Disney Dining Plan? Help wanted

[nickjr]

Hi all,
After many phonecalls mainly to India:confused2 we've finally managed to rearrange our 2nd family trip for Easter next year.
We are staying on site AKL and have purchased hotel and ultimate tickets from Disney UK office, have been offered the choice of adding the dining plan to the duration of our stay.We have looked at the info on the disney site and the initial reaction was, with myself, DW, AND two teenage boys,not to bad,also the choice of places to eat looked very good indeed:grin: .
Thing is, not sure to go for it or not:confused2 any advice would be really helpful i'm sure some Dibbers have tried this plan,also do you get to eat off exactly the same menu as if you were a normal paying guest,or do they suddenly produce the " your on the dining plan menu only,not the regular menu":cry:
Thanks in advance for any replies:d:

[highlander447]

Hi we loved it, it was great being able to eat in so many diffrent places, try so many diffrent items without looking at the bill in horror we easily saved over $500 in 10 days, word of caution though u need to plan your dining make ADR's so u get the best times and restaurants for dining, don't be afraid to use 2 credits at the Yachtsman etc as u can easily spread out the CS credits by sharing meals, in my trip reports in from this year u will find out how we got on:smile:

[tessdog]

My dh and I were thinking of doing the dining plan on our next trip but when we sat down and worked it out it seemed to be very expensive for us.

2 adults and 2 children under 9 years old this would have cost us over £1000 for food for 2 weeks !!!.

It was too much for us, but if you can afford it please take into account you will have to eat all your meals at Disney you may get Mouse overload I know we would.

Its nice to be able to eat at different places and try different things, on site I don't think you will get the variety of food.

We ate in the parks on I drive in cheap places and expencive places but we never spent over £1000 doing it.

I am sure a dibber will come along who has taken this option and let you know all about it.
I say save some money and don't do it.

Have fun whatever you choose
X

[nickjr]

Thanks Highlander 447,it's good to know it worked for you i personally think we would probably save as well,just one thing though was it all of the same menu as normal or were you handed separate menus for being on the plan:confused2
Thanks again for your comments:grin:

[BevS97]

everything I've read says it's the normal menu, on some rare occasions there may be a deluxe item on the menu that's not included, but that seems unusual.

Amanda - for us (2 ad, 1 child) it came to £47/day which I thought was very good value considering that you can have a full sit down 3 course meal every day, plus counter service lunch, and drinks or icecreams for a snack which can come to $10 anyway,
For you, I think it would be £54/day, or £756 for a fortnight (£20/day for each adult, and £7/day for each child).

The only reason we are not doing it was that Pop was very expensive for our trip and adding the difference between the comfort inn and pop into the equation meant it was no longer a great deal for us.

[highlander447]

No it was totally the same menu u get, if u are staying onsite like we did our dining bill came to over $2200, remember it includes tip and tax so it was a boon for s to be on plan, at places like Boma wher drink is included in price of meal u are allowed to order a smoothie as well on dining plan, we where not treated diffrently by server in fact we got great service nearly every where as for variety look at the resort restaurants as well as parks, u are spoiled for choice, when it came to paying u handed over your room key and signed receipt, some people complain they waste food on plan, we did waste a little but not as much as u'd think the kids loved being able to order what they wanted and not being told off if they wasted it due to cost of meal, its expensive to eat at disney the plan makes it easier:smile:

[Kim]

Does anyone know if the dining plan is available though Virgin

Kim

[highlander447]

Am sure someone posted virgin stopped doing it:smile:

[mart]

The disney dining package is good value providing you want to eat table service meals and has some very good restaurants particularly at the hotels e.g californian grill at the contempory, artist point at WL, citricos at the grand floridian etc.
You can use the scheme for charactor meals and dinner shows such as hoop de do etc.
I would look at disneys web site for the current list of restuarants in the scheme.

Two things to remember if you use the dining plan the table meals whether non charactor, charactor or dinner show all include service charge and that child plan is for 3-9 years old. Children over 9 have to pay adult prices (the same as park tickets).

Current cost with disney in the uk for 2006 is adult 19.99 and child 6.99 though other tour operators such as BA charge a little more than this.
Several operators such as virgin do not do the scheme.

[loadsapixiedust]

Just another quick question regarding dining plan. How easy is it to keep track of your credits? Can you get a printout of what you have left?

[nickjr]

Don't ask how i know this but i think i did read that you can get a printout from guest services at your on site hotel at any time during your stay.
I'm sure this is right but for the life of me can't find the site i read it on:confused2

[highlander447]

Hi it tells u on your receipt how many u have left, so if u use at TS meal it lets u know how many TS credits left, and if u use at snack cart etc its pretty easy to keep track of, also your resort can let u know how many u have left if u ask at front desk:smile:

[Amyrlin]

Out of intrest how much are they charging for it, I know the dollar price, but not the sterling price.

[nickjr]

adult price is £19.99, children 3-9 £7.99 per day.

[Amyrlin]

Its not bad for what they are offering, I suppose the issue is do you want all that food, or would you spend that amount anyway?