Restaurant Advice

[mwedon09]

Hey everybody, I am going on a trip to Disney with my family in July and we have the Disney Dining Plan. First of all I want to know if you think the plan is actually worth all of the money that you spend for it. This is our first year trying it.

And secondly I was wondering if you could tell me what you think of the restaurant choices and maybe if ours are lame to make some suggestions for new places to eat. Below are the restaurants we chose on the dining plan in order.

Tutto Italia
Liberty Tree Tavern
Brown Derby(yes we used two for credits for this one)
Ohana
Le Cellier
Nine Dragons

Thanks and I hope to hear from you!!

 

[nepalostparks]

Hey everybody, I am going on a trip to Disney with my family in July and we have the Disney Dining Plan. First of all I want to know if you think the plan is actually worth all of the money that you spend for it. This is our first year trying it.

And secondly I was wondering if you could tell me what you think of the restaurant choices and maybe if ours are lame to make some suggestions for new places to eat. Below are the restaurants we chose on the dining plan in order.

Tutto Italia
Liberty Tree Tavern
Brown Derby(yes we used two for credits for this one)
Ohana
Le Cellier
Nine Dragons

Thanks and I hope to hear from you!!

For the first part, you are likely to get a wide set of responses as to the value. It is certainly less of a value than it previously was (it used to include both an appetizer and gratuities). If you generally like to eat a lot of food, and you order the more/most expensive things on the menu when you dine, and use the table service credits for dinner rather than lunch or breakfast, chances are you will still save some money versus paying out of pocket for the same things.

One thing to consider outside of pure value is that your meals are pre-paid (outside of gratuities, alcohol, etc.), which for some allows for a nicer vaction not having to worry about budgeting for every meal, etc.

Ultimately, you have to decide if prepaying and being able to order the more expensive items, and having an entree, dessert and drink for each person at each meal is worth it for your situation.



For your list, we loved Le Cellier - the best meal we had in our last two vacations to the World. Tutto Italia was decent, but not quite worth the price if paying out of pocket, at least in my opinion. Liberty Tree is nice, but it is no longer a Character meal, which was some of its major appeal. I might suggest Crystal Palace, or if you are willing to take the bit of time to travel over to the Contemporary, Chef Mickeys (both are character meals).

Haven't eaten at the other ones personally, but Ohana usually gets rave reviews.

Hope this helps, and hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[Prince-1]

Our family uses the dining plan every time we go and we enjoy it quite a bit. The only draw back we have is we lose the freedom to change our plans on which park we want to go at night due to where we have dining reservations. But I guess if you plan carefully you'll be fine. As for your restaurant picks we love Ohana's (great view of the Castle) and Le Celier. I would agree to go to Crystal Palace instead of the Liberty Tree Tavern. I've been to both and find the food at the Palace to be so much better. Plus you get the Winnie the Pooh cast of characters coming by the table as well. Have fun and enjoy whatever you do.

 

[spear]

I would say that it is worth it, but a lot of food. However, as stated above it makes DW almost like an all inclusive. Below are thoughts on you dinning options.

Tutto Italia- not been
Liberty Tree Tavern- perfect location and food is good if you like "thanksgiving" type food
Brown Derby- not been
Ohana- nothing bad to say.
Le Cellier- very good
Nine Dragons- not been

Suggestions: we had a good experience at Mama Melrose last year, Whispering Canyon Cafe in The Wilderness Lodge, Most of our group like the Sci Fi Drive, Akershus for Breakfast only

Hope you have a good trip

 

[bamillerpa]

I think most of your selections are ok but we really didn't like Liberty Tree Tavern. We ate there twice. Last I knew the food was all Stouffers but I don't know if that's still true. Since they no longer have the characters there I don't see us ever returning. I agree with the other posters that the Crystal Palace is much better. I've never been to the Brown Derby so I can't comment on that one. We don't like to use two credits at once.

We love the Dining Plan! I like to plan and I want to be able to sit down and enjoy a good meal while on vacation. We look at the menus online and figure out the cost for each day and we always end up saving money. We just make rezzies for dinner time and choose the more expensive places that we would never visit otherwise. Having everything paid up front is wonderful too and lets us have a more stress free trip. Having to pay gratuities out of pocket is not near as bad as having to pay for every meal every day while we are there.

 

[wbc]

Liberty Tree Tavern is my favorite counter service restaurant. :dazzle:

 

[mickey2008.1]

Hey everybody, I am going on a trip to Disney with my family in July and we have the Disney Dining Plan. First of all I want to know if you think the plan is actually worth all of the money that you spend for it. This is our first year trying it.

And secondly I was wondering if you could tell me what you think of the restaurant choices and maybe if ours are lame to make some suggestions for new places to eat. Below are the restaurants we chose on the dining plan in order.

Tutto Italia
Liberty Tree Tavern
Brown Derby(yes we used two for credits for this one)
Ohana
Le Cellier
Nine Dragons

Thanks and I hope to hear from you!!

we have found it to be quite a value, especially if you know what your getting. I believe it cost $40/day/person. the table service usually will cover that if paying out of pocket. Then the counter service and snacks are free basicly. They are large portions, and my DW and i dont eat alot, so we split our TS and order an app, then use the other TS for lunch or bank it for a dinner show. You cant split TS at buffets, or family style places like Ohannas.

As far as your ADRS
Tutto-disappointing
LeCellier-very good for not being a signature restaurant.
Liberty tree- go somewhere else
Brown Derby- very snooty and unwelcoming, especially with kids

Try:
Cape may cafe- great character breakfast without the crowds of chef mickeys
Kona Cafe- great all around for lunch and dinner
Mama Melrose- get the fantasmic package- it includes appetizer and reserved seats for fantasmic, no extra cost.
Grand Floridian cafe- great TS
If you are going to use 2 TS- try narcooses, california grille, or citricos.

have a great time.

 

[JohnLocke]

For us the DDP is still worth it, though not including tips makes it not as nice as it once was, the loss of appetizers isn't really bad at all, considering you do usually get a lot to eat anywhere you dine. As for your selections, Le Cellier is probably the best restaurant we've been to at the parks, and while it's not one my top 5 I've been to, Liberty Tree Tavern was still a very good place. I've never been to any of the others, but you may just want to look around for reviews and menus to be sure you will like them.


I do highly recommend the Crystal Palace for breakfast, if you can get it, and also Akerhus for breakfast as well, but Akerhus is more for characters and if you're an EPCOT fan, getting in the park extremely early.

 

[ccarter30]

We always use the dining plan when we go. To make it seem worth it to us, we always try to order some of the more expensive things on the menu. The only problem that we have ever had with it is that you get so much food. It is almost too much, but we still love it anyway.

Now for you ADRs:
Tutto Italia- We ate here on our last trip and thought it was very good
Liberty Tree Tavern-We eat here every trip. I think it is more for sentimental reasons than anything. It is just not the same without the characters. It is a lot of food though if you are going for dinner since it is family style all you can eat.
Brown Derby- I have never eaten here but I have heard that it is not that great.
Ohana- I have only done breakfast here but I have heard that the dinner is great too.
Le Cellier- This is hands down my favorite restaurant that we have eaten at in Disney. I love the food and the atmosphere is wonderful.
Nine Dragons- Ate here on our last trip for the first time in at least 5 years. I was pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent and the restaurant was not crowded at all.

Suggestions:
I would try to get Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace instead of Liberty Tree Tavern if you can.

 

[mwedon09]

Thanks for the opinions on the disney dining plan and on the restaurants we are going to on our trip! Can't wait to have some great food!

 

[disneygirl76]

Hey everybody, I am going on a trip to Disney with my family in July and we have the Disney Dining Plan. First of all I want to know if you think the plan is actually worth all of the money that you spend for it. This is our first year trying it.

And secondly I was wondering if you could tell me what you think of the restaurant choices and maybe if ours are lame to make some suggestions for new places to eat. Below are the restaurants we chose on the dining plan in order.

Tutto Italia - ugh - we didn't like this one.

Liberty Tree Tavern - it was better with characters (more fun) but good comfort food! :slurp:

Brown Derby(yes we used two for credits for this one) - Great choice! A fave!

Ohana - are you going for bfast or dinner? We did dinner - YUM!

Le Cellier - Always amazing!

Nine Dragons - very good and the service was incredible

Thanks and I hope to hear from you!!

I added my answers in bold. :wave: