Need help planning first trip

[klaroc2511]

Hi everyone, i need some tips and suggestions for an upcoming trip in August.This trip will be to celebrate my twins 6th bday.I am so torn on whether or not we should do a dining plan. I like the idea of not having to worry about all that money well there but dont know if the cost is worth it.we would like to do the princess breakfast (epcot), lunch at Beasts castle and possibly the mickey breakfast. We will be staying at Fort Wilderness and would maybe like to check out Mickeys backyard BBQ. can everyone give their best tips and advice ive only been to Disney once as a teenager.

 

[DizDaD7]

Hi everyone, i need some tips and suggestions for an upcoming trip in August.This trip will be to celebrate my twins 6th bday.I am so torn on whether or not we should do a dining plan. I like the idea of not having to worry about all that money well there but dont know if the cost is worth it.we would like to do the princess breakfast (epcot), lunch at Beasts castle and possibly the mickey breakfast. We will be staying at Fort Wilderness and would maybe like to check out Mickeys backyard BBQ. can everyone give their best tips and advice ive only been to Disney once as a teenager.

1st off ......... to the Disboards....
As a father of twins myself, all I can say is that it was a heck of a lot easier having the dining plan.

My Family loved the BYB a lot , my DW not so much.
BOG restaurant will be first for us this April so I can't tell you about that, but it has been getting great reviews...
Akershus is fun, and will be great for them.

Mickey breakfast I believe you're thinking of Chef Mickey.. If so it's good ,but there are better ones...
1900 Park Fare just became our favorite character breakfast this past year, followed by Tusker House in AK, & O'hana's in Polynesian.... Try these out

For your first time don't go too crazy with too much planning, relax smell the roses & Enjoy yourselves..

 

[sea nymph]

We are actually making our 1st trip in April with our 6 year old twins and wavered back and forth on the dining plan! Since this is the 1st trip and a lot of Character meals we choose the deluxe plan. It may be a bit much, but I priced out meals versus paying out of pocket and we should at least break even! good luck with your decision!

 

[marypoppinswannabe]

I am all about the Dining Plan. I have budgeted it different ways. Disney is making money off me when I use the Dining Plan, but it is worth it to me so I don't have to constantly be concerned about the food budget the whole time I am there.

If you all do not want to take the time to sit down for any meals, then get the quick service plan. If you want to do the sit down restaurants, tips are not included in the table service meals, so you will need to budget for them. Also, some table service meals are two credits, so you will want to check that out as you are making your reservations.

You may want to budget additionally for drinks to have in the park and you may want to eat breakfast in your hotel room. If you are flying, there is a delivery grocery service called Garden Grocer that will deliver to your resort. (there is another grocery delivery service, but can't remember the name.) Otherwise, you may want to bring a couple of cases of water, so you can bring everyone can bring a bottle of water into the park each day.

Our favorite sit-down restaurants:
Crystal Palace (buffet, Winnie the Pooh and Friends character meal)
Ohana (any meal is great, but they do have a character breakfast as well)
Kona

Hoop De Do Review is a good bet for kids. My niece and nephew loved it when we went.

Hope you and your family have a magical time!!

 

[4HppyCamprs]

My 2 cents. First time trip I would get the dining Plan and do as many character meals as you can fit in. These meals are higher priced and it is easier to swallow the food that is sometimes just okay when you are not paying OOP. You will see the main characters and save time. I would not recommend the Deluxe DDP unless you are going to do lots of signature restaurants or shows because you will literally spend all day eating. Each TS meal takes roughly a hour to a hour and a half. Dinner shows Even longer. You can use credits for QS in the DXDDP but unless the plan is free and your just paying for upgrade QS is not good value.

Best tip- plan your meal for the park or area you will be visiting that day. Transportation on buses is roughly 45 minutes and if you have to do two legs (park-resort-park or park-ttc-park) it will take twice as long. Check in is 15 minutes prior to ressie time so factor that time in as well.

Don't stress you will have a great time once you there

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[JimGA]

I have been with the dining plan and without the dining plan. I think the dining plan makes things sooo easy. There have been studies on the dining plan and if you were to buy the meals yourself you would save a few dollars, to me the convience of not worry about money and jusat ordering you food is worth the extra money. Check out mousesavers, good info on that site.

For us, we were able to drive to WDW, so we packed some cereals and milk for breakfast in the room, with mid morning snacks. Lunch in the parks and dinner either in the parks or at a resort.

We got the free dining offer the time we used it, so keep your eyes peeled for that offer, I do not think it usually comes available in August. Typically in Sept or October, great deal if you see if offered.

 

[Denmage]

Hi,

I can't offer any advice about the Dining Plan, because in my 15+ trips to WDW we have never used it. We are DVC members and stay in the timeshares, but have stayed in the other resorts at times. We like the flexibility of going off-site or just cooking in, so the plan never really appealed to us.

As for Mickey's Backyard BBQ, it is fun, we have gone there for Thanksgiving Dinner twice, but you might find the Hoop-Dee-Doo more entertaining and fun for all. It is a sit down dinner, as opposed to a cafeteria style meal, and being indoors is less affected by weather.

We were disappointed with the Princess Breakfast at Epcot. The Princesses were great, but the Norway food just didn't cut it. 1900 Park Fare, at the Grand Floridian, might be a better choice and has a much larger buffet.

With 6 year olds, make sure you bring strollers. You can rent them if you want to, but you can be guaranteed they will get tired. If you don't have transportation for them, you will find yourself carrying kids, backpacks, toys... just about everything you brought with you.

I hope this was helpful and have a GREAT time!

Denis

 

[3PrinceMom]

I recommend not doing the dining plan. While it's great to have everything paid prior to arrival, my kids don't eat enough to justify it. I let each of my kids pick their TS of choice....and I make reservations for one TS meal a day. I do end up canceling a few within the trip....but not the ones that require a CC hold.

Our August trip: My 11 year old chose Trail's End and my 8 year old chose CRT. We eat at our regular places every trip. Ohana, Cape may, Plaza, Capt Grill.

 

[Srbright]

I recommend not doing the dining plan. While it's great to have everything paid prior to arrival, my kids don't eat enough to justify it. I let each of my kids pick their TS of choice....and I make reservations for one TS meal a day. I do end up canceling a few within the trip....but not the ones that require a CC hold.

And I recommend getting the dining plan. You're going to get there and get sticker shock and this way its all paid up front.

Stacy

 

[Jonathan Swift]

To anyone recommending the dining plan: Have you actually priced things out? Made a rough estimate? Check out this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3050182

The only dining plan that comes close to saving money is the regular one and 98% of the time the regular dining plan is MORE expensive than paying for everything OOP. The other 2% of the time, the savings is on the order of $20 total. The deluxe and quick-serve-only plans are complete ripoffs.

I also don't agree that they make your trip easier. You're going to be scrambling at the end of your trip to try and use any unused credits.

Don't take my (or anyone else's) word on it. Download and try out that spreadsheet yourself. You'll be amazed how BAD the dining plans are.

 

[babyflo1]

My children were 5 and 7, then 7 and 9 on our two trips and we loved the dining plan both times. If you do some research and advance reservations it is worth it if you enjoy the better (more expensive) restaurants. Not signature dining, but nicer ones. Otherwise there will be sticker shock. If you are just eating at average sit downs then you are not going to save as much money. My DH insists on one nice sit down a day as a break from the chaos so it worked for us. If you are planning on mostly fast food, quick stuff, then you will come closer to breaking even.
One thing we did not factor into our planning was illness (upset stomach from heat and tiredness). Don't push the little ones too much. A break at the hotel or quiet cool restaurant was the key to combat meltdowns.

 

[Minniesgal]

We have done the dining plan once and will never ever do it again. It is way way too much food. We had credits left over even after eating more than we wanted. We did get value out of it by eating too much but would have been way happier some night just having a snack in the room.

 

[amandajune]

I've priced out all the meals we are doing- several 1-credit character meals and for myself,DH and DD4- we are ahead by using the dining plan. We are using the 1QS, 1TS and 1 snack a day. If we weren't doing the character meals- it would be a waste of money. Just our situation- definitely helps to take the time to price everything out and be realistic.

 

[delux]

I am all about the Dining Plan. I have budgeted it different ways. Disney is making money off me when I use the Dining Plan, but it is worth it to me so I don't have to constantly be concerned about the food budget the whole time I am there.

If you all do not want to take the time to sit down for any meals, then get the quick service plan. If you want to do the sit down restaurants, tips are not included in the table service meals, so you will need to budget for them. Also, some table service meals are two credits, so you will want to check that out as you are making your reservations.

You may want to budget additionally for drinks to have in the park and you may want to eat breakfast in your hotel room. If you are flying, there is a delivery grocery service called Garden Grocer that will deliver to your resort. (there is another grocery delivery service, but can't remember the name.) Otherwise, you may want to bring a couple of cases of water, so you can bring everyone can bring a bottle of water into the park each day.

Our favorite sit-down restaurants:
Crystal Palace (buffet, Winnie the Pooh and Friends character meal)
Ohana (any meal is great, but they do have a character breakfast as well)
Kona

Hoop De Do Review is a good bet for kids. My niece and nephew loved it when we went.

Hope you and your family have a magical time!!

This is good advice. When I use the dining plan I make out better because I like the sit down meals and get the most out of it. Ohana and Kona are awesome. I agree I like not having to worry about it. I use the counter service for breakfast. Usually we snack all day and dont always feel like having lunch.

 

[Jonathan Swift]

I've priced out all the meals we are doing- several 1-credit character meals and for myself,DH and DD4- we are ahead by using the dining plan. We are using the 1QS, 1TS and 1 snack a day. If we weren't doing the character meals- it would be a waste of money. Just our situation- definitely helps to take the time to price everything out and be realistic.

You should post your dining itinerary. It would be good for people to have an example of one that saves money using the DDP.

 

[DisneyFan907]

.I am so torn on whether or not we should do a dining plan. I like the idea of not having to worry about all that money well there but dont know if the cost is worth it.we would like to do the princess breakfast (epcot), lunch at Beasts castle and possibly the mickey breakfast. We will be staying at Fort Wilderness and would maybe like to check out Mickeys backyard BBQ. can everyone give their best tips and advice ive only been to Disney once as a teenager.

Go to this forum http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3050182 (if it doesn't work just search "Disney Dining Plan Calculator-Amazing Tool!!!" It will show you a video and a spreadsheet to help you decide your best option. Basically you enter your information about how many people you have and how many nights and the restaurants you are considering. At the bottom of the spreadsheet it tells you the price of each dining plan and the total amount you would pay if you opted out of the dining plan. For us not getting the dinning plan is cheaper, significantly cheaper. This will give you peace of mind, it seems pretty accurate also.

 

[MHSweb79]

I was going to recommend the dining plan, as I think it's good for first-timers. You can go to a lot of different restaurants and character meals that you may just not go to if you are paying out of pocket.

However, I noticed that you are going in August. To get anywhere near break-even with the plan, you need to use all your credits. We find in the very hot weather we have very little appetite, and can get by on much smaller meals. Many meals can be easily shared, even at TS restaurants. They will happily split it onto two plates. Don't look for sunset to cool things down- if it's 96 degrees with 98% humidity at noon, it will be maybe 94 degrees and 95% humidity at 10pm. It really saps your energy and your appetite.

Also, the dining plan includes dessert for both lunch and dinner - sound like fun, but after the first day or two I was sick of dessert. You can usually get something like a muffin or fruit tart for dessert and have them box it up, and then use them for breakfast. It's a good strategy but we threw away quite a few uneaten desserts on the last day!

Often you'll have a ton of snack credits left over too. We go to the resort gift shop and ask what we can use them for - one time I got a bunch of boxes of Mickey mac & cheese mix (think Kraft, with ears) to bring home. Sometimes you can get packets of lollipops to bring back for the class. Stuff like that.

Don't waste your credits on bottled water. You can get free cups of ice water at any CS that has fountain drinks (ice and cups, not bottles on ice). You don't have to order anything - you can just go up and ask for water.

I agree that you should price out your planned meals and see where that puts you OOP vs. the dining plan. If you think you'll find yourself ordering the most expensive entree instead of what you'd really rather eat just to get your money's worth, then maybe it's not a good investment.

 

[cajunbaby1]

I recently got an IPad and found they have a free app (shocking I know) for disneyworld. Just go to the App Store and type in Disney world and search. Look for the one thats free and you can look at maps,menus, attractions, etc. yes I know another thing to waste time on. But hey...it's disney