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Does everyone in the room have to be on Dining Plan?
- Thread starter Knett
- Start date
Ella's Mommy
Active Member
This is not exactly true. During my Jan trip I had one of my cousins friends decided the night before that he wanted to go on the trip. Since we already had space in the boys room I did not add him to the package. When we got there he purchased a parkhopper from MK and paid for his own meals. Now this is not an honest way of doing things, but after plan for 15 and then adding another at the last minute I was at wits end and the ttrip hadnt even started yet. So it can be done.:animwink:
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ConstanceIrene
Member
Ask the person who doesn't think he/she has the money how much he has budgeted for food each day? You do have to be realistic and have money set aside for meals. $39 per day is a fair amount for food and, for that money, he can have the meal plan. Honestly, if your friend is figuring $20 per day for food, he'll be either hungry or full of junk food. Do some Math and show him the value of the meal plan.
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sbkline
Well-Known Member
Technically, a person can eat only counter service meals two or three times a day and pay less than 39 bucks. But not only could that be considered "junk" food, but I would think it would also get incredibly boring. Part of the fun of the whole thing is eating at at least a few good sit down restaraunts.
But I think, between my wife and I, our counter service totals usually came to 12 to 16 bucks. Divide that by two (the price for one person), you come out to 6 to 8 dollars. So two 8 dollar counter service meals per day would be 16 bucks. 24 bucks if you have three per day. So it can be done. But I'd rather pay a little extra per day and have some much better dining options.
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ConstanceIrene
Member
That's my point. The difference between eating just counter service or fast food snacks and having a decent meal everyday may not be as much as the budgeting person thinks. You're saying the difference is about $15 per day and, if they're staying for 5 days, it's only $75 so the cost might not be as high as the person assumed.
I definitely feel that WDW counter food is not junk. What I meant was that a person trying to eat as cheaply as possible might attempt to get by with the junky filler foods available like fries and popcorn.
Remembering my first trip to WDW, when I was 22, we had very little spending money. The only meal I remember was a flat, overprocessed hamburger at the Pinochio lunch place. I'm hoping, that by offering some price info, that the person who thinks he can't get the meal plan might now think it's possible.
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For $39 per person per night of stay, the dining plan is a great deal.
You can easily spend more than that at a sit down restaurant at Epcot for dinner and they would be getting not only the sit down, but a counter service and a snack option also per night of stay. It really is a good deal.
Pam
You can easily spend more than that at a sit down restaurant at Epcot for dinner and they would be getting not only the sit down, but a counter service and a snack option also per night of stay. It really is a good deal.
Pam
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Lauraldove29
New Member
On our trip this year i was told that beacause we were going to be a dvc resort(beach club villas) we were told that because of the two bedrooms that one room could be on a different plan than the other one. So we have a group on the myw ph wpm+dining and the other is without the dining. so i guess this would work at any of the vacation club resorts. :wave:
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CleveRocks
Active Member
I must respectfully but very strongly disagree with both of you, and I speak from experience.sbkline said:
On a Disney vacation with our kids, we just don't feel like sitting down to table-service meals, and we certainly don't want to get involved with strictly following plans, which is usually necessary if one is to use ADRs. During two separate one-week vacations, we ate at exactly two table-service meals during each seek (one time was Crystal Palace dinner and Hoop Dee Doo Revue, and the other time it was CRT breakfast and Chef Mickey's dinner).
I will use the word "ignorance" here not in a bad way, I'll use it with its pure meaning, "lack of knowledge." Ignorance abounds regarding counter service choices, both in terms of health and variety. My wife and I were training for our first half-marathon during our most recent trip, so we certainly weren't about to assault our bodies with a stream of fried foods and fat-laden meats. If you open your eyes and look at what's around, you'll see you can eat heathfully and also enjoy a tasty variety. No, of course it's not fine dining, and I'm not trying to compare it, I'm just saying it's not all bad food that's bad for you.
Two of my favorite meals from our 2005 vacation were at the CBR food court. One was an Asian chicken salad -- diced grilled chicken, udon noodles, greens, veggies, a tasty sesame-infused dressing. The other was a hand-tossed grilled chicken Caesar salad -- I'm a Caesar salad snob, but when I saw how it was prepared I jumped right in, and I absolutely loved it. The tabouleh platter at CBR's food court is a nice vegetarian option, as well, and also surprisingly yummy.
You can find rotisserie chicken all over the place.
Let's look at MK ....
Columbia Harbour House has a white tuna sandwich, as well as a hummus sandwich with broccoli slaw, and also a salad with mixed greens, chicken, pecans, pineapple and feta cheese. Yum.
Pinocchio Vilage Haus has a decent antipasto.
Tommorland Terrace Noodle Station speaks for itself.
Cosmic Ray's has some nice wraps, a grilled chicken sandwich and a good fresh salad.
Even Pecos Bill's, exalted home of the burger and chili cheese fries, has a chicken salad (freshly tossed seasoned chicken, jicama, lettuce, vegetables and cheese in a lime vinaigrette) and a veggie burger, which you can then dress up at that great fixins bar.
At Epcot ....
The Food Court at the Land Pavilion has a dizzying array of freshly-prepared foods as well as some good-looking pre-packaged stuff, too. This is probably the best counter-service location in all of WDW. There's just SOOOO much freshly prepared stuff (Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad with Cilantro and Lime dressing, Seared Tuna on Mixed Greens with Sesame Rice Wine dressing, Grilled Vegetable Cuban Sandwich, Turkey and Muenster Cheese on Foccacia with Chipotle Mayonnaise, Grilled Salmon with Mashed Potatoes with Kalamata Olive Pesto, Rotisserie Beef Flatbread with Wild Greens and Tabbouleh, etc.). Many of the countries in World Showcase have some good counter-service, too.
I could go on and on, but I'm running out of time ... and you all kinda get my point by now.
And even though we don't like making set plans with where we will be when, I obsessively STUDY all the WDW info relevant to my family, and part of that was looking at our eating habits and pricing out the DDP. It wasn't even close, spending out-of-pocket was MUCH cheaper for us. First of all, we're not big restaurant breakfast eaters, so we got a grocery delivery that covered breakfasts (yogurt, bagels, instant oatmeal [heat the water in the coffee maker!], fresh fruit, cold cereal and milk, cottage cheese, etc.). And on the counter-service meals we like, there's no way my wife and I would each spend anywhere near $38.99 each per day -- including a snack and two meals, we each spend about $22 per day on meals. That means that, for us, the DDP is a horribly bad deal. But for someone who eats at least one table-service meal a day, the DDP is a no-brainer GREAT deal.
I just wanted to educate y'all that, at least at WDW, counter-service doesn't have to equal burgers and chicken fingers and other slow death. Our half-marathon training would never have survived a week of Attack of the Killer Bacon Cheeseburgers!:lol:
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PigletIsMyCat
Well-Known Member
Do you already have a room package? Or just the room? The Dining Plan can only be booked as part of a package that includes the room and park tickets. You MUST purchase the Dining Plan BEFORE you arrive at WDW. You cannot add it on at Front Desk or Concierge, regardless of what Reservations may tell you (my Concierge spy has told me that numerous guests approach to 'add on' the DDP, and have all stated that they were told by someone in Reservations that they could do it).
If you have just the room and are purchasing tickets seperately, the DDP is not available.
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JPVonDrake
Well-Known Member
To confirm...
PigletIsMyCat is correct.
The Disney Dinning Plan cannot be sold separately and must be purchased as part of the Magic Your Way Plus Dine Package. This package includes a stay at a Disney owned and operated Resort, a Magic Your Way Ticket of your choice, and the Disney Dining Plan for the length of your stay. Everyone in the room must be on the same package and ticket options. This package must be booked (or modified to) at least 3 days prior to arrival.
Disney Vacation Club Members can add the Disney Dining Plan to a DVC Points Stay Vacation if they are staying a DVC Property and also must book or add the Dine Plan to everyone in the room for the entire length of stay at least 3 days prior to arrival.
PigletIsMyCat is correct.
The Disney Dinning Plan cannot be sold separately and must be purchased as part of the Magic Your Way Plus Dine Package. This package includes a stay at a Disney owned and operated Resort, a Magic Your Way Ticket of your choice, and the Disney Dining Plan for the length of your stay. Everyone in the room must be on the same package and ticket options. This package must be booked (or modified to) at least 3 days prior to arrival.
Disney Vacation Club Members can add the Disney Dining Plan to a DVC Points Stay Vacation if they are staying a DVC Property and also must book or add the Dine Plan to everyone in the room for the entire length of stay at least 3 days prior to arrival.
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ConstanceIrene
Member
I wouldn't say that I'm ignorant with regard to the WDW counter service meals and neither is SBKline. Both of us have made several trips to WDW and were voicing our opinions based on our experiences.
If you go back and read my last post before this, it states that I just wanted the person going to WDW to think about what kind of daily money was budgeted for food and be realistic about it. The difference in $$ could be minimal. You and I are both ignorant as to what kind of eater this person would be on vacation. I just wanted him to crunch some numbers before saying no to the DDP. I also stated that I did not feel counter service meals are junk. After all, they are included in the DDP, which I favor.
Thanks, "y'all" for the input.
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Will the three of you be spending the trip together? If so he really needs the dining plan. It will cost him more if he has to pay cash for TS meals. He'll have to pay full cost at buffets and restaurants that serve all you care to eat. DDP guests aren't suppose to be sharing meals with guests not on the plan. I hope he isn't planning on just sharing your food.
The trip won't be memorable if he heads over for a CS meal while you go for a TS meal and then asks when you think you'll be done and where he should meet you.
The question isn't if a person can have a nice vacation with a minimum of TS meals, they can but can, a group have a workable vacation if one person doesn't want to pay for the same meal experiences as the rest of the group.
edited to say I don't know what the relationship is between the three of you but you might consider paying part of the cost of his meal plan. It might be cheaper then winding up paying for his TS meals.
BTW you can probably just add an extra adult when you check in and not add the dining plan. Is it the dining plan he doesn't want topay for or the charge for the extra adult in the room?
The trip won't be memorable if he heads over for a CS meal while you go for a TS meal and then asks when you think you'll be done and where he should meet you.
The question isn't if a person can have a nice vacation with a minimum of TS meals, they can but can, a group have a workable vacation if one person doesn't want to pay for the same meal experiences as the rest of the group.
edited to say I don't know what the relationship is between the three of you but you might consider paying part of the cost of his meal plan. It might be cheaper then winding up paying for his TS meals.
BTW you can probably just add an extra adult when you check in and not add the dining plan. Is it the dining plan he doesn't want topay for or the charge for the extra adult in the room?
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CleveRocks
Active Member
Thank you for pointing out your Post #9. You are 100% correct, I didn't notice it at all when I responded to your Post #7 snd sbkline's Post #8. I understand what you are saying in Post #9, and it is a much better-stated argument than you had in Post #7, in my opinion. You contradict yourself between the 2 posts in whether or not counter-service fare is "junk food."
In Post #7 you must admit that you clearly stated in plain English that a person who spends $20 a day on counter-service food will be, in your exact words, "either hungry or full of junk food." You then state the opposite in Post #9.
So based upon what I saw in Post #7, I totally stand by my statements. But had I been attentive enough to also read your Post #9 before responding, I would have posted differently and would NOT have disagreed with you.
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CleveRocks
Active Member
lewis,
You (and I) are obviously not as well-known here as someplace else, but I for one am not at all surprised that you would swoop in and help everyone see another very important aspect of the situation.
VERY well said!
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CleveRocks
Active Member
Then please let us all know to what type of food you were referring, when you said that if someone "is figuring $20 per day for food, he'll be either hungry or full of junk food"???
If you weren't implying counter-service food, then what on Earth were you referring to? Buying bags of potato chips??? Please, let's please be real. If you weren't referring to counter-service food then please educate me, set me straight and let me know what type food you were referring to.
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