Disney Dining plan advice

[elkvideo]

We are booked at the Beach Club for two weeks in november, we have free dining which we have no idea about!

does anyone know what the plan would be for this hotel I am totally confused where to find info about this and does anyone know if it is worth having?

Thanks for any help!!!

 

[wayneg]

Deluxe resorts include the regular Dining plan. Link here to Disney's brochure.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/me...alog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2011Dining.pdf

That will give you plenty of info but ask if there is anything you don't understand.

Calc here to work out the day you need to start booking your ADR's
http://pscalculator.net/pscalc.php

Section here on DIS for dining including an area for dining plan but post any questions you have here in UK Trip planning if you prefer.
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14

Is it worth having? if its free then yes 100% worth having but you have to compare to booking room only with a discount, that could be a better deal. For us at OKW we get discount and free dining so well worth it for us. Last year we had free dining for 21 days (3 adults) reciepts totalled about $3,500 of free food.

 

[elkvideo]

thank you for your help, I will have a look through and try to get to grip with this!
It will be a matter of checking which restaurants to go to, do you have to book table service restaurants or can you just try whilst on holiday. I was wondering if I will know where to eat on what night ,I am not very prepared!

 

[princessjodiebo]

we have the dining plan for when we go in may and i have booked a table service for every day we are there

i think if you are going on a holiday like disney you are better off being organised and prepared

so many people have said that restaurants had signs up saying no walk ins and as i have no idea when i will be back i wanted to make sure that we got the restaurants we wanted

we sat down as a family and had a few weeks of looking at menus deciding what we wanted and then checking the calendars for EMH etc

personally its a big weight off my shoulders as i now know that there wont be any problems when we get there its all organised all i have to do is countdown and decide what to pack

 

[2Tiggies]

By the time you go, you will be an expert, giving advice to others.

It is a good idea to book. In fact, if you want to eat at any of the more popular restaurants, booking is a must. The trouble with table service is, if you can't get in somewhere, you are unable to use your credits. Now you can use them anytime during your trip, but if you are there during a busy time, it puts extra pressure on you.

What we tend to do is wait until the park hours come out for the period we will be there. I then look at the weeks we are there and decide what parks we will do on what days.

Once I have my park days sorted, I work the restaurants in so that we aren't dashing all over the place for a meal. WDW is huge and if you are relying on Disney transport, efficient as it is, you can waste upwards of an hour getting from one place to the next for a meal, depending where you are and where you need to be.

If I were you, at this stage, I would be checking the list of participating restaurants. Familiarise yourself with where they are located and group them for now (e.g. Magic Kingdom restuarants, Epcot restaurants ....). Then hit the reviews and menus and see what appeals to you. Take your time and spend a couple of months on it. There are plenty. And if you get stuck, just ask.

 

[cantwait!!!!!!!!!!!!]

We had the DDP for the 1st time last year and before you go it does sound confusing but its not honestly, its really easy. Try to think where you want to go and when and if you want to book breakfast,lunch or dinner on that day. Then look on the restaurant board to get some ideas. Dont believe everything you read though, we read bad reviews for nearly everywhere we ate last year and all of our meals were lovely.

 

[sullyandsid]

The last three times we have gone we have been lucky enough to get free dining.

Our favourite restaurants are O'Hanas, The castle, Garden Grill and Arkershus and Le Cellier.

Everyone has their favs and their are a few articles on DIS abouth the dining plan.

Good luck with the planning it makes the holiday that more special when you get there.

 

[Florimel]

Hi

We did the free dining at the Beach Club 2009, and it was so worth it. I would agree with the other posters about planning and booking well in advance, particularly if there is somewhere you would really like to try. BC was near enough epcot to ensure we went there a few times - Le Cellier and Teppan Edo were really worth a visit! Kouzzina at the Boardwalk was easily walkable from BC and we really enjoyed our meal there.

We loved the Beach Club so much we're going back this October, and doing the free dining too. Depending on when you are going in November (ie earlier rather than later) you might catch the Food and Wine Festival - we're planning on using some of our snack credits on the sample stalls they have there and snacking around the world.