dining plan

[Leleluvsdis]

Have you ever gotten the dining plan while staying at the fort? DH and I are planning a trip for december of 2013 and staying at the fort in our camper. I have looked into doing the dining plan because we will also be going with my parents brother sister-in-law and niece 21 and nephew 20. They haven't decided where they are staying yet bc we don't know yet if mom and dad will get to transfer their RCI timeshare in yet, so possibly will have niece or nephew staying with us. My parents like to do at one nice meal each day in the park, which is the main reason I'm thinking the dinning plan would be a huge money saver, and I'm thinking the counter service would be a great time saver bc of not having to go back to the camper every day for lunch.

Fo anyone who and hasn't done the dinning plan what did you think, and why have you not done it?

 

[twoWDWfools]

We've done the dining plan, though not while at the Fort.

We enjoyed having meals pre-paid, however the regular dining plan turned out to be too much food plus we didn't like having our days planned out that much. You know, the "Must be at Restaurant A at such time so have to plan park visit correctly."

Last year on a trip we tried the counter service plan. Much better on being able to eat when we want versus ADRs however it still was often too much food. Also, I am not a dessert person so having to get something with each lunch/dinner had me picking what would last for a snack later.

We go to WDW 3-4 times per year so do more ambling/wandering than actual planning of our days so that does play heavily into our decision to stop getting it.

 

[retired and happy]

Been going for 15 years or so and never used a dining plan. If we are in the Parks and get hungry, we stop and eat. If we're in camp, we either cook, eat a GAG at TE, or get a Southern Smothered Hot Dog at the pool.

 

[jonimce]

We have used the dining plan several times while staying at the Fort. If you plan on doing one sit down meal a day then I would highly recommend it. They have tweeked the plans over the years and you don't get as much as you used to. It is still plenty. I only wish they gave you a choice between the app or dessert. I would rather camp and save money on the lodging and splurge on the dining. After all, you are on vacation. LOL To think of it, we have never cooked at FW.

Joni

 

[pirateprincess777]

This will be our first stay at the fort. We have always stayed at the other resorts and always had the dining plan. But we decided to go ahead and get it while at the fort. We will eat our breakfasts in the camper, but we really enjoy eating at the various restaurants. If we lived closer and visited more frequently, we probably would skip it. But we want to "vacation", so we splurge!

 

[2goofycampers]

We've done both. If you're doing parks and gonna eat at WDW restaurants it is a plus. If you're there to relax and chill we usually grill out.

 

[bama_ed]

We have a pop-up with a kitchen.

We are in the parks only half the days of our visits.

The Dining Plan has become less of a value year after year.

If you're a theme park kamikaze who likes a very structured day (stopping for meal time each day) then the DP will be a good fit for you.

Never done the DP. After all, why would we?

Bama ED

 

[LynneyPooh]

We got the deluxe dining plan while @ the fort last summer. LOVED IT!!! We actually did a split stay and only had the dining plan for 5 out of 10 total days. We "checked out" and then "checked back in" to start a new stay. This allowed us to do the camping thing and the "commando" thing while we were there. Then we did breakfast at the camper nearly every morning with signatures every evening. Perfect for us as thats what we wanted from our trip. Just because you're at the fort doesn't mean you can't do the dining plan, just means you can't do the free dining....

 

[MamaJessie]

We have used the dining plan several times while staying at the Fort. If you plan on doing one sit down meal a day then I would highly recommend it. They have tweeked the plans over the years and you don't get as much as you used to. It is still plenty. I only wish they gave you a choice between the app or dessert. I would rather camp and save money on the lodging and splurge on the dining. After all, you are on vacation. LOL To think of it, we have never cooked at FW.

Joni

Hi neighbor!

I have a dining plan question for those that ahve used it at Ft. Wilderness, where can you use your QS meals? I saw in the brochure you can use it at trail's to go, but then read from people that you can not use it there. If anyone has used it, where did you use it and what could you get?

Thanks!!

 

[jonimce]

Hi neighbor!

I have a dining plan question for those that ahve used it at Ft. Wilderness, where can you use your QS meals? I saw in the brochure you can use it at trail's to go, but then read from people that you can not use it there. If anyone has used it, where did you use it and what could you get?

Thanks!!

I can't help with that one. At the fort the dining plan we have used all meals were sit down. The only time we had the QS we stayed at the WL.

Joni

 

[2goofycampers]

QS is available at the pool snack bar when it's open, very limited. Trail's End also has 2 breakfast sandwiches and a 2 piece chicken dinner. All to go. This was a trial in November 2011. I can't be sure it's still in effect.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Thanks everyone for your insight! It is greatly appreciated and very helpful. We are definetly park openers and closers so I think it would benefit us. We typically are in the park 5 days and we are there from Sat to sat. I think I will probably look over the resturats we want to go to and what we would order and go from there. I like the idea of not having to look at prices and I think it would allow us to eat at resturant we typically wouldn't bc of the price.

 

[Mcert01]

My parents like to do at one nice meal each day in the park, which is the main reason I'm thinking the dinning plan would be a huge money saver, and I'm thinking the counter service would be a great time saver bc of not having to go back to the camper every day for lunch.

Fo anyone who and hasn't done the dinning plan what did you think, and why have you not done it?

We've done it both ways. There are definite advantages each way. When we build time in to come back for dinner (normally during the summer when a break is pretty much mandatory), then eating at our trailer for about 1/2 hour meals saves money over the dining plan. However, it is really nice to not worry about where you are eating or the prices, and you can have a really great dining experiences which make the trip that much more memorable and enjoyable.

If you folks are looking for a sit down each day then the dining plan is definitely worth it. It sounds like you are like us, and pretty much stay in the parks all day, making the counter service in the dining plan a good bet.

 

[Feisty Fairy]

We usually open and close the parks too. We might start out at a different park and end in different park put for a majority of the time we are at the parks. We will be at the FW in May and have QSDP. Should be fun. I love the DP because it makes the vacation more of an all inclusive vacation.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

We've done it both ways. There are definite advantages each way. When we build time in to come back for dinner (normally during the summer when a break is pretty much mandatory), then eating at our trailer for about 1/2 hour meals saves money over the dining plan. However, it is really nice to not worry about where you are eating or the prices, and you can have a really great dining experiences which make the trip that much more memorable and enjoyable.

If you folks are looking for a sit down each day then the dining plan is definitely worth it. It sounds like you are like us, and pretty much stay in the parks all day, making the counter service in the dining plan a good bet.

We haven't been in the summer in about 7 years so we have gotten used to staying in the parks all day. If we were at MK it wouldn't be a big ordeal to go back to the camper to eat but if we were at AK that would be a different story. We typically do a sit down meal everyday in the park which is normally 5 days and typically do a sit down dinner in out of park days also.

I have started doing C25K and have a goal weight loss of 70lbs and running a half marathon. I ran in high school for fun and loved it. It is so relaxing to me and refreshing and I miss doing it. DH told me he would run with me but he didn't know about a half marathon but he said the ToT 10k sounds awesome since it it at night and he loves that ride, so he said if I do the program and can run a 10k at home, he would run it with me at disney. I'm hopeing to do this next year and if it pans out like this year, it will be during free dining.

With all of this said, we will definetly try the dining plan if it's free, I mean who wouldn't, but we will probably base that on the decision to either go with or without the dining plan next december.

We usually open and close the parks too. We might start out at a different park and end in different park put for a majority of the time we are at the parks. We will be at the FW in May and have QSDP. Should be fun. I love the DP because it makes the vacation more of an all inclusive vacation.

That is exactly what we do. Start one place and end another. I thought about doing the QSDP and paying out of pocket if we do any table service but we typically do a table service at the the nights we are in a park and most times we aren't in the park so I think it would cost more than its worth and since we are going with my parents we are going to want to eat dinner with them.