*** Official November 2018 Thread - It's Turkey Lurkey Time! ***

[SLim501]

20 days for us!

My TA (aka my sister) gently suggested again that we consider the standard dining plan as I've made table service reservations for every day we are there. It's about $300 more a day and while I think we could easily get there and use it to our advantage, I'm having a hard time convincing my husband that it would be worth it. Our original plan was to do one sit down meal a day, and order a grocery delivery on our first day and do our own breakfasts and snacks the rest of the week (fresh fruit, coffee, granola bars, that type of thing). But I can see us giving in and getting treats and other foods for the kids once we are actually in the parks.

Anyone want too share personal opinions or experiences about getting the dining plan or skipping it? I'm starting too second guess everything now that we are so close!

We did the dining plan once. We found it to be way too much food. We did 1 table service each day. We had several character meals and even with that, I don't think it was worth it for us. We had a ton of snack credits leftover at the end and 2 QS meals. With the dining plan, my family of 3 got 6 snacks per day. We each maybe had one and then ended up using them on drinks because they would go to waste otherwise.

We may have broken even, but I doubt it.

This time we are paying out of pocket and I am sure it will be a better value.

 

[MickyHuman]

Thanks for the responses! I appreciate the feedback. I think I’ve talked myself out of the dining plan as quickly as I talked myself into it!

I tried to go through the week and guess at what we’d order if we had the dining plan but got overwhelmed and gave up after doing 3 days, haha.

I was thinking that maybe my kids wouldn’t be begging for souvenirs but they’re not unicorns so they probably will be. And let’s be honest, I’ll probably be the one wanting to buy everything! We will likely just stick to our original plan.

 

[Rach3975]

20 days for us!

My TA (aka my sister) gently suggested again that we consider the standard dining plan as I've made table service reservations for every day we are there. It's about $300 more a day and while I think we could easily get there and use it to our advantage, I'm having a hard time convincing my husband that it would be worth it. Our original plan was to do one sit down meal a day, and order a grocery delivery on our first day and do our own breakfasts and snacks the rest of the week (fresh fruit, coffee, granola bars, that type of thing). But I can see us giving in and getting treats and other foods for the kids once we are actually in the parks.

Anyone want too share personal opinions or experiences about getting the dining plan or skipping it? I'm starting too second guess everything now that we are so close!

DH and I disagree about the dining plan, too. I think we'd save money not getting it, but he really likes the all inclusive feel and the freedom to order whatever we want (within the plan) without caring what it will cost. We got it and liked it on our first trip, and we have it on our Nov. trip, too. At the end of the day I think we spend a little more with the plan, but not so much that it's worth making an issue of it between us. We both know that if we didn't have the dining plan we'd pass on the more expensive entrees, drink only water, and limit the kids' treats and snack a lot more. So since we don't take a big vacation like this often, we're basically making the choice to enjoy it and splurge on the food, knowing that we could do it cheaper if we really wanted to.

I often see people complaining about the snack credits, but I don't think we'll have any trouble using ours. (We didn't the first time, but since then they've replaced the QS dessert with a second snack credit.) We eat a small, early breakfast in the room (7 am), so by 10 or 11 we're ready for a snack. Most of our lunch reservations are TS around 1, which is later than the kids are used to eating. Dinner will be QS around 6 or 7. The 2nd snack credit for each day will be used in a variety of ways--some will be spent at Food and Wine on our Epcot day, others may be used to add a dessert or appetizer to our QS dinners, and some may be afternoon snacks on the days that we have a later dinner. Some of this probably depends on who's in your group. Our kids are 15, 12, and 9 and eat adult sized meals. (The youngest is about 6 weeks shy of turning 10, but we're paying for her to have the adult dining plan this trip since she found the kids' choices boring when she was 7. She's the most adventurous eater of our 3--if the oldest could get adult sized portions of the kids meals, he'd be all over that!)

 

[ariane37]

10 days out! No time to fool around. Of course I decided that I don't like some of the outfits I had planned for the cruise and ordered more stuff on Sunday. Also realized that I never bought brown sandals so I ordered a pair yesterday. Let's hope everything is shipped quickly. Nothing like waiting till the last minute. DD has 3 hours of dance and acro classes tonight and I am making myself get stuff done during that time.

I have a bit more time than you, but I still have no idea what I'm packing or if I want/need to buy or order anything! Happens every time......

Because I'm crazy, an opening came up this morning for our last 2 nights at BLT, so now for our 5 night stay we're doing a split stay. First 3 nights at OKW, last 2 nights at BLT. It'll be worth it though because our last two nights we'll be at MVMCP and DAH.

That's awesome! We did a split stay once when we only had 5 nights; 3 at AKL and then 2 at Poly. We didn't have the kids and it was fine

 

[areno79]

I have a bit more time than you, but I still have no idea what I'm packing or if I want/need to buy or order anything! Happens every time......


That's awesome! We did a split stay once when we only had 5 nights; 3 at AKL and then 2 at Poly. We didn't have the kids and it was fine

We did it during our 9 nights stay and it was made worse because I had a billion suitcases.
Oh, and I was just able to snag another night at BLT (yay!) so now we'll do 2 nights at OKW and 3 at BLT. That makes me feel a little better. I'm mostly worried about how my MIL will adapt since she is very much into routine and isn't well travelled whatsoever. She seems excited to try out more than one "motel" as she calls them though.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

EMM at TSL is now available to book for 11/5.

 

[ariane37]

. She seems excited to try out more than one "motel" as she calls them though.

Can't wait to hear what she thinks of Disney's "motels" lol

 

[areno79]

Can't wait to hear what she thinks of Disney's "motels" lol

She also calls it "Waltz" Disney World, so....this trip is an exercise in patience and restraint for me.

 

[dnllmz]

I have a bit more time than you, but I still have no idea what I'm packing or if I want/need to buy or order anything! Happens every time......


That's awesome! We did a split stay once when we only had 5 nights; 3 at AKL and then 2 at Poly. We didn't have the kids and it was fine

My hubby has already started the "When are you going to pack" questioning. Duh if we are leaving at 4am on a Saturday then I'm packing the Friday night before. lol That drives him crazy. He likes to do his packing at least a week ahead. He thinks that if I wait to the last minute that I'll more likely forget something. But I'm usually pretty good plus I use a list.

All of my orders have been shipped and all of the tracking has them arriving at least 2 days before we leave so I'm golden.

We did it during our 9 nights stay and it was made worse because I had a billion suitcases.
Oh, and I was just able to snag another night at BLT (yay!) so now we'll do 2 nights at OKW and 3 at BLT. That makes me feel a little better. I'm mostly worried about how my MIL will adapt since she is very much into routine and isn't well travelled whatsoever. She seems excited to try out more than one "motel" as she calls them though.

That's so funny! It reminds me of how my grandmother says dungarees instead of jeans.

We've only done split stays where it wasn't really split stay. Like the first night at POP and then we moved to another resort for the rest of the trip. We are talking about doing a 9 night with a split stay between WL and BC next year. Your suitcase comment made me think it might be more of a pain than it's worth. I just want to try both resorts so bad.

She also calls it "Waltz" Disney World, so....this trip is an exercise in patience and restraint for me.

Lol I hope you're a drinker!

 

[gulliesmom]

For those who will be there on Thanksgiving, where is everyone eating their big meal of the day? We have ADR at 6pm at Boma. Thursday is our "resort day" so we will spend the day enjoying the resort, maybe resort hop a bit and enjoy the decorations, etc. If we have time, maybe go to Disney Springs.

 

[SLim501]

She also calls it "Waltz" Disney World, so....this trip is an exercise in patience and restraint for me.

I could never go with my inlaws. We went away with them for a long weekend and the whole time they were worried about how much everything cost (we were paying). They would load up on the free breakfast at the hotel, refuse to eat lunch and then try to share a dinner. They would get mad when my husband would order a second meal for them. They would die of sticker shock if we took them to Disney.

We have taken them on a cruise, which was much better because everything was included. Plus, there are more places to hide on a cruise.

 

[NinjaCat]

EMM at TSL is now available to book for 11/5.

We booked EMM for Toy Story Land on 11/5. My boys decided they preferred this than the one at Magic Kingdom. I'm excited to go and check out the new land with less crowds.

 

[kpd6901]

For those who will be there on Thanksgiving, where is everyone eating their big meal of the day? We have ADR at 6pm at Boma. Thursday is our "resort day" so we will spend the day enjoying the resort, maybe resort hop a bit and enjoy the decorations, etc. If we have time, maybe go to Disney Springs.

We are flying in on Thanksgiving morning, arriving before 9am. My parents will be down there ahead of us for three days off site. I still have no clue why. Regardless, we are eating Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Actually, we currently have 2 ADRs for all 7 of us, one at 2:30 and the other at 5. My folks and my middle DS9 will go on the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Dessert Cruise later that evening. We would prefer to have the earlier ADR so that there is plenty of time to digest the big meal prior to the dessert cruise, but since we are flying out of the northeast, we will wait till we have a more firm grasp of the weather situation before we cancel the appropriate ADR the day or so before leaving.

 

[dnllmz]

We have taken them on a cruise, which was much better because everything was included. Plus, there are more places to hide on a cruise.

That's good to know because I'm cruising with my inlaws. It should be fine. It's not my father and my mother in law that I'm worried about. My sister in law's family is going and sometimes my son and her son fight. Just typical 8yo boy stuff but not something I want to deal with on vacation. They are usually good when it's just them and not any outside friends. They are close so it's more like brothers bickering and you know how that is. We can always throw them in the kids club and go to the bar.

 

[cindilouwho76]

For those who will be there on Thanksgiving, where is everyone eating their big meal of the day? We have ADR at 6pm at Boma. Thursday is our "resort day" so we will spend the day enjoying the resort, maybe resort hop a bit and enjoy the decorations, etc. If we have time, maybe go to Disney Springs.

On Thanksgiving we are going to HS. We have a dinner ADR for Sci-Fi that evening. Our resort day is the day before, so we should be relaxed for the crazy busy day at HS!

 

[gulliesmom]

We are flying in on Thanksgiving morning, arriving before 9am. My parents will be down there ahead of us for three days off site. I still have no clue why. Regardless, we are eating Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Actually, we currently have 2 ADRs for all 7 of us, one at 2:30 and the other at 5. My folks and my middle DS9 will go on the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Dessert Cruise later that evening. We would prefer to have the earlier ADR so that there is plenty of time to digest the big meal prior to the dessert cruise, but since we are flying out of the northeast, we will wait till we have a more firm grasp of the weather situation before we cancel the appropriate ADR the day or so before leaving.

We're coming from Boston- didn't think about weather and hope it's not an issues. As it is, we are expecting a Nor'Easter this weekend- thankfully just rain.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We're coming from Boston- didn't think about weather and hope it's not an issues. As it is, we are expecting a Nor'Easter this weekend- thankfully just rain.

I'm flying out of PHL and heard Nor'Easter on the news this morning and almost panicked thinking it was next week. "Luckily" it's this weekend. But it's still showing rain here next Friday and we fly out Friday at 6 am. I had a horrible flight delay last trip due to mechanical failure...12 hour delay!!! I'm hoping for better luck this time.

 

[JJ2017]

Last time we went to Disney in April we took the last flight of the night. It was SOOOOOOOOOO delayed and we finally got to our room at 3:30 am. The following day was our AK/EP day, followed by the next day being a resort day. We flip flopped the days, cancelled all ADRs and FPs. And we still accomplished everything we wanted to. But, this was an adults trip - no kids. I'm panicking this will happen to us this trip since we are taking a late flight again - and have the kids with us. FINGERS CROSSED for all on time travels!

 

[ariane37]

That's so funny! It reminds me of how my grandmother says dungarees instead of jeans.

My Grams used to say dungarees, too

For those who will be there on Thanksgiving, where is everyone eating their big meal of the day? We have ADR at 6pm at Boma. Thursday is our "resort day" so we will spend the day enjoying the resort, maybe resort hop a bit and enjoy the decorations, etc. If we have time, maybe go to Disney Springs.

We're sleeping in on Thanksgiving, possibly going over to AoA to do the drawing class if anyone else wants to. We're eating at Boma at 3 (so we'll miss you by a bit!) and then going to AK. Last time we were in Disney for Thanksgiving we ate at Trail's End and it was really good, but I've also heard great things about Boma on Thanksgiving so we're looking forward to it!

We're coming from Boston- didn't think about weather and hope it's not an issues. As it is, we are expecting a Nor'Easter this weekend- thankfully just rain.

Yup, getting that Nor'Easter here in NY also and glad it's just rain. We rarely have bad weather around Thanksgiving so not worrying about our flight the weekend before, however one year friends of ours who flew down the Tues. before got delayed 7 hours due to storms traveling up the east coast

 

[gulliesmom]

My Grams used to say dungarees, too


We're sleeping in on Thanksgiving, possibly going over to AoA to do the drawing class if anyone else wants to. We're eating at Boma at 3 (so we'll miss you by a bit!) and then going to AK. Last time we were in Disney for Thanksgiving we ate at Trail's End and it was really good, but I've also heard great things about Boma on Thanksgiving so we're looking forward to it!


Yup, getting that Nor'Easter here in NY also and glad it's just rain. We rarely have bad weather around Thanksgiving so not worrying about our flight the weekend before, however one year friends of ours who flew down the Tues. before got delayed 7 hours due to storms traveling up the east coast

I love being away on travel, but really loathe the actual travelling part of it! I really wish I could teleport myself places!