FAQ about the Disney Dining Plan

[Atotty]

I am having such a hard time deciding if I should add this or not.....obviously I'm not going during the freebie offer

For those who decide not to do it, why did you not get it (other than getting a possible AP rate on room or you're a DVC owner)?

 

[cdnmickeylover]

We are going in October in time for the free dining but when we went in February we didn't get the dining plan because we didn't want to get a package and figured it wasn't a deal for us.

We are AP holders so we had the DDE card with the 20% discount which in February worked out to be a better deal for us than the dining plan. We also got a great room discount as well with the AP so getting a package really didn't make sense.

We usually only eat one sit down meal a day and don't do a lot of counter service as we have breakfast in the room and usually pack something for lunch. We are only 2 adults and usually spend less than $70/day on food.

This time "free" beats the DDE discount.

 

[jnrrt]

Okay, I have dutifully read this entire (and really great!) thread, and I have a question I haven't seen - sorry if it was asked somewhere else already.

We had our DVC stay already planned for Sept. with a weekend stay on cash with the AP discount going with my brother's family. Both families are in the camp of "that is way too much food" so could we:

Add one night on the weekend to get the 3 days, have one room on AP rate, book the other with the package, and split the credits between the two families? We do not have the same last name. We'd both be comfortable giving the other a room key, but how would that work if our names are different?

Also, we'd then have 6 TS and 6 CS credits per family. Do I understand that my husband and I could both order an appetizer, entree, drink, and dessert and share with our kids, and do that 3 times? That is more food than our family would ever eat at one sitting, so that would be great.

And then when we get tired of eating out so much, we move to DVC and have a kitchen. If you all tell me this works, you'll make me a very happy woman...

 

[952LisaR]

I would like to see the answer to the above post. Can you share your credits with people not on the plan. For example, if we had lunch with my sisiter who was not on the plan could we just "pay" for it using our credits?

Thanks great thread.

 

[Good Ol Gal]

We haven't used the plan yet, but it should be able to work for you.

Unless they change something, you will be able to buy someone lunch/dinner with your credits.

You don't have to provide any id with your card, so they may never know that you have different last names.

that sounds kinda scary huh?? Better make sure we don't lose our cards!!

 

[Nora94]

your scenario of sharing would work just fine. Of course you can't share drinks as easy, but if someone doesn't mind ordering water or paying for a drink than that's fine. You would have to chose non buffet, non character meals.

Nora

 

[rifamtrav]

There's another thread about a family eating at Kona's for dinner and 2 ladies having dinner next to them, ended up buying them and another table dinner using the leftover TS credits on their card. (Apparently it was the ladies' last night and they had lots of leftover TS credits so they just spread the joy!) So, certainly you can use your credits to pay for someone else.
Another poster specifically mentioned having a party of 7, one of whom was her sister who wasn't on the plan, they just shared meals each time, or used one of the kids' ts credits and paid out of pocket for the kids meal.
Sounds like sharing, is ok.

 

[jnrrt]

your scenario of sharing would work just fine. Of course you can't share drinks as easy, but if someone doesn't mind ordering water or paying for a drink than that's fine. You would have to chose non buffet, non character meals.

Nora

Yeah, actually, none of us ever get a drink. Even at home, we all just drink water all the time, so the drink would actually be kind of a bonus, but I don't know if anyone will want it. I'll pass it on if you're sitting next to me!

We just thought we'd save any buffet or character meals for the rest of the week when we're staying on DVC and can't get the plan anyway (gotta love Boma!).

I was just concerned about whether or not my brother's family and mine would have to actually eat together, or if we could go our seperate ways? He's very "let's see where the day takes us" while I'm very "made my PS's 90 days out" and we like a little more adventurous food than they do, so I don't know how much we'd actually be eating together. That's why we wondered if we could just give them one of our keys to use?

 

[jnrrt]

There's another thread about a family eating at Kona's for dinner and 2 ladies having dinner next to them, ended up buying them and another table dinner using the leftover TS credits on their card. (Apparently it was the ladies' last night and they had lots of leftover TS credits so they just spread the joy!)

I hope I'm sitting next to her!

And Good Ol Gal, I know what you mean! We thought if we got this and it did work, you'd have to be even more careful with your keys.

 

[robinb]

I came up with an Excel Spreadsheet MYM Dining Planner to help me use my MYM Dining Credits. It tracks the total number of Counter Service and Table Service Credits, each meal for every day of the plan (up to 11, the maximum), the restaurants for each meal and how many credits used for each meal. It then calculates how many credits you have remaining so you can adjust your meal schedule to use all your credits.

It's here:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYM-Dining-Planner.xls

You are welcome to copy, download or change it for your own use. The spreadsheet is protected so the fields that are calculated wouldn't be accidentally overwritten, but it doesn't have a password so you can unprotect it if you wish.

Enjoy .

 

[Good Ol Gal]

Robin~ I did the same thing as you! I has helped my obsessive compulsive, Type A behavior with the planning, planning and planning!! September will not be here soon enough so I can start calling!!

 

[robinb]

Robin~ I did the same thing as you! I has helped my obsessive compulsive, Type A behavior with the planning, planning and planning!! September will not be here soon enough so I can start calling!!

I really liked it because I put my "must do" meals (Luau (x2), California Grill (x2), Crystal Palace (x1), etc) in and then I saw how many credits remained. Then I was able to add breakfasts, counter service lunches, etc in the empty slots. I still have 2 counter service meals unaccounted for!

 

[ReAnSt]

My family will be going to Walt Disney World in September. We are all adults. I have a feeling this is going to be too much food for us at one time. Can we share our food at table service restaurants, to stretch our table service meals and not waste so much food each time? Thank you in advance.

Becky

 

[Good Ol Gal]

Becky~ You CAN share your TS meals, as long as they are NOT buffet / family style.

We are planning on doing that too b/c with appetizers and add ons and desserts we will have plenty of food even using only 2 credits.

 

[clombardi]

I came up with an Excel Spreadsheet MYM Dining Planner to help me use my MYM Dining Credits. It tracks the total number of Counter Service and Table Service Credits, each meal for every day of the plan (up to 11, the maximum), the restaurants for each meal and how many credits used for each meal. It then calculates how many credits you have remaining so you can adjust your meal schedule to use all your credits.

It's here:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYM-Dining-Planner.xls

You are welcome to copy, download or change it for your own use. The spreadsheet is protected so the fields that are calculated wouldn't be accidentally overwritten, but it doesn't have a password so you can unprotect it if you wish.

Enjoy .

Thank you so much for sharing that!

 

[poohpcgirl]

Thank you so much. I had started a word doc and it just wasn't working for me. This is PERFECT!! Thanks robinb!

Melissa

 

[maxiv]

Becky~ You CAN share your TS meals, as long as they are NOT buffet / family style.

We are planning on doing that too b/c with appetizers and add ons and desserts we will have plenty of food even using only 2 credits.

what do you exactly mean by sharing the TS meals ?
i'LL push it to my "bad" english that i dont understand it, since i'm german
so who eats what ?

Max

 

[tink2020]

What a great thread! We already have dining booked for December but I love reading about how it is REALLY working out for people who are going now! Keep the info coming

 

[DisneyMom5]

Thanks for the spreadsheet, that would have taken me hours!

 

[pampam]

For maxiv

Sharing meals is quite simple. Simply tell your server you would like to share. For example, lets say you are at the Kona Cafe in the Poly. You and your friend would like to share a meal. Perhaps you and your friend wish to share a salad, filet mignon, potatoes, asperagus and cheesecake. Let your serever know. Vary likely it will be brought out on two plates, half on one, half on the other. Or, perhaps your server will bring out it all on one plate, with an extra plate for you to divide it up. You will likely have to order an extra drink, unless one of you is happy with just water. You of course will have to pay extra for the extra drink. You have have had your meal, and now you have an extra meal credit that you haven't used. Please make sure that you give a little extra tip, because your server did more for you that she/he would normally do. You can use the extra credit for another meal, or use it for a character meal which requires 2 table service meal credits, or a signature meal.