MYW dining plan

[jkh1978]

Is the dining plan a good idea? Will it be offered for free in January?

 

[aubriee]

Is the dining plan a good idea? Will it be offered for free in January?

The free dining plan is wonderful! We just got back this past Saturday. We were there Sept 17th-Sept 24th. When I got home I figured our receipts. For four adults we spent $1540.00 (including four refillable mugs). We paid $140.64 out of pocket for things like margaritas, German beer, French pastries, and Dole Whips. Which means we got $1399.36 worth of food free. I have an Annual Pass, but the rest of my family do not. So to get the free dining we had to give up the AP discount on the room and I round up buying a 7 day MYW ticket with pluses (that I plan to use next year after my AP expires). I really only had to buy us all one day base MYW tickets then upgrade theirs when we got there, but decided to go ahead and buy my ticket for next spring since I don't plan on renewing my AP.

The dining plan includes tax and 15%-18% tips. It includes a counter service meal/day, a table service meal/day, and a snack every day. At the end of the week we had four CS and 15 snacks left over that we either ate on the plane ride home or brought home. It was great having everything paid for ahead of time and not having to worry about money for meals.

I'm going back in Dec but due to using the AP Best Rate Plan for our room, can not get the dining plan. However, when I go back next spring you better believe I'm buying the dining plan. We loved it. I'll probably be taking my 9 y/o GD with me and there is no way I could feed her for $11.99/day, plus she loves the character meals and I love Le Cellier and Marrakesh, so we would definitely get our money's worth out of the TS.

As far as it being available free in January, I seriously doubt it. Supposedly the only reason it was free now is because WDW is trying to draw people in during hurricane season. I would still buy it though. JMHO!

 

[kennezgirl]

We have this dining plan & it wasn't free. It's around 30 something per day, per adult. The kids prices were lower. It is costing us over a thousand dollars and we're still wondering if we are wasting our money.

 

[Nancyg56]

We have this dining plan & it wasn't free. It's around 30 something per day, per adult. The kids prices were lower. It is costing us over a thousand dollars and we're still wondering if we are wasting our money.

We have paid for the plan for our Jan trip. We feel that even with the cost of apx $1300 for all of us we will still be ahead of the game. We like at least one full meal while on vacation and always have lunch as well. (I am the cook at home and refuse to have anything to do with meal prep while on a rare vacation.) Check out the menus as well as the prices to determine if this works for your family. http://allearsnet.com/index.html

 

[kmebee]

We will be using the dining plan in 10 days and we feel that even having to pay $35 per day per person we are ahead of the game. I don't think that you can eat at WDW for less than $35 per day unless you plan to drive, take stuff with you and eat in your room alot. We like a sit down meal per day and those alone will run you more than $35.

 

[brymolmom]

Got back a few weeks ago - it was me, dh, ds(3) and dd(2). We got the free dining (which was the main reason for the trip) for 3 of us (dd didn't have a purchased ticket cuz she's free so she didn't get the meal plan). Anyway- we thought that free it was an INCREDIBLE deal. But the question is whether or not I will purchase it for our next visit - I'm still up in the air.

First of all - it is a LOT of food - way more than we really needed. Which leads me to believe that some of the cash is wasted. Yes- we could use up $35 per person per day by eating at pricier places, but with two little ones we stuck to character meals mostly (granted - these are expensive if paying - so we certainly got our money's worth). But on a normal, budget-conscious trip - we bring a lot of food - breakfast, snacks, drinks. And usually get a frig and make a trip to the store for lunch foods. This way we actually purchase one meal a day at the parks, plus a few special treats, plus one or two character meals. Would we be saving money doing it this way or paying for the meal plan? It's a toss up. I say take a look at the restaurants you where you want to eat, make a list and see if you'll be spending the price for the meal plan to eat at these places anyway. If you're even close- go for the meal plan.

In my situation it would actually work best for my family if we were allowed to purchase the meal plan for 2 of us. As many have said, we split a lot of meals and still had enough food - so that would be perfect. Not sure if they let you purchase for some, but not all, in the party.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[crow11ad]

We think it's a good idea and can't wait to use it in October. I look at this way. One day we are doing Donalds for breakfast. That is 36 doallars already. That night we are doing Ohannas and that will cost about 80.00. Already we saved. Together that is 116 and subtract the 35.00 a day it cost= 46.00 we saved in just that one day for 2 meals not including any snacks or counter service meals.There is just 2 of us going and we think it is a great deal.

 

[nowellsl]

We think it's a good idea and can't wait to use it in October. I look at this way. One day we are doing Donalds for breakfast. That is 36 doallars already. That night we are doing Ohannas and that will cost about 80.00. Already we saved. Together that is 116 and subtract the 35.00 a day it cost= 46.00 we saved in just that one day for 2 meals not including any snacks or counter service meals.There is just 2 of us going and we think it is a great deal.

Your figure is high for Ohana's. We ate there last weekend and it only came to around $88.00 for 3 adults on the dining plan. It's still a good deal if you eat at sit down resturants. It's a TON of food!

 

[jordancej]

We will be using the dining plan for our Dec. trip. I think its worth it because we would never eat in these restaurants without it.... way to expensive. So for $35 a day... i think its pretty good deal.

ADR's are for:

Mama Melrose
Crystal Palace
1900 Parkfair Breakfast
Marrekesh
CRT - Lunch

 

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

I had the free dining plan and it was amazing! I ate in places I normally didn't and had a blast! It was wonderful and I'm sure the other DISr's who participated in it would agree with me!

YUM!

 

[eeyore7567]

The dining plan is only as good as you want to make it. If you like to have nice sit down dinners and experiment with different foods, then the plan might be worth it for you.

We initially had a AAA rate at CSR but with the "free dining plan" it cost us $30.00 more per day for the both of us total. It was a no brainer for us.

My wife and I love food; So dinners at the Biergarten, Artist Point and Flying Fish were things we would normally do.

On average, the snack costs $2.50, a counter service lunch costs about $12.50 (and this includes a large beverage and a dessert.) and non-signiture sit down dinners run about $30.00 (with an appetizer, entree, dessert and beverage.) I'm all about appetizers and desserts. But as said above, it is a lot of food. If you choose not to get desserts or appetizers on your own, you will save money here and there.

So basically, you have the potential of ordering around $45.00 worth of meals and only pay $35.00 for it.

If I had to pay full price, I'm not sure if I would do it or not. Again...it depends on what kind of sit down places you like to go. If you like to eat and explore places you might not do normally, then go for it. Here is a website that maximizes the meal plan: http://mousesaver.com/diningplantips.html

Happy Eating!

 

[indigoxtreme]

We had originally paid for the dining plan and then the free one came along. I had already figured ut that at 35 per day per personit was a deal. We have never eaten at a sit down restuarant at WDW due to cost. We had a blast and even if we had to pay for it, we more than got our money worth. I also like the fact that everything is paid for, except a few minor expenditures for occassional things like dolewhips. My hubby and I are going back in February for our 30th anniv. I asked DH if he wanted the dining plan and he looked at me like I had lostit. "How can we eat for 30.00's a day at WDW, and havegood meals without the plan?" So we have the plan for which we are paying I think it is 38 per day in 2006, still worth it since it includes tqax and gratiuity. By the way we had such wonderful service that we always added an extra 5% to our tab, I usually leave 20% for good service so I felt I should leave the extra at WDW as well.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I actually hope the MYW isn't free in Jan, since we are going then and are DVC and AP (with DDE). I think the free plan really fills up the TS places and I don't need that (since I can't benifit from it.)

But that is just me being selfish.

 

[Camping Griswalds]

So in 2006, what is the actual price including tax (not tax on the food, tax on the plan) for adults and kids per day? I've seen $35, and $38 quoted on these boards. I don't know if that means $35 plus tax or $38 including tax, or etc. Please let me know...Thanks

 

[Nancyg56]

So in 2006, what is the actual price including tax (not tax on the food, tax on the plan) for adults and kids per day? I've seen $35, and $38 quoted on these boards. I don't know if that means $35 plus tax or $38 including tax, or etc. Please let me know...Thanks

We paid $38 with the tax. Hope it's free in January...not getting my hopes up but it would be such a nice little bonus.

 

[RIDisneyFan]

We just got back and had the free dining plan. We loved it and will pay for it the next time we go. We coud eat cheaper, but we had much better meals on the plan. We would not normally have gone to Concourse Steakhouse, Bomas, and the Grand Floridian Cafe; since we had the plan we did eat at these places and had great meals at each one. And I really like the idea of having all our food paid for before we leave, helps a lot with our budget.

 

[aterriq]

family was there after labor day. when we checked out we had a bill which listed all of our dining and snacks. I learned something about the snacks. You need to ask what qualifies. Found out at the end of our trip that we could have gotten the Quik milk drinks(chocolate or strawberry milk) as a snack at our hotel. This would have been great for us since we had a fridge in the room. Our twin DDs(7) would have enjoyed the milk at night or in the morning.

 

[deltachi8]

We just got back and had the free dining plan. We loved it and will pay for it the next time we go. We coud eat cheaper, but we had much better meals on the plan. We would not normally have gone to Concourse Steakhouse, Bomas, and the Grand Floridian Cafe; since we had the plan we did eat at these places and had great meals at each one. And I really like the idea of having all our food paid for before we leave, helps a lot with our budget.

I agree. We enjoyed the plan and original viewed it as a one time only type of treat as it was free. It convinced us to stay on site rather than off as we usually do.

Now, I am planning the trip for next August and rough budgets show it to be more expensive with the plan and on site, but I think it is worth the extra $$.

Disney did a fabulous job in the marketing department on this one. I think we will not be th eonly ones who will return and not only pay for the meal plan, but now stay on site whereas we wouldbe offsite in the past.

 

[Brygida]

We had the *free* dining plan too. The only problem I found was settling for 1 credit table service restaurants when we would have normally eaten at 2 credit "signature" restaurants.

Brygida

 

[eeyore7567]

Just because there was free dining didn't mean you shouldn't have paid a little extra for nicer dinners. We used our Table Service credits for Biergarten, Flying Fish and Artist Point. Therefore we paid full price for Whispering Canyon. The dining plan worked for as much as it could. I would have eaten at these places whether I was on the plan or not. So either way I would be paying a little more...but I got a little more in quality of dining experience.