best value on meal plan

[LittleDickensDesigns]

Curious to know how one goes about getting a sitter at WDW. This is a good thread, thanks for posting. I'm going back and forth about what we should do for the dining plan. We plan to have the kids with us the whole time except maybe one night.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

Our opinion is to not go deluxe. Apart from cost issues for us. Table service meals are not a fast moving event. Expect to spend anywhere from 60-90 min. at each Table Service sitting. Our 60 min. TS experiences were primarily at TS lunches we had at various resorts from our Sept 08 trip. At the parks, they are more like 75-90 min affairs. This means for 2 TS meals per day, you could be spending 3 hrs. at restaurants.

We love the deluxe dining plan, it is the way for us, tried it once and we were hooked. I can't imagine a Disney trip without it.

CS takes up an awful lot of time- One reason we hate CS.

First you have to wait in line to order, and it can take a long while when it is busy.

Next, you have to find a seat for the family - I have seen fights (shouting matches) break out between two different families who were watching and waiting for same table. Empty tables can be very hard to come by during busy times. And, you can wait a while for a table to open up.

Next, the person who orders the food brings it to the table.

Next, someone has to go to the condiment bar to get everything that is needed for the meals. Also, the plastic silverware and napkins must also be brought to the table.

This can take up to 2 hours by the time the food is eaten, and everyone makes a restroom stop sometime during the meal.

The food is not nearly as good, and for the same amount of time the family could have eaten at a nice comfortable TS restaurant, where the food is brought to the table (with deluxe dining, that includes an appetiser, an entree, a dessert, and a drink. Mom and dad are not worn out from the whole experience, it is pleasant.

 

[Colleen27]

We love the deluxe dining plan, it is the way for us, tried it once and we were hooked. I can't imagine a Disney trip without it.

CS takes up an awful lot of time- One reason we hate CS.

First you have to wait in line to order, and it can take a long while when it is busy.

Next, you have to find a seat for the family - I have seen fights (shouting matches) break out between two different families who were watching and waiting for same table. Empty tables can be very hard to come by during busy times. And, you can wait a while for a table to open up.

Next, the person who orders the food brings it to the table.

Next, someone has to go to the condiment bar to get everything that is needed for the meals. Also, the plastic silverware and napkins must also be brought to the table.

This can take up to 2 hours by the time the food is eaten, and everyone makes a restroom stop sometime during the meal.

The food is not nearly as good, and for the same amount of time the family could have eaten at a nice comfortable TS restaurant, where the food is brought to the table (with deluxe dining, that includes an appetiser, an entree, a dessert, and a drink. Mom and dad are not worn out from the whole experience, it is pleasant.

When I was a kid, I never understood why my mom would only go to sit down restaurants when we traveled, never counter service or buffets. After my first attempt at counter service at Disney, I suddenly got it! It really isn't a pleasant experience even with a second (and sometimes third) adult around, and I can't fault my mother for refusing to juggle it as a single parent with my brother & I just 2 years apart.

We did the deluxe plan on our last trip, and I can't see going without it if it is just my family traveling. We aren't going to do it for our next trip because it doesn't work for my brother & his fiancee, who are joining us, but we're also not doing the standard dining plan because we don't want to be locked into that many counter service meals. We'll probably compromise and have a few, but we'll also make some last minute ADRs (in addition to the handful of must-dos I'll be booking at the 90 day mark), particularly on the days when we go our separate ways.

 

[PIESHOPS]

thanks for all the responses.

the other big reason we get deluxe is for the character meals and the show meals.

they do take 2 credits, but we can do with 2 big meals a day, on the regular plan we would be out of meals for the day.

 

[Silvrezs]

We did (4 of us) Fantasmic Diner package at Mama Mia's. We each got an appetizer, an entree, a desert, and a drink! We got seats which we arrived at reserved 20 minutes before the show which allowed us more time to ride. I could not get these reservations when I called from home months before and the morning of I asked the concierage and they had one!

 

[Silvrezs]

We ate at and loved...
Boma for dinner!
Mama Mia's for Fantasmic dinner package
Ohana for dinner!
Beirgarten

We got a great value for these and it was delicious and you do not need to dress up.

 

[alan_renfroe]

thanks for all the responses.

the other big reason we get deluxe is for the character meals and the show meals.

they do take 2 credits, but we can do with 2 big meals a day, on the regular plan we would be out of meals for the day.

We did the Deluxe Dining on our trip this past May and loved it. You just go through your stay feeling like you can eat anything you want just about any time you want! We are now planning to go back this May and we will do the Deluxe Dining Plan again.

Our favorite 2TS meals: California Grill, Narcoossee's, and Yachtsman Steakhouse. We are also going to try Flying Fish on our upcoming trip.

Our favorite 1TS meals: Le Cellier, Kona, Ohana, Boma. I also think Coral Reef is a good 1TS value.

Have fun planning!

 

[lissiesmum]

thanks for all the great responses everyone! A few of you mentioned the Fantasmic packages...do those cost 2 credits for each restaurant?

 

[DWFan4Life]

We have two boys, DS8 & DS4. Our last trip was Sept 08, 13n at POP on Free DDP. Our family has been to WDW 7x since 2000.

Our vote for best value TS on DDP

Hollywood Studios
Sci-Fi Dine In (lots of fun for kids and family, good food)
Brown Derby w/Fantasmic (2 TS points, great food, no line for fantasmic)
50's Prime Time Cafe (good home style food, lots of fun)

Epcot
Teppan Edo in Japan (good food, fun for family, although we prefered menu prior to renovation)
Coral Reef (fantastic food, again lots of fun for family with dive tank/aquarium)

Magic Kingdom
Cinderella's Royal Table 2 TS points (Castle) - Huge steak, fun show, it's the Castle!
Liberty Tree Tavern (family style, all you can eat, good eats - character option)
Crystal Palace (characters, buffet - if you like buffet)
Tony's Town Square (okay food)

Downtown Disney
Wolfgang Puck or Wolfgang Puck Cafe

Boardwalk
The Boardwalk is a lot of fun at night with street performers, artists, food, candy, icecream. An evening walk around the boardwalk loop is nice.
Spoodles (DS8 loved the lemon butter fettucine!)
Big River Grille (great food and value, noisy micro brew/bar environment)

We have no opinions on Animal Kingdom as we have yet to eat at their new restaurants. They also have Rainforest Cafe, but to us, that is no treat since we have them locally.

It looks a best advice. We will try this in our next trip.

Hopefully we will enjoy same as you are.

 

[tnd]

We took our three year old to everything we went to (including CA Grill, Narcoossee and Jiko), so you can take your kids there if you think they can sit through the longer meal.

The highest value meals for us were:
-CA Grill (truly the best of the 3 signatures we tried)
-Tutto Italia (good value for 1 credit, though my entree was a bit disappointing, not bad, just not thrilling, DH loved his)
-Marakesh (in Morrocco, also good value for 1 credit, but the bastilla for dessert was disappointing)
-Crystal Palace buffet (so good we did it twice for lunch, it has some really nice food choices for a buffet)

I enjoyed Jiko, Narcoossee, Chef Mickeys and Tusker House breakfast very much too. I liked every restaurant we ate it, but for us CA Grill was the star. And the great view of the fireworks on the observation deck is also a winner.