Dining Plan Questions

[phillymummer]

Hello DISers!

Does anyone purchase either of the dining plans? I took a look at them, and I am not sure if either one is a good deal or not. It seems like the number of participating restaurants is limited. Are either of the restaurants in the HP areas included? I know will we want to eat at both of them at some point. We only have two days in the parks (maybe a third is UCT is still offering their Buy 2, Get One Free Deal), so we don't have many meals to plan.

Is there a good site to see all of the menus (like allears?)

Thanks for any info and advice you can give!

 

[schumigirl]

There's a food sticky at the top of this page that has menus for parks, hotels and Citywalk

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2681315

 

[damo]

Here's the PDF with participating restaurants....it is pretty extensive

https://www.universalorlando.com/Images/pdf_udp_7_9_14_tcm13-48045.pdf

 

[phillymummer]

Here's the PDF with participating restaurants....it is pretty extensive https://www.universalorlando.com/Images/pdf_udp_7_9_14_tcm13-48045.pdf

Thank you! That list includes a lot more restaurants than the list i looked at! Now i have to figure out if its something i should even consider. If i am reading correctly, it looks like i need to book a package, though, in order to get the dining plan Wasn't planning on going with a package.

 

[damo]

Thank you! That list includes a lot more restaurants than the list i looked at! Now i have to figure out if its something i should even consider. If i am reading correctly, it looks like i need to book a package, though, in order to get the dining plan Wasn't planning on going with a package.

If you want the full service plan, I think you need to get a package. You don't need a package for quick service. You can buy that in the park. I wouldn't pre-order anything but check once you get there to see what is available to you.

 

[johde]

Right now, the current quick service plan is tough to come out ahead on. That's especially true if you do one of the refillable cups. Without the refillable cup if you figure $4.00 for the snack and $3.00 for the extra drink that means the meal needs to be $13.00 before you break even. You can buy the dining plan when you purchase the meal. I have a refillable mug, So, I'm planning on just paying out of pocket for the meal unless it comes up to about $15.00 then I'll get a meal plan and "prepay" for a drink and snack for later.

 

[phillymummer]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I was more interested in the plan with TS restaurants, but.I did some digging around on the Universal website and saw that it's $51 pp. i will have to do some serious menu planning and calculating to see if that would be worth it.

And i still not sure about those refillable cups. Do people just buy one and share it among family members? Is it worth it for water? We are not big soda drinkers. We usually just bring water bottles into the park.

 

[johde]

The Coke Freestyle Machine will give free filtered water no mater what cup you use. So, you could either bring a cup from home, or buy 1 Red cup and use it to refill your water bottles.

 

[phillymummer]

I've gotten some great advice but no one has saiid if they actually buy the Dining Plan (w/ TS).
; )

I just wanted to hear feedback about it. Is it worth it considering i'd have to book a package?

 

[macraven]

I've gotten some great advice but no one has saiid if they actually buy the Dining Plan (w/ TS).
; )

I just wanted to hear feedback about it. Is it worth it considering i'd have to book a package?

i would not buy the dining plan.
a package is necessary for it and i never come out ahead with a package.

i've changed my dates twice so far as i have added additional nights to my stay.
if i would have had the package, i would be charged $50 each time i made a change, any change to the original package.

i also have the AP and no need for park tickets.


i have bought the counter service plan twice as i came out ahead with it.
ordered the chicken/rib dinner at the 3 B's.
think that lunch was about $13.99 and it came with a ($3)beverage.
so that was about $16.99 + tax for lunch.
used the coupon for the beverage for a butter beer ($3.99) the next day and
a snack at boulangerie day after that.
using the counter service deal, i probably came out ahead by $8.


if you know the prices of the food places in the park, it can work for you.


if you have a short stay of 2-3 days, doing a table service meal, will eat into the time you have in the park for the rides, shows, etc.
you can easily spend one hour for a sit down meal.


if you want to do everything in the parks in a short time period, counter service
can be done at anytime.
save the sit down meals after the park closes at one of the hotels or at city walk.

 

[phillymummer]

Thank you! I had a feeling the DP would not be worth it. We will have two days in the park. If it makes a difference we wont be doing any of the crazy coasters or crazy 3-d rides like Simpsons, however we will do most of the HP stuff. Mostly i am interested in the 3 broomsticks, and the leaky cauldron and maybe mythos. I need only 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners. I still have plenty of time to figure it out.

 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

Does the dining plan have to be used the day it's purchased, or could I purchase in-park now for use next week?

 

[TheGreatMazzu]

Does the dining plan have to be used the day it's purchased, or could I purchase in-park now for use next week?

If I'm not mistaken, it has to be used on the same day. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to handle meals when I go myself, haha.

 

[macraven]

the counter service plan for the entree, snack and beverage coupons are valid 14 days from the time you first use it for the first time.

 

[msb578]

Deleted. So sorry, I thought this was a WDW thread

 

[Seeker615]

We did the dining plan last year for 4 of our 5 nights.

We got one TS and one QS as well as a snack and additional drink per day.

Overall I felt we broke even on it. I mostly used the table service for the places at Citywalk as they gave you a nice full size dessert of your choice rather than the small ones in the parks.

We used our snack credits each morning at Cinnabon before heading to the parks. We used our extra soda credit to get bottles of soda to take back to our room.

I liked that my meals were already paid for. It was pretty easy to use.

Yes we had a package for our 5 nights. We did the Blue Man group package. I thought it was a pretty good deal overall.

I made a change to my package and was not charged $50? Is this something new?