if you see a woman with a lime green mickey head (which is actually a luggage tag ) hanging from her bag, say "hi!"
enjoy your trip!

Hey! I wish we were flying out of Mc Arthur but the last I checked South West was not on the Magical Express. Because we are going straight from the airport to MGM we are flying Jet Blue so we can use Magical Express. I live on the Nassau Suffolk border (S Amityville) so we are kinda in the middle. But Mc Arthur would have been nice.

 

[lynninpa]

Hey! I wish we were flying out of Mc Arthur but the last I checked South West was not on the Magical Express. Because we are going straight from the airport to MGM we are flying Jet Blue so we can use Magical Express. I live on the Nassau Suffolk border (S Amityville) so we are kinda in the middle. But Mc Arthur would have been nice.

Southwest does participate in Magical Express. We always fly SW and are always able to use ME!

 

[familyS]

Hey! I wish we were flying out of Mc Arthur but the last I checked South West was not on the Magical Express. Because we are going straight from the airport to MGM we are flying Jet Blue so we can use Magical Express. I live on the Nassau Suffolk border (S Amityville) so we are kinda in the middle. But Mc Arthur would have been nice.

I may be misunderstanding your intent. If I understand you correctly you plan on taking Magical Express directly to MGM, not to your resort.

1) The dining credits and park pass are on your room key. You have to pick up your package at your resort.

2) The Magical Express busses bring you to the resort where you have reservations, they don't stop at the parks or bring you to another resort.

I hope this helps (or maybe I misunderstood you).

 

[MRYPPNS]

Hi Kerri ...welcome to the DIS...you'll get a lot of great info here. I would also suggest checking out allearsnet dot com. You can read all kinds of descriptions about things there that we think you are getting a little confused about.

Thank you for your responses! I had a feeling my husband was wrong that the DP wouldnt work on the last day. Should I call WDW Dine back to have it specifically put on the DP? I have a reservation already. We are staying at the All Star Movies. I am very very nervous about this decision. The reviews are mixed on the boards. However I think my girls will like the atmosphere and we dont plan on staying at the resport much. Also since I have never been to DW maybe I am thinking everything is so far away from each other. Should we do Hoop De Doo or Ohana one night? I am planning too much???

Don't worry about your ADR for Chef Mickey's not being noted that you're using DP credits...it doesn't matter.

I stayed at All Star Music before and will be staying at All Star Movies my next trip. It's a nice basic hotel. The kids will love it. One tip...the food court is mobbed for breakfast if you sleep in. If you eat there, get there early.

We love O'hana's for dinner and go every trip now.

And you can never plan too much just as long as you can "plan" to be flexible if things aren't going as you thought they would.

Hey! I wish we were flying out of Mc Arthur but the last I checked South West was not on the Magical Express. Because we are going straight from the airport to MGM we are flying Jet Blue so we can use Magical Express. I live on the Nassau Suffolk border (S Amityville) so we are kinda in the middle. But Mc Arthur would have been nice.

I think you are confusing two different things. Magic Express is basically a free bus shuttle provided by Disney for their resort guests to take them from the airport to their hotel (only your hotel, not the parks). And then when you are leaving to take you from your hotel to the airport.
The other thing you are talking about with Jet Blue (and a few other airlines) is the ability to check in for your return flight at your hotel (they take your bags for you just like a skycap would).


I hope this helps....let me know if you have any questions...we're all here to help

Heidi

 

[Kerri G]

Thank God for the Dis Boards. I had no idea I had so many things wrong. One of my planning books Fodor's (page 36) said that South West did not participate with ME. I am not that upset about having this part wrong because we had enough Jet Blue points to get one of our tickets for free. I did not know that we had to go back to the resort to get a room key for our dining plan. I just figured that when the trip got closer Disney would be sending us our dining plan stuff. I did think that we could get a ride to MGM from the airport. Looking back I dont know why I thought that. We land at 10:10 am in Orlando. I have reservations at 11:30 at the Sci Fi should I try and change them?

 

[MRYPPNS]

Morning Kerri-
You would never have made it to Sci-Fi by that time not even getting a rental car. I'll try to get you a run down of how your morning should go. Once you land in Orlando you will take a little monorail to the terminal and make your way to the ME counter. (you will get paperwork from Disney with ME tickets and directions to get to the ME counter). Disney will take your luggage that you checked in NY directly to your hotel. (you will get yellow luggage tags with that paperwork) You will check in at the ME counter and they will have you line up with your family in the correct line for your hotel. Your bus will probably go to all the All star resorts and maybe another disney hotel too. It's about a half hour from the airport to the hotel if your stop is first (I always plan at least 1 hour to get from the airport to my hotel with ME). Once you get to your hotel you can check in. They will give you your Key To The World cards. They are like credit cards that work as your room key, park tickets, and have your dinning plan credits on them. If you want you can give the front desk a credit card number on file so you can charge other things to your KTTW (your kids cards do not have to have charging rights on them). Your room may or may not be ready when you check in (they usually have until 3pm to have your room ready). If it's ready then you can go to your room to freshin up and they go to the bus stop for the Studios. If your room isn't ready, they will get you a little card with a phone number to call to check if it's ready. You can use any disney phone to call or your cell phone. If you have any carry-on luggage you don't want to bring to the park with you, you can give it to Bell Services at your hotel to hold on to. Then just go to the bus stop for the Studios.

I personally never make a lunch ADR for arrival day because I never know exactly when I'll get settled with everything. We usually just get counter service for lunch.

I hope this was helpful. I also suggest the Unofficial Guide to Disney. It's a great book and has soooo much info.

Heidi

 

[guelde96]

Thank you for your responses! I had a feeling my husband was wrong that the DP wouldnt work on the last day. Should I call WDW Dine back to have it specifically put on the DP? I have a reservation already. We are staying at the All Star Movies. I am very very nervous about this decision. The reviews are mixed on the boards. However I think my girls will like the atmosphere and we dont plan on staying at the resport much. Also since I have never been to DW maybe I am thinking everything is so far away from each other. Should we do Hoop De Doo or Ohana one night? I am planning too much???

We have stayed at Movies. Nice clean hotel with great theming. My kids loved it.

We love Ohana! It is a must do for us.

 

[pepperw23]

Keri. I hope you guys have a great trip...your first trip...(sigh) memories.

I remember how overwhelmed I felt planning our first one...many many trips later, I miss that feeling sometimes.

I love All-Star Music. We have never stayed there, but The theming is so cool. We walked over there from the All Star Sports. One section at night makes me feel like I am standing on Broadway.

You can probably safely compare the rooms in the All Stars to a Holiday Inn Express.

I agree with another poster that suggests counter service upon arrival. There is no way, unfortunatly, you will be able to make it to Sci-Fi in time for your 11:30 ADR. The food court has some great items, or you can head over to one of the parks and grab a counter service there. (be sure you have the park hopper option added btw).

Have a great trip, and spend a lot of time on the DIS before you go. You will be amazed how much these wonderful people know, and how nice they all are.