dining plan tricks of the trade

[octoberbarry]

Hi everybody,

In preparation for the likely to come free dining offer, just to get us charged up, and in celebration of my 7-day trip just booked for September :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:in hopes of said plan, I propose the following thread:

Over the past couple of years, I've read here and there of suggestions by folks who have found good ways to make the most out of their dining plan credits. Why don't we get them all in one place, here? So if you've found some good way of using your credits while in WDW, tell us about it...
For instance, which restaurants give the best bang for the buck? Which snacks can double as a small meal? Ways to use left-over credits at the end of a trip? Anything you've discovered is terrific as we can all benefit when we're there...

I wasn't sure whether to put this in 'trip planning' or 'general discussion' so if I've put it in the wrong place, feel free to move it. Thanks, and I look forward to all of the YUMMY :slurp: suggestions which I will no doubt take advantage of... :animwink:

 

[Disneykidder]

Here is one tip: When we were there over the summer, our resort, Pop, let us use a 1/2 gallon of milk as a snack. Then we were able to have milk in our room with some cereal.

 

[santa's surpriz]

Use any leftover snack credits in the gift shop for cookies, pasta, and candy to take home with you. I ended up filling half a suit case with boxes of the Minnie's cookies. Was there in December and still tasting the magic!

 

[NewfieFan]

Here is one tip: When we were there over the summer, our resort, Pop, let us use a 1/2 gallon of milk as a snack. Then we were able to have milk in our room with some cereal.

I was going to say the same thing! Now I'm Canadian, and I know litres not gallons!!! But all I know is that they use to let us buy the biggest container of milk that they sold for one snack credit. (I would compare the biggest container to a 2 litre here in Canada.) My one tip would be it never hurts to ask!!! My husband asked the the CMs working in our gift shop and they were more than happy to tell us what qualified and what didn't. We also bought the biggest bottle of water in our gift shop for one snack credit as well. So, if you don't like the taste of florida water just buy a big container of water and fill up your water bottles in the morning. It's cheaper then buying separate little bottles of water.

 

[octoberbarry]

Yeah yeah yeah...This is great...keep 'em coming...

 

[sissa216]

Here is one tip: When we were there over the summer, our resort, Pop, let us use a 1/2 gallon of milk as a snack. Then we were able to have milk in our room with some cereal.

Wow! that does seem like a great deal! But when you think about it, I guess
a half gallon of milk doesn't cost any more than some of the $3-$4 snacks
that are included.
Still good to know!!

One tip that my mom claims, but that never worked for us, is that at
counter service restaurants, you are actually entitled to a large drink, not
the smaller ones they give you.
But several times on the last trip, my mom would order for the group of 10
and get the large drinks, then my husband and I would order for the two of
us right behind them, and they would refuse us the large drinks :shrug:
We were all on the same dining plan together, just ordered seperate.
Just our luck, I guess.

 

[stmize]

a cereal box and a milk also counts as one snack credit

 

[JerseySkiddie]

on my first free dining trip we got cinnamon roles at the main street bakery on our way out of MK for the night and had them in the morning for breakfast using a snack credit.

also the counter service in mexico gave a ton of food for the combo (it was a while ago exactly what was included)

actual table service meals are always more bang for the buck than buffets and table service dinner is always more bang for the buck than lunch or breakfast. these may seem logical but its easy to forget when youre all excited and planning your trip

 

[swimmom]

In the past we have used up our snacks at Goofy's Candy Co.

And as for a good deal on a meal, order one of the filets at Le Cellier :slurp:

 

[barbara]

Two great places to use your CS credits, is at the Pop Century-get the Mom's night out meal-makes a great dinner if you are short on TS credits. We added an extra day to our trip, when we where at WDW, well they don't give you more free dining unless you added it before you got there, But we did have CS credits left-so this covers our dinner for that night. Another great place to eat is at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe-the half chicken, half ribs is plenty enough for a dinner. I don't know if it on the snack list for 2008, but at the Pop Century Grab and Go area, they always had a 1/2 dozen donuts you could get, and use for breaksfast the next day. And if you got the refillable mugs-you got coffee too. Oh and I almost forgot, we always seem to have snack credits left, so when we leave, we always end up with at least 4 or more Mickey Rice Krispies to enjoy when we get home.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Your snack credit is good for most anything under $4.00. The best so far has been the homemade ice cream cookie sandwich at the Main St Bakery for $3.99. Other snack options are large bags of Doritoes, 9 pack of doughnuts. Just look around at your resort's store and look at the many differant options you have available. Last is make sure that you use all of your credits before you leave. We make sure that we use them up just before we leave for the plane. We had a fewe CS credits left last year and got cold sandwiches, bottle drinks and desert to have at the airport while we waited for our plane.

For using your counter service credits I recommend the Pepper Market in CSR. You can have a Ribeye Steak with potatoe and veggie for $20.95 or maybe grilled tuna with rice and veggie for $16.95. There is no other place on property that offers meals like this at a counter service restaurant. They also have a great desert selection. You can have a great complete dinner here. Another good option if Cosmic Ray's and have the chicken & rib combo which comes with mashed potatoes and veggies.

For table service restaurants there are many options. You could go to a signature restaurant like the Yachtsman Steakhouse or California Grill and blow 2 credits per person and make that up at the pepper market or Cosmic Rays one night with a CS credit.

Another thing we have noticed on our trips is for CS pizza the best place is either Toy Story Pizza Planet or Catalina Eddies. They have meals that include a garden salad which will be covered by 1 CS credit. If you go to Pizzafari they do not have a pizza meal including a salad, so it would cost you $2.69 plus you 1 CS credit.


Good thread, I like seeing other ideas.

 

[New2WDW]

That is good to know about the milk at the Resort, my wife has to have milk for breakfast and I have been buying it separate in the past. :brick:

With all the complaints about the DDP having too much food and so on here is a simple proposal:

One:
A family of four can easily split 2 CS meals and have a "simple" lunch and then you have saved room for that BIG dinner meal which will be 4 TS. On the CS you could ask for extra cups and I believe they will accomidate you or you could use some snack options for extra drinks. This will stretch out your CS credits and allow for more meals or use them as snacks in themselves!

Two:
This one is standard but worth mentioning anyway. If you have kids who like more food or different food than the child's menu offers, go to a buffet and they can pick what they want. We do a bunch of buffets when we go!:slurp:

Good thread!

 

[barbara]

"For using your counter service credits I recommend the Pepper Market in CSR. You can have a Ribeye Steak with potatoe and veggie for $20.95 or maybe grilled tuna with rice and veggie for $16.95. There is no other place on property that offers meals like this at a counter service restaurant. They also have a great desert selection."

Wow I like this one, I might try this in Sept, and save my TS for one of the 2 TS places.

 

[Lucky]

One tip that my mom claims, but that never worked for us, is that at
counter service restaurants, you are actually entitled to a large drink, not
the smaller ones they give you.
But several times on the last trip, my mom would order for the group of 10
and get the large drinks, then my husband and I would order for the two of
us right behind them, and they would refuse us the large drinks :shrug:
We were all on the same dining plan together, just ordered seperate.
Just our luck, I guess.

I think we've always been able to get large drinks on CS DDP credits. In fact, we're never able to drink it all because they're so large.

 

[Iknewagirlnamed]

Comparing it to many dine-in locations, I highly recommend the buffets. My favorites are Chef Mickeys for Breakfast and Boma at The Animal Kingdom Lodge.

For instance, I had dinner at Marrakesh and had the Veggies with couscous, which from what I recall for just that dish was around $18.00. Since I was on the dining plan, I of course also received a desert and drink. I had a pastry desert (don't recall what) which was priced at around $7 or $8, which IMO wasn't worth it at all. All it was is light and flakey pastry with icing and powdered sugar.

So then I went to Boma, which is my favorite buffet. They happened to have the SAME DISH (veggies with couscous) as one of the offerings of the buffet. The buffet, excluding drink, is $26.99. Now with all of the other offerings in the buffet and the deserts, etc. I believe that the buffet is much more worth it.

Both of the table service meals counted at 1 credit. Boma was a much better value.

Same goes with Chef Mickeys. GREAT spread. On another note, something that really annoyed me was one morning I was getting breakfast at All star Music, and wanted to have the Mickey Waffle breakfast which included a choice of meat. Now since I am a vegetarian, I asked the person if I could sub breakfast potatoes for the meat. She said yes. When I went up to pay, and different woman said I couldn't and the breakfast potatoes would count as a snack and the mickey waffle alone would count as one counter service. I was so angry.

 

[sissa216]

I think we've always been able to get large drinks on CS DDP credits. In fact, we're never able to drink it all because they're so large.

I think it was just our luck. And it happened multiple times.
The smaller drink size would have been fine, except for the fact that they always filled it nearly full with ice, then added a little bit of pop to the ice :lol:
Even when I asked for "little ice", I came back with "lots of ice" and "little drink"

 

[mary219]

if you have kids on the ddp.counter service meals are counter service meals,no kid meals are necessary.For example,pop food court has kids meals offered,but you do not have to order the kids meal.you can order a counter service meal for your kid,just as you would for yourself.the kids get very tired of the same offerings all over on the ddp,so it made a huge difference on our trip once we realized.

Also,many places will offer a milkshake or a sundae for your cs dessert.if you have the cm stamp your reciept ,you get about 90[?] minutes to pick it up.Its perfect for places like pop food court.You can eat,take a swim and come back for your dessert.:slurp:

 

[Lucky]

Same goes with Chef Mickeys. GREAT spread. On another note, something that really annoyed me was one morning I was getting breakfast at All star Music, and wanted to have the Mickey Waffle breakfast which included a choice of meat. Now since I am a vegetarian, I asked the person if I could sub breakfast potatoes for the meat. She said yes. When I went up to pay, and different woman said I couldn't and the breakfast potatoes would count as a snack and the mickey waffle alone would count as one counter service. I was so angry.

That's too bad. Most of the CMs in my experience have been very flexible on that sort of thing.

 

[NewfieFan]

if you have kids on the ddp.counter service meals are counter service meals,no kid meals are necessary.For example,pop food court has kids meals offered,but you do not have to order the kids meal.you can order a counter service meal for your kid,just as you would for yourself.the kids get very tired of the same offerings all over on the ddp,so it made a huge difference on our trip once we realized.

Also,many places will offer a milkshake or a sundae for your cs dessert.if you have the cm stamp your reciept ,you get about 90[?] minutes to pick it up.Its perfect for places like pop food court.You can eat,take a swim and come back for your dessert.:slurp:

That's a good tip. We received Nestle Ice Cream for desert at the Noodle Station and by the time we got to eat it the ice cream was almost too melted to eat it! Do they do this everywhere, I wonder? Because I've heard someone mention this before that they just got their receipt stamped (or something like that) and they were able to go back and pick up their desert! I shall try this the next time I am there and get an ice cream for desert. Thank you!!!

 

[tookydo]

Donut Holes

While staying at Pop we got a large box of donut holes at the food court. It counted as one snack but was a quick breakfast for my family of four. Using snacks as breakfasts can save lots of CS credits.

Ditto on the CS meals for kids. A CM told us we could order any CS meal we wanted, regardless if it was for a child or not. The kids enjoyed the variety.

I also split several CS kids meals. For example, at Pinocchios Village my 2 boys (5 and 7) split a pizza meal and neither finished everything.