Eating in Parks

[Lady Lowe]

Hey guys.

We've arranged all our accomodation flights etc seperately so no dining plans etc
I'm sure i've heard you can buy in the parks a meal plan which gives you unlimited meals etc for a set fee, is this correct?
If so can anyone point me in the direction of the T's & C's on this and prices please? i do like to have an idea in advance of what the best option for us is and when it comes to food with my 3 boys patience is not an option lol!

Thanks

 

[Lady Lowe]

also i have 2 kids eat free cards has anyone found them worthwhile?

 

[orangetiggs]

Universal do this but havent used it, disney dont offer it

Its listed n universals website and i think it might be around $20 each but not sure

 

[jen_uk]

There is the Disney Dining Plan which is about £34 a day I think, for that you get a snack, counter service meal and a table service meal. If you plan on eating the majority of your meals in the parks and like to eat lots of table service meals then it might be worth it. If you can eat offsite or don't eat that much then it wouldn't really be worth it. Oh and you have to be staying on site to use the DDP.

 

[WiganTony]

Seaworld and Busch gardens also offer an all-day dining deal - see here for details of Seaworld's deal. Also worth noting at SW and BG that you can get drinks throughout the day as well, so at $2.50-ish a time could make you further savings.

 

[wayneg]

The meal deals would never work for us. You can only eat at Counter service (we like a table service for evening meal) depending on time of year parks can close from around 6pm, so meal deal wouldn't cover our evening meal. Finally cost, depending what you eat its often as cheap to buy off menu.
As Jen says you can also buy the DDP's in Disney, we get it free which is great but I would never pay for it, not worth the money to me.
If you are tied to the parks then they could be an option, if like us you want to eat offsite then the Dining plans/meal deals are often not a good way to go.

 

[dixonsontour]

We've used the kids eat free cards a couple of times. Village inn accept it (diner place) and tony romas (ribs). Also can be used at rainforest cafe.

The more popular chains like outback, olive garden don't accept the card.

My best tip for offsite dining is to register with the email clubs of restaurants just before you go - some send pretty decent coupons.

If you don't want to do the all u can eat deals at universal and seaworld you can still get a refill mug for soft drinks. Mug costs about $7 then refills of fizzy drinks are approx $1. We got one mug at universal and used it at both universal parks and one mug at seaworld and used it at seaworld/busch/acquatica all holiday.

To be eligible to purchase disney dining plan you need to be staying onsite at disney.

You are fine to take snacks and water into the parks aswell.

 

[T16GEM]

We have had the Kids Eat Free Cards twice now - we got them with other tickets purchased so have never chosen to buy them. We never actually used them once. Most places are happy for you to buy one entree and have two plates, we also like to go to all you can eat places and the kids can pick a bit off our plates of an evening.

We eat a big breakfast either in the villa or go out for one, then during the day at the parks we usually get lunch at a CS place and take fruit and snacks with us for throughout the day.

The dining plan (or equivalent daily plan) would never work for us as we like to be completly flexible as our plans change daily!

HTH
gems

 

[wayneg]

The dining plan (or equivalent daily plan) would never work for us as we like to be completly flexible as our plans change daily!

HTH
gems

Never say never Gems, 3-4 years ago I would have said exactly the same, we never chose anywhere to eat until about 2 hours before, not a chance I would decide where to eat 6 months in advance.
This August will be the 4th time on DDP, we still enjoy offsite unplanned dining but DDP is well worth trying if free.

 

[Lady Lowe]

Thanks all, we're not tied to disney parks to eat thankfully as there is far too much choice that we want to take full advantage of, good to know we can use the cards in rainforest cafe though! thanks

 

[chmurf]

I'm really trying to decide if free DDP is a good deal at all.
Of course, free dining sounds great at first, but there are other things to consider.
DDP is good because you get to eat on Disney property and you can plan your meal along with your day in the parks or in any resort hotel.

But when free DDP is offered, that means that lots of guests will take advantage of the deal, and restaurants might be crowded, and you might feel rushed, and you may have to wait a long time to get seated, and so on ... not to mention that free DDP is released well after the 180 days mark, so if you don't rush to place your ADRs you might be left without your favorite tables, or need to replan extensively to match the tables you've found ...

All in all you might end up spending less time going out of parks to eat. (actually I recall on one occasion, going out of DHS to eat around palm parkway - including tram time and traffic through DTD - got us back to the park before friends of ours even finished their meal, despite the fact that we left them in front of their restaurant 10 minutes before their ADR time)

Nox there is also the question of cost.
free DDP is free, isn't it ? But do you tip your waiter ? I guess most of us do.
two weeks ago I ended up with a $90+ check in Boma's for 2 adults and 1 kid (4) (just an example). gratuity is not included in the DDP. I ended up adding a $17.5 tip. The next night we went to Cici's pizza and ended up with a $18 check including tax & tip. At McD we eat well for $16. At BK it's about the same. A large pizza at domino's will cost us $17 and be enough for us. Or consider a $4.99 breakfast buffet at Sizzlers'

So I question. Is it really a deal when you end up paying the same kind of money in the end ? Because the value of the meal on property is so high that the tip alone will get you paying as much as you'd have paid in some fast food joint.
Of course you'll probably want more than just McD or all you can eat Pizzas

But is the deal really a deal ? even when it's free ?
As a matter of fact, we used our fridge to store stuff to make our own sandwiches, in combination with fast food and pizza and some table service in Disney or off property. And I must say that doing the maths, the amount we spent on food for our whole WDW stay (18 nights) is about the same as the amount we would have left in tips in Disney restaurants.
So once again, is the free DDP really a good deal, when it ties you to Disney restaurants, and when you end up, eventually, paying the same kind of money you'd have paid if you hadn't been on the DDP ?

I'm still trying to decide for next year's trip. Will I wait for a free DDP deal, or will I go once again OOP ?

 

[wayneg]

But is the deal really a deal ? even when it's free ?

Complex
Its a very difficult question to answer. It really creates more questions before you can answer.
Are you happy staying in a £20-£30/nt room offsite?
Are you just as happy eating at CiCi's, Sweet Tomatoes etc?
Do you eat most meals in Disney even if you stay offsite?
Are there only 1 or 2 staying in the room? (3 or 4 are far better value)

I will only take up free DDP if it is combined with a big discount on the room, the deal at OKW with 42% off and free regular DDP is a real deal to me, POR at a similar price and only includes QSDDP is not a good enough deal for me.

Last Oct we stayed at Fairfield Inn at around £30/night, add onto that Disney standard dining (Cheesecake factory, Manny's etc) & parking fees for parks and our cost per night can easily overtake the £118 it is costing us to stay at OKW.

I would not pay the price to try many Disney restaurants, DDP gives us the option to try them, even with a slightly higher tip than offsite, offsite is not that much cheaper for us but we eat at table service almost every evening.

I am not a big drinker but staying at OKW allows me to do drinks around the world, Hoop Dee Doo or just a drink with a meal without thinking about transport back to the hotel.

We are just as happy staying offsite but standard of room, resort, staff, service & food is not in the same league for the same money as we get at OKW.

We are lucky we can do both, once they stop offering the OKW deal we will stop staying in Disney.

If you mean still staying in Disney and not taking the DDP and traveling offsite for food then thats not something I would do, tips are nothing for the standard of food you get IMO but again we spend around $80 on table service offsite, wouldn't just want to eat at CiCi's etc.

Very complex subject.

 

[chmurf]

we always stay onsite (POP = best value for us), there is no way we would get offsite. Getting a clean pool with lifeguards on duty, and Disney customer service, and free parking at parks + the convinience of the KTTW is something we would not want to miss.
We can't really afford moderates even with discounts.

Doing table service (Disney or off property) is not an option, since our budget is tight.
Eating out of property for lunch is fine, because with a young kid we do parks in the morning, go out for lunch, go back to hotel, nap, pool, and parks in the evening. So for us DDP almost means "ball and chain"
We are more than happy doing CiCis for example. Actually I've had better times at Cici's than I had at some Disney restaurants.
We make some table service, especially character meals for DS.
We made 6 TS during our stay, no actually we made 5, I was supposed to have character breakfast at Hollywood and vine, but the day before at Tusker House I got sick and spent all night in the bathroom and was unable to get up in the morning for our ADR (no show fee was waived)

I don't drink, none of us do, we get basically free beverages from the refillable mug, and we often eat in the room, either sandwiches or take out.

So yes, it's complex, and it depends on the guest. Still for our kind of needs, I still wonder if free DDP is really a good deal.
As I mentionned, for our style of vacation, we would have ended paying as much money if we had been on the free DDP.

And as far as the food is concerned, I was not very impressed by the food we got in WDW.
- Ohana's was great for the characters, but the food was no different and not better than what we had at Ihop, or at regular $6 buffets you can find all over the area.
- Boma's was fine but I get the same kind of food back home for half the price.
- Tomorrowland Terrace fireworks party was great, but only for the quiet, crowd free viewing. The dessert were the standard dessert you find in every restaurant in WDW
- Tusker House was fine, even if I got sick, but the food was far from being exceptional.
- Mama Melrose was good, but I could have made the same dish myself at home with the same taste (honest)

You may understand why I question the value of a free DDP. Of course there are many restaurants I have yet to experience, and they added new restaurants to the DDP, so that's even more to choose from. But I'm really not impressed so far, and the reviews I get from the hyped restaurants (eg Le Cellier) are not compelling either.

If it comes down to having bland tasting food, or something I could have cooked myself, then a hamburger or a pizza will do.

But once again I guess it's all a matter of taste.
I've done DDP before, and it was more a burden than anything else. This year I've done pizzas, burgers and sandwiches, I didn't spend as much as I would have on DDP (even free), and actually I think we all liked it better like that than being of the DDP

a matter of taste I guess

 

[wayneg]

a matter of taste I guess

Exactly, no 2 families are the same. We will never stay in a value resort again, Deluxe only or offsite.
This summer the price of value was £80/night with no free DDP, OKW £118/nt with free DDP so cheaper in Deluxe for us.
We ate at CiCi's once, can't get DW back again, I thought it was OK for the money but she hated it.
Places you have just quoted onsite are restaurants I would not rush back to, far better available IMO(not tried Tusker yet) except Mama Melrose, it was one of relatives fave places, 1st on their list for this year.

You have to find what is best for your family.

 

[Elise79]

Exactly, no 2 families are the same.

You have to find what is best for your family.

This is so true - I am starting at looking at next year to see when we can go and I am waiting to see if they release the OKW deal again. We are DVC members however as we now have to travel peak times due to DD starting school we don't have enough points. The biggest issue is we do not want to spend our holidays in one room - we have got too used to the one bedroom villas

If the free dining is offered we will probably take it although I do not like the DDP it does reduce our costs. For example our week in February cost us £1120 including DDP but before tickets. For us to use our points to stay would have cost us around £950 including dues and buy in costs.

Makes sense as the difference is so small to take the DDP and as we like to go offsite to eat as well I book character breakfasts which DD loves but I generally would not pay for more than per trip even with our TIW card.
In February we used all the TS credit however had both CS & snacks left as we just don't eat they way but I don't feel I wasted money.

Free dining is only a good deal if it will cost less than what you usually would have done - if you are staying in a value on a room only discount and usually eat CS or offsite then no it isn't good value. If you stay on the OKW deal and would usually eat a TS each day then yes it is.