Going from Free Dinning to Paying for Meals

[msteddom]

At Signature restaurants, I will often order a selection of appetizers for my meal. It helps keep the costs down and keeps me from getting stuffed!

Melissa

 

[bumbershoot]

If people *want* soda and coffee when at the resort, consider the refillable mugs. You can buy them without the dining plan and then it makes people happy. The coffee in the room is the pure caffeine that gets me alert enough to go get my actual coffee lol. When we aren't staying at a villa with a big coffeemaker, I've found that the mug is a terrific bargain on a multiday stay just for my coffee alone.

 

[disneyseniors]

I don't know if this will help, but my daughter, husband, 2 teenage boys, and one preteen girl went 2 years ago. They had the standard dining plan and could not fill the boys up even with all that food!!!! I guess it depends on what kind of appetites your children have. Are they light eater? or can they get up from the table and still be hungry??? If my daughter had to pay out of pocket for her boys, she would be way in the hole. So, even though they had to supplement the fdp with pay oop, the dining plan made sense for them.

For us, 2 retired adults, we find that OOP is the best way to go. We save money by splitting meals, only eating when we are really hungry, and only doing a few TS meals.

I hope you figure it out with all this excellent help from the other dissers. I love this site for the help everyone gives.

 

[samsteele]

would love to eat at the Plaza but it's booked

Actually, think Plaza stopped taking ADRs a few wks ago when it became the new walk-up restaurant when Skippers changed to ADRs. You should be able to do a walk-up on your MK day. But hear you if not having an ADR is nerve wracking (I like to have mine in place, too).

 

[katt789]

I've only ever done DDP when it's free, as for saving money on meals:
At QS:
-I usually order a kids meal if one aside from a burger or chicken strips is available, the portion size is much more my size, and I can pack in the side & desserts as fruits into my bag for snacks for later.
-Share an adult size meal between 2 people, the portion is big enough
-I don't drink soda, so I usually just grab a cup of water with my meal, which is free, and the free cups of water to rehydrate.

At TS:
-Look up menus online prior to the trip, try to do some budgetting that way
-Share entrees
-Skip the appi's and desserts and drinks
-Share 1 dessert if there's something you really want to try
-If you don't finish something, take it with you to snack on/eat later

In general:
-I like to uber off to walmart on the night I arrive and I do a little grocery run, last trip I picked up fruit & veggies for snacks, granola bars, protein bars, cheese its, whatever you want to bring into the park with you, and some bagels for breakfast, you could do oatmeal as well, really anything you can prepare with a toaster/microwave
-Pick up any alcohol or a case of bottled water this way too, it's SO much cheaper than in the parks
-Bring stuff from home! If I don't have time for a grocery run I usually bring some smaller snack items, or like, bagels or oatmeal from home in my suitcase.
-I've also read TR's where people pre-toast some waffles, or make pancakes at home and then throw them in the toaster in the mornings, or eat them cold!
-This helps cut down the snack costs in the parks because you've brought your own!
-Eat breakfast in the room, if you do that alone, it'll save you $5-$10 a head!

 

[aprincessatlast]

We are paying around $700 less for the Beach Club as opposed to Carribbean Beach, however now we have to pay for food for the 10 days. We loved Carribbean Beach but can't wait to try BC. IMO, you can't compare the two, one a deluxe and one a moderate. We have stayed at both deluxe and moderates and the deluxes are nicer and better locations. It just seems worth it to do it this time.

You are right, you can't! You will love the BC and probably won't miss the dining plan at all. I remember our last trip with the dining plan. Everyone said they would rather stay somewhere nicer and skip the plan. The food was not as good as nice amenities and the close proximity to the parks. I personally think there is so much more freedom in going without the plan. It is more a mental thing for most I think.

We bought gift cards at Kroger and saved roughly 15% so far. I am going to buy muffins and bagels for the room. My kids will be in heaven with muffins as it is not something they get everyday. If you don't have a car try the amazon prime 2 hour delivery. We will buy the refillable mugs but 5 would be a waste for our family, so are only buying them for the kids. I also plan to buy somethings like gourmet cheese, salami and crackerts etc for the room to snack while we are at the pool and lounging in the room. Will probably buy rum too to add to my dole whips (we are at the poly) lol My whole plan is do concierge in my room without the concierge. We still have loads of sit down but the ones we want not the ones dictated by the dining plan's best bang for your buck types.

 

[Lisa F]

Thanks for the advice. I would love to eat at the Plaza but it's booked for the 3 days we will be at MK, which is the end of August.

aren't they going to walkups only? I have only half paid attention due to doing the DxDDP myself on my next trip, lol.

 

[Lisa F]

if you like junky food not on the DDP, the entire boardwalk kiosks do not participate so this might be a good opportunity to try those out if you feel like having corn dogs and the like.

Also BEACHES AND CREAM! terrible value on the DDP. awesome value in disney terms OOP. and you're at the BC. Grilled cheese and tomato bisque for $10.50? yum. The most expensive thing is $16 which is on par with most CS. The onion rings are supposed to be great. If you don't want dessert there take a walk around to the BW to ample hills, supposed to be phenomenal. revel in your freedom to do so!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I went last year and stayed at the Poly and BC with a magical deal and paid $200 per night for the rooms. There were free dining rooms available at most of the mods for my time frame but we skipped them, did the deluxe and paid OOP for food.

For our family of 4 (2 adults, 1 Disney adult and 1 child), for 10 nights, we spent around $2300-2500 on food. We did 9 ADRs, about 13 CS meals, bought 4 refillable mugs, had lots of snacks, some desserts, alcohol, ate around the World at Epcot twice (including drinks) and did a night at Trader Sam's (adult only). We did Ohana, VN twice, Chef Mickey's, CRT, Kona BF, Cali Grill, B&C and BOG. I'm sure I could have lowered the price by skipping buffets ($200 at CM's hurt my heart a bit) and not having alcohol.

I bought $200 gift cards every month for a year to save up for the food so it didn't hit me all at once. We paid with our MB's and every 2-3 days I went to the front desk and paid it down.

We felt it was worth it to pay OOP and experience the deluxe resorts. I don't regret my decision.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Just wanted to add......I guesstimated that with free dining we still would have paid around $750 OOP (at least) on top of the free dining. Our night at Trader Sam's was over $100. We had drinks and food. We also had drinks at Tambu Lounge. We also had drinks at 4 of our TS meals. Our two nights of eating around the world ran us about $300ish total. We clearly went over our CS meals. We also went over TS credits. We skipped CS desserts and had snacks instead. I know we went over our imaginary snack credits. DS must have eaten 3 bags of caramel corn from Epcot and Writer's shop in HS and they don't come cheap. Let's not forget the amount of bottled water we bought.

 

[isaboo]

Not when you have four "adults" in your party. For a deluxe resort with two people, the discount will usually be a better deal than free dining, but when you add more people; no way.


Obviously it depends how you eat, but with five people for 10 days, I'd estimate $2,000 in dining costs. The dining plan would cost you $2,500.

Granted, the Beach Club is probably worth the extra money, but don't expect to feed everyone with the savings.

My advice is to simply order what you want. If you don't want dessert, don't order it. If you want only an appetizer, get just that. If you want to split a meal, feel free.

if you like junky food not on the DDP, the entire boardwalk kiosks do not participate so this might be a good opportunity to try those out if you feel like having corn dogs and the like.

Also BEACHES AND CREAM! terrible value on the DDP. awesome value in disney terms OOP. and you're at the BC. Grilled cheese and tomato bisque for $10.50? yum. The most expensive thing is $16 which is on par with most CS. The onion rings are supposed to be great. If you don't want dessert there take a walk around to the BW to ample hills, supposed to be phenomenal. revel in your freedom to do so!

We try to get B&C during an "off" time and just get ice cream.

 

[kandb]

Actually, think Plaza stopped taking ADRs a few wks ago when it became the new walk-up restaurant when Skippers changed to ADRs. You should be able to do a walk-up on your MK day. But hear you if not having an ADR is nerve wracking (I like to have mine in place, too).

Wow, that's good to know. It is still on the list to make an adr at but just says no availability. Wonder if you want a dinner reservation if you can make it earlier in the day. My guess, is not and you just have to show up and wait.

 

[loves to dive]

I agree with the poster who said only eat when you are hungry and don't get something you don't really want. I can't tell you how many times I've been walking around the parks and realized it was around 5:00 pm and I hadn't eaten lunch. I don't do budget on vacation but I'm also not a big eater, my son (grown) is. He doesn't eat breakfast because he likes to sleep in as late as he can. If he does do breakfast, it's usually a big ole breakfast and then we just grab some sort of savory type snack thing like corn nuggets and share at Casey's or Nachos at Mexico in Epcot then end of doing a TS for supper. If he doesn't eat breakfast, we will either get a QS for lunch or do a TS for lunch then either do a QS for supper or again grab some sort of snack. I on the other hand, most of the time, try to eat at least 3 meals a day. I eat a kid's QS for breakfast, normally they are more than enough for me and I like having some protein. I'll eat a kid's QS meal if we eat at QS, again more than enough food for me. Neither of us drink soft drinks but we are both fond of adult beverages, normally that is beer and wine. At TS I'll normally order an appetizer for my meal and a salad for my appetizer and if he gets a dessert we usually share it because neither of us are much of sweet eaters (although I do love me some ice cream). You might find if you eat TS for a late lunch the prices might be less and you really won't want any kind of heavy meal later. We rarely eat snacks between meals, the only time we eat them is if they are our meal. I also buy Disney gift cards at Target with my Red Card and go through Ebates for the cash back from them and get Disney gift cards at Sam's. I also use my cash back from credit card to get pre-paid visa cards, since those can be used anywhere if I have left over I can use them outside of Disney.

 

[samsteele]

Wow, that's good to know. It is still on the list to make an adr at but just says no availability. Wonder if you want a dinner reservation if you can make it earlier in the day. My guess, is not and you just have to show up and wait.

Skippers Canteen used to work this way . . . could make an ADR early in the a.m. I'm not sure this is the case (have not yet heard if Plaza is taking same day ADRs) with the Plaza but no harm in trying. Otherwise, my best guess would be to show up at early restaurant opening or for a late lunch (avoid the 12pm crowd) and you should find a seat with the lowest poss wait.

 

[Lisa F]

We try to get B&C during an "off" time and just get ice cream.

I might just have to do that one of my nights at the boardwalk. Kiddo is dying to try the no way Jose. but with ample hills right there now and no ADR required... hmmm

 

[MichiganScott]

In general the discounted rates for deluxe resorts usually outweigh free dining.

Generally? No. Sometimes? Yes.

 

[kandb]

I might just have to do that one of my nights at the boardwalk. Kiddo is dying to try the no way Jose. but with ample hills right there now and no ADR required... hmmm

That menu at ample hills looked awesome, a bit pricey for 5 of us to get ice cream but it might be worth it.

 

[Lisa F]

That menu at ample hills looked awesome, a bit pricey for 5 of us to get ice cream but it might be worth it.

It's just me and my 8 year old so I never think about that and most of the time we share an ice cream. I live on martha's vineyard where things close in the winter and in the summer things are tourist priced and I think it is still less expensive than ample hills! I had no idea it was so pricey. But we could still share and it would not be bad, lol. But gosh I want to try ALL THE FLAVORS. no DDP though (I would pay OOP, I don't care - ice cream is my favorite food on the planet). So ok not really a money saver for you but not on ddp

 

[kandb]

There is one on the ample hills list that looks absolutely fabulous. I believe it's the last ice cream listed. Malted vanilla with chocolate covered pretzels. I better plan on walking a lot that day to burn the calories from that ice cream. A lot of the flavors look awesome. Definitely going to check it out.

 

[mommycrawford]

If you have a Disney Visa, there is a 10% discount at some restaurants: Boma, whispering canyon lunch an breakfast, the wave, and most economcal, Trails End (biergarten lunch too.) Those are off the top of my head. Captain's Grille lunch, Kona lunch, and Wolfgang Puck Express seem like the best bang for your buck to me. I also think some of the lounge lunch offerings seem excellent, but I have a special diets eater, so have never done them as they are very limited menus.