Best way to "work" the dining plan

[mgcgoose]

I haven't made ADRs yet and want to know the best way to work the plan. It is me, DH, and 4 year old twins. Any advice?

Melanie

 

[Bill and Jen]

I haven't made ADRs yet and want to know the best way to work the plan. It is me, DH, and 4 year old twins. Any advice?

Melanie

Do the math, do the math, do the math!

Use allears.net they have a pretty complete menu list with prices.


Of course it all depends on if your doing the basic DPP or DxDDP.

With the basic, hints are don't use it for CRT, pay for that and use the 2 ts's somewhere else. Also with the basic if you know the prices of meals for most place, if you end up planning eating at more CS then the plan allows, you can use the credits for the more expensive CS meals and pay for the cheaper ones out of pocket.

 

[cheap traveler]

Do the math, do the math, do the math!

Use allears.net they have a pretty complete menu list with prices.


Of course it all depends on if your doing the basic DPP or DxDDP.

With the basic, hints are don't use it for CRT, pay for that and use the 2 ts's somewhere else. Also with the basic if you know the prices of meals for most place, if you end up planning eating at more CS then the plan allows, you can use the credits for the more expensive CS meals and pay for the cheaper ones out of pocket.

In past years I was always concerned with the best way to "work" the plan - to get the most out of it. This year I decided to stress it less - I am getting it for free! So we are just trying to use it the best way we can with no stress. I have one TS meal planned per day, based on what we like, instead of how much the meal will cost. We might even trade one night of TS for CS. It is much cheaper, but it will keep us happy - we will be able to spend our ENTIRE arrival day at the pool instead of leaving for a meal.

All of this would be out the window if I were paying for it though - then I would be right back to trying to get my money out of it.

Oh yeah, check out the stickey on included snacks - that is a huge help.

 

[mwatson011]

The best way to get the most out of your dining plan is to use your credits for what you like. Get an idea now of what restaurants you will like, and plan around those.

Don't save your snacks, especially with the two little ones. On your first day there, use a few snack credits to have some food in the room for those days that a nap turns into an all day event (believe me, there will be one of those).

The last thing you want to do is worry about prices and costs at each meal, that is why you are on the dining plan, right? If you try to get the most expensive everything, it is just as stressful as if you were paying oop and trying to buy the cheapest everything. Disney discounts their dining package as an incentive to keep you in the park, so regardless of whether you order the pasta or the filet, you are getting an overall value.

We did the deluxe dining plan last year, and are using the deluxe again this year. The first three days of our trip we kept receipts and added our meals up to make sure we were "getting our money's worth". After seeing that every day we were very far ahead of the cost of the plan, we tossed the receipts and ordered what we wanted, and had much more fun. Don't stress on your vacation, it's not worth it.

 

[catne]

Agree, do the math to see it any of the plans will work for you. What works for us is a small breakfast in room (we're not big breakfast eaters, and don't want to start our day in the park feeling full - not much fun in the heat & on ride. So we either have cereal bars or poptarts, sometimes a pastry we bought from food court or park bakery) We eat our counter service at lunch, and our table service for dinner. Often after the first day or so, we are so full from the CS & TS meals we start using all our snack credits for breakfast pastries, so we usually end up bringing home cereal bars.

Since you have little ones, you may be interested in the many character meal options. If you're not taking a mid-day break, it might work out better for you to have your big meal/table service for lunch at one of the character buffets.

I would not do CRT with kids that young, just my opinion of course - but it's an awfully expensive meal for something that kids won't really remember much about in 10 years time. There are so many cute character meals that won't cost you anything extra...JMHO.

 

[mgcgoose]

Thank you all for the feedback. It really helps me make a few decisions.

Melanie

 

[eliza61]

I haven't made ADRs yet and want to know the best way to work the plan. It is me, DH, and 4 year old twins. Any advice?

Melanie

Easy. I pick the places that seem enjoyable with a great menu instead of picking places based on where I can get the most expensive meal.

 

[arielmomma]

I wouldn't worry about 'working' the plan. Look at the menus and where you like! There is more than enough food to fill even the biggest eaters. Your family will have a more enjoyable time eating what is right for you rather than trying to get the most bang for your buck. Have a great trip!

 

[tnd]

With four year old twins, I'd go heavy on the character meals. I think they are pricey for what you get, but with the dining plan I don't feel bad about loading them up. We are going to WDW for 4 days and have 3 character meals booked! ;-)

I agree with one of the prior posters who said to pay for a 2TS out of pocket if you are doing any, and are on the DDP. We prefer the deluxe plan, and like to have a character breakfast and a TS dinner, sometimes using two credits for dinner.

But the best advice in this thread is don't stress, go to meals you will all enjoy and have fun!

 

[thunderbird1]

I agree with everyone else--pick restaurants that sound good to you, not just places that seem to be the most expensive.

Absolutely do not spend any cash on less expensive snacks, hoping to save the credits for more expensive snacks. Trust me, with two 4 year olds, even if you are very liberal about using the snack credits, it will still be a struggle to use them all.

I'm a self-confessed overplanner, but I always try to vary the types of restaurants during our stays. What I mean is I try to alternate between buffets/character meals and regular, order off the menu restaurants.

Buffets are great with little kids because you can always find something they'll like, but it can be exhausting because you'll have to get all of their food for them. Similarly, character meals are a lot of fun, but can be an awful lot to take in. I don't think I could handle Chef Mickey's, the Garden Grill, and the Crystal Palace 3 nights in a row.

The flip side of that is that my ds would get pretty restless sitting through long, quiet meals every night. I don't think he could handle Le Cellier, Captain Jack's and Sanaa all in a row (at least not gracefully). So I would try to alternate--Chef Mickey's, then Le Cellier, then the Garden Grill, then Captain Jack's, then the Crystal Palace, then Sanaa, etc.

HTH, and welcome to the DIS!

 

[mgcgoose]

Thanks again. Alot of the feedback is great. I guess I worded the title wrong about "working" the dinner plan because I didn't neccesarily mean the most expensive. I just wanted to know some strategies about how to spend the least amount of money OOP. I hadn't thought about using a snack credit as a meal or eating a good buffet, a snack for lunch and then an earlier dinner. These hints are what I was looking for. I will definately plan with the kids in mind and have fun. I'm actually more stressed now just trying to figure out where to make my ADRs.

Melanie

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Don't stress! Be sure to check out all the menus at Allearsnet.com...this can help you review the specifics of the places and help you decide which places appeal to you and your family.
The BEST part of the dining plan (IMO) is that everything is already paid for before I leave home! It makes my vacation MUCH less stressful. We do still pay for a few things OOP of course (and tips / alcohol are not included)..but there is still a great piece of mind for me using the dining plan.
Some of the things we do to help *maximize* the dining plan:
1. We bought 2 filtered water bottles from Target. We can get free ice at the stands and fill it with the water from water fountains. We spent a LOT of our snack credits on water over the years and this will help us use those credits for *fun* snacks rather than the absolutely necessary H20!
2. We often use our snack credits for breakfast. Main St. Bakery is a wonderful place for that. Each of us chooses some insanely sugar filled thing (cinnamon rolls as big as your head) and then we split them 4 ways so we each have a taste.
3. DH and I also use our CS credits and share meals...the CS in Morocco has a schwarma platter of chicken and lamb that if wonderful and plenty big to share...then later in the day we will pick a different CS place to share from.
4. I definately agree with the PP...we never pick TS places based on prices...we pick where we want to eat based on what we like then order what we like. It obviously makes no sense to order the most expensive items on the menu if you don't like them!
5. I also agree that with kids character meals are a great usage of the dining plan...It is a great way for kids to sit down, cool off, and see their *friends*.

We have been to Disney every year with our kids (they are now 6 & 7) for the past 5 years...Here are some places that they love:

1. Hollywood & Vine character breakfast
2. 1900 Park Fare character meals
3. Chef Mickeys
4. Crystal Palace
5. Coral Reef
6 Tusker House character breakfast
7. Tutto
8. Biergarten
9. Ohana
10. Boma
11. WCC
12 Sci Fi

Please feel free to ask any more questions!

 

[cvrapclark]

If I had two four year olds, I wouldn't hesitate to do the plan. We love it. You can probably share a CS meal at lunch for both children or just get three and all share. Definitely use those snack credits. I've tried to save them and always end up with a lot at the end.

The reason I say do it is because the twins are only $12 a day. My diliema started when my second daughter turned 10 and has to pay as an adult. She just doesn't eat like an adult and that really adds to the price!! We ended up with free dining last year and I really have got to do the math to see if we should get it this year.

 

[ReneeA]

The DDP works great for us. I pack breakfast bars and pop tarts for the mornings, and I order bottled water from Costco (you don't need a membership & they ship it free) since I don't order enough to utilize one of the shop and delivery services.

I agree with the others about ordering what you like instead of what's the best value. Oh! I kow everyone loves character meals with little ones - we normally make ADRs for one or 2, but I don't load up. My kids like them, but the food is normally not great, I don't enjoy buffets, and the kids do not eat much at all. We went to Crystal Palace for breakfast one morning, and DD was in awe - but we couldn't get her to eat one bite. 10 minutes after leaving, she was begging for popcorn.

 

[ljcrochet]

We have done the dining plan and without the dining plan. We are going to be on the deluxe plan when we go in August. We decided what places we wanted to eat, and saw that the dining plan made sense for us. The best thing for me is I don't have to think about ordering dessert. I know I will even if I only take a bite unlike last year when I only got dessert at the family style resturants.

One thing i can suggest, is don't change what you want to eat to get the best value on the plan. It doesn't matter if you have the cheapest item on the menu if that is what you want to eat.
Don't pay for anything OOP till you run out of credits.

 

[caroline1851]

I went with dd2(almost 3) and ds6 and we really enjoyed using TS credits for lunch around 1pm or so. It was enough of a rest where they were re-energized to be able to hit the parks for another few hours. Using a snack credit to get a muffin is a good idea also. we didn't use snack credits for anything under $3. My kids enjoyed CRT, CP and Coral Reef.

 

[ltl engine]

Something that worked for us is using our TS for lunch since its usually HOT, HOT, HOT its a nice air conditioned break & then you can usually convince the kids to go back to take naps if they are not in the "park" mode. Also with naps its hard to make dinner TS since you really don't know how long your kids (or your) naps will last....as some one said sometimes they are much longer than at home.

For CS & TS both you can ask to have fruit which can be brought back for a snack or breakfast the next day. We also ate more dinner CS at the hotel than I thought we would. It just seemed less crazy and we could eat & get moving when we hit the parks rather than worrying about where to go that is closest to a CS we wanted.

Also for my picky eater--I looked at the menus and noted where we could get some easy food for him even if it was not on the menu where we ate our CS. No one cares if you bring a hot dog from a Kiosk to Studio Catering for your child. (Also our chef at Teppan Edo was highly amused by the chicken nuggets that we smuggled in for him--we still paid for his TS just eaten by DH instead! Our waitress said lots of people do this)

Any way you do it don't stress about it!

 

[MariDisney]

I haven't made ADRs yet and want to know the best way to work the plan. It is me, DH, and 4 year old twins. Any advice?

Melanie

I disagree a little with the do the math idea. I say go where you think you'll love and order what you think will be awesome. I'm not one to worry about maximizing money on the plan. I order what I like and don't nickel and dime things. If course, if I thouht we'd get less than what the DDP costs, I wouldn't buy the DDP.

 

[MBELSANTI]

Is this something new? I will be staying at OKW with DVC and didn't have my res# and she would only book 1 restaurant for me telling me that I would need to get my ressie # and call back because they cannot make any dining res without it??? But she was able to make the 1 ressie LOL??? Did this change? The only time I was hassled last year on my 3 trips was for Christmas/NYE ressies.

 

[clc053103]

Cannot make ADR's Without Reservation #?

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Is this something new? I will be staying at OKW with DVC and didn't have my res# and she would only book 1 restaurant for me telling me that I would need to get my ressie # and call back because they cannot make any dining res without it??? But she was able to make the 1 ressie LOL??? Did this change? The only time I was hassled last year on my 3 trips was for Christmas/NYE ressies.


without a ressie #, you are considered a guest not staying on property, and therefore can only make ADR's 90 days in advance rather than the 90 plus 10 rule for on site guests.