Dining plan or cook your own

[hapinowagain]

I was wondering if most of you that stay at FW cook your own meals or purchase the Magic your way with dining? It seems if you are going to eat out at all it would be expensive if you didn't purchase the dining plan. I certainly would appreciate any advice or thoughts on this subject. So many things to get nailed down. I am used to cruising and I just have to figure what kind of cabin I want after that, everyone gets the same thing. Thanks in advance.

 

[LegoMom3]

It really depends on a)your budget, and b)your eating habits.

We are planning to eat a light lunch while out in the parks, IF we don't plan to return to FW in the early afternoon. We aren't big breakfast eaters, so I plan to toss a few Ziplocs of cereal and some granola bars in the backpack when we head out. When the munchies hit, it tides us over until lunch. Dinner we will be preparing at the campsite. There are lots of folks who swear they could just never cook while on vacation, even when camping, but for me it's really a budget thing. Even with the dining plan, we just can't afford to eat all three meals out while at WDW (there are 5 of us). I know I can quickly whip up some burgers and dogs for my picky kids, and have dinner taken care of very inexpensively! Besides that, as a family I know we would never make use of all the meals on the dining plan - that's just us. Too much food!

On the flip side, if the dining plan is within your budget and you'd enjoy sampling the many WDW offerings, it does save the headache of planning and preparing meals! It's a very personal choice, but this is the "why's" of our decision.

 

[Rebecca P.]

We'll be there in March and have decided to cook some meals at the camp site. We'll take a few things that we can get in Canada that aren't available in the US with us. Although, I don't mind the expense of some meals in the parks for convenience, it doesn't take much to make my family happy!! A great salad, baked potatoes or noodle mix package and a grilled meat is fast and delicious. We did an all inclusive resort in Mexico at Christmas and the general thought was it was too much food so I didn't go with the dining plan. I booked one night at the Rose and Crown for dinner and the House of Blues Gospel lunch for fun. I also booked Le Cellier but to be honest they'd be just as happy with the Outback another day if we're out of the parks so I may cancel that one.

Rebecca

 

[ktmdad450]

If i did my calculations right, you need to spend around 5 00 dollars in food before it starts to pay for itself. yeah, i know, thats about five days for a family of four, but it justs seems like alot. We opted for making breakfast light at the camper, eating lunch in the parks, and doing the crock pot thing for dinners.

 

[rwenzel2]

We're going for Christmas this year, and we are doing the Dining plan. I look at it both as a treat for all of us, and an escape for me from the drudgery of cooking. We'll grab a quick breakfast in the camper and then do CS lunch most days and TS dinners. I am looking forward to not having to tell the kids no (for once), worrying what the check will come to at each restaurant. My boys are big enough eaters (think future football linemen), and we can always share a few meals if the food is too much, and that way have more meals out. We usually don't eat out when we camp - but this trip is a BIG EXCEPTION!!!!!

 

[We4mickey]

We usually eat something quick on the mornings we are going to hit a park and have lunch there. If we can hold out or I throw something in the crockpot we eat supper when we get back. Personally, we have done the eating out thing for some of our vacations, but much prefer some home cooking. One trip my son couldn't wait to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We were all tired of eating out!

 

[marisantiago]

I agree with all these recommendations. Don't forget that another great thing about the cabin is that you don't have to clean the dishes since the maid (there is a dishwashing machine) will do it for you!!!

 

[bjkj]

We loved heading back to the cabin for some nice relaxing family down time. The kids and I hit the pool while DH bbq ed or made something easy like spagetti. It was a nice way to refresh and relax before heading back to the parks for the evening things!

 

[christinou]

We always have breakfast in the camper, then a late lunch at the campsite, we just make sandwiches, nachos, etc, easy things. Then go out for dinner, so the dining plan does not make sense for us.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

We just aren't big enough eaters to make the dining plan pay off. We generally eat one large meal at a Disney restaurant per day, then the rest at the camper. If breakfast is the meal we have chosen for the day, then we skip lunch and bbq at the camper for dinner. If lunch is the meal, we eat a light breakfast at the camper, and bbq or sandwiches for dinner. If dinner is our choice, we do a light bfast at the camper, a light lunch wherever we happen to be, then dinner at the restaurant of choice.

 

[RocklandRVers]

We always eat breakfast at the campsite. Generally its coffee (gotta have that morning coffee) and something light and easy to fix (cereal, toast, bagels, etc.)

At lunchtime, we sometimes eat in the park, or may head to Kissimmee and do the Arbys, Wendys, Mickey Ds thing. Usually though we come back to the campsite and make a quick sandwich for lunch since the dog needs a walk and our attention then too.

Dinner is similar to lunchtime. We will either have dinner in a park or other resort or head to Kissimmee. Maybe once per trip we will fire up the charcoal grill and make steaks. In the park our favorite place is Le Cellier but don't always go there each trip.

We usually do Trails End once per trip. Most often we head to Kissimmee. My son loves Las Vegas buffet so we go there and of course Cracker Barrel. Sometimes Macaroni Grill or Captain Nemos.

The bottom line is the dining package is not for us. We eat too many meals at the RV to make it cost effective plus we like the option of going outside Disney for some of our meals.

 

[cabowser]

When we were at Ft. Wilderness in June last year we did not having the dining plan, we used an AP and did not get the dining card either. It was myself, my hubby and our three kids.

I brought a suitcase with non-perishable foods such as our brand of coffee in the filter packs, instant oatmeal, microwave popcorn, instant pancake mix, mac and cheese, etc. Then we also went shopping at the trading posts for other things like butter, bacon, bread, milk, eggs etc. We were pretty well stocked up and I made breakfast each day, mousekeeping (well tipped by me) did the cleanup and ran the dishwasher. We ate our noon meal out and had dinner in the cabin, except for two days when we ordered chicken take out once from Trails end take out and another day we ordered pizza.

We didn't spend much on food at all. It was great!

Jan

 

[TChris]

When we stayed at the FW cabins last July we did the dining plan and it was great. We are a family of 5 (DD 4, DS 17 & DS 14). We did eat some at the cabin.