DVC Studio and Dining Plan

[Goody564]

I will be traveling with in a group of 8 college students - all very fond of Disney (obviously). However, we are unsure about the Disney Dining Experience. I was hoping some individuals that have had experience with the Disney Dining Experience would be able to advise us on whehter or not we'll save money. We're going to be staying at the SSR from dec. 17-22 in two studios. Would it be worth it for us to just use the kitchenettes and make our food? Would we be better off doing the Disney Dining Experience? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Boston5602]

Are you asking about the dining plan or the Disney dining experience?

It would be extremely difficult , in my opinion , to feed 4 college kids in a studio other then some drinks and snacks.

if someone has an annual pass , getting the Disney Dining experience for $65.00 would be worth it its 20% off the bill for entire group up to 10 people.

the dining plan would be $38.99 a night for each person for the whole trip. Wouldn't have to worry about splitting the bill 8 ways but might not be cost efficient for college kids who might be fine having hot dogs and slices of pizza for food .

 

[canwegosoon]

Stuidos are limited to Coffee Pot, Small fridge(with a very small freezer section), Microwave(small)and a toaster(I think it is a 2 slice). Now I know college students are really capable of coming up with all kinds of fast cooking meals...cheese rice, soup etc.

Personally I think the Dining Plan at $38 pp per day is great. I doubt you would need anything other than drinking money(if you are old enough to do that-or at least other drinks if not)

Check out the menus at www.allearsnet.com and you will be amazed with what you get.
You should go to the whole Dining Board and looking for the DDP to see what people have been getting. Make your ADR's soon for dinners

I think it would just be so much easier to tell everyone "your food dollars are $38 dollars per day"...bTW that includes tax and tip, so not other worries . Also be aware that Ice water in cups is free, but bottled water of course is not.
Other thing you can do is Book you arrival stuidos as a seperate ressie-no dining plan.

The DDE is great but...you will only save on sitdown meals, and you save 20% which to me is like not having to tip. The good thing is that only one person need the card(but you all must be dining together) to take advantage of it. Personally I would hate being the one constantly footing the bill for 8 friends-it makes everyone pay in cash...and we all know what will happen)

The DDP ( 2 rooms) will allow those that want it to room together (say 4 want it, and 4 don't) and the 2nd room does not need to get it. Check with Member Services to make sure you can split the stuidos.

 

[tjkraz]

A few additional comments:

With the Disney Dining EXPERIENCE card, just be aware that restaurants normally will not split up the check. The idea is for one person to be the card holder and be treating up to 9 guests (10 total diners) to the meal. Some restaurants MAY be willing to split the check and still apply the discount, but I suspect many will not (particularly if you want it split 8 ways.) Someone will likely have to take the lead and have all of the food charged to their room key, and then settle up later.

As for the Disney Dining PLAN:

1. Everyone in the room MUST purchase the DDP, and it must be purchased for every night of the trip. If you have 7 that love the idea of the DDP and one holdout, it won't work.

2. The DDP includes one fast food (counter service) meal, one table service meal and one snack per day. Depending on the dining habits of 8 individuals, that $38 may or MAY NOT satisfy everyone. The meals allow you a rather large quantity of food, but if you have one or more people in your party who prefer to have a big breakfast, you may end up coming up short later in the day (or week.)

3. Some of the better restaurants require two table service credits. With college kids I doubt this is an issue, but it seems worth mentioning anyway.

4. You can't pre-pay for the DDP--payment is collected at check-in. I have some vague recollection of how difficult it can be financially to be a student. If that's the case here, I'd suggest going the extra mile to make sure everyone has their finances in order. Again, the DDP is an all or nothing prospect. I suspect some of the kids won't be happy having to pitch-in if someone shows up without enough money.

5. Finally, I think it's worth discussing how they really intend to dine during their stay. If the group plans to mostly stick to Counter Service locations, they can certainly eat 3 meals per day for less than $30. And it's important to note that Counter Service options aren't limited to just burgers and fries. There are a lot of places where you can get salads, fresh sandwiches, pizza, BBQ (Animal Kingdom), and even things like Mexican dishes at Epcot.

 

[docbrown]

You could request the dining plan for only one of the studios.
This would give you 20 dinner points, 20 lunch pts and 20 snack points which
would would give everyone 2 dinners,lunches and snacks. the remaining 4 could be split like 4 people gets the dinner pts and 4 gets lunch+snack.
This way you could book a couple nice dinner for all together at a nice restaurant and still have use of the lunches and snacks. And also it would bring the cost down 50%.
Good luck.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

It depends on how much money you want to spend. The kitchenette is probably pretty similar to the set up you would have in any dorm room ... except you will have a toaster and a coffee pot (seems to me we weren't allowed these two particular fire hazards when I was a student) and the fridge will be bigger. There is a lot of inexpensive food you can prepare with a kitchenette. Then again, will you be in your rooms to eat a couple times a day - or will you be in the parks all day long? At any rate, I would definately count on your kitchenette for breakfast and snacks.

 

[RichieGraciemom]

Stuidos are limited to Coffee Pot, Small fridge(with a very small freezer section), Microwave(small)and a toaster(I think it is a 2 slice). Now I know college students are really capable of coming up with all kinds of fast cooking meals...cheese rice, soup etc.

Personally I think the Dining Plan at $38 pp per day is great. I doubt you would need anything other than drinking money(if you are old enough to do that-or at least other drinks if not)

Check out the menus at www.allearsnet.com and you will be amazed with what you get.
You should go to the whole Dining Board and looking for the DDP to see what people have been getting. Make your ADR's soon for dinners

I think it would just be so much easier to tell everyone "your food dollars are $38 dollars per day"...bTW that includes tax and tip, so not other worries . Also be aware that Ice water in cups is free, but bottled water of course is not.
Other thing you can do is Book you arrival stuidos as a seperate ressie-no dining plan.

The DDE is great but...you will only save on sitdown meals, and you save 20% which to me is like not having to tip. The good thing is that only one person need the card(but you all must be dining together) to take advantage of it. Personally I would hate being the one constantly footing the bill for 8 friends-it makes everyone pay in cash...and we all know what will happen)

The DDP ( 2 rooms) will allow those that want it to room together (say 4 want it, and 4 don't) and the 2nd room does not need to get it. Check with Member Services to make sure you can split the stuidos.

ge the dining plan. it is sooo much food and on a college budget is is a great deal. you will not go hungry and have no problem to worry about cooking in the studio.