Are Magic Your Way dining options a good deal for everyone?

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

That's true. We could use the counter service for breakfast on another day if we didn't use it on our arrival day. On our departure day the Town Car comes at 4:45 AM so we won't be eating much of anything unless it's at the airport!

I will probably call to get the exact story once the new packages are available, but since we leave January 12 I don't know if I will really want to deal with changing everything around. I definitely don't want to waste time changing things once we get there!

 

[InstImpres]

I just took a quick look at it and I think it would be a good deal for us. 2 adults 1 jr and a child.

The only down side I see is depending on the age of your jr. I don't know why Dis makes it 10 and up for passes but 12 and up for dining price. If you have a 10 or 11 yo jr. you are paying adult rates for food, thus a real loss.

 

[Mermaid02]

Our jr is going to be almost 16 when we go so for us it will work!!

 

[SusanD]

As far as being a junior on the food plan...there is no price difference between the adult rate. It is only a child that gets the price difference.

 

[hAm53]

from being two mid-20-somethings, i think the plan is great (depending on what they charge you for the rest of the package). but for 35 bucks to basically eat lunch and dinner everyday can't be beat. especially since places like lecellier where we spend more than that on dinner alone. if your like us and have a good sit down meal every night, then the plan is a great value.

 

[MagicKingdom05]

hAm53,

I agree with your dinning post. I am going solo May 27-June 6, 2005 and the way I figured it, it would cost me atleast $1000-$1100 for food. With this deal, it would cost $350 for the ten days. This is a savings of $650-$750.

Like you said, it is now going to depend on exactly what the rest of the package costs. We all know what the ticket prices should be and what the food add on should be. So all we are waiting for is to see what they will charge for the rooms in the packages.

 

[swilphil]

I have the opposite problem, my son will be 9 when we travel, so the $10 rate, but amost always eats off the adult menu! Especially at the counter service restaurants, the choices are so limited, usually only one option for each restaurant and I've never found a hamburger on any of them they are always chicken nuggets or hot dogs.

You're right, the counter service children's menus are very limited, though I've heard you can ask for special requests, like PB & J. I was always surprised that Cosmic Ray's didn't offer a child's hamburger or even chicken strips--it's corn dogs on the kids' menu--yech!

With the dining plan, your 9 year old son would have to order off the children's menu, where a children's menu is available.

 

[westjones]

Do you know if you can use the dining options for outside the park? Like if you wanted to do Chef Mickeys or Beaches and Cream?

DJ

 

[bobcat]

Do you know if you can use the dining options for outside the park? Like if you wanted to do Chef Mickeys or Beaches and Cream?

DJ

Yes! I think that is where the value will really add up. On the restaurants board there is a post with a link to the restaurant options. I printed it out to see if there are places where it will be a good deal for my family and both of those places are listed. I have to do some figuring tonight to see if this would work for my family. I also think this may end up being a better deal at the value resorts because even if the rooms are rack rate with a package the cost difference between that and a code rate will be less than a deluxe.

 

[tinkerbeth]

I have a question about the MYW dining options...we are going with APs and staying at AKL. We've already booked for March. Is there any way we can still take advantage of the dining option? I'm finding it a bit confusing at the moment. We LOVE to eat at BOMA so it would be worth it for us for sure. Plus I like having everything taken care of before we get there.

Thanks for the help. I love the Dis.

 

[swilphil]

Tinkerbeth--I don't think you would have to necessarily buy tickets as part of the package, but you can't just buy the dining option alone. So you would have to switch your AKL room over to the package, and that may or may not be a good deal for you.

Boma's is one of the restaurants listed for as a table service restaurant, as are all the character meals. Jiko's at AKL is considered a "signature restaurant," and you would have to trade in two table service meals for one signature restaurant. If anyone is interested, the other signature restaurants are: California Grill, Artist Point, Bistro de Paris, Coral Reef, Alfredo's (?), Yachtsmen Steakhouse, Flying Fish (?), Citricos, Narcoossee's, and all dinner shows. I put question marks next to two restaurants that I never really considered fine dining. Is it because they have a couple of very expensive entrees? I've eaten at Alfredo's and thought the food was very reasonably priced, especially compared to places like Le Cellier, which is not considered a signature restaurant. Go figure.

 

[Pamlur]

As of right now, the more I look at it, the more I know it isn't for us. We are going to be staying at SSR, and the lack of options in DTD makes it totally unworkable for us. DH will be thrilled that I'm not considering it anymore.

 

[always quiet]

Does anyone know if you have to take the dining option for every day of your ticket?? With 5 of us (all the kids are 10 and older now), the 10 day stay that we're looking at would cost us over $1000 for meals!! We have a camper and stay in FW so we really wouldn't need to eat out every night of our stay (and honestly, we couldn't afford to eat out every night of our stay!! )

I do like the choice to trade in a couple of sit down meals for a show.
The Hoop Dee Doo was one show that my DH really enjoyed in 2000. Since this year's trip was postponed due to his cancer treatment, I'd like to be able to do something that he really enjoys.

 

[swilphil]

My understanding is you do have to purchase the dining for the number of nights that your package would be for. The only way you could get around it would be to book the package for part of your trip and room only for the other part. I don't know though if you would be able to get a 10 day park ticket with a 7 day package though. I know you can get a 7 day park ticket with a 10 day package, just not sure about the other way around.

 

[2angelsinheaven]

From what I understand of it, it seems like a wonderful deal. Of course I wished they offered it as a seperate "Ticket" type deal, and you didn't have to have a room (since we live locally).

But here is my breakdown...

We enjoy Ohanas and Bomas, so here is what I would see it being...
Meal- 24.99 + 15% tip- 30.75

So if the dining deal is $35.00 daily, then the snack and counter service meal are only costing you 4.25. Great deal.

And for kids it's pretty good too... since kids at Ohanas/Bomas are $9.99 to begin with, it's a bargain to purchase this for children since it's only $10.00 for kids. You'd spend that much in a day anyhow for children's meals.

For kids it works in all case, for those not using sit down service, it is not a deal.

Here is another example... Lunch at CR in MK , Dinner at Concouse Steakhouse

Filet Minon- 27.99
Shrimp Cocktail- 8.99
Dessert- 5.99
Drink- 2.00
Total w/ tax and tip- $55.00 per person

So add a lunch at Cosmic Rays in MK
Burger, Side of Soup, Iced Coffee and tax is $12.05

So then you get your snack for $2.50 or so and grand total is.... $69.00
you just saved $34.00 per person.

So I would say if you plan of having dinner in a sitdown, this is an awesome deal and I'm very suprised that Disney is offering such a savings. Way to go Disney! :jumping4:

 

[simzac]

hAm53,

I agree with your dinning post. I am going solo May 27-June 6, 2005 and the way I figured it, it would cost me atleast $1000-$1100 for food. With this deal, it would cost $350 for the ten days. This is a savings of $650-$750.

Like you said, it is now going to depend on exactly what the rest of the package costs. We all know what the ticket prices should be and what the food add on should be. So all we are waiting for is to see what they will charge for the rooms in the packages.

How could one person possibly spend this much on food. Our family of 4 went to WDW July of 2003 for 6days/5nights, and only spent $473.00 for food for the entire trip, and yes we ate 3 meals a day plus at least 1 snack. I charged everything to my room, and I still have my receipts, so I know exactly what we spent. I do not think this new dining program is any bargain at all. JMO

 

[disneyjunkie]

How could one person possibly spend this much on food. Our family of 4 went to WDW July of 2003 for 6days/5nights, and only spent $473.00 for food for the entire trip, and yes we ate 3 meals a day plus at least 1 snack. I charged everything to my room, and I still have my receipts, so I know exactly what we spent. I do not think this new dining program is any bargain at all. JMO

It depends on the places you pick for your meals.

My son and I ate tons of counter service meals on our last two trips. The new plan will allow us enjoy a nice sit down meal each night.

 

[MagicKingdom05]

simzac,

The last time I went, I did a sit down meal and it was about $35. The way I figured two sit down meals at $35 a piece, some snacks during the day and breakfast could easily come out to $100 a day. This is for a 10/night 11 day trip, so the total amount will be larger than lets say a 5 or 6 day trip.

I have read other posts on this subject and it seems that when asked how much to budget $100 per day seems to be mentioned alot. I would rather have budgeted to much money than not enough and not being able to eat at places I want.

 

[tinkerbeth]

For us it would be good too. Last summer when we went, we did I think 4 character meals in the week, plus 4 dinners a Boma, a couple of sit downs other places too...Ohana, Alfredos and that Lady and teh Tramp place at MK. So for us, it would be a bargain. I'm not sure if it's worth forgoing the AP discount though to get the package. Since I already have teh APs from last year, i will have to crunch those numbers when our tip gets closer. (March)

Beth

 

[swilphil]

For us it would be good too. Last summer when we went, we did I think 4 character meals in the week, plus 4 dinners a Boma, a couple of sit downs other places too...Ohana, Alfredos and that Lady and teh Tramp place at MK. So for us, it would be a bargain. I'm not sure if it's worth forgoing the AP discount though to get the package. Since I already have teh APs from last year, i will have to crunch those numbers when our tip gets closer. (March)

Wow, 4 character meals and 4 Boma meals. You would save a ton on the dining option. How old are your kids? We only do 1 character and one other sit down meal partly because our young kids just don't do that well with long, drawn-out meals. They are now out with the advance price of the 10 day Magic Your Way ticket. If your trips aren't going to be too long, you could get the non-expiring feature, book a room at the package rate, and still come out way ahead.