We just returned Sat. at midnight from our regularly scheduled 2 week DVC July trip. We had a great DP trip! Yummy food, mostly good and consistent service, and no issues with credits at all.
We have done DxDP, as well as DP several times individually, as well as in combination, so we really like the Dining Plans, and know how to use them. We only order what we can eat, and don't mind asking for substitutions or modifications. I haven't been able to do the numbers yet, but we definitely saved money for sure! DH is a banker, so numbers are his thing! This trip was great for food!
Here is where we ate for TS meals:
Marrakesh (D)
Crystal Palace (D)
1900 PF (B & D)
Akershus (L & D)
ESPN (not on DP)
RFC (not on DP)
The Wave (D)
Kona Cafe (D)
Mama Melrose (D)
Chef Mickey's (B)
Cape May Cafe (B)
Tusker House (B)
Plaza (L)
Best Service - Jimmy at The Wave - stellar service and great attitude!
Worst Service - Chef Mickey's (no surprise)
Pleasant Surprises - Akershus has greatly improved service and food, so we ate here 2x. DD6 was in her glory! FYI - Akershus gives out free meals/drinks to children under 3! You can order an entree/drink/dessert off of menu for free. Chef Mickey's despite still having service issues, has improved in layout, check in, food (a bit) and characters. We had a fun breakfast here. Food was pretty good mostly everywhere! Several places also offered us free stuff for the baby, and always brought out extra plates/cups, etc. for sharing with him.
Observations - Noticed empty tables at many restaurants, despite being sold out online, phone or talking to booking CMs (I checked with all 3 sources as I was trying to modify a few ressies). Almost everyone around us was on some type of Dining Plan. As usual, Studios is horrible for CS options - yuck! As usual, kids' meals need to be improved - although kids only ate 1 hot dog, no hamburgers and 2 chicken strips the whole time, they tired of the same choices. DD did love the grilled fish and chicken, but pizza and pasta is in need of help. Lastly, french fries are horrible! They are using some cheap fries, as they all had yucky brown spots - many fries were unedible. Disney cheapening out here.
Summary - We loved the DP this trip - this is big for us as we used to eat 2-3 TS meals per day (before we had our son) and never ate CS meals. We only bought 1 bottle of water with a credit, as this time, we brought frozen water bottles and they worked out fabulously! This allowed us to get some awesome snacks. We normally also do not care for CS, but this trip, we went to our fav CS places like: Cosmic Ray's, Tangierine Cafe, Captain Cooks and Sunshine Seasons, and they were all great. Pepper Market was nasty, as was Cookes of Dublin for cleanliness, but food was great! Downtown Disney restaurants were packed as usual, so we absolutely refused to wait in a 1 hour line for a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich, so we did many CS places several times which was just fine.
All in all, we had more than enough food to feed all of us: 2 adults, DD6 and DS2. We really worked our snacks and ate most breakfasts in our room, except for a few character breakfasts. This worked out well, as we had a daily midday break - replenished our waters, swam and had a snack, and then went to our TS meals, all refreshed.
I would be more than happy to answer questions, Tiger
We have done DxDP, as well as DP several times individually, as well as in combination, so we really like the Dining Plans, and know how to use them. We only order what we can eat, and don't mind asking for substitutions or modifications. I haven't been able to do the numbers yet, but we definitely saved money for sure! DH is a banker, so numbers are his thing! This trip was great for food!
Here is where we ate for TS meals:
Marrakesh (D)
Crystal Palace (D)
1900 PF (B & D)
Akershus (L & D)
ESPN (not on DP)
RFC (not on DP)
The Wave (D)
Kona Cafe (D)
Mama Melrose (D)
Chef Mickey's (B)
Cape May Cafe (B)
Tusker House (B)
Plaza (L)
Best Service - Jimmy at The Wave - stellar service and great attitude!
Worst Service - Chef Mickey's (no surprise)
Pleasant Surprises - Akershus has greatly improved service and food, so we ate here 2x. DD6 was in her glory! FYI - Akershus gives out free meals/drinks to children under 3! You can order an entree/drink/dessert off of menu for free. Chef Mickey's despite still having service issues, has improved in layout, check in, food (a bit) and characters. We had a fun breakfast here. Food was pretty good mostly everywhere! Several places also offered us free stuff for the baby, and always brought out extra plates/cups, etc. for sharing with him.
Observations - Noticed empty tables at many restaurants, despite being sold out online, phone or talking to booking CMs (I checked with all 3 sources as I was trying to modify a few ressies). Almost everyone around us was on some type of Dining Plan. As usual, Studios is horrible for CS options - yuck! As usual, kids' meals need to be improved - although kids only ate 1 hot dog, no hamburgers and 2 chicken strips the whole time, they tired of the same choices. DD did love the grilled fish and chicken, but pizza and pasta is in need of help. Lastly, french fries are horrible! They are using some cheap fries, as they all had yucky brown spots - many fries were unedible. Disney cheapening out here.
Summary - We loved the DP this trip - this is big for us as we used to eat 2-3 TS meals per day (before we had our son) and never ate CS meals. We only bought 1 bottle of water with a credit, as this time, we brought frozen water bottles and they worked out fabulously! This allowed us to get some awesome snacks. We normally also do not care for CS, but this trip, we went to our fav CS places like: Cosmic Ray's, Tangierine Cafe, Captain Cooks and Sunshine Seasons, and they were all great. Pepper Market was nasty, as was Cookes of Dublin for cleanliness, but food was great! Downtown Disney restaurants were packed as usual, so we absolutely refused to wait in a 1 hour line for a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich, so we did many CS places several times which was just fine.
All in all, we had more than enough food to feed all of us: 2 adults, DD6 and DS2. We really worked our snacks and ate most breakfasts in our room, except for a few character breakfasts. This worked out well, as we had a daily midday break - replenished our waters, swam and had a snack, and then went to our TS meals, all refreshed.
I would be more than happy to answer questions, Tiger
