Are the CS meals really that amazing?

[Feelslikeadream]

I am reading in quite a few threads that thw CS meals are out of this world.I am reading that the quantity and quaility is more thatn you expect. I guess they are really giving you a bang for your buck.

This has me slightly worried, I HATE WASTING FOOD, my kids are god eaters, somedays better than others. I don't want to waste CS points and have the food wasted. My DD3 and DD5 would probably be able to share a CS.As my twin DS9 love their food.

So to all of you that have just returnrd or already did the dining package, fill me in, on what to expect!!!!

 

[dyjama]

it is a lot of food especially for the kiddies. The 3 and 5 year old could easily share.

 

[masonsmousermom]

We will soon be going for free dining, but we have also been to Disney twice in the past year on the disney dining plan. We L-O-V-E it! Yes it is a lot of food! NO- you will not go hungry!

As far as your question, I would say that both CS and TS have outstanding quantities of food, but IMHO, the CS meal are not "out-0f-this-world". There are a few CS meals that far exceed a typical burger and fries, and DEFINITELY better than any other theme park food fare.

On the other hand, the table service meals are wonderful! I've yet to have a bad meal at any of them. The dining plan allowed us to eat at restaurants that I know we would have never otherwise tried. Some of them because of the cost and others because they were "away from the action" at other resorts.

The dining plan does take some time out of your day if you really want to enjoy it to the fullest. But we really like the down time of gettin out of the parks and seeing some of the other resorts within WDW.

Hope this information helps you.

 

[DCDisney]

If your kids are good eaters there is no way they can share a kids CS meal. For example the serving of chicken nuggets is 4 with a small cup of applesauce and a small package of Mickey goldfish. 4 nuggets just isn't enough to split. At TS it would be 2 chicken strips which again isn't enough to really share unless they are going to fill up on the fries. The only thing that we found was really a waste from the CS meals for our kids (and the adults) was the desserts. Usually we only ate a few bites each but most of the options aren't saveable. What we did find that was portable was nice to have later in the day. The adult meals are large but 9 year old boys will probably make do In terms of not wasting I'd think trying to find CS places that have fruit or other portable desserts would be your best option. The main entree/protein part will almost certainly be eaten because the portion is small--1 chicken leg, 4 nuggets, 1 PBJ uncrustable, etc. and many of the sides were a reasonable kid size as well like the little cups of applesauce. Having the older boys may help in sharing of food like if the little ones want a few french fries that didn't come with their meals for example.

Yvonne

 

[luv2nascar]

I think the kids meals are mostly terrible. Most kids can eat it themselves unless like mine they are too busy to eat when in the world.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

We shared meals a few days, then had enough for sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich at DD to eat at the airport.

 

[bicker]

Our DN6 would generally pick at his meals, often not finishing them. His 1 1/2 year old younger sister would gobble down her's, anything he left over, and sometimes we'd order her a second meal, which she'd typically come pretty-close to finishing. So whether a child meal is enough will vary by child.

 

[Tam1067]

Yes, you get lots of food at the CS meals, but the quality varies a lot. Expect mediocre to lousy fast food with somewhat bigger portions in some places. Electric Umbrella,for instance, is horribly awful. Seasons (both in Epcot) is very good. It just depends where you are. We had mediocre meals in MK, MGM, and AK. Nothing special--but edible. I found the CS desserts to be not worth the calories expect for, and this is a notable exception, Seasons in Epcot. Just my two cents here.

 

[Frantasmic]

Ditto. The CS meals are very hearty. To experience a wide variety of CS food however, you'd have to visit the different parks. Of course, EPCOT has the most variety of CS meals. But, at MK, the meals are pretty much the same: burgers, chicken, some pasta, pizza, and the Mexican fare at that one place.

 

[nurseypoo5]

i love desserts no matter how nasty they are

on that note, are you twins going as adults. If so, then you'll have more than enough food btw thier 2 appitizers and meals and larger desserts for TS, and they get full meals at CS.

At 9 yrs old, i dont think my son (who turns 10 the week we go, and Disney did give us the option of making him adult or keeping him as a child, it did cost us more in terms of park visits but our dining plan was free. Big money tho if your paying oop for DDP.) My son wouldnt like a weeks worth of chicken fingers, mac and cheese, etc.

 

[PamNC]

I think the Pepper Market at coronado springs MUST be a great deal for CS. We're doing the dining plan for the first time in November, so I'm not speaking from first-hand experience. But, we really liked the Pepper Market and I think it'll end up being a great deal for CS credits.

Anyone agree?

PamNC

 

[Buzz2001]

Pepper Market is the best place for CS on WDW property. You won't find a better menu for CS anywhere.

Few Items from the lunch menu

More pics...

Choose a steak

Infamous Wet Burrito

Italian Dishes

MUGS

 

[wvdislover]

You can find some variety in the CS meals. It's not all chicken nuggets and mac/cheese, depending on where you go. We got really good CS meals at Pop when we were there, and they had some variety. My kids are not good eaters, but they did ok at Disney. We did do the DDP and probably (no, definitely) wasted some money on it, however, the benefits for us were worth it. We didn't mind the kids not eating, since we weren't paying out of pocket then, and we were able to try a lot of places we wouldn't have tried. For instance, we never would have gone to Le Cellier or LTT, as they are more pricey, and who wants to pay for food your kids may or may not eat. But on the other hand, we don't like to do CS for every meal. DDP offered us the flexibility to try some different things and not have to count pennies during our vacation and have DH make us all share one meal to save money (OK, he's not that bad!). So, are CS meals amazing? I don't think so, but they do taste good, better than what you might get at other theme parks. If you can afford it, don't limit yourself to only CS meals.

 

[angelmav]

wvdislover, you make great points about the plan. We want it for a variety of reasons but most notably the fact we can budget it in along with the rest of our vacation (eating at the parks is terribly expensive no matter where you go), we know in advance we can eat at some of the nice sit down places that if we were going 'by the moment' we would never pay that much OOP for, at least not every day and it allows us to be creative with the places we want to try. Of course it doesnt hurt that we are a family of big eaters and would spend a mint on food regardless.