Switch for Dining or no?

[Delphinidae]

Well now I have another decision to make. We have reservations at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but I can now get a room at Coronado Springs with Free Dining on the same dates. Coronado will cost about $500 more than AKL, but won't we end up spending that much or more on OOP food costs? On the one hand I would love to not worry about food, on the other I don't know if we'll get a chance to stay at AKL again for the price we got. However, we don't usually spend much time in the resorts, so....ugh I can't decide!

I should add, there are 4 of us, and the 2 kids are now old enough that they have to pay adult prices for food. I'm going to do some menu searching and calculating but I wanted to see if anyone has input? We were also planning on bringing in snacks and water, eating breakfast in the rooms most days, but also a couple park breakfasts late morning in the hopes that it would hold us over most of the day.

 

[Shanti]

Pay more to switch from a gorgeous deluxe resort to a motel-like moderate for the privilege of counting dining credits in your head throughout your vacation? No. Stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge and enjoy yourself.

 

[anniemae]

No question for me. I would stay with AKL.

 

[RLGNC]

Another vote for AKL, especially if you got a good deal.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

I'd switch. Coronado is a great place and knowing that all of my meals would be covered would be worth a lot.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Well now I have another decision to make. We have reservations at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but I can now get a room at Coronado Springs with Free Dining on the same dates. Coronado will cost about $500 more than AKL, but won't we end up spending that much or more on OOP food costs? On the one hand I would love to not worry about food, on the other I don't know if we'll get a chance to stay at AKL again for the price we got. However, we don't usually spend much time in the resorts, so....ugh I can't decide!

I should add, there are 4 of us, and the 2 kids are now old enough that they have to pay adult prices for food. I'm going to do some menu searching and calculating but I wanted to see if anyone has input? We were also planning on bringing in snacks and water, eating breakfast in the rooms most days, but also a couple park breakfasts late morning in the hopes that it would hold us over most of the day.

I assume your AKL reservation does not include a dining plan? So the extra $500 at CSR would include food, but if you go with AKL you'll be paying OOP for food? If that's the case it really depends on how/where you want to eat. If you plan on a lot of TS or character meals it's probably best to go with CSR and the dining plan. But if you're doing breakfast in the room and mostly QS, I would stay at AKL.

 

[DWillowBay]

I guess the bottom line is...will you spend $500 for the 4 of you to eat over your stay? Does Coronado suit your needs? (It's a very nice resort, but does it have what makes a great stay for you?) If you're not going to spend $500, then it's surely not worth the change, in my opinion. Why would you change to a resort that wasn't your original choice only to spend more money than you would have anyway? AKL is magnificent and you won't be disappointed there. And your wallet will be happy if you spend less than $500 on food. Only you can calculate your needs. But have a great trip no matter what you decide!!

 

[Delphinidae]

I assume your AKL reservation does not include a dining plan? So the extra $500 at CSR would include food, but if you go with AKL you'll be paying OOP for food? If that's the case it really depends on how/where you want to eat. If you plan on a lot of TS or character meals it's probably best to go with CSR and the dining plan. But if you're doing breakfast in the room and mostly QS, I would stay at AKL.

Correct, we don't currently have a dining plan. And as a result I have been stressing on how best to do meals. We were planning on taking snacks and water into the parks, breakfast in the room most days BUT I was also thinking that since we would be paying OOP and breakfast is usually the cheapest meal,that we would do some breakfast in the parks, and that if we did later breakfasts, we could probably get away with maybe a QS meal at night with a snack or two in between. I would honestly love a good TS or buffet everyday if we could afford that.

I guess the bottom line is...will you spend $500 for the 4 of you to eat over your stay? Does Coronado suit your needs? (It's a very nice resort, but does it have what makes a great stay for you?) If you're not going to spend $500, then it's surely not worth the change, in my opinion. Why would you change to a resort that wasn't your original choice only to spend more money than you would have anyway? AKL is magnificent and you won't be disappointed there. And your wallet will be happy if you spend less than $500 on food. Only you can calculate your needs. But have a great trip no matter what you decide!!

Of course if we can keep food costs below $500 then there's no way I'd switch. I just haven't seen many people say they paid that for meals for 4 people over a week, but I have seen lots of people say they spent around $1000 or even more and that's bananas! That's why I'm pulling out the menus later tonight and trying to get an idea of what we would spend. But I know if we keep the Fantasmic package at MM that's what, about $55 for adults? So over $200 for one meal alone. Now I've already been considering cancelling that and just trying for Fastpasses for F! but I really don't want to limit us to sandwiches for our entire trip!

Edited to add: I don't know much about Coronado Springs and I've never actually seen it in person. AKL I know is gorgeous, we went there last trip to eat at Boma and I loved it! At the end of the day though, we really don't spend all that much time in the resorts, we are there for the parks, so I know this comes down to which is financially better. It looks like Coronado Springs is more spread out though?

 

[Just1Princess]

Maybe try distripplanner.com for their dining calculator. It helped me figure out if paying for the dining plan was worth it for our trip. You can enter the places you want to eat, we ther you normally get deserts or appetizers and it will give you the average costs for meals. Then you can calculate the total cost of food for the trip, easier than using menus!

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Of course if we can keep food costs below $500 then there's no way I'd switch. I just haven't seen many people say they paid that for meals for 4 people over a week, but I have seen lots of people say they spent around $1000 or even more and that's bananas! That's why I'm pulling out the menus later tonight and trying to get an idea of what we would spend. But I know if we keep the Fantasmic package at MM that's what, about $55 for adults? So over $200 for one meal alone. Now I've already been considering cancelling that and just trying for Fastpasses for F! but I really don't want to limit us to sandwiches for our entire trip!

We budget $75 (Id prob do $80 now) per adult per day. It includes on average one table service a day and 2 quick services and two or three snacks. Other days we do 2 table service meals and lots of snacks. To point out though, a lot of our quick service "meals" and "snacks" are not meals or snacks on the Dining Plan so we would end up paying out of pocket for those. We also usually do more table service than we would get credits for, so it doesn't make sense for us to do dining plan.

I think you are leaning towards AKL and so that's my recommendation. That's what I would do!

 

[Just1Princess]

Honestly, if I could swing it, I'd figure out a way to stay at AKL, and I love CS.

 

[kschafer]

For me that's easy, switch! One week (assuming 7 nights), even if you could keep your food costs around $100/day (eating only QS of course) saves you $200 right off the top. I love the freedom the dining plan provides. I wouldn't choose to eat as much as the dining plan provides but it's hard to ignore the cost savings ($60/person/night, you do the math)

I know not everyone agrees with me and that's OK but we don't go to Disney for the hotel, we go for the parks and my vacation is much less stressful when I don't have to fuss over the additional costs of food. If the kids want a mickey bar, they get a mickey bar. If I want the more expensive entree at a restaurant, that's what I get instead of getting another burger in an effort to save a few bucks. I am personally much more relaxed when that part of my vacation is taken care of.

 

[DekrRini]

What would tip it for me would be downgrading from an awesome deluxe resort for a moderate. I just wouldn't do it. For me, watching the animals roam the savannah is worth any possible savings with the dining plan. AKL is one of my favorite resorts.

 

[agavegirl1]

Pay more to switch from a gorgeous deluxe resort to a motel-like moderate for the privilege of counting dining credits in your head throughout your vacation? No. Stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge and enjoy yourself.

THIS...you lose so much flexibility. What if you want to split meals? What if you want something from a cart that doesn't take dining credits? Don't go there.

 

[Disneylover99]

I would switch to CSR and book a buffet for dinner every night.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If CSR is $500 more than AKL, you are essentially getting 5 nights of free dining, which is nice, but you are downgrading your resort. I think what it really comes down to is, do you want to stay at a mod or a deluxe? A deluxe is always going to cost more than a mod, no matter how you slice it.

 

[Delphinidae]

Maybe try distripplanner.com for their dining calculator. It helped me figure out if paying for the dining plan was worth it for our trip. You can enter the places you want to eat, we ther you normally get deserts or appetizers and it will give you the average costs for meals. Then you can calculate the total cost of food for the trip, easier than using menus!

Thanks for this! I couldn't remember what it was called. I did plug in a couple of restaurants that we would like to do, put "average QS" dinner or lunch for the rest, and none for the breakfasts. For that bare minimum it is telling me OOP cost will be $898. And that's after I took out Mama Melrose.

Honestly, if I could swing it, I'd figure out a way to stay at AKL, and I love CS.

Can you tell me a little about what you love about CS? That's just one resort I really don't know much about.

For me that's easy, switch! One week (assuming 7 nights), even if you could keep your food costs around $100/day (eating only QS of course) saves you $200 right off the top. I love the freedom the dining plan provides. I wouldn't choose to eat as much as the dining plan provides but it's hard to ignore the cost savings ($60/person/night, you do the math)

I know not everyone agrees with me and that's OK but we don't go to Disney for the hotel, we go for the parks and my vacation is much less stressful when I don't have to fuss over the additional costs of food. If the kids want a mickey bar, they get a mickey bar. If I want the more expensive entree at a restaurant, that's what I get instead of getting another burger in an effort to save a few bucks. I am personally much more relaxed when that part of my vacation is taken care of.

See I kind of am on the same wavelength as you. I love the beauty of the resorts, but I'm mainly here for the parks! And I don't like stressing about the meals! I have an anxiety disorder that makes this so much worse than it needs to be but it's almost unbearable for me to make a decision sometimes!

What would tip it for me would be downgrading from an awesome deluxe resort for a moderate. I just wouldn't do it. For me, watching the animals roam the savannah is worth any possible savings with the dining plan. AKL is one of my favorite resorts.

Am I gonna be spoiled if I stay here to where I won't want to stay anywhere but deluxe? Lol! Do you like the pool at AKL?

I would switch to CSR and book a buffet for dinner every night.

After my own heart!

 

[Lavitz]

I vote Coronado based on two things you said.

i. "However, we don't usually spend much time in the resorts"
ii. "I have seen lots of people say they spent around $1000 or even more and that's bananas"

I'm assuming you're staying 7 days. If you budget 2 quick service meals per person per day at $15 each, that's $30 per person or $120 per day. For the week it'll run you $840. And if you choose any table service restaurants that price will go up by quite a bit. Then you'll still have to pay for snacks/drinks since if you're anything like me you never bring as many as you need.

On the other hand with regular dining at Coronado you get 1 QS, 1 table service and a snack per person per day, plus the mug (which I didn't think I'd use at all but absolutely did). Personally I'd prefer peace of mind and saving $500 over having a great view on my 10 minute walk to the park and 10 minute walk back each day. Though I'm dying to try AKL, so really you're in a good spot each way.

 

[DekrRini]

I rent DVC points so I can afford to stay deluxe. A couple of years ago I took a last minute trip and couldn't get a DVC rental so I had to stay at POP. I promised myself I'd not stay value again. There is absolutely nothing wrong with POP, but I was spoiled. Hearing people talking as they as they towed their luggage along the cement walkway outside my room at 3:00am was the kicker. I've not stayed in a moderate lately so I can't compare a moderate to deluxe, but I'm sure whichever you choose, you'll have a great time.

 

[rwdavis2]

IMHO the food at WDW is not worth getting all hot and bothered about. If money is really an issue then switch. But, I would stay at AKL. You will love the resort.