Silver Plan questions

[Ibelieveinfairies]

I am in the process of planning our next trip to WDW for April 2005. The packages haven't been released yet for that time period, but am doing lots of research on how is the best way to do this. We have room-only reservations for WL and I am debating about whether the Silver Plan is worth the money...we are a family of 2 adults and 2 children (6 and 8 at the time of our trip). I like the idea of having some meals already paid for when we get there, but am curious as to what all of you experts think! Let me know!
TIA

 

[Sara1026]

Hi!

DH & I took my in-laws, BIL, and his two kids (who were 6&8 at the time) to AKL last June with the Silver Plan. We liked the special parade viewing and Illuminations viewing locations that having the package afforded us since it was a busy time of year at the World.

The two meals a day started to seem like a little much, though, as I think a lot of the time the kids would have preferred to just grab a turkey leg somewhere rather than go to a sit-down restaurant. We felt like we should eat at all the best places since it was included, and at each place, they really encourage you to get an appetizer, beverage, entree and dessert because tips are included with the package and the more food you get, the better the CM does.

I think if you went into it either knowing you might not really use two sit down meals every single day and plan to use the wishes in other ways, the convenience is really nice. You don't have to feel like you need to budget as thoroughly.

If you have any specific questions. or if I have confused you even more, feel free to send me a message!

Best wishes for a great trip,
Sara

 

[kandmwedding]

Check out allearsnet.com for menus to see where and what you'd likely be eating and do a little pencil pushing. But keep in mind that you can use your wishes for things other than meals, like tours and shows, which are usually a better deal. Also keep in mind that each wish costs you roughly $34 (not sure of the cost for the kids) so it's only beneficial to use them when you'd normally be spending at least $34 including tax and tip. And, as a benefit, even though the kids' wishes cost less (again, don't know the exact amount) the adults can use their wishes. So for a lot of things it'd save more money to use the wishes on the adults and pay for the kids out of pocket.

We used the silver plan for half our stay during our honeymoon and made out pretty well I think. We got 12 wishes altogether (2 for each of us for 3 nights) Here's what we used them for:

Hoop Dee Doo Revue (1 wish)
Normal cost is around $50 before tax and tip, for a savings of roughly $20 per person.

Spirit of Aloha Luau (1 wish)
Normal cost is around $50 before tax and tip, for a savings of roughly $20 per person.

Keys to the Kingdom Tour with lunch (1 wish)
Normal cost is around $60 before tax, for a savings of roughly $30 per person.

Hidden Treasures Tour (1 wish)
Normal cost is around $60 before tax, for a savings of roughly $30 per person.

Cirque du Soleil (2 wishes)
Normal cost is around $80 before tax, for a saings of roughly $15 per person.

All in all,the two of us saved about $230 by using the Silver Plan, mostly because we used our wishes on the expensive stuff.

 

[wdwpixie]

My 16-year old DS and I just returned from a last-minute, 3-night, trip and I bought a Silver Plan package....we had a total of 12 wishes (2 per night per person)...

We used our wishes accordingly:
1 meal each at Alfredo's -- bill came to $110 before tip = 1 wish each (although the pamphlets and online said 2 wishes; we were only charged 1 ea.)

1 meal each at Fulton's -- wow, I had lobster and he had a special salmon dish that he loved...this bill came to over $135 (no alcohol) before tip = 2 wishes each (a 'deluxe' restaurant)

2 wishes each to see Cirque in Downtown Disney.

We would've used 1 wish on Rose and Crown, but I thought Alfredo's would be 2, meaning not enough for the other meals. Since we had extra wish each at the end, we used them to rent the water mice on our last morning!!!

These were items that would've made me think long and hard before bringing out my credit card individually, but it was great fun under the Silver Plan to just order what we wanted and eat where we wanted.

I agree that you may not want to use it for your length-of-stay....as much as my son admires a nice meal out, he got rather tired of HAVING to be somewhere for our PS each night.

I felt like it was a good deal for us, but hadn't really broken down the cost.

Have fun!!

 

[Ibelieveinfairies]

Thank you all for your replies!! I am going to check out Allears.net and the menus...and knowing that the wishes can be used for things other than meals helps, too...this will be our fifth trip to WDW and we are ready to try some "extra" things like Cirque and the watersports and such. I will keep in mind what the wishes actually cost and make my decision. Whenever my husband thinks I am insane for doing all of this planning and decision making, I know I can always come to this board and be accepted for my love of all things Disney!!

 

[Naisy68]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I was under the assumption that you needed to use the silver for the entire length of your stay? From what I've read here, that is not true. Does anyone out there know for sure? My husband and I would have considered that if we'd known it was an option for our trip next month. I'm sure that a CM told me that it wasn't an option. --Renee

 

[Southern4sure]

that the wishes are good only during your package stay...whatever wishes you dont use, you loose them. I may be wrong.....but thats the way I understoon from AAA.

Southern4sure

 

[kandmwedding]

Naisy68...

You're probably talking about my post, and I looked back and noticed I wasn't clear when I used we used it for part of our stay. What we did was book our vacation as two separate reservations. For the first half (4 days, 3 nights) we added the silver package and for the second half we did not. While we did run the risk of having to change rooms mid-stay (which we didn't have to), we saved money by not paying for the silver for the second half of our trip. And you can split your trip any way you like to, assuming the part you want the package with is at least three days. Great way to save money when you run out of things to do with the wishes. But, you have to keep in mind that you do have to use (or lose) all your wishes during that part of your stay. You can't spread them over to your other reservation. This meant for us that our first few days were pretty jam-packed with tours, shows, and cirque, but we made up for it by relaxing during the last few days.

 

[Naisy68]

Thanks kandmwedding for clarifying.
I was a little frustrated. That would be a great way to work it. Staying at one resort with the silver for three nights and then moving over to another resort for the rest of your trip. It sounds like you stayed at the same resort but I would probably switch resorts just to add variety.

 

[TEK224]

Can't you also use the wishes for the kids club? I thought it was previously mentioned on these boards that you could get up to 4 hours at the kids club with one wish. If not, can someone please clarify.

This would allow the adults a night out alone while the kids are entertained at the club.

Terri

 

[mickeycw]

We had the Silver plan for 8 days last year and it was great BUT in order to get your money worth it seems like you are constantly eating big meals.....we also went to the Hoop-De-Doo, Luau, Circque, parasailing and rented boats which was great but unless you are doing the shows you probably won't come out ahead!

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

Originally posted by Southern4sure
that the wishes are good only during your package stay...whatever wishes you dont use, you loose them. I may be wrong.....but thats the way I understoon from AAA.

That is correct - use them or lose them. They can be used anytime during your stay - if you want to use them all on the first day you can, or you can save them all to the last day, or spread them out however you wish.

 

[AOPI57]

What is the Silver plan? It is similar to the old Food n Fun plan which we just loved. If you are AP holders can you still get the Silver plan? I'm intrigued! Where do I find the info? When i called a CM told me the only dinig plan was a Florida resident dining club plan. Thanks.