Please help....I just don't get it!!

[learnhome]

We are going on our first ever family trip to disney January 13, 2007 for 8 days. I have a family of five, me, DH, DS 12, DS 9 and DD 6. We had to get two rooms as it was..... Already changed our hotels because ASmo pool was under refurbishment....and now, I just don't know if we should get the dining plan or not??? I don't understand ANY OF IT. I have read and re-read the flyer, even had my travel agent attempt to break it down for me, but it just drives me nuts.

Can someone, in SIMPLE plain terms, explain the disney meal plan to a new-never-been-to-disneyer??? Am I expected to have meal reservations every night??? How on earth do I know where I am going to be at each dinner time? I mean, it leaves nothing to chance, and I hate having to think about reservations....I don't even know what parks to do on what days yet??? How do I figure this snack point, meal point, dinner service bla bla bla? I just want a breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for my family? Can this be explained better??

And my question is......is the dining plan REALLY REALLY worth the money? If we are not big eaters, will this STILL be a better way to go??? Or can I do it more econimical and realistic going on my own with no meal plan??
help oh help oh help

Chris....getting nervous because we are 56 days away..........................

 

[AllNamesTaken]

The dining plan is really really worth the $ if you are people who would normally eat one counter service meal each day (think lunch probably) and one table service meal each day (think dinner probably). If you usually only eat counter service food, it is probably not worth it. We just got back yesterday from a 7 night trip. We had 2 adults, 2 kids. We paid $686 for the dining plan. I just added up the receipts for all the food we received on the plan - all table service, all counter service and all snacks. We received $1186 worth of food!! Now granted, if we were paying out of pocket, we would not have ordered as much food as we received. For instance, we would never order desserts with lunch but those come with the plan. Also, instead of each getting an appetizer at dinner we would probably get 2 to share. But even taking this into consideration, we still saved a ton of money. And we got to try lots of great food. If you have specific questions, I would be glad to try and help. I think first you need to think about how you normally dine and decide if the plan would fit your style. If so, you will certainly save money. Worry about reservations after you decide which parks you will be in each day. Tour Guide Mike has a great website that can help you with that. (It does cost a little bit to join.)

 

[PoohFan97]

I just don't know if we should get the dining plan or not??? I don't understand ANY OF IT. I have read and re-read the flyer, even had my travel agent attempt to break it down for me, but it just drives me nuts.

Can someone, in SIMPLE plain terms, explain the disney meal plan to a new-never-been-to-disneyer??? Am I expected to have meal reservations every night??? How on earth do I know where I am going to be at each dinner time? I mean, it leaves nothing to chance, and I hate having to think about reservations....I don't even know what parks to do on what days yet??? How do I figure this snack point, meal point, dinner service bla bla bla? I just want a breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for my family? Can this be explained better??

I'll see if I can help. I'm not an expert, but in the planning stages for a WDW trip with DDP.

For each night of your hotel stay, each guest (ages 3+) gets one table-service credit, one counter-service credit, and one snack credit. You don't have to use exactly one of each per day--you can have table-service breakfast and dinner on one day, then have two counter-service meals another day--as long as the total works out.

You don't need reservations for counter service or snacks. No worries there. It's my understanding that you probably want reservations for table service meals, whether you're on the dining plan or paying out of pocket.

If you don't care for table service meals, if you don't have your heart set on a specific TS restaurant, or if you'd rather not make dining reservations, I'd probably suggest that you skip the DDP and enjoy CS meals (paying OOP). (Enough acronyms in one sentence? )

Here's how we do it, and I'd imagine that most people take a similar approach. We make a basic plan for each day (say, we'll be at the Magic Kingdom on Monday), then choose a restaurant for that day. For MK day we'd make a reservation for a MK restaurant or a resort restaurant that's easy to get to from MK (e.g., a resort that's on the Monorail line).

My DH and I are planners, and we enjoy doing this. If you'd rather be more spontaneous with your dining plans, then this might not work for you. But as I mentioned, it seems necessary to have reservations for table-service meals whether you're on the DDP or not.

Does that clarify or complicate?

 

[Tasmen]

You do not have to make reservations for every meal if you want to use the dining plan.

The dining plan entitles each person in your party (as you have to book it for everyone):

1 table service
1 counter service
1 snack

Counter service = fast food/you seat yourself type restaurants
Table service = they seat you and you have a waiter
snack = well a snack/beverage

A link to a complete description of the plan as well as participating restaurants and what they are labelled is here:

http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/m...agespecific/eng/nontheme/tickets/07Dining.pdf

Keep in mind some restaurants are considered 'Signature' experiences will cost 2 Table service credits.

A lot of people talk about their ADRs (reservations) because they want to eat at specific places at specific times. Without an ADR you cannot guarantee yourself that you'll be able to eat where you want, when you want. However, if this doesn't matter to you, you don't need to worry one bit about making reservations and can instead just go where fate and park hopping takes you.

Hopefully that clears things up for you a little bit.

 

[powellrj]

go to this site http://allearsnet.com/din/dining.htm

it lists all the resturants in WDW and the prices that they charge.

Get a general idea of what your family likes to eat and you can find out how much your meal will cost.

If you see that your family will spend more on meals than the dining plan costs, do the dining plan.

If you see that the meals your family like are less than the dining plan, don't do the dining plan. If you only want to do counter service meals, don't do the dining plan.

Remember to add the cost of tax and tip to your meals because they are included in the DDP.

If you want to eat at any special sit-down resturant, even if you aren't on the dining plan, you need to make an ADR (reservation). Most sit-down type resturants get very busy and will not take walk-ups at busy times. You may be able to make sameday ADRs at some resturants, but if its something you really want, you need to make an ADR.

 

[bekkiz]

I will say it is much better to have a plan on where you'll be each day. Using this site as well as a few others (TourGuide Mike gets good reviews or google disney world touring plans.)

One of the main reasons people don't enjoy their first trip to WDW is a lack of planning. Taking a few hours between now and your trip to figure out
-what attractions you want to see or don't mind missing
-if you want to do early/late extra magic hours,
-which parks you want to spend the most time at
-what the park hours/show, parade, fireworks times

all will make for a much more enjoyable trip. I know it sounds like a lot of planning (less spontinaity) but when you're spending this much on a vacation, I think it's in your best interest to make sure you'll have fun--even if it does mean having a plan.

Once you get your plan, you'll have a better idea which restaurants you'd like to eat at at each park. Only then can you really decide if the dining plan is worth it.

 

[handicap18]

As for if its worth it or not is really up to you to decide. Take a look at the menu's over at allearsnet to get an idea of what entree's are available and what the costs are. If you think you want to eat at 8 "sit-down" resturaunts (ie: any of the resturaunts at the different hotels or the World Showcase in Epcot or even the character meals) then it might be worth it. If eating at the counter service restuarunts (basically fast food) for the majority of your meals or even going off property then it might not be worth it.

For our family we do it. We find it to be a savings, although we might not eat at some of the resturaunts if we weren't on the DDP. On a 7 night trip we do about 3 character meals (DW LOVES Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace, plus we do one other one. sometime 2 others) and 4 other restuaunts including 2 at Epcot and 1 at MGM and 1 at a hotel. We also find it a convenince because we just hand them our Key to the World and the meal is paid for no collecting money and no figuring the tip. Keep in mind that when looking at the meal costs to add an appatizer, entree, desert, non-alcoholic drink, tax AND tip (15-18%) for sit down meals and for counter service meals (the fast food type places) is entree (ie: burger and fries), desert, soft drink and tax.

We don't go out to eat a lot while at home, so when we're at Disney we like to eat at the resturaunts. Its nice to try something you might not normally eat. So I'll get the $29 steak and the $6 appertizer and then the killer chocolate or maybe an exotic desert for $6. Soda is about $2. So that makes the meal $43 + tax and tip makes it almost $50. Lunch or breakfast at a counter service is typically $12-15 on the dine plan, plus you also can get a snack during the day (popcorn, soda, fruit, french fries, bottled water, ice cream, and others) that run about $3-4.

If you don't want the appertizer and desert for dinner and also don't want the desert for lunch then maybe the dine plan isn't for you. It all depends on what you want to do on YOUR vacation.

For example: next year when we go we will be eating at Crystal Palace (for lunch or dinner), Chef Mickey's for dinner, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall Princess Storybook Character Dining Norway in Epcot for dinner, Mama Melrose at MGM, one of the other World Showcase resturaunts, our hotels resturaunt and probably another hotels resturaunt. We'll probably get breakfast at the hotel's counter service place most of the mornings and then save a few credits for lunch at 2 or 3 of the parks, we like Pizza Planet at MGM, Cosmic Rays at MK, Flame Tree at AK, and also the Fish and Chip place at Great Brittian in Epcot to name a few.

 

[learnhome]

WOW - thank you EVERYONE for your GREAT and easy descriptions of the meal plan......

One question......the meal credits mean I can get ANY say dinner I choose, no matter the cost?? Meaning, it is the credit that is used NOT the meal cost?? So, I could get a steak (as someone mentioned) and it doenst matter the cost of the dinner, it is just considered a meal credit??

Chris

 

[AllNamesTaken]

That's right, you can order any appetizer, entree, dessert, and non alcoholic drink from the menu. Many times our dinner total alone was more than we paid for the entire day. Don't forget, it even includes the tip!

 

[UrsulasShadow]

WOW - thank you EVERYONE for your GREAT and easy descriptions of the meal plan......

One question......the meal credits mean I can get ANY say dinner I choose, no matter the cost?? Meaning, it is the credit that is used NOT the meal cost?? So, I could get a steak (as someone mentioned) and it doenst matter the cost of the dinner, it is just considered a meal credit??

Chris

That depends...there are Signature restaurants and Dinner shows which require 2 TS credits each, and there's some menus which state specifically that certain items are NOT included on the dining plan (lobster tails, for instance). But for the most part, if the restaurant participates, then the expensive sirloin is the same as the plate of plain pasta.

 

[Cass]

regardless of the dining plan, your trip will go more smoothly if you have a plan of attack

(ie) arrival day - relax at resort maybe go to a park in the afternoon
Day 2 - Magic Kingdom
Day 3 - MGM
Day 5 - EPCOT

Figure out a basic plan and then since you have a rough idea of where you are going to be you can maybe pick a place for dinner or lunch like Liberty Tree in MK and get an ADR.

Maybe pick a breakfast at Donalds restaurantasaurus the day you go to Animal Kingdom.

You don't need ADRs for counter service or hotel food courts.

Snacks can be anything from a drink to ice cream etc... and they are clearly marked withthe snack symbol.

Even if you don't take the dining plan, set a rough itinerary, pick a couple of places to eat that interest you - you will see it will give you a direction to go and a plan.

It's not the end of the world if you don't make your ADR, you can call and cancel or be a no show. You can also walk up and hope to get a table and any restaurant, if you eat at off peak times like a late lunch time or an early dinner time you might have no problem.

Good luck

 

[MomofCKJ]

We are doing the plan for our family of 5 (DH,myself, dd9,dd7 and ds4) in December. We do love to eat out and so Table Service was something we knew we wanted to do. We liked knowing that we would have 1 snack, 1 Counter Service and 1 Table Service each day. We made our ADRs back in June for our December trip.

Aside from being fans of dining and the savings we'll have I had another big reason for choosing the plan. My husband is not looking forward to this trip,he just is not a big Disney fan. This plan will keep him from opening his wallet each time we eat since it is already paid for. That will give him the "perception" that Disney is not taking more of his money. That makes a happier DH and therefore a happier me! Really, I do like that most of our food is already paid for and we can order what we want and not worry about our "Grumpy" getting grumpy when the bill comes!

Allyson

 

[bab31]

We are not doing dining. We wont eat that much food every day. People say how much they savedm but for most individuals they would not eat like that if they were paying oop. You just cant say that it is a savings. I think it is more of an experience, being able to order what you would like, at every meal. We dont want to be tied to ressies all week, Too much planning and stress for us. It is just my husband and I going and I will post about our cost when we get back. We do plan on a couple of nice meals out.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Being on Weight Watchers, it would be foolish for me to have the DP. It would encourage a slide back into eating habits that I've fought all my life. There's a tendency to want to get as much "value for your money" with the plan that you might be encouraged to overeat. If this is at all a concern, don't get the plan...you'll end up stuffed and uncomfortable much of the time.
If, on the other hand, you eat an appetizer, entree, and dessert every single night at home, with a full lunch and dessert at lunch, then maybe this IS a good deal...certainly you can save a bundle if this is your normal eating pattern. Otherwise, consider booking 1 or 2 special meals for your vacation, make ADRs for those, and play it by ear for the rest of the time. If you find you would like to try an interesting restaurant while onsite, try calling from your room or the parks and booking it during an off time...you may get lucky!

 

[MousekaMaddi]

an had the dining plan for the 1st time in Sept........LOVED IT!! We love characters so we planned acharacter meal EVERY DAY! (character meals are included as a TS (table service) This way u dont have to stand in lines to see any major characters, they always come right to your family table, its fabulous- So including all tips (as the dinng plan includes all tips) we feel the plan was way WAY worthwhile. Dont try to eat everything u order, just relax, enjoy and eat what u want Iincluding desserts! Yum, heck u ARE on vacation!
Pm me for details, I know lots of details about planning meals, as we go a lot!!(by the way we live in NY not Fla as u might think! )

 

[bicker]

Can someone, in SIMPLE plain terms, explain the disney meal plan to a new-never-been-to-disneyer???

The Dining Plan may or may not be right for you. If it is causing you serious concern, then perhaps it isn't.

Am I expected to have meal reservations every night???

I wouldn't say "expected" but if you want to have your choice of restaurants, then yes, you'll need reservations practically every night.

How on earth do I know where I am going to be at each dinner time?

WDW is massive and overwhelming for the first-time visitor. The reality is that it practically doesn't matter much which theme parks you go to on which days -- you'll probably have a great time no matter where you are. So: choose your restaurants, put them in any order you wish, and then that will help you decide each day which theme parks you're going to go that day. Let the dining dictate your schedule, because it does matter somewhat for the dining, and doesn't matter as much for theme parks.

I mean, it leaves nothing to chance

A lot of folks avoid the Dining Plan for just that reason. And if you're averse to that, then that should help you make the decision against the Dining Plan. However, it's not strictly true. If you have reservations, nothing is stopping you from calling up and trying to switch your reservations later, even at the last minute. The key, though, is that at least you have a reservation -- if what you want to switch to isn't available, then at least you still have a place to go where you can be accommodated in a reasonable time period.

How do I figure this snack point

You don't need reservations for counter service or snacks.

And my question is......is the dining plan REALLY REALLY worth the money?

Two "REALLY"s -- no. Depending on the guest, it goes from being moderatedly well-worth it, down to moderately not worth it. Each guest is different and Disney has crafted the plan so it is a minor advantage to most, a major advantage to few, and no advantage to the rest. So you really cannot know, without doing some research, whether it would be worth purchasing -- just like most every purchase we make.

If we are not big eaters, will this STILL be a better way to go???

I compared the cost of the Dining Plan to the cost of JUST ENTREES (i.e., no appetizers and no desserts, since that's often how we eat at WDW restaurants). We would end up saving about $40 per guest for our five night/six day trip (so about $8 per night per guest). If you do any amount of appetizers or desserts, then that's, of course, a bonus. However, that's based on our chosen set of restaurants: Chefs de France (dinner), Spoodles (dinner), Le Cellier (dinner), 50s Prime Time (dinner), Crystal Palace (dinner). A different set of restaurants may be more advantageous or less advantageous.

 

[Dori's Twin]

I will be using DDP for the first time also.

However, when I did a comparison of what it would cost me to dine OOP I looked at the menus on allears.net and selected the items I know my family would most likely choose. My 3 kids are very predictable. Everynight they order Ceasar salads and I know my daughter's eating habits too.
I added on two soft drinks to the tab and 3 alcoholc beverages, 18% tip and the tax. I really think my estimate was close because I compared my estimate to the credit card bill from our last trip and I was very close.

We're paying OOP for breakfast because my kids eat CS type breakfast meals.
Even with adding in all the extra OOP's we save a bit on the DDP plan.

I have to admit that I too love planning, so this was fun for me. I ditto the sentiments here.
Planning will help things go smoother. It seemed overwhelming to me at first but I got it together and now I at least know I have ADR's at the times I would like.

Here's what I do:
Look at the Park Calendars and decide which day I'm doing which park.
Decide if I'm doing Extra Magic Hours note the opening/closing times.
Decide which day I will see a parade or Fantasmic.
I plan an afternoon break and plan where I'll be in the evening.
Decide which type of dinner theme we'd like.
I consider how long it will take to get to dining location.
I pick the time I wish to dine and try to get as close to that as possible.
For example :if I want to see Illuminations one night I plan my
reservation around 7:00.
Type up an itinerary with ADR #'s and dream of our vacation.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful time.
Terri

 

[tinkamom]

The plan is not difficult. Each person gets a table service meal, a counter service meal and a snack each night. So if there are 5 in your family and you are staying for 5 nights you get 25 TS credits, 25 CS credits and 25 snack credits. Each time you order something they deduct it from the total. Your receipt will show you how many credits you have left. After the first day you should not be confused at all.


I would suggest looking at the menus on allearsnet.com or here on the Dis to get an idea of the prices. I was shocked at how expensive everything was on my first trip and was wandering from place to place trying to find a reasonable meal! I'm so glad I found the Dis and learned a lot!

When I was deciding wether or not to get the DP, I checked out the menus and planned the most economical meals I could. I then compared that cost with the cost of the DP. I found that for my family I would have spent almost as much as the cost of the DP but would have been much more limited in our meals, even sharing at some! For almost the same price we could order anything we wanted and not have to worry about the price. It really worked out well for us.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Chester's Mum]

Are your kids picky eaters? A lot of the table service restaurants have some pretty fancy food.

My ds 12 (dining plan would be $38.99/day for him) eats plain spaghetti, plain white rice, plain chicken (or chicken nuggets), hot dogs, and cheese only pizza. A lot of the table service restaurants don't offer those things.

Take a look at some of the menus that are posted. See if your kids will eat that stuff. If not, maybe its not for you.

On the other hand, if your kids are quite adventurous (foodwise that is), the dining plan is an awesome value. Counter Sevice Meal, Table Service Meal, Snack, including tax and tip for each person in your party, cant be beat for $40 a day. You have to decide if you are going to take advantage of that. Do you usually eat an appetizer and dessert with every meal?

I'd love to try the dining plan, but I think I'll wait until its an adult only trip to do it. Maybe my sister would like to try it.

 

[JimMIA]

One question......the meal credits mean I can get ANY say dinner I choose, no matter the cost?? Meaning, it is the credit that is used NOT the meal cost?? So, I could get a steak (as someone mentioned) and it doenst matter the cost of the dinner, it is just considered a meal credit??

For the most part, yes that's true. There are a few (VERY few) limitations and restrictions. For example, you can't order surf & turf. You can't order sushi as an appetizer at Japan. You can't get lobster anywhere except Captain Jack's (TWIN lobster tails, $31.99 menu price for the entree alone, 1 TS...awesome meal and value!). Some are less than thrilled with the kids menus, but our DD doesn't go hungry.

But generally, what you see on the menu is what you get. Also, don't underestimate the value of some of the CS outlets. Some of them serve HUGE meals and are great for dinner if you're saving a TS for Signature Dining or another of the 2 TS meals.

Another good thing -- 1 TS per character meal (except CRT). That's breakfast, lunch, or dinner -- which meal you choose doesn't affect the cost.