Can you tell me how the Dining plan works at DLR

[jenseib]

I am very interested in using it if we ever go there, but I really don't understand all of it. I know you get vouchers. What about TS meals? I see it says regualr type meals and then like a priority meal, (Or something like that without having the DLR site open.) We really like the way it works at WDW becuase we like the fact that our meals are basically paid for already.
So if anyone can explain exactly how it works there, it would be wonderful and including which restaurants can be used as wll. Thanks you so much.

 

[ballarinamom]

It's nothing like WDW. There really is no savings like at WDW. And if you don't plan right, you could lose money. We are doing it this year due to a credit from AAA from a past trip. We just picked up our booklet. We have the 6 day plan and the other pans are based accordingly to how many days you want. One way it is a bit better ,IMHO, is that you can buy how ever many days you want. At WDW, you have to purchase for your entire stay. The booklets are purchased for adults and children and you do not have to buy for everyone in your group. Ours has 2 vouchers for breakfast if the park. This is for any counter service meal. It has a $10.76 value. I was told by several CMs that you can also use this for lunch or diner now. If you only spend $9.00 you will not receive change. 3 snack vouchers for $6 and change. You can get a churro and a drink? One table service for lunch or dinner. Once again it has a value that if you exceed you will be charged the difference or not refunded and balances. One character breakfast and a Dinner at Goofy's/ Also several vouchers for different denomonations ($5, !10 and $15) that equaled $95. As many folks here are not big on so many meals, this is not a very viable for them. My family does like to take our time and enjoy the dining options and will use every cent of this. We will be using our math skill and supplementing some cash to avoid losing money.
Also. FWIW, the vouchers can be used at the 3 Disney hotels but none of the places in DTD
For past trips, we have just prepurchased Disney gifrt cards and DIsney Dollars (which I think now are extinct) to help us preplan our budget. You can also prepurchase character meal vouchers from AAA, Ares, Getaway Today and other sites at a slight discount.
Another niceity about DL is that they do give AAA discounts at several dining places. I think it's 10%

 

[jenseib]

Thanks for that info. So what do you get for your character meals? Is it a voucher of some sort as well?
So if I purchased 3 days worht of meals, and we stayed 5 days, I could use them during the whole stay? Can you purchase these without getting a package? lets say I go through the hotels actual site and get a deal, can I still opt to get the dining booklets via AAA?
And is there a list of what restaurants take the AAA discount? To me it's not os much about saving hte money, (though that is nice too) but that we are prepaid for food and one expense then we don't have to wrry as much about while there.
Also do you also tip at the TS's like you do at WDW?

 

[ballarinamom]

It only includes tips for the character meals. I think you can purchase this separately through AAA. They just have to be purchased and paid for 30 days prior to leaving.
As I recall, the follwoing give the discount-
Minnie and Friends
Wine Co. Trattoria
Goofy's
Ariels' Grotto
and I think Lilo and Storytellers

 

[jenseib]

So you can't use the dinner vouchers for all character meals then? Is one only for that, and the other just other TS's?

 

[ballarinamom]

You can use it for the value of the voucher. AS each character meal has different prices, the voucher will cover the vouchers credit and you will be responsible for any balances

 

[jenseib]

OK. So now I'm thinking, maybe we could just buy a gift card befoe the trip, like for $500 or whatever, depending on how many days we go, and just use that then right? Do all the CS and TS and snack places take the gift card? That may work out better in the long run, because if we don't use the value on food we can use it on other stuff as well.

 

[DLR29]

OK. So now I'm thinking, maybe we could just buy a gift card befoe the trip, like for $500 or whatever, depending on how many days we go, and just use that then right? Do all the CS and TS and snack places take the gift card? That may work out better in the long run, because if we don't use the value on food we can use it on other stuff as well.

Yes, get the gift card. It's accepted by most places and the DLR dining plan is very limiting and not worth it.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I use Disney Gift Cards & character meal vouchers to "pre pay" for meals @ DLR. 1 visit to DLR this year I didn't use anything but gift cards the whole time. CM vouchers are available through AAA ~ ARES http://arestravel.com/77_DisneylandResort.html *under Character Experiences & GAT http://www.getawaytoday.com/TicketListing.aspx?dest_id=2 *The breakfast vouchers from both ARES & GAT will work at any CM breakfast but probably will only save $$ @ Goofy's & Ariel's.

 

[sonnyjane]

I have a sneaky question -

If you have a Premium Annual Pass and get 10% off merchandise, can you also buy a gift card for 10% off?

And if so, can you buy a gift card, then also get your 15% off of food and pay for it with that gift card??

 

[jenseib]

I don;t think you can ever buy gift cards for a discount

 

[sonnyjane]

I don;t think you can ever buy gift cards for a discount

Yeah I just did some digging and you're right, they're excluded Nice thought though hehe