REALLY maximizing free dining - suggestions?

[05ChristmasSurprise]

I made some ARs yesterday and I'm just not sure I'm getting the BEST value I can. I talked DH into going during this time because of the free dining (because with a family of 6, we spent A LOT on food last time). (honestly, the whole trip cost us around $5,000)

We're only going for four days this trip (per mr. scrooge himself) and doing F&WF at least one full day - and a half day, most likely - the day we leave.

So, we can do LOTS of TS meals the other two and a half days.

What would you do?

We are total foodies and would love $$$ food without using two TS credits.
I think we're doing Tony's Town Square (because we haven't been there) on our first night - we figure it would be about $100 (plus tax and tip) if we paid out of pocket - so that's a "good" meal for us

We might try Libery Tree tavern - but we prefer to not have buffets (it's just too hard to get food for four kids and ourselves - we're always back and forth with one person carrying two plates, etc)

Where would you spend a FORTUNE for dinner - but only one credit?

 

[mommykds]

I was asking this a while back & someone answered me back that I shouldn't worry about "maximizing" so much as "enjoying" where we go. For us the "fancier" (pinky in the air ) places are just not for us. We could maximize the plan by going to Chefs De France, V&A, Narcosees, Yachtsman, Brown Derby, California Grill & the like which are all lovely I'm sure but for us (mom, dad, & 3 young kids) character meals, WCC, buffets & that sort are more to our liking.

I think you should check out the menu's on allears & go by that. Choose the restaurant based on the foods that look tempting to you. Hope you have a great time..I can't wait to get my cheesy mashed potatoes at CM!!!!!

 

[MomofKatie]

Just to let you know, Liberty Tree Tavern isn't a buffet- you sit while the servers bring the food to your table. It is served "family-style". So, feel free to try it- you can relax and not get up and down to get food. Plus, you'll get to see Minnie and her friends!

As for the rest of your meals, are you interestd in Epcot restaurants at all? Le Cellier is a great steakhouse- Marrakesh looks like it is fun- and Teppenyaki is awesome. Since you have the free dining plan, I'd just grab a snack or two at F&WF, since the booths aren't included in the Dining plan.

If you want to try Tuscan/Mediterranean food, Spoodles on the Boardwalk is really good.

Concourse Steakhouse is good, and so is Kona Cafe.

There are just so many good places to choose from, you will have a great time dining around the World whatever you choose!

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

Thanks!

We plan on eating all over at F&WF - and not sitting down for a meal there. DH is all geared up for this LOL

We are doing Concourse Steakhouse and Tony's Town Square now for sure.

We were going to try to work in Chef Mickey's, but we did that last trip.
I almost hate 'wasting' a meal on a breakfast experience, but it's not all that bad - the value of most of them (for us) is between $65-$85.

I'd also like to do a 1900 Park Fare dinner, but I don't think I can figure out how to get it in our schedule.

We are doing MNSSHP one night - so that's a bust - we don't want to waste any time sitting down for a dinner (we made that mistake with the MVMCP and didn't get to see all the special events we really wanted to see). So, we'll do Cosmic Ray's CS that night.

We have concourse steakhouse on Wednesday night - but we could do a breakfast or lunch on this day, I guess. Or we could do a sit down for lunch that day at MGM.

 

[MomofKatie]

I was asking this a while back & someone answered me back that I shouldn't worry about "maximizing" so much as "enjoying" where we go. .

I think you should check out the menu's on allears & go by that. Choose the restaurant based on the foods that look tempting to you.

I second mommykds- Don't worry so much about wringing every bit of "value" out of the plan. You are getting your dining for free- ANY value is great!

Just go with what you like and want to eat- you'll save $$ whether you go to CG for dinner (up to $80/pp) or Biergarten for lunch (as low as $10/pp). Also, no matter how expensive the restaurant is, if you don't like the food, it won't be a good value to you.

Have fun deciding where to eat- hope your vacation is GREAT

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

Okay, I think we're going to do Tony's Town Square, the Concourse Steakhouse, 50s Prime time (lunch), and the Princess Storybook Breakfast.

Out of pocket, we would pay well over $100 for TTS, $130 for Concourse, $70 for Prime Time lunch, and $80 for the princesses.

Pretty good deals It definitely makes it worthwhile to NOT get the AP room discount and pay full price, then. (Which is DH's "Bottom line" concern)

 

[MomofKatie]

Those all sound great! We are doing Tony's as well, and also :
Teppenyaki
Biergarten
Marrakesh
Sci Fi
Kona Cafe
Liberty Tree Tavern
Chef Mickey's AND
'Ohana!!

When will you be visiting? We are going 10/1- 10/8 (Tony's for dinner on 10/5).

 

[nutsforgolf]

Another great way to maximize is to pay cash for your kid's dinners ( $5-$8) then use their credit towards a 2 credit dinner. (Flying Fish, CG, Jiko, Coral Reef, Citrios, Narcoosee). This is allowed and suggested by Disney.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

The castle for dinner is a good value -

Crispy Crab and Seafood Spring Roll - with sweet chili sauce $8
Fillet of Beef - 8 oz. beef tenderloin steak with seasonal vegetables, port wine glaze, garnished with crisp onions $26
Slipper dessert $10
Drink $2.00
Total with tax and tip for 1 adult = $55.89

 

[sandibeck]

I second mommykds- Don't worry so much about wringing every bit of "value" out of the plan. You are getting your dining for free- ANY value is great!

Just go with what you like and want to eat- you'll save $$ whether you go to CG for dinner (up to $80/pp) or Biergarten for lunch (as low as $10/pp). Also, no matter how expensive the restaurant is, if you don't like the food, it won't be a good value to you.

Have fun deciding where to eat- hope your vacation is GREAT

I agree with these guys! We were there 6/11-6/18, bought the dining plan, used it but didn't pay for DD6 out-of-pocket or save any credits by sharing, and we still came out $333 ahead! It's not so much about 'saving' money as it is about enjoying yourself. Knowing that our meals were paid for up-front was great for us - didn't have to worry about how much we spent at each place, etc... And we didn't do any 'real' extravegant meals either. Let's see - TS was Chef Mickey's dinner (love it), Boatwrights at POR (without PS - only 20 min wait), Breakfastosaurus, Crystal Palace breakfast, WCC, Rose & Crown (7:50pm so we could watch Illuminations - GREAT), and Cindy's for lunch. Those were our 7 TS meals. Our CS meals were just the basics too. And we ended up having 10 snack credits on checkout day, so I went to the food court at POR and got some drinks for the road trip home. For us (and everyone is different), the dining plan was a great way to go!
DH has already said when I plan the next trip, add on dining!

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

hmm - I have to re-work it now with paying for the kids out of pocket!

Thanks for the tip!

 

[amwhitaker]

OK, what's F&WF?

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.

Think - hundreds of stations/booths all around the world showcase with "sample" or "appetizer" sized portions - ranging in price from $1 - $4.50.

DH is geared up and ready to eat, eat, eat all day

We tried to Eat our way around the World last time and had a great time sampling some new foods without wasting an hour or two at a sit down. So, I'm pretty psyched.

We don't want to waste hours on sitting down (since we've eaten at a few sit downs at Epcot already) when we can sample all kinds of food throughout the day. (or waste precious tummy room!) So, we aren't making any ARs for those days and sticking only to the festival foods (except maybe for some "snacks" on our plan - which we'll use for drinks)

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

I agree with these guys! We were there 6/11-6/18, bought the dining plan, used it but didn't pay for DD6 out-of-pocket or save any credits by sharing, and we still came out $333 ahead! It's not so much about 'saving' money as it is about enjoying yourself. Knowing that our meals were paid for up-front was great for us - didn't have to worry about how much we spent at each place, etc...

For us (and everyone is different), the dining plan was a great way to go!
DH has already said when I plan the next trip, add on dining!

Us too. We just didnt see any good reason to share or pay out of pocket for our family. We also came out about $400 ahead.

 

[Belle1962]

Food & Wine Festival. There will be extra booths set up around World Showcase to try different foods, etc. Plus more.

 

[kizmac]

Thanks!


We are doing MNSSHP one night - so that's a bust - we don't want to waste any time sitting down for a dinner (we made that mistake with the MVMCP and didn't get to see all the special events we really wanted to see). So, we'll do Cosmic Ray's CS that night.

You know that you can book and ADR as early as 4 on the night of MNSSHP and be in the park before the party starts. We are going 9/30 and have CP ressies for 4:05......it would even save you from having to waste time doing a CS during the party!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I was asking this a while back & someone answered me back that I shouldn't worry about "maximizing" so much as "enjoying" where we go.
Not sure if it was me but it sounds like something similar to what I put in.
I always say if the food is free, the goal is to maximize your satisfaction, not maximize stated menu price of the food. Just go look at the menus and see what you like and do it.

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

Just to explain our point of view - for the sake conversation:

We had two options when we booked.

1- book free dining

2 - book AP rates on the resort

I had to convince DH that we HAD to go now (because historically values are 49/night during the value season, so we could potentially have gone in December). To do this, I wrote out what we spent/spend on meals while at Disney and why paying FULL PRICE for a resort would be better than waiting and getting the discount, then using our standard budget for dining out at WDW.

So, in essence, because of the price increase on the rooms we are staying in, the dining isn't "free" for us. kwim?

Therefore, I feel the need to really show him how much this is "saving" us to go now - by maximizing our "free" dining as much as possible. Make sense?

If it were a total headache, I wouldn't do it. But, I enjoy all the plotting and planning and looking at the menus, etc. So, its' fun for me - and I love reaping the rewards by enjoying all these meals with our family.

For us, the best part of the trip is the food (and seeing the looks on our kids' faces). So, I really want to eat WELL.

I know that for other families this isn't the case - they have older kids - or kids who are more into the rides, characters, etc. But, for us, it's all about the food LOL

 

[IwannaseeMickey]

I didn't want to do a sit down on the night of MNSSHP during the party either, don't want to waste time on it, so we are doing Ohana's before the party starts and riding the monorail over.

I'm now trying to figure out how to maximize everything in light of another post that said it's a big possiblity that come next week they will change the rules for saving child's credits to use on other meals. I'm trying to see which meals we'd rather pay for and then save some for HDDR that we have booked.

 

[tortoni]

05 Christmas Surprise

I understand your desire to plot and plan for best value--I am doing that myself because I find it to be fun. Of course we will relax and go to places we like, but there is nothing wrong with trying to ensure that you get the best value at those places!

You might try Spoodles--one of our favorites. We plan on going there, Alfredos, Yachtsman, SciFi, Olivias and a few others when we are there in August on the dining plan.

Happy planning!