Dining Plan Help... too much food?

[SpinDocMama]

Hi everyone! We are going to Disney in April and looking forward to it.

Short version: I am looking for ideas for using snack credits efficiently on the go so we don’t have a ton left over at the end of the trip... I love snacks that give you a bang for your buck and include variety, but after all the meals I wonder if we won’t have enough room in our stomachs. We are going in April, so I’m not sure if Epcot has one of their festivals then.

Long version: I reserved the Disney dining plan, but my husband is concerned that it’s going to be way too much food. We are a family of four, two boys ages eight and five. We are not huge eaters, but we like to try different things. Our favorite restaurants last time were Garden Grove, Boma, and Saana... I just felt like paying out of pocket for a nice places like that didn’t make sense if we could just do the dining plan instead. We have reserved Askerhaus, Biergarden, sci-fi diner, Chef Mickeys, Boma, and Coral Reef... we will probably switch out of Boma since my husband would like to try new places instead of returning to the same one.

Suggestions welcome, especially for unique choices that you can only get in Disney! Thank you in advance.

 

[skittles67]

The last time we used the dining plan our daughter was 9.
We used the quick service for breakfast and our table service for dinner. We just used our snacks whenever one of us wanted something either mid day or when we were getting back to the resort and wanted a snack. We still ended up with few extra snack credits at the end of the trip, cause it is a lot of food! We went to Goofy's Candy Company in Disney Springs and took some things home with us.
The Flower and Garden Festival starts in March, I believe, so you can also use your snack credits there.
Instead of Boma try Sanaa. It is fabulous! Our daughter also enjoyed Tusker House. We saw Mickey, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy.

 

[loves to dive]

First, yes, we think it's too much food and not all the way we eat but that's just us. As far as using those snack credits, maybe use a few for breakfast? We don't do the dining plan but I know you can get things like yogurt or pastries with snack credits. You can also use them at the booths during F&G, you can convert some QS credits there as well, I believe 1 QS = 3 things from a booth but it has to be the same booth. With four people, each taking a bite of one thing, you wouldn't get full and could use up some of those snack and QS credits. If it were me, I'd run the numbers at the places you know you absolutely want to eat, being honest with what you would order. Then see if maybe the DP is right or wrong for you from there, if it turns out not be right, I think you can cancel it.

 

[Bruggok]

Short version: 1) spend as time as you can in park (rope drop to fireworks), 2) ask each food vendor if any other items are dining plan snack eligible and sticking only to DDP-eligible items , 3) dont be uber efficient to see how rides you can do in 1 day, and stay 1 less night than # of park visit days if possible.

First, I had planned on using snack credits for breakfast, ice cream/dole whip in the afternoon, then more snacks right before fireworks finale. However my best laid plan was ruined when on some afternoons/evenings my wife and kid wanted to return to room earlier than planned. Can’t spend snack credits when holed up in the room. I love sweet treats but not enough to leave the room for them.

Secondly, if you eat big meaty meals with sweet drinks at all you can eat buffets like Garden Grill, Biergarden, Tusker House, or best QS value places like Flaming Tree BBQ, your appetite for snacks will be ruined for at least an hour if not two afterwards. Seriously WDW is the only place where I kept offering my kid ice cream and she’d say no. Anywhere else she’d ask and I say no.

Third, if you take it easy and let your kid do MK dance party and watch parade under the hot sun, they will want snacks and drinks. We did that one day, but next day we were all business. Used up 3 fast passes early and keep getting more. My wife and kid were thrilled by all the rides, but you can’t eat on the rides. So that’s another place where I fell off of my plan to spend snack credits. Too efficient with your fast pass/ride timing and you won’t have time or desire to snack.

 

[Moliphino]

Using credits on slushy drinks (Lefou's Brew, Night Blossom, etc.) is a decent value for the credit and won't leave you too full (well, not as full as food would).

 

[minthorne]

You will be there during Flower and Garden at Epcot (March 4 - June 1) - use snacks at the Food Booths - you can make a whole meal just walking around and sampling. Last year we used so many Snack Credits on the Myers's lemon lobster tails that were $8 to buy.

 

[SpinDocMama]

You will be there during Flower and Garden at Epcot (March 4 - June 1) - use snacks at the Food Booths - you can make a whole meal just walking around and sampling. Last year we used so many Snack Credits on the Myers's lemon lobster tails that were $8 to buy.

This is an awesome and solid point... I guess I didn't really understand what the festival was, but I just looked it up... Are ALL of the festival snacks "Disney Dining Plan Snack Eligible"? What are some of the best ones? Also, are some of them "kid friendly"? My kids do love lobster, to be honest (we are from New Hampshire after all), but they like it plain and not fancified... Their snack preferences might not be so adventurous otherwise, though...

Thanks for all the suggestions! Maybe the dining plan isn't such a bad option since the festival is going on? Are there ever fun alcoholic drinks that are snack eligible? That would be a plus, but I doubt it...

 

[Bjkandma]

Alcoholic beverages are never snack credit eligible. The only items at the festival's that are snack credit eligible will have the purple and white icon. Not every item is snack credit eligible.

 

[minthorne]

This is an awesome and solid point... I guess I didn't really understand what the festival was, but I just looked it up... Are ALL of the festival snacks "Disney Dining Plan Snack Eligible"? What are some of the best ones? Also, are some of them "kid friendly"? My kids do love lobster, to be honest (we are from New Hampshire after all), but they like it plain and not fancified... Their snack preferences might not be so adventurous otherwise, though...

Thanks for all the suggestions! Maybe the dining plan isn't such a bad option since the festival is going on? Are there ever fun alcoholic drinks that are snack eligible? That would be a plus, but I doubt it...

Once the menus are released they usually note if the item is Snack Credit eligible. As @Bjkandma mentioned you cannot get alcohol with a snack credit. Also if the item is over a certain amount it usually isn't included. Those lobster tails were near the top end. You can look at last years menus to get an idea what might be there this year. My experience is that more items are included than excluded.
Also, there are less expensive items that while are included aren't your best use of a credit. I always try to get at least $5.50 a snack credit.

Here is a nice list from last year that included noting if the item is on the dining plan or not. https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020-epcot-flower-and-garden-festival-booth-menus-and-food-photos/

 

[SpinDocMama]

Here is a nice list from last year that included noting if the item is on the dining plan or not. https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020-epcot-flower-and-garden-festival-booth-menus-and-food-photos/

This is very helpful and it shows the amount of variety… It also occurs to me that by the time I go in April lots of people will have been to the festival and posted pictures. Is there a good place to go for this, or should I wait for a post like the one you showed me above? I would love to see pictures of these things as well…

 

[BarlowFamily]

I agree with the $5.50 rule for snack credits. Off the top of my head (without pulling out my Disney notes...) some of our favorite snack-credit snacks on our most recent trip:

MK:
LeFew's brew from Gaston's tavern. Fun for us Beauty and the Beast fans. Apple juice slushy.
Speaking of slushies...the mint julep slushy from Casey's Corner is my fav (reminds me of my childhood). I think it's $6.49 so another great snack credit
The pineapple upside down cake from the dole whip place (name?? sorry we haven't even tried it yet) AND the chips and queso (plus free toppings bar!) at Pecos Bills were on my list of savory snacks to try. But we were so full from TS lunch we didn't want anything.

HS:
overnight oats (from Ronto Roasters NOT docking bay 7) - nice, light breakfast
turkey jerky (also from Ronto Roasters) was a little dry, but a nice protein pick me up. And it's pricey so great snack credit use.
Cinnamon roll from Docking Bay 7 is also a snack credit, but no one in our family liked it.
The desserts at Docking Bay 7 were also a fun snack credit use.
(As you can see, we spent a lot of time in SW:GE)

Epcot:
Caramel Popcorn and Caramel apples (with peanuts! or without), in Germany, the line can get long, but moves pretty quick. These are $6.99 plus tax each and a great snack that we were able to take home and enjoy after our trip. A little bite of Disney at home.
Fruit and cheese tree (sunshine seasons) a nice snack for a snack credit! $6+
Our trip was during the Festival of the Arts. Yours will be during Flower and Garden (we'll be back too! and we were there last year for F&G too!) We do try some booth foods with credits. I like to look at Disney Food Blog for the festivals. Usually everything is on the site by the second day of the festival. I click on each booth and look at pictures, description, price and snack credit eligibility. Doesn't take too long to jot down a little list of things we'd like to try when we go. We might change our minds the day of, but it's a starting place. You could easily make a lunch or dinner out of these snacks.

Wilderness Lodge:
Fruit and cheese plate ($6.99) I couldn't believe my eyes that this beautiful fruit and cheese tray was a snack credit. So good! We were just hanging out for the day, taking the Lodge tour, doing the hidden mickey hunt and watching the geyser. Pleasantly surprised.

Starbucks: In any of the parks or at Disney Springs. The largest size of my favorite latte, made into a quad. I only drank half. Put the rest in the fridge and had delicious ice coffee the next day.

 

[Isabelle12345]

Thanks for these suggestions!
Also wondering whether we will be able to use all those snack credits... great tips!

 

[minthorne]

This is very helpful and it shows the amount of variety… It also occurs to me that by the time I go in April lots of people will have been to the festival and posted pictures. Is there a good place to go for this, or should I wait for a post like the one you showed me above? I would love to see pictures of these things as well…

I recommend just checking the link I posted after the festival opens - it will be updated with 2020 items. Disney Food Blog is my go to site for Disney Food Info