Can you upgrade dining plan?

[Eliserose]

Can you upgrade the dining plan after you purchase your package? I got the dining plan, but thinking I may need the deluxe after reading about all the breakfasts to do. Thanks!

 

[Maus]

Can you upgrade the dining plan after you purchase your package? I got the dining plan, but thinking I may need the deluxe after reading about all the breakfasts to do. Thanks!

Yes, you can. I think it is up to 72 hours before you get there. You cannot upgrade anymore when you get there. We did, we have free dining and upgradet to deluxe.

 

[Eliserose]

Thanks so much! We aren't going until September, so that will work. I originally thought we'd just grab something for breakfast, have CS for lunch and TS for dinner, but it might be better not to pay OOP for the character breakfasts, since a lot of them get great reviews.

 

[lumpkink]

Great information! Thanks for sharing

 

[dzorn]

Have you been to the parks before? That is a lot of food and time commitment. Table service takes about 2 hour each.

We usually have dining credits left on the regular plan.

Denise in MI

 

[Eliserose]

No, I haven't been there recently and last time I went, I didn't even have children. I didn't take that into consideration. I just thought about if it was worth it if we added a few character breakfasts into the mix of things. I don't have to make ADRs until March, so I guess I can see what I get and then decide from there. Thanks!

 

[tinka-belle]

Keep in mind that it's hot in Sept. and you might want lighter or smaller meals. If you book a character breakfast, leave ample time before your dinner res. You'd most likely just grab a snack for lunch, or at most split a CS meal.

We LIKE to eat at WDW, but can't manage more than one big meal and one or two small ones (or split meals) per day in the hot weather.

 

[tina.tina]

I was sort of thinking that TS restaurants with AC would provide a break from the heat. I've also been advised that you should ask for the bill soon after you get settled in at a buffet to sort of speed things up. Wouldn't it also save time standing in line for characters?

 

[shawnh199]

I have never spent 2 hours at a TS restaurant except for Ohana. Our meals generally take us an hour or so, sometimes less (and yes, take care of that check early on!) We do character meals every morning, enjoy a relaxing air conditioned sit-down lunch around 1pm and another relaxing meal in the evening. Because our breakfasts are before the park opens we don't lose any more time than those that do one 1 credit meal & a signature meals to take up 2 of their credits, and I imagine signature dining takes a bit longer (atleast that is what my MIL experienced when she had a signature meal and we did a regular TS meal the same day/time). We also dine in the park we go to that day (or nearby resort) so we don't lose any time traveling from place to place.

It is a lot of food, but the only meal that we feel full from is dinner. Breakfast is used as good fuel for getting to those rides hot and heavy in the morning. Lunch provides a much needed break in the early afternoon and refuels us for the rest of our day until dinner comes around. With park hours and such, we don't have 5 hours to go run around and burn off dinner like we can breakfast and lunch.

We have two girls (4/8 on our next trip in May) and they are accustomed to eating 3 meals a day and have been eating out in restaurants most of their lives so the deluxe plan works great for us. It may not be for everyone, but I wouldn't let others discourage you either. If you plan it right, it's great!

Definitely take care of your check early at character meals (any meal really) especially if you are trying to make rope drop in the morning. It can take quite a while to finish with the many receipts they bring you when you are on a dining plan. Plus, you are taking care of it early when most wait till the end of a meal, which makes everything take longer because everyone is doing the same thing. We learned the hard way at Crystal Palace. We had finished eating and meeting characters by 845am - yeah rope drop! Nope, it took over 15 minutes to take care of the check.

We met over 40 different characters on our last trip (went through 3 autograph books) because we were able to meet so many characters at our character meals and did not have to wait in line for them unless we just wanted to. It was great!! Financially, the deluxe plan makes sense for us because we do so many character meals and they are quite expensive.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Eliserose]

Thanks for all the tips! I know this is probably a stupid question, but what is rope drop?

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I have never spent 2 hours at a TS restaurant except for Ohana. Our meals generally take us an hour or so, sometimes less (and yes, take care of that check early on!) We do character meals every morning, enjoy a relaxing air conditioned sit-down lunch around 1pm and another relaxing meal in the evening. Because our breakfasts are before the park opens we don't lose any more time than those that do one 1 credit meal & a signature meals to take up 2 of their credits, and I imagine signature dining takes a bit longer (atleast that is what my MIL experienced when she had a signature meal and we did a regular TS meal the same day/time). We also dine in the park we go to that day (or nearby resort) so we don't lose any time traveling from place to place.

It is a lot of food, but the only meal that we feel full from is dinner. Breakfast is used as good fuel for getting to those rides hot and heavy in the morning. Lunch provides a much needed break in the early afternoon and refuels us for the rest of our day until dinner comes around. With park hours and such, we don't have 5 hours to go run around and burn off dinner like we can breakfast and lunch.

We have two girls (4/8 on our next trip in May) and they are accustomed to eating 3 meals a day and have been eating out in restaurants most of their lives so the deluxe plan works great for us. It may not be for everyone, but I wouldn't let others discourage you either. If you plan it right, it's great!

Definitely take care of your check early at character meals (any meal really) especially if you are trying to make rope drop in the morning. It can take quite a while to finish with the many receipts they bring you when you are on a dining plan. Plus, you are taking care of it early when most wait till the end of a meal, which makes everything take longer because everyone is doing the same thing. We learned the hard way at Crystal Palace. We had finished eating and meeting characters by 845am - yeah rope drop! Nope, it took over 15 minutes to take care of the check.

We met over 40 different characters on our last trip (went through 3 autograph books) because we were able to meet so many characters at our character meals and did not have to wait in line for them unless we just wanted to. It was great!! Financially, the deluxe plan makes sense for us because we do so many character meals and they are quite expensive.

Enjoy your trip!

I agree with this 100%.

We do a character breakfast in the morning, at the same time that we would if we were eating anywhere else. And, as they are all buffets, they don't take any longer. In fact, as some of the CS may have a long line for breakfast, we've had the buffets take less time, even with characters coming around.

We found that CS lunches took up to an 1 /12, including waiting in line to order food. And, especially in the hot weather, we weren't in a hurry to get out of the AC. so, very little time lost here also, if you do a TS for lunch.

As for timing and eating all that food: we work up an appetite walking around all day. Here is when we plan our meals

8:00 breakfast
1:00 lunch
6:00 dinner
10:00 snack

For the other snack, we usually get a drink or ices to cool down at some point.

Doing it this way we can spend the entire day in the park, RD until closing, and not be too tired to do it all over the next day.

 

[shawnh199]

Rope Drop is when they let everyone into the park at the regular park opening time. The have most of the sections of the park "roped" off and when you are eating at a place like Crystal Palace before the park opens, they let you walk to one of the areas of the park you wish to go to without having to go back to the entrance to be let it with everyone else. I know at DHS, rope drop means most people rushing back to Toy Story Mania to get in line or grab fast passes - I hear it gets kind of dangerous if you have little ones trying to walk in that mess. They have a designated place for you to stand at DHS if you have finished your meal in time so that you are a little ahead of that crowd, but they catch up quickly. At Animal Kingdom, I believe Cast Members carry a rope to keep people behind it from the entrance and they walk back to the safari area before releasing everyone.

I have personally not done a "rope drop" experience because we are usually eating breakfast at one of the restaurants. Our last trip, the only breakfast we had early enough to possibly make RD was Crystal Palace, but I have lots for our trip in May, so I hope to get to experience these personally this year. Our first trip back in 07, we slept in most mornings but we learned we missed out on a lot and now we do the breakfast thing in the parks to get us up early.

I hope I explained it OK.

 

[Krissy562]

We've been doing the dining plan since the first time Disney offered free dining and even included both appetizers and dessert (and gratuities) what a deal that was! We are big eaters, and while it's still a fairly good deal, it's simply too much food. Even though they've taken out the appetizers, you are still eating more than you probably would normally, and it drags you down when you then want to get moving around the parks.
However...
You can still work in those Character Breakfasts and not spend all of your time in restaurants. Our DD was always "starving" as soon as she'd wake up, and we'd have to give her some cereal in the room anyway, so we ended up making our Character Breakfast ressies for as late as possible. Unless it offends you to eat breakfast foods at lunchtime, it works out great to make your character "breakfast" ADR for 11am or so. This way you can grab something quick from your food court for breakfast, and use your character breakfast as lunch. Then use a counter service for dinner.
The advantage of this, is that you are ready to go by rope drop, maximize the prime early touring time, collect fast passes, and you'll be ready for a break by your seating time. A bonus, is that you'll be done with your meal and riding attractions again when everyone else is in line for lunch.

Some of our best late breakfast dining plan "faves" are Tusker house and the Princess Storybook Breakfast in Norway.

 

[Eliserose]

Thanks for all the great advice. Maybe I'll just keep the plan I have and pay oop for anything extra.

 

[HoltDisney07]

We went a couple years back and had the DDP that included your appetizers, dessert and gratuities. We ended up paying a lot OOP for our breakfasts and because we went to CRT we had to pay OOP for one dinner. We are going back this year and are opting to go with the DXDP. We may not us all our appetizers, desserts or snack credits, but for us we would be paying about the same if not more in OOP costs then just upgrading to DXDP. At least this time I can even throw a few signature reservations in there if I want to and use snack credits for breakfast. We also have a 2, almost 3 year old that can help clear our plates. I think everyones situation is different and you just need to plan and figure out what would be best for your family.

 

[Eliserose]

Thanks! Everyone is so helpful!