When not on the dining plan...

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

For our first trip- we were on the dining plan and LOVED it. We vowed to never do Disney without it....then....

On our second trip, it would have been a hassle to add the dining plan on so we didn't, and afterwards we vowed to never get the dining plan again lol- we still ate at a lot of TS restaurants, but felt like it took up too much time, and held us to a constricted schedule

SO, dining plan is out for our next trip- If you do not do the dining plan, where do you like to eat? How many TS meals do you have on a trip of 7 nights?

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

I just hate having to stick to a time to eat, that is my only issue. We only made 2 reservations this time around.

 

[OhThePain]

Our upcoming trip is going to be our first without the DDP. Between us staying CL, doing the Sunset Safari at AKL, wanting to eat at Shula's and debating on what we want to eat the night we do MNSSHP, we felt that there would be too many credits that would end up going unused. For our 8 night stay we are still planning on 6 TS dinners (which will be mostly signature meals, not counting the Sunset Safari and MNSSHP night) and 2 breakfasts. It is just me and my girlfriend so we don't have to worry about the cost for kids and such.

 

[jm106]

we do not do DP. We like to have more park time and less of a schedule.
We have 2 breakfast ADR and 2 dinner ADR for a week. We plan to play it by ear for our AK day and DHS day and if we really want or can fit a TS in, I plan to see who can take us at a resort restaurant or DTD. If not we go with CS which is fine. We have small kids who dont eat huge meals and I am a small eater so we can get away with 2 adult meals or even at times 1 adult, 1 kids and a side for all 4 of us, especially if its hot we dont eat big or heavy meals.

 

[Music City Mama]

Last year we were on the QSDP for 7 nights. We paid for two TS meals (one character and one for F! package).

This year we'll be there for 8 nights (but we arrive late, so really like 7), and we'll have 4 TS meals. Since we're staying in the EP resort area, I felt like we needed to take advantage of having 2 TS meals at EP. The 3rd will be F! package again. The only reason we're doing a 4th is is to have a night out with just DH and I (the kids will receive free child care at Camp Dolphin) since we're eating at a S/D restaurant. Otherwise, I'd say 2-3 TS meals is plenty for 7 days.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

Hmmm free child care? Tell me all about it! DH and I would love a night out, and were thinking about going to Jiko, and letting the kids stay at Simba's Clubhouse since DD will be 3 then. I hadn't heard about the free childcare at Dolphin....

Edit- nevermind- it says you have to be 4 for Camp Dolphin. Jiko it is

 

[John Tag]

We are a family of 4, so for us were added up for fun what dinners would cost after downloading the menus. We decided this time also not to use the DDP. If we chose The - Plus dinning-for our stay was $ 1100.00 more. After we looked thru menus and made pretend order for the week our total for lunch and dinner cost is $860 saving $240.

This is based off the following seatings were reserved.

Lunch-every day in parks-Peco Bills ect hamburgers and wraps type lunches.

Dinners-
Cosmic Rays-MK
50s Cafe-MS
Tusker House-AK
Crystal Palace-MK
ESPN Club-Boardwalk
House of Blues-Got a $50 gift card for $6 resturant.com(The avg cost of $125 is now $80) DTD
Tonys Town Square-MK

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

Tusker House! How did I forget about that. We loved Boma on the dining plan, and then this past time (no ddp) we didnt enjoy it as much. Maybe we will try there this time. Thanks! Tony's too- we have never tried there. Good idea

 

[buffettgirl]

we also don't do dining plan. For this 7 day visit we have 4 dinner TS and one breakfast TS. The rest we wing. We don't do TS at lunch, EVER and for breakfast we usually grab whatever we feel like at the hotel (cereal in the room or a muffin or whatnot). Lunches we either grab counter service and we all split (like one big order of fries) or we make that our snack for the day - mickey bar! Then again, we're usually there in the summer and no one really feels like eating.

I sometimes look at those on the DX dining and I think how can you possibly eat THAT much food - sit down lunch followed by sit down dinner. Is it really economical to get it if you have to pay for it?

 

[John Tag]

I also never yet tried this, But saw on another fourm. Some to cut savings also for lunch and sometimes dinner with kids. Order 1 Double cheese burger meal for the 2 kids and purchase a extra bun for .80 cents. Take the double burger apart and now have 2 burgers and share fries. With fixing bars at Peco Bills and such thats easy to dress that burger up.

 

[John Tag]

I sometimes look at those on the DX dining and I think how can you possibly eat THAT much food - sit down lunch followed by sit down dinner. Is it really economical to get it if you have to pay for it?

I do the same thing. Im a decent size guy 250, But get me a order of fries or a hot dog for early lunch and Im all set. I just need my 16oz steak at night..LOL

 

[bullcat_02]

For my family's upcoming 10 day vacation we have ADRs for the 9 out of 24 meals while at WDW. Our ADRs are: Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, Plaza, Coral Reef, Le Cellier, 50's, Liberty Tree, Yachtsman's, and Chefs de France. And yes, we are paying OOP.

 

[Pakey]

We also go dining-plan-less. We eat at the Swan/Dolphin a lot (we are adults only) because the food is better there and the atmosphere is more adult. We also go to V&A and Bistro and some of the Disney signatures.

We rarely do TS during the day (we prefer a light snack), only dinner, and we are not dessert eaters. And since I prefer to have 2 appetizers over an appetizer and entree, I can do that whenever I want.

 

[buffettgirl]

I do the same thing. Im a decent size guy 250, But get me a order of fries or a hot dog for early lunch and Im all set. I just need my 16oz steak at night..LOL

don't get me wrong, we also eat a piece of fruit if we can find it, or we pack granola bars or whatnot. I know, it sounds like we eat junk all day LOL. Not the case really. I was just really remarking on sitting down for a full meal, 3 meals a day. I would need expandy pants by the end of vacation. And Disney isn't really the healthiest food.

We also go dining-plan-less. We eat at the Swan/Dolphin a lot (we are adults only) because the food is better there and the atmosphere is more adult. We also go to V&A and Bistro and some of the Disney signatures.

We rarely do TS during the day (we prefer a light snack), only dinner, and we are not dessert eaters. And since I prefer to have 2 appetizers over an appetizer and entree, I can do that whenever I want.

OMG is desert also on the dining plan? At every meal?

 

[nancycg56]

We just got back on Saturday from an 8 night stay. We stay at Shades of Green so we can't get the dining plan even if we wanted to.

For the 24 total meals, we had 10 ADRs and I was ready to scream with that many but DH likes at least one sit down meal/day. I did manage to talk him out of a couple. It seems we end up canceling more towards the end of our vacation just from exhaustion.

 

[Akliebert]

Camp Dolphin

Location: Dolphin
Hours: 5:30pm-12pm
Price: $10.00 per hour per child
Features: Supervised activities for children ages 4-12 including sports, games, movies, arts and crafts, as well as special events.

Reservations: 407-934-4000, ext: 4241

Meals: dinner and dessert at a resort restaurant

Special Offer: Have dinner at Shula’s, bluezoo or Il Mulino OR enjoy a spa treatment at Mandara Spa and receive up to two hours of complimentary time at Camp Dolphin. Simply present your receipt as proof of purchase at time of child pickup. (NOTE: One child admitted for each adult entrée purchased. One child admitted for each purchase of a spa treatment of 75 minutes or more.)

 

[hammie59]

In the past, I always drooled at the thought of being on the dining plan. Last trip we finally did it (regular plan). Split trip so 4 of our days were with dining, which meant 4 TS and 4 CS restaurants. The other 4 were without so we ate at our leisure (No TS). Being on the plan was fun for a change, glad we did it, etc...

Upcoming trip (10N/11D), will be no DDP and I'm happy. I love being free to eat whenever we want. We have 3 TS ressies that are for sure. (1900 PF breakfast, TREX dinner, Mama Melrose FP). The rest of the days will be eating CS and stuff we order from Garden Grocer. I think it's a good fit for this particular trip.

 

[dvcdisney]

This past February was our first time in a long time without DDP. We usually only get the basic DDP but contemplated alot on getting the DxDP since we prefer to eat at TS restaurants only.

This past vacation was 14 nights without DDP and purchased (for the first time) the TIW.

At the end of the trip, I calculated the amount we spent and the number of TS restaurants we went to. As a background, we didn't eat at any CS restaurants. So for 14 nights: 8 TS breakfast, 4 TS lunch, 14 TS dinners (2 of which is signature), 31 (4 of us) snacks, and two mornings we had cereal and pastries in the room. With the TIW, DVC and AP discounts, we managed to spend only $300 more than getting the DDP. We were so much happier this way since we don't like CS restaurants.

Basically, we realized that the time to eat the TS meals were worth it for us because we enjoyed the food a lot more and since we go to Disney alot, we don't feel like we're missing too many things. My son (who absolutely loves rides) never complained once and he even mentioned that he enjoyed this vacation more since the food was far better than when we were on the DDP.

So no more DDP for us. Also, we decided that, although, we may really enjoy the DxDDP, we would prefer we weren't tied down to the participating restaurants or having to order appetizers or desserts if we didn't want to. We also found that we usually pay OOP for the signature TS restaurants since it was never worth 2 credits.

So basically, when we don't have DDP, I book TS restaurants for two meals a day. We also book some restaurants that are not part of the DDP (ie Bluezoo (Dolphin)). We basically only order what we want and we save alot with the TIW 20% discount. The only restaurant that we didn't have any discount was Teppan Edo for dinner.

I think the freedom to order what you want without worrying about the credits being used was alot less stressful for us.

 

[Eliza32]

We didn't have the dining plan is September (had it for free the time before that - loved it but very constricting time-wise) so we only booked 5 TS meals in our 14 night trip. 3 breakfasts (all character) and 1 lunch at Le Cellier and an early evening at Chef Mickeys. It was enough as we like to eat off site too.

 

[MedicGoofy]

My mom and I will be doing an 8 night stay in November. After going through menus and adding up what we 'would' order vs what we would have to get on the dining plan, we figured we would come out further ahead paying OOP. And we are still going to eat great!!

We are doing 6 TS dinners and 3 sit down breakfasts. The rest will be counter service for breakfast and dinner. We always just grab fruit and snacks (Mickey pretzels!!! yeah) for lunch.

When we looked at it, we felt like the dining plan was too restrictive in HAVING to have dessert. I know, weird right? BUT, we like salad or an app with dinner, even if shared. And by the time dinner is done, I don't like having to stuff myself with dessert, my mom either. So, would rather NOT get dessert, and get a Mickey ice cream bar later, or something from a bakery when I have walked off my meal. and I find, I have come out far ahead financially More souvenirs for me!!!