FAQ about the Disney Dining Plan

[njdisneygirl]

Wow it look like you can just eat at any of the place that most would not go to if you are on t tigt budget question one i noticed on the one day of you report you wnet to the prime time cafe for lunch from my understanding this is not a counter service i thought cs was mainly the fast food places please correct me if im wrong and do you go on the plane that offer breakfast lunch dinner and snack because im going back in the spring and i just want to know if it is worth it im trying to save as much as possible its a gift to my mom she has not been to disney sence she was a little kid her self and we have never been on vacation togather so i want her to feel special when it come to eating and going to all the nice places and the dining plans sound like the way to go i have come up with a sample of some of the place that my husband and my moms new b/f would like to im not sure how the credits work but im going on the plan for lunch dinner and snack here is a sample of the place we plan on doing Day 1 Lunch at PoP Century Dinner at Crystal Palace Day 2 Abc Commasary Dinner Hollywood and Vine Day3 Lunch Mara Dinner Chef Mickeys Day 4 Lunch Earl of sandwhich Dinner Spoodles Day 5 Electric UmbrellaDinner Coral Reef Day six will be out at universal thats the reason for doing a sig meal at the coral Reef on day 5 Day 7 my son planed this whole day out it is his birthday he will be nine he wants Pizza Planet for lunch and ciderella castle for dinner i won't forget to pick up buttons at city hall to make the day feel special im also hoping to sneak back to our room during luch for some quick decorating with ballons Day 8 im not sure yet i was gonna let my mom pick so that day is undecided Day 9 last day lunch at pinnochio's house in fantasy land and dinner at the crystal palace again kids choice this trip around is a little tricky the only people going on the dining plan are the adult i figured it will be cheaper to pay out of pocket for my son and i was told my 2 year old can share does any one know if this is true if so then im set all of the threads ahave been so helpful

 

[DisneyMom5]

What time was POP crowded in the mornings ?
Thanks !

It was around 9 am. I think all the late risers are in no hurry to get to parks, so get breakfast then. Those of us who go early usually skip breakfast.


bottled Milk or OJ as snack - we were for sure told NO. Only fountain or 20 pop bottles or water. This was at Pop. I should have had them ring the drinks up as a CS as we were leaving anyway. Paid over $4 for 2 ojs.

 

[Tabetha]

I have a question I haven't seen the answer to...

My sister and I are visiting "The World" in December for 10 days. We're getting 9 or 10 day park hoppers, and doing a split stay between AKL and WL, adding on the dining package.

Here's where it gets tricky.

Our mom is coming to stay with us for two nights (going to share our room), and wants to buy into the dining package, too.

Here's what the package info says:
Everyone in the room must be on the same package and ticket options. All tickets must be used within 14 days of first use, unless the No Expiration Option is purchased.

What do you experts think? She only needs one day's worth of tickets... Does this mean she'd be expected to purchase 9 or 10 day park hopper as well? If so, we're talking mega-monkey wrench.

 

[jrogers345]

I have a question I haven't seen the answer to...

My sister and I are visiting "The World" in December for 10 days. We're getting 9 or 10 day park hoppers, and doing a split stay between AKL and WL, adding on the dining package.

Here's where it gets tricky.

Our mom is coming to stay with us for two nights (going to share our room), and wants to buy into the dining package, too.

Here's what the package info says:
Everyone in the room must be on the same package and ticket options. All tickets must be used within 14 days of first use, unless the No Expiration Option is purchased.

What do you experts think? She only needs one day's worth of tickets... Does this mean she'd be expected to purchase 9 or 10 day park hopper as well? If so, we're talking mega-monkey wrench.

I had the same situation. I called DW and yes - the person added on to your room has to have the same exact package you do - same amount of days. My sister-in law was going to try to stay with us 2 out of the 5 days we're going to be there.

OR I was told she could try to make her on room reserv for a shorter stay and get the dining package.

Now, a few years back when we were at WDW my sister was going to be visiting FL the same time we were staying there. This was a last minute trip for her. I informed the front desk when we checked in that my sister was going to stay for 2 days in our room and I wanted to add her on to our reserv.
They said no problem, don't worry about the additional room cost (they didn't charge us). So when my sister showed up they gave her a room card and she bought her own hopper ticket. There was no dining plan involved. You could attempt this and just have to pay OOP for her meals.

 

[Tabetha]

Wow, bummer. She was pretty excited about the dining plan...

 

[100AcreWood]

How does the dining plan work for Annual Passholders? Or does it?

 

[have2getaway]

It was very clear from the 2006 brochure that Coral Reef will be a 1 TS. The 2005, also listed on the Disney web site, has Coral Reef as 2 TS. I haven't called yet to book my ADR's & confirm this because we are not traveling until January, but unless this is a misprint, my guess (and hope) is that it is just 1!

 

[Sunkissed]

Thanks, Getaway, but I was actually referring to Wolfgang Puck. Guess I should have been a bit more clear. Thanks again, though!

It was very clear from the 2006 brochure that Coral Reef will be a 1 TS. The 2005, also listed on the Disney web site, has Coral Reef as 2 TS. I haven't called yet to book my ADR's & confirm this because we are not traveling until January, but unless this is a misprint, my guess (and hope) is that it is just 1!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Hey, that's okay, Sunkissed! I was the one that asked about the Coral Reef so that answered my question anyway! Thanks, have2getaway!

And on the 2006 brochure I didn't even see Wolfgang Puck listed as part of the dining plan at all. I could be wrong though, but I didn't see it anywhere on the list.

 

[hismattjesty]

Just returned from WDW and wanted to let everyone know that the Coral Reef restaurant is still charging 2 TS on the dining plan. I really hope that this does change to 1 TS in 2006, as the food was just average. I had heard very mixed reviews about this place, and the only reason I went was...........................It was the only way I was going to get to see The Living Seas. (Closed for refurbishment 3 days before I got there).

 

[pooch]

still pondering whether or not to get dining plan for our trip next year (have lot's of time to obsess!) I expect we (family of 4, no small kids) could do lunch with only 3 cs saving at least one per day for breakfast. Neither kid really likes breakfast but they need to eat something to get them to lunch, even just a bagel & juice will do. DH likes cereal & juice and I will have an in-room coffee maker for my caffeine fix and maybe a little fruit or muffin/bagel is good for me. The TS meals will be HUGE I think, so that will be the big meal.

My question after all this rambling is: What do you get for breakfast at the resort (coronado Springs) for a CS?

Thanks for everyone's help and support!!

Pooch

 

[angel's momma]

How does the dining plan work for Annual Passholders? Or does it?

AP holders have to buy the complete package. This means giving up any AP discount there may be & paying regular rack rate. The package includes tickets, so everyone in the room needs to purchase at least a one day ticket (And all the tickets need to be the same. If one person needs a 3 day ticket, you can either purchase all 3 day tickets, or just get one day tickets & then upgrade the one to 3 day). The good news is that the ticket can be saved for a future visit as long as it isn't activated by using any days on it.

 

[usingthephone]

i don't understand why so many people are trying to take such advantage of this system. i think what is going to happen is that there is going to be extreme restrictions on this plan in the future. does a family of 4, with 2 "adults" under 11 really need, i mean eat, 3 shrimp cocktails and 4 surf and turfs and 4 desserts and milkshakes at one meal? i'm going in December and i do plan to eat at places and things i would not eat if i were not on the dining plan, but i will not take advantage of this plan. i think the further out you are going to Disney with the dining plan, the more resticted the plan will be because of people taking advantage of "free" food. it sounds like so much food is wasted, i never bought into that "i don't waste food because i lived through the depression", that i hear from my parents' generation, but with what is going on in the wake of Katrina, how can people get so much food that they will waddle out of the restaurant and not enjoy the rest of the day in the park?
sorry, my heart is with the people in the Gulf region, and some of this greed just is so sad.

 

[HaleyB]

i don't understand why so many people are trying to take such advantage of this system.

Disney of course would never do anything like that, for instance they would never charge guests $6 for a hot dog or $2.50 for a bottle of water. Right?

Give me a break.

 

[HaleyB]

Day 7 my son planed this whole day out it is his birthday he will be nine he wants Pizza Planet for lunch and ciderella castle for dinner i won't forget to pick up buttons at city hall to make the day feel special im also hoping to sneak back to our room during luch for some quick decorating with ballons

We wanted to have Tinkerbell leave gifts in the room on our last stay and I just stopped by the front desk (on my morning coffee run) and they said no problem- they put them in the room for me, set them up on the bed. I bet that you could work something like that out too.

 

[100AcreWood]

AP holders have to buy the complete package. This means giving up any AP discount there may be & paying regular rack rate. The package includes tickets, so everyone in the room needs to purchase at least a one day ticket (And all the tickets need to be the same. If one person needs a 3 day ticket, you can either purchase all 3 day tickets, or just get one day tickets & then upgrade the one to 3 day). The good news is that the ticket can be saved for a future visit as long as it isn't activated by using any days on it.

Thanks! That's what I thought . I heard recently Disney is trying to come up with a dining plan for APs.

 

[staceylmc]

hello all, I just read the intitial question and answer thread. to help clarify the question regarding the dessert must be eaten at the time of the meal... in our experience last week at all-star sports we discovered we could order it and the cashier placed a smile face stamp on our receipt we then had until 11:00 pm to get our dessert. it worked excellent for us

 

[staceylmc]

i was at all star sports last week.... on our last night we had extra snacks left over and tried to get pop tarts and cereal as snacks the casheir told us they are not snacks but they are considered part of the counter service. we still loaded us on snakcs, apples, oranges, water, chips, rice krispie treats and cookies for our trip home.

 

[PLUTO2]

I posted this on another thread and then realized this one. My question is why are people who are doing a split stay being charged extra for the Dining Plan? I just do not think this is right, if you are staying at Disney whether you are in 1 or 10 of their hotels during your stay you should be charged the same fee for the dining plan as anyone else who is only staying in one.

 

[DisneyMom5]

I posted this on another thread and then realized this one. My question is why are people who are doing a split stay being charged extra for the Dining Plan? I just do not think this is right, if you are staying at Disney whether you are in 1 or 10 of their hotels during your stay you should be charged the same fee for the dining plan as anyone else who is only staying in one.

What is this extra fee? How much? Why?