Enough food on club level to forgo quick service dining plan?

[BusySpeechMom]

Hello! We were extremely fortunate to stay on the club level at AK last year. We had the quick service dining plan and quickly realized we should think twice about a meal plan for our next trip because there was so much food available on the club level. For example, we had breakfast every morning for "free". Does anyone have an opinion or experience forgoing the quick service meal plan because they are staying at club level? Thank you!

 

[abk96]

Last year we had the quick service dining plan and stayed CL at BC. Between the heat and the food offerings in the lounge we had 10 meals left and many snack credits at the end of our trip. And at some of our meals I felt like I really didn't need to eat. We didn't lose those credits though. We went into the Marketplace and got some snacks and sandwiches for the plane ride home.

This year we are not doing the dining plan. We will just pay OOP for anything we want. It will work out better and definitely be cheaper since we don't need all those desserts and sometimes we just want a snack or something light.

 

[BusySpeechMom]

abk96 - You stayed at the Beach Club? That is where we would like to stay this year! Did you like it?

 

[MHSweb79]

We stayed club level once at the Beach Club. Since we had arranged our park days to favor Epcot and HS for that portion of our stay, we spent a lot more time at the resort than we usually do (typically we stay at French Quarter). So it was very easy to take advantage of all the snacks available throughout the day and evening. We also had a "free" breakfast (well, it was free since we had gotten the upgrade to concierge level as pixie dust when we checked in) and several snacks throughout the day. Often we would eat a big lunch in Epcot and just to concierge food later in the day (they had hot seafood appetizers every night) instead of going somewhere for dinner.

I would never do any meal plan when staying concierge level, especially if it's convenient to stop by your resort throughout the day.

Note: We didn't go back to the resort specifically for snacks - we'd go back for a mid-day swim, to change clothes or pick up a sweatshirt, or just passing by going between Epcot and HS.

 

[abk96]

We did like the BC but prefer the BW. Not sure why but we do. The CM's at the BC were great. Everyone was polite and always making sure we were happy. One CL cast member got my husband a cup of rice from one of the restaurants so his phone could dry out after taking a dip in the quiet pool. The food was delicious as with any Disney property.

We also liked being able to put your key in the elevator and you would go straight to the club floor. Very nice.

I'm sure you will have a great time there.

 

[clanmcculloch]

It'll really depend on how you like to eat and how you like to tour.

Are you generally at your resort or in a park from 5pm-7pm? If you're typically at your resort then you'll be able to partake of the evening hot appetizers. If you're typically in a park then you'll miss it.

Do you like a big dinner or a light dinner? If you like a big dinner then the evening hot appetizers will likely not fill you up but if you like a light dinner then it should be more than enough.

Do you like a light carb filled breakfast or do you like a big breakfast or protein with breakfast? If you like a light carb filled breakfast then the offerings in the lounge should be fine. If you like a bigger breakfast and/or need protein then it won't cut it and you'll at a minimum have to supplement.

When you're going are there typically a lot of early (as in 7am) openings (ex Easter week or Christmas week)? If yes then you'll have to choose between breakfast in the lounge and getting to parks in time for that 7am RD because they don't start serving earlier just because the parks open earlier.

Eating breakfast and dinner in the CL lounge works well for us but the way we like to eat is light breakfast, big TS lunch in the park and light dinner at our resort. This is what we do whether we're staying CL or not so it makes sense for us. I know that doesn't work for everybody.

 

[BusySpeechMom]

Thank you for all the replies!
We prefer a light breakfast and late (quick service) meal in the park. Last year there were several nights we would fill up on the "free" appetizers and just get a light snack in the park later in the evening. We had several meals left on our quick service plan.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

Hello! We were extremely fortunate to stay on the club level at AK last year. We had the quick service dining plan and quickly realized we should think twice about a meal plan for our next trip because there was so much food available on the club level. For example, we had breakfast every morning for "free". Does anyone have an opinion or experience forgoing the quick service meal plan because they are staying at club level? Thank you!

Do not at ALL think any type of dining plan is needed when staying CL. It's way too much food to begin with and especially so when staying CL (IMHO )

 

[lynn46356]

We stayed BC CL last June and did not have the dining plan. We were a family of three adults. The basic plan is what we usually do and that would have cost us $900 or so. We were more than happy with the CL lounge. Our son used it for breakfast and sodas and we used it almost every time it was open. I still had some adrs planned. If I remember correctly we spent approximately $600 on food. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[kallanach]

We also stayed BC CL last summer and loved it. We also had QS dining and it was too much. We are 3 Disney adults and one child. This trip to AKL late July/early Aug we are only doing CL. No meal plan.

 

[Majestical]

Is quick service available at every restaurant in the parks and hotels? Two years ago we stayed at the Boardwalk and we had the sit down table service package. I thought it created too much of a hassle trying to find the right places to eat and get reservations. Thoughts?

 

[TJA]

We are another family that does NOT combine DDP with CL stays. We like just one big meal per day, normally a sit-down meal, and plan that during mid afternoon. So we eat breakfast in the lounge, a big sit-down at a park, then the lounge appetizers at night are more than sufficient for us. We normally grab some dessert in the lounge later on too. We prefer CL trips over DDP trips nowadays. I think we've been spoiled. Love BC CL, by the way. It has been our favorite for years, but now Poly is a close 2nd given a fabulous experience we had there with a patio TPV last July. The newly renovated rooms are awesome and the TPV is amazing!

 

[DCDisney]

For us it really depends on how much we plan to be at our resort. For AKL we find that we don't tend to be there for apps and/or dessert so we would potentially do the DDP because we would normally do a light breakfast at the CL and then a quick service lunch and sit down dinner. At WL or BC we definitely would not do a meal plan because it's easier to go back and forth and do more with the CL offerings. When in doubt though always drop the DDP because if you waste even one meal by not going or not feeling like eating it really isn't a savings.