First trip to Disney, dining plan worth it?

[Brandon barr]

Awsome thanks for the speedy reply. It is crazy all the things you can do it seems like even 5 days will not be enough. We are defiantly staying for the not so scary haloween and we are also still thinking about the dining plan.

My uncle has reservations one night at a steak house called Yachtsman steakhouse I looked it up and it uses up 2 credits. But also reviews say it's good but more of a formal place. My son is real hyper and I would feel better taking him to a more kid friendly type place. That is why I am stuck between the QS dining plan and the one with ine table service meal.

 

[englanddg]

Awsome thanks for the speedy reply. It is crazy all the things you can do it seems like even 5 days will not be enough. We are defiantly staying for the not so scary haloween and we are also still thinking about the dining plan.

My uncle has reservations one night at a steak house called Yachtsman steakhouse I looked it up and it uses up 2 credits. But also reviews say it's good but more of a formal place. My son is real hyper and I would feel better taking him to a more kid friendly type place. That is why I am stuck between the QS dining plan and the one with ine table service meal.

The Yachtsman is very high end (only Victoria and Alberts and Shulas are "fancier", iirc).

Most Disney Table Service is not like that, and a lot of the venues have shows, character interactions or environments (like Sci Fi, 50s Prime Time and Coral Reef) that keep the kids entertained and comfortable.

That said, Disney has a lot of excellent Quick Service.

So, in my opinion, you really cant go wrong with either.

 

[Brandon barr]

So here is basically what I am thinking get the disney dining plan I am getting there Wednesday at 6pm so I can go eat dinner somewhere that don't require me to go in the park ao I don't waste a day ticket. Since I will have a lunch and dinner for that day and won't get to use the lunch. Thursday threw Monday we can do lunch and dinner and then Tuesday before we fly out maybe I can grab a lunch at the resort since we will have the left over lunch from the day we arived. That's if I'm calculating it up correct lol.

 

[englanddg]

So here is basically what I am thinking get the disney dining plan I am getting there Wednesday at 6pm so I can go eat dinner somewhere that don't require me to go in the park ao I don't waste a day ticket. Since I will have a lunch and dinner for that day and won't get to use the lunch. Thursday threw Monday we can do lunch and dinner and then Tuesday before we fly out maybe I can grab a lunch at the resort since we will have the left over lunch from the day we arived. That's if I'm calculating it up correct lol.

I think so...lets work it out.

You'll get a total of 12 credits (one for each night of your stay) per person. If you go QS only, they will all be QS, if you go 1 TS 1 QS DDP, that will be 6 of each.

So...lets assume you do TS (I'll make some restaurant suggestions, if you don't mind)

Day 1 - Dinner at T-Rex (or if the kid doesn't like Dinosaurs, go to Rainforest Cafe)

Totals
6 QS
6 - 1 = 5 TS

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at Port Orleans OOP
Lunch at Be Our Guest (1 QS Credit)
Dinner at Crystal Palace (1 TS Credit)

Totals
6 - 1 = 5 QS
5 - 1 = 4 TS

Day 3 - EPCOT
Breakfast at Port Orleans OOP
Lunch at Garden Grill (1 TS Credit)
Dinner at one of the QS Restaurants in World Showcase (1 QS Credit)

Totals
5 - 1 = 4 QS
4 - 1 = 3 TS

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast at Port Orleans OOP
Lunch at Sci Fi Dine In (1 TS Credit)
Dinner at Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express (1 QS Credit)

Totals
4 - 1 = 3 QS
3 - 1 = 2 TS

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom
Breakfast at Port Orleans OOP
Lunch at Cosmic Rays (1 QS Credit)
Dinner at another QS option at MK (1 QS Credit)

Totals
4 - 2 = 2 QS
2 TS

Day 6 - Animal Kingdom
Breakfast at Tusker House (1 TS Credit)
Lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue ( 1 QS Credit)
Dinner at Rainforest Cafe (1 TS Credit)

Totals
2 - 1 = 1 QS
2 - 2 = 0 TS

Day 7 - Depart
Brunch at resort

Totals
0 QS
0 TS

So, yeah, it can work well!

 

[Brandon barr]

So I could use our last quick service meal at the resort the last day before leaving?

Thanks for all the hell we are thinking of the t Rex place to on the first night that sounds fun

 

[Brandon barr]

So you can use your table service for lunch and quick service for dinner it does not matter? And say you run out of quick service meals and only have TS meals can you still go to a quick service and use it or does it have to be a ts

 

[englanddg]

So I could use our last quick service meal at the resort the last day before leaving?

Thanks for all the hell we are thinking of the t Rex place to on the first night that sounds fun

My daughter loves it. The food is good, the restaurant is fun. It's not my style, but we trade off as I take her to a few places that I like better than her (like Rose and Crown!).

Yes, any remaining credits will stay active through midnight of your day of checkout. So, you'll be able to use it fine on your departure day.

 

[englanddg]

So you can use your table service for lunch and quick service for dinner it does not matter? And say you run out of quick service meals and only have TS meals can you still go to a quick service and use it or does it have to be a ts

Correct. You can use QS or TS at any time, and in any order. Note, one day I suggested using a TS for breakfast even (the Tusker breakfast is a character meal with Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and I think Mickey and Minnie...). It starts serving early, before park opens (starting reservations are like 8a, I think...maybe even earlier) and it gets you into the park and down by the Safari early. So, that way, you can go straight from breakfast to the Safari, which is wonderful. Generally the lines are short, and the animals are far more active in the morning than at other times of the day, so you'll generally see more than if you do the Safari in the afternoon or something.

If you run out of QS credits, you can use TS credits at QS places. But, not vice versa. If you run out of TS credits, you can NOT use QS credits at the TS restaurants.

 

[englanddg]

Crunched that suggested menu for you, and here's what it looks like. Note, there is some stuff you will pay OOP (listed towards the end) and it is all an estimate. You can save more if the entrees/desserts you fancy cost more than the average menu cost (like getting a steak at T-Rex or something).

Savings of $65.23.

This dining plan would cost $843.06 and covers the following amounts:

• Entrees & Drinks: $627.02
• Appetizers: $0.00
• Desserts: $124.65
• Snacks: $70.74
• Refillable Mugs: $53.97
• Taxes: $31.91

You would need to pay for these amounts out of pocket:

• Entrees & Drinks: $139.26
• Appetizers: $0.00
• Desserts: $5.97
• Snacks: $0.00
• Refillable Mugs: $0.00
• Tips: $90.85
• Taxes: $9.45

Pay for these meals with the plan:
Date Meal Type Location Cost
10/7/2015 Dinner TS T-REX Café $109.52
10/8/2015 Lunch QS Be Our Guest Restaurant $50.39
10/8/2015 Dinner TS Crystal Palace $130.66
10/9/2015 Lunch TS Biergarten Restaurant $80.41
10/9/2015 Dinner QS Sunshine Seasons $46.66
10/10/2015 Lunch TS Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant $90.84
10/11/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25
10/11/2015 Lunch QS Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café $45.17
10/11/2015 Dinner QS Casey's Corner $40.05
10/12/2015 Breakfast TS Tusker House Restaurant $96.74
10/12/2015 Lunch QS Flame Tree Barbecue $49.45
10/12/2015 Dinner TS Rainforest Café $103.29
Pay for these meals out of pocket:
Date Meal Type Location Cost
10/8/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25
10/9/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25
10/10/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25
10/10/2015 Dinner QS Earl of Sandwich $29.68
10/13/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25

So, you'll spend, OOP, around $160.

 

[Brandon barr]

Yeah that makes sense I think you answered all my questions..I have been adding it up and it pretty much worth it to get the dining plan expecially since you get a desert woth almost everything.

I am going to call tomorrow and add the disney dining plan to my trip and start looking at places we want to eat at. Do you need to make reservations at pretty much every TS place and can you make it like day before or do they all need to be planned out before the trip. Lol

 

[englanddg]

Yeah that makes sense I think you answered all my questions..I have been adding it up and it pretty much worth it to get the dining plan expecially since you get a desert woth almost everything.

I am going to call tomorrow and add the disney dining plan to my trip and start looking at places we want to eat at. Do you need to make reservations at pretty much every TS place and can you make it like day before or do they all need to be planned out before the trip. Lol

You need to make all your TS reservations as soon as you can. Like, right after you add the dining plan.

You are 121 days out, and reservations start at 180. Odds are some places I listed (like Be Our Guest) are already booked up, and you won't be able to get it.

Make your reservations as soon as you can. I can't stress that more. You can try and change them later, if you change your mind, but at least lock in some restaurants you all can agree upon first, just in case you can't get something else later.

 

[Brandon barr]

Crunched that suggested menu for you, and here's what it looks like. Note, there is some stuff you will pay OOP (listed towards the end) and it is all an estimate. You can save more if the entrees/desserts you fancy cost more than the average menu cost (like getting a steak at T-Rex or something).

Savings of $65.23.

This dining plan would cost $843.06 and covers the following amounts:

• Entrees & Drinks: $627.02
• Appetizers: $0.00
• Desserts: $124.65
• Snacks: $70.74
• Refillable Mugs: $53.97
• Taxes: $31.91

You would need to pay for these amounts out of pocket:

• Entrees & Drinks: $139.26
• Appetizers: $0.00
• Desserts: $5.97
• Snacks: $0.00
• Refillable Mugs: $0.00
• Tips: $90.85
• Taxes: $9.45

Pay for these meals with the plan:
Date Meal Type Location Cost
10/7/2015 Dinner TS T-REX Café $109.52
10/8/2015 Lunch QS Be Our Guest Restaurant $50.39
10/8/2015 Dinner TS Crystal Palace $130.66
10/9/2015 Lunch TS Biergarten Restaurant $80.41
10/9/2015 Dinner QS Sunshine Seasons $46.66
10/10/2015 Lunch TS Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant $90.84
10/11/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25
10/11/2015 Lunch QS Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café $45.17
10/11/2015 Dinner QS Casey's Corner $40.05
10/12/2015 Breakfast TS Tusker House Restaurant $96.74
10/12/2015 Lunch QS Flame Tree Barbecue $49.45
10/12/2015 Dinner TS Rainforest Café $103.29
Pay for these meals out of pocket:
Date Meal Type Location Cost
10/8/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25
10/9/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25
10/10/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25
10/10/2015 Dinner QS Earl of Sandwich $29.68
10/13/2015 Breakfast QS Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory $31.25

So, you'll spend, OOP, around $160.

So basically all you pay out of pocket is breakfast and tips. If I'm correct that seems awsome

 

[englanddg]

So basically all you pay out of pocket is breakfast and tips. If I'm correct that seems awsome

Breakfast and one dinner (if you go with the Tusker option for one of the breakfasts, you'll want to use the DDP to pay for that), and yes, tips. All else is paid for. And, there's no limit (min or max) on the menus (except a VERY few restaurants that have a few items that they will not let you pay for with credits...but, that's VERY limited). So, for example, at T-Rex, if your wife wants to get a chicken pasta that costs 13.99 with her TS credit, and you want to get a steak dinner that costs 32.99, you can. The TS credit covers both.

 

[englanddg]

Also, depending on how big you all are on breakfast, there are ways to save money there...

You can share plates. The Bounty Platter has scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon and sausage. Add an Adult Mickey Waffle, and two adults and a child can easily split those two meals (instead of buying 3 meals).

They sell cereal and bagels and stuff that are cheap breakfast options.

Drinks are included with your breakfast (aside from milk and juice) because you'll have your resort mugs with free refills.

The gift shop sells milk, or, when you are at DTD, it's an easy walk across the street (for one adult, I wouldn't take the whole family) to a Hess gas station that's there that sells cereal and milk as well...so, you could pick up a couple boxes of cereal and some milk on the first day, and just do that for breakfast (your room has a mini-fridge for the milk). The resort will give you paper bowls if you ask at the food court, and utensils are easy to grab (they are out in the open for everyone to snag).

 

[Brandon barr]

Okay good deal that was a question to if they say we'll you can only pick from these items lol. That just about answers all my questions on the plans I think..I dont see how it's not worth the money really.

 

[Brandon barr]

That's cool we are not a real big breakfast type people ainly just lunch and dinner.



What did you mean by this

You would need to pay for these amounts out of pocket:

• Entrees & Drinks: $139.26
• Appetizers: $0.00
• Desserts: $5.97
• Snacks: $0.00
• Refillable Mugs: $0.00
• Tips: $90.85
• Taxes: $9.45

 

[englanddg]

That's cool we are not a real big breakfast type people ainly just lunch and dinner.



What did you mean by this

You would need to pay for these amounts out of pocket:

• Entrees & Drinks: $139.26
• Appetizers: $0.00
• Desserts: $5.97
• Snacks: $0.00
• Refillable Mugs: $0.00
• Tips: $90.85
• Taxes: $9.45

The calculator I used did that, because I listed Sassalouga for your breakfasts, and it's not covered under the plans (cause, you don't have enough credits, and even if you did, you should pay those OOP for the plan you are choosing anyhow).

That's what it's talking about though with the "Entrees & Drinks / Desserts / Taxes" parts.

That also gives you an estimate for how much in tips you should expect to have to shell out.

The details are listed further down in that post.

If you don't eat breakfast every morning at Sassalouga, or you don't eat there every day (Sassalouga is the Port Orleans eatery), you won't need to worry about that expense.

 

[Brandon barr]

Okay you where right I've been trying to make a few reservations and some stuff already booked up. I did call today and add memory maker and added the not so scary haloween tickets to. Still trying to decide on dining plan.

We are flying in at 5:25pm we'd October 7th. We where trying to make reservations that night at t rex but there all booked. So ended up at planet Hollywood. At 8:30 pm. We plan to spend all day in Magik kindom the first day on the 8th and have the haloween party that night. Almost all the ts restraints seemed booked up that day.

 

[englanddg]

Okay you where right I've been trying to make a few reservations and some stuff already booked up. I did call today and add memory maker and added the not so scary haloween tickets to. Still trying to decide on dining plan.

We are flying in at 5:25pm we'd October 7th. We where trying to make reservations that night at t rex but there all booked. So ended up at planet Hollywood. At 8:30 pm. We plan to spend all day in Magik kindom the first day on the 8th and have the haloween party that night. Almost all the ts restraints seemed booked up that day.

T-Rex is slightly surprising, but MK is not.

You can keep trying back closer to your trip. T-Rex is one of the few restaurants at Disney I've repeatedly been able to do without a reservation, though generally I have to wait for 20 - 30 mins, but that's not a problem. There's a small play area called the "Bone Yard" and a "Build-a-Dino" (done by the Build-a-Bear people) gift shop there to keep the kids occupied during the wait, and they give you a pager (as you'd probably expect), so you can just wander around and the time passes by pretty quickly.

One quick note about ADRs...if you do NOT cancel them the day before (24 hours) because you changed your mind, or for whatever reason you fail to show...

You will be charged $10 per person on on the reservation to your credit card.

So, for DTD, if you really had your heart set on T-Rex, you may (note...MAY) want to cancel your Planet Hollywood ADR to give you the flexibility to see if they have any day of seating available.

There's enough at Disney Springs to eat that you will be able to get in SOMEWHERE...the question is where. That said, I've walked up to Rainforest, Planet Hollywood and T-Rex without ADRs in the past, and after a wait, been seated.

Also, if you really want a TS experience the night of Magic Kingdom, try looking at one of the monorail resorts (Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian). Ohana or Kona Cafe are both great food wise (at Polynesian), or Chef Mickeys(Contemporary) and 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian) as those are character meals.

It would be easy to leave the park say, around 6p, hop the monorail to one of those resorts, eat, and return to Magic Kingdom for the evening.

Since you got Memory Maker, I highly recommend you look into character meals for your TS experiences. Especially as you mentioned the 5 year old can be a bit choosy. A lot of the character dining experiences are buffets (Crystal Palace, Chef Mickeys, 1900 Park Fare, Akershus...though, that's only a partial buffet and it has Norwegian food like lox...mmmm....lox, Tusker House, Hollywood and Vine), and with your Memory Maker they pictures they take (when you show up, you'll get to pose for a special picture with the "host" character...so, Mickey for Chef Mickeys, Donald for Tusker House, etc., before being seated.)

Normally those pictures cost extra to purchase (around $25, iirc), but you'll get them for "free" with Memory Maker. A few character meals and some on ride photos, and you've paid for Memory Maker plus some!

 

[bethymouse]

@englanddg I couldn't have said it all better myself! LOL. Are you sure you're not a salesman/spokesperson for Disney?