To Dine or not to Dine?

[NicholaJP]

Hi all,

I have quotes for AKL

2 rooms 11-19 December (4 Ad, 1 child)

Room, Tickets and Dining $5436.19
Room and Tickets Only $4101.33
Difference $1334.86

Is the dining option really worth it? We plan on eating a late breakfast at AKL most mornings, costing $16.99 Ad, $9.99 ch, a lite snack in the park at lunch, and going on past years, probably dinner at AKL. Really not sure what to do - HELP!! I have spent so long looking at figures, plus converting everything to £'s, I am completely number crunched!!

Any help appreciated.

Thank you
Nichola

 

[grannyminnie]

I've never used the dining plan because I don't eat that much, but I have heard a lot of folks say that it is way too much food. The breakdown of your meal plans seems to suggest that you won't get in all the food credits, but wait and see what some other posters suggest...

 

[karliebug]

Adult fee is around $39 and includes tax and tip. The breakfast you mention with tax and tip would be over $20. You would then get an additional meal and a snack for the additional 19 dollars. You can do so many great restaurants at WDW, why limit yourself to eating at AKL every day?

 

[Guzzi]

we utilized the dining plan on each of our trips to Disney. We thought it was great, but we, myself and daughter really like sit down dinners: , my wife is likes them and my son couldnt care less.


at the price we definitely got our monies worth, we did you sit down meals on two occassions for buffet character breakfasts in MK and AK before they opened, that was really cool, and with the price of food at the resorts I could easily eat my way through 38$ worth of food a day, snacks were great in the parks for the kids or water bottles or cokes for the adults, it just worked for us

 

[sarobison]

We've done DDP on our last 3 trips, until this most recent trip (just back) I've loved it. This time I found myself thinking that the TS meals weren't really all that great, and we ate at some of the popular places.

With that being said, it is definitely worth the money and the peace of mind. We went for 6 days, 5 nights and did a FULL six days. The only food I paid for while there was for DS who only wanted chips and a drink one day at lunch and I didn't want to use snack credits for them. We're light breakfast eaters and DS 4 and 7 and DW ate pop tarts or cereal each morning which saved us snacks and CS meals.

If you're going to be eating at Boma while at AKL then I'd definitely get DDP. It also gives you lots of flexibility with your lunches and snacks. The one thing is that if you're going to eat at any TS places I would pick them out now and get ADR's ASAP.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

DW and I were actually talking about this very thing this morning. It can be great for some families but whether it's worth it really depends on your eating habits. Neither of us are big eaters and when we're at WDW we rarely exceed $50/day for food therefore spending $40/day each to be on the DDP just isn't worth it. Instead we use the DDE card which more than pays for itself.

 

[JustUsGirls]

we aren't dining...we really aren't foodies and are going for the adventure and rides and pool stuff--we eat light snacks throughout the day and stuff like that and have adr's for dinnners...i didn't want to fuss with tickets and how many for this but what about that and where can we go for this..etc....i wanted the freedom, and like i said, we aren't going for the food-without dining gives us the most flexibility and i feel, an easier vacation with less to worry about and plan...have fun!

 

[raven69david]

I'd say don't do the DDP. We never use it as we can't justify the cost, in your case, $1300+ If you're gonna do breakfast at AKL every day, then you can always do room service and order from the kids menu if you're not into a huge breakfast.

This is a good choice: The Pumbaa Plate - one egg, any style with hash browns and choice of bacon or sausage


Here's the menu:

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menu_aklin.htm

Anyway, this is just 1 of many inexpensive routes to go. BTW, we'll be there 12/9 through 12/15 so hopefully we'll get a chance to pass each other up during those dates.

 

[AmyAllan&Eve]

If you know you will use all of your table service meals at Boma's for breakfast, then it is probably not worth the extra $19 for the meal plan.

With the meal plan, you could get a $4 snack at lunch time in the park but you would still have $15 left over for your counter service. Most counter service is not quite that expensive per person. You might break even.

I would save money by not doing the meal plan and just purchasing items a la carte. However, if there is even a chance that you might do your table service meal in the afternoon or evening at Boma's or Jiko's (or any other restaurant in the World), then the dining plan makes total sense.

 

[wilda]

We stayed at AKL last November. Had our 6 yer old GS. Did not do the dining plan. We ate breakfast every morning at The Mara; waffles, french toast, and I think scrambled eggs were all available. Along with that you could get yogurt, fruit, etc. We are just not interested in sitting down for a 1-hour breakfast. Grab-n-go works well for us.

We are going back to BWI this December and won't do the DDP. Just seems like a lot of time is spent making ADR's, and then planning the day around what park to visit that coincides with the restaurant you have ADR's at..... Just depends on what type of experience you are looking for.

 

[HANDYMOM]

We are going back to BWI this December and won't do the DDP. Just seems like a lot of time is spent making ADR's, and then planning the day around what park to visit that coincides with the restaurant you have ADR's at..... Just depends on what type of experience you are looking for.

I think Wilda hit on a key point. If you are going at a busy time of the year, planning your ADR's to coincide with each park you plan to be at is hard. We always go mid-January, with little or no crowds. We are able to get most table service with just a brief wait. We are also able to chill out and enjoy longer meals since we're not really losing any time on rides....

Those with small children might want to use the plan during the hot months, to allow their children some cool "downtime" in the various character meals. Even with the tip change, most are buffets which would require minimal tip.

 

[Guzzi]

We utilized the dining plan on both our trips in 05 and 06. Its 37.99 per day for each adult according to what ive read here and on Disney's web site. It seemed like a really good deal for our family 2 adults and two children and when we go again next summer we will be using the DDP again.
I guess you have to do the math, If you can get by for under 21 dollars a day for food (and one snack) for each adult after taking out your breakfast, I guess the dining plan isnt a good deal. My daughter (all 5'3" and 90lbs) and I are big eaters so the plan worked great for us. I have seen some web sites that indicated that if and yours are not big eaters, the meal plan might not be a good deal.

I hope this helps

 

[ajk912]

If I am reading what you are writing correctly, you are going to be having a sit down breakfast and dinner at AKL every day, and a quick CS or snack for lunch. Since you will need two TS credits a day, I think it would be better to pay out of pocket.

 

[emmabelle]

I think it all depends on where you're eating. We didn't have the DDP on our recent stay because we were only there for three nights. The first night dinner in Norway was $156 for four and the second night dinner at Mama Melrose's was $96 for four. Each night my husband had one drink. It definately would have been worth it to have the dining plan the first night, but I don't think it would have mattered the second night.

 

[amw]

Adult fee is around $39 and includes tax and tip. The breakfast you mention with tax and tip would be over $20. You would then get an additional meal and a snack for the additional 19 dollars. You can do so many great restaurants at WDW, why limit yourself to eating at AKL every day?

I assume the poster was quoting for this December, and then the above post would be correct. If for 2008, gratuities are not included with the dining plan.

From mousesavers, for 2008:

The other big changes for 2008 are related to the Dining Plan options:

The price of the regular Dining Plan has been reduced by $1 per person per night, meaning the 2008 plan costs $37.99/adult and $9.99/child per night. However, it no longer includes gratuities or appetizers (but tax is still included). This is effectively a 15%-20% decrease in value. However, the Dining Plan remains a good deal for many people.

A new Deluxe Dining Plan is available for $69.99/adult and $19.99/child per night. With this new plan, each guest receives 3 meals and 2 snacks per night . You can choose from table service or counter service for each meal (so if you can eat that much food, you might as well eat all table service meals). The table service meals include appetizer, entrée, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage. "Signature Restaurants" still count as 2 table service meals with this plan.You also receive a refillable mug per person, to be used at your resort.

A "Wine & Dine" Plan can be added on to any package that includes dining for $39.99 per night. This allows you to enjoy one bottle of wine per night from a selected list. Click here to see the brochure for this option.


I like to look at various dining menus , and guestimate how much you're likely to spend each day. If you had the plan, you could really use it to advantage (ie. character meals.. Fantasmic dinners...). If you would never pay for those items, then it may or may not be worthwhile.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/disneydining.cfm
http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

I think it's a great deal for kids, especially if Character meals are on your itinerary. But, for just adults... I kind of break even.