huskies90
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2004
- Messages
- 2,469
We just got back on Saturday. We did a split stay 5 nights at POR MYW package with dining and then switched to 4 nights at AKL paying for food ourselves:
The cast was two adults and two kids 6 and 9
Table Service Locations (all dinner except Chef Mickeys):
11/25 Chef Mickeys (breakfast) 4 credits
11/26 Whispering Canyon 4 credits
11/27 Spoodles 4 credits
11/28 Le Cellier CP package 4 credits
11/29 California Grill 4 credits OOP for kids meals
12/1 50s Prime Time Café OOP no longer on DP
12/2 Boma OOP no longer on DP
Counter Service
11/24 Riverside Mill (POR food court) 3 Credits
11/25 Peco Bills 3 Credits
11/26 Wolfgang Puck Express 3 Credits
11/27 Mainstreet Bakery 2 Credits
11/28 Electric Umbrella 4 Credits
11/29 Riverside Mill 2 Credits
11/29 Tusker House 3 Credits
11/30 The Mara (AKL food court) OOP no longer on DP
12/1 Starring Rolls Bakery OOP no longer on DP
12/2 Sunshine Seasons OOP no longer on DP
12/3 ABC Commissary OOP no longer on DP
Overall we did very well with food and the dining plan and really did not have a bad meal but we had some really great ones, too.
TS reviews - I highly recommend all of the table service places we ate at with the exception of 50s prime time which was just average. It is a cute place with a great theme and our server was good but the food was blah. Boma, Spoodles, Le Cellier and the Cali Grill were simply outstanding. The food at Chef Mickeys and Whispering Canyon was better than expected but the setting and entertainment made these two huge hits; Chef Mickeys obviously for the characters and Whispering Canyon for our server, BJ aka Bobby the Kid. He was hysterical and had my daughters in stitches from start to finish. It was one of the highlights of the whole trip.
CS reviews Mostly run of the mill food court stuff with the following exceptions: The Thanksgiving meal at Riverside Mill was very good. The sandwiches at Tusker House and especially Sunshine Seasons were worth noting. Wolfgang Puck express was also different and very good.
Snacks Ice Cream, Popcorn and Water. We had 7 credits left when checked in at AKL and bought 7 waters to drink the rest of the week.
DDP review: The Dining Plan is WAAAAAY worth it. The plan cost us $90 a day. Even if you eat a "normal" table service meal, each TS meal is going to cost you about $90. So you can look at it as your are paying for your table service and getting your counter service meals and snacks for free. However, our bills were usually about $120-$150. Our meal at the Califonia grill was over $230 (We paid some out of pocket). And since each CS meal can cost between $20-$50, it is very much worth it. When we were off the plan we spent about the same amount but did not get nearly as much food.
There were a few pitfalls/pains with the plan: First, trying to"maximize" credits. There is so much food, we usually only got 3 CS meals at a time and we shared them. For breakfast we usually only got 2 and shared them. It was a pain trying to figure out when to order two, three of four meals at a time. For TS we had planned to try paying for some of the non buffet kids' meals out of pocket and then save the credits to use later for the adults which we never did except at the California Grill and that was only because we only had 4 credits left (no way I was using 4 credits for two bowls of Kraft mac 'n cheese anyway).
The second pitfall, is that the TS meals can put a crimp in your planning for the day. It never works out that you done at a park at the exact time you planned to eat, so you have to work around the ADRs and getting to a restaurant can be a pain depending on where you are and where you are going. If you are not on the plan, it is easy to just bag the TS meal and grab a burger. One of the ways we got around this is we made a few backup ADRs at different times/places and just canceled the ones we decided to bag. But make those reservations!!! You don't want to be stuck with credits and have no place to eat.
Finally, It was very confusing as to what was included and what was not and we got a different answer at each restaurant we went to. My wife and I found it amusing how each time we sat down at a table service place we got a different spiel about what was included and what was not. Some places the kids got appetizers some not. Some places they could get milk. Some not. Some places they could get refills on milk. Some not. At Whispering Canyon the server said "order anything you want I don't care." So we got milkshakes as our drinks (yum!) and other places like Le Cellier would not bring us milk for the kids because "they get audited regularly." It was inconsistent and kind of a pain. We had similar experiences at the Counter Service locations.
The cast was two adults and two kids 6 and 9
Table Service Locations (all dinner except Chef Mickeys):
11/25 Chef Mickeys (breakfast) 4 credits
11/26 Whispering Canyon 4 credits
11/27 Spoodles 4 credits
11/28 Le Cellier CP package 4 credits
11/29 California Grill 4 credits OOP for kids meals
12/1 50s Prime Time Café OOP no longer on DP
12/2 Boma OOP no longer on DP
Counter Service
11/24 Riverside Mill (POR food court) 3 Credits
11/25 Peco Bills 3 Credits
11/26 Wolfgang Puck Express 3 Credits
11/27 Mainstreet Bakery 2 Credits
11/28 Electric Umbrella 4 Credits
11/29 Riverside Mill 2 Credits
11/29 Tusker House 3 Credits
11/30 The Mara (AKL food court) OOP no longer on DP
12/1 Starring Rolls Bakery OOP no longer on DP
12/2 Sunshine Seasons OOP no longer on DP
12/3 ABC Commissary OOP no longer on DP
Overall we did very well with food and the dining plan and really did not have a bad meal but we had some really great ones, too.
TS reviews - I highly recommend all of the table service places we ate at with the exception of 50s prime time which was just average. It is a cute place with a great theme and our server was good but the food was blah. Boma, Spoodles, Le Cellier and the Cali Grill were simply outstanding. The food at Chef Mickeys and Whispering Canyon was better than expected but the setting and entertainment made these two huge hits; Chef Mickeys obviously for the characters and Whispering Canyon for our server, BJ aka Bobby the Kid. He was hysterical and had my daughters in stitches from start to finish. It was one of the highlights of the whole trip.
CS reviews Mostly run of the mill food court stuff with the following exceptions: The Thanksgiving meal at Riverside Mill was very good. The sandwiches at Tusker House and especially Sunshine Seasons were worth noting. Wolfgang Puck express was also different and very good.
Snacks Ice Cream, Popcorn and Water. We had 7 credits left when checked in at AKL and bought 7 waters to drink the rest of the week.
DDP review: The Dining Plan is WAAAAAY worth it. The plan cost us $90 a day. Even if you eat a "normal" table service meal, each TS meal is going to cost you about $90. So you can look at it as your are paying for your table service and getting your counter service meals and snacks for free. However, our bills were usually about $120-$150. Our meal at the Califonia grill was over $230 (We paid some out of pocket). And since each CS meal can cost between $20-$50, it is very much worth it. When we were off the plan we spent about the same amount but did not get nearly as much food.
There were a few pitfalls/pains with the plan: First, trying to"maximize" credits. There is so much food, we usually only got 3 CS meals at a time and we shared them. For breakfast we usually only got 2 and shared them. It was a pain trying to figure out when to order two, three of four meals at a time. For TS we had planned to try paying for some of the non buffet kids' meals out of pocket and then save the credits to use later for the adults which we never did except at the California Grill and that was only because we only had 4 credits left (no way I was using 4 credits for two bowls of Kraft mac 'n cheese anyway).
The second pitfall, is that the TS meals can put a crimp in your planning for the day. It never works out that you done at a park at the exact time you planned to eat, so you have to work around the ADRs and getting to a restaurant can be a pain depending on where you are and where you are going. If you are not on the plan, it is easy to just bag the TS meal and grab a burger. One of the ways we got around this is we made a few backup ADRs at different times/places and just canceled the ones we decided to bag. But make those reservations!!! You don't want to be stuck with credits and have no place to eat.
Finally, It was very confusing as to what was included and what was not and we got a different answer at each restaurant we went to. My wife and I found it amusing how each time we sat down at a table service place we got a different spiel about what was included and what was not. Some places the kids got appetizers some not. Some places they could get milk. Some not. Some places they could get refills on milk. Some not. At Whispering Canyon the server said "order anything you want I don't care." So we got milkshakes as our drinks (yum!) and other places like Le Cellier would not bring us milk for the kids because "they get audited regularly." It was inconsistent and kind of a pain. We had similar experiences at the Counter Service locations.
