Meal Plan

[cody*wild]

I Have A Family Of Five. One Child And Rest Adults. Is It Reccommended To Do The Meal Plan Or Find Food Ourselves? Whats The Most Economical Way To Feed My Family??????

 

[Disney grandma]

We are a family of 6 adults and this year 1 child. We have done the dining plan the past two years and it has worked out good for us. We were able to eat at some of the finer Disney restaurants at a fraction of what it would have cost us. That being said, I don't think we will be doing the dining plan in the future. The tip has been excluded so we would be paying that in addition to the plan. Also it is a lot of food. This year we reserved a few lunches and a breakfast and it worked out better than always having to meet for dinner each night. Next time we are going to chose a couple of our favorites and just do counter service for the remainder of our meals. It will free our time up not having to stop for a reserved meal which does take a lot of time. O'Hana's is a must do for all of us and we all like Coral Reef also. My husband and I are not huge eaters so we could even share a meal some of the time.

 

[trivial]

If you're going in 2007, no question, get the dining plan. If going in 2008, the value of the dining plan is severely diminished and is certainly not the most economical way to eat. The most economical way is to prepare your own meals, but this is time-consuming and very inconvenient. Another option is to stick with counter/quick-service restaurants only, but it sucks to miss out on table service meals. Eating a few meals off-site will probably save a tiny amount of money, but again, not terribly convenient.

 

[Rescue Ranger]

I recommend it, especially if you love food

I think its one of the best things Disney has ever offered guests, its almost like an all inclusive as you dont have to worry about prices and if you want to dine in Disney and try some great restaurants you probably would not have tried otherwise, its a great value and its almost an adventure in itself.

Yes, the value isn't as great come 2008 and is more confusing, but I know for me, I'm not one who really orders appetizers, so the loss of that isn't that big a deal and the tip we're not talking big money. I'll miss the appetizer option, probably the biggest loss here because its nice to try that, but otherwise its still decent I think. Tip and appetizer change are the most notable change for the restaurants I would choose. Some Downtown Disney restaurants and some others I believe are not offering some things on the menu they did before as well, but not restaurants I would go to anyway.

 

[yettimedic]

My wife and I are going in October i noticed that there are some new plans we were looking at the Magic your way plus dining it seems to have a little less food only 1 counter service and 1 snack and 1 table per day no apps. I was wondering if anyone has used this and how it has worked out

 

[trivial]

That has been the standard dining plan up to this point, although until 2008 it includes an appetizer (and tax and gratuity). We absolutely loved it, but as I said above, with the 2008 changes it becomes less of a value. There's certainly no shortage of food however. We'd always just fend for ourselves for breakfast in our room each morning, use a counter-service token for lunch, and a table-service token for dinner. If you really want an appetizer, you could either just pay for one out-of-pocket, or possibly have one of you order a dessert, and one of you order an appetizer in place of a dessert, and split them (I'm not sure if there's been any comfirmation yet as to whether or not this can be done, but it seems plausible).

 

[SomDayMyPrnceWillCom]

To the OP, I would check out the menus and prices listed here in the DIS menu section (also available at allearsnet.com) and see what restaurants your family would like to eat at and what they may order. Compare the prices you come up with as opposed to the price of the Dining Plan and deluxe dining plan (which does include appy) and decide which is more cost effective for you. If your family likes sit down meals everyday, it may be worth it. If you are more of a fly by the seat of your pants and grab a burger on the run type family, it may not be worth the cost.

 

[avamadison]

I highly recommend the meal plan. My husband use the meal plan every time weather we go alone or with tons of people. It makes everything easier for us. I like knowing where we are eating and having the ADRs way ahead of time. I like going by a schedule so it works well. I know the plan rules are chaning a little but I agree with what some others have mentioned - the tip isn't that much money and the missing appetizer isn't a huge deal since it is so much food anyway. I think that if you enjoy food and you enjoy nice dining and relaxing at the finer restaurants then the meal plan is the way to go! I don't like counting on counter service meals too much because the options are always the same and not as healthy.

 

[Jacklynn]

or possibly have one of you order a dessert, and one of you order an appetizer in place of a dessert, and split them (I'm not sure if there's been any comfirmation yet as to whether or not this can be done, but it seems plausible).

My husband and I for sure wouldn't need TWO appetizers and TWO dessert, but we would like one of each.... anyone know anything about the possiblity of this?

 

[TDC Nala]

Moving on up to the dining plan board, although it's sort of an old thread.

my husband and I for sure wouldn't need TWO appetizers and TWO dessert, but we would like one of each.... anyone know anything about the possiblity of this?

If you are on the 2008 dining plan, TS appetizers are not included. The best you could do is ask. It's probably a foregone conclusion that they will not let you substitute an appetizer for a dessert.

On the '07 dining plan, you don't have to order anything you don't want. One of you order an appetizer, the other order a dessert.