My family and I are going to Disney World for a week in June. For the first time, we have purchased a dining plan. I think it's the Plus dining plan which is a snack, counter service, and table service. In years past we didn't put a lot of emphasis on food but obviously this year will be different! I've eaten and le cellier in canada, the coral reef, whispering canyon, prime time and scifi cafe, and the rose and crown. I loved all those places but I would love to try more! Any suggestions?
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Suggestions?.
- Thread starter Boardwalk-empire
- Start date
zurgandfriend
Well-Known Member
Off the top of my head, Biergarten, Kona Cafe, Grand Floridian Cafe, Captain's Grille, Plaza Restaurant and a few signature restaurants such as California Grille, Hollywood Brown Derby and Yachtsman Steakhouse.
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
I'd suggst Ohana (Polynesian all-you-can-eat luau), Raglan Road (DTD/DS with uspcale Irish pub fare and live step-dancing in the evening), Be Our Guest (MK in side Beast's castle, and the hottest ticket in the park), Biergarten (Epcot all-you-can-eat German buffet with live music in the afternoon and evening), Via Napoli or Tutto Italia (Epcot's well-regarded Italian restaurants), The Wave (Contemporary), Akershus (Epcot princess meal), and Crystal Palace (MK Pooh characters meal). To maximize value, schedule these meals for dinner, which is the most expensive meal of the day, and will often include menu offerings a tad more upscale than lunch.
Since you're on the dining plan, be aware of which meals (signature restaurants and dinner shows, mainly) are 2-credit meals. A 2-credit meal virtually never costs twice what a good 1-credit TS meal costs and doing one will require you to pay for an additional meal out-of-pocket somewhere, so it is almost always a waste of credits to do a 2-credit TS meal unless you're paying for it out of pocket. That being said, if you're not worried about "maximizing" your TS credit value, consider a 2-credit experience like California Grill at the Contemporary, Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Hollywood Brown Derby in Hollywood Studios or the Hoop-de-Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness Campground.
Since you're on the dining plan, be aware of which meals (signature restaurants and dinner shows, mainly) are 2-credit meals. A 2-credit meal virtually never costs twice what a good 1-credit TS meal costs and doing one will require you to pay for an additional meal out-of-pocket somewhere, so it is almost always a waste of credits to do a 2-credit TS meal unless you're paying for it out of pocket. That being said, if you're not worried about "maximizing" your TS credit value, consider a 2-credit experience like California Grill at the Contemporary, Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, the Hollywood Brown Derby in Hollywood Studios or the Hoop-de-Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness Campground.
Clowd Nyne
Well-Known Member
Akershus in Norway has princesses and its only one credit. If you have girls go there!! Crystal Palace for early breakfast is great at MK plus you can enter the park early. It's neat to be on Main Street alone! Be Our guest is the most immersive dining experience we've enjoyed. Beast was there for M&G that night. It made for a great memory. I don't know of many other ways to meet Beast if any.
PrincessNelly_NJ
Well-Known Member
Via Napoli, Mama Melrose, Akershus, Be Our Guest (dinner is great!), definitely Yachtsman Steakhouse 
, and
Narcoossee's.
As much as I value her knowledge and she is always excellent at providing insight, I have to disagree with @Weather_Lady
jawdrop:first time ever! lol) Using 2 credits for signature restaurants is worth it, IF you can look at menus and see if there is value in it for you and your family. If you have small child, then paying out of pocket is probably going to be cheaper for signature restaurants. However, every signature experience I've had, have resulted in the bill being about $85-100 per person and being completely covered by the DDP is nice sometimes. I recommend checking out menus and prices to determine what is best. For example, we always pay for Narcoossee's with the DDP but pay out of pocket for Yachtsman because of prices.
Happy Eating!
, andNarcoossee's.
As much as I value her knowledge and she is always excellent at providing insight, I have to disagree with @Weather_Lady
jawdrop:first time ever! lol) Using 2 credits for signature restaurants is worth it, IF you can look at menus and see if there is value in it for you and your family. If you have small child, then paying out of pocket is probably going to be cheaper for signature restaurants. However, every signature experience I've had, have resulted in the bill being about $85-100 per person and being completely covered by the DDP is nice sometimes. I recommend checking out menus and prices to determine what is best. For example, we always pay for Narcoossee's with the DDP but pay out of pocket for Yachtsman because of prices.Happy Eating!
Thanks for the suggestions!
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
No offense taken, @PrincessNelly_NJ! I agree with you that it's an individualized analysis.
This was the kind of calculation going on in my head when I said I thought that a 2-credit meal wasn't "worth it" on the DDP: I can go to 'Ohana for one credit, and get a $60 dinner, and then to Crystal Palace and get a $60 dinner. On the other hand, I can go to Narcoossee's for 2 credits and, ordering only the most expensive items on the menu (e.g., surf and turf with the cheese plate for dessert), get $100 worth of food. But now I've used two credits! Unless I skip a meal or just don't need all of my TS credits to begin with, I'll still need to throw another $10-$20 on top of that to buy an extra counter service meal, or perhaps another $30-$40 for table service.
So if I go with one-credit meals only, my 2 credits got me $120 worth of food and paid for 2 table-service meals, compared with $100 worth of food (minus the amount of extra money I'll have to spend for a "make-up meal") and one table-service meal if I went with a 2-credit experience. Still, as PrincessNelly said, it all comes down to whether "there is value in it for you and your family," and the "value" for you may not be found solely in the entree prices! With one-credit restaurants, you technically got more value for your money in that the total of the bills would have been higher, but then again, you didn't get any surf-and-turf and artisinal cheeses, either!
There's value to be had (and an argument to be made) either way.
This was the kind of calculation going on in my head when I said I thought that a 2-credit meal wasn't "worth it" on the DDP: I can go to 'Ohana for one credit, and get a $60 dinner, and then to Crystal Palace and get a $60 dinner. On the other hand, I can go to Narcoossee's for 2 credits and, ordering only the most expensive items on the menu (e.g., surf and turf with the cheese plate for dessert), get $100 worth of food. But now I've used two credits! Unless I skip a meal or just don't need all of my TS credits to begin with, I'll still need to throw another $10-$20 on top of that to buy an extra counter service meal, or perhaps another $30-$40 for table service.
So if I go with one-credit meals only, my 2 credits got me $120 worth of food and paid for 2 table-service meals, compared with $100 worth of food (minus the amount of extra money I'll have to spend for a "make-up meal") and one table-service meal if I went with a 2-credit experience. Still, as PrincessNelly said, it all comes down to whether "there is value in it for you and your family," and the "value" for you may not be found solely in the entree prices! With one-credit restaurants, you technically got more value for your money in that the total of the bills would have been higher, but then again, you didn't get any surf-and-turf and artisinal cheeses, either!
There's value to be had (and an argument to be made) either way.
PrincessNelly_NJ
Well-Known Member
Well when you put it like that...
...you are absolutely right!
I was thinking in terms of breaking even or saving money with the Dining plan, not about the quantity of food you get for the money.
LucyK
Well-Known Member
Since the big bucks at the two-credit restaurants are usually meat, we are now paying only the highest part of the bill using the dining plan. Last year at Narcoossee's mom had the lobster and I had the ravioli; we paid for the lobster with the DDP and OOP for the ravioli. We took her dessert to go and shared it later at the resort. It was nice to eat whatever we want and not the highest stuff on the menu just because we were on the DDP.