Can someone please explain how the meal plans work in Disneyland?

biggroofy

DIS Veteran
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Jan 8, 2006
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I am (quite) familar with the Dining Plan, Deluxe Dining Plan, etc in Disney World. But the terms in Disneyland (CA) confuses me: Goofy's 3 Day Meal Plan, Donald's 2 Day Meal Plan, Character Meal (add $100???) - TOTALLY CONFUSED :confused:

Grateful if somebody can explain, and also let me know if it is just another version of DDP. Thanks.
 
biggroofy said:
I am (quite) familar with the Dining Plan, Deluxe Dining Plan, etc in Disney World. But the terms in Disneyland (CA) confuses me: Goofy's 3 Day Meal Plan, Donald's 2 Day Meal Plan, Character Meal (add $100???) - TOTALLY CONFUSED :confused:

Grateful if somebody can explain, and also let me know if it is just another version of DDP. Thanks.

Okay so disclaimer that I've never done this before, but I've been reading about it. They give you vouchers, so it's not the same as having your KTTW at WDW. I've seen good and bad reviews, but most say its worth it to save that money and just pay yourself because the options can be limited. But like I said, this is what I've read. They have a lot of info about it in the Disneyland website also, including what restaurants you can use it at.
 
It is NOTHING like WDW's plans so forget everything you know. More or less, it's just a prepay plan.

HTH,
Dreams
 
As others said...skip it! You just pre-pay for dollar-amount vouchers and you don't get change back. You don't save any money but you could potentially lose some because they don't give change. Pay out of pocket or if you really want to pre-pay, put money on a Disney gift card.
 

General consensus is that there is no benefit to the DLR resort meal plan...and can actually cost you money. You are by far better off just paying for meals as you go. If one of the benefits of the meal plan is not carrying cash or having a ton of charges every day, either charge everything to your room with room key if you are staying in site or put all the money you would spend on the meal plan on a Disney gift card and spend away!
 
Having been to both WDW and Disneyland, I'd NEVER buy a meal plan at Disneyland.

There just aren't many sit-down restaurants and the counter service is better, IMHO, than WDW.
 
I decided to go with the plan so DH doesn't have a coronary while we're there (over the character meals). Now I know the holes in the plan and will be very aware of when we use them. But we will be in the parks a LOT and have several reservations so I think it will be okay in our situation--and I should say that DH eats his way through vacations. If you are going to be under pressure to use them, then don't get it. And if you do, make sure you apply them to the highest priced items.
 
lurpee said:
I decided to go with the plan so DH doesn't have a coronary while we're there (over the character meals). Now I know the holes in the plan and will be very aware of when we use them. But we will be in the parks a LOT and have several reservations so I think it will be okay in our situation--and I should say that DH eats his way through vacations. If you are going to be under pressure to use them, then don't get it. And if you do, make sure you apply them to the highest priced items.

Lurpee, they are just cash vouchers, for $5,$15, and $33 or $40 depending on your plan. It's just like paying with cash - doesn't matter where you eat or what you order.
 
I typically use gift cards for our park trips. I decided to try the dining plan when I purchased a trip through Costco back in April. A friend of mine raved about it, and I thought I would test it out since we had Character Meals and TS planned. We bought a 3 day plan for 3 days in the parks.

I understood the character meals vouchers could be used for the cm or they had a cash value. I knew you could not use them in DTD and a few other places, and that you would not get change back if you used a higher $ voucher vs the cost of the transaction.

I didn't have any issues making them work for us where we did not lose $. You can use them in any denomination where they are accepted (CS voucher for TS, or for several snacks). My only complaint is that it was too much food and I should have purchased a 2 day.

The Mice Age article seems to have been written by someone who may not have understood all there is to know about the dining plan.
They also make it sound like the dining plan was supposed to offer some savings, but nowhere does Disney state the dining plan will be a value...it is merely a convenience.
 
I didn't have any issues making them work for us where we did not lose $.
That is the thing you should never lose money. Since the plan is a $ for $ you have to be careful and possibly order thing you wouldn't normally.

The Mice Age article seems to have been written by someone who may not have understood all there is to know about the dining plan.
They also make it sound like the dining plan was supposed to offer some savings, but nowhere does Disney state the dining plan will be a value...it is merely a convenience.

While Disney does not state that there is a savings it is an assumption based on the WDW dinning plan which can/does offer savings. But it too forces you to order food you may not have normally ordered.

Personal I will stick with cash/rewards for my food. I don't eat expensive meals at the parks and now with my new food restrictions, I will likely be eating more outside the parks than inside.
 
Just my two cents, if you are going to do Character Meals, we always buy those vouchers with our package. That way it is included in the cost of the vacation and not a huge shock when you pay for it on your trip.
 
That is the thing you should never lose money. Since the plan is a $ for $ you have to be careful and possibly order thing you wouldn't normally.
I didn't have this problem. I was able to stretch them to 3 meals a day actually, and probably paid an additional $35 with the overages for snacks, CS and the BB bill.
 
I didn't have this problem. I was able to stretch them to 3 meals a day actually, and probably paid an additional $35 with the overages for snacks, CS and the BB bill.

Exactly. When a lot of people think "dining plan"...they think that they shouldn't have to pay any overages.

Fact is with DLR's dining plan there is a 100% guarantee that either:
a) You will lose money (even a small amount due to change)-most likely situation
b) You will have to pay extra out of pocket

Unfortunately, for me at least, both of these are reasons not to get the dining plan, especially because of how easy it is to lose money. Even one $3 snack bought with a $5 voucher loses you $2 right off the bat, since every voucher is bought on the dollar.
 
Exactly. When a lot of people think "dining plan"...they think that they shouldn't have to pay any overages.

Fact is with DLR's dining plan there is a 100% guarantee that either:
a) You will lose money (even a small amount due to change)-most likely situation
b) You will have to pay extra out of pocket


Unfortunately, for me at least, both of these are reasons not to get the dining plan, especially because of how easy it is to lose money. Even one $3 snack bought with a $5 voucher loses you $2 right off the bat, since every voucher is bought on the dollar.

With the dining plan, you resolve to either one of the bolded or the other. I opted for B, and understood that to be the case before I went into the parks. I would have paid the same amount with a gift card as I did with the vouchers and extra cash.
If you use a snack voucher, you are not limited to one snack per voucher. I could go to an Ice Cream cart and purchase three Mickey Bars, use 2 $5 snack vouchers and pay the $.50. difference. I didn't lose any $, and overall I would have paid the same with any other means.

I think if a person has half a brain they can use the plan unscathed. The only way to lose $ is if YOU knowingly let it happen.
 
If you use a snack voucher, you are not limited to one snack per voucher. I could go to an Ice Cream cart and purchase three Mickey Bars, use 2 $5 snack vouchers and pay the $.50. difference. I didn't lose any $, and overall I would have paid the same with any other means.

What if I only wanted two Mickey Bars? I pay with two $5 voucher and then...what? I lose the remainder of those voucher because I will NOT get change and my total bill is less than $10. Or I use one $5 voucher and pay the extra, still keeping in mind that i NEED to buy more food later to use that second $5 snack voucher. I think that's the point people are trying to make. I'm either forced to buy MORE food to spend up to the voucher amount or lose money.

All in all, it sounds like it takes a fair bit of mental energy to keep track of vouchers used and unused and what demoninations I have left so I'm not forced to lose money on them. I'd much rather spend my mental energy in the parks strategizing on activities (rides, shows, characters, etc) and enjoying my kids than fiddle with the meal plan. Obviously YMM(and does)V. I don't see any upside in it for me at all. Lots of energy. Zero reward.
 
What if I only wanted two Mickey Bars? I pay with two $5 voucher and then...what? I lose the remainder of those voucher because I will NOT get change and my total bill is less than $10. Or I use one $5 voucher and pay the extra, still keeping in mind that i NEED to buy more food later to use that second $5 snack voucher. I think that's the point people are trying to make. I'm either forced to buy MORE food to spend up to the voucher amount or lose money.

All in all, it sounds like it takes a fair bit of mental energy to keep track of vouchers used and unused and what demoninations I have left so I'm not forced to lose money on them. I'd much rather spend my mental energy in the parks strategizing on activities (rides, shows, characters, etc) and enjoying my kids than fiddle with the meal plan. Obviously YMM(and does)V. I don't see any upside in it for me at all. Lots of energy. Zero reward.

Always pay the difference! The ONLY upside is that you are able to pre-pay for some meals ahead of time...That is it! No savings, no rewards. No one is even stating you get those with the purchase of the dining plan. I can pre-pay by purchasing Gift Cards prior to my trip.
I am only relating my experience. I wanted to give it a try, I tried it. Didn't lose $ and was not drained mentally.

I am giving the perspective from someone that used it before. Most commenting here have not.
It met our needs when we used it. Did I hate using it and did I lose $...NO. Would I suggest it to someone...probably not.
 





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