Never used Disney Dining

IHeartTink04

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Jun 22, 2006
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I have never used Disney Dining. I have been to Disney 5 times and have never used it. Actually, I have never even heard of it until I started coming on here. Can anyone give me a brief description of what it is? Are there any restrictions of where you can eat?
 
I have never used Disney Dining. I have been to Disney 5 times and have never used it. Actually, I have never even heard of it until I started coming on here. Can anyone give me a brief description of what it is? Are there any restrictions of where you can eat?

This is from the WDW site itself. And within that, a brochure with all of the available restaurants you can use it at.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/tickets/packageDetail?id=PackageDetailMYWDiningPkg07Page
 
Ok I have done some reading and I had another question. On a typical Disney vacation we usually eat breakfast and dinner at table service restaurants and never have used quick service, so does this mean that getting the plan would basically be pointless since it includes a counter service for every day?
 

If you will eat two ts only and no cs than I think the DDP would not be for you. You would end up wasting those cs credits and then having to pay out of pocket for the add'l table service credits. The DDP is great if you plan on eating one ts meal a day. However, if you either don't want to eat that much table service or want to eat more table service than it can give you, its not the best.

One way you could maybe save some money would be for at least one person in your party to get an annual pass. Then you could get the Disney Dining Experience Card. That card which costs about $65 will then save you 20% on all of your table service meals and your alcoholic beverages as well. With your two ts meals a day, that would be a hefty savings. Its good for as many meals as you wish to use it on for one year. And again, only one person in your family needs an AP to get this card and then save on everyone else's meal. If you plan on trips totally more than 10 days in one year an AP is a good buy even without the Disney Dining Experience card consideration. You would have to price this whole thing out, figuring if the AP would save you money overall. It takes some time but in the end you might be surprised at what that could save you on hotel and dining expenses. And if you think you might take more than one trip in a calendar year, by all means all members of your party should get an AP. It only takes about 12 days of being in the parks per year (over one or multiple trips) to make your money on the cost difference between an AP and a regular park ticket.


Good luck with your planning. Its a lot to consider and mull over!
 
Does having the annual pass get any savings on hotel?

Often they do. They have AP rate codes that they release that can add up to quite a savings. You can always book a room and then keep checking for codes to be released, then have one applied to your existing reservation. The biggest AP discount I have received was a $49 rate at Pop Century awhile back. I always book through Dreams Unlimited Travel (they sponsor the disboards and they have links you can click on for quotes). They then keep an eye out for discounts and codes so I don't have to.

Just something to think about! I just think that with eating that much table service, getting a Disney Dining Experience card could really add up for you. And you can only get that if you have an AP or are a Florida resident.
 
I think you could also look at it this way....Do you normaly have any snacks during your trip in addition to the TWO TS meals? And during ONE of those TS meals do you normaly spend about 40pp (that's including tip and tax). I know depending where you may go spending $40 each isn't hard. If you do you really wouldn't have much to loose. It also may be something to look into and trying once. I'd be more out to say if you NEVER ever eat at a TS place and ONLY did CS places that the DDP would for sure not be something that would work for you..but seeing you normally have quite a few TS meals then it just may be.

One thing...you say you "normally" have a TS breakfast and dinner...is that each and EVERY day your at Disney? On the DDP you get 1 Snack, 1 TS, and one counter service for each night your booked in a WDW resort....BUT you don't have to use each of those every day. If you want to have two TS meals one day then you can...if your someplace and only want CS meals that day then you can...just as long as you don't try and use more than your alloted.

You say you never do CS meals...do you never go to any of the bakerys or places like that? Cuz...your credits are good there as well.
 
Scapperjill brings up some really good points! And I want to add something else. On the DDP those full service meals you get are beyond belief in the amount of food you get. I know when I eat a full service meal at WDW that I am paying out of pocket for, I get an entree and dh and I may split a dessert. My kids unless its a buffet split one adult meal (they are 10 and 12) or get a kids meal. On the DDP each person gets an appetizer of their own, an entree and their own dessert plus a beverage. And my kids get the same thing because they are paying adults too and while they can order kids meals at non buffets when we pay out of pocket, on the DDP they pay for adult meals so thats what they order. And don't finish I might add! So my point is that given the amount of food the DDP provides with their table service credits, its possible you wouldn't have room for another full service meal! I do know that when I order the way I normally do, I can eat two ts meals a day. No way could I do that on the DDP.

I guess I am on the fence really given your scenario. If you would definitely not use any of those cs credits at first I couldn't see the DDP working for you. However when I read scapperjill's post I realize that even if you didn't eat the cs credits, you would possibly come out very well. Since its very easy to spend more than $38.99 per person on one meal at many WDW restaurants. So in that scenario even not using any cs credits or at least some of them would still put you ahead of the game.

And do you not eat cs because you haven't found any you like? Or because you just don't want to eat that in addtion to your two ts meals? Because there really are a lot of good cs places at WDW, at Epcot and DTD in particular. And you get a ton of food with those cs credits too. Combo meal, drink and dessert for each person. And then the snacks too! Honestly, I am a big eater and so is my husband. And we could seldom finish our meals and came home a few pounds heavier!
 
On the DDP those full service meals you get are beyond belief in the amount of food you get.
Not any more. Many of the restaurants are now serving more reasonable (smaller) portions. We noticed this at 50s Prime Time and Spoodles. Unlike prior visits, there were a lot of empty plates around the table this time. (This was in February, this year.)
 
Not any more. Many of the restaurants are now serving more reasonable (smaller) portions. We noticed this at 50s Prime Time and Spoodles. Unlike prior visits, there were a lot of empty plates around the table this time. (This was in February, this year.)

Well frankly I think that is a good thing! We went in December and let me tell you my husband and I are big eaters. I had been faithfully doing Weight Watchers and was down 25 pounds so this was my "week at the fair" so to speak. I couldn't even come close. Wolfgang Puck's was the most insane portions wise. But then again, two of our "adult" party of four were kids, 10 and 12. So that further made me feel like we were either wasting food or only ordering about half what we could. It was still a wonderful deal and I had no complaints, I just had to pace myself and order accordingly. I guess they realized they were throwing out a lot of food and made a good change!
 
Thank you all for your help. It really helps a lot! I have a decision to make before my next trip!
 












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