Disney Dining Plan

[CW2]

Can I book a character meal in the dining plan? If we don't usually eat a lunch/snack/dinner EVERY day, (maybe miss a lunch here and there) is the dining plan still a savings?

 

[Hootch]

of the character meals are available through the dining plan. The one at Garden Grove is not. Cinderella's Royal Table takes two credits for any of the meals.

In my opinion, the DDP works only if you eat a TS every day. If you do, it can be a good deal. I do the math every trip to see if it is worthwhile after we have settled on our dining options. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't.

If you want to get comfortable with whether or not it pays for itself check out the menus in the dining tab at the top of the page. Remember to add gratuity with the DDP.

 

[TDC Nala]

That is not how the dining plan operates - you are given all your credits for every night of the trip upon check in and you can book them however you want. You could have three TS meals one day and none the next day, as long as you have enough credits in your account to pay for the meals. You could do all your TS meals for breakfast or lunch if you wanted. You could skip lunches easily.

To get the most VALUE out of the plan it is noted that all your TS credits should be used for dinners at one TS restaurants, because dinners tend to be the most expensive meals and two-credit TS restaurants don't hold the value.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Although the character meals are included in the dining plan, they aren't usually the best use of your credits - the sit-down TS restaurants usually cost more than buffets by the time you add your entree, dessert and drink. I'm not sure what restaurant the pp was referring to when he/she said Garden Grove was not included, but the Garden Grill is included in the plan.

We usually eat breakfast in our rooms (pop tarts, donuts, cereal, etc.), have a CS lunch and a TS dinner. Our family of 6 last trip (4 adults, 1 child, and 1 non-ordering infant) came out about $600 over the cost of the plan, but that was when tips were still included - I figure we will atleast break-even this trip (3 adults, 2 children) and I like the convenience of having our meals pre-paid, we can order what we want, and dh likes not having heart failure every time he sees a very high check.

 

[Sandy321]

Can I book a character meal in the dining plan? If we don't usually eat a lunch/snack/dinner EVERY day, (maybe miss a lunch here and there) is the dining plan still a savings?

like TDC Nala posted - you get 1 CS (think fast food, "counter service" meal, which includes a drink, and a dessert - for breakfast, you get 2 drinks, no dessert) and 1 snack and 1 "sit down" meal (think table service)

so you can plan your Disney touring to fit your needs. If you want to go to Crystal Palace in the morning, for breakfast, see the characters, etc that is a 1TS - then you can use your CS for dinner, and the snack as such -

or you can go to Crystal Palace for a dinner meal - still 1TS - then you can use your CS at your resort - we usually get the big breakfast meal and split it... then we get a lunch - big meal and split that as well... (we'll get a large soda, split it, and a glass of ice water - so we work the plan to fit our needs and dont pay OOP - out of pocket for meals...

www.allears.net click on dining and they have a list of places, and menus to help you pick your dining options...

 

[lfrobison]

We booked quite a few character meals with our DDP. Hoop Dee Doo Revue takes 2 credits though.

 

[Colleen27]

Although the character meals are included in the dining plan, they aren't usually the best use of your credits - the sit-down TS restaurants usually cost more than buffets by the time you add your entree, dessert and drink. I'm not sure what restaurant the pp was referring to when he/she said Garden Grove was not included, but the Garden Grill is included in the plan.

The relative value of character meals depends on what TS you're comparing them to (Kona will cost more than a character meal but the Plaza probably won't), which meal you're talking about (a character dinner will be more $$ than most TS breakfasts), and what time of year you're going (that $4 peak season surcharge bumps up the value of those character meals).

Garden Grove is over at the Swolphin and has a character meal on certain days. None of the restaurants there accept the dining plan.