Dining plan question

[Vacation_Commander]

First trip to UO in a long time coming up in March. I've never gotten their dining plan, but this time we got the dining plan for 4. But our kids are 11 and 8. So, technically one should be ordering from the adult menu.
I want to get the best value out of the dining plan, but I have been looking through some of the online menus and what food is offered.

Does anyone know if they are compatible with this sort of setup? I want my 11 year old to order off of the adult menu and get something that is worth the value of the plan, but I want to be flexible with sides. Like letting him get fries or something instead of whatever comes with the adult meal.

Also, does anyone know how the dessert works on the plan? Is it one or two choices or anything on the menu?

Thanks in advance and I hope this question makes sense. I am trying to plan out where to go, but I would like to choose places that have plenty of options and can be flexible.

 

[limace]

The full service dining plan is only worth it, someone just caluculated, if your entree is more than $30-which is like one available entree at Big Fire. In other words, you aren’t going to save money with this plan and I’d personally cancel it if you can. My understanding that the dessert is one specific thing, typically not on the menu.

 

[Vacation_Commander]

So, there is really no advantage of the full service dining plan?

 

[shawthorne44]

Yes, that was me that did the calculations. The dessert is 'Chef-Selected'. I seem to remember the response also said it wasn't on the menu. I've seen a couple of mentions online of it being a Brookie. Note, I didn't do any calculations on the kids full-service plan. My daughter doesn't eat much. Any entree at one of the listed restaurants is covered except lobster. I really hate the idea of being given a dessert that no one can order, and is therefore likely either stale or in the freezer when I order.

Two advantages UO has over Disney is that they aren't that particular about older kids (or adults) ordering from the kids menu. They also don't make you buy dining for every person, for every night of your stay. Our plan is to get a FS plan for one person and one day and then get the $59 BigFire steak and an appetizer for the three of us.

QS Plans are easily worthwhile. If you think you'll use the freestyle cups, I'd figure out how many cups you'll want and then buy that many QS with Freestyle plans. The key to making QS plans work is that Beverage and Snack credits are in the same bucket. So, ignore their cheap snack suggestions, and don't buy beverages with a credit, unless it is something expensive like Butterbeer. There are many interesting snacks that cost $7+. So, the entree just needs to cost $12 to break even. Also, you can buy a QS Plan at the same cash register where you will immediately use it. Very few things that aren't entrees aren't snacks. The chocolate version of the big pink donut is one that isn't a snack. Cheese fries is a snack but isn't listed as that way. Another way to make the QS worthwhile is to always buy the combo version and then split it. The combo entree has a bonus item, usually a shake or sometimes a salad.

One thing on number of cups. You can share, but refills have to be spaced at least 10 minutes. If two freestyle machines are next to each other, one is disabled for social distancing. So, the lines for the machines are longer than they used to be. Also, only the self-serve machines seem to be able to check the last fill time. So, we would get a Diet Coke, and pour it into another cup. Then get an Icee immediately. I'd end up with 50/50 and ne happy.

 

[shawthorne44]

I forgot to add. Don't buy the Freestyle QS plan and then just get another refill day. You are better off paying for another refill day yourself and buying a regular QS plan The reason is that the Freestyle plan has one less snack credit, and a refill day costs less than the cup.

 

[Vacation_Commander]

Thanks for the great explanation. Not sure if it's too late to change my plan around or not, but this all makes sense. I was in the mode of making reservations at some Casual places like Mythos and Bigfire to get the most out of my plan.

 

[mum2simon]

Yes, that was me that did the calculations. The dessert is 'Chef-Selected'. I seem to remember the response also said it wasn't on the menu. I've seen a couple of mentions online of it being a Brookie. Note, I didn't do any calculations on the kids full-service plan. My daughter doesn't eat much. Any entree at one of the listed restaurants is covered except lobster. I really hate the idea of being given a dessert that no one can order, and is therefore likely either stale or in the freezer when I order.

Two advantages UO has over Disney is that they aren't that particular about older kids (or adults) ordering from the kids menu. They also don't make you buy dining for every person, for every night of your stay. Our plan is to get a FS plan for one person and one day and then get the $59 BigFire steak and an appetizer for the three of us.

QS Plans are easily worthwhile. If you think you'll use the freestyle cups, I'd figure out how many cups you'll want and then buy that many QS with Freestyle plans. The key to making QS plans work is that Beverage and Snack credits are in the same bucket. So, ignore their cheap snack suggestions, and don't buy beverages with a credit, unless it is something expensive like Butterbeer. There are many interesting snacks that cost $7+. So, the entree just needs to cost $12 to break even. Also, you can buy a QS Plan at the same cash register where you will immediately use it. Very few things that aren't entrees aren't snacks. The chocolate version of the big pink donut is one that isn't a snack. Cheese fries is a snack but isn't listed as that way. Another way to make the QS worthwhile is to always buy the combo version and then split it. The combo entree has a bonus item, usually a shake or sometimes a salad.

One thing on number of cups. You can share, but refills have to be spaced at least 10 minutes. If two freestyle machines are next to each other, one is disabled for social distancing. So, the lines for the machines are longer than they used to be. Also, only the self-serve machines seem to be able to check the last fill time. So, we would get a Diet Coke, and pour it into another cup. Then get an Icee immediately. I'd end up with 50/50 and ne happy.

thank you for the thorough information! Just to clarify....if I get a QS dining plan...I can order a combo meal, plus a drink.....plus two snacks because snacks/Drinks are considered the same type of credit? That’s a great tip if so.....time to rethink my meal strategy

 

[Calidisneyfam]

How bad are the lines to order food in person? I will be there at the end of March, so expecting to only use mobile order. I was disappointed to see you can't do the dining plan with mobile order. Has anyone been during a busy time recently (Presidents Week?) and can comment on the lines to order food?

 

[shawthorne44]

thank you for the thorough information! Just to clarify....if I get a QS dining plan...I can order a combo meal, plus a drink.....plus two snacks because snacks/Drinks are considered the same type of credit? That’s a great tip if so.....time to rethink my meal strategy

Close. The combo meals don't come with an extra drink that you order, they come with what is listed. The bonus item is usually a shake or a salad. At one place that had some combo meals with salad and some with shake, I was able to substitute a salad for the shake.

There are some meals that come with a beverage that you order. At one of the HP restaurants an adult entree we ordered came with beverage and we were able to order a SMALL butterbeer with it. Plastic cup about the same as the free ice water they hand out. I have heard that pumpkin fizz is another option and I plan on trying it that way on our next visit. I don't want to waste an entire snack credit if I hate it.

Yes, the Snack/Beverage Credits are combined. You will get a receipt that shows your remaining credits and it will list Bev/Snack combined.

 

[shawthorne44]

How bad are the lines to order food in person? I will be there at the end of March, so expecting to only use mobile order. I was disappointed to see you can't do the dining plan with mobile order. Has anyone been during a busy time recently (Presidents Week?) and can comment on the lines to order food?

The problem isn't the busy time. The problem is that you will have to fight your way to the cash register. The TM's are instructed to strongly discourage anyone from ordering in person. They will stop you on the way, maybe more than once. Using a dining plan is one reason that they can't refute. They also don't have kids meals (with a rare exception) on the mobile order. So, the problem is getting to the line to the cash register, not the line itself.

Universal should be ashamed of itself. Six Flags mobile order works great and you can use their dining plan on it.

The problem with going during a busy time is finding a seat inside at a QS place. Between social distancing table seating and that they have to bring you the food it can take forever to sit and then forever to eat. We plan on doing QS table eating at very off times, and otherwise do Full Service or snack carts.

That reminds me, you can use the snack credits at the snack carts. You might see advice online saying that you can't. But that changed early 2020. All the TM's should know that now. When we went in Feb 2020, we sometimes had to tell them to "try to use it" and it worked.

 

[crazycatlady]

Just to make sure I understand, typically with the dining plan credit, you get one meal that includes entrée and drink, one snack and one additional drink. If you order the combo meal that includes a shake as part of your entree, you don't get a drink with your meal? I realize that the shake is a drink, I am just trying to make sure I have this figured out. As much as I love shakes, in the summer heat, I will definitely want a soda with my meal, in which case I would not want to order the combo.

Thanks for the tip on using the additional drink for a snack! It's a much better deal to use it for two snacks instead of a drink and a snack.

 

[finedice]

I've only ever done DPs when they were free. In my experience - too much food and too much planning - I feel like I save a lot of money going OoP when and if I am hungry.

 

[shawthorne44]

Just to make sure I understand, typically with the dining plan credit, you get one meal that includes entrée and drink, one snack and one additional drink. If you order the combo meal that includes a shake as part of your entree, you don't get a drink with your meal? I realize that the shake is a drink, I am just trying to make sure I have this figured out. As much as I love shakes, in the summer heat, I will definitely want a soda with my meal, in which case I would not want to order the combo.

Thanks for the tip on using the additional drink for a snack! It's a much better deal to use it for two snacks instead of a drink and a snack.

Well, with the QS entree credit you get whatever they say comes with the entree, whichever entree that is.
If you've done the dining plan at Disney, it is like getting the Fantasmic Dining package meal instead of the regular meal.
The extra isn't always a shake.. A salad is another common bonus item. I've seen an icee a couple of places. The gyro place has some interesting looking bonus items to choose from. Edible Cookie dough being the one that appealed to me. The entree that included a small drink was in a HP restaurant. You might be able to substitute a soda for the shake, it would be cheaper. We always share a freestyle cup so don't need sodas with the meal.