first time @ WDW. please Help!!

[chattermouth73]

We are planning a trip the last week in August into september, 7 or 8 days and plan on staying at the port orleans (riverside) There are 5 of us. 2 adults and 3 kids, 15, 13, and 9. Is the dining plan a must? we are afraid of spending too much time on sit down meals.

 

[Cee]

I've never used the Dining Plan, so I can't speak from experience. But to be
honest with you, I've never had any trouble getting ADR's the same day. If
you are willing to be flexible, and take what they have available at the time
you want, you can enjoy restaurants that you would not otherwise have tried.
For a family of five, the buffets are a good choice. Boma at AKL and Trail's
End at FW are very good. Have a great time!

 

[LovintheLodge]

First of all...Welcome to the DIS boards! This is a great site. I found out so much helpful information/tips that helped make our family vacation more magical!

That is a great time to visit...even though the weather can be brutal (but manageable as long as you plan your days to take afternoon breaks i.e. sit down meals, swimming, etc), the crowds are low. My family visited the end of Aug/beginning of Sep back in 2005 using the free dining offer. That deal was great. It really depends on whether you are interested in the sit-down restaurants. My family found the sit-down restaurants attractions themselves, which added to our fantastic vacation, and also a great break in the day. There are also many good counter service places to eat. If you are interested in many character meals, then the DP may be the way to go. However, the probability of free dining at that time makes reservations harder to come by but necessary. Also the plan has changed this year - appetizers and tip are not included. So you'll need to look into this...

Anyway...happy planning!

 

[DizzDoll]

Also be sure to go to the Crystal Palace (buffet with Pooh and Friends) at the MK. We've had dinner there several times and it was excellent, and this year we're going for breakfast. If you already booked your trip you can call now and make your dining reservations. This year we're not doing the DDP - but we have reservations at Crystal Palace, Plaza Restaurant, LeCellier for lunch and Boma. I'll be paying OOP because we just don't eat that much and like to have dinner (pizza) in the room a couple of times. We've done the free DDP two years in a row and in my opinion there's just too much food for us.

 

[breezy1077]

I'm an obsessive planner so when I heard about the changes to the dining plan I wasn't sure whether to do it again or not.

Here's what I did that helped, and let me point out the results will be different for everyone. I got on the menu selection at allears.net (I think that's it), looked up all the restaurants we would eat at (including counter service), picked out which food choices I know my family would pick, and priced it out (including the tip!). What I discovered is that it would come out about the same, so, for convenience sake I would choose the dining plan for our family.

Being a first timer this may be a little more difficult because you may not know which restaurants to pick, but if you do your research with the menus and reviews you'll probably be able to figure it out.

Last note: even if you don't go to all that trouble - get the ddp for your first trip. It's convenient and you'll be able to experience restaurants you may choose to steer clear of if you're not on the plan.

Have fun!

 

[wilda]

We've never used the DDP and here's why:

We are not big "foodies". If you like the idea of spending a few hours around the table and/or if experiencing different cuisine is important to you then maybe it is for you.

It restricts your ability to be spontaneous. Having to make ADR's means that you will also have to factor that into your plan of what park you will be visiting. If you have lunch ADR's at Epcot, then it looks like you're all going to Epcot Also, if you have dinner reservations in Mexico and no one is in the mood for it....

As a first-timer, you don't know what you don't know. WDW is a big place with so many options and so many decisions to make. Just finding the restaurants can be a challenge since you haven't been there before.

The only ADR's that we make are for Hoop-Dee-Doo.

At the end of the day you know your family best. If you think it will keep peace in the family to have the meals scheduled out (rather than have 5 people disagreeing on where to go eat in the middle of Fantasyland ) then go for it. No matter what you decide I wish you a wonderful trip!

 

[minniekissedme]

The best way to make the dining plan work from a cost and value standpoint is doing the TS dinners each day. If you do that then the dining plan can pay for itself very easily.

As others point out, doing WDW for the first time is tough enough let alone adding ADRs for dinner. It takes some effort to choose what restaurants to enjoy...and you will enjoy them. Then it's the logistics of it all...if you have a park hopper ticket then you can go from one park to another (MK to Epcot)for dinner. And don't forget the great resort restaurants. IMO I'd consider making at least a couple ADRs for dinner...too good not to pass entirely.

Having said that...staying at POR is a bonus again IMO. The food court there offers a nice variety of QS meals that range in price from $10-$15 w/drink. The pasta in particular can be shared between two people. If you venture back to the resort mid-day for a dip in the pools then I'd encourage you to check out the food court...it may make life very easy.

Good luck and have a magical trip!

 

[wilde_oscar]

here is a concept for using the DDP that has worked well... table service for breakfast, a large buffet... and counter service for dinner. I fyou are planning on doing as much as possible and being on the move... nothing beats a great big breakfast buffet. There is something good in or near every one of the parks. Get up early, feast, be at the parks at open. CS for dinner once you get hungry, after the parade time and before the night time spectacular. throw a snack in there somewhere... and you have it covered. if you do the math you don't get huge saving, but some. and you can budget effectively.

just a thought.

 

[Dawn68PA]

We have used the DDP for every trip and love it. I don't have to worry about money, except tip. We like a sit down meal for dinner. ADRs have never been a problem. I plan what park we'll be in each day plenty in advance to it was convenient. I find it saves us money since the youngest in my party is now 16. We get the basic plan. One table service, one counter service and one snack per person, per day. Plenty of food and not overwhelming. The table service restaurants are great and very themed. We just enjoy the atmosphere without staring at the prices on the menus.

It's just one more thing I don't have to think about on vacation

 

[RNtheRN]

We always get the dining plan. It only makes sense for the convienence. The only problem we come across is that we always seem to have a ton of snack points left over.

 

[Aliceacc]

HI and welcome!

This may help with your planning: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551

The dining plan is by no means a "must." But if you want table service restaurants, those Advance Dining REservations are.

Why not sit down with the menus at www.allears.net Decide which restaurants you want and what you would order if you were there now. Keep a running tab. Then make your ADRs and decide whether or not the dining plan is a good deal for you.

 

[Unregistered]

Thank you all so much for responding, I think we are going with the dining plan, after looking at the menus and the places we would like to go I think it is smart for us! we also decided to add an extra day on to our trip!