New and planning first big vacation

[DisneyFreak490]

Hello, I am new here and I have a few questions. We are planning our first trip to walt disney world in August 2008. It is a little early to start planning but we just want to be prepaired for our first big trip. I have 2 question

1. Should we rent a car? Is there a long way between disney land parks (like between animal kingdom and Epcot) Sorry if this is kind of stupid but we have just started researching and we have never done this before.

2. Is the meal plan really worth it? I heard someone else say that they didnt eat half of what was given to them. Is it worth it or should we just buy as we go?

We are a family of 4 and we are planning a 6-7 day trip

Any advice is great

Thank you!

 

[DizneyNutz]

But in OUR honest opinion, if you have a rental car you can tremendously save on eating IF you are not extravagent diners. We do some dining onsite, when it suits us but the dining plan is not for us. I am sure there are many different perspectives on this issue. It really depends on your familly preferences. We stay onsite, but don't eat enough to dictate the dining plan for us. There is about anything you want to eat within a couple of miles of WDW at the standard price for that restaraunt. Dining is not one of OUR priorities, but we generally have a couple of dinners onsite. We typically are not breakfast eaters and do lunch in the parks, but often plan an early supper offsite. I will be glad to send a map of Disney Property and explain our offsite choices with directions if interested. Just PM us. We just don't find the dining plan fits US. Just not sure of your dining needs? There is a Golden Corral and Shoneys within 2 miles that have buffet that allows everyone in your party some different choices and also a McDonalds. Hope this helps

 

[ransom]

The distances between parks are generally not walkable. You could walk between Epcot and MGM (there's even a path between them), but it'd be quite a hike. As for getting to Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom by walking, I wouldn't even think of trying it.

Most people use the free Disney transportation system to get between the parks, and between the resorts and the parks. They run busses between the parks, plus some resorts offer boat service to certain parks, and some resorts offer monorail service to the Magic Kingdom and (with a transfer) to Epcot. It's pretty convenient, but you might have to wait up to 20 minutes for a bus or boat (if you just missed the last one).

Some people find it to be more convenient to use a rental car to get around. It certainly is speedier, on average. You'll be parked much further from the parks than you would be let off by Disney transportation (especially Magic Kingdom, where you're parking all the way across a lake from the park, and then either take the monorail or a ferry across). Once you park, you'll probably have to take a tram to the entrance. But getting from one parking spot to another is, of course, much quicker than taking a bus. And then there's the option of easily going off-site to eat.

If you're staying on site, many folks figure getting a rental car is not worth it. Some find it to be very worth while. I guess it depends on your style, your available cash, and whether you plan to eat on site.

As for the meal plan, it's generally considered worth while if you plan to eat at a table service restaurant for dinner every day, and eat lunch as well as that dinner on-site. If so, since it includes tax and tip, you can save about 40% on the total cost of your lunch, dinner, and a snack. (You can go to allearsnet.com and check out their Disney World menus, add up what you'd spend on a counter service lunch (one entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage per person) and a table service dinner (one appetizer, entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage per person) and one snack per person, then add tip and tax, and figure out if the daily cost of the dining plan is worth it for you.)

If you plan to eat counter service meals for both lunch and dinner, then the dining plan will not be such a good deal. And, of course, if you plan to eat off site, then it's a waste of money.

Enjoy your planning!

 

[Marion]

How reasonable is it to just go without making any dining reservations at all? For instance, during a quieter time of the year (Sept/Oct) would it be possible to make a dining reservation same day or just a day or two in advance? I guess I'm having trouble with the whole idea of trying to decide, never having seen the places, months ahead of time

 

[Minniespal]

 

[DisneyFreak490]

Thanks to everyone who replied! DisneyNutz its says I have to have 6 posts before I can pm anyone so I will try to get those 6 posts. For some reason we didnt even think about the fast food option. But we have decided to use the meal plan because my sister says she wants real meals when she goes on vacation I would be fine either way. And about the car thing, we dont think we want to rent a car but we do want to be able to get to a store. hm.

Also I think we have decided on August 11 - 19 I think. Is that a good date?


How many months in advance should we make reservations?

thanks!

 

[sandshaker]

It will be very busy and very HOT at that time. If you don't mind that, then go for it.

Another option on the food is to prepare some yourself. We go to WDW several times a year. Our favorite place to stay is in the cabins at Fort Wilderness. I fix breakfast while everyone else is getting ready. Sometimes I put things in the crockpot for dinner. Housekeeping comes and does all the dishes/cleanup. We save money and get a few home-cooked meals.

We are a family of 5 (the cabins sleep up to six) and we get a lot more space than in a standard room.

 

[beachgrl001]

How reasonable is it to just go without making any dining reservations at all? For instance, during a quieter time of the year (Sept/Oct) would it be possible to make a dining reservation same day or just a day or two in advance? I guess I'm having trouble with the whole idea of trying to decide, never having seen the places, months ahead of time

I can only tell you my experience with that For our stay last Sept. (3-12th)
I called in the mornings to make dinner ressies for that night and I wasn't turned away.(I always had a back up resturant We went to Donalds breakfastasaurus, Garden grill, sci-fi, 50's prime time, and crystal palace. I was even able to get in to Cindy's royal table, but turned it down when I found out the $$$ If I had 2 girls instead of boys I would have paid the $$$. I asked for the time I wanted ex: 7:00 and was offered a 7:15 or 6:30. Which was fine with me. This time I will probably make ressies ahead of time since I have been obsessing on the DIS over our upcomming trip since I got back from the last.
to the DIS

 

[DisneyFreak490]

Thanks again for more replies. I feel stupid asking so many questions lol. Umm..So whats the best month to go? We all have work and my sister has college so we are trying to find a good time for everyone. So when having the meal plan you have to pick the resturant at the resort and make reservations? Does the meal plan pay for your food or do you have to pay extra? Sorry I am a little confused.

Also I think we have decided on the all star movie resort

Thanks again for all the help

 

[ransom]

Thanks again for more replies. I feel stupid asking so many questions lol. Umm..So whats the best month to go? We all have work and my sister has college so we are trying to find a good time for everyone. So when having the meal plan you have to pick the resturant at the resort and make reservations? Does the meal plan pay for your food or do you have to pay extra? Sorry I am a little confused.

Also I think we have decided on the all star movie resort

Thanks again for all the help

Don't feel stupid! Everyone else here had to learn this stuff at one time, too!

Best month to go: Anytime that kids are in school is better than anytime they're not. The worst time to go is the week between Christmas day and New Years Day, followed closely by any other holiday period, then by the traditional summer and spring school breaks. If you absolutely have to go when school is out, pick the weather you'd prefer and come up with a good touring plan (which can help you go where the crowds aren't at any given minute; touring plans are available from the pay service tourguidemike.com and in the book Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, among other places. Both also offer "crowd calendars" that give you more detail about when to visit WDW).

Disney Dining Plan: The way this works is you pay just short of $40 per person per night in advance. When you arrive, you get one table service credit, one counter service credit, and one snack credit per person per night. When you use those credits, there is no additional charge.

So you could, for example, get a box of popcorn for one snack credit, and no money would change hands when you get the popcorn (you already paid for it with the ~$40). One snack credit would be deducted from your account, though.

Similarly, you might stop at a counter service restaurant for lunch and get a BBQ beef sandwich with fries (entree), cheesecake (dessert), and a coke (non-alcoholic beverage), and you'd pay no money, just one "counter service credit."

Finally, you might go to a sit-down restaurant for dinner, and order a bowl of portabello mushroom soup (appetizer), grilled filet mignon with mashed potatoes and broccoli (entree), berry cobbler (dessert), and a glass of coca-cola, and no money would change hands. You'd just have a "table service credit" deducted from your account.

Note that all of these transactions included tax and tip, where applicable. That is, the credits include payment to the state for sales tax, and to the server for an 18% tip, where necessary. So you're 100% in the free and clear (unless you want to tip extra for exceptional service).

So, in this example, you got quite a lot of food - popcorn, BBQ beef sandwich, fries, cheesecake, soup, a nice steak and sides, berry cobbler, and your drinks, including tax and tip - all for less than $40. That ain't bad!

Making reservations (or as they're known in Disney World, Advanced Dining Reservations - ADRs): If you want to eat at sit-down restaurants in Disney World, it's strongly recommended that you make your reservations in advance. Particularly during busy times, it can be very difficult to get a reservation *anywhere* on the same day.

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if I'm not explaining it well enough!

 

[DisneyFreak490]

Ransom you explained it perfect, thank you so much! Theres only one question I have, can you use your credits at any resturant at disney world or does it have to be around your hotel or something?


Thank - you again!

 

[Marion]

Ransom that was a great description. I too have many of these same questions so I'm just going to oh so subtley slip mine in here Mine is with these credits, do you have to use one snack, table service and one counter service credit every day or lose them, or are you using them from a 'credit pool' for the length of your stay? Also, what if it turns out you're using counter service more than expected... can you redeem a table service credit for counter service rather than risk losing the credit completely? (hope that made sense)

 

[Tracie]

You can eat at resturants in the parks or at the resorts. There are some that do not accept the dinding plan like Rain Forest Cafe at the Animal Kingdom. Go over to the dining board, there is a lot of information on the plan over there.

 

[S.Poppins]

How reasonable is it to just go without making any dining reservations at all? For instance, during a quieter time of the year (Sept/Oct) would it be possible to make a dining reservation same day or just a day or two in advance? I guess I'm having trouble with the whole idea of trying to decide, never having seen the places, months ahead of time

I would make reservations. We went at a low time in January and saw several walk-ups turned away. Of course, for us making the reservations is half the fun!

On the dining plan, we love it. When you book the whole package, room, tickets and dining, it allows you to make monthly payments on the whole thing. So by the time we arrive at WDW we don't even half to think about it. It is so nice to go to a meal and just order what you want. There were a few counter service meals where we split and just used our CS credits on our last day.

If it helps, you can click on the link to my dining review in my signature. It will tell you how we used all of our credits and you can see what the food is like. There are a lot of pics and descriptions, so it may help you pick some places to eat. I based our choices on all the reviews here. When I make my reservations the CM said she could tell I had done my research because we picked great places.

 

[S.Poppins]

If you go to the WDW website, you can print the brochure that tells you which restaurants participate in the plan. It is almost all of the in the parks, resorts, and Downtown Disney.

Marion, the credits are pooled together. You can use as many or as few as you want in a day. There are some TS that cost 2 TS credits (signature dining). As far as trading a TS for a CS, I know they did this some during free dining because the restaurants were full. I think 1 TS could be traded for a CS and 1 or 2 snacks? You would have to ask about this one, seems like it would be a good thing for them but I am not sure.

 

[DisneyFreak490]

All you guys are really helpful to me. But I still got a few questions lol. You say something about monthly paying on packages? I dont mean to be in your bussiness but what is the average amount you pay monthly? and how many months?

And can you go to the more expensive resturants places when you buy the dining package?

Thanks!

 

[Marion]

Stacey... all I can say is wow.... I think I want to hire you to plan our meal itinerary! The whole idea of making these advance reservations intimidates the heck out of me... and you love it! Perfect match! Seriously though, thank you for directing me to that report. I'll read through some more and hopefully we can pull things together and make some decisions.

Last question from me and then I'll quit hijacking poor DisneyFreak's thread. How does the reservation system work... do I call each place or is there a central number and I can make my requests all at once? (I like to be organized but I HATE phoning strangers. It's a weird phobia but I live with it )

 

[karibritt01]

Marion... you call (407) WDW-DINE to make all of your ADRs. You can look up menus on www.allearsnet.com to figure out which restaurants interest you. ADRs can be made 180 days from your check-in date.

Disneyfreak... yes, DDP allows you to eat at the more expensive restaurants, as well as the dinner shows. Just be sure to check the dining info on Disney's website, as some of those will cost 2 TS credits. Ransom mentioned that DDP is around $40/day, but if you have kids under 9, it is only $11/day for them. Also, just to clarify, you can eat any ANY resort - not just yours. We stay at Coronado Springs, but have eaten at Fort Wilderness, Poly, and Contemporary. TS credits are also good for the character meals.

 

[ransom]

All you guys are really helpful to me. But I still got a few questions lol. You say something about monthly paying on packages? I dont mean to be in your bussiness but what is the average amount you pay monthly? and how many months?

And can you go to the more expensive resturants places when you buy the dining package?

Thanks!

Hi DisneyFreak!

When you sign up for a package, you get 14 days to pay the deposit of $200. The remaining balance must be paid no later than 45 days prior to the first day of your reservation. (Naturally, if you're making a reservation for less than 45 days away, you'll have to pay the whole thing right away.)

A lot of folks like to pay off their package on a monthly basis by calling Disney or their travel agent and paying X dollars. Others just wait until it's all due and pay it off then. It's up to you!

As for eating at expensive places...you can do it, but they usually "cost" two table service credits. Cinderella's Royal Table is that way, as is Artist Point and California Grill. There are others, listed in the table on the page I reference below.

Oh, and dining credits can be used at any of ..what, 100?...restaurants on site. There are a few locations that don't take them, but they're not many. Here's a page listing all the participants (you have to scroll down a bit): http://www.wdwinfo.com/MagicYourWaydining.htm (All the places in the "signature restaurants" column of that table require 2 table service credits, incidentally.)

Last question from me and then I'll quit hijacking poor DisneyFreak's thread. How does the reservation system work... do I call each place or is there a central number and I can make my requests all at once? (I like to be organized but I HATE phoning strangers. It's a weird phobia but I live with it )

Hi Marion,

There's a central reservation center. It's at 1-407-WDW-DINE. They'll take care o' ya!

(I don't like phoning strangers, either, by the way!)

 

[DisneyFreak490]

So now we are sort of leaning toward going in a different month . It would have to be either late may- like may26 or june or august. Which month in your opinion is the best? If we went in june it would probably be the first week and if we went in august it would be from the 11th to the 19th

Thanks