Dining at WDW, from a DVC perspective?

[CrazyDuck]

We (our family of 4) are planning our first trip to WDW. We will be there for 2 weeks starting a few days after Christmas. We are staying in a 1br villa at AKV and hopefully BWV. I'm curious about how you WDW vets handle eating at the resorts. Do you typically cook your meals in the rooms or eat out in the parks? At DLR we tend to do 1 to 2 meals a day in the room and eat in the parks for the other meals, but that's easy to do because the GCV's are really close to the parks. I'm guessing we'd end up spending a lot of time heading back to the rooms should we want to. Is it worth it to cook in the rooms? Also what about the dining plan? Is it something that most DVC members purchase to supplement meals cooked in rooms? Also I read that dining reservations are pretty important. Is it really necessary to make them 6 months in advance? Really? How do you plan that far in advance? How do you know what park you are going to be in each day? We are more fly by the seat of our pants people, does that mean we are going to be limited to CS dining? Is it impossible to walk up to a restaurant without a reservation? I feel that we are way in over our head! Thanks for any (DVC) help/advice you can offer.

 

[vicki_c]

For me, we never cook in the room and never do the dining plan and I would say most DVCers here seem to not buy the dining plan.

You are starting your trip during the most crowded week of the year. If you want to eat table service, you do need to make reservations and I would make them at 180 days personally. It's not a week to try and do walk ups to the majority of the restaurants. Counter service lines can be absolutely insane that week as well, so if you go that route it's best to eat at off times. (Crowds will lessen after New Years and then I guess the Disney marathon weekend may be happening while you're there as well-not sure of the dates for 2015-that bumps up crowds a bit as well but Christmas through New Year's is crazy crowded.)

We plan out which parks on which day as soon as Disney releases their park hours and easywdw releases his crowd recommendations and we rarely deviate from that. So it's easy for us to plan dining immediately thereafter at 180 days out. Works well for my family but may not for you.

 

[moran66]

Ill make this short and to the point.

Disney has some of the best table service rest. we go 3X a year for 2 weeks at a time we may eat in our room for breakfast most days but lunch and dinner is mostly eaten at a nearby rest or on disneys property if you arent going to come to disney more than 1 time every 3 years or so I highly recommend eating on disneys property atleast half the time you are there and yes you should make reservations for some places some dont need reservations to check out the revies on the rest on property see the rest forum

 

[Minniesgal]

We tend to eat breakfast and lunch in the room. We have been going for many years and our time there is much less about the parks we are spending less and less time at the parks and more and more time at the resorts and other places in Orlando so we are happy to come back to the room. We fill the fridge with snacks, drinks, etc. we don't really cook per say but we do hot dogs, deli meats and salads pizza etc. we only eat out at dinner and we are now down to 3 or 4 favorite restaurants then we eat a lot offsite so we don't do the dining pla. For DVC to me the dining plan seems such a waste when you have a full kitchen for at least drinks, snacks and breakfast. If you eat or drink in the room at all the dining plan quickly becomes too much.

 

[Safari Queen]

We do most breakfasts in the room. TS Dinner leftovers often become lunch or dinner when we're too lazy to go out. We have snacks and drinks on hand as well.

We have CS places in each park that we really enjoy, so TS is just a couple of times each trip. It's usually easier and less expensive to get lunch reservations at TS restaurants and we prefer a larger meal earlier in the day anyway.

If you really don't want to rely on CS, you do need reservations unless you want to wind up in the TS restaurants no one else wanted every night. That's usually Germany or Mexico.

Our favorites are the 1/2 chicken at Cosmic Rays (MK); BBQ chicken or ribs at Flametree BBQ (AK); several choices of hot food at Sunshine Seasons in The Land at Epcot; pulled pork sandwich on Sunset Blvd at HS.

 

[catherines_mama]

Yes. You need to make reservations if you want to eat table service. Had to get that out 1st because for me that's the base of it all. Plan that 1st. I look at the restaurants and menus and decide what we want to eat / experience. It likely isn't one a day. Maybe every other at most. Then I look at park hours and get a frame of what days we will likely be in what park and figure out what days we will do each dining reservation. If you do park hopper, this is much easier. If we aren't doing a breakfast reservation, I typically cook breakfast in the room. If we are taking a mid day break, we will likely do cold meat sandwiches in the room. That's my extent of cooking. As a DVC member we get discounted price on Tables in Wonderland (TIW) card. It provides 20% off at MOST restaurants. Search it on DIS and get tons of info. It's much better than dining plan for how our family travels.

Oh yeah- have fun!!! 2 weeks woohoo

 

[AnnaS]

We also spend less time at the parks and more time at the resort, pool, resort hopping.

We are now mostly in studios and still manage to have breakfast in the room 5 out of the 7 days we normally stay (give or take/estimate). A few lunches are from the pool area or salad/sandwiches we might have bought in Publix. Some are table service and some are also quick counter service.

Dinners are usually half table service and half counter service. Very rarely do we have dinner in the room.

For two weeks - we would definitely stock up on breakfast and lunch items - and play with that for any meal depending on our plans. We definitely mix it up.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We do breakfast in the room...oatmeal, cereal, eggs, etc. sometimes I buy deli meat for lunch but we usually do a quick service lunch. We only go to parks one day each time we are there. We much prefer the resorts, pools, activities, etc. We eat out every night at table service restaurants. Our favorites are Artist Point, c
California grill, narcoosees, raglan road, Jiko. I'm not much of a planner so we usually don't decide what day to go to parks until we get there. But I do make dinner reservations as far out as possible. We don't do dining plan but we do have Tables in Wonderland card which is available to DVC members for 100 and is good for 13 months from purchase. It offers 20% discount at most table service restaurants including liquor. We are wine people and often get a bottle with dinner so this represents a big savings for the way we dine. You can buy it at guest relations in the parks or at downtown Disney.

 

[preemiemama]

I agree with everyone on the 180 day reservations. You need them, especially if you are starting right after Christmas.

I am in the minority, I know- we always do the dining plan. For us, it is a good deal. Most people who don’t like it don’t eat all the desserts or think it is a lot of food. Some will even say it is like “prepaying” for your meals because they break even. For us, it is a way to allow us to enjoy the meals we have without analyzing prices at every meal- we get what we want. I will agree Tables in Wonderland is a good option if you don’t use the dining plan, and can save you a good amount on your meals.

My recommendation would be to go on to Easywdw.com or Allears.net and research the restaurants, menus, and prices. Then look at what the dining plan offers and the prices for each plan. Compare that to Tables in Wonderland and see what is the better deal for your family and what you think you would eat/do. Then decide which one, if any, you want.

I would also throw in that if you are there for 2 weeks, it may be more cost-effective to buy annual passes than regular park tickets. You would avoid the added cost of a park hopper if you decided on a given day/days to go to one park in the morning and end your day in another/have a dinner reservation in a different park. We tend to go to a park in the AM, then come back and relax, then head out to dinner (which typically winds up being somewhere in Epcot!). Plus, you get 10% off your merchandise purchases in the park!

 

[disneynutz]

We (our family of 4) are planning our first trip to WDW. We will be there for 2 weeks starting a few days after Christmas. We are staying in a 1br villa at AKV and hopefully BWV. I'm curious about how you WDW vets handle eating at the resorts. Do you typically cook your meals in the rooms or eat out in the parks? At DLR we tend to do 1 to 2 meals a day in the room and eat in the parks for the other meals, but that's easy to do because the GCV's are really close to the parks. I'm guessing we'd end up spending a lot of time heading back to the rooms should we want to. Is it worth it to cook in the rooms? Also what about the dining plan? Is it something that most DVC members purchase to supplement meals cooked in rooms? Also I read that dining reservations are pretty important. Is it really necessary to make them 6 months in advance? Really? How do you plan that far in advance? How do you know what park you are going to be in each day? We are more fly by the seat of our pants people, does that mean we are going to be limited to CS dining? Is it impossible to walk up to a restaurant without a reservation? I feel that we are way in over our head! Thanks for any (DVC) help/advice you can offer.

If you don't mind paying DDP prices, I would mix it up if doing a split stay. Do the DDP for your AKV stay and buy groceries for your BWV stay. You don't have to deal with moving food, you experienced the DDP, and you can pay OOP for a couple of meals during the BWV stay.

Bill

 

[nalajms]

Agree with Bill. DDP might be worth is when staying in AKV. It's harder to get back to the resort mid-day. However, BWV has so many more dining options that it might be cheaper to get DDP instead of paying out of pocket, even with a TIW card.

We mix it up with DDP and TIW. Our fridge usually holds beverages, some snacks for the kids, and a few lunchables. We eat out every meal. I personally don't feel like it's a vacation if I have to cook meals and clean up the kitchen

If we're not on DDP, I'll book a mid morning character breakfast and an early dinner. CS for lunch for whoever is hungry.

 

[ptlohmysoul]

We (our family of 4) are planning our first trip to WDW. We will be there for 2 weeks starting a few days after Christmas. We are staying in a 1br villa at AKV and hopefully BWV. I'm curious about how you WDW vets handle eating at the resorts. Do you typically cook your meals in the rooms or eat out in the parks? At DLR we tend to do 1 to 2 meals a day in the room and eat in the parks for the other meals, but that's easy to do because the GCV's are really close to the parks. I'm guessing we'd end up spending a lot of time heading back to the rooms should we want to. Is it worth it to cook in the rooms? Also what about the dining plan? Is it something that most DVC members purchase to supplement meals cooked in rooms? Also I read that dining reservations are pretty important. Is it really necessary to make them 6 months in advance? Really? How do you plan that far in advance? How do you know what park you are going to be in each day? We are more fly by the seat of our pants people, does that mean we are going to be limited to CS dining? Is it impossible to walk up to a restaurant without a reservation? I feel that we are way in over our head! Thanks for any (DVC) help/advice you can offer.

At the busiest time of the year (Christmas break), yes, you need reservations to ensure you can get table service. We always eat eggs in our room for breakfast, have fruit for snacks, and juice at the room for early morning and when we get back from the parks. (We use wegoshop.com to deliver our food). If you want to not plan, you can eat quick service or check and see if there are any cancellations, but even the cancellations will be a certain time and may or may not coincide with when you are hungry. I wouldn't do the dining plan unless you make reservations and then decide if you'll save money based on where you plan to eat. Also, if your 2 children are under 10, the savings from the dining plan may be greater (especially if you do a lot of character dining and/or buffets). If they are over 10, they are priced as adults and you might not see any savings.

 

[Nanajo1]

We typically go twice a year for two weeks. If we go during W+F we usually will have an early big breakfast at the Capt Grill.then we nosh around the world. Other times we plan a TS meal every other day,eating the leftovers the next day. We do minimal cooking in the villa. DH favorite is baked potato with salsa and cheese. We also do grilled cheese sandwiches, tuna salad etc. we always have fruit and yogurt and pretzels. We use the refillable mugs for beverages. Since many restaurants now have an all day menu there is no value in eating a late lunch. We do use TIW.

 

[Hopefully]

I agree you need to make ADR's 180 days in advance at that time of year. Period.
We use easywdw crowd calendars to decide which park which day. Then we review the menus here on the DIS and at allears.net. Once we have discussed our options we choose which park which day and then make an ADR in or near that park. WDW is huge and you do NOT want to be crisscrossing the world for dining ADR's
We have breakfast in the room each morning. We usually do a CS lunch in the park and than a TS evening dinner. Dinner may be in a park (especially WS in Epcot), a resort or DTD.
We order groceries from wegoshop.com We order juice, coffee, fruit, breakfast items, soda, water, beer and wine and snacks.
We enjoy an adult beverage on the balcony if we take an afternoon break and it is always good to have snacks and cold drinks when you return

 

[com_op_2000]

DW usually makes a one pot meal:
Stew
Soup
Lasagna
As we usually stay in studios, these work out great for reheating in the microwave. We sometimes will eat breakfast out and then depending on what we are doing that day either lunch or dinner in the room every day.

 

[Micca]

Some good questions Crazy Duck (may I call you "CD"?). As DVC-ers with decades of trips under our belts we like to have treats & snacks at the resort. But this is your first trip to WDW, you should try as many on-site eateries as possible. I can understand maybe wanting to stock the room with some breakfast items, chips, cookies, etc. You're obviously coming a looong way so might as well make the most of trying the tasty stuff WDW has to offer.

I admit that booking ADRs 6 months in advance is kinda weird. Most of us probably don't know what we're having for dinner tomorrow night! The thing is that being tired/hot/hungry at WDW with no place to eat will wear-down your morale in short order. You can only eat so much popcorn & ice cream before you start to crave "real food." Without an ADR, you step up to the podium and you'll be seated in 90 minutes to two hours...if you're lucky! Much better to have the ADR safety net. If your plans change you can cancel 24 hours in advance with no penalty. It's understandable that you're on vacation and want to wing-it, but for many WDW guests the dining experiences are a major attraction.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm betting a lot of it depends on whether or not you have young kids. DH and I don't, and we rarely eat in the villa-except breakfast. And for that, we have a bakery item-DH has a WDW blueberry muffin (best ones are from Boardwalk Bakery) almost every morning, I'll get whatever looks good from the Bakery the night beforehand. Other than that, we only do evening snacks in the villa. However, we're taking our DGDs in the fall, ages 2 and 4, and we're planning many meals in the villa.

 

[tink'smom2B]

If this is your first time to visit WDW, you might want to spend your time riding the rides and visiting all the parks. DVC owners typically have been to the parks for many years and now spend their days restaurant hopping (look at the restaurant review section). For most DVCers, a trip wouldn't be fun without dining reservations. I would read all the dining reviews and pick some that sound interesting. But keep in mind that transportation in WDW is slow. You will want to plan your park days first, then add your dining reservations. Table service dining eats up a lot of time that you could spend doing other things. You will need to start making reservations at 180 days for some restaurants.

 

[CrazyDuck]

Some good questions Crazy Duck (may I call you "CD"?). As DVC-ers with decades of trips under our belts we like to have treats & snacks at the resort. But this is your first trip to WDW, you should try as many on-site eateries as possible. I can understand maybe wanting to stock the room with some breakfast items, chips, cookies, etc. You're obviously coming a looong way so might as well make the most of trying the tasty stuff WDW has to offer.

You can call me CD, or better yet, call me Crazy! . As or right now our plan is to do mostly breakfasts in the room. Most Lunches and dinners will probably be done in the parks. We are not big breakfast fans, plus with the jetlag we'll probably miss it the first few days anyways...