dining plan question

[scriv2]

I am going to Disney in December for 10 nights. I am considering the Disney Dining plan. I have 2 children ages 10 and 5 so I would need to buy the adult price for my daughter. I plan on going to Universal at least once or twice. Does the amount of dining days depend on the length of stay? Do you think it is worth it?

Thanks in advance..
Michele

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The dining plan applies to all people on the reservation times the number of nights staying. All the credits are pooled, so you can use zero on one day and multiples on others.

 

[nluvwithmickey]

If you are planning on visiting Us & IOA, you can take those unused credits and book Hoop dee doo or Mickey's BBQ that require 2 TS credits.... I hear they are great shows....

 

[tclowe]

Here's my opinion: 10 days of dining plan is overload. You are better off doing a split stay at two different resorts to enjoy the surroundings or for transportation convenience. For example, 5 days at a MK monorail resort and 5 days at an Epcot resort. Then I would just buy 5 nights of dining plan (which can you stretch for 6 days of eating because you have all those credits). Believe me, after the 4 day of eating on the dining plan, most will burn out and eat anywhere without regarding to value and how much each day will cost.

We went in May and did 4 nights dining plan. We had cereal in the room every morning before heading out to the parks. Then early 11:30am lunch at counterservice or table service. Then dinner around 5:30 to 6:30pm. We even shared meals with our kids because the portions are good size and to stretch out the credits so we have enough for the 5th day.

In the alternative, you can do 7 days with the dining plan on Disney property and then spend 2 or 3 days at Universal. My kids (age 5 and 18 months) loved Universal as much as Disney. I had to ride Spiderman 3 times and Men in Black 5 times with son. They have a Spiderman/Cat in the Hat character breakfast which had great character interaction. Food was so-so but better value than Disney character breakfast.

Have a good time planning.
Cynthia

 

[MEK]

If you go to Universal, consider staying one or two nights in one of their on site hotels. This gives you front of the line access to every attraction. One night at an onsite hotel would give you 2 entire days of front of the line access. It is SOOOOOOOO worth it. You feel like you own the park. It doesn't matter how crowded it is. You won't even notice, since you go in a separate line. It you are in Orlando for 10 days and have never been to IOA/US you should really consider this. I will never go back there without staying in one of their hotels.

As for dining plan - just try to figure out how much you would normally spend a day on food. Also consider what type of restuarants you normally eat in. The child's price ($10) is worth it. If your 10 year is not much of an eater, you may actually be able to eat cheaper without the dining plan. However, if you want to try a variety of table service restuarants or do Hoop de doo, then it would be worth it.

Have a Blast!

________________________________________________

Max is my favorite cat!

 

[scriv2]

Thanks so much for your replys. I never thought about staying at a hotel near Universal. I don't know if my husband would be up to packing up and moving for 2 nights. He absolutely loves to stay on Disney property and I might have a hard time trying to get him to leave! What hotels are closely compatable to a deluxe resort near Universal?

I agree that 10 days of all that food might be too much. We do like to go to alot of the Epcot & MGM sit-down resturants, but also we like alot of character buffets, which from other posts I read doesn't seem worth it. My 10 year old doesn't eat that much and I could probably get her a kids meal at a counter service.

This is something to think about.

Thanks!