Dining Plans

[ParentsOf4]

IMHO, the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) is not the good financial value it once was. It's best asset is psychological; it feels nice to have the meals prepaid. However, unless you know the WDW restaurants in detail, it's hard to get your money back out of it. DW and I are "value shoppers", always looking for the best deal, and we never pay for DDP anymore, it's just not worth it.

If you decide to go in September, be sure to ask Disney about "Free Dining" or "room only" discounts when booking your package.

As you can see by the responses, there are many restaurants that people like. It might have been easier to ask people which restaurants should be avoided.

 

[GoofGoof]

If you are staying at BLT I highly recommend chef mickeys for breakfast. They have Mickey, Minnie, Goofie, Pluto, Donald and Chip or Dale. The food is decent but the real draw is the characters. If you plan it for a day you are going to MK or EPCOT you can just hop on the monorail after breakfast and go right to the parks. The monorail is really convenient for dining at Poly or Grand Floridian too.

If you are planning on going to DTD my boys (2 and 5) loved TRex at DTD. If your daughter is into dinosaurs at all she will probably think its cool. Picture rainforest cafe with dinosaurs instead of jungle animals. They also liked Raglan Road. They have Irish music and dancing and they brought the kids up and taught them some moves. Good food and good selection of beers on tap (it's not always just about the kids). My son got the kids Mac and cheese which was the best Mac and cheese I have ever had in a restaurant. The adult food was really good too and the menu is unique.

Like someone else said for the character meals and the more popular restaurants you have to reserve 6 months in advance. If you are going around a time where they offer free dining as a perk the reservations fill up fast since a lot of people are on the dining plan.

 

[Reb]

I'm new to Disney trips and I am doing the vacation package. Right now i am reading reviews and looking at different restaurants to see which dining plan would be best..

Courtnie,
One thing I learned with my young kids, was that I liked having the Quick Service (aka Counter Service) meals in the evening. That way I wasn't tied to a reservation time at night for dinner if someone really needed a nap. I do the regular ol' plan with one QS and one TS a day. I DO plan a few TS meals at night, but I got caught a few times waking a majorly cranky kid (or two) at 4:30 to get to a 5:30 reservation, for example. I certainly do not prefer naps that late, but sometimes there would be a meltdown or pre-meltdown indicators (haha) around 3:30 or so, and I knew we would not make it to the night parades without a nap! I was more relaxed on days where I had the TS for the day time meal. Just something to add to the pros and cons.

 

[tare]

We usually opt for the qs then we don't have to plan around resies and not be at a specific place at a specific time!! Qs offers big meals and tons of variety too!!

 

[Mukta]

Welcome to planning a WDW trip. It can seem overwhelming at first, but it is really fun.

For my first trip, I read the Unoffical Guide cover to cover several times. It has a ton of restaurant reviews.

Then, go to allearsnet, or wdwinfo to read the menus. Pick places where the food appeals to you.

Next figure out which park you want to do on each day. On your MK day, make a meal reservation for the castle. On your epcot day, make a reservation there, etc.

Then, stop reading reviews on the internet. Every restaurant will have some negative reviews and you will drive yourself crazy.

 

[Lucky]

Most trips we don't do a TS on arrival or departure day, because those days are busy enough already. That means we have an extra TS credit one day to do a 2-TS credit meal like CRT.

But we only get the DDP during the free dining promo periods. I would never pay for it, because of the 4 of us I'm the only one who eats enough to make it worth the cost.

 

[Courtnie1811]

This September 2012? or September 2013? If this September, then you'll have a hard time getting the places you want. If Sept. 2013, then book your dining reservations March 2013 as soon as your 180 days mark comes! I usually call rather than use the computer.
If staying at Bay Lake Tower, then you'll want to eat at Chef Mickey's either breakfast or dinner. The Wave is OK. Grand Floridian has GF Cafe and 1900 Park Fare either breakfast or dinner or both (different characters).
Polynesian has Kona Cafe, 'Ohana (difficult to get), but the all you can eat family style dinner is wonderful and the character breakfast is nice ( all you can eat family style- not buffet).
Magic Kingdom has Crystal Palace (buffet w/ Pooh Bear and friends).
EPCOT has the princess dining in Norway ( as mentioned before): it is not as elaborate as Cinderella's Royal Table, but it's only 1 table service credit. Also- The Garden Grill in The Land at Epcot is nice( character dinner w/ chip n dale, mickey, etc... revolving restaurant: can see parts of The Land boat ride).
* Don't forget to save $$$ for BibbidiBobbidiBoutique since it's her birthday!
AK- has Rain Forest Cafe. Breakfast character meal at Tusker House is great!
DHS has Hollywood& Vine Play n Dine w/ the characters from Disney Jr.

Personally, we always get the dining plan. It gives you peace of mind that you don't have to worry about the cost, necessarily. I mean I always try for the "free dining". We also opt out of one of our table service meals one evening, so that we can eat at a signature restaurant or show ( we drive 14 hours, so we arrive and just eat a quick service meal, grab a snack).

Good luck and have a happy vacation!

We are goin Sept. 2013.

Thanks everyone for the awesome suggestions. I'm doing the math now to see if i even need to purchase a dining plan.

 

[stefanie]

Hello there! I just got back from a trip to WDW and have already planned next years trip. Unfortunately we will not be going in July anymore due to the obnoxious Brazilian tour groups that so graciously ruined our vacation. We booked Art of Animation for August 2013. Does WDW offer the dining plan in August? I heard that its not usually offered.

 

[Courtnie1811]

I'm not sure about August. But we are going in September. Are you talking about the free dining plan?

 

[disneygirl76]

I'm new to Disney trips and I am doing the vacation package. Right now i am reading reviews and looking at different restaurants to se. which dining plan would be best. I know the dining plan deluxe would be alot of food but i have noticed that some of the table service meals counts as two and I also like that i can use these meals for both counter or table service. It is just going to be my daughter that is going to be 4 and a friend of mine. We are staying at the contemporary resort in the Bay Lake Tower. Can anyone help me with this? Also what are the best places to go to for a first timer.

My DH and I always get the Dining Plan and we did do the Deluxe Dining Plan in 2009. I would do the Deluxe again, but I will say, we spend more then we ate. What I mean is, some of our fave places are CS (counter service - also QS quick service). So we would use a TS credit on CS experience. We ate at the Castle twice and California Grill - all of those were 2 each. We also at ate Le Cellier before it became a signature dining experience. I did the math for this trip - we have free dining. It would cost us $600 to go to Deluxe. After dining at 3 TS signature places (2 TS each) we are left short of some TS credits. So we thought, lets bump up to Deluxe. However, if we paid out of pocket (most of the them are character dining for breakfast) it would only be about $300. So we decided to skip the Deluxe b/c it just isn't worth the extra money. If you send me your email, I have a calculator for predicting dining plans and which is best for you based on where you want to eat.

 

[Courtnie1811]

Well. I don't know exactly where we want to eat. I know we are probably gonna do alot of character meals and shows. because my daughters 4 and this is her first time.

 

[stefanie]

I'm not sure about August. But we are going in September. Are you talking about the free dining plan?

Yes I was just wondering if it will be offered in August of 2013?

 

[Courtnie1811]

Yes I was just wondering if it will be offered in August of 2013?

I don't think it's bein offered yet. Maybe when it gets closer.

 

[dreamfinder]

Yes I was just wondering if it will be offered in August of 2013?

Dining plan - Yes. Free dining plan - who the heck knows. Check out the great chart on MouseSavers located here -> http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/ to see when past discounts have been offered (Yes, free dining is a discount) That should give you an idea as to when something may be announced.

 

[Lucky]

Yes I was just wondering if it will be offered in August of 2013?

Probably - it's been offered every year for late-Aug/Sept. since 2005. But you never know for sure when they might come up with some alternative discounting strategies.

 

[stefanie]

Thanks!