For those who have used the magic your way plan..read this

[cyndibelle]

so i was wondering if those who have used the plan with the dining option felt like it was worth it...we are planning on being there probably 8-10 days and i was trying to figure out the whole plan...we usually do 3 or so character meals and we eat at chef mickeys and maybe a few other sit down restaurants like prime time 50s cafe...crystal palace for lunch...and a few others....so with that being said would it be worth it for us ??

 

[Marimar]

Haven't been there to say if it was worth it or not, but from the ressies that I have made and the menus that I have seen....I am thinking it will be.

BTW you may get more replies if posted at the "Restaurant" board.

 

[Minerva]

It was worth it for us. Just our dinners at CRT, Marrakesh, LTT and 1900 Park Fare either were right about the cost of the plan for a day or exceeded that cost. Beyond that I found it very easy to use and I'm the kind of person that likes having as much as possible paid for ahead of time. We'll be using it on our next trip unless there are some major changes between now and then that make it not such a good deal.

 

[kimmbagley]

Worth it for us. Saved about $500.

 

[deide71]

For us 2A &2C for 5 days was $450.00. Our total dining costs were 785.00.

Definately worth it.

 

[The Sweetness]

If you enjoy 1 table service meal a day, I dont see how it wouldnt be worth it. Unless your family won't eat all the food. In that case, if you share TS meals (not at buffets) you could save enough TS credits to do a TS breakfast or 2, as well as a lunch or dinner. Same goes for counter service. Ill be getting it for my next trip. It will be great to order an ap, entree, and desert, and not worry about the $$$. Looks like it could easilly top out the $35 for the plan, just for that

 

[TLPL]

I am worrying about if there is enough credits for all breakfast/lunch/dinner from the plan. I don't want to pay for the dining plan AND then pay more for the third meal of the day on top of that.

 

[Stitches12]

In my opinion, it's worth it if you usually sit down for that many meals. We were there in October and did not have it but we really didn't spend that much on food because - one, we rented a DVC resort with a kitchen and - two, we simply didn't want to take time away from the parks just to sit down and eat. If you usually spend time to sit down and are not concerned about taking time away from your park experience to eat then it's probably worth it.

 

[LiteBrite]

We got the dining plan for free during the special promotion back in October, and we loved it. However, if we had to pay for it, it would end up costing us a little more than we usually spend, for 2 reasons: 1)we usually budget $25-30 per person per day for food, compared to the $38 the plan costs, and 2)we'd have to give up our AP or Florida Resident room discounts to use it.
If it weren't for the room discount, I would probably go ahead and buy it anyway, since the plan was so much fun to use. It made us feel free to eat wherever we wanted and not worry about how much things cost when we order them (not that we usually are biting our fingernails about that, but we do budget and put some thought into staying within the budget). However, it's just not worth giving up our room discount for. We're going with the DDE next time instead, which we're eligible for since we're passholders.

I would say if you're going to be paying rack rate for your room anyway, then the plan will probably be worth it, but if you could get a discount on your room, then you should just crunch the numbers by how much you would spend either way to decide if it makes sense for you.

 

[Ricguz]

Hi :

We will be in Disney Sept 2006 and are thinking about the Dining Plan. Can you order anything off the menu or are you restricted?

ricguz :

 

[DeborahA]

We used the dining plan in Nov. We didn't find it restrictive at all. You can order anything on the menu, except the appetizers for two(for each person), some of the specialty drinks, and the add ons, like lobster tail or shrimp skewers. We found it to be alot of fun to order things we might not usually order, like escargot--yummy. We loved it and plan on adding it to our Dec.06 pkg.
HTH Deb

 

[GusMan]

We will be in Disney Sept 2006 and are thinking about the Dining Plan. Can you order anything off the menu or are you restricted?

For the participating restarunts, I have not seen any restrictions... In fact, for the places that we went to we got some of the most expensive stuff on the menu. I think the big savings comes in when you go to a nice sit-down place and "splurge" with an appetiser, main course, and dessert. And the thing is that is per adult. So, for us, it was not uncommon to get different things and split between us for more variety.

As for value... For us it was like buying dinner and getting a snack and table service for free. The thing is that for some dinners there was even more value since they sometimes cost even more than the plan itself.

There were times where we did buy breakfast somewhere, had an early dinner and then used a table service for a late night snack.

Our opinion: Overall good value. Even better if they offer it for free like they did in the past.

 

[buzzmom3]

We had the free dining plan in September and when we got it for our next trip in September of 06. I like the idea of budgeting my food money ahead of time. It was so nice to go in and order what ever we wanted and not worry about how much the bill would be!

 

[handicap18]

We were down the week after Thanksgiving and had the dining plan. I thought it was very much worth it.

5 of the 7 days we had breakfast at the hotel. With a drink my breakfast came to about $10 or $11. The other 2 breakfast's were character meals which were $22 and $23 before tax and tip.

We also did 3 character dinners at about $25 plus tax and tip each. We also did H&V at MGM and Alfredo's. Alfredo's was by far the most expensive. My entree was $26, the others in our party had entrees that were about $23. We also got an appatizier, desert and soft drink. So before tax & tip each meal at Alfredo's was more than $34 each.

The fact that everything was paid for ahead of time was a HUGE bonus.

We used all of our TS credits, CS credits and all but 1 snack.

Keep in mind that everything inside WDW is expensive. Case in point: a bag of Lays or Cheetos bought in the hotel food court or in any of the parks sells for $2.61 w/tax. This is the exact same bag (minus the price pre-printed) that sells at any convenience store or grocery store around the country for 99 cents (Wal-Mart sells them for 88 cents). I know this because I work for Frito Lay and the UPC on the bag is the same.

So if you plan on not leaving WDW to eat, then the plan is worth it.

Breakfast is the least expensive at $10 or $11. Lunch is more expensive. Cosmic Rays my lunch came to $13 with tax.

Now, you do end up getting more food than you might normally eat, but my opinion is that your on vacation. Get a little more than you normally wouldn't. Its vacation.

I would say we saved about $150/person for the week by having the dining plan. Don't forget, tax AND tip are included in the dining plan (7% and 15-18%).

 

[cocodog]

The dining plan is a great deal!

 

[eeyore45]

Just thought I'd add my thoughts...

Share meals!!

We went in October, and DH and I would share a Counter Service meal at say Cosmic Rays, then we'd share a Breakfast meal at the food court... that way we did eat 3 meals a day, and it was all included on the dining plan...

I think you would want to take out a spread sheet and plan what you usually eat, where you definately have adr's at, and the app cost (www.allearsnet.com has prices and menus) of the meals, then throw in the dining plan... I also found the http://www.touringplans.com/MYWDining.html very helpful in figuring out if it was worth it for us - - and it was!! No restrictions!!

 

[Minerva]

I am worrying about if there is enough credits for all breakfast/lunch/dinner from the plan. I don't want to pay for the dining plan AND then pay more for the third meal of the day on top of that.

Unless you are HUGE eaters you won't need 3 meals a day. There is so much food, even with counter service meals that you'll be fine with 2 or less. You can also share meals, my 12 year old Ds and I shared burgers and fries with no problem and we're not tiny little people who eat like birds.

 

[pedro2112]

I am worrying about if there is enough credits for all breakfast/lunch/dinner from the plan. I don't want to pay for the dining plan AND then pay more for the third meal of the day on top of that.

Sure you do, if you will end up saving money. In other words, if using the plan and still having to spend a little more out of pocket is still cheaper than paying for all your meals out of pocket, then who cares if you have to spend a little out of pocket?

Enjoy!

 

[TLPL]

eeyore45: I am interested to see Yours spread sheet, maybe it will give me an idea how to make sharing meal work.

 

[Hopefully]

You didn't give us any details on who your traveling party includes - that would help.
We (3 adults) used the Dining Plan in October and we saved $450 over what we paid for the plan.
However, we have been to Disney many times and we no longer feel the need to spend all of our time in the parks. We enjoy a sit down dinner every day at home as well as on vacation. Dinners at TS restaurants could last an hour and a half, sometimes more. IF this is time out of your park time, it might not be worth it for you.
We reviewed the restaruant menus on allearsnet.com, looked at what we would like to order and the cost, and decided the plan would work for us. It Did!!!
You need to determine your touring style, how much time you want to spend in the parks, do you want to spend the time required for sit down meals, and the cost of the meals where you would choose to eat, both on the plan where you can splurge at restaurants, or without the plan.
The plan was GREAT for us, but it is not for everyone.
Hope my suggestions help!