For the first time in forever ... First time dining OOP live dining report ~ August 23 ~28 - Verdict

[oceanmarina]

Day 4

Today was very cloudy / overcast. Invest 94L the weather system I had been watching, the outer bands were upon central Florida. Since it didn't seem that hot we decided to go to Animal Kingdom 9which we had skipped last summer, so we had not been there since 2015). It was not a pool day and was not overwhelmingly hot for DS & DH so we decided to go to the park in the morning.

First I brought back breakfast for DS & DD from Geyser & Roaring Forks (DH and I had cereal in the room).

Quick Service Breakfast for 2 $18.42

Off to AK we went, we missed the rope drop crowds, I think we got on a 9:30 bus. Note: On this trip the WL buses ALWAYS stopped at Ft. Wilderness first, which took getting places longer. In other stays at WL this was not the case.

Met a new friend at AK:



DD & DS wanted a snack at Harambe fruit market; $18.81 included 2 beverages. DD also got ice cream at Pandora stand for $4.00



We took a safari ride & saw a bunch of animals;



After checking out Pandora & riding on N'Avi River Ride (loved it, not intense & appropriate for all ages & ride wimps like myself ) Took the kids to Rainforest Café for a bunch of souvenirs & then headed back to WL. It started raining so I brought lunch back to the room from Roaring Forks. Flatbread pizza for the kids & this grilled chicken salad for me;



The salad was just "meh" not fresh & flavorful like the salads I had gotten 2 years ago at Roaring Forks before their refurb. Nor as delicious as the "Mara" salad at animal kingdom quick service.

Cost of lunch: $ 35.64 (Quicksevice lunch for 3 as DH made a quesadilla in our room).

Grand Total So Far: $597.09

 

[oceanmarina]

Day 4 : Continued: After a 2 hour rest we headed to MK. As soon as we got there - pouring rain & lots of it! At 5:15 invest 94L had definitely reached the Orlando area!



We tried waiting out the deluge in the Emporium, which got too crowded, so we went to Caseys's Corner where the kids got lemonade slushies

Cost of Slushies: $12.76

Alas the rain was there to stay that evening so we went back to WL. We had no ADR that evening so we decided to have dinner at Geyser Point.






DH and DS got hamburgers (which thy said were kind of flavorless, they were comparing them to smashburger at home). DD was not hungry as we had a late lunch in the room so she got an apple juice and ate the fries that came with my meal. I got the crab cake sandwich that had a smoky flavor that I did not like at all. I did not finish it. Our meal was $60.72. However this included the one and only alcoholic beverage I got on the trip, a delicious beer / apple cider drink:






Cost of dinner for 3 at Geyser point: $60.72
Grand total: $670.57

After dinner I took DS to the open air rec. room next to Geyser Point where we played ping pong.



DD & DS wanted snacks so we got 2 fruit cups & one soft serve ice cream;

Snacks at Roaring Forks: $12.75
Grand Total: $683.32

After that we went back to the room and watched the Duffy show on channel 30; Why can't they bring him back...sigh!!

 

[oceanmarina]

Day 5 / Last Full day / Night of the Trip:

Thanks so invest 94L , again it was a very cloudy / misty rainy morning, not a pool day at all. Since we got rained out at MK yesterday (we did not get to go on any rides), we spent the morning at MK. The kids had cereal in the room, so we get to MK early (maybe 25 minutes after rope drop).

We rode Pirates & then rode Aladdin in the rain;



Checked out the Liberty bell, Bought some Christmas ornaments at Ye Olde Christmas Chop (spent $105.00 there ) Checked out the muppets, we had our ponchos on by this time:



Kids were getting hungry so had lunch at Pinocchio's Village House (got 2 mac & cheese kids meals and a flatbread for me) Now two years ago (before the Roaring Forks refurbishment their flatbreads were so much better than the ones at pinocchios, but since the refurbishment pinocchios edged out Roaring Forks.




Lunch Cost at Pinocchio's for 3 (DH skipped lunch) - $25.22
Plus DS got a Mickey Bar - $5.00
Grand Total - $ 713.54

Did a few more rides, met a new



Then headed back to WL. It was cloudy and overcast but got some pool time in. After an hour or so it started raining, we were still swimming but them lightning was in the area so they made everyone get out of the pool area.

 

[ALDSMD]

Hey, that's where we usually fly out of! Except earlier this month we left from Hartford and in Nov. Albany had much better prices. But 90% of the time it's Westchester. We're in Dutchess County, where are you?

We also are flying out of Westchester this November even though it is the farthest, because it was the cheapest. We love to fly out of Albany, but missed the boat as most flights were sold out. Also love Bradley, but they have been very pricey lately. How was HPN? How early should we be there? Hope your vacation is fantastic!

 

[oceanmarina]

Day 5 Continued - Last Night

We always save the best for last! And the best for us is Narcoosees at Grand Floridian. We took the bus & then boat aver to GF.



Saw this cute guy;



I ordered my lobster dinner @ $72....yikes! It was good, but bot as good s the lobsters I had eaten there in previous visits. It didn't taste worth the splurge this time.



I also got an appetizer, the lobster bisque soup that was amazing:



DH got the filet mignon which he said was out of this world: (double mashed with no veggies)




DS got the cheeseburger kids meal which he loved (DD got the mac and cheese that she did not like and would not eat), our server brought us a side of French fries which she ate:



We had said we were celebrating our kids birthday's. They gave us two free desserts which was a nice touch; they both LOVED their desserts!





Cost of Dinner - brace yourself - 207.46 (DH did not order an appetizers and we ordered smoothies to drink, no alcoholic beverages and we did not order dessert/coffee)
Grand Total: $ 921.00

Headed back to WL, waved goodbye to MK as we sailed past it on the boat back to WL:



After we got back to WL, we got some soft serve ice cream and fruit cups - cost of snacks - & 17.00

GRAND FINAL TOTAL OF ALL MEALS / BEVERAGES / SNACKS - $ 938.00 (For 5 Nights)

UP NEXT ..... THE VERDICT

 

[ariane37]

We also are flying out of Westchester this November even though it is the farthest, because it was the cheapest. We love to fly out of Albany, but missed the boat as most flights were sold out. Also love Bradley, but they have been very pricey lately. How was HPN? How early should we be there? Hope your vacation is fantastic!

Hi! HPN is great, I can't even count how many times we've flown out of there. It's much smaller than Bradley and security generally goes really quick! We still get there about 90 minutes before our flight because that's when DH likes to get there. I'm not sure if it's smaller than Albany but I've heard good things about Albany so I'm feeling good about flying out of there

 

[ariane37]

I thought the breakfast from Geyser Point was better than the one from Roaring Forks one the day before.

That's not surprising. We weren't impressed with RF breakfast earlier this month but didn't try GP's breakfast.

Overall the Halloween party was nice but it was a "one and done" for us. I was told the rides would be walk on during the party, but everything was pretty much a 30+ minute wait.

Hmm, we've done MNSSHP 4x now and other than way back in 2010 and maybe 2011, the rides weren't really walk-on. We did the first party in 2014 which was 9/1 and it was pretty empty and by like, 11pm the lines were REALLY short. We did walk on 7DMT but that was at 11:40!

he parade was beautiful though.

My absolute favorite parade out of all the Disney parades

Note: On this trip the WL buses ALWAYS stopped at Ft. Wilderness first, which took getting places longer. In other stays at WL this was not the case.

It does stink that they switch it up. We've stayed at WL 3x now. The first and second times we did occasionally stop at FW but earlier this month, not once! We did stop at the Contemporary a few times though.

Now two years ago (before the Roaring Forks refurbishment their flatbreads were so much better than the ones at pinocchios, but since the refurbishment pinocchios edged out Roaring Forks.

I do love that particular flatbread from Pinocchio's. Again, we never had the old RF flatbreads but we weren't huge fans of anything we tried off the new RF menu unfortunately

DH got the filet mignon which he said was out of this world: (double mashed with no veggies)

We LOVE Narcoossee's! Their filet is perfection although I finally tried something else this time. Younger DS has had the filet every time we've gone; his favorite on property lol

 

[Simba's Girl]

I ordered my lobster dinner @ $72....yikes! It was good, but bot as good s the lobsters I had eaten there in previous visits. It didn't taste worth the splurge this time.

GRAND FINAL TOTAL OF ALL MEALS / BEVERAGES / SNACKS - $ 938.00 (For 5 Nights)

UP NEXT ..... THE VERDICT

Can't wait to hear what you think about OOP...I know what I think about it-not sharing until you do!

I never order lobster when I go to places that aren't in New England and right next to the ocean. Way better and less expensive. That and they are on sale for less than $5 a lb at a local grocery this weekend.

 

[jennab]

I'm curious to see which you liked better, OOP or DxDP! When you had used the DxDP in the past did you do a lot of table service meals and then not much for QS?

 

[suse66]

Really enjoying your report! I am just back from my 4th OOP trip and yet again, came out way ahead by eating exactly what I wanted and when. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your dining adventures!

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Nice trip report. That narcoossee's Lobster doesn't look worth the price tag. I keep saying I want to go back there, but it is always nudged out by other places. I swear I just need to go there for dessert lol. Glad you had a great trip.

 

[Someluck]

Thanks for your report. i do hope you will share your verdict as I am very curious to know your final thoughts after this experience.

 

[PrncessA]

Thank you for this report! We are doing 7 nights in February with no dining plan for the first time. My kids are similar in age to yours so it was great to see your totals!

 

[kastoney]

Well I apparently missed the beginning, middle, and end but caught up none the less. Thanks for sharing!

 

[North of Mouse]

I hate following along then having a 'cliff hanger'!!

 

[Ensusieasm]

Day 5 Continued - Last Night

We always save the best for last! And the best for us is Narcoosees at Grand Floridian. We took the bus & then boat aver to GF.

View attachment 265797

Saw this cute guy;

View attachment 265798

I ordered my lobster dinner @ $72....yikes! It was good, but bot as good s the lobsters I had eaten there in previous visits. It didn't taste worth the splurge this time.

View attachment 265799

I also got an appetizer, the lobster bisque soup that was amazing:

View attachment 265800

DH got the filet mignon which he said was out of this world: (double mashed with no veggies)


View attachment 265801

DS got the cheeseburger kids meal which he loved (DD got the mac and cheese that she did not like and would not eat), our server brought us a side of French fries which she ate:

View attachment 265802

We had said we were celebrating our kids birthday's. They gave us two free desserts which was a nice touch; they both LOVED their desserts!

View attachment 265804

View attachment 265806

Cost of Dinner - brace yourself - 207.46 (DH did not order an appetizers and we ordered smoothies to drink, no alcoholic beverages and we did not order dessert/coffee)
Grand Total: $ 921.00

Headed back to WL, waved goodbye to MK as we sailed past it on the boat back to WL:

View attachment 265809

After we got back to WL, we got some soft serve ice cream and fruit cups - cost of snacks - & 17.00

GRAND FINAL TOTAL OF ALL MEALS / BEVERAGES / SNACKS - $ 938.00 (For 5 Nights)

UP NEXT ..... THE VERDICT

We're still waiting on the verdict. Is the jury still out?

 

[saradela]

WHATTT?? no veredict?, you must be kidding......

 

[North of Mouse]

WHATTT?? no veredict?, you must be kidding......

Nope, OP left us - this is why I seldom read dining/trip reports anymore - so many never finish what they start. Never know which ones will.

 

[oceanmarina]

Also following... trying to do the same for our upcoming Feb trip. Traveling for a shorter period of time so we'll see... don't forget to track those snacks and drinks too!

Can't wait to hear what you think about OOP...I know what I think about it-not sharing until you do!

I never order lobster when I go to places that aren't in New England and right next to the ocean. Way better and less expensive. That and they are on sale for less than $5 a lb at a local grocery this weekend.

Thanks for your report. i do hope you will share your verdict as I am very curious to know your final thoughts after this experience.

Thank you for this report! We are doing 7 nights in February with no dining plan for the first time. My kids are similar in age to yours so it was great to see your totals!

Well I apparently missed the beginning, middle, and end but caught up none the less. Thanks for sharing!

I hate following along then having a 'cliff hanger'!!

We're still waiting on the verdict. Is the jury still out?

WHATTT?? no veredict?, you must be kidding......

Nope, OP left us - this is why I seldom read dining/trip reports anymore - so many never finish what they start. Never know which ones will.

Hi guys, my complete apologies for forgetting to post my verdict!! I went back to work the day after coming home and just got caught up and forgot to post my verdict. I appreciate everyone following along and am posting my verdict now.

 

[oceanmarina]

The (very late) Verdict

Hi all, my apologies for completely forgetting to post my verdict I can't believe I forgot to post it, so sorry!

Anyway my final thoughts are split here - cost wise OOP wins (we spent $938 total for a family of 4 when the deluxe dining plan for us would have been 1793.55. However I did spend S161.00 on Garden Grocer so you can add that to the grand OOP total which makes it $1099.) - FINAL VERDICT - SPLIT VERDICT after my experiences in the future I would still do either the deluxe dining plan or OOP here is the pro/con tally but I put my reasoning for the split verdict in final thoughts.

PROS OF OOP -

1. Saved $694.55 - GRAND TOTAL WAS $1099. vs. Deluxe Dining Plan would have been $1793.55
2. Spent a lot less time in restaurants (mainly in the mornings for breakfast as we never usually do a sit down lunch on the DDP)
3. Had more pool time at resort which was good as it was late August and Florida is usually blazing surface of the sun hot in the summer
4. Our kids enjoyed having in-room breakfast in their pj's - (I would get counter service and bring it up to our villa)
5. Slept in practically the whole trip since breakfast was in the room
6. We didn't really seem to miss the snacks on the DDP as I had snacks from Garden Grocer, but still bought some snacks OOP
7. Was happy I was not paying adult dining plan prices for my 12 year old who only eats off the kids menu
8. Didn't have to worry about unused meal/ snack points - only spent what we needed (Our last morning I'm usually frantically getting a bunch of snacks from the gift shop)
9. Not wasting DDP points for the counter service poolside lunches I usually get every trip for the kids
10. Still ate at some really nice restaurants - Narcoossees / Coral Reef / BOG / Liberty Tree Tavern - not too shabby!!



CONS OF OOP-

1. At restaurants I felt like I scrutinized every meal choice I made in an effort to save $$ (I feel like I saw price tags as opposed to entrees) - I didn't feel like I had the freedom to order whatever I wanted like when i'm on the dining plan - honestly it took some fun out of ordering on vacation when compared to how on the dining plan I don't shy away from ordering expensive things - Ive done say a lobster cocktail appetizer on the dining plan but I never would OOP.
2. It limited where we ate at times- when I saw how much Cindy's castle cost and Chef Mickey's - there was no way I was going to pay to eat there - but on the meal plan since it's just "points" we would eat anywhere we wanted
3. Felt like we did less this trip - usually on the DDP we have a 9:15 breakfast in a park (and maybe go on a ride or two before we head back to the resort pool as it's really hot)
4. We had less food / tried less foods - when DS was on the deluxe dining plan the past food trips as an "adult" at ages 10, 11, since he is a fussy eater and usually eats off the kids menu we would be able to order any appetizer for him (as part of his meal) from the adult menu and he could still have his kids menu entrée - they would just make it a bigger portion. So we would basically get an extra appetizer to share and would sometimes be adventurous and try something different for that appetizer. The kids would try different things/foods with that appetizer so it led it trying new foods which was fun. OOP I did not always order an appetizer - which I always love doing.
5. Ate at less signatures - usually on the dining plan we have 2 or 3 signature meals (since DH and I usually skip lunch anyway and we make up the points by having a few really nice signature meals)
6. Saw Less Characters - We usually do a character breakfast every morning on the dining plan so since we had in-room breakfasts, we definitely saw less characters this trip



Some Final Thoughts....

Even though the numbers clearly were in favor for OOP, I still feel like I would have a fantastic trip either OOP or on the Deluxe Dining plan. Now that I've done OOP, I'm not saying "never again" on a dining plan. The main reason being #1 on the cons of OOP, I felt like I didn't enjoy ordering like I do when i'm on the dining plan. I guess I like the sense of everything is pre-paid for and I can order whatever I want. I was very mindful of meal prices OOP which just felt less magical to me on a trip. Maybe ignorance is bliss but I don't want to know how much i'm paying for a quasi-lousy breakfast buffet at Chef Mickey's - I just want to have a fun time there and get some great character pictures!


So What are we doing for our next trip???

On the last day of our trip I booked the bounceback for August 2018- which happened to be free dining plan (as opposed to a room discount). I looked at the 2018 dining plan that was included and since it didn't include appetizers and knowing we like to have a few signature meals, I upgraded to the deluxe dining plan for us. On the deluxe dining plan, we are allotted 60 points, for our 5 night trip using this "dining game plan" here is what I have planned and will use up the entire 60 points provided we don't skip a meal;




Anyway I wanted to thank everyone for following along on my trip report.

Sorry the verdict was so late!

Marina