calling all dining plan guru's

[itsdisneytime]

Many many 1sts for my trip coming up in December 2016. I need help from you all with the dining plan. My AAA agent signed me up for Dining Plus. I've never done the dining plan before and unfortunately I didn't ask her questions while I was there and now I've got some. I've been doing a lot of reading about the points etc & it sounds a bit involved. I don't want to not make the best choices to maximize the point of having this plan. Specifically wondering if you are limited to food choices when you are on the DDP - like, do they give you a different menu or even worse, do they dictate what you will eat when you are at certain restaurants? My best friend & I were told for us and our 2 kids we get 1 snack - 1 quick service - and 1 table service per person - per day. We want to do Ohanna for dinner, would that be a place where you use or "bank" a dessert credit since they give dessert at the end of the meal anyways, or do they take the dessert credit for the bread pudding? I want to do Cinderella Royal Table I think thats 2 credits and I want to do Chef Mickeys also. It seems a bit overwhelming and Im grateful for your time if you have input

 

[Lisa F]

It's not as complicated as you think it is.

you get 1 snack per person per hotel night. A "snack" is anything designated by the DDP little purple logo on it.

anywhere you see that on a menu board, it counts as a snack. it is not separated by kids or adults.

you get 1 quick service per person per hotel night. A "QS" meal consists of an entree (or full meal), a drink and a dessert. You may swap either/both your drink and dessert for any other item designated as a "snack" on the menu board. Additionally Disney is not enforcing the use of QS credits for kids vs. adults, so if you wish to order something from the adult menu for your child 3-9, you can do that.

you get 1 table service per person per hotel night. A "TS" meal consists of an entree, a drink and a dessert OR a full buffet with nonalcoholic beverage. There are some meals - signature restaurants, shows and CRT - that require that you use 2TS credits per person. There are no entrees or desserts that do not qualify for the DDP, however some of the more expensive signature non-alcoholic drinks, anything in a souvenir cup, anything with a glow cube do not qualify as a drink. This is restaurant dependent. In SOME restaurants you can swap dessert for a side salad or soup - this is NOT the case at all restaurants and it is not the case for all soups or appetizer side salads. Disney kids from 3-9 MUST order off the kid's menu at TS restaurants. At buffets and all you can eat family style dinners, kids can eat off of the adult buffet or from adult offerings vs. kid offerings.... but at any served plated meals, they must order off the kid's menu.

Kids over 9 years old are adults in disney's eyes.

You MUST use your entire entitlement for any given snack, QS or TS at once. You can't "bank" a dessert for later if you don't want it now. You can get a grab and go dessert and stick it in your bag or maybe take a dessert to go from a TS restaurant, but you can't put parts of meals in the bank for later.

So for Ohana, it would count as 1TS, you get your meal, drink and dessert all included. Any buffets or all you can eat family style meals would be similar.

if you do CRT it is 2TS per person.

hope that helps a bit.

 

[sharonabe]

There is no different menu. You can choose any entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic drink on the menu. If it says "serves 2" then both of you would need to choose it. Any buffet or all-you-care-to-eat will take your full credit. There is no "banking" of entitlements even if you don't use them anywhere.

And just to clarify, the number of credits you receive is based on the NIGHTS you stay, not the DAYS you play. So if you're staying 5 nights, but playing for 6 days, you only get 5 each of the credits.

 

[itsdisneytime]

So my friends daughter is 9 and will be just shy of 10 when we go. The travel agent has us down as 3 adults and 1 child. I know you say it wont matter at quick service if she gets an adult meal, but .... she is a big eater and always orders adult meals for all her meals - is this something i need to discuss with the TA? Can we pay more to list the one that is listed as a child up to an adult meal? I know she will order adult menu even if listed as a child & I dont want any issues with kick backs or questioning.

 

[senadler]

It would be expensive to age her up to an adult. At meals like Chef Mickey's, Ohana, and counter service she will be able to eat anything available or get an adult meal anyway. For CRT, if she really doesn't want a kids meal, you could pay for her meal separately without using her dining credits.

 

[SnackCredit]

Also, some restaurants will include any non-alcoholic drink with the dining plan (so you can order something like a smoothie), but others will only include fountain sodas. Always ask the server which drinks are included!

 

[Lisa F]

the savings is HUGE for kids at buffets and all you care to eat places where she can eat as much as she wants of whatever she chooses. the only place where it is an issue in your list is CRT. If I were you, I'd have her choose from the kids menu with a promise of a snack (savory if she wants) later if she is still hungry. Honestly there is a pastry plate for the table and the kids menus do not look to be on the tiny side... for breakfast there is a pastry plate and for lunch and dinner there is a tenderloin option along with appetizer and dessert. I doubt she will go away hungry from that one meal. Agree that some other meals are pretty light on food for kid portions but Cindy's does not seem so bad.

 

[sharonabe]

So my friends daughter is 9 and will be just shy of 10 when we go. The travel agent has us down as 3 adults and 1 child. I know you say it wont matter at quick service if she gets an adult meal, but .... she is a big eater and always orders adult meals for all her meals - is this something i need to discuss with the TA? Can we pay more to list the one that is listed as a child up to an adult meal? I know she will order adult menu even if listed as a child & I dont want any issues with kick backs or questioning.

You can age her up, but you will pay for her as an adult on both dining plan AND tickets. That's about $40/night just for the dining plan. In your OP, you said you have two children. Is the other child over 9?

As others have suggested, keeping this one child as a child will be cheaper. At CRT, perhaps you all can share with her? Are there any other restaurants you're considering?

I just reread your post. Are you asking if you can pay an additional fee at any meal where she wants to order adult meal? If that is your question, then it is a flat NO. The only way she can get an adult meal at an a la carte place with the DDP is to be listed as and paid as an adult for the entire thing.

 

[itsdisneytime]

Hi - well, I was asking if I should try to up her as an adult for meal options. If I have to have her as an adult for tickets too, then I see why we should keep her at her age. My daughter is going to be there - she just turned 14 so I understand she is an adult meal etc..
We will for sure share with the 9 year old child, sometimes its more of a issue where she wants to order big girl stuff like my daughter but if we tell her why she has to order off kids plan & offset it with other stuff from ours we should be fine.
You guys are great, very helpful! Maybe you will be willing to help at bit more. So...we will be there 5 days. 1 park per day. We want to do Ohanna & Cindys & BOG (for BOG I wasnt sure if we should do quick service or dinner) ...we also want to do chef mickeys for breakfast one day. Can anyone suggest any places to eat outside of those? The girls don't really care about character dining - the ones we are doing are just for tradition really lol.

 

[sharonabe]

Are you there for 5 days or 5 NIGHTS? Remember your credits are tied to your NIGHTS. Ohana, CRT, and Chef Mickey are already 4 TS credits. If you do BoG for dinner, that's 5 TS credits. If you have 5 nights and you do BoG for lunch, then you only need one more TS. You could do a F! pkg at HS or choose one of the EP restaurants. With your 9 yr old, I might lean more toward a buffet, so she doesn't fill like the little kid. Garden Grill or Biergarten at EP would fit that. Garden Grill has characters, but Biergarten does not.

 

[loves to dive]

You might be surprised at just how much food you are eating a day, it doesn't sound like a lot but once you actually do it you realize it is. I wouldn't worry about the 9 year old, she should have plenty to eat. Most people who no longer get the dining plan do so because it is just too much food.