Disneyland Dining Plan Questions

[DavidRoss]

I have never traveled to Disneyland. I have and frequently travel to Disneyworld and I am familiar with their dining plans. I tried to look at how this works through the official site but I am not really sure what the limitations are. For instance, can you use vouchers at signature restaurants? Are the vouchers are exchanged as one voucher for one meal regardless of it being counter service or a signature restaurant? What restaurants are you able to use them at and which ones are you not? My wife and I are planning a trip to Disneyland next year. Any information you can share would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[JacksGirlz]

Hydroguy has great tips and links about DLR dining vs WDW dining

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2914467

 

[ballarinamom]

The Dining Plan at Dl is very different from WDW. Where at WDW, you have so many meals/ snacks per day, you get a set of vouchers for DL. It does not have to be for every day of your trip either. Also, each voucher has a dollar value. These can be used as payment for more expensive meals. If you have a counter service voucher, you can use it and boost the differnce in cash. Goofy's, Blue Bayou, Ariels and Carthay are premium dining.
There is no real savings in the DL plan. We buy it just so we can prepurchase our meals.
Hope that helps

 

[sonnyjane]

On my phone so I'll keep it brief...

Just know that you save no money and could potentially lose it, since you don't get change. You pre-pay in full for vouchers in different increments (say $5, $15, and $40). There is no savings, you get exactly what you pay for. If you use a $15 voucher to pay for a $13 meal, you will not get your $2 back. I always recommend that people that want to pre-pay for their meals just purchase a Disney gift card instead.

 

[KateDrake]

I just wanted to chime in and add my HO that the DLR dining plan is a terrible idea. We LOVE the WDW dining plan, and always try to go during Wine and Dine so we can use our snack credits all around Epcot. But at DLR, it's totally different. The voucher is good for exactly the amount you paid for it. If your bill comes to more, you pay the difference. If your bill comes to less, you lose the remaining money on the voucher. Obviously people must keep buying the plans if they are still offering them, but they are just not very good. You are much better off paying out of pocket.

I'd highly recommend Hydroguy's thread, it is excellent. He's got great ones on WOC and several other topics as well, and they are all a wealth of useful information.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

use to love it but found its better to just get chr meal vouchers from getaway or use a gift card sorry but id vote no on the plan because you can lose money on it

 

[ValpoCory]

Obviously people must keep buying the plans if they are still offering them, but they are just not very good. You are much better off paying out of pocket.

It is interesting that Disney kept the Dining vouchers but axed the 6 day pass. Nobody would have missed the Dining vouchers.

 

[barbaraann]

It is interesting that Disney kept the Dining vouchers but axed the 6 day pass. Nobody would have missed the Dining vouchers.

Money in their pocket before anyone even leaves home.

Some day perhaps they will have a lightbulb moment, and realize that many people do come to Disneyland to spend an entire week in the parks.

 

[Dream.Finder]

I agree with many of the above. Do not do the meal plans. Load a gift card instead if you want to put your money on something. With the meal plans you can potentially lose money. Waste of time!

 

[TDC Nala]

It's apparently exactly like using cash, except you don't get change, so you need to spend the value of the voucher or over each time. If you use a $5 voucher to buy a $3 Diet Coke, you don't get that $2 back, so you need to find something that costs at least $2 to buy with the Coke. (Most guests use the vouchers for expensive restaurant meals, but you get the idea; it won't keep you from having some kind of payment outlay beyond the vouchers.)

And the Downtown Disney restaurants apparently don't accept the vouchers. It's also noted on the DL website that the vouchers are not accepted for World of Color dinner packages. And because you are using "cash" vouchers and not credits, you don't have the possibility of significant savings like you do at WDW (although that possibility has decreased quite a lot at WDW as the dining plan prices rise.) The Disneyland plan is pretty much just prepayment.

 

[KateDrake]

It is interesting that Disney kept the Dining vouchers but axed the 6 day pass. Nobody would have missed the Dining vouchers.

Agreed! I've never bought a 6-day park hopper myself (5 days is our average) but now that I can't, I suddenly want to! It was nice to have that flexibility to add extra days if you wanted.

Sorry to hijack the thread there. But yes, there really is no need for the Disneyland Dining Plan. It would be nice if they came up with something similar to WDW, but that would be tough since there are very few on-site hotels, compared to WDW.

 

[mouseymommy]

I really like to have my food and souvenirs paid for before I leave home so I buy gift cards. Every pay day I buy a gift card for DL, and then I also get the gas rewards for Safeway. I believe Kroger does this too.

 

[disney4cam]

I always recommend that people that want to pre-pay for their meals just purchase a Disney gift card instead.

Can you use gift cards everywhere in the park - even popcorn or cotton candy? Also, do any DTD vendors accept the gift card?

I like the idea of buying a Disney gift card so we aren't hit with a big food bill when we get back (right before Christmas).

 

[sonnyjane]

Can you use gift cards everywhere in the park - even popcorn or cotton candy? Also, do any DTD vendors accept the gift card?

I like the idea of buying a Disney gift card so we aren't hit with a big food bill when we get back (right before Christmas).

As long as they can take credit cards, they can take gift cards. For example, the churro stands can take gift cards because they are stationary and have a power source, but the rolling carts don't have that capability. MOST locations take gift cards, though. There are very few that don't.