Dining Plan

[princess fan]

Dining plan....choose or not? We can't decide whether to get the dining plan or not....help!

 

[malibuconlee]

How many in your party? How do you usually eat on vacation. Look at the menus and get an idea of what/where you would eat.

For DH and I it would make sense. We usually have one big sit down meal a day and will often share counter service meals at other times. I could see us sharing a counter service breakfast. Having a table service lunch, then sharing another counter service when we're hungry again.

It's very easy for us to spend close to what the dining plan would cost for both of us per day at one table service.

Now, if we had three kids who we didn't take to sit down restaurants at home, I wouldn't expect them to sit thru one every day while on vacation.

Take a look at the menus and decide if you think it's worth it for you. Remember that tips are included on the dining plan when figuring how much you might spend.

 

[pawsitivemom]

Try looking for answers on the dining forum.

I chose the plan because I have 4 adults going. (well, 2 aduts, and 2 teens 13 and 14). We like to "eat our way" through places. We LOVE food. As much as so many people say it's too much food, I expect us to actully spend $ on some anyway!

If you are very light eaters it may not be for you. Check out what they have to say over at "dining" and see! Good Luck!

 

[princess fan]

Hi, I am new to this forum and I have a couple of questions...what do DD, DDH, DDE, etc stand for?

We have two adults and 3 children in our party (one child is under 3 - so I understand that they eat free)

 

[iluvwesties]

Hi, I am new to this forum and I have a couple of questions...what do DD, DDH, DDE, etc stand for?

We have two adults and 3 children in our party (one child is under 3 - so I understand that they eat free)

Welcome to the DIS Boards

DD= Disney Daughter or Darling Daughter
DH = Disney Husband or Darling Husband (DDH?)
DDE = Disney Dining Experience

Link to other abbreviations used on the DIS Boards:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/abbreviations.htm

Hope this helps
iluvwesties (aka Carol)

 

[cdnmickeylover]

You also have to keep in mind that to get the dining plan you have to book everything as a package -- room, tickets and dining plan. It may be cheaper to book your room and tickets separately so it's not just the cost of the dining plan to consider.

We used the dining plan during the free promotion and thought that it was good but would take planning to get the value out of it esp. if we had to buy the package. We are annual passholders so we usually get some sort of room discount and have the DDE card which saves us 20% off of table services meals and some counter services meals.

Have fun planning - I love looking over the menus and planning what I'm going to eat!

 

[princess fan]

Hi,

I'm from Ontario as well! Thanks for the info on the abbreviations.....I guess, then, I have 3 DD's and a DH, ha ha ha.

 

[ferris198]

Hi There,
I took my son to Disney last year when he was 4. At the time they weren't offering the dining plan.
This year, when I looked into it, I decided it wasn't worth it. I believe the cost is $50.00/day per adult, and depending where you eat, you probably won't spend that unless you are doing character dining for every meal.
As for 3 year olds eating free, I would double check that. I know they stay in the rooms for free, not sure about the eating thing though.
Actually, we went to Rain Forest in DTD one night for dinner and DH didn't want to spend the 40.00 for the lobster dinner, as he felt it was expensive.
I checked the menu at Captain Jacks next door, and it was almost 10 bucks less. We went there the next night and had a great meal.
Also too, I heard Disney is thinking of cancelling the meal plan as they aren't making much money on it.
One thing to keep in mind is at a lot of the sit down places where you would get most of your value for the package you need reservations, and you should book them early.

 

[Canadiancruiser2]

We were in WDW in December and bought the dinning plan. I find that with the plan, we spent a lot more time eating.

Since we have a table service each night, most of our evening was spent at the restaurant. Dinners usually take between 2 to 2 1/2 hours taking into account the time getting to restaurant, waiting to be seated and waiting at table if the restaurant is busy.

If you are an early riser and have done all the activities in the park, you may find that having a leisurely dinner is wonderful. But if you are like us late riser, we find that we miss the evening hours to partake in the shows, rides and other activity of the park.

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

we are leaning towards getting it...the snack option is good, and we will be traveling with a 3 year old and a 5 year old, and i know that we will do at least 2 breakfast character meals, a lunch one, (3 of 7 tickets right there) a hoop de doo revue (2 more tickets) and then we will have 2 tickets each left, one for either sci fi at mgm or moms diner at mgm, and one for a night out for me and dh while our family watches the kids. add in the counter meals, at the parks, and for us its a good deal. its that much less cash we have to tote around on us each day.

 

[madonna31]

I think that the Dining Plan is the best thing Disney has come out with in a very long time.

You also have to keep in mind that to get the dining plan you have to book everything as a package -- room, tickets and dining plan. It may be cheaper to book your room and tickets separately so it's not just the cost of the dining plan to consider.

Good point. However, if you are the type of family who wants to do a character meal or sit down meal EVERY night then booking a Magic Your Way package works out cheaper. You see, the dining plan save you 30% on food, so unless your 'room only' discount is at least 30%, then it's not worth it to not go with the dining plan.

On the other hand, if you do not plan on doing character meals/sit down restaurants every night and are the type of family who prefers to just 'grab a burger' and keep going, then the meal plan is DEFINITELY not for you.

The dining plan is by FAR your best option ONLY if you plan on doing character/sit down restaurants every night.

One thing to keep in mind is at a lot of the sit down places where you would get most of your value for the package you need reservations, and you should book them early.

This is very true. But the good news is that you can now book 180 days in advance. Furthermore, you will have the same difficulty booking these restaurants whether or not you are on the dining plan. A lot of misconception with the dining plan is that if you get it, you HAVE to make dining reservations or you won't get in, whereas if you don't have the plan, you can just 'walk up' to say Chef Mickey's and get a table the same night. That is SO not true, you need to reserve the popular restaurants either way!

I heard Disney is thinking of cancelling the meal plan as they aren't making much money on it.

lol...doesn't that just prove how good of a deal it is? Put it this way, I am a travel agent, so I get a very good discount on room only, but I opted to pay full rate and get the dining plan instead.

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

I believe the cost is $50.00/day per adult, and depending where you eat, you probably won't spend that unless you are doing character dining for every meal.

In 2005 the dining plan was $34.99 per adult per night (ages 10+), $9.99 ages 3-9, under age 3 free; in 2006, $37.99 per adult per night, $11.99 for ages 3-9, under age 3 free. All prices in USD.

You get:

- One table service meal – includes appetizer, entrée, dessert (or full buffet) plus non-alcoholic beverage and gratuity/service charge
- One counter service meal – includes entrée and dessert (or complete combo meal) and non-alcoholic beverage
- One snack – ice cream novelty, frozen fruit bar, box of popcorn, medium soft drink, piece of fruit, apple juice or chips at select counter-service and snack-cart locations

Each of these is per person per night.

I traveled with my brother and his family in December, 2 adults, and 3 daughters, ages 12, 9 and 5. The biggest problem they had was eating all of the food!!! They took a lot back to their room for midnight snacks, and had a blast.

Since we were traveling together, we shared many of the appetizers.

The only issues they had was when it came to getting alcohol - they had to put that on another bill.

If you plan on doing 1 sit-down meal per nights stay, that alone can give you your value.

Michael

 

[dsneygirl]

We did the dining plan in May 2005 and loved it! Yes it was a lot of food in 7 days so next time (Dec 06) we will do a dinner show and probably a Signature Restaurant. We no longer do the parks commando and enjoying a nice meal is part of the Disney experience. If you are concerned with packing as much into every day as possible and can't see taking an hour and a half for sit down meal then I would not do.

And the character buffets are almost the least expensive dinners. You can do Le Cellier and easily spend $25 on the entree alone. Add $8 for app and $5 for dessert and you've got great value. Also your tax and tip is included. It's also nice in that you can pay upfront and not have to worry about budgeting at each meal.

 

[ferris198]

Yes, 37.99 if paying in USD, but when purchasing it in Canada, it is 50.00 CAD

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

Yes, 37.99 if paying in USD, but when purchasing it in Canada, it is 50.00 CAD

but the meals you pay for there are also in US so its still agood deal 6 of one, half dozen of another.

if u pay $50 CAD for the plan ($38 US)

and you go to Le CEllier (as mentioned) at $25us dinner, $6 entree, $5 dessert, thats $37US ($49CAD) and thats BEFORE the tax and tip.

so its a great deal for many! We plan on doing 2 character breakfasts, one lunch one (at the Land in Epcot) Hoop De Doo Revue(2 tickets or $48us per person, tickets are better !) and one night sans kids at a nice restaurant
For us its going to be worth it.
Plus, at $11 per kid per day, thats going to cover their character lunch plus a snack and then a light dinner. it will cost more than $11 that day if we did it separately.
Same with the days of Chef MIckey. isn't the $11 the same price as breakfast alone ? so two days of that plus still another meal...anywya for us its going to be a great deal, ESP with the us dollar exchange so good right now for us, pay it now and worry about carrying that much less money there

 

[dsneygirl]

anywya for us its going to be a great deal, ESP with the us dollar exchange so good right now for us, pay it now and worry about carrying that much less money there

That's a really good point. Who knows what the dollar will do after the election. You're locked in at these great rates.

 

[tricia]

I bought it for my upcoming trip. I like to have one table service meal per day anyway. I am a princess and need to be served my meal at least once per day. We usually grab a muffin or something in the room for breakfast, CS lunch, and then have an ADR for dinner in the park we are planning to be in, or a nearby resort. This actually works well with the kids (DS 8 and DS4) cause the TS meal is a bit of down time for them. A rest in an airconditioned place, hard to find sometimes. The way I see it, the dining plan is the perfect deal for families like ours.

 

[marylou]

I have older kids and the Dining plan is going to wonderful.
a)its already paid for so I don't have to worry about overspending when I am there
b) my kids can eat way more than $50 per day
c) we like TS meals as well
d) I can try restaurants I may not have if I was watching my budget i.e. a la carte vs buffet

 

[jeannief]

We're going to get the dining plan. As I said to DH, we can certainly eat cheaper than $90 day (2 adults, 2 kids) but we won't eat better. I like the idea of getting a few table services at nicer restaurants on a vacation.