Free Disney Dining

[david meades]

I hope some of you can give me advice. I am visiting WDW in 10 days time and staying for two weeks. We have Disney Dining given to us free as part of the packagebut it is for two counter service meals a day and two snacks. I am wondering whether I should pay for the upgrade too one counter service meal, one resturant meal and one snack. What do u all think. I have been to WDW many times before and can't decide whether we will use all the resturant meals if I do. We have a seven year old with us and he will be happier getting on with rides and shows than sitting waiting for food. Please help!

 

[NewfieFan]

I hope some of you can give me advice. I am visiting WDW in 10 days time and staying for two weeks. We have Disney Dining given to us free as part of the packagebut it is for two counter service meals a day and two snacks. I am wondering whether I should pay for the upgrade too one counter service meal, one resturant meal and one snack. What do u all think. I have been to WDW many times before and can't decide whether we will use all the resturant meals if I do. We have a seven year old with us and he will be happier getting on with rides and shows than sitting waiting for food. Please help!

Probably not much point to switch at this stage of the game! You would really need to have some ADRs in place before now! You may find yourself having to search for restaurants to eat in. A lot of the TS restaurants would already be booked by now, unfortunately!

You can go online and see what you can find (you can make ADRs online now)...

By the sounds of it you will be happier with just counter service - it's quicker than TS and you'll be back on the rides in no time!

 

[jjbuster2]

I would give it a try. Two weeks is a long time to eat counter service twice a day. If you are worried that you won't use all your credits then try to get ADR's at some of the signature restaurants or dinner shows that take 2 credits instead of 1.

After i started typing this i was curious about availability. Of course, I know nothing of your preferences or itinerary but i plugged in a few random entries into the dining system and it looks like there's plenty available

8-4 Narcoossee's at 7:25 or 8:40 pm
California Grill at 7:00 pm
8-7 Le Cellier at 5:00 pm (Friday night)
8-9 Plaza, Tony's, Crystal Palace, & Liberty Tree all had something around 1:00ish

Tell your son "we gotta eat somewhere, this won't take that long". And besides, air conditioning is nice

 

[david meades]

I would give it a try. Two weeks is a long time to eat counter service twice a day. If you are worried that you won't use all your credits then try to get ADR's at some of the signature restaurants or dinner shows that take 2 credits instead of 1.

After i started typing this i was curious about availability. Of course, I know nothing of your preferences or itinerary but i plugged in a few random entries into the dining system and it looks like there's plenty available

8-4 Narcoossee's at 7:25 or 8:40 pm
California Grill at 7:00 pm
8-7 Le Cellier at 5:00 pm (Friday night)
8-9 Plaza, Tony's, Crystal Palace, & Liberty Tree all had something around 1:00ish

Tell your son "we gotta eat somewhere, this won't take that long". And besides, air conditioning is nice

Thanks for that advice. I didn't know some resturants let you use 2 credits to eat there. I already have bookings for Donalds Breakfastosaurus and Crystal palace. Can the credits be used there? Is there a list of resturants that accept 2 for 1.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Thanks for that advice. I didn't know some resturants let you use 2 credits to eat there. I already have bookings for Donalds Breakfastosaurus and Crystal palace. Can the credits be used there? Is there a list of resturants that accept 2 for 1.

Yes, you can use it at Crystal Palace and Donald's Breakfast. Here's a list of all participating restaurants and which ones take 2 credits:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/me...09 Disney Dining Plan - Walt Disney World.pdf

 

[david meades]

Thank you for that, very useful to see all the resturants together. I can't see it listed though about using two counter service meals in exchange for one table service meal. Is this advertised anywhere?

 

[jjbuster2]

No, that's if you change your plan to be 1 TS, 1 CS, and 1 snack...the signature restaurants use 2 TS credits.

Once you run out of credits you might end up paying out of pocket for a few meals...which very likely you'd do counter service if you ran out...but your overall dining experience would likely be improved.

I'd only do 1 or 2 signature restaurants, that way you wouldn't have to pay for too much extra and those days/nights when you don't have specific dining plans you could be flexible.

 

[JillC LI]

I think you misunderstood. It's not that you can use 2 counter service credits for 1 table service credit. It's that certain restaurants/experiences (Signature ones) require 2 TABLE service credits to eat there. You'd have to upgrade your plan.

 

[david meades]

Thanks for that, much clearer now!

 

[mickey7879]

If you're going to be there for 2 weeks and have free counter service dining, I'd upgrade if it was me. Like the others have said, 2 weeks is a long time to go only eating counter service....gets old fast! I'm sure if you're flexible that you'd be able to get into SOME PLACE....maybe not your first pick or time of choice, but you can't expect that this short notice before your trip. The Hoop dee doo or Luau would be a fun thing to do that take 2 Table Service credits.

 

[DisneysRedHead]

I say pick a couple of days to do either lunch or dinner just for the heck of it since the rest of your food is free. For example, do quick service at your hotel for breakfest, have lunch at a Table service restuarant, and then do quick service for dinner. You can just do it once or twice your whole trip, but it will be a nice little treat.

I do reccomend doing your table service for lunch instead of dinner because the prices are a lot cheaper and you usually have the same options as dinner.

Even though you are getting close to your trip, I still say call and try to make reservations so there is little to no wait when you finally do table service. Good luck!

 

[david meades]

I say pick a couple of days to do either lunch or dinner just for the heck of it since the rest of your food is free. For example, do quick service at your hotel for breakfest, have lunch at a Table service restuarant, and then do quick service for dinner. You can just do it once or twice your whole trip, but it will be a nice little treat.

I do reccomend doing your table service for lunch instead of dinner because the prices are a lot cheaper and you usually have the same options as dinner.

Even though you are getting close to your trip, I still say call and try to make reservations so there is little to no wait when you finally do table service. Good luck!

I think that is what we will do. It is the first time we have had DDP so all the free food is a bonus! We have a couple of ADRs already and there are a couple of other resturants outside of Disney I want to do so I will leave it at the quick service. Thanks for all your help.