Disney Dining Plan - Non Disney Dining Plan

[kimntrent]

Okay first off - this is not meant to start a war.

I am wondering what the disney dining plan has done for regular diners at sit down restaurants. We don't know what park we are going to each day let alone where we are going to eat months out. We have the basic Hoop de doo and character breakfast booked but I have read a lot of places about advanced dining reservations before you go because the restaurants are full. I need clarification.

Anyone please help on this.

Kim

 

[ntsammy5]

I was concerned about this too and I have made and changed ADRs several times for a 10 day September trip. You just have to very good at planning and stick to the plan. having said that, since it's free for me, I can see us skipping 1 or 2 dinners, but there are certain places we all wanted to eat, so it really wasn't hard to do. Le Cellier was the hardest to make, but there were some others that were difficult. I'm not sure it would be worth it if I were paying for it but.....

and you're right, very few people will be able to dine spur of the moment, unless it's at places like the Biergarten. Some concern here too....... but Disney is doing what they can to attract and keep people in the parks for their entire trip. This is the first trip out the last 10 or so that we will stay exclusively on WDW and not visit other attractions so I guess it worked.....

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

You will definitely need ADR's for the more popular restaurants and character meals. When I called to book Le Cellier for our upcoming trip, they had exactly *one* dinner ressie available during the 8 nights we will be there during the first week of October. Even though the time was a little later than I would normally prefer, I booked it without hesitation knowing if I called back it would be gone. I have been able to get every restaurant I wanted to try, but it is going to require some creative timing strategy to get back and forth between the parks and still be able to see some of the parades, fireworks, etc.

Try to map out some type of itinerary that will allow you to book more ADR's as it would be very disappointing to show up at the "World" and have to settle for what's left.

 

[TomD]

You are already doing the right thing by asking questions and reading here

2nd Best advice I can give is this

Get a hold of the Unofficial guide or join Tour guide Mike. You will then at least have an idea of what parks are suggested to be slower on certain days. Then you can plan what parks to go to. From there you can plan your meals and make ADR's.

Of course unexpected things will arise and you will need to refine your park days and dining as it gets closer. But you can fall back to your original plan if you can't get what you want.


hope this helps and Good Luck

 

[afcgirl]

I hate to say it, and I know some will disagree, but WDW is so big and can be so overwhelming that I think you should do some planning about what parks you will visit on each day even months in advance. The WDW website posts the park hours and activities months in advance so that you can plan. Once you have a good idea about what parks you will visit, then you can plan your meals and definitely make ADRs. They were necessary even before the dining plan (unless you didn't mind eating very late or very early).

Yes, you can wing it at WDW, but you will get way more bang for your buck with a little planning. BTW, you can always cancel the ADR, they do not take a deposit or anything (except for the shows). It is like any restaurant reservation.

Good luck!

 

[laceemouse]

Okay first off - this is not meant to start a war.

I am wondering what the disney dining plan has done for regular diners at sit down restaurants. We don't know what park we are going to each day let alone where we are going to eat months out. We have the basic Hoop de doo and character breakfast booked but I have read a lot of places about advanced dining reservations before you go because the restaurants are full. I need clarification.

Anyone please help on this.

Kim

This has been discussed many times here. Appearantly the dining plan is VERY popular even when it is not free. Most people feel that it is a great deal. I am not so sure that it would be a great deal for us, we are still debating. That being said, I think YES, you need to plan which park/which day and try to get the ADRs you THINK you are going to want ASAP! We usually book one TS meal per day and wing it the rest of the time. We have never done the meal plan. It is a pain but Disney wants to keep the place full and the restaurants hopping!!!

 

[aubriee]

We were there last year during the free dining period and saw most restaraunts turning away walk ups. This past May was also saw a few restaraunts turning away walk ups. I would make ADRs just so I'd know I had someplace to eat every day. We usually do more TS than CS though.

 

[Bride2Be0705]

When planning a trip to WDW with the DDP, I always choose my parks & days first. Like I'll say 'Ok, MGM has EMHs on this day, let's do this so that dinner doesn't interfer with rides.' or 'MK has their EMHs on this day, we'll do that, so that we can have the extra time to ride the rides we love.' I choose my parks based on the days that they have EMHs so that I know going to dinner & staying for a while won't interfer with riding rides. So once I have that done, I look & see which restaurants we want, print our menus, run them past DH and then I make a chart of the Park/Day/Restaurant, and make sure that everything works out. Make sure you know parade & fireworks' show times so that you can plan accordingly.

We love the DDP... We get to eat at some amazing restaurants for much cheaper than it would normally cost us. Last time we went, there wasn't a dinner under $100 the whole week... counter that with paying $37.99 for the plan/ per day, and you're in the red on savings. I highly recommend the DDP and taking advantage of the ADRs!

Once all that is done, I wait for the 6 month mark & make my call... Granted things may change once we get there, but at least this way, I know that I have a plan!

Good luck!

 

[TinaLala]

Okay, I don't do the dining plan.....now that the shock for some has worn off I'll tell you why. My family enjoys eating and especially seeing the characters. So every trip I sit down infront of an excel spreadsheet and make our plans on where we will have breakfast and dinner. Based on those meals I have found that we eat outside of the dining plan and it would cost us more money then it would be worth. We spend about $1000 on meals - now that's breakfast and dinner every meal with a character (Chef Mickey's, Ohana's, 1900 Park Fare, Garden Grill, Norway Princesses, H&V, Donald's Breakfasorous, Cape May Cafe, Crystal Palace) So I took the restaurant listing and labeled our meals counter and sit down and our sit down meals numbered more then allowed in the dining plan. I understand that we could skimp a little and fit this dining plan into our routine, however my family's philosophy on vacation is "when you're on vacation - you live like you're on vacation!" So have always opted not to do the dining plan. Now what we do is purchase disney dollars by the hundreds before we leave so we have already saved for our dining before we go.

Sounds extreme, but we go to Disney to eat good food and see the characters and that's what we like to do at Disney.

You DEFINATELY need to make a spreadsheet and determine where you want to eat before you go. If you don't make them when you're there, no big deal, however I'd rather get the next table then wait 45 mins with hungry screaming children after a long day at the park. Think about it.

Plus with the Allears.net website you can get meal prices so you can estimate and determine if the dining plan is right for you financially.

 

[goofy4tink]

Even before the DDP came into being, there were some restaurants that you just could not walk up to and expect to get seated without a long wait. All the character meals were impossible to walk in to. LeCellier was tough. I know that there were places we wanted to eat that we had to forgo because we couldn't get seated. Of course, that was back before I knew what I know now. I didn't know enough about WDW then.
I tell everyone I talk to, who is going to WDW, to please, sit down and try to make one ADR per day. That way, you'll have at least one good meal a day, without worrying about it.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

We DON'T do the DDP either.

If there are particular restaurants you know you want to eat at run... don't walk... to the closest phone & make an ADR.

Otherwise plan on eating alot of counter service & if you get lucky at a TS all the better.

 

[crisi]

Even before the DDP came into being, there were some restaurants that you just could not walk up to and expect to get seated without a long wait. All the character meals were impossible to walk in to. LeCellier was tough. I know that there were places we wanted to eat that we had to forgo because we couldn't get seated. Of course, that was back before I knew what I know now. I didn't know enough about WDW then.
I tell everyone I talk to, who is going to WDW, to please, sit down and try to make one ADR per day. That way, you'll have at least one good meal a day, without worrying about it.

Yep, the problem was there before the dining plan, the dining plan just has made it less likely to walk into restaurants.

For us - as non-DDPers, its meant we do more signanture dining. Means we can avoid at least some crowds and we have noticed the the food isn't as good as it was at one TS places - perhaps that is related to the dining plan, perhaps its perception, perhaps its just coincidence. We were doing one signature restaurant over a week, we did two last time and I see that many or more in our future next trip.

 

[TinaLala]

So I just called to make some more ADRs and don't you know the cm was trying to get me to do the DDP. I told her that we do Character/Table dining every day for breakfast and dinner and if we did the DDP that we'd have to pay for at least one of those meals everyday anyway. Not much of a savings for us. 'Well you'd be able to get snacks included.' The whole purpose of eating breakfast and dinner is so you don't have to have lunch during the day and I bring crackers or pick up some fruit at the breakfast meal so there won't be any snacking to worry about. I just don't think it's worth it. That's my opinion. I know other's swear by it.

 

[drogerstn]

We plan on which parks we will visit and make ADR's months in advance. Sticking to the plan is another issue. During our visit in June, we tried to book some different ADR's since we "got ahead" on our touring plans; nothing could be booked at a reasonable time. There are many factors which can change our touring plans while at WDW and we like to be flexible; I'm glad we weren't on the DDP.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Non DDP here. As a FL resident, it just doesn't make a whole lot of financial sense to pay double for a hotel room and full price on theme park tix for two free meals at packed restaurants and a daily snack. For out of state folks, this is a way good deal! Not to mention how much I appreciate Disney getting tourists back in our state at the height of hurricane season when most are running for the hills.

With that being said, I always vacation in Orlando in September (anniversary). Five years ago, I would have had two ADRs per day at restaurants. Our upcoming trip this September, we have one for an entire week. Sadly, with the decline of quality dining and service at WDW restaurants, as well as feeling forced to make a restaurant reservation six months in advance of our vacation, we're down to one "must-do."

I don't know if this is what the DDP has done to us, but whatever the reasons, we now spend less time at Disney and more time off site or at USO.

 

[jenniferma]

HI-- just my 2 cents-- DEFINITELY try to make ADRS. We went in May (not free dining) and we made a last minute (few weeks in advance) ADR at the Plaza at MK. We ended up waiting outside with an ADR for about 40 minutes and I was SHOCKED to listen to how many people were turned away because they didn't have ADRs. I know that if the plaza was completely booked, the other TS restaurants were too in MK because it was our last choice.

I was also really surprised at how unfriendly the CMs were manning the ressies. People kept asking them where they could go.. and instead of listing Cosmic Rays or whatever.. the woman said something about Caseys and Cracker Jacks. I felt so bad for a lot of the people I stopped them and helped them... I am sure they didn't want to eat Cracker Jacks for dinner!

Anyhow-- I know it makes a heck of a lot more tedious to plan.. but for your sake I would make the ADRs! Especially if you are going during free dining.
have a great trip- jen

 

[powellrj]

I agree with the OP. I don't know what I am having for dinner tonight let alone where I am eating 3 months from now. We go to Disney at least once sometimes twice a year, so we really don't need to make touring plans. We like to go with the flow.

Before the DDP we would just call and see what was available everyday and make our plans from there. We were always able to get just about anything we wanted.

With the DDP, and since we are going during free dining, I knew I had to make plans early. What I did, was decide what meals we wanted. The only park meal we wanted was LeCelliers, so I had to decide what day we wanted to do Epcot. Other than that, we went with resort and DTD meals so I felt we were more flexable.

We are doing Boma, Capt. Jacks, Wolfgang Puck, Concourse and 1900 Park Fare. I am not sure if we are doing the right thing this trip, we will just have to wait and see. With doing resort and DTD meals, we aren't locked into a park on any certain day since we may not be park hopping this year.

Who knows what the right thing to do????

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I would definately make some ADR's. You can always cancel. But when you're standing there hungry, you can't get one for any price if none is available.

We have never done the DDP either. We have it this time because it is free, but I really don't see us getting it in the future. I DO see us saving more money for WDW restaurants in the future, though. I think I will like this "no cooking" vacation. I just think I could eat cheaper at WDW doing my own planning than with the DDP. Ofcourse, we wouldn't eat as well!

But, because we have it this time, I have planned all of my ADR's ahead of time. I've had them booked for a while.

I signed up with TourGuideMike, so I know which parks to be in what day. Because he puts a lot of thought into this, it usually doesn't change........maybe a little but never last minute. Overall, the plan doesn't really change. And since we are going during the busy summer, I think I'm going to stick with his plan.

So since I know what park I'm going to be in, I know what restaurants I can try. It wasn't that hard. But I'm a big planner when it comes to Disney. I put hardly any thought into my beach vacations............the only plan is to chill.