Disney Dining Plan - Restaurants

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Related Discussion Board Topics

• How do You Get the Most Out Of the Dining Plan??? (posted 11/13/2007 by sherrytodd)
• Dining plan worth it? (posted 12/20/2006 by Amynleroy)
• How have YOU used the MYW+Dining plan? (posted 4/26/2006 by t1lersm0m)
• Should we buy the dining plan? (posted 3/20/2006 by jodiefra)

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Comments

Editor: Doobie   Posted: 12/25/2006
Because of the Dining Plan being so popular, the table service restaurants tend to be busier, so sometimes it's very difficult to just walk up and get a table. Therefore, to get the most out of the plan, make your dining reservations as far in advance as you can.

User ID: hbquikcomjamesl   Posted: 11/20/2009
I've never used it, but I've done the math several times over the years, and it's not cost-effective for me. The best I could possibly do, IF I could get my typical breakfasts on the plan, would be to break even.

Given that I avoid fast food, am an extremely hard sell on desserts (probably fewer than one in a hundred meals, even if it's included), and an even harder sell on appetizers (probably fewer than one in five hundred meals, even if it's included), and that I might, in a week's visit to WDW, get ONE single-serving packet of Mickey Mouse shortbread cookies, and ONE churro (assuming I can find a churro cart; at least as of the last 2 times I visited WDW, churro carts were not nearly as ubiquitous as they are at DL and DCA), there's actually not so much as a single version of the DDP that would be cost-effective for me.

My idea of breakfast, when I'm on vacation, is a bowl of oatmeal, two slices of wheat toast, and about a pint of milk. Cheap and light, but probably not available on a snack credit; definitely not cost-effective on any other kind of credit.

For lunch and dinner at WDW, I mainly patronize such establishments as Cinderella's, Liberty Tree, and the Plaza Restaurant in MK, Chefs de France, Rose & Crown, and the Garden Grill in Epcot, Sci-Fi Dine-In and Mama Melrose's in Studios, and Cap'n Jack's in DTD. And I'm typically off-property for at least one or two lunches, visiting Kennedy Space Center. And the only counter-service establishment I'd go out of my way to visit would be Cosmic Ray's (assuming their lounge AA ET lounge singer is still there).

So I would almost certainly end up having more table-service meals than I have credits, under the "classic" DDP, but with neither an appetizer nor a dessert, I'd be spending less on most of them paying cash than the table-service credits are worth. And likewise, I'd either be using most of the counter-service credits for far less than they're worth, or not using them at all.

And since there's probably not more than one or two cases in which I'd spend as much on a meal as a table-service credit costs under the "deluxe" plan, it would be even less cost-effective for me.

I do admit to a certain prejudice: even though I don't have any kids, I have an objection to the way they're handled on the DDP, i.e., if there's a children's menu available, they HAVE to order from it.

I've seen the children's menus for WDW restaurants. They're not like the children's menus I grew up with, i.e., smaller portion sizes and milder vegetables. Today's children's menus are mostly stuff I didn't eat as a child, and wouldn't eat (at least, as a sit-down meal) as an adult. For example, as an adult, I go to Cinderella's as much for the prime rib as I do for the ambiance and the view. If I were a child today, I'd raise a royal stink if I were to dine there, and were told that my only choices were "Mini Hot Dogs . . . OR Chicken Tenders . . . OR Beef and Macaroni with marinara sauce and melted Mozzarella."

User ID: TamaraBrad3kiddos   Posted: 7/1/2009
Well at first look we were not going to get the dining plan, seemed to pricey. We have a 12yr old (who would be considered an adult, so for our family that would be 2kids and 3adults for 6days. We were also told we had to have the dining plan for the day we checked in :( After calling to find out prices for reservations for some of our dining choices, we quickly realized it may be better to just pay up front. We are the family whom, with out the dining plan, would suffer, starve, and share 2 meals to save money. When you are on a trip the last thing you want to do is feel like you are scrimping on food. So we decided to go for it. Being able to order anything off the menu seemed like a fun idea.
We just returned and we LOVED it. At the end we had a few snacks more than we could eat left, so we stopped by the fudge shop in Magic Kingdom and got some chunks of fudge for the way home. You really have to ask around to find out what snacks are allowed. We found that to be the most difficult to decipher what was allowed and what was not. Make sure you call the 90 days out too, to make your reservations, or you will be calling endlessly trying to squeeze your way in. The sit down meals were terrific. I would recommend not picking a big meal (your sit down meal) for lunch, I would pick breakfast or dinner. That way you are not too full to eat your quick service meal. For our sit down meals, we ate at Cinderellas CAstle for breakfast (amazing), Crystal Place with Pooh (amazing), Edo Teppan Japanesse Habatchi (amazing), Planet Hollywood (terriable), some mexican place at Epcott (pretty good). Make sure you have your map with you on which restruants are accepted, takes away the guess work. Or do your research before you leave for your trip so you know what menus would be appealing to you (that way you aren't wasting your time trying to decide while you are there). The only thing that you will want to take into consideration is, for most of the sitdowns, you will have to tip, and if your party is 6 or more automatic bill of 18% gratutity. We did find that some of the waiters/waitresses knew they were getting tipped and great service was NOT a priority ( mexican restruant at epcott/ planet hollywood )All in all, it is soooooo worth the money (if you want to eat like a king).

User ID: davewasbaloo   Posted: 12/25/2006
Originally Posted on the Discussion Boards on 12/26/2006
For us it was totally worth it. We do a sit down a day, and we were at WDW every day of our stay. Therefore, we found it worth while.

If you only want a couple of table service or are planning at spending time off site, it is not worth it IMHO.

User ID: hondo75   Posted: 12/25/2006
Originally Posted on the Discussion Boards on 3/26/2006
We used the plan in Oct '05. It was great. As long as you like eat. We only ate two meals a day and were more then stuffed and many times we got out desserts to go(took those back to the room to enjoy later). We also normaly only used the snack item to get something to drink since we were usual too full to eat anymore. It also made it nice that we didn't need to worry how expensive the resturant was. Two tips, One don't use your table service for breakest it a waste, Two make PSs many times we got turned away from the most popular resturants because they were booked up. So to sum up, I recommend it.