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Old 25 Apr 15, 05:39 PM  
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sha9
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Getting the best out of Disney dining plans

Hi all, I was thinking with the free dining being released and a whole load of newbies to QSDP/DDP it would be useful to have a thread sharing our top tips about how to get the most out of having the dining plans.
There's a link to the DIBB guidebook page on dining plans here.

This is a link to the WDTC page on dining plans. It includes links to all the dining plan leaflets. I tried links to each individual PDF but they didn't seem to work however they can all be accessed there.

A link to 2017 dining plan locations.

Explaining dining plans

From 2017 the dining plans no longer include a dessert with QS meals. Instead there is an extra snack credit. Dessert will still be offered with TS meals.
So QSDP - one resort refillable mug, 2 QS credits and 2 snacks.
DDP - one resort refillable mug, 1 QS credit, 1 TS credit and 2 snacks.
DxDDP - one resort refillable mug, 3 TS/QS credits (full flexible) and 2 snacks.

The dining plans are very flexible. You have all your credits available to you at check in and the vast majority of menu items are allowed (although note the comment on the Disney dining plans page regarding the cost of entrees). There are some restrictions on sharing items but even then most allow you to use more than one credit so in practical terms there are no restrictions.
You can't use credits of one type towards a meal of a higher credit type. For example, you can't use QS credits to go towards a TS meal and can't combine snacks for a QS meal or TS meal. Disney now say a TS credit can be used for a QS meal but there is a suggestion this is at the CMs discretion. You can also use a QS or TS credit to pay for 2 or 3 snacks which seems to depend on location and CM. This has to be done in the same transaction and is not available at every location. Here's a link to a Disney Parks Moms Panel question on this subject.
You can also currently exchange your QS drink for anything that's considered a snack. There is some internet chat from people who have been unable to do this however the 2017 dining plan leaflets clearly state it's allowed. It should be noted however that it does not say that drink substitutions are allowed on the US version of the leaflets so it may be best not to configure this in your plans.
The final list of restaurants accepted on the dining plan doesn't tend to get finalised until the end of the year. Don't panic if your favourite restaurant doesn't show for next year! If it's there this year there's a good chance it'll be there next year.

Abbreviations

QSDP – Quick Service Dining Plan
DDP – Disney Dining Plan
DxDDP – Deluxe Disney Dining Plan
TS – Table Service
QS/CS – Quick Service/Counter Service
ADRS – Advance Dining Reservations
MDE – My Disney Experience
OOP – Out of Pocket


ADRs
• You can make ADRs 180 days out and when staying onsite you can make the first 10 days ADRs 180 days from check in day. Then at 179 days you can do day 11, and so on. You need to link your resort reservation to your MDE account to do this online but you can phone Disney Dining on 0800 16 90 748 to make ADRs if you prefer. This can be done from 11am online but the phone lines don't open until 12pm. The online link is here.
When making an ADR Disney will ask for credit card details (a debit card will do). They won't charge you anything unless it's a meal that has to be paid in advance however if you don't show up and don't cancel they'll charge your card $10 per person. As long as you cancel the day before they won't charge you. It's useful to have a credit card linked to your MDE account before you start making ADRs to make this process easier. Since you also need a PIN while over there it helps to have set this up ahead of time too. This can also be done via MDE.
• You only need ADRs for TS restaurants and Be Our Guest (CS at breakfast & lunch). If you want specific restaurants or specific times then it's best to book ADRs however if not you can use the website or app to check availability while there. I check regularly out of curiosity and find if I was there now (I wish!) I’d always get something.
• When making ADRs make your hard to get ones first and try and make them for later in the holiday. Be Our Guest for example is particularly difficult to get. Other restaurants it can be more the time you want that’s hard to get. We like Tusker House & Crystal Palace breakfasts the first couple of days and like them as early as possible so I always put them near the top of the booking order.
• Don’t be disheartened if you don’t get what you want first time round as people often change plans so keep checking.
• If you're struggling choosing restaurants have a look at the dining reports. There are some excellent reports with great pictures. I've had loads of ideas from there and am now struggling to narrow it down!


Upgrading Dining Plans

• You can upgrade any free dining plans to the next level by paying the difference in cost. So for example, upgrading two adults from QSDP to DDP costs £364 for 14 nights. From DDP to DxDDP is £896. (These are rough prices based on 2016.)
Current prices per person per night are:
Free breakfast to QSDP - Adult £17 Child £7
Free breakfast to DDP - Adult £30 Child £9
Free breakfast to DxDDP - Adult £62 Child £16
QSDP to DDP - Adult £13 Child £2
QSDP to DxDDP - Adult £45 Child £9
DDP to DxDDP - Adult £32 Child 7

• Remember tips are expected on TS meals of between 18-20% so factor that in when considering upgrading.
• You can also upgrade a child to adult dining plan by changing their ticket to an adult ticket. The cost difference is only the difference in the two theme park tickets which varies depending on the deal at the time. Remember though, if you've upgraded from QSDP to DDP you need to take that cost difference into account too. This isn't possible if you've booked flights with the same operator as dates of birth need to then be correct.
• Kids can then eat from the adults or childrens menu and you can either use credits or pay OOP and save the credits. The only places you won’t be able to do this is at buffet, family style or dinner shows. Basically anything that’s “all you can eat”.
If you are considering upgrading from one dining plan to the next one up here's a link to a great site that helps calculate whether it's worth it distripplanner.

Paying for dining plans

Although they are offered free during the offer you can buy them if you choose. You still need to be staying in a Disney hotel and buying park tickets at the same time.

Current prices are:
QSDP - £28.99 for adults and £11.99 child
DDP - £41.99 for adults and £13.99 child
DxDDP - £73.99 for adults and £20.99 child


Maximising dining plans

• Many meals are big enough for sharing. An individual pizza at Wolfgang Pucks Express plus a side of fries will easily do 2 people and many resort food courts will do you a large pizza for 2 CS credits that would do a family of four plus you'll get 2 drinks. You can then substitute the drinks for 2 snacks (fries for example) and use your refillable mugs for drinks.
This is also true of CS breakfasts and many people will split a breakfast and then split a lunch leaving snacks free for other things.
• The dining plan doesn’t differentiate between adult and child credit for QS meals only (or if you are on the deluxe plan or above).
• You can get desserts to go at TS places if you think you'll eat them later.
• If you use your refillable mugs at the hotel food court (you can use them at any hotel by the way not just where you’re staying) when getting a CS meal you can then get a bottled drink for later.
• At TS places you can often substitute dessert with a soup, side salad or fruit salad. Substituting for appetisers is not allowed. This is not offered at every TS location and they server will usually tell you. We were offered a small salad or lobster bisque at both The Yachtsman and Narcoossee's.
• You can get iced water from any CS place free of charge. There are also water fountains scattered around. Last year we took a couple of collapsible cups and an Oasis squirty juice thing. We also used the cups to share drinks if we shared a CS meal.
• The Disney hotels all have fridges so you can store milk and have breakfast cereal in your room if you want. It's also a great places to store all those "to go" desserts!

Here's a link to Papamouses thread on QSDP. It's a helpful take on the practicalities of using the plan.

Snack Credits
• Snacks are now any "single serve" item regardless of price. You can also now get any size drink as long as it doesn't come in a souvenir mug. You’ll see the DDP symbol next to anything that’s a snack.

• Here’s a link to the snack credit list. This will now be out of date due to the changes mentioned above but gives you an idea. An updated thread can be found here for people to post what they've managed to get for a snack credit.
• Snack credits can be used for anything from drinks to side orders that would do you for lunch such as chilli cheese fries or baked potatoes. Yak & Yeti at AK do chicken fried rice too as a snack. If you're in WDW for the Epcot Food & Wine Festival it's even better as there's loads of stalls with amazing food - even fillet steak for a snack credit! I'm hoping this won't change!
• Many people will say drinks are a waste of a snack credit however you may find you don’t have room for any extra food! We found as the trip went on last year we started using them for drinks.
• If you have any left there are loads of options for buying stuff that you can take home. Goofy’s Candy Co., Ghirardelli’s and any sweet shop in the parks will have a variety of things.

Fantasmic Dining Package


The Fantasmic Dining Package gets you priority seating at Fantasmic if you eat at the following restaurants:

Hollywood & Vine (1 TS)
Mama Melrose (1 TS)
Brown Derby (2 TS)

You must book the Fantasmic Dining Package though and not just a normal reservation.

Planning ADRs

It's often asked how you go about planning your ADRs so I posted later in the thread about how we do it. I've copied it here for anyone who doesn't read the whole thread. This is just how we do it and won't suit everyone.

I always do a rough itinerary so I know which parks we'll do each day and which days will be rest days. From there I can pick which TS place we want to do on what day and for what meal. Character breakfast are usually planned for the first couple of mornings when the time difference means we're up early anyway. I don't tend to book an ADR on a Universal day so we don't need to rush back but might book a resort restaurant on a pool or shopping day. We don't often do full park days so where we eat in the evening is less relevant.
I choose times that we would eat at home. Breakfasts are usually as early as we can and preferably an hour before park opening. Lunch around 1pm and dinner 6-6.30pm but I tend to book earlier times at the start of the holiday until our body clocks adjust.
Choosing where is based on previous meals we've enjoyed as we've been before however we ate at a few new places I'd seen in dining reports last year and that's where I'd recommend starting if you're new to DDP. The link to that part of the forum is here.
It's quite easy to change ADRs while over there if your plans change so if something doesn't suit just give WDW dining a ring from your room phone.

Best Value
A lot of you ask which TS meals they should pay out of pocket for when they have too many, or even just want an idea of which restaurants are best value on DDP (especially when paying for DDP).
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Edited at 03:07 PM.
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