DVC Dining Plan

[Sherri]

Thanks for all of the help. Dh is warming up to the idea. When I looked at the menu at the 50's cafe and showed him the appetizer and drink, dinner and dessert he saw the savings of doing the dining plan.

 

[patsal]

Thanks for all of the help. Dh is warming up to the idea. When I looked at the menu at the 50's cafe and showed him the appetizer and drink, dinner and dessert he saw the savings of doing the dining plan.

Once you check the menus and look at the prices you'll se that savings at nearly every place that you dine. Remember that tax and tip are included in the 37.99 per adult price as well.

 

[Sherri]

Thanks for all of the help. We are going to do it. I will call tomorrow and add it. We will have to call back closer to the time to try and make reservations for specific places. We leave Saturday for our other Florida trip (we are going to the beach), but all of my energy is going into planning our July trip. Disney is quite addicting.

 

[juliehry]

I am thinking abouut my dinning options while at the SSR this fall. What is DDE? Can someone enlighten me about my options. Thanks.

Julie

 

[Sherri]

From what I learned, the dining option is as follows. Each person on your reservation must do this in order to get it. For anyone over the age of ten it is $37.99 per day, under the age of 10 is $10.99 per day. You get one snack per day, one counter service meal per day and one sit down meal which they refer to as Table service or TS per day. Looking at the menus it sure seems worth it for us to do. Its a good way to experience some of the more expensive restaurants. You can use it for charactor dining as well. This price includes tax and tip. If you want to look at some of the menus then google menus around the world and you can take a look at all of the menus at the Disney resorts and parks. I think its a great way to see if it is worth it for your family.

 

[juliehry]

Thanks Sherrie,

Do you happen to know what a DDE card is?

Thanks julie

 

[Sherri]

I believe that the DDE card is something people purchase for an extra $20.00 when they get annual passes. It allows them to get a twenty percent discount at certain restaurants.

 

[Chuck S]

The DDE card (Disney Dining Experience) is a 20% discount card valid at almost all Disney owned full service and buffet restaurants and lounges, it also is good for "adult" beverages. It is not valid for counter service meals, except at the AK and value resorts that do not have a full service restaurant. You must be a FL resident or AP holder to be able to purchase the DDE. For FL residents the cost is $75 per year, FL seasonal pass holders and all AP and PP holders get the card for $60. It is good for up to 10 people in your party. All must dine together and be on one check.

 

[Donna]

Thanks for all of the help. We are going to do it. I will call tomorrow and add it. We will have to call back closer to the time to try and make reservations for specific places. We leave Saturday for our other Florida trip (we are going to the beach), but all of my energy is going into planning our July trip. Disney is quite addicting.

If you are going in july, you better call ASAP for your ADRs. The dining plan is very popular now and this makes the restaurants alot more crowded, especially during peak months (july is THE peak month). You can make ADRs 6 mos. ahead of time. I have a july trip and made mine in january. I had to change a few last month and there were alot of times already taken up that I couldn't get.

 

[Sherri]

Donna- Thanks for the heads up, I will get on it today. I better start planning. Are there some TS places we can go without a reservation? We wanted to go to whispering canyon since we will be at the WL. Is that hard to reserve or is it mostly the places in the parks that are tough to get?

 

[Donna]

I think resort restaurants (mostly deluxe) are even harder to get because you're right there where you're staying and if you don't feel like going out (raining, too hot), you just go down to your restaurant and eat. Depending on the time of your meal, it can be tough! To some people, these restaurants are a destination unto themselves (1900 parkfare, whispering canyon, chef mickeys, cape may cafe, to name a few). You can do walk ups but just be prepared to wait, which, in the WL, is not an unpleasant wait! I think it's better to be prepared and have ADRs; you can always change your mind but at least you have a plan! Good Luck!

 

[Sherri]

Thanks Donna for the help, by the way I love the picture of your dog and cat. I did add the dining plan today to our reservations so i'm feeling good about that. I just really wanted to see which parks would have extended hours which days so I know where we will be because we were going to buy the hopper option on the park passes (which is a first for us). But now that I think about it, it is better to have a plan in place. And it is better if we have reservations. It sounds like at this point we are going to pretty much have to be flexible.
So here is kind of a dumb question. If we are arriving on Sunday and staying until Friday we are only there for five nights but not considered six days since she just gave us a five night rate. So we can start using the plan on Sunday when we check in and it ends Thursday even though we are leaving Friday? In otherwords we have 5 TS 5 snacks and 5 cs, is that right?

 

[shelleyz]

If you are leaving on a Friday you can use your credits on Friday if you want. You are correct, you will have 5 TS, 5 CS and 5 snack credits per person.

 

[Disney Pappy]

Anyone booked the dining plan yet? For your trip? For a renter?

We booked the Dining Plan for our upcoming June trip to OKW (2br villla) for 5 adults & 2 children as soon as it became available. We were able to book ADR's for all 10 days without any problem. We think it will be worth the cost. I'll post when we return as to whether or not we still feel it is/was worth it. We have some great meals scheduled and can't wait to get there. It will be our grand-daughters(4&7) first trip to WDW!!!

 

[ceejay13]

We have a 6 night stay next month at OKW. 5 nights are on points and the 6th we are paying cash. I called today to get the meal plan and was told it was no problem to get it for all 6 nights. I made our ADRs last week.

 

[NMW]

Thanks Donna for the help, by the way I love the picture of your dog and cat. I did add the dining plan today to our reservations so i'm feeling good about that. I just really wanted to see which parks would have extended hours which days so I know where we will be because we were going to buy the hopper option on the park passes (which is a first for us). But now that I think about it, it is better to have a plan in place. And it is better if we have reservations. It sounds like at this point we are going to pretty much have to be flexible.
So here is kind of a dumb question. If we are arriving on Sunday and staying until Friday we are only there for five nights but not considered six days since she just gave us a five night rate. So we can start using the plan on Sunday when we check in and it ends Thursday even though we are leaving Friday? In otherwords we have 5 TS 5 snacks and 5 cs, is that right?

Disney now posts park hours a full 6 months in advance including EMH, etc. This coinsides with people's ability to make ADR's 6 mos in advance. The posters who told you it may be hard to get ADR's now are right. The dining plan is incredibly popular and more people than ever are making TS ADR's. This past Dec was the first time I ever saw so many people being turned away at TS restaurants who didn't have ADR's. Not even the hugely popular ones too. When I asked CM's about it they all said "it's the dining plan"

You are right about the number of credits. It goes by how many nights your stay is. When, during that stay, you use them is up to you.

 

[mom2my3kids]

The owner made the reservation and added the dining plan for me. I just have to pay for it when we arrive. She was very helpful and very sweet..

 

[JimMIA]

The dining plan is incredibly popular and more people than ever are making TS ADR's. This past Dec was the first time I ever saw so many people being turned away at TS restaurants who didn't have ADR's. Not even the hugely popular ones too. When I asked CM's about it they all said "it's the dining plan"

I'm sure it was more than the dining plan, although I agree the DP is very popular. During December, you also had the Candlelight Processional Dinner Packages, and those really packed some of the restaurants.

We couldn't get Le Cellier as an ADR, so we tried to just snag a standby. Not only were we NOT successful, but they wouldn't even put us on a wait list. They were so overbooked, they were not even using a wait list.

We had so much trouble getting in Epcot restaurants we probably won't go again in December. Instead we'll go in early November, before they start CP. We were rather underwhelmed with a lot of the December stuff anyway, although we did really enjoy CP.

 

[BWVNUT]

Hi everyone - just wondering if you think purchasing the dining plan is worth it vs using DVC membership discounts at various restaurants? I am new to DVC (closing end of May ) and am really not sure how many restaurants you actually get % off by showing DVC member card. . .

Also, another question - I noticed by reading another post today that someone mentioned using a blow up in a one bedroom or a studio to get a 5th person in the room - is this really allowed? Would Disney allow this person to be an actual registered guest or is this something people do and while it's not acceptable by Disney they just turn a cheek??? Just curious. . .

TIA for any return info.

 

[bicker]

No. The limit for most of the 1BR villas is 4 people. You're not permitted to exceed the limit. Check the DVC board for long and drawn-out threads on this.