For mine and my sons first trip and my husbands second to Disney World we opted to do the dining plan as we thought it to be a great value and didn't want to mess around with worrying about where we were going to eat dinner each night once we were there. Our first night we opted for a late dinner at Chef Mickeys- the food wasn't the best we have ate but it wasn't horrible either but the Character experience was great and got all of us in the Disney mood after traveling half the day. We would definately go back here as we all had fun. Also my two year old son has a metabolic disorder and can not have any dairy at all and they sent the chef over which was great. He made my son a special non-dairy plate with soy ice cream for dessert which my son just loves. Our second night we ate an early dinner at the Crystal palace- the food was about the same as at Chef Mickey's and tasted the same as well. The character experience wasn't too bad however it did take forever for Tigger to come over. He came to the table across from us and then went all the way over to the other side of the restaurant not stopping at our table until much later. In the end we did see all the characters but it wasn't as good of an experience as Chef Mickey's. At Chef Mickey's we saw the characters a few times and at Crystal Palace we saw them once and unlike at Chef Mickey's our waiter didn't even ask if we had seen them all. Although we would go back just because my son loves Winnie the Pooh and Tigger and this is a much better way to see them than standing in line at MK for an hour but only if we did the dining plan again. Our third night we went to the Sci- Fi Dine in Theater of which we would never go back to again as once we were seated we had to wait over 30 mins just for our waiter to come and take our drinks order. When we finally received our food it was burnt and the steak was like shoe leather. The atmosphere is neat but not worth going back to. It took forever to get our dessert and bill as well and most the time we could not even find our waiter. When I asked what drinks were on the dining plan I was told just soda but afterwards I heard another couple ask another waiter and they were able to order milkshakes and smoothies on their dining plan. I feel that disney needs to do something to be more fair with their dining plan and to set some rules that are across the board no matter where you are at on property or who you are you should be able to get the same things on the dining plan. It shouldnt just be the luck of the draw based on the waiter you get or what resort you are staying at. If you can get a half gallon of milk at AK lodge you should be able to get it at POP or anywhere else on property but that is not the case as of yet. Our fourth night we went to Liberty Tree Tavern- I am a picky eater and the food was even good to me here and the characters were great as well although we tryed to get a picture of Chip and Dale together and could not even though they were standing in the same general area at the same time. I guess they are told that they have to rotate and can not be at the same place at the same time as when we asked they shook their head no. But this aside it was a great dining experience. Our fifth night we ate at Boma at the AK lodge- the food here is all African flavored and was not my favorite but I wanted to try something different. Some of it was too spicy for my tastes but if you like spicy food its a good place to go. On our sixth night we ate at 1900 Park Faire with Cinderella and Friends- the food was about the same as Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace as it is another buffet. It wasnt too bad but after having the other buffets earlier in the week the food gets kind of old. The characters were ok but overall this was our least favorite character meal as they didn't come around too much or interact much. Also even though we were told the chef would be over about my sons diet she never came over and the waitress was trying to rush us out the door when we were only there for 30 mins. We think she was anxious to go home because as soon as we paid our bill we stayed for another 15 mins or so and didn't see her again and no one else came over to our table either.
Our seventh night we ate at the Coral Reef - the atmosphere is neat with the aquariums but the food wasn't all that great and so we wouldn't eat here again either. Our eighth and final night we ate at the Concourse Steakhouse and again we would not eat here again either although for once our steaks did not come burnt and taste like shoe leather it was the side dishes that were not so great. After having potatoes all week at the buffets and at the a la carte meals you get sick of the same old parmesan and garlic and just want some plain old mashed potatoes. After awhile all of the table service meals start tasting about the same which is one of the down sides of the dining plan as you do not want to let one go to waste. The other downside is that they take forever and u waste a lot of park time at sit down meals as well as in transportation time to get there and back exspecially if most of them are in resorts not parks or not in the parks you are at.
For the Counter service meals we ate at:
Cosmic Rays- was great would def do again ,on different days we got the burgers as well as the half chicken with rack of ribs a great deal even without the dining plan but a really great deal with esp if you do a table service that night as well.
Backlot Express- would do again had burgers
Abc Commissary- would do again had burgers
Pizzafari- was great would do again had pizza
Pop Century food court- would do again we got both pizza and burgers on different days and my husband got a meatball sub and loved it.
We found the dining plan to be a great value but they need to have consistancy with what you can and can not get esp for the snack options as we found that we could get anything 4 and under at most places but at others only things like sodas or an ice cream bar. At AK lodge we were able to get a 12 count box of donuts and a half gallon of milk as a snack each whereas we were not able to get a half gallon of milk at pop as a snack. We were able to get an 8 count of donuts at Pop as well as a big family bag of chips. The milk was cheaper than the big bag of chips and box of donuts but yet this was not allowed which I feel is not fair or consistant and I plan on writing a letter to disney about this. If they are going to have places that say anything 4 or under than it should be the case anywhere on property. They should just put a value to how much they feel a snack is worth and let you get anything that is that amount or less or even let you get a couple of things that doesnt go over that amount.
Overall we were happy with the meal plan however it was hard to use all those snacks and counter services as they give you sooooooo much food lol.
Much more food than we could have imagined and when it is hot you dont feel like eating most the time either all you want to do is drink. We got a value out of the dining plan just on the drinks at lunch and dinner as we didnt have to buy any drinks while there since I had brought Kool-aid packs with me for in between meals.
Our seventh night we ate at the Coral Reef - the atmosphere is neat with the aquariums but the food wasn't all that great and so we wouldn't eat here again either. Our eighth and final night we ate at the Concourse Steakhouse and again we would not eat here again either although for once our steaks did not come burnt and taste like shoe leather it was the side dishes that were not so great. After having potatoes all week at the buffets and at the a la carte meals you get sick of the same old parmesan and garlic and just want some plain old mashed potatoes. After awhile all of the table service meals start tasting about the same which is one of the down sides of the dining plan as you do not want to let one go to waste. The other downside is that they take forever and u waste a lot of park time at sit down meals as well as in transportation time to get there and back exspecially if most of them are in resorts not parks or not in the parks you are at.
For the Counter service meals we ate at:
Cosmic Rays- was great would def do again ,on different days we got the burgers as well as the half chicken with rack of ribs a great deal even without the dining plan but a really great deal with esp if you do a table service that night as well.
Backlot Express- would do again had burgers
Abc Commissary- would do again had burgers
Pizzafari- was great would do again had pizza
Pop Century food court- would do again we got both pizza and burgers on different days and my husband got a meatball sub and loved it.
We found the dining plan to be a great value but they need to have consistancy with what you can and can not get esp for the snack options as we found that we could get anything 4 and under at most places but at others only things like sodas or an ice cream bar. At AK lodge we were able to get a 12 count box of donuts and a half gallon of milk as a snack each whereas we were not able to get a half gallon of milk at pop as a snack. We were able to get an 8 count of donuts at Pop as well as a big family bag of chips. The milk was cheaper than the big bag of chips and box of donuts but yet this was not allowed which I feel is not fair or consistant and I plan on writing a letter to disney about this. If they are going to have places that say anything 4 or under than it should be the case anywhere on property. They should just put a value to how much they feel a snack is worth and let you get anything that is that amount or less or even let you get a couple of things that doesnt go over that amount.
Overall we were happy with the meal plan however it was hard to use all those snacks and counter services as they give you sooooooo much food lol.
Much more food than we could have imagined and when it is hot you dont feel like eating most the time either all you want to do is drink. We got a value out of the dining plan just on the drinks at lunch and dinner as we didnt have to buy any drinks while there since I had brought Kool-aid packs with me for in between meals.
