Disney next week and overwhelmed with Dining!

[itsmilasmommy]

Hi All!
This is my first post- I have been lurking for quite some time, but finally decided to sign up! You all are amazing..I've learned so much!
Anyways, last minute trip (booked about a month ago) to WDW next week. Staying at PORS thurs-mon (2 adults 1 almost 4 year old- its her birthday). We did get the dining plan (1qs, its, 1 snack). With some serious persistence, I was able to book some character dining. This is my stress… I got into chef mickey on Friday morning before we go to MK. So, that is my table service, right? So…what would you all recommend for the rest of the day? Does this basically mean dinner comes out of pocket? I have a child and a husband who eat 3 meals a day (I couldn't care less)…and I am really stressed about this. Do we go as long as we can and do a QS for dinner (and if so where), or do we pay out of pocket for dinner (same goes for sunday, as we have breakfast at Hollywood and Vine). I have no made dinner reservations for the days we are in the park (fri and sun). On thurs night I was able to get into Ohana, and Sat night will be Rainforest (we will be there for the Bipity Boppity).
Any help or suggestions would be SO appreciated!
Thank you so so much!

 

[AVeryDifferentDisneyDad]

Take a deep breath..... now... here goes:

What we (2 adults/3 kids) have done in the past is one big, sit down dinner (table service) with characters EVERYDAY. Then we use our quick service as our other "meal" of the day. The snack was for the 3rd one. For example - breakfast with Chef Mickey, snack as a lunch, and quick service as dinner. Or snack for breakfast, QS for lunch and dinner at Ohana (not a character dining, but your place so I used it).

If you have the meals for all 3 days but are only in the parks 2 days, you should have an extra TS, QS and Snack per each person!

I'm not sure Rainforest accepts TS plan. We've eatten there twice, but both times off my Disney Dollars from my Disney Visa.

Hope this helps!!

 

[disneygirl76]

Hi All!
This is my first post- I have been lurking for quite some time, but finally decided to sign up! You all are amazing..I've learned so much!
Anyways, last minute trip (booked about a month ago) to WDW next week. Staying at PORS thurs-mon (2 adults 1 almost 4 year old- its her birthday). We did get the dining plan (1qs, its, 1 snack). With some serious persistence, I was able to book some character dining. This is my stress… I got into chef mickey on Friday morning before we go to MK. So, that is my table service, right? So…what would you all recommend for the rest of the day? Does this basically mean dinner comes out of pocket? I have a child and a husband who eat 3 meals a day (I couldn't care less)…and I am really stressed about this. Do we go as long as we can and do a QS for dinner (and if so where), or do we pay out of pocket for dinner (same goes for sunday, as we have breakfast at Hollywood and Vine). I have no made dinner reservations for the days we are in the park (fri and sun). On thurs night I was able to get into Ohana, and Sat night will be Rainforest (we will be there for the Bipity Boppity).
Any help or suggestions would be SO appreciated!
Thank you so so much!

So glad you were able to get the character dining! It pays to be persistent! And take a deep breath. Its all going to be okay. You have lots of great options. With a buffet breakfast, you usually eat more then usual so you may only need a snack instead of a full quick service lunch. Also, make sure to grab a piece of whole fruit from the buffet to take with you to have in the park. You can use your snack credit for the snack if you want to avoid paying out of pocket. Or maybe pay out of pocket for a quick service chicken fingers and fries for everyone to share. If this is the case, then you can save the QS for dinner. Some great choices are Casey's for hotdogs, Columbia House for healthier options, Pecos Bill for the toppings bar . I steer clear of Tomorrowland Lunching Pad. Never had good food there. If you want to use the QS for lunch and pay out of pocket at a table service location in the Magic Kingdom, I like the Plaza Restaurant. When we need a place to eat and have to pay out of pocket, this is usually our choice.

 

[belledream]

I'm not sure Rainforest accepts TS plan. We've eatten there twice, but both times off my Disney Dollars from my Disney Visa.

Yes, Rainforest accepts the DDP!

As for my two cents, there are some affordable eats in and around the Magic Kingdom, even for table service. Check out Plaza Restaurant in MK, or Grand Floridian Cafe in the GF.

You're on vacation and it is indeed good to be money conscious, but don't try to push it without food! Tired, run down, and cranky is the last thing you want to be.

 

[itsmilasmommy]

Thank you all so much! I am a type A planner… and I am trying to take a breath as I know we don't have a ton of time there, and I want to make the best of it.
Are there a lot of QS places for days when TS is taken by a character breakfast? It makes sense to just do that in the park before we go home right?
Im sorry, I know these are such dumb questions… I just remember Disney being so much more simple when I was last there (in college!…long time ago!)
And as for a snack for lunch… isn't that like a banana (I realize that sounds crazy).

 

[belledream]

Each park has a number of QS options (some better than others) I'd say MK rates on the better side. Columbia Harbor House is a solid choice, Be Our Guest is great for QS lunch (but you need to make a reservation), then you have Peco Bills/Cosmic Rays/Casey's for more traditional options. It makes sense to eat in the park before you go home if you have the DDP credits to do so. Otherwise, it's probably going to be a cheaper meal outside of WDW. But that's no fun.

As for snack credits, the language is vague and seemingly limited to things like fruit or popsicles, but do a little research/digging and you'll find much more worthwhile options like treats from the bakery, slushies, funnel cakes - all sorts of things.

 

[itsmilasmommy]

Thank you so much @belledream . Your information is so helpful!

 

[belledream]

Thank you so much @belledream . Your information is so helpful!

No problem! I like to know exactly where and what we'll eat when I'm planning too. Have fun!

 

[AVeryDifferentDisneyDad]

Sorry, but I replied then got busy with homework, laundry and the nightly "Go To BED!" struggle with the kids.

I never EVER have planned QS meals... now I am super fanatical about my TS meals. I plan them in the EXACT layout off my day. My entire family loves Tusker House for breafast in AK. We did Ohana's last time because we were staying at the Polenesian, but it just wasnt the selection that we enjoy. It was great - dont get me wrong, but Tusker's is a must for us.

We do Chef Mickey on our way in to MK, or the Crystal Palace inside MK.

We LOVE the lunch at Hollywood & Vine in DHS, but honestly I don't know many of those characters. It's Dinsey Jr folks.

Belledream - thanks for the info about Rainforest Cafe accepting Meal Plans. Seems they should since they are on Disney property. Just never thought to use a TS there because there are no characters!! And we dont wasre a TS if there arent Disney characters walking around!!

 

[itsmilasmommy]

Thank you for your response @AVeryDifferentDisneyDad ! We will not be able to go to Tusker this time around, as we are not doing hopper passes and we are only doing Mk and Hollywood. It came highly recommended though…its on the list for the future! We will be doing Chef Mickey on the way into MK and my daughter is obsessed with Disney Jr, so I am pretty excited for her to meet those characters at H&V! Its just the rest of the food day I am stressed about!

 

[AVeryDifferentDisneyDad]

Then, alas, I'm not much help. We get hungry? We just stop in somewhere and grab a snack or QS and keep moving. Don't map those out.... sorry.

She will LOVE H&V! Lots of dancing, music and interaction. We usually see each charscter MORE than once as they work their way around and around.

 

[itsmilasmommy]

No worries. I was most interested in what people do if they use their TS for breakfast… like how they map out the rest of the day with food. Its all so overwhelming!

 

[jakeman]

So may I assume you are looking at only eating within the confines of the dining plan?

If so, here are some links to some articles that may list some of the more substantial snack you can use to tie you over from breakfast to dinner:

http://www.disneydining.com/top-ten-uses-for-your-disney-dining-plan-snack-credits/

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2010/06/08/the-five-best-uses-for-disney-dining-plan-snack-credits/

http://www.mouseketrips.com/best-uses-of-disney-dining-plan-snack-credits/

 

[RiceCrispyMickey]

Heres another great blog post which suggests some DDP snack credits that could count as full meals to most people! These would be good options when you have had a big buffet breakfast, but still want something 'lunch like' rather than something sweet like a cake.

http://blog.touringplans.com/2014/09/22/menu-monday-disney-dining-plan-snack-credit-savory-meals/

 

[Gaston's gal]

For another yummy quick service idea at MK, you can get waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square. There is also an Egg Roll Stand in Adventureland, watermelon in Liberty Square Market and shaved ice in Prince Eric's Village Market in Fantasyland for some snack choices. Enjoy your trip!

 

[JillC LI]

We always get the DDP, and on the days where we use our TS credit for breakfast, we generally grab a snack in the Park around 11am, and we'll have an early table-service dinner around 4pm (which is great because it's not crowded), then pay for another snack out of pocket to round off the day (probably a Dole WHip Float if we're at the MK). We love having dinner at Cosmic Rays at the MK, and the portions are huge. You could easly have 1 adult share with your 4 year old. Then you'd still have one quick-service credit left for the day which you could use earlier or later than dinner, whenever someone is hungry. (Note that while table-service credits will appear as Adult vs. Child, the counter-service credits are all grouped together.)

 

[itsmilasmommy]

Thank you all, this is super helpful! @JillC LI , when you did TS breakfast, did you just do an out of pocket for that early TS?

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

I'm not sure Rainforest accepts TS plan.

Yes it does.

Any help or suggestions would be SO appreciated!

This August is our First Trip using the Dining Plan - like yourself we have 1 QS, 1 TS and 1 Snack. We will book a TS for breakfast AND dinner each day and utilise the QS for lunch. We will use the daily TS credit at dinner as breakfast is cheaper to pay for out of pocket

 

[AngryEyes]

Breakfast buffet, cinnamon roll from Gaston's, Cosmic Ray's. Heck, if you TCOB at the buffet, you may not even want the cinnamon roll and then just do an earlier dinner, with a box of popcorn or ice cream cookie sandwich around fireworks/parade time.

 

[Ali in Wonderland]

Here is what we do (2 adults 2 kids): We take breakfast items like cereals, cereal bars, muffins, milk, O.J, ect... We eat a quick breakfast in the room and save our TS and QS credit for lunch and dinner. We also save our snack credit for a fun snack in the parks. I am not suggesting you give up your character breakfast (since it was so hard to get) but we never use TS credits for breakfast, because it is usually so much less expensive than lunch or dinner and there are lots of good character lunches and dinners. The one time we did do a character breakfast we paid for it out of pocket and used our TS credit for a more expensive dinner. That's just my opinion. Something to maybe think about. Have s fun trip!