DISNEY DINING PLANS

[JUNKONE]

we plan to stay in disney resort for 7 days and amn curious on thier dining plans. we are a vegan family and dont plan to dine outside disney. does it make sense to buy the dining plans or use pay as you go?

 

[R W B]

we plan to stay in disney resort for 7 days and amn curious on thier dining plans. we are a vegan family and dont plan to dine outside disney. does it make sense to buy the dining plans or use pay as you go?

Since you're Vegan Id say it's be cheaper to pay as you go for you all. I just came back and we had the dining plan but to really make it worth it you have to order the most expensive items on the menu as in Steaks and Seafood. In my experience eating out with a good friend pretty often who's a Vegan his meals are always on the cheap end compared to mine.

The dining plan we had was 1 snack, 1 quick service and 1 sit down meal per day and it cost is $64 per day im pretty sure when broken down so if you think each person can eat more then $64 per day in food then it's better to get ther dining plan. Some of the buffets we went to were $59.99 by themselves and then at some places I got a steak that was $45 or so and that paired with a snack and quick service brought me over the $64 mark so I got my money worth out of it.

Ultimately I suggest checking out the menus at some different places and see what it would cost to pay out of pocket.

 

[JUNKONE]

interesting to find that out. myself and my wife are rather regular eaters. probably stick with oatmeal for breakfast, salad/sandwich for lunch and for dinner. there might be a couple of treats that we might eat during the day. but my kids on the other hadn might have more treats. I had not thought about the buffet. Does a buffet count as a sit down meal?

 

[Hakunamatata]

interesting to find that out. myself and my wife are rather regular eaters. probably stick with oatmeal for breakfast, salad/sandwich for lunch and for dinner. there might be a couple of treats that we might eat during the day. but my kids on the other hadn might have more treats. I had not thought about the buffet. Does a buffet count as a sit down meal?

Yes, the buffet is a table service meal.

 

[Minnie Mum]

I agree with RWB that for a vegan family the DDPs may not give any value. About the only way to get your money's worth is to select the most expensive entree at every TS meal, or to do the buffets. And of course, that also means ordering fountain beverages with all of these meals, and the desserts. The problem for vegans is that the highest priced entrees are ALWAYS meats, and even the buffets are going to be a challenge if you want vegan, and not just vegetarian. I'd recommend avoiding them unless you want to give your kids a character experience and can be happy paying $50 PP for salads.

Paying as you go will be cheaper. But spend some time looking at the menus. Vegetarian options are available, although not abundant or in great variety. Vegan options are less plentiful.

 

[Baldy]

Although I am not completely vegan (yet), from my experience it is cheaper to pay cash unless you are going to do buffets. The vegetarian/vegan meals tend to be the cheapest ones on the menu. You might also find eating out of pocket gives you more options since the dining plan does not include soups and appetizers (which are sometimes the most appetizing vegan options).
Either way, make sure that you mark it on your reservation and mention it to your server. Disney can be very accommodating even if there is nothing vegan listed on the menu.
Here are a few that I have enjoyed - not that you're asking
- Dole Whips and the big soft Mickey pretzels are vegan
- the "butter" popcorn from the popcorn carts is vegan
- each park has fresh fruit and vegan ice cream (Tofutti and/or Rice Dream)
- At Magic Kingdom: Columbia Harbour house has a vegetarian chili that is vegan without the crackers and the lighthouse sandwich is vegan if you get it without the broccoli slaw
- in Disney Springs: Blaze Pizza has vegan cheese and the pizzas are big enough to share.
- at EPCOT: Liberty Inn has a vegan chicken salad (or sandwich), Sunshine Seasons has vegan chicken korma and a hummus flatbread.
- at Hollywood Studios: Starring Rolls has vegetable sushi (they also have a vegetable sandwich and a soup and salad combo which might be vegan, but I haven't tried ordering those)
I'm sure there are many other places that are not coming to me at the moment. Have a magical trip. Please let us know what yummy treats you discover while you are there.
Sorry for the long post. I've been back home for a few weeks and am currently going through Disney withdrawal .

 

[Figgy1]

Hello fellow vegan here and unless you do a lunch or dinner character buffet every day it will be cheaper just paying out of pocket. Except for buffets most of my sit down entrees ran between 16 and 20 each. Another thing when running the numbers are you going to have desert with every meal? If not even not being vegan DDP isn't worth it. Sanaa, Tusker House, Tiffins are all excellent choices with quite a few yummy options as is the quinoa salad at BOG lunch(ADR needed even though it's qs). Feel free to ask me anything.

 

[s&k'smom]

even though paying out of pocket is more economical there is so much more yummy food than even a few years ago that we vegans can eat. My hubby is a meat eater so for my family of 4 it is better with the dining plan but I had no trouble eating lol. PS Boma at AKL is awesome for different food choices.

 

[tigger731]

To me the only dining plan that seems worth getting is the quick service plan. It worked out well for me this past trip.