Clueless & Need some Dining Plan advice.

[bblanch]

We will be at the World in early June(3rd-9th) for 6 nights, so no Free Dining Plan.

But I am getting mixed reviews from friends who used the DP as to it's economical benefit. I am a meal guy, but my wife and kids aren't big meals eaters. However, my wife thinks the DP might be financially a better option for us.

I calculate rougly $100 a day for myself($38), my wife($38), and my 9($11) & 4($11) year old for the Dining Plan. 5 years ago when we visited the World, most of our meals were fast food combo meal type stuff... burgers, sandwhich, chicken, pizza, etc. I have no idea how much $'s we spent on that kind of stuff or the current menu prices. Heck maybe that stuff does work out to >$38/day, but it sure didn't seem like it.
ON our last trip, we didn't do any character meal and my family would really like to take advantage of that this time. My understanding it that I can use a table service meal for character meal?

One more thing... is all this not even necessary because we're probably too late to make any reservations for early June?

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

First: You are not too late to make ADR's, you may not get your first choice of times everywhere but you will be able to get meals at times thatcan work for you.

Character meals for adults with tax and tip add up to about $34..that makes your lunch and snack only $4 with the plan.

Kids character meals are more after tax and tip than the cost of the plan for a kid. That makes their lunch and snack "free" with the plan.

If you use the TS for breakfast or lunch and have the CS for dinner the savings aren't as big but you do break even most of the time. Enough to make it worth it.

The real question is: do you want to eat a sit diwn meal every day? Or did you like eating quick "grab-and-go" meals last time? You can eat for less than $100 at Disney, but we see the dining plan as a fun way to try some restaurants we otherwise wouldn't try.

2 adult cs and 2 child CS meals w/ drinks w/o dessert = about $30 per meal with tax. At twice a day you would be saving $40 over the dining plan cost.

I would still choose the plan, but a lot of people would not.
No matter what, have a great trip!

 

[ngtotd_dtrt]

For us, w/o the dining plan, we were eating a TS about every other day, and counter-service and outside-the-property the other times. When we had the dining plan, we chose to eat in more and nicer places than we would've. So, no big savings, but lots of bigger and better meals for about the same money.

It'd bring you over $100/day in food (about $150/day for us was the average), but probably won't save you money as you would eat fewer TS and less food (dining plan is a LOT of food) normally..at least it sounds that way per your post.

If you want to try a lot of disney TS restaurants, it'll be worth it. If you want to eat on the go a good bit and not be a slave to dining reservations, just pay out of pocket. JMO.

I don't think it's too late to get a place in June (depends on which resort you want), but getting dining reservations at the times you want them may be getting scarce. Good luck, and have fun!

 

[momof2disprincesses]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents.

We used the free dining plan last year. Before doing that, we were a lot like you - didn't give food much of a thought and just ate at cs places and ate burgers, chicken fingers, etc.

The dining plan gave our family a much greater appreciation for the "dining" side of Disney. The parks are awesome - that's for sure. However, there are awesome restaurants in Disney too!

You might want to give the dining plan a try this trip and see what great food Disney has to offer. I know it made us fall in love with Disney in a whole new way.

There are so many great places to eat at Disney and it gives your trip a new twist.

 

[ozziewags]

I just made my adr's for end of May/early June last night. I had no problem getting what I wanted except for Coral Reef. It seems that each night the only times the whole week were around 4 or 8. I took 8.
Our family has always enjoyed TS meals at disney. There are wonderful restaurants all over disney, especially Epcot and some resorts. Go and enjoy!!!

 

[MOMOFMNM]

having done the free plan last year, then trying to budget wo the plan for this year BEFORE the free dining again...I say the 100 a day is WORTH it esp if you'd like character meals and sit downs which it sounds like you would if they fit into your budget right??

The meals were all good if not great and kids love the character meals, we spent less time in character lines in the parks cuz we saw them in the restaurants...

you will get your $$$$ worth for sure!!!


I would highly recomend you do it! it is hard to feed your family for under 100 a day at WDW if you are having some sit downs and snacks and stuff...

you will not regret it

 

[MinnieNurse]

It does depend on your family, however, when we went last year the dining plan was wonderful. We had 3 character meals which my son loved, ate at the Sci-Fi which is very fun for kids (and grown ups) , went to Coral Reef which is also a neat atmosphere. If you want to add a neat touch to your vacation I would suggest the DP-it is worth the $.

We are going back in June and would not do it without the the DP. We are looking forward to trying a whole new set of restaurants. We just recently booked our ADR's for June and got everything we wanted.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We will be at the World in early June(3rd-9th) for 6 nights, so no Free Dining Plan.

But I am getting mixed reviews from friends who used the DP as to it's economical benefit. I am a meal guy, but my wife and kids aren't big meals eaters. However, my wife thinks the DP might be financially a better option for us.

I calculate rougly $100 a day for myself($38), my wife($38), and my 9($11) & 4($11) year old for the Dining Plan. 5 years ago when we visited the World, most of our meals were fast food combo meal type stuff... burgers, sandwhich, chicken, pizza, etc. I have no idea how much $'s we spent on that kind of stuff or the current menu prices. Heck maybe that stuff does work out to >$38/day, but it sure didn't seem like it.
ON our last trip, we didn't do any character meal and my family would really like to take advantage of that this time. My understanding it that I can use a table service meal for character meal?

One more thing... is all this not even necessary because we're probably too late to make any reservations for early June?

A few things.
1. No you're not too late. The most popular places might all be gone. Popular times might be hard to come by. But there are solid meal choices that will still be open at this time if you call for ADR's.
2. If price is your only concern and you do not have to have sit downs, you will do better on your own at the counters. No doubt about that.
The meals at the counters vary in price. Hamburgers and Hotdogs with fries are about $6-$7. One thing people do is get a double burger plus an extra bun. They end up getting two burgers out of it for about $1 more than just one. There's a fixin's bar to put your lettuce, tomato, onions and all that good stuff so the person with the second burger isn't missing out a bit on the fixins.
Also, there's a 1/2 chicken and ribs meal for $15 that fed me, my wife, and my son at Cosmic Rays. That's $5 a piece and that is LESS than we'd pay if we each got one hot dog and fries. The portions are big on a lot of things so be advised you can share.
3. I've done the dining plan and it really is nice. I found it worth the extra money for me. The Character meals were really fun and saved me a lot of time that I didn't have to wait in lines to see them. Plus I got to eat in some really good restaurants. I got it free and am getting it free again. I would strongly consider getting it again.
4. You don't need to purchase the dining plan to make ADR's so if you end up wanting to get it, just call, check what ADR's you would want and if you can get things you like go for it. If you can't just cancel the ones you made and stick to the counter and don't get the plan.
5. Oh and if you have kids, don't tell em before hand what you're doing. They'd be disappointed if you told em you were getting it and trying to get Chef Mickey's and then couldn't get Chef Mickey's.

 

[markriet]

Here's my 2 cents worth on the DDP.

Be ready to get your eat on.

We just got back and we did have DDP. It is myself, DW, DD (11), DD(5) and DS(2) (he does not count for DDP).

Short response.... WAY TOO much food.

We got sick of snacks and deserts. I love desert as much as the next guy, but an appetizer and chocolate cake every day for CS, ice cream bar for snack, and another sppetizer and desert at TS was way to much. At the end of our 5 day stay, we had 16 snacks left, were sick of eating desert evey meal and we pretty much just went and got a bunch of cookies, and stuff like that for the ride back home. If you watch it closely, some places will let you get carrots an stuff like that for desert or snack... so that can help.

I was not impressed with Columbia House (MK) like many others are... just a bunch of fried food in my opinion. Seasons cafe (Epcot)... I believe it is in the Land building with Soarin' was our best CS all week. A wide variety of food. The only problem with it was that it is cafeteria style, so it was a little hard for us to carry all that food and drag around the 2 yo. Pizzafarri (AK) was also great. We also had a CS in Epcot at Germany... it was very good also.

Also, one other thing. We found that the only way you could get ice cream with snack credits was at the ice cream carts... not at any ice cream parlor, etc. I guess the one possible exception was that Seasons cafe let us get a scoop of ice cream.

 

[bblanch]

THANKS for the replies. I'm convinced! I'll just fast during the entire month of May in preperation.

Now I just need to sit down with my picky eating family and map out some ADRs.... any can't miss suggestions?

 

[JimMIA]

We will be at the World in early June(3rd-9th) for 6 nights, so no Free Dining Plan.

One option you might want to explore is to rent a Disney DVC reservation here on the DISboards. Doing so might save you money, depending on where you were planning to stay and what kind of a deal you got, and you'd be eligible for the paid (NOT free) dining plan, just like you are at a Disney hotel.

For example, for June 3-9 (6 nights), a studio at Old Key West would be 74 DVC points. DVC points rent for $10-12, so you're looking at $740-$888 for lodging. That price, incidentally, includes tax and there are no other fees. The OKW studio has two queen beds, a small kitchenette, and a small sitting area. It's not palatial, but it's noticeably larger than a regular hotel room.

Or...you could get an OKW 1 bedroom for that period for 148 points ($1,480 - $1,776). A one-bedroom has a king-sized master bed, gigantic bathroom with jacuzzi tub (you need a map to find your way around the bath complex!), a large living room with queen-sized sofa bed, a FULL kitchen, and a laundry room with full-sized, stand-alone washer and dryer. Plus a porch or balcony. Plus parking at your door.

I don't know how those prices compare to what you're planning on, but it's an option. The dining plan cost is the same, and all of the benefits of staying on-site (DME, free parking at theme parks, etc, etc) are the same. The only thing you give up is daily maid service, but I rarely get that at home, so I don't miss it!

I don't rent my points, but there are a lot of DIS regulars who do, so it's something you might want to look at.

Now I just need to sit down with my picky eating family and map out some ADRs.... any can't miss suggestions?

Where you eat will depend on your individual food choices, but my basic suggestion would be to hit some character meals. We're going for five nights in May and hitting two character meals we haven't done before and three nice dinners -- Le Cellier, Coral Reef, and Teppenyaki.

[ETA: On character meals, dinners are a lot better deals than breakfasts or lunches if you have a choice. The food is much better and the price (1 TS) is the same.]

Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[bblanch]

We decided to go ahead with the Dining Plan.

My goal or at least I thought it was, was to have an ADR at each of the Deluxe resorts as I don't invision being able to afford to stay at them in the near future.... this was my excuse to visit and explore them.

So far I have a character breakfast in the Animal Kingdom.
Dinner at Boma
Dinner at WCC
Dinner at Ohanu

I am a bit concerned about Boma. My wife and kids are very picky eaters, I figured the buffet would be OK, because if they don't like some of the authentic dishes, they would have other buffet basics to choose from. But I don't like some of the latest reviews I've been reading here.

I still have 2 TS credits left.... as much as I'd like to stick to my plan of dining at the other 2 Deluxes, I think the kids and myself might enjoy the Prime Time and/or Sci Fi, or Coral Reef better. Opinions?

 

[msdis]

In making ADR's do you have to request a specific time like 7pm or can you simple schedule the night of the 10th, let's say. We are not people who like to be on a set schedule. Will this work for us or do we need to be more on a schedule? Has anyone not used ADR and have it work out? TIA

 

[ngtotd_dtrt]

We decided to go ahead with the Dining Plan.

My goal or at least I thought it was, was to have an ADR at each of the Deluxe resorts as I don't invision being able to afford to stay at them in the near future.... this was my excuse to visit and explore them.

So far I have a character breakfast in the Animal Kingdom.
Dinner at Boma
Dinner at WCC
Dinner at Ohanu

I am a bit concerned about Boma. My wife and kids are very picky eaters, I figured the buffet would be OK, because if they don't like some of the authentic dishes, they would have other buffet basics to choose from. But I don't like some of the latest reviews I've been reading here.

I still have 2 TS credits left.... as much as I'd like to stick to my plan of dining at the other 2 Deluxes, I think the kids and myself might enjoy the Prime Time and/or Sci Fi, or Coral Reef better. Opinions?

You don't have to eat at the hotel restaurant to see/explore the hotel. Every time we go to WDW, usually the day we arrive, we spend a few hours walking thru and shopping in the Contemporary, WL, and the Grand Floridian. We also take a trip to AKL during the week as well. So, only eat at those places if you really like the idea of eating there...if not, just shop there/visit and save your TS for another spot.

That said, I really like your selections. The kids loved 'Ohana, and we liked WCC too. Boma is my fav, but my wife says she really doesn't like it (but she seems to enjoy it while there ). We really like 50sPT a lot, mainly due to the desserts...some of the best in WDW IMO. My kids liked Sci-Fi, and we liked the atmosphere...but the food was poor. Never have been to Coral Reef.

We all really enjoy 1900Park Fare (Grand Floridian) breakfast and dinner. My kids really like Chef Mickey's (Contemporary), but I REALLY don't (too loud, rambunctious, food not as good as 1900PF, IMO).

Some other really good places we've been (which get thumbs-up from the kids) are Le Cellier (Canada in Epcot) and Cape May (Beach Club hotel).

One more thought...my DD9 is turning 10 the week we're there. If your 9-year-old is that close to 10 too, he/she can be an adult on the package. That means another $40 added to upgrade her park-pass from child to adult, but the dining plan is free, so he/she would get an appetizer, full meal, and dessert versus just a kids meal. This only makes a difference at non-buffets, so it may not be worth it to you. We called and they made the change for us with no problem.

Have fun deciding the dining ressies!

(to the other poster...you have to name a specific time when making dining reservations. So your schedule revolves somewhat around the dinner reservation. That can be a neat thing or an annoying thing. fwiw. Tough decision. Good luck!)

 

[ratfam]

My kids favorite dinner during our recent trip was at Spoodles. dh and I really enjoyed it too and I was glad we did it on the dining plan because it is pricey and I don't think we would have gone if we were paying on our own. Spoodles is a very short walk from the back entrance to Epcot, and it would give you the option to check out the BWI, Yacht and Beach Club and Swan and Dolphin if you were interested, as well as enjoying the Boardwalk area itself.

 

[Zoemakes5]

You didn't indicate whether your children were boys or girls (maybe I'm missing?), but I'd recommend the Donald meal at Animal Kingdom or the Princess meal at Norway as one of the TS meals. I think the kids would really like it. If you have a Pooh fan, I'd say Crystal Palace is a must.
Try to get a Fantasmic dinner if you can.
Chef Mickey's is a pretty "safe" restaurant, has a pretty interesting atmosphere being in the middle of the contemporary hotel.
Le Cellier and Alfredos are pretty safe, too, for pickier eaters, and good food. I also like the Japanese Steak house, the kids get a kick out of watching them throw the food around! My sons and dd and I really liked the German Beergarten, but DH didn't care for it.
I personally would want to eat maybe one or two TS meals outside the parks, but wouldn't want to eat the majority of them, as it's quite a bit of time to take away from park going to get over to the resorts every day.

 

[ngtotd_dtrt]

My kids favorite dinner during our recent trip was at Spoodles. dh and I really enjoyed it too and I was glad we did it on the dining plan because it is pricey and I don't think we would have gone if we were paying on our own. Spoodles is a very short walk from the back entrance to Epcot, and it would give you the option to check out the BWI, Yacht and Beach Club and Swan and Dolphin if you were interested, as well as enjoying the Boardwalk area itself.

I was asking questions about Spoodles with kids on DDP a while back. Glad you mentioned that. Could you elaborate? What did the kids get that they liked so much? Were there any dining-plan restrictions on the kids' menu? The appetizers, entrees, and desserts for the kids are pricey...a really good deal if everything is covered.

We have a ADR for Spoodles this next trip...looking forward to it!

 

[XxStaceFacexX]

We will be at the World in early June(3rd-9th) for 6 nights, so no Free Dining Plan.

But I am getting mixed reviews from friends who used the DP as to it's economical benefit. I am a meal guy, but my wife and kids aren't big meals eaters. However, my wife thinks the DP might be financially a better option for us.

I calculate rougly $100 a day for myself($38), my wife($38), and my 9($11) & 4($11) year old for the Dining Plan. 5 years ago when we visited the World, most of our meals were fast food combo meal type stuff... burgers, sandwhich, chicken, pizza, etc. I have no idea how much $'s we spent on that kind of stuff or the current menu prices. Heck maybe that stuff does work out to >$38/day, but it sure didn't seem like it.
ON our last trip, we didn't do any character meal and my family would really like to take advantage of that this time. My understanding it that I can use a table service meal for character meal?

One more thing... is all this not even necessary because we're probably too late to make any reservations for early June?

I am also going 6/3-6/9