TnTWalter
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2005
- Messages
- 3,102
DINING ON PLAN [2 adults, 3 kids...we also ate with mom and dad not on plan]
Overall, this was a great experience. We definitely saved money than doing the same meals without the plan. We probably wouldnt have done as many expensive meals off the plan nor had the appetizers and desserts all the time, but it was a nice treat. The snacks were a pain in the tush though. Things are not labeled as some reviews mentioned. Some items were not considered snacks which was frustrating [dole whips for example]. Once we figured it out, it got much easier but there was still some finagling that had to be done. I could see getting frustrated and just paying out of pocket, which my DH would not do! And we had 2 rooms, so we had to use 2 separate cards which the waiters needed to know to divide our receipts. [Once we figured out to tell them up front, it was fine].
We spent $58 out of pocket total on Planet Hollywood kids, appetizer & drinks below and souvenir mug at POP [plus extra tips for exceptional service]. We were able to share some appetizers, meals, & desserts with my folks, and I brought home 10 rice crispy Mickey ears!
Day 1, we used our vouchers for dinner at Planet Hollywood and paid for the kids meals, our drinks and appetizer out of pocket. It was quite good and the restaurant kept the kiddos entertained. The free souvenir was a tiny key chain, but it was free, so its all good. We had 2 rooms so we received 2 meal vouchers and 2 souvenir vouchers. I had made an ADR for 5pm. $45 out of pocket. It was fun to roam around downtown; the kids loved the Lego area.
We had a water bottle that attached to the camera bag that we refilled at water fountains throughout the day. Very convenient and free.
Day 2 We ate breakfast in our room [brought fruit cups, juice boxes and danishes from home]. I bought a $12 souvenir mug for the dreaded Nescafe coffee, which wasnt too bad [of course I add cream & equal].
We were at AK so we ate lunch at Tusker House. Delicious and Huge amount of food. Wow. We saved cakes for later.
Snacks got kids some frozen OJ bars. Nice treat and love that included in our plan!
Later, we ate the cakes while watching the parade from an outdoor eating area near the pin trading station.
Dinner was at Chef Mickeys. This is a really nice buffet dinner and the characters came around for good interaction. Our favorites were the salmon, turkey breast and Mickey ravioli. The celebration songs throughout with the waving napkins were fun for the kids. Everyone loved the ice cream bar.
Day 3 Breakfast with Cinderella at the Castle. We took pictures and chatted with Cinderella, and Snow White, Wendy, Belle [in blue & white] and Aurora [in Pink] greeted us while we dined upstairs. This was awesome, such a lovely setting. This was our first time at MK and to go right to the castle was incredible. The kids were dressed as Snow White, Ariel and Prince Phillip. We were ushered to the line to take our picture with Cinderella. If you have a later ressie, Id try to arrive early for this so that you can eat around the time you planned. [As we were leaving around 10am the line to greet Cinderella was quite long!] My son [3] gave her a picture he had scribbled so she gave him extra attention [she even signed a piece from my girls autograph book for him with hearts and kissed it ;o)]. They were all in awe of her. Then we were ushered upstairs to dine. All the princesses came by and were so sweet. And the food. . .Oh my! Delicious and plentiful. My folks and I received the healthy fair which was a large bowl of fresh fruit yogurt and granola with caramelized bananas on top. Yummy and we had a side of the stuffed French toast! There were bowls of fresh fruit and the kids had delicious eggs, bacon, and I think waffles. Really good service and attention here. Of course they bring a beautiful 8x10 picture with 4 4x6s in a beautiful folder with a poem and picture of the castle its about $31 [ouch] but we had to have it. [Maybe this is what theyre including when the price goes up Feb 1?]. We tipped extra here. This breakfast is a must do!
FYI we rented a locker so we could change them into everyday wear for the rest of the day.
Lunch at Cosmic Rays. This was the most disappointing meal of the trip. Food was ok but it was difficult to order with 3 different kids menus depending on which station you went to. Not impressed and would not return.
We werent very hungry at dinner time so I used snack credits for grapes and big milks at POP and we ate cakes we had saved from Cosmic Rays.
Day 4 Breakfast at Ohana with Mickey, Pluto, Lilo & Stitch. Can I just say that I loved the boxed eggs? Yummy! And the fried potatoes were quite good too. Again, lots of delicious food and great service. Lovely view also! And nice trip to MK afterwards!
Ice Cream before leaving MK for snack credits. Late lunch at Pop Century. It was ok.
Dinner @ Epcot Coral Reef. This was the best bang for our dining plan as it now is 1 TS instead of 2. Our dinner [2A, 3C] would have been $150! We split our 5 appetizers and desserts with my folks, kids just had their meals which they enjoyed. The kids were relatively entertained by the aquarium and theres not a bad seat in the place. Service was also excellent here. The downside was the walk to see the Illuminations afterwards the CSM when I booked this dinner was convinced Illuminations was 9:30 so my 7:30 ressie would be fine, well, of course Illuminations was 9:00 pm. We missed the first 5 minutes and obviously didnt have the greatest view, but they were nice.
Day 5 MGM day. Hubby and I had CS breakfast at Pop Century, it was ok, plenty to eat. Kids had danishes and such in the room [from home].
Had Lunch at ABC Commissary. Food was average. But it was fast and easy.
Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package. Our ressie was 4:00 pm and we thought wed have plenty of time afterwards! We headed to Muppet 3-D and then made it to the show by the skin of our teeth. The food was excellent though. It was just like she forgot about us for quite a while and then we ordered dessert and she forgot about us even longer. Oh, and Im not sure about the necessity of the priority seating, maybe depends on time of year. When we arrived, 6:40 ish, they had already started letting everyone in. We couldnt figure out what priority seating we received, but we still had great seats [but I dont think there really is a bad seat]. I was surprised I didnt read any warnings about possibly getting wet. I was so glad that people warned us when my kids decided front row would be nice. We moved [it was very cold that night] and just were misted. It was FANTASMIC!
Day 6 Last day. We ate at Pop again. Food was ok again. Its good and convenient. I then bought 10 rice crispy Mickey ears to use up my snack credits, figuring theyd make cute gifts.
TRISH
Overall, this was a great experience. We definitely saved money than doing the same meals without the plan. We probably wouldnt have done as many expensive meals off the plan nor had the appetizers and desserts all the time, but it was a nice treat. The snacks were a pain in the tush though. Things are not labeled as some reviews mentioned. Some items were not considered snacks which was frustrating [dole whips for example]. Once we figured it out, it got much easier but there was still some finagling that had to be done. I could see getting frustrated and just paying out of pocket, which my DH would not do! And we had 2 rooms, so we had to use 2 separate cards which the waiters needed to know to divide our receipts. [Once we figured out to tell them up front, it was fine].
We spent $58 out of pocket total on Planet Hollywood kids, appetizer & drinks below and souvenir mug at POP [plus extra tips for exceptional service]. We were able to share some appetizers, meals, & desserts with my folks, and I brought home 10 rice crispy Mickey ears!
Day 1, we used our vouchers for dinner at Planet Hollywood and paid for the kids meals, our drinks and appetizer out of pocket. It was quite good and the restaurant kept the kiddos entertained. The free souvenir was a tiny key chain, but it was free, so its all good. We had 2 rooms so we received 2 meal vouchers and 2 souvenir vouchers. I had made an ADR for 5pm. $45 out of pocket. It was fun to roam around downtown; the kids loved the Lego area.
We had a water bottle that attached to the camera bag that we refilled at water fountains throughout the day. Very convenient and free.
Day 2 We ate breakfast in our room [brought fruit cups, juice boxes and danishes from home]. I bought a $12 souvenir mug for the dreaded Nescafe coffee, which wasnt too bad [of course I add cream & equal].
We were at AK so we ate lunch at Tusker House. Delicious and Huge amount of food. Wow. We saved cakes for later.
Snacks got kids some frozen OJ bars. Nice treat and love that included in our plan!
Later, we ate the cakes while watching the parade from an outdoor eating area near the pin trading station.
Dinner was at Chef Mickeys. This is a really nice buffet dinner and the characters came around for good interaction. Our favorites were the salmon, turkey breast and Mickey ravioli. The celebration songs throughout with the waving napkins were fun for the kids. Everyone loved the ice cream bar.
Day 3 Breakfast with Cinderella at the Castle. We took pictures and chatted with Cinderella, and Snow White, Wendy, Belle [in blue & white] and Aurora [in Pink] greeted us while we dined upstairs. This was awesome, such a lovely setting. This was our first time at MK and to go right to the castle was incredible. The kids were dressed as Snow White, Ariel and Prince Phillip. We were ushered to the line to take our picture with Cinderella. If you have a later ressie, Id try to arrive early for this so that you can eat around the time you planned. [As we were leaving around 10am the line to greet Cinderella was quite long!] My son [3] gave her a picture he had scribbled so she gave him extra attention [she even signed a piece from my girls autograph book for him with hearts and kissed it ;o)]. They were all in awe of her. Then we were ushered upstairs to dine. All the princesses came by and were so sweet. And the food. . .Oh my! Delicious and plentiful. My folks and I received the healthy fair which was a large bowl of fresh fruit yogurt and granola with caramelized bananas on top. Yummy and we had a side of the stuffed French toast! There were bowls of fresh fruit and the kids had delicious eggs, bacon, and I think waffles. Really good service and attention here. Of course they bring a beautiful 8x10 picture with 4 4x6s in a beautiful folder with a poem and picture of the castle its about $31 [ouch] but we had to have it. [Maybe this is what theyre including when the price goes up Feb 1?]. We tipped extra here. This breakfast is a must do!
FYI we rented a locker so we could change them into everyday wear for the rest of the day.
Lunch at Cosmic Rays. This was the most disappointing meal of the trip. Food was ok but it was difficult to order with 3 different kids menus depending on which station you went to. Not impressed and would not return.
We werent very hungry at dinner time so I used snack credits for grapes and big milks at POP and we ate cakes we had saved from Cosmic Rays.
Day 4 Breakfast at Ohana with Mickey, Pluto, Lilo & Stitch. Can I just say that I loved the boxed eggs? Yummy! And the fried potatoes were quite good too. Again, lots of delicious food and great service. Lovely view also! And nice trip to MK afterwards!
Ice Cream before leaving MK for snack credits. Late lunch at Pop Century. It was ok.
Dinner @ Epcot Coral Reef. This was the best bang for our dining plan as it now is 1 TS instead of 2. Our dinner [2A, 3C] would have been $150! We split our 5 appetizers and desserts with my folks, kids just had their meals which they enjoyed. The kids were relatively entertained by the aquarium and theres not a bad seat in the place. Service was also excellent here. The downside was the walk to see the Illuminations afterwards the CSM when I booked this dinner was convinced Illuminations was 9:30 so my 7:30 ressie would be fine, well, of course Illuminations was 9:00 pm. We missed the first 5 minutes and obviously didnt have the greatest view, but they were nice.
Day 5 MGM day. Hubby and I had CS breakfast at Pop Century, it was ok, plenty to eat. Kids had danishes and such in the room [from home].
Had Lunch at ABC Commissary. Food was average. But it was fast and easy.
Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package. Our ressie was 4:00 pm and we thought wed have plenty of time afterwards! We headed to Muppet 3-D and then made it to the show by the skin of our teeth. The food was excellent though. It was just like she forgot about us for quite a while and then we ordered dessert and she forgot about us even longer. Oh, and Im not sure about the necessity of the priority seating, maybe depends on time of year. When we arrived, 6:40 ish, they had already started letting everyone in. We couldnt figure out what priority seating we received, but we still had great seats [but I dont think there really is a bad seat]. I was surprised I didnt read any warnings about possibly getting wet. I was so glad that people warned us when my kids decided front row would be nice. We moved [it was very cold that night] and just were misted. It was FANTASMIC!
Day 6 Last day. We ate at Pop again. Food was ok again. Its good and convenient. I then bought 10 rice crispy Mickey ears to use up my snack credits, figuring theyd make cute gifts.
TRISH
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