help for a dining plan newbie

[momsal]

I am thinkng about getting the dining plan for our trip and need help understanding how it works. I was looking at the 100 resturants the accept the plan and some say not accepted , or suggested, whhat is this?
also should I ake reservations for all our dinners?
I am SSSOOOO glad this board is here because I AM TOTALLY LOST!!!!

 

[mcco5543]

Ok,

On the dining plan there are 100 participating resturaunts.
Each resturant is either A Table Service (TS) A Counter/Quck Service (CS) a "Snack" place, A "Signature Dining Experience" (requiring 2 credits per person instead of 1) or a "show" (Mickey's back yard BBQ, hoop de do review, spirit of Aloha etc..)

Now for each NIGHT of your stay, each member in your party will recieve 1. Table service, 1 counter Service, And 1 snack credit. (Children and Adult credits are seperated since children have seperate menu's from adults..)


Now, if you go to Allears.net and click on dining, click on menus, and then click on the "dining plan menu's There will be a chart on the 100 menus available to you under the DDP (disney dining plan) ...it also lists which resturaunts qualify under which category.

If your family eats tons of food and LIKES to take time out to eat, and if you're family is willing to make reservations for resturaunts 180 days in advance, then the dining plan could be for you.

You may use your dining credits any way you wish. It is clearly marked in disney which items are available under the DDP and the servers are HAPPY to assist you if you have questions.

The DDP is nice becuase it lets you eat at places you would never afford otherwise.

You have to crunch the numbers and see which is right for you.

After your meals you will recieve a reciept (tax and tip is included in the DDP so no worries there!) The reciept will tell you how many TS, CS, and Snack credits you have left. So it's very handy!

You MUST make reservations at your 180 day mark before your trip in order to get what you want.

You only really need to make ADR (advanced Dining reservations) for the places you feel like you want to dine at. (AKA any TS meal you must book, any signature experience, and any show).

Remember you can spend your credits any way you want until they are gone. You might also choose to pay for a meal or 2 out of pocket, just make sure you use credits for the most "expensive" meals and pay OOP for cheaper ones or snacks.

Another tip is to make reservations the way you would normally eat at home. There are tons of fun 1TS credit character breakfasts but if you arne't a breakfast eaters, dont' waste the credits on breakfast. Do a character dinner instead etc.....

Hope this helped!

 

[mcco5543]

p.s accepted/not accepted is most likely reffering to wether or not you can make reservations for that particular establishment. But since I do know know what site you were looking at. I'm not sure. Go to allears and all should be cleared up!

 

[1sttimecruz]

I worried about the DP on our March trip. It was our first trip and (obviously) first time using the dining plan. I looked at allears to learn a lot about the plan and made my advance reservations for table service meals and laid out a tenative plan for the rest.
I found all the CMs to be very accomodating and patient w/the plan! After a few times, I noticed that the various vendors in the parks display the sqaure dining plan symbol somewhere on their signage. At the resort store, I never knew what was on the plan til I went to checkout. Each time, the item I chose was covered (donuts, milk, muffins).
I'm so glad we did it. I think it is great!

I hope I've helped a little!

 

[Family5LovesDisney]

I worried about the DP on our March trip. It was our first trip and (obviously) first time using the dining plan. I looked at allears to learn a lot about the plan and made my advance reservations for table service meals and laid out a tenative plan for the rest.
I found all the CMs to be very accomodating and patient w/the plan! After a few times, I noticed that the various vendors in the parks display the sqaure dining plan symbol somewhere on their signage. At the resort store, I never knew what was on the plan til I went to checkout. Each time, the item I chose was covered (donuts, milk, muffins).
I'm so glad we did it. I think it is great!

I hope I've helped a little!

When we stayed at the AKL in Janaury, Mara (their quick service food) had DDP items very clearly marked in baskets, on shelves, and in the refrigerated section. It was our first time to use the DDP and we loved it. It was a lot of food but we didn't feel like we had to finish everything at each meal. We just ate what we enjoyed.