Anyone Out There Who Really Isn't A CS Fan?

[Boardwalk Tigger]

I think the dining plan is a great value although I'm not really a fan of Counter Service meals. Anyone else not crazy about CS? Are you going to try the plan anyway? How hard will it be to use it around busy times like the holidays? Thanks

 

[n2mm]

We are not big CS fans, but we have done the DDP twice. Usually for us, we always have family visiting, so do often give them some of our CS credits. We find using the CS at food courts, like the value resorts, gets you away from the burgers and chicken strip meals.

 

[lindakmonty]

yeah, we didn't care for most of the cs at the parks but at the food court and dtd were pretty good... earl of sandwich was better than I expected... so was cheesecake factory express... on day 8 of 11 we had 24 cs left of 30!! but we managed to use them up. I paid for a family of 4 I saw in line just to use them up!

 

[kaybird]

We never eat CS when not on the dining plan, but it still works for us as a great saver as we love the TS and always make out well. For higher end CS we went to Wolfgang Puck express, and had super food here, Fountainview at Epcot was also a cut above. We did not eat a single burger, and for all around great CS try AK, The breakfast selections are as good as the meals!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I too don't like most CS meals- but we still do the plan since we come out ahead on the TS dinners. I wish they would offer a version of the dining plan with 2 TS meals (like they used to back in the 90's with the silver (?) plan)

We use our CS meals on the food court, Pinocchio's (love this place!!!) and plan on trying MK Bakery this time!

 

[Amyrlin]

Don't like CS meals either, but the table service meals can make it worth while. If going during free dining that can make the decision much easier.

 

[MarieA]

I'm not crazy about the CS meals either but I enjoy the TS meals. In one of the earlier posts someone mentioned the silver meal plan which was available in the late 90s (I booked the silver plan a few times). My family would use one TS meal for a character breakfast (which we attended every morning) and the other TS meal for dinner.

Does anyone remember the early 90s when they had something called a gold key plan which was 3 TS meals per day and all recreation included (boat rentals, minature golf, etc? We booked the gold key plan an few times. Although we loved the plan, it was way too much food. We'd come home from a Disney vacation 10 lbs. heavier after eating 3 TS meals a day for 10 days.

 

[abk96]

CS isn't our favorite either.

I remember the plan you are talking about MarieA. When we went on our honeymoon it was the Grand Plan and it was fabulous. Cost us huge, but well worth it for a couple.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I like Flame Tree a lot, but I avoid burgers and fries at all costs! Some of the CSs in World Showcase are decent (NOT Mexico!).

 

[Cinderpals]

I can't pass up the hotdogs at Casey's!

Pizza at the Pizza Window at Boardwalk is good too!

We ended up using all of the TS by the last day, most of the CS and left 3 snacks which we could have used up with bottles of water for the trip home.

Breakfast at the Roaring Forks (Wilderness Lodge) is pretty descent.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

I am going to plan on a few OOP lunches or breakfasts I think. We usually only eat two meals a day at Disney anyway. I like the break of sitting in a restaurant and being waited on I am a little concerned that we will have to fight the crowds Christmas week for CS. So maybe if I plan two OOP meals that will make the it better for us.

 

[kcashner]

My sister's family chose not to do DDP because they like to do 2 TS per day (character breakfast and nice dinner). We did the DDP. Usually I don't care for CS in the parks. However, we found lovely CS at our resort--flatbread pizza, chicken caeser salads, grilled sandwiches. I liked the sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich. This probably wasn't the best financial use of the credits, but I focused on what I wanted to eat, not maximizing the $ savings.

The bottom line is to go with whatever fits your style best!

 

[Redwitch]

We are not CS people either. However, we've used the Dining Plan twice with only one burger & FF. The Epcot CS places have interesting options and other parks have chicken and rib type meals. Some of the bakeries have different meal options as well. We tend to share a CS eat a TS and either share another CS or use the CS for two pastries as a snack.

 

[bicker]

The Dining Plan never ceases to amaze me. I've had some gut-feel reactions to various suggestions in the past, where I thought that the Dining Plan would not be worth it, where I was wrong -- here again that's the case. I was thinking that the Dining Plan wouldn't be worth it if you just planned to use the TS credits (no CS and no snacks). However, that's not the case. Figuring four adults, ordering typical things at the restaurants we'll be eating at next February, and figuring only half of us would have appetizers and only half of us would have dessert, we'd still save $58 with the Dining Plan over the six days of our trip.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Does anyone remember the early 90s when they had something called a gold key plan which was 3 TS meals per day and all recreation included (boat rentals, minature golf, etc? We booked the gold key plan an few times. Although we loved the plan, it was way too much food. We'd come home from a Disney vacation 10 lbs. heavier after eating 3 TS meals a day for 10 days.

We did our honeymoon in 1997 at the GF on the gold plan- it was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[HayGan]

I wasn't overly impressed with any of the CS restaurants we ate at but I didn't find them terrible either. We ended up with 4 CS credits at the end of our last trip. I just ended up going to Captain Cook's and getting a bunch of stuff for the plan with them. For each credit we were allowed to get a lunchable pb&j sandwich, a piece of fruit, a bag of chips, a dessert item and a bottle of soda/juice/water. We had a ton of food for snacking at the airport and on the plane the next day (and fore several days afte we arrived home!) I'm sure that the same thing will probably happen this time (especially because we don't really eat lunch on the days when we do a TS for lunch and dinner!)

I'm looking forward to trying Tusker House and some of the other CS places this time around. Although the reviews have been mixed, I would really lke to try the Noodle Terrace!