Dumb question re: dining...

[volleymom07]

Hi all,
I am headed to WDW in Feb. 08 for thr first time in 7 years. DH and I will be flying in on a Thursday afternoon and staying in an as-yet-undecided resort. My question is this: As we will not have park passes for Thursday, will we still be able to go to a restaurant that is in a theme park? It wouldn't seem like we could but I'd sure like to!! Would this new thing I have been reading about tonight help--the dining plan?

 

[mking624]

Hi all,
I am headed to WDW in Feb. 08 for thr first time in 7 years. DH and I will be flying in on a Thursday afternoon and staying in an as-yet-undecided resort. My question is this: As we will not have park passes for Thursday, will we still be able to go to a restaurant that is in a theme park? It wouldn't seem like we could but I'd sure like to!! Would this new thing I have been reading about tonight help--the dining plan?

Your park passes are not tied to a certain day. So if you were staying 5 days, but only had 4 day passes, you could use those 4 day passes during any of those 5 days. So when you say you don't have park passes for Thursday, technically you do, you're just choosing not to use them on that day.

That said, you cannot enter the park without a ticket...so no, if you chose not to use one of your days on your ticket, you could not eat at a park restaurant since that requires park entry, and therefore requires a ticket.

 

[queenofhartz]

Hi volleymom07! As mking624 said, you cannot eat in a restaurant within a theme park without using a themepark ticket to get in.

However, there are lots of other wonderful options that would enable you to eat at a Disney restaurant without eating at a themepark. And, honestly, with the exception of some of the Epcot restaurants, I think that most of the best meals are found outside of the parks.

For instance, I love to explore the different Disney hotels. You could enjoy dinner at Boma or Jiko in Animal Kingdom Lodge (after dinner, you and DH can sit outside overlooking the Savannah and relax). Or, you can try Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge. Grand Floridian also has restaurants that seem to get nice reviews (Citricos and Narcoosee's), and I hear that if you make your ADR at the right time, you can even catch a view of the fireworks (I think this is from Narcoosee's. California Grill is excellent, and once again, you can see the fireworks if you time your ADR right.

Or, enjoy a stroll on the Boardwalk and eat at a Boardwalk restaurant like Flying Fish or Spoodles.

Lastly, you can always go to Downtown Disney and try one of their many dining options (Rainforest Cafe, Fulton's, Earl of Sandwich, among many others). Then, you can look in on all the shops (just avoid the urge to spend too much money since you'll just be starting your vacation. )

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[madalex]

As we will not have park passes for Thursday, will we still be able to go to a restaurant that is in a theme park?

If you do not have park passes, you cannot enter the park for whatever reason.

 

[TinkerBelle314]

Does anyone have any good feed back on wether the dining plan really does include enough for two children to share one meal? I have read that the amount of food is so much it is wise to share. Any feed back?

: DH, me, cheer2: DD, DD2 DS

 

[queenofhartz]

Hi tinkerbell314! How old are the children? What types of appetites do they have?

 

[texasteacher35]

Hi volleymom07! As mking624 said, you cannot eat in a restaurant within a theme park without using a themepark ticket to get in.

However, there are lots of other wonderful options that would enable you to eat at a Disney restaurant without eating at a themepark. And, honestly, with the exception of some of the Epcot restaurants, I think that most of the best meals are found outside of the parks.

For instance, I love to explore the different Disney hotels. You could enjoy dinner at Boma or Jiko in Animal Kingdom Lodge (after dinner, you and DH can sit outside overlooking the Savannah and relax). Or, you can try Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge. Grand Floridian also has restaurants that seem to get nice reviews (Citricos and Narcoosee's), and I hear that if you make your ADR at the right time, you can even catch a view of the fireworks (I think this is from Narcoosee's. California Grill is excellent, and once again, you can see the fireworks if you time your ADR right.

Or, enjoy a stroll on the Boardwalk and eat at a Boardwalk restaurant like Flying Fish or Spoodles.

Lastly, you can always go to Downtown Disney and try one of their many dining options (Rainforest Cafe, Fulton's, Earl of Sandwich, among many others). Then, you can look in on all the shops (just avoid the urge to spend too much money since you'll just be starting your vacation. )

Have a wonderful trip!!

As she stated abovee...there are SOOO many places to eat outside of the parks...you will have no problem finding a very "Disney" type dining experience outside of the park! There are so many options!!! Almost too many!