Groceries vs. Counter Dining Plan vs. Dining Plan..help!

[MakinMagicforBunky]

I'm hoping that someone can help me figure this out. My son (age 8) and I are headed down to Dis in 2 weeks. I booked the trip without any dining plan as I wanted the freedom to do what we want and not stress over dining reservations. We're getting a frig (swap so not paying for) and the plan was to order groceries, have breakfast and a late meal in the room and have a CS meal in the middle of the day and a snack here and there.

It dawned on me today that with the CS plan only being $29.99 for me and
$8.99 for my kid, and that gives us two meals each plus two snacks each, financially, it looks like it makes more since to just add the counter service dining plan.

BUT...we've made two reservations to eat at Chef Mickey's (breakfast) and Whispering Canyon (late lunch) on different days of the trip. That's about $70 for the two meals. You can probably see where this is going, we spend the $70 and it's almost the same difference between the counter service plan and the basic dining plan. UGH! But we're two weeks out, getting ressies is going to be a pain, and I wanted to avoid the whole ressie thing to begin with!

To add to the whole mess, I had planned to use the $200 gift card to cover a chunk of our meals.

Which option makes the most sense at this point? Financially, satisfaction wise, convenience, etc.

Right now, I'm leaning towards adding the CS plan, keeping our two TS ressies and paying those out of the $200, and using the rest of that $ as our spending money.

Someone help! The only other time we've been there, we were on the dining plan, so I didn't pay attention to cost. I know I can look up dining costs for the restaurants, but I don't have a clue what Mickey Ear bars and other snacks cost so I can crunch the numbers to see which makes the most sense!

If you made it through this, thanks!!

 

[pigletto]

In your case I would go with the CS dining plan and keep Chef Mickeys.
We did the dining plan in September. We really enjoyed it. However we had our ressies months in advance (like 6 months). And it really did determine where we were at a given time in the day to be able to make it to our reservation in time.
It just seems with only two weeks to go you would be far less stressed planning which CS you would like to go to and having one fun TS (Chef Mickeys).
I know the desire to add on more and more at the last minute is hard to overcome. But I truly think you will have a good time without the dining plan.

 

[Taja]

If you really want to prepay for food, I probably would do the CS plan, and keep one of the two TS meals and pay OOP. Or both, if they're important to you and your DS. I also would add a few groceries for breakfast and in-room snacks. If you don't like the tap water, also add bottled water.

Mickey Bars were $2.50 or $3.00 each. I didn't have one in December 2007 and haven't had the opportunity to return since. Bottled water was $2 for a 20 oz bottle or $1.25 for 8 oz bottle. Most snacks are $2.50 to $3.50 for individual servings, although some things can be higher.

The young lass in our group loved the refillable mug. I never buy one, as the beverages available aren't part of my life. What can I say? I'm boring! I drink water, milk and the occasional root beer! *LOL* Her mother and grandmother also bought one each and used them at least twice daily. If I remember correctly, the refillable mug is included in the CS option.

 

[homerjay316]

Just a few thoughts;

You could try to make reservations first. If you can get them, THEN purchase the $39.99 meal plan. If you can't get them, get the $29.99 QS plan.

My understanding is the $200 card can be used for tips, so in that sense you could still use part of it towards dining.

 

[MakinMagicforBunky]

And since posting this, I've sat and tried to guesstimate our grocery cost through Garden Grocer and we'll easily spend $100 to have basics in the room (sandwich fixings, salad, breakfast foods, milk, water). My plan was to send a box down ahead of time with non-perishable stuff for breakfast, which I may just pack into our suitcases instead (did this last time)

How much are the refillable mugs this year? We shared one last time and got a lot of use out of it, so I had planned on us each getting one this time...one can only drink but so much of that frozen slush drink that my son loves!

Having the CS plan will definitely be more convenient than having to plan meals in the room/pack them with us, so there's a bonus there too.

Ugh! Decisons! Here I thought I had it all figured out but didn't realize just how cost friendly the QS plan could be!

 

[koolaidmoms]

We went for the CS plan this time, we did the TS one in the past, because for us it was a matter of time. We could eat breakfast in the room (we drive so go to the grocery store just before we get there), grab lunch in a park, have a popcorn and soda or ice cream as a snack and have dinner at the hotel or park. We could decide when we were hungry and eat when we wanted to not have to plan what park or hotel to be at and needed to be hungry for just to fit ADRs.

Hope this helps.

 

[catne]

I would go for the regular dining plan -- it's no more effort to get to dining reservations than it is to get back to your room to make dinner! Call & see what you can get for dinner reservations -- you might be surprised how much is still available -- if you can get good ones at good times in the parks you're planning on being at for those evenings, then go for it. But remember, you have to add the plan before you get there (I think it's at least 72 hours before arrival.) With the regular plan, you can still do the counter service lunch as planned before. We used the regular dining plan: we were always plenty full from counter service lunch & table service dinner...we used almost all of our snack credits to buy a pastry for breakfast (we took several boxes of cereal & granola bars...didn't eat any of them.) We really enjoyed having a more laid-back relaxing table service meal every evening.

 

[patsal]

With a child under 10 and any character dining planned I would not hesitate to purchase the DDP. While it doesn't work for me personally it works well for many and yours is a case where it works well! I'm helping my sister plan and for she and her two girls both under 10 the DDP is perfect for what she has planned. Life isn't one size fits all--it would be boring, and I am glad when I see places where the DDP can be beneficial to some.

 

[mdelano4]

We swear by the dining plan, especially when you have a child. I have done the math several times and it's cheaper than paying as you go. The first time we did it, we already had reservations at the restaurants, but weren't going with the dining plan. We actually booked the dining plan when we were 2 hours from the park in the car and we had no problems booking. It's actually more food than you would think.

 

[MakinMagicforBunky]

My hesitation with the full on dining plan (with TS) is that it seemed like too much food the last time, and as mentioned by other's, I don't like the idea of having to plan parks around ressies.

It's down to a choice between groceries and the quick service plan at this point, and I'm leaning hard for the quick service plan for the convenience, and now that I'm crunching numbers, it seems to be a better choice.

As for character meals, we're only doing Chef Mickey's because we couldn't get in last time, and by the time we make it to the 'world again, my kiddo will be too old to care. It kills me to spend $30+ on breakfast (my least fave meal of the day!) but it's the experience (besides it's on Disney's dime with the free $200).

Thanks for all the input. I think I'm going to add the quick service plan. I was looking at some of the places we'd want to eat and we'd easily average $20/meal and that would more than pay for the plan itself, not counting the snacks and mugs (hope we aren't too far from the food court to really take advantage of that...even if we are, we'll still fill them at least 2-3 times a day).

Eeeek!! Two weeks from now we'll be doing Disney!!

 

[eandesmom]

And since posting this, I've sat and tried to guesstimate our grocery cost through Garden Grocer and we'll easily spend $100 to have basics in the room (sandwich fixings, salad, breakfast foods, milk, water). My plan was to send a box down ahead of time with non-perishable stuff for breakfast, which I may just pack into our suitcases instead (did this last time)

How much are the refillable mugs this year? We shared one last time and got a lot of use out of it, so I had planned on us each getting one this time...one can only drink but so much of that frozen slush drink that my son loves!

Having the CS plan will definitely be more convenient than having to plan meals in the room/pack them with us, so there's a bonus there too.

Ugh! Decisons! Here I thought I had it all figured out but didn't realize just how cost friendly the QS plan could be!

Check on your baggage fees. For us the cost to check a suitcase of food was the same as having them deliver it through garden grocer.

 

[AngVT]

Last year my son (11) and I were on the DxDP for 5 days... he is a moderate eater... sometimes light, but mostly moderate. We ate salads for the last 2 days, because there was just too much "heavy" food eating at TS.

This year, when my daughter (13) and I go... we've got the QSDP... I planned out, looking at the restaurants (CS) we wanted to go to, and how much food we would usually eat (we both like salads/light sandwiches, etc.) I found we could actually split some of the CS meals. (which is FAB! in my book!) We could "prolong" our CS credits, to include one of those Humongus coffee rolls from Main St. Bakery, or a breakfast sandwich, to split. Then use the snack credits for goodies throughout the week... (like one of those funnel cakes to split.) I've alotted some money aside for some TS places (like Tusker House, and Boma, which are relatively inexpensive, and good food.)

I looked at getting the regular dining plan with 1CS, 1TS, and a snack, but figured that we didnt want to be "obligated" like my son and I were last time, with ADR's and so on. We wanted "freedom" to come and go, and stop when we were hungry, or not... I felt that the 2CS, 2 snack and mug were more of a value for us... (We like the refillable mugs!)

I hope you have a great vacation, and look at it as a learning experience... if you go again you may or may not want to repeat the choice you make this time...

 

[dthogue]

Sounds like you have your mind made up, and I agree the QS dining plan will work well for you - also remember that you get 2 snacks per day and can use those to buy items for breakfast (that's our plan for our March trip).

Enjoy - hope you have a gret trip!!

Tammy

 

[mom22bless]

I still have to unpack the groceries I over bought and didn't use. I got snacks from Garden Grocer and barely used 1/3 of them. I know I'm not doing that again.

I think the Quick Service Plan would be fine without a whole bunch extra.

 

[tndisneyfan]

We are planning to do about the same thing, getting the QSDP and eating one or two TS meals and pay for them OOP. We just don't want to sit down to a TS every night.

 

[MakinMagicforBunky]

I'm pretty sure we're going to go ahead and do the QSP.

Editing my post b/c I just realized it's against Disney's rules to ask my question, sorry.

I guess we'll have to wing it and hope for the best.