Dining plan or not

[Dean]

Bought TIW during my December trip.....using it in June.

The mandatory gratuity made me feel sort of cheated. Mind you, I always leave at least 15%; my wife worked as a waitress in the summers during school and I always leave a tip. Based on that tendency to leave that kind of tip, it still works out as a great savings.

Deb, Bil and others suggested exactly what I would suggest. Plunk down what the dining plan costs on a gift card. Even paying for the TIW 100.00 card up front, the TIW almost paid for itself in a three day trip. That makes our June trip, well.....gravy

We have had to adjust our eating patterns based on the age of our kids (8 &11) and our own preferences. Our plan for eating now is breakfast in the room or a QS visit (30.00). We either eat a snack type lunch (a kids meal for the kids at QS and one adult entree-two meals for 4 folks and then an ice cream or popcorn) that's about 30.00. Then dinner somewhere. Normally, we hit two big ticket restaurants(two dining credits) during the trip. Last meal at California Grill was $175.00 minus dining plan allotment I still paid about 95.00 with gratuity, wine and extra desserts. With TIW it would have been cheaper, based on the double dining credit and stuff not included on plan.

Magic bands also are an advantage from a cost saving standpoint. Same as KTTW. We use our bands to pay for everything. I get a printout from the CM at the resort desk in the evening and that way I have a list of what we have spent...easier than trying to add up 15 receipts. That way I can track spending against what I put on the gift card my "Dining plan." It is an easy barometer for seeing what the savings is. My experience is that TIW and gift card is equal to or better than dining plan AND you don't lose the money if you don't use the credit. It just pays for your "Glow with the Show" ears instead.

My 2 cents.

I despise losing the control but I do feel that for normal TS 15% is slightly below standard for reasonable service and is likely a little high for buffet's.

 

[karebear06]

We stayed 6 nights the beginning of February and bought a $700 gift card which would have been the cost of the dining plan. We ate everywhere we wanted to including a few TS, Splitsville (play and dine) and bought some new towels and bathroom accessories from World of Disney for less than $700. This also included our tips as well. I never felt like I couldn't buy something because of the price and we splurged on lots of desserts and snacks. We probably won't be doing the DP again unless it's for a couple of days and I know I'll be coming out ahead beforehand.

 

[doctornick]

But if you know you are doing signature dining, character dining... you may want to go with DDP.

Character dining, yes. Signature dining, um, no. Signature dining is probably the worst use of the DDP since meals are generally not anywhere near 2x the cost of a "regular" TS. If you want to do a lot of signature restaurants, then the TiW is a great idea as it will pay off quickly (plus, I think many people who enjoy signature dining are more likely to order alcohol or appetizers with their meals which benefit from having the TiW card).

 

[Sur]

Many of the character dining was cut out by TiW, as was our favorite signature restaurant, Victoria & Alberts.

 

[jdkdorn]

I guess I am confused, the character meals have not been cut out of Tables in Wonderland until later this year. So if you're going in early to mid 2014 trip TIW would still be a better option the dining plan.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Many of the character dining was cut out by TiW, as was our favorite signature restaurant, Victoria & Alberts.

Yes V&A is not taking tiw any longer but the character dining is only subject to blackout dates. See below the character dining. I copied this from the tiw website. There really are not that many Character experiences effected and there are alternatives you can attend for character dining.


Validity Dates:

**Victoria& Albert’s will honor Tables in Wonderland discount through July 31st, 2014. As of August 1st, 2014 the restaurant will no longer participate in Tables in Wonderland.

*Beginning August 1st 2014, 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey’s, ‘Ohana (Dinner Only), Cinderella’s Royal Table, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, and Le Cellier Steakhouse will be subject to the additional blockout weeks of: November 23-29, 2014; December 21-27, 2014; March 8-April 4, 2015; May 31-June 20, 2015.

Blockout dates for Tables in Wonderland are Mother’s Day, Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Tables in Wonderland is valid for one year from date of purchase.





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[doctornick]

Yes V&A is not taking tiw any longer but the character dining is only subject to blackout dates. See below the character dining. I copied this from the tiw website. There really are not that many Character experiences effected and there are alternatives you can attend for character dining.


Validity Dates:

**Victoria& Albert’s will honor Tables in Wonderland discount through July 31st, 2014. As of August 1st, 2014 the restaurant will no longer participate in Tables in Wonderland.

*Beginning August 1st 2014, 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey’s, ‘Ohana (Dinner Only), Cinderella’s Royal Table, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, and Le Cellier Steakhouse will be subject to the additional blockout weeks of: November 23-29, 2014; December 21-27, 2014; March 8-April 4, 2015; May 31-June 20, 2015.

Blockout dates for Tables in Wonderland are Mother’s Day, Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Tables in Wonderland is valid for one year from date of purchase.

And that's only some of the character dining that TiW can be used at. Garden Grill, Tusker House, Hollywood & Vine, Crystal Palace, O'Hana (breakfast), Cape May Cafe -- there may be more, this is just off the top of my head -- are all still without the new blackout dates.