Help this newbie understand dining at DL

[Lizboo]

So, it is official. This WDW vet and her DH will be headed to DL for the first time for my 40th birthday this August.Just booked the flight.

Our travel agent told us about the "Minnie plan" which has dining vouchers (I think that is what she said) and I am not sure which restaurants qualify. The character meal is pretty self explanatory (I think I undertand it anyway..there are only a few character meals..are they all breakfast? do we qualify for lunch or dinner?) but I don't know what is the WDW equivalant of a TS (which restaurants qualify) or a CS..or even a snack..please tell me Dole Whips count as snacks

I'm sorry if this is a duplicate post, but I would appreciate any advice.

OH..and a recommendation for the day of big 40..I was thinking Napa Rose?

TIA

 

[DLR29]

I can say that most people around here (unlike WDW) do not recommend the DLR dining plan. The dining plan at DLR is inferior to WDW's because:
a) It doesn't save you as much money (if at all)

b) You get a set amount of dollar amount vouchers (not meals) and when you use those vouchers you don't get change. So for example if you want to pay for something that costs $4.95 with a $5 voucher, you will lose 5 cents. That's not a big deal, but if you have run out of $5 vouchers, you need to either pay in cash (which defeats the purpose of a dining plan) or pay with a $10 voucher and lose $5.05 (which can add up significantly). There is no set # of TS, CS or snacks. How you use the $ vouchers is up to you, which is annoying.

c) You can't use the vouchers at Downtown Disney restaurants, which is where a large part of the restaurants are on property.

Dining just isn't as a big of a thing at DLR. Only for a couple places will you need PS (priority seating) 60 days in advance. It's not an all out scramble for ADRs like some places at WDW. But Napa Rose would be a good choice for a nice nice dinner.

Oh, if you do want to pre-pay for meals, a lot of people recommend buying Disney gift cards, which CAN be used at pretty much any food place I think (including DTD places, letter c above) and you don't lose any money (letter b above)

 

[WereObsessed]

Keep in mind that if you use gift cards you CAN'T use them at the outdoor vending carts or the Tiki Juice Bar. You can always purchase disney dollars. They are, of course, accepted EVERYWHERE.

Have fun! Disneyland is a magical place, with more pixie dust than WDW, IMHO. consider checking out a book about it's history and secrets like "Mouse Tales".

 

[TeresaNJ]

This is good info to know. We're also going on our first Disneyland trip this October, and are very excited about it. It will be my husband and I, our son and daughter-in-law. We always do the Dining Plan at WDW, so I was wondering how it worked at DL. It appears I have lots of reading to do.

 

[mystic_path]

I have found that if your purchase your dining vouchers through a travel agent such as Getawaytoday.com you can prebuy your vouchers for the meal of your choice and you will pay less then going in to your premade reservations and paying cash. Again I just made some calls and found this out.

Currently Goofy's Kitchen for adults is about $45.00 with taxes and gratuities. If you prepurchase your vouchers from GAT like I did it is $38.00 with taxes and gratuities.

Prices may vary depending on when you go. But I am going to say pre buy your vouchers if you know for sure you are gonna have a character meal.

 

[bumbershoot]

Keep in mind that if you use gift cards you CAN'T use them at the outdoor vending carts or the Tiki Juice Bar.

Not true anymore! I've definitely used a card to get juice at the Tiki Room (feeling that dole whips are almost the worst food product on the planet), and almost all of the carts take cards now.



The dining plan is nothing like WDW's, and the only people who purposely use and enjoy it do it simply for the convenience of having prepaid, mostly, for their food.

 

[Lizboo]

Lots of great advice..thanks so much..I am so excited

 

[onelilspark]

We just came back from our first trip to DLR. I think we did just fine without any kind of Dining Plan.

We also decided spur of the moment to go to Napa Rose. It was definitely a good decision. Splurge! It's your birthday!!