crazy dining plan question

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

Hi all, we are planning a Pop Century trip for 11-28-10 through 12-06-10. We will be doing 7 days in park and 8 nights in Pop. We already know that we are going to get the dining plan. The one with 1 TS, 1 QS and 1 snack. My question is how does this work out....is it based on nights in the hotel or is it based on days in-park. We will be arriving before check-in time on Sunday November 28th and will be in park from the 29th through the 5th with check out being December 6th. We are trying to figure out how many TS meals we will have so we can book our restaraunts. Will we get meals on check-in day and check-out day? We went to WDW in August 2008and suffered through the tropical storm that stalled over Orlando.....just our luck! We stayed at ASMu last time and was kind of upset about how many hotels shared 1 bus! Very long waits for busses. I know Pop has its own bus so thats why we chose it! So anyways, any help on the dining plan thing would really help us out! Thanks and have a peachy day!

 

[momof1princess]

the dining plan meals are based upon the number of nights of your stay. if your stay is 8 nights, 7 days, you get 8 table service meals, 8 counter service meals and 8 snacks per person.

 

[cntrygal]

Meal credits are based on nights at the hotel.

 

[claudia]

it's based on the number of nights you stay.

 

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

thanks everyone, that helps out alot! The wording was confusing me.....I just want all the facts before I start spreading rumors to the rest of my family! We don't need any drama!

 

[momof1princess]

thanks everyone, that helps out alot! The wording was confusing me.....I just want all the facts before I start spreading rumors to the rest of my family! We don't need any drama!

no problem if you have any other questions or want some restaurant suggestions, feel free to ask. talking about disney is my favorite thing, lol.

 

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

It's my favorite topic too! I've only been once but it was magical! No matter what problems we had it was still the best trip ever. In 2008 we didn't have the dining plan so we ate QS most of the time. There were so many places that we wanted to eat at but they were out of our budget...This time we are doing the plan so we can eat at all of those wonderful places. We are cereal in our rooms every morning which we will do again....I can't see paying for breakfast! We also plan on bringing a toaster this time to make bagels in our rooms too. We are driving down so we are going to stock up on drinks and snacks. Im getting so excited. My family is coming this time so its gonna be great. We have never done a family vacation that didnt involve a wedding before, lol.

 

[momof1princess]

do you have young children? oh well, even if you don't, you might want to consider doing one TS breakfast-Crystal Palace (MK), Tusker House (AK) and Ohana (Polynesian Resort) have great breakfasts. I hear Chef Mickey's is good too, but we haven't been there, because I also hear it's VERY chaotic, especially in the mornings.

ETA: we do breakfast in the room too-it's a HUGE time saver! pop tarts, apple with pb, toast, etc.

 

[terri01p]

 

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

Mom of 1, I DO have kids. My daughter will be 8 when we go again and my son will be 4! We will also have my nephew who will be 6! My daughter has been twice and my son (who is special needs) has been once. I dont think he took any of it in though. My nephew has never been so i'm excited for him. We are planning on doing Ohana, Nothing better than a Luau! We have been debating about Crystal Palace. Im torn on doing breakfast. We arent big breakfast people. Even my kids wont eat anything more than a pop tart or a small bowl of cereal. My daughter wants to do Chef Mickeys, she heard about it on our last trip. Im getting so freakin excited about going again, We are eating at T-Rex in DTD on our first night. My son is a big fan of Dino's. Ive heard both good and bad things about T-Rex. We went to Rainforrest last time but we were not impressed. So we figure maybe Rex would be better suited for us.
Terri, We are planning on bringing some quick snacks like granola and foods that we are sure that my son will eat. Not over doing it though. We want to bring the drinks mostly for the room but also because we are Pepsi people not Coke. Coke gives me a headache so I want a choice of something else to drink. Im glad that everyone thinks that the plan will give us too much food to eat. It was so expensive without the plan and there were times that the kids were still hungry.

 

[terri01p]

 

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

Terri, We looked already and T Rex isnt covered. We planned on paying cash there though. I have heard great things about Ohana, Im excited to see it for myself. I wish we didn't have to make reservations so far in advance though. I think it may be hard to tear away from whatever we are doing to leave a park and go eat....that is my worry! I would hate it if we were having a great time in Epcot and had to leave to go to MK for dinner.

 

[nmmom95]

Pyrate, and we were there in November '09 and were able to call the dining number and change a couple of ADR's. We weren't where we thought we'd be. If the crowds aren't bad, you will be able to change plans. I don't think that is a very crowded week.

 

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

Pyrate, and we were there in November '09 and were able to call the dining number and change a couple of ADR's. We weren't where we thought we'd be. If the crowds aren't bad, you will be able to change plans. I don't think that is a very crowded week.

When we were looking at dates we found out that this week isnt too bad. Everyone that is there for Thanksgiving is leaving by then and most schools are in so parents dont want to pull them out that close to Christmas break! It is good to know that we can change them if we need to. Can Table service credit be downgraded or used for quick service meals?

 

[paintnolish]

The buses are way better at Pop. We had a terrible experience at ASMo...waited forever for a bus, only to have it drive by (since ASMo was the last in line) or have it be packed everytime.I don't mind standing sometimes, but it was like sardines every single time. You will be much happier at Pop!

 

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

The buses are way better at Pop. We had a terrible experience at ASMo...waited forever for a bus, only to have it drive by (since ASMo was the last in line) or have it be packed everytime.I don't mind standing sometimes, but it was like sardines every single time. You will be much happier at Pop!

When we stayed at ASMu we were sometimes bypassed by the bus, it would fill up at ASsp. It got frustrating. One morning, just us in line, I think 8 of us, sat there for almost an hour waiting to geton a bus to MK. The park wasn't even busy but they had someting going on at ASsp! We finally found another bus that led us to the Monorail which finally got us to MK....It was a mess! I was so livid! We won't stay at the All Stars until they change this. Also, we got quite frustrated when a large group with someone in an electric scooter would fill the bus! I can see letting 1 or 2 people skip the line and ride with the person in the scooter but a group of 20 should have to wait in line with the rest of us! We had quite a few peoblems with this.....never complained about the small groups (5 people or less) but there were several groups of 20 or more skipping the lines to get on with their family member!

 

[KandD]

I think you are really going to like POP...I have stayed there numerous times and I really enjoy it. We rent a car though so I can't comment on the buses. (This last time we did not rent a car but we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside).

I know you said that you are going to bring a toaster but I THINK that they probably have one in the food court, I am sure someone will come along with a more definitive answer but it may be one less thing that you have to pack!
I don't blame you for wanting to bring some extra drinks and such especially with kids, at night it is nice to just have something in your room without having to go out and get it.

There are some really great table service restaurants, you should check out the restaurant board and the dining reviews to get an idea of what you and your family will like. We LOVE 'Ohana for breakfast but (unfortunately) have never been for dinner.

You will find some wonderful info here on the DIS! Happy planning!

 

[momof1princess]

there is, indeed, a toaster in the food court at pop century and it works GREAT-i used it myself back in june. there is also a microwave and you can get pretty much anything you can think of there. they even sell two slices of bread in a pack for toasting. we're not crazy about the buses, having experienced what the OP was saying about large groups with a scooter who filled up the entire bus, but we love the resort. we prefer the 70's building (the one with the 8 track tapes at the end). it's kind of a hike from the parking lot, but it's very quiet.
as far as restaurants, here goes:
MK - we love crystal palace for lunch (citrus marinated flank steak is to DIE for) and usually eat at pecos bill's for supper. pinocchio (sp?) village haus is also good. we did liberty tree back when it was a character meal, but i think it's overpriced without characters.
Epcot - biergarten it DH's favorite, because they serve pork schnitzel. i love the live music. we have also done akershus for the princess lunch, which was great, and we usually have our CS meal at american adventure (DH isn't an adventurous eater).
DHS - we tried hollywood & vine, but the food was mediocre and the service wasn't very good. we usually skip TS here and eat either backlot express, pizza planet or studio catering company for CS. the pizza/salad combo at pizza planet is enough for me and DH.
AK - haven't had a lunch or dinner TS here, but tusker house breakfast was YUMMY and our waiter was great. loved the characters too. we've done pizzafari and flame tree bbq for lunch, and i would recommend both.
Resorts - Pop has a great food court. we did a breakfast at o'hana (poly), which was delicious, and a supper at whispering canyon (wilderness lodge)-the food was really terrific and the staff's antics kept us laughing the whole time.
just a reminder: tips are no longer included in the dining plan (which i think stinks), so don't forget to add tips into your budget.

 

[Pyrate_Pryncess]

KanD~ Thanks for the great info, we are excited about staying at Pop!

Mom of 1~ I know there is a toaster and stuff in the food court but I Would rather just bring my own so I dont even have to leave the room! We prefer to eat then get ready or even eat while getting ready so going to the FC would be a pain in the toosh. Have you eaten at Rose and Crown? My husband is OBSESSED with fish and chips and has added that to out list of "musts"! Im not excited about it but I told him I would give him that one since I'm pretty bossy about everything else! Since we are driving (12 hours) we dont have any problems with bringing some of the additional things that we might like to have. Snacks, toaster, drinks etc.... We flew last time and my inlaws had to make a 2 hour trip to walmart! It was crazy so we are just going to bring what we can. Breakfast is the only meal that we will eat in our rooms though. Do they still do the show for breakfast at O'hana? I want to see the fire dancers, I think that type of stuff is amazing! Have you ever done the Fantasmic dinner? I know the choices are Mama Melrose, Brown Derby and Hollywood and Vine. Having never eaten a TS meal at Disney I am unsure which to choose. We will have my parents (48 and 50) my sister and her family (37, 32, and 6) my younger sister (20) and my family (30, 32, 8 and 4). I have seen the menus already and there isnt one that seems like it would make everyone happy! Any ideas?

 

[momof1princess]

we did the fantasmic package and ate at hollywood & vine-the food was unimpressive and as i said earlier, the service was mediocre. i understand about the toaster-i brought my own, but tried the one in the food court once on our last trip because i'd never seen one like it and was curious, lol. we bring a cooler and refill it with ice from the ice machine each morning after draining the water. it keeps milk, natural pb and juice boxes cold just fine.
i have not eaten at rose & crown, but it's very popular, so the food must be great. DH always insists on eating biergarten at epcot-pork schnitzel is his favorite food EVER.
i think with kids, hollywood & vine would be good for the fantasmic package, but i'd check some recent reviews on the food and the service. personally, i'd do crystal palace for lunch at MK, so you wouldn't have to leave and go somewhere else in the evening (who wants to leave MK, honestly?) then just do CS for supper. if you want a resort meal, whispering canyon at the wilderness lodge is great, and your kids will LOVE the stick pony races. chef mickey's and ohana are also great.