Help me choosemy diningplan!!!

[Melissa in St Louis]

PLEASE help me decide if we wantthedeluxe dining plan or the basic....On the trip will be my DH, myself, DS6 and DD3. We are not big breakfast eaters, except for my DH who would LOVE a big breakfast; kiddos and I are happy with a poptart (ok, I am happy as long as I have a diet coke! ). We reservations for Crystal Palace, Tony's on Town Square, and Chef Mickey's. We are planning on going to Cosmic Ray's, Restaurantasaurus, and Toy Story Pizza Planet. Aside from that, we are open to whatever. We are staying at All Star Music, and I know we are eating there the first night and maybe some breakfasts (unless we pack poptarts!). We are there 2 half days and 2 full days. We love the idea of having everything paid for in advance and not having to worry about anything; on the other hand, money is tight and saving the $200+ would be super!!!

HELP!!!

 

[christa112]

I am with you. I am totally happy with a Diet Coke too.

I think the DDPX is way too much food and also takes up a lot of your vacation time. I mean a TS meal could take 1 to 2 hrs if it is character meal and you want to make sure the kids see all the characters. We have used the "regular" Dining Plan and have been completely satisfied.

One mistake we made was that on our 1st trip we hardly used any of our snacks and cashed them in on the last day. I would advise using them 1st and then if you have to pay OPP for other then so be it. We are are going for 9 nights and have our meals split down the middle we doing some TS beakfast and some TS dinners.

Also, if your dh loves breakfast you could alway pay OPP for a breakfast for him at the food court at the hotel. I mean the max it would cost is probably $10 (guestimating).

I hope this helps.

 

[abbeshops]

If you already have ressies for TS meals then you would do well to stick with the basic dine plan. We use if every time we go & bring cereal bars to eat for bfast in the room then have a counter service lunch & usually a TS dinner. It works really well for us & we do get most of the snacks on the last day - we go to Goofy's Candy Co & get presents for anyone back home if needed. Love the basic plan! Just as an example, we ate at Le Cellier & our bill would've been $160 but on the dine plan all we paid was the dine plan cost + tip... It's a money saver & a no-brainer if you ask me...

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I would go for the basic dining plan too. We used it and it was more than enough food. Like someone already said, have DH grab something from the food court and head to the parks.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Agree!
Honestly, the deluxe is good if you LIKE to sit and really enjoy the meal as each ts will be 1 1/2 to 2 hrs, PLUS the "travel time" of where you have to be, etc, it becomes a bit crazy with sit downs for everything because you MAY feel like your entire vacation is scheduled around your meals, which it basically is.
The regular dining plan is plenty full for our family and we usually go OOP for breakfast and use CS for lunch and TS for dinner, then the snack, plenty. The kids are young and you already mentioned not bog eaters so I'd say, use the money elsewhere.
You can always charge everything to the room (KTTW card) and then take your cash and pay it off before they bill you the night before you leave (I like to NOT think about money. etc and then just walk out the room with my KTTW card and pay it off before I leave, thus the vacation is DONE and the bill is paid but also liking that I did NOT have to bring cash and credit cards everywhere, etc!) Hope that made sense.
Have a WONDERFUL trip!

 

[figment74]

PLEASE help me decide if we wantthedeluxe dining plan or the basic....On the trip will be my DH, myself, DS6 and DD3. We are not big breakfast eaters, except for my DH who would LOVE a big breakfast; kiddos and I are happy with a poptart (ok, I am happy as long as I have a diet coke! ). We reservations for Crystal Palace, Tony's on Town Square, and Chef Mickey's. We are planning on going to Cosmic Ray's, Restaurantasaurus, and Toy Story Pizza Planet. Aside from that, we are open to whatever. We are staying at All Star Music, and I know we are eating there the first night and maybe some breakfasts (unless we pack poptarts!). We are there 2 half days and 2 full days. We love the idea of having everything paid for in advance and not having to worry about anything; on the other hand, money is tight and saving the $200+ would be super!!!

HELP!!!

For what it's worth DW and I have done the traditional DP many times. 1 QS, 1TS, and 1SN per person per night, and we are always having problems using all the snacks. couple of tips.

1) book dinner, for TS not lunch.

2) Eat at the Sunshine Seasons. This is a lot of food for 1 QS. also Tangierine Café in Morocco has lots for QS. these are great alternatives to Hamburgers, and Hot Dogs!!!
3) if you are traveling durring F&W, snack points are usually accepted at the food kiosks.

Hope this is helpfull.

 

[jewelrylady]

How do we go about purchasing our meal plans? I'm such a rookie...

 

[figment74]

How do we go about purchasing our meal plans? I'm such a rookie...

jewelrylady,

It's part of a package. When you setup the reservation ask about adding the dining plan.

 

[Wendybird55]

I would go with the basic plan as well - especially since you are not big breakfast eaters - that's the easiest OP meal - plus you can use snack credits.

I usually do the basic plan except this year we went DXDP - and I already know it's alot of of food - BUT our reasons are.
This is DS first year and he will amost be 2 when we go so we don't have to pay for him
DS is a good eater and with the DXDP we get appetizers as well which will allow for more sharing with DS so I will have no OP for DS food.
I went a bit crazy and booked alot of character meals for DS. At his age the characters will be one of the biggest highlights and I know he will have fun seeing them at breakfast (which is he favorite meal). (And I know he's not afraid of costumed characters).
After booking all the character breakfasts I realized the DXDP will save us money. Even though the character meals are more for the characters than the food.
I dont' feel obligated to have 3 TS a day (which I don't) with DXDP
My sister is coming along with DH and I and with DXDP none of us have to worry about who's paying for what because there's no OP for food (only tips which we will have a kitty for)
BUT I don't know what I will do with all those snacks!!! I hardly use them with the DDP - the meals with dessert are more than enough. I figure I'll get a bunch of things for the plane ride home and to give to people when I get home.
If anyone needs a snack Aug. 31 - Sept 5 and they see me - they're welcome to use one of my credits!

 

[happymommy]

I would go with the basic plan as well - especially since you are not big breakfast eaters - that's the easiest OP meal - plus you can use snack credits.

I usually do the basic plan except this year we went DXDP - and I already know it's alot of of food - BUT our reasons are.
This is DS first year and he will amost be 2 when we go so we don't have to pay for him
DS is a good eater and with the DXDP we get appetizers as well which will allow for more sharing with DS so I will have no OP for DS food.
I went a bit crazy and booked alot of character meals for DS. At his age the characters will be one of the biggest highlights and I know he will have fun seeing them at breakfast (which is he favorite meal). (And I know he's not afraid of costumed characters).
After booking all the character breakfasts I realized the DXDP will save us money. Even though the character meals are more for the characters than the food.
I dont' feel obligated to have 3 TS a day (which I don't) with DXDP
My sister is coming along with DH and I and with DXDP none of us have to worry about who's paying for what because there's no OP for food (only tips which we will have a kitty for)
BUT I don't know what I will do with all those snacks!!! I hardly use them with the DDP - the meals with dessert are more than enough. I figure I'll get a bunch of things for the plane ride home and to give to people when I get home.
If anyone needs a snack Aug. 31 - Sept 5 and they see me - they're welcome to use one of my credits!

Sounds fun! I did hear you can use the snacks for the cute bags of character candies, so yes I'd do that for gifts! My kids liked to bring Mickey lollipops back home for friends.

To the O: What do you mean save $200? Is that the price difference between the two plans?

I personally have never used the dining plan myself, as then I stress about the best way to use it, rather than just eating when and where we want. Some trips we do mostly counter service (actually most) as the TS meals do take time. Then we plan some special meals, maybe two per trip, and take our time. We get wine or drinks, but rarely appetizers or desserts.

The best meal and most fun we ever had was at the upstairs place in France, I think it's Bistro de Paris? Oh my how memorable - we sat there with the kids and had the set menu with wine pairings, must have spent over 2 hours there. The waiter was so sweet - they made my son food fit for a king (he has allergies but darn expensive taste!). It was right before DH had to leave Epcot to catch a plane home, we were staying a couple of extra days, so it was a nice send off. I don't know if they take the dining plan, I think they do, and that would have been worth it as the meal must have been well over $400 for the 4 of us (2 adults 2 kids). We'd still have paid for the wine I guess, and I don't know if you can do the chef's menu with that, it's about $100 per person I think. Son ordered adult food. We left that place and DH and I said wow - that was so worth it. It was a nice experience!

Okay I'm rambling, get me my coffee!