WDW / DVC Dining Poll

[tjkraz]

Poll for DVC members. When staying on-site at DVC accommodations, assuming three meals per day, how many meals do you typically eat a DISNEY dining establishments?

For the purposes of this poll, Disney establishments would be restaurants at any of the theme parks, resorts (including D&S) and Downtown Disney.

Discuss.

 

[Chuck S]

We usually eat 2 meals per day in restaurants or counter service, and often also have breakfast at Olivia's.

Assuming you want a discussion about the current "dining options"...the DDE will work well for us, I would not use the MYW-type dining plan. I would feel it is necessary to order a huge sit-down to justify the cost of the plan. Currently, we rarely order appetizer, entree, beverage AND dessert. Our beverage usually, but not always, is water...not because of cost, but because that is what we prefer. We seldom drink alcohol...not because we are opposed to it, we simply "don't think about it". Though I generally order wine at Chefs du France.

With the DDE, I may be tempted to enjoy a few more drinks, but I doubt "dessert" will move up on our prioity list. By the time we have appetizer and entree, we are too stuffed to really enjoy dessert.

This is for 2 adults. If I had kids, and budget was a consideration, I'd probably have more "in-room" meals.

 

[DebbieB]

We have breakfast in the room, usually bagels, toast or frozen waffles, juice. We usually have a combination lunch/dinner at either a Disney restaurant or offsite. Sometimes we will do a counter service lunch and a later dinner but not often enough to buy the dining plan. I'm going to buy a DDE card. I go at least 3 times a year, once with friends and twice with family.

 

[timC]

We always have breakfast in room, lunch and dinner at a restaurant.... However, on check-out day we typically have a big breakfast at a nice place: Bomas, Whispering Canyon, Spoodles, etc... before heading out.

 

[MrsToad]

We usually have a quick breakfast in the room and then have lunch and dinner somewhere on property (parks, DTD, resort). While some of our meals are counter service, most are at table service locations. We rarely leave WDW (once in the last 5 or 6 trips to visit Universal) and don't rent a car.

At first I thought we would do well with the dining option associated with the new MYW tickets however, if we can be sure to schedule such that we take two trips in a year, an AP and the DDE option would provide greater flexibility; as other posters have mentioned, we wouldn't feel like we had to have an appetizer and desert to get the most out of our food dollars.

 

[Doug7856]

Currently, we have breakfast and lunch in our room and dinner out. This may change as our son (age 3) gets older and a nap is not mandatory (but by then it may be for mom & dad!). We saved so much money on our last trip by eating in our room. Now that our son is age three, we may not even splurge for the Character Breakfast once per trip. I can't justify $10.95 for the little bit of food he may eat.

A DVC Meal Plan may be tempting for a short or special (anniversary) trip.

 

[RobDoc]

We always have breakfast in our room and normally one meal (lunch or dinner) in a theme park restaurant, other resort or DD and another light meal (soup, sandwich, salad) back in the room.

The DDE program will really benefit us, as we normally do dine at the restaurants currently included in that program. The MYW option doesn't appeal to us at all- as it seems to encourage overeating to get our money's worth.

 

[CarolMN]

...(snip).....The MYW option doesn't appeal to us at all- as it seems to encourage overeating to get our money's worth.

Same here. Don't especially like the Dinner packages (such as CP or Fantasmic) for the same reason. I'm a diabetic and cannot afford to "overload" my system with a lot of food all at once. I'm very happy and grateful that the DDE will be available to AP/PAP passholders.

Best wishes -

 

[Tagrel]

We typically eat two meals at Disney restaurants a day. If we aren't doing a sitdown breakfast, then we usually just grab something quick in the room. Maybe a bagel, but nothing too difficult like eggs, etc.

If we do eat breakfast out, we typically skip lunch and grab an early dinner. We do at least one sitdown restaurant a day on vacation - sometimes 2...

So - a meal plan MAY benefit us, but I think I'd be much happier with something simple like the DDE card. As Doc pointed out, we really don't NEED to eat more than we already are! I think Disney could make a lot of DVCer's happy if they just allowed us to purchase that directly (i.e. no AP necessary - just our little blue DVC card!) With a 20% discount, I KNOW we will try places we normally would pass on...

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

We usually eat breakfast in our room and do one counter-service and one sit-down meal per day.

 

[WDWLVR]

We do breakfast in the room (with the exception of usually on character breakfast during our stay).

Lunch is usally counter service and then dinner is sit down.

I ordered the DDE card and think it will really save us on our upcoming trips this year.

 

[Divamomto3]

I voted 66%, but some days we eat 100% of our meals in restaurants. However, with our first DVC trip with the kids in a 2 BR villa coming up, I plan to have breakfast in the room, and possibly lunch on occassion. Although, we may just grab a snack at Artist's Palette while we're at the pool.

 

[Deemarch]

We ate breakfast in our room on the 2 days that we had to be someplace early. Other than that, we are on vacation...We don't cook!!! One of my true vacation requests. (Otherwise its a "fake" vacation...Like going down the shore for a week with family and kids...(all of you NJ moms will agree with me!!)

 

[debbiedoo]

Bagels and cereal for breakfast. plus the snack items for te hubby with his midnight munchies. . . . most of all I am on vacation and I do not cook!!!

 

[allforpooh]

We usually eat breakfast in, (no cooking on vacation) bagels etc...1 large meal, either a late lunch or early dinner then a small meal. We also like to splurge on where we eat so one meal is usually at a nice restaurant, with 4 people all ordering off of the adult menu the DDE card is a great option for us.



Denise

 

[CarolynFH]

We're pretty much like many of the others who have posted -- breakfast in the room, lunch usually counter service, dinner sit down. Sometimes we reverse the lunch/dinner sites and occasionally do both sit down (especially toward the end of the trip when we're tired!)

Our first two or three trips to WDW were package deals, so we had the Food & Fun Card a couple of times. We too found that it made us order (and eat - I was raised to clean my plate, which is why I had to join WISH ) more food than we really wanted. So the DDE will be great! It includes our favorite restaurants, and we tallied up what we're likely to eat on our March trip and found out that we should at least break even by buying one AP (with DVC discount) and the DDE card compared to the MYW tickets we were planning to buy.

DH just finished ordering my AP via the DVC Member website, and the DDE via phone call, so we're all set. I feel lucky - I get the AP, because I'm the one who has parents who might be persuaded to visit WDW in the coming year and take me with them !

 

[debaudrn]

I answered 66%, but...no good choice for us. We eat breakfast in the room everyday and only eat one other meal usually. We try to do late lunch and then eat snacks later if we need to.
Debbie

 

[QUACKHEAD]

We always eat breakfast in the room,...and from then on, it's every fifty feet until we go to bed!!!

 

[mouseclick1]

Usually we do breakfast in the room (just cereal for the kids, coffee for me!), and lunch and dinner out. If we have any leftovers from the night before, we might reheat that for lunch. I don't think we've ever had dinner in the room.

 

[BCV23]

I voted 100% out although I do make breakfast in the room once or twice per trip. We also do room service so don't know how to count that in this poll but since it is Disney cooking, not me...

The DDE card is a wonderful thing for my family. We really don't do counter service so it fits our needs perfectly.

The MYW dining addon would not have worked as well because of the counter service meal. But we would have changed our dining habits to make it work if DDE wasn't an option. At the nicer restaurants, the appetizer and entree sizes aren't usually huge and you can always get dessert to go so I don't think it is really encouraging overeating.

But no worries...we are getting a DDE card!!! Have I said that I'm excited!!