Is the added dining option worth it?

[Brook106]

Hi! We're planning a trip in the next few months. All the choices are overwhelming. Is the dining option worth it? Are the restaurants really limited? (Not the premium add on- the regular.) Thanks for your help!

Brook106

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Well Brook, it really depends on your family.

To me (and for my family) it seems like a good deal. But we are "food" people. At the end of the day, I like sitting down to a nice meal, not a food court or fast food.

It also depends on what you eat. My dad is so looking forward to eating steak every night that it is well worth the plan. For my mom, (not a beef eater usually orders chicken which is generally less expensive) it is just at the breakeven point.

The big question is, what and how does your family eat? Are they okay with 1 counter service and 1 sit down? Or would you prefer all sitdowns or all counters?

 

[scrump]

We never eat snacks or counter food, pretty much only at sit down restaurants. So the dining plan is not for us; all of $35 allotment would be going towards a sitdown restaurant, and we rarely spend that much in one sitting (perhaps at the more expensive restaurants, which would take two credits anyway, making it essentially a $70 meal). If we were to use the snacks and counter food credits, we would be doing so because it's part of the plan, and not because we really wanted to.

I think it's a great deal if it suits your family's eating style. It's just not for us.

 

[mommykds]

I am trying to calculate whether the dining option is worth it for us. We are a family of 5 (mom,dad,3 kids all under 10). At WDW we normally eat 2 meals & a snack so it might be for us.
It would be $100 per day for us (2 A x $35 + 3 K x $10)..right? Not sure if that would be cost effective.
We like to go to crystal palace, chef mickey's, LTT, Biergarten, Sci Fi, Boma's, maybe even the cinderella character meal at 1900? (Ok not all on the same day!)

Anyone who has a family of 5 done the dining package & have suggestions?

THX!

 

[estnh]

We are going in April with 2 adults and 2 teenagers, and for us it was a no brainer. We just did the math, and we would save money even if there was no snacks included. With the right restaurant choices, you can virtually make it pay for itself with just the table service restaurants.

I think it also adds a new dimension to your trip--it is fun to decide where everyone wants to go. It is also fun not to have to tell your kids "NO, you can't have that dessert for $ 8.00!!"

 

[henrylovespooh]

We used the plan for three people (daughter is 2 so she couldn't be on it). It was a great cost savings. We usually eat two meals in the parks or at the resort and we like one sit down meal a day, usually in the evening. At restaurants like Kona Cafe, we saved $40 in one meal alone and we saved $25 the day we ate one CS meal at Flame Tree Barbecue and dinner at CRT. My 3 and 2 year old shared the CS lunches so in addition to saving on the plan, we rarely paid for our 2 year old throughout the week. I would definitely do it again without any hesitation. If you're really looking to get a deal on the plan, also try places like Spoodles and Concourse Steakhouse.

When you figure a buffet dinner (which usually costs less than an a la carte sit down restaurant) averages about $27 without tax and tip, and an average counter service meal with beverage is $8, the plan seems like a good deal.

If your kids are all under 10, then it will only be $10 for them each day, which should easily cover two meals - so the snack is gravy.

 

[JCTigger]

I have a question about the snack... I know you can get popcorn which is fine by me (WDW is the only place I'll eat popcorn it just tastes better there to me for some reason) can you get the popcorn in the souvenier buckets? or just in the small box of it??? We are going down in October for 7 days (the longest disney vacation weve had since we were little kids ) and weve signed on for the dinning option.... ive never used this before so im kinda confused about it.... what if you dont eat breakfast can you use the extra thing for another lite snack ( a hot dog or something) later in the day??

Thanks all!!!
Jill

 

[estnh]

I have a question about the snack... I know you can get popcorn which is fine by me (WDW is the only place I'll eat popcorn it just tastes better there to me for some reason) can you get the popcorn in the souvenier buckets? or just in the small box of it??? We are going down in October for 7 days (the longest disney vacation weve had since we were little kids ) and weve signed on for the dinning option.... ive never used this before so im kinda confused about it.... what if you dont eat breakfast can you use the extra thing for another lite snack ( a hot dog or something) later in the day??

Thanks all!!!
Jill

You are not obligated to use the plan in any given way on any given day. When you check in, for a 7 day stay, you'll be credited for 7 table service meals, 7 counter service meals, and 7 snacks per person. You can use them at your convenience anytime over the length of your stay. However, you can't switch categories--just because you don't use all your counter service credits doesn't mean you'll get extra snack credits.

Not sure on the popcorn, but I think its only the small box.

 

[Tinseltown Trauma]

(from my post on a different thread):

So, in reality, per day, you are actually paying roughly $30 for the actual goods (i.e., food), with the sales tax and gratuity for table service accounting for the extra $5 = $35.00

By my calculation, it works out to be something like this:
Snack
$2.50 + .17 tax = $2.67
Counter
$7.50 + .52 tax = $8.02
Table
$20.00 + 1.40 tax + 3.00 tip = $24.40

So, when I think about the meals I can get at Citrico's, Narcoosee's, Artist Point and Flying Fish for an investment of $40 each (or $50, depending on how you look at it), a great deal at Concourse for $20 (or $25...), Pepper Market for about $8 (come on, $8!!), and so forth--I'm THRILLED! Otherwise, I'd probably pass on all of it and be eating hot dogs for 10 days while silently grousing about how much $ I'm paying for "all this." But this plan is SUCH a deal! At a theme park--and at WDW--no less!! (And from what I've been reading on this board, people with kids/light eaters could actually maximize the $ way more than someone like me, a solo traveller.) Yes, it's clever marketing on Disney's part, but I do think it's fair (particularly because you can mix and match what you use on whatever day, even the day you leave (I can even get a "to go" from PC food court to eat on the Song flight home to L.A. as dinner (no more dreadful-but-free food on these flights!).

TT

 

[henrylovespooh]

No, you actually pay $35 plus tax - I think it comes to $38 per day for an adult. Still with that added, we always saved money each day even without using all of our snacks.

We used the plan last week, and the snacks listed were items from the ice cream carts, the small popcorn, a soda (bottle or fountain service), or a bottle of water. I didn't ask at other places if we could get something else but you can try.

If you're looking to stretch your counter service credits, you can have some people in your party share a counter service lunch or dinner and then save up enough to use them for breakfast.

 

[WDWBetsy]

You are not obligated to use the plan in any given way on any given day. When you check in, for a 7 day stay, you'll be credited for 7 table service meals, 7 counter service meals, and 7 snacks per person. You can use them at your convenience anytime over the length of your stay. However, you can't switch categories--just because you don't use all your counter service credits doesn't mean you'll get extra snack credits.

Not sure on the popcorn, but I think its only the small box.

Just to clarify this days/nights thing: the dining plan is based on the number of nights stayed at the resort.

 

[Tinseltown Trauma]

No, you actually pay $35 plus tax - I think it comes to $38 per day for an adult.

Nope, you are mistaken, sorry. The cost is $35, inclusive, meaning tax and gratuity (for the table service) have already been built into the price. WDW quotes as such, and several of us have already done cost analyses on other threads, which proved $35 flat is accurate.

TT

 

[PavelB]

I believe the tax referred to is not the tax on any given meal but the tax that disney puts on the whole package. If you figure that in then it comes to about $39 a day. I think?

 

[keishashadow]

FYI, I was not charged tax on the MYW Dining Plan, just $35 for Adults and $10 for a Child per day; number of days ran with my room nights.

We love to eat and took advantage of the plan. Especially a good value at Cinderella's for dinner (bill over $115) and Columbia Harbor House (over $40 for lunch). We did have to use "2" at the Yaughtsman - I promise not to pick on Oscar again! We'll return to LeCellier next time for steak, they also require "2".

Recommend to all but the lightest appetites.

 

[DisneyGirl2005]

I think it also adds a new dimension to your trip--it is fun to decide where everyone wants to go. It is also fun not to have to tell your kids "NO, you can't have that dessert for $ 8.00!!"

This is my feeling also. Usually when we go to eat at Disney, we have to be so careful about the budget. With the plan we can eat at places we never thought about trying. Add dessert into the mix at every meal and my boys will be on cloud nine.

 

[Tinseltown Trauma]

I believe the tax referred to is not the tax on any given meal but the tax that disney puts on the whole package. If you figure that in then it comes to about $39 a day. I think?

No! (Where is this stuff coming from??)

Tax on a package occurs with each component (i.e., room, meal plan, tickets) within the package. It is not one calculation "at the bottom."

Everyone pays sales tax on food (on other threads some people thought you paid resort tax, which was even posted on some other disney-ite website, bad info, confusing folks even more).

While you are paying tax for the MYW Meal Plan food, it is included in the $35/day cost factor. Already built in. For anyone who cannot accept this, I suggest they call WDW for confirmation and also do a breakdown of what they paid upfront for their package--it's a fairly simple calculation.

TT

P.S.: I had an hour-long conversation w/a guest svs manager last night (one of the truly delightful ones!)--She said CM's are really surprised (as I am) that anyone is thinking the Meal Plan isn't a fab deal.....Also shared with her the poster's comment about the kids wanting--and being able--to order the $8.00 dessert, which she loved hearing. Told her that little thrill applies to us adults, too!

 

[home brewer]

I'm thinking of purchasing the dining plan with my resort package. BUT, my DS (7) doesn't eat kid food. Hot dogs, no way. PB&J, not. Pizza, once in a blue moon. Chicken nuggets, get'em out of here and bring on the barbeque, steaks and seafood.

The dining package seems like an OK deal for the adults but for my DS, it will be a waste of money. There's no way I'll get him to eat hot dogs when we're eating barbeque or grilled salmon.

I found the menus for the various places here Menus. If you look at the kid's menus they really don't offer much for the kid that likes adult food.

Can I buy an adult package for my son?

The other thing I was wondering, I know you're limited to an appetizer, main course, dessert and drink but do they limit what the dining plan people can order off the menu or can you order all the really good stuff? I don't want to buy the plan and then find out there's a sperate menu for dining plan customers.

 

[Tinseltown Trauma]

Good for DS that he likes adult food!...You'll have to ask WDW, but I can't imagine they'd say no (good grief, you're asking to throw $ at them!), especially with some of the current quirks in the Plan (all of which WDW seems to be quite aware of), e.g., when your MYW "chits" are pooled into one account at the beg of your resort stay, they are not differentiated betw "adult" and "child," so the server/restaurant has no way of knowing which "type" remain in your pool. Most people are looking to hoard their child's "chits" to maximize adult usage, often paying oopocket for child's ts meal. So, if you're offering to pay more $ from the outset....

You may want to get on that bandwagon and keep DS at child rate. With the snacks, counter service meals and buffets, there isn't even an issue; with cs you'd simply walk up and order all adult meals--they don't know who's waiting at the table, adult or child. For table service, it might be a bit trickier (you will be obligated to use kid's menu and DS will be in plain view of the server), and would all depend on how much food DS eats--small or adult-size servings?--as you'd have to resort to a sharing scenario (of whatever you or DH orders).

And, yes, you can order the reallly good stuff (WDW supports this--at least for now while package is new--you won't get any pushback). One poster recently reported that she ordered the whole lobster entree at Narcoosee's. I'm right behind her!

Hope this helps.

TT

 

[pmtaylor]

I thought I read somewhere about a list for the dining plan. Help me find it please!!!

 

[marciagms]

http://allearsnet.com/pl/packages05a.htm

Here is the link to the restaurants on the Dining Package! Hope this helps! We are sooo! looking foward to using the plan. It seems like a hard deal to pass up. We love to try new places and love to eat at Disney! Good Luck!