My Way dining and itinerary

[ncbyrne]

We (DH and I, no kids) booked a My Way package at CSR with dining for Oct 15-23, with 7 day hopper tickets. We booked this time especially for the Food and Wine Festival. I'm going crazy to figure out an itinerary and tie it in with PS and reservations for HDDR and Cirque. I've changed it several times as I read different posts about this day is more crowded, this time is best for that, etc. I normally do not go to the park that has the extra hours - have always been told that it's the most crowded unless you hop when the crowds build. I bought hopper passes just in case, but DH doesn't like park hopping very much, so we tend to stay in whatever park we chose for the day. I also am trying to avoid Epcot on weekends during the festival. The more restrictions I put on the itinerary, the more difficult it becomes to plan. We went to do AK and MGM one day, with two days at Epcot and two at MK. What factors do you look at when you plan your daily itinerary? I never seemed to have this much trouble before the dining plan option, but restaurant choices and getting the best deal on the plan is very important to us.

 

[pezpam]

We just went a few weeks ago. This trip, we used the dining plan, which was the first time we used any sort of food plan. In fact, before this trip, we had only made one PS at all.......

The simplest thing that helps is to actually draw out a grid - one square for each day, lines for B,L, and D, plus a little extra space for stuff like Cirque. I don't know why,but simply having that grid (I had 2 weeks on one page, to cover our 9 days in the park - I used the blank days for other notes) made world of difference keeping things straight, which dramatically lowered the stress of planning.

Since you really only *need* to plan your TS meals, make a PS for somewhere in/near the park you want to be in each day. If you wind up park hopping, great - just plan the hopping around the PS's. Your CS meals can be gotten in whichever park you happen to be in when it's time to eat, so don't stress too much about planning around those locations, unless there is one your family HAS to go to. You can use all of your info on which-parks-which-day to decide where each day should be planned to occur, then pick a restaurant and make a PS.

As far as getting your money's worth, if you're the type to eat at TS places or, like me, want to use the plan to experience places you wouldn't pay for otherwise, you will have a hard time getting food worth less than what you're paying. Those TS meals add up quickly, so let that part of the stressing go and work with the rest of it.

Enjoy!

 

[ncbyrne]

Thanks for the post! I've used a calendar computer program and printed out a blank grid per your advice. I'm sure this will make things easier once I get started and pick which park on which day!

 

[pwcarlson]

Can I ask how much you got CS for for the 7 nites? I am trying to decide on if we can swing it this year or not. Sounds like a good deal for value but sometimes for mods and deluxes they charge alot more for the same package.

Thanks

 

[ncbyrne]

Can I ask how much you got CS for for the 7 nites? I am trying to decide on if we can swing it this year or not. Sounds like a good deal for value but sometimes for mods and deluxes they charge alot more for the same package.

Our Coronado Springs package is for 8 nights for 2 adults. We have 2 - 7 day My Way hopper tickets and 8 days of the My Way dining option. We purchased thru AAA last January. Cost was $2378. We are flying, but I booked our own flights, renting a car and did not opt for ME.

 

[pwcarlson]

Thanks for the info.



Have a wonderful, magical time. It is a fabulous resort. We love CSR. It is one of our favorites. Especially the hot tub. Enjoy!