List the positives of being on the MYW plus dining

[LilMamiBella]

I've never been to WDW so I don't think I'll miss the restaurants that are not on the list. I plan to dine at Le Cellier ( I know its a signature restaurant), Ohana's, Cape May Cafe, Chef Mickey's, Spoodles, and Boma. We plan to have a small breakfast in our rooms and take water and some snacks. We'll be getting one snack, table service, and counter service. Even though I can't order dessert from the restaurants I can still get ice cream as a snack. As long as they don't change in of my restaurants I'll be fine. I'm thinking it can still be a good deal. For an adult, you're getting a table service, counter service, and snack for $35 a day. I believe I'll be saving money. My daughter will be two when we go and she'll eat for free.

I've heard some many cons on this new plan but I want to hear the positives as well.

 

[jjohnson]

You'll do fine because of your choices + some of the places you picked have dessert included.

I'm still undecided. I do like the idea of having everything paid for. We always overspend.

 

[drumflower]

still trying to come up with a positive

 

[Luv2Roam]

I think a lot of it depends on if you are a package person to begin with.
Generally packages cost more than buying everything separate.
But constant price checking, calling, etc takes time.
A package is ordered and, if everything goes right, all taken care of.
Packages often mean convenience.
If you are happy with the selection of restaurants, you willdo fine.
I think a lot of what you read about is that many of guest's favorite restaurants either take double the coupons, or are not a choice, period.
I think the selection leaves something to be desired. But I guess that goes with saving money too. Often we use restaurant coupons and eat somewhere that is not our first choice either.

 

[cslittle999]

Although some people have been saying that dessert was removed from the table service meals, at least one posted talked with Disney today and Disney says that it is still included.

We are a family of four (me, DW, DD8, DS6) and I see the dining plan saving us a minimum of $30 a day. For kids it is almost an instant win. A childs sit down meal almost any where is nearly $10 so you basically get lunch and snack for free. For adults the buffets are at least $25, character meals like Chef Mickey's ($27) are more and for restaurants with a menu a three course meal is even than that (I looked at an online menu for Spoodles and I'm think on average it would be $30 to $35). Counter service lunches are $6 or $7. I would think that it would be hard have a day where you don't save money.

For us most of the restaurants are places that we will be eating at anyways so having a smaller list doesn't impact us much.

As other posters have said knowing that your meals are prepaid provides a great deal of budget control.

 

[micksterlee]

on our last 2 trips we used the silver plan. The thing I like about the prepaid packages is we don t sit at the table and go over the menu looking for the cheapest thing we can find, we eat what we want and then don t feel bad because we spent too much. I realize I am still paying when I buy the package but there is something very nice about handing them the key and knowing it is already taken care of.

 

[Mermaid02]

I'm looking forward to knowing it's all taken care of. All paid for. Hakuna Matata!! I am also looking forward to more character meals.... without the huge price tags..... for our family this will be a big PLUS!!

 

[jeepgirl30]

I'm leaning toward going with it for our Sept/Oct trip. I've been there a few times and love places I can't use it for or have to use 2 sit downs. But I'm looking at it as a way to save money and budget so I'll skip Cali Grill this trip. We are finally getting to take the kids and need to stay economical so CG wasn't in our plans anyway!

We will be going to Character meals and like others have shown, those can be 25 and up for that one meal. I see it as a savings for us for sure.

My parents are coming too. They will probably NOT get the dining. They like to share meals and eat a lot of small snacks throughout the day. For them its not such a bargin.

Personally, I don't think Disney has a shot at coming out with any plan EVERYONE will like! Unless of course they said free food at any location. They are a business, the overall goal is profit.

For our upcoming trip this is great, in the future when the kids are more aware or more picky about food maybe not. But by then they'll have a new plan anyway.

I like having it all prepaid and am flexible enough to adjust our choices according to what is available.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Judging by your choices you will probably do well with the plan.

For Example:

Counter Service Meal:
Cheeseburger meal (with fries) $6.79
Drink $2
Total with tax = $9.36

Snack:
Dole Whip $2.99
With tax = $3.18

Sit Down Meal:
Boma's $24.99
Total with tax and tip = $30.36

Total for the day = $42.90

 

[timandlesley]

on our last 2 trips we used the silver plan. The thing I like about the prepaid packages is we don t sit at the table and go over the menu looking for the cheapest thing we can find, we eat what we want and then don t feel bad because we spent too much. I realize I am still paying when I buy the package but there is something very nice about handing them the key and knowing it is already taken care of.

This will be our first year using the Dining plan and I am very excited. I was just informed they aren't actual vouchers, they are placed on the card. Since you've had experience using it this way could you explain it to me further? We usually put all spending money on our cards for our trip and use them instead of cash or travelers checks. My concern with having the Dining plan and the money on the same card is if we go to a restaraunt (like Chef Mickeys for breakfast where we want to pay our own money so we can use the sit down voucher on a more expensive dinner) how do we make sure they use the voucher versus our cash? Any help with this would be much appreciated.
I am excited about having the dining option this year. I agree with you, order what you want and not having to worry - it is taken care of. . can't wait!
Lesley

 

[HB2K]

This is the first time for us with the plan as well. We're looking forward to it because it's A) saving us money and B) getting us to restaurants we probably would have skipped had we been paying ala carte (we normally ate counter service with one or two sit down meals sprinkled in the trip....now we'll sit down at least once a day).

I'm excited.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I'm looking forward to knowing it's all taken care of. All paid for. Hakuna Matata!! I am also looking forward to more character meals.... without the huge price tags..... for our family this will be a big PLUS!!

ITA

My son and I are doing the dining plan in April. We're having dinner at
Chef Mickey's, Ohana, 1900 Park Fare, Boma,Whispering Canyon Cafe, Hollywood and Vine, and Rose and Crown. There's no way I'd do all of these meals in one trip if I had to pay for each one. With out the plan, I'd just pick one or two sit down meals and the rest of the trip we'd eat counter service.

 

[princesswannab]

I haven't been to WDW since 1992 (on my honeymoon). This time we are taking my parents and DD6, DS 3, & DS 1. We just made reservations for late June. We're trying to decide about making ours a pkg with dining. Do you know where I can see the list of possible dining choices? Also, I hear that you can not book character meals more than 90 days in advance, any advice on getting into the character meals you want? thanks so much for the advice!

 

[msr709]

ITA

My son and I are doing the dining plan in April. We're having dinner at
Chef Mickey's, Ohana, 1900 Park Fare, Boma,Whispering Canyon Cafe, Hollywood and Vine, and Rose and Crown. There's no way I'd do all of these meals in one trip if I had to pay for each one. With out the plan, I'd just pick one or two sit down meals and the rest of the trip we'd eat counter service.

Amen to that! This is exactly my sentiment. I'm looking forward to making PS to character meals and other restaurants that I usually avoid because of the price tag. The 2 children I'm taking one is a picky eater and the other devours everything in site! LOL! So this is a perfect solution. They are still children ages (5 and 8) and I don't think I could feed them on $10 per day for 2 meals and a snack!

 

[HB2K]

I've never had a problem booking a character meal other than the princess breakfasts (at EPCOT & Cindy's Castle). Those should start to be more available, at least the EPCOT meal, since they will begin offering Lunch and Dinner Character Meals as well....

To get our Cindy fix, we just booked dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I can't decide. Does anyone think they will feel like they are spending too much time doing a sit down everyday? We like to do a few over the week but I don't know if I want to invest the time to sit down everyday. We are going in June so lines will be an issue.

 

[MomofKatie]

We will be there for a week in November, so we don't feel taking the time to sit down each day will be problematic. June is pretty busy, but the parks should be open later- it's up to you. You will get tired, though, with the heat and crowds. I would still want to sit down for an hour each day, but you are the only one who can decide for your own family.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you will have a blast!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Your right about that! It would be great to be in the air conditioning for awhile each day and the parks will be open later too. So many different angles to think about. Thanks

 

[princesswannab]

What characters are at 1900 Park Fare? Is that the Grand Floridian?

 

[MomofKatie]

B'fast- Mary Poppins and other rotating characters- sometimes Alice in Wonderland, sometimes other Princesses.

Dinner- Cinderella, Fairy Godsmother (in the lobby), Prince Charming, the girl mouse.