We Didn't Give Disney All Our Food Money

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I guess if money is a huge factor that is the smart thing to do. For many including myself the dining experiences at disney are one of the biggest reasons we go to disney in the first place. I also pretty much despise leaving disney property for any reason during my vacation. The rest of orlando is just so tacky/touristy. Def smart to avoid the character meals though bc they are by far the worst value on property unless you have little kids

Sorry, but the dining expereince ranks very low on "why I go to Disney" So so food, so so service and HIGH prices... I guess it's an 'expereince' but not what I would refer to as a"good one"

I am not sure I save any money, but I get better food by not eating "on property"

That said I am not a "commando" park goer any longer. I don't go from open to close etc... that probably makes a difference.

(I also don't want to come home with 10 pounds to lose because Disney "gave" me desert LOL!)

 

[CityGirlLost]

I guess we all have our priorities. We stay at Pop Century because all we do in our room is sleep and shower and we spend our money in the parks and on the dining plan. We max out our credits and had lovely meals in great restaurants. We've never had bad service and don't worry about the prices at all because it's already been covered.

 

[MikeOhio]

Sorry, but the dining expereince ranks very low on "why I go to Disney" So so food, so so service and HIGH prices... I guess it's an 'expereince' but not what I would refer to as a"good one"

I am not sure I save any money, but I get better food by not eating "on property"

That said I am not a "commando" park goer any longer. I don't go from open to close etc... that probably makes a difference.

(I also don't want to come home with 10 pounds to lose because Disney "gave" me desert LOL!)

Obviously not everyone goes to disney for the food lol. It's important to some and not important to others.

 

[handinpocket]

I guess we all have our priorities. We stay at Pop Century because all we do in our room is sleep and shower and we spend our money in the parks and on the dining plan. We max out our credits and had lovely meals in great restaurants. We've never had bad service and don't worry about the prices at all because it's already been covered.

Same here. My kids LOVE eating in the parks and resorts, wouldn't think of going off site. I don't want to have to leave my coveted parking spot (yes, we vulture it, until we get THE spot) and venture out into the real world. I'm staying in MY fairytale for the whole stinking trip....thankyouverymuch!!

 

[umaangel00]

I think it is very convienant to eat in the parks. The last time I was at WDW, we stayed offsite and ate lunch in our car and breakfast and dinner back at our condo. This didn't leave us very much time in the actual parks. This time around we are staying at Pop and getting free dining because of it. I do not know if I would be staying onsite without the free dining but I think we will have a much more enjoyable time knowing our meals are taken care of.

 

[sukhakuli]

I guess I'll find out if the dining has gotten worse over the years when we go back in November, but I never thought that Disney dining was all that great to begin with. I always thought it was pretty mediocre at best, and kind of yucky at the worst counter service places. It was pretty much what I came to expect. Then we went to Disneyland, and I was WOWED by the dining. Even the counter services places are well above anything offered at Disney World. I actually looked forward to going there and eating. We loved the Lilo and Stitch breakfast so much that we did it nearly every time we went to Disneyland. That is a yummy buffet! Or was, now it's Mickey and Friends and wasn't quite as good, but still not bad.

We don't exactly have snooty palates, either. One of dh's favorite places to eat at DW is Caseys because he has this weird thing for nacho cheese. I don't care for it. So we're not "foodies" and we definitely don't go to DW to eat. Dh hates eating out with a passion. But even the stuff that was raved about over here, I thought was so-so. So I guess I'll see if it is even worse than it was, lol.

As for food, I'm telling you, nobody can stretch a dining dollar like dh can. Holy cow. If you give him free reign to keep a vacation as cheap as possible, you will be stunned. And hungry. We spent a week in NYC and spent 50 bucks on food the whole time. It was crazy. Same thing at DW the first time we went. At the time IIRC they had a $3 breakfast buffet off property, so we ate there every day, and then we had sandwiches before bed, from food we bought at the Commissary, so I think that was maybe 10 bucks. And that was it. Our hotel was only about 30 bucks a night, and we got super cheap tickets on base (this was soon after Sept 11, and the travel deals were incredible). When we didn't have much money, I always lost a lot of weight on vacation. And we didn't have kids then, so we could easily skip meals.

We're trying the Disney dining Plan for the first time, so we'll see what we think about all those meals at Disney. I hope Ohana's is like it was the first time we went, the next 2 times it wasn't as good, and dh was sad.

 

[leebee]

I guess we all have our priorities. We stay at Pop Century because all we do in our room is sleep and shower and we spend our money in the parks and on the dining plan. We max out our credits and had lovely meals in great restaurants. We've never had bad service and don't worry about the prices at all because it's already been covered.

DD and I stay onsite now because with free dining and DME it's more affordable for us than offsite. Do I miss the big, "two room suite" with microwave, fridge, and sofa at Comfort Suites Main Gate East? You bet I do. Do I miss hopping into my own car with hardly any wait after a long day at the park, when my feet hurt and I am hot and tired? Absolutely! But that's $70 a night for the room and involves a rental car and paying for meals, gas, and parking. $92 a night at POP + $20 to upgrade the to the regular dining plan comes to $112 a day. I'd be hard pressed to feed 2 of us for $40 a day while at Disney, and that's before rental car, gas, and parking. Part of being at Disney, for us, is visiting our favorite restaurants. Until free dining, we stayed offsite but ALWAYS had one meal at Boma, Kona Cafe, Crystal Palace, Mama Melrose or 50's PT, and one Epcot restaurant. Eating at our favorite restaurants is part of being on vacation. Thanks to free dining we've experienced restaurants that we never thought we'd go to because of the price: Chefs de France, California Grill, Kouzzina, for example.

To each his own, but free dining works SO well for us. Please enjoy your off-site meals; it leaves more ADR availability for the rest of us!

 

[lugnut33]

Don't get me wrong, there are good places to eat at WDW, and I certainly don't begrudge anyone who gets the dining plan. If you have kids it's a decent deal, but once they are 10 it hurts to pay for them as adults.

My kids loved Sweet Tomatoes. It's an all you can eat salad, soup, focaccia, and desert bar. WDW has nothing like it on property, and it costs about 1/4 the cost of a buffet at WDW.

I have never had such a disappointing dinner as we did a few years back at Chef Mickey's. It was expensive and the food mediocre. At those prices the food should be spectacular. Even my kids were disappointed. I just asked my 11 year old what was better, Sweet Tomatoes or Chef Mickey's, and she looked at me like I was crazy, Sweet Tomatoes. Just because there are Disney Characters doesn't make it good. Asked where she would prefer to eat Sweet Tomatoes won again. Even an 11 year old's pallet knows what is better, and she knows what is a better bargain.

 

[lugnut33]

DD and I stay onsite now because with free dining and DME it's more affordable for us than offsite. Do I miss the big, "two room suite" with microwave, fridge, and sofa at Comfort Suites Main Gate East? You bet I do. Do I miss hopping into my own car with hardly any wait after a long day at the park, when my feet hurt and I am hot and tired? Absolutely! But that's $70 a night for the room and involves a rental car and paying for meals, gas, and parking. $92 a night at POP + $20 to upgrade the to the regular dining plan comes to $112 a day. I'd be hard pressed to feed 2 of us for $40 a day while at Disney, and that's before rental car, gas, and parking. Part of being at Disney, for us, is visiting our favorite restaurants. Until free dining, we stayed offsite but ALWAYS had one meal at Boma, Kona Cafe, Crystal Palace, Mama Melrose or 50's PT, and one Epcot restaurant. Eating at our favorite restaurants is part of being on vacation. Thanks to free dining we've experienced restaurants that we never thought we'd go to because of the price: Chefs de France, California Grill, Kouzzina, for example.

To each his own, but free dining works SO well for us. Please enjoy your off-site meals; it leaves more ADR availability for the rest of us!

a

But that's with free dining and yeah, that's not a bad deal. Us DVC members are not eligible for free dining, plus free dining is offered only at certain times of the year like when kids are in school and my wife is being a teacher. You can't really include free dining in this discussion.

 

[leebee]

Yes, I agree about Chef Mickeys. The last 2 times we were there, the food was mediocre, the place was messy, and the food wasn't entirely fresh, either. That's why we don't eat there. However, if their buffet was as well-presented and kept as the buffet at Boma, and we needed a character fix (doesn't happen too much anymore, DD is almost 18), we'd consider going back.

 

[lugnut33]

Yes, I agree about Chef Mickeys. The last 2 times we were there, the food was mediocre, the place was messy, and the food wasn't entirely fresh, either. That's why we don't eat there. However, if their buffet was as well-presented and kept as the buffet at Boma, and we needed a character fix (doesn't happen too much anymore, DD is almost 18), we'd consider going back.

Our family loves Boma. We stayed at AKL for 10 days on our last trip and never ate at Boma because the price has increased so much. Even the kids thought the price was too high to eat there. When I tell them it's going to be $200 for the 4 of us they are OK with not eating. It's not that we can't afford it, we just don't feel the experience is worth that much.

However, we were fine with our $238 bill at Bistro de Paris as the experience and food were exceptional. Way better than the food they serve downstairs at Chefs de France.

 

[mommyrosa2]

Yup, when your kids hit Disney adult age your thinking will change.Another thing to keep in mind, we had a fantastic time. One of our best trips ever.[/QUO
First, let me say that I'm glad you enjoyed your trip and that this method worked for you, unfortunately, I don't agree with your comment about the whole "when your kids get older". Our family of 4 have gone to Disney with and without the DP, stayed on and offsite and always rent a vehicle as we are NOT bus people. I can honestly say that we have always saved $$ going with the DP, even when we've paid for it OOP & my kids are now 17 & 13. I do believe it all depends on a family's eating habits & vacation habits. When we go to Disney, we don't like wasting time leaving the parks to find restaurants to eat nor do I want to eat at the same places I can get back home. As far as our eating habits, we're not big breakfast people so we tend to use our snack credits for breakfast items. We use our CS for lunches as we eat lunches back home daily and our TS credits for sit-down meals at dinner as we eat dinner every night. We don't normally order appetizers when we go out to eat back home so not having an app is not a big deal. As for desserts - at lunchtime, the girls will usually pick a cookie or fruit and take it back to the resort to eat at another time. I have many times, subsituted dessert for a bottle of water or fruit with no issues. And regarding dessert for dinner, yes, we'll tend to eat it - we're on vacation and with all the walking we do, we don't worry about having dessert with every dinner. I do agree that some of the restaurants in Disney are not great and are way overpriced but that's no different than any other vacation destination. Again, I believe it's different strokes for different folks!

 

[si-am]

I never get the dining plan. We drive to WDW, so we have access to a car. However, I don't ever eat offsite and the idea of eating sandwiches and pasta in my room is completely unappealing to me. That is everyday life for me, not vacation.

Glad it worked for you-- not something I would do, personally.

 

[lugnut33]

Yup, when your kids hit Disney adult age your thinking will change.Another thing to keep in mind, we had a fantastic time. One of our best trips ever.[/QUO
First, let me say that I'm glad you enjoyed your trip and that this method worked for you, unfortunately, I don't agree with your comment about the whole "when your kids get older". Our family of 4 have gone to Disney with and without the DP, stayed on and offsite and always rent a vehicle as we are NOT bus people. I can honestly say that we have always saved $$ going with the DP, even when we've paid for it OOP & my kids are now 17 & 13. I do believe it all depends on a family's eating habits & vacation habits. When we go to Disney, we don't like wasting time leaving the parks to find restaurants to eat nor do I want to eat at the same places I can get back home. As far as our eating habits, we're not big breakfast people so we tend to use our snack credits for breakfast items. We use our CS for lunches as we eat lunches back home daily and our TS credits for sit-down meals at dinner as we eat dinner every night. We don't normally order appetizers when we go out to eat back home so not having an app is not a big deal. As for desserts - at lunchtime, the girls will usually pick a cookie or fruit and take it back to the resort to eat at another time. I have many times, subsituted dessert for a bottle of water or fruit with no issues. And regarding dessert for dinner, yes, we'll tend to eat it - we're on vacation and with all the walking we do, we don't worry about having dessert with every dinner. I do agree that some of the restaurants in Disney are not great and are way overpriced but that's no different than any other vacation destination. Again, I believe it's different strokes for different folks!

You must have some hungry boys? If my girls ate a lot (they'll eat a lot of different foods, just not a lot) I might change my mind.

 

[lin7]

I believe you when you say you can afford it, but I do believe money is an issue, cause it's apparent you want to budget. If money wasnt an issue then you wouldnt say you would not pay Disney that kind of money, or that it's overpriced. I'm sure if it's 20 dollars a day for the dinning plan you'd be more than willing to eat on site despite the "mediocre" food.

The reason why many people assume that money is an issue is cause you're pulling out numbers and comparing it. If it's just about the food, then it should just be about the food, not comparing the prices of eating off and on site. Not a post about how much money you saved while bashing Disney's onsite restaurants when there's actually quite a few good restaurants if you're willing or have the money to spend.

I cant imagine eating a sandwich for dinner. I'd at least want a hot meal, prepared for me when I'm holidays.

There's nothing wrong about budgeting, especially in the economy we live in today, but at least admit it. If it's not about the money then money shouldnt have mentioned in the op.

 

[mommyrosa2]

You must have some hungry boys? If my girls ate a lot (they'll eat a lot of different foods, just not a lot) I might change my mind.

I have two girls...my 17 yr old is a size 2 and my 13 yr old is a size 5 and extremely athletic. Anyone who thinks teenage girls can't eat like boys, think again. All the girls on my youngest soccer team can eat me and my DH under the table

 

[cymbaldiva]

I believe you when you say you can afford it, but I do believe money is an issue, cause it's apparent you want to budget. If money wasnt an issue then you wouldnt say you would not pay Disney that kind of money, or that it's overpriced. I'm sure if it's 20 dollars a day for the dinning plan you'd be more than willing to eat on site despite the "mediocre" food.

I did not get the impression that the OP needed to budget per se, merely that they feel that there are better values to be had for there food dollar. If the dining plan were only $20 a day then I'm sure we wouldn't be having this discussion.

 

[sukhakuli]

I dunno, I mean, Disney food is expensive, but lately all food is expensive. It costs me about 40 bucks to take the 5 of us just to a fast food place to eat. If we eat at a nicer place, it is easily over 100, and we're not really fine dining people. I'm talking Olive Garden or a steakhouse. The last time my dd and I went out to dinner just the 2 of us so we could have some mommy/dd time, it was $65. And that is without app, without dessert. Just 2 drinks and 2 steak entrees.

It's funny talking about how much older kids eat. My dd is 8 almost 9, and she is starting to grow really fast and eat a ton. She's a skinny little thing, but she's almost as tall as I am already, and I'm not short. My kids are super light eaters, but lately she eats a lot!

 

[Rylee]

Don't get me wrong, there are good places to eat at WDW, and I certainly don't begrudge anyone who gets the dining plan. If you have kids it's a decent deal, but once they are 10 it hurts to pay for them as adults.

We must be raising foodies!

When we tell the kids we are going to Disney World, (5 children) the first thing they do is yell... "I want to eat at Cali Grill. I want to eat at Teppan Edo. I want to go to the restaurant in the Poly but not the other one in the Poly," (he means Kona and not Ohana) etc. Of course, then they go on to argue which resort they want to stay at.

We couldn't wait for the youngest two to turn 10 so they could be on the adult plan. We even considered purchasing the adult tickets so they could have the adult meal plan and order whatever they wanted. We didn't because we either paid OOP for what they wanted, or many times someone wasn't that hungry and offered to switch their adult meal with their child meal.

For our family, the dining is an important part of the vacation experience, more for the shared intimate family interaction than for the food or atmosphere, but we do like good food and service.

 

[basketlacey]

We must be raising foodies!

When we tell the kids we are going to Disney World, (5 children) the first thing they do is yell... "I want to eat at Cali Grill. I want to eat at Teppan Edo. I want to go to the restaurant in the Poly but not the other one in the Poly," (he means Kona and not Ohana) etc. Of course, then they go on to argue which resort they want to stay at.

We couldn't wait for the youngest two to turn 10 so they could be on the adult plan. We even considered purchasing the adult tickets so they could have the adult meal plan and order whatever they wanted. We didn't because we either paid OOP for what they wanted, or many times someone wasn't that hungry and offered to switch their adult meal with their child meal.

For our family, the dining is an important part of the vacation experience, more for the shared intimate family interaction than for the food or atmosphere, but we do like good food and service.

This is us too! We have gone twice by renting a house and staying off site. We ate almost all of our meals outside WDW with the exception of 2 TS and a handful of CS for the week. We spent way less money. Then we stayed onsite with the DDP. Holy cow - we LOVED it! My family loves to go out to eat. It was so much fun picking the restaurants and then letting the kids order what they wanted. It is just two different ways to experience the vacation. I never felt like I was missing out before. In fact, I felt like I was winning because it was sooo much cheaper to eat outside the park. But, now that I have had the experience of being fully immersed in it, I am not sure I will go back to the other way. It works for us (at least for now).