The dining credit experiment: On-site dining for $36 per day (November 2021)

[gjdjud]

Really enjoyed this How was the Monte Cristo?

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by loldis

DAY 5: Wednesday 1 December - Animal Kingdom and the Boardwalk

Today was my planned "rest" day as I knew I'd be back late from the After Hours. So just a half day at AK today.

Had the rest of the Everglazed donut for breakfast before heading out to the park.

More coffee...

Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, $6.27

My favourite meal from last time, the Satu'li Canteen bowls. Still great. Although I was on the fence between this and the cheeseburger pod, kind of regretting not getting both...

Kids beef bowl, $9.57

Took the Skyliner up to the Boardwalk for a wander in the evening but nothing appealed, so back to the food court for more chicken tenders. Got the adult portion this time but really could have gotten the kids one again...

Chicken tenders, $11.17

Dessert was a Gideon's cookie that I had bought yesterday but was too full to eat. It was OK. I can see the hype but they don't live up to Levain which is what I was hoping for. Didn't finish it...

Churro cookie, $6.37

Total spend $33.40

DAY 6: Thursday 2 December - Epcot

Another later start today being an Epcot day, since the park doesn't open until 11. First, caught the Skyliner up to Riviera for a late breakfast...

Lemon pancakes, $12.02

Grabbed a coffee for the walk around the World Showcase...

Iced Sugar Cookie Latte, $6.06

Late lunch / early dinner was the brisket sandwich from Regal Eagle. I'd seen a tip from Craig on Disney Dining to eat it with the toast on the side instead of as a sandwich which is exactly what I did. Delicious...

Brisket Sandwich, $13.83

I'd bought a cookie from Karamell-Küche but by the time I got around to eating it, it had broken apart. So stolen picture of this one. Another sharer, couldn't finish it...

Gingerbread Cookie Sandwich, $6.38

Total spend $38.39

See more...

WOW I so want that cookie 🙊🙊🙊😋😋😋

[Taffy1959]

Thanks for sharing we’re staying at CSR next May and I think it’s $42 per night which will give us a decent amount towards our food.

[Jaspercat10]

Looks great better than some of the table service options. We will be eating more qs this time as there is very few dining reservations available so looking forward to to trying some of your choices
Hope you had a lovely holiday x

[goodevans]

Thanks for sharing this super informative report loldis 👍
Really helpful as always and definitely some things to try there for us!
Hope you had a wonderful time x

[loves2plan]

Originally Posted by Taffy1959

Thanks for sharing we’re staying at CSR next May and I think it’s $42 per night which will give us a decent amount towards our food.

See more...

Moderate resorts get $61 per night

[loves2plan]

Originally Posted by loldis

Thanks Vickie! I'd say the kids bowl is just under half an adult's portion. The only downside is it doesn't come with the hash as an option which is my favourite base. The salad was a nice light option though.

It's a decent portion if you want to snack as well but if it's to be your only meal, I'd probably also get a portion of the cheeseburger pods to share.

See more...

Thank you! I wonder why they don't offer the potato hash base for kids though, especailly as it's probably quite a safe option for them. Cheeseburger pods are no good for me though as I've been vegetarian for the past couple of years (just after our 2019 trip), so I'll be hunting out all of the best veggie options too. Our son likes the sound of them though, so they're on his list.

I must have missed the famous 'monte cristo' though as I have no idea what that is. Looks like some sort of deep friend sandwich? I've also never had tonga toast, but have heard dibbers rave about it before.

I do love a good salad, but it's a shame that pretty much all of them seem to feature meat. I know you can ask for it without the meat, but I bet it's the same price still! One thing I am looking forward to trying is the 'build your own salad' at Blaze pizza. I haven't done it before as it wasn't included on the dining plan, but now we're paying, we can get 1 pizza and 1 salad to share

It's great to see that you were able to eat what you wanted on a budget, and even included 2 TS meals. We have the $61 per night credit, but there are 4 of us, so I know we'll definitely be paying for half our food, which I know I'll find painful

[loldis]

Originally Posted by gjdjud

Really enjoyed this How was the Monte Cristo?

See more...

Disneyland's is better but since I don't know when I'll get out to California next, it was an acceptable substitution.

And good enough that I ate the whole thing.

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

WOW I so want that cookie 🙊🙊🙊😋😋😋

See more...

The cookie was SO good Claire!

Originally Posted by loves2plan

Thank you! I wonder why they don't offer the potato hash base for kids though, especailly as it's probably quite a safe option for them. Cheeseburger pods are no good for me though as I've been vegetarian for the past couple of years (just after our 2019 trip), so I'll be hunting out all of the best veggie options too. Our son likes the sound of them though, so they're on his list.

I must have missed the famous 'monte cristo' though as I have no idea what that is. Looks like some sort of deep friend sandwich? I've also never had tonga toast, but have heard dibbers rave about it before.

I do love a good salad, but it's a shame that pretty much all of them seem to feature meat. I know you can ask for it without the meat, but I bet it's the same price still! One thing I am looking forward to trying is the 'build your own salad' at Blaze pizza. I haven't done it before as it wasn't included on the dining plan, but now we're paying, we can get 1 pizza and 1 salad to share

It's great to see that you were able to eat what you wanted on a budget, and even included 2 TS meals. We have the $61 per night credit, but there are 4 of us, so I know we'll definitely be paying for half our food, which I know I'll find painful

See more...

Monte Cristo is a Disneyland classic. I consider DLR my home resort rather than WDW, so had to get it. And yes, it's a deep fried sandwich.

Forgot you were veggie now! They also have a quesadilla on the kids menu. Looks like a good portion size. A lot of the plant based options disappeared when the menus were reduced during Covid unfortunately. Still easy to find, but not as much variety as there was when they were ramping up in 2019.

I noticed several of the salads had a meatless version that was a few dollars cheaper. Definitely at Backlot Express, as I was tempted by the southwest salad. Ended up not getting it though as I didn't want to be disappointed that it wasn't Rosie's salad.

$61 for 4 is going to be a snacks in the case job I think. Can't wait to see your report though!

[loves2plan]

Originally Posted by loldis

Monte Cristo is a Disneyland classic. I consider DLR my home resort rather than WDW, so had to get it. And yes, it's a deep fried sandwich.

Forgot you were veggie now! They also have a quesadilla on the kids menu. Looks like a good portion size. A lot of the plant based options disappeared when the menus were reduced during Covid unfortunately. Still easy to find, but not as much variety as there was when they were ramping up in 2019.

I noticed several of the salads had a meatless version that was a few dollars cheaper. Definitely at Backlot Express, as I was tempted by the southwest salad. Ended up not getting it though as I didn't want to be disappointed that it wasn't Rosie's salad.

$61 for 4 is going to be a snacks in the case job I think. Can't wait to see your report though!

See more...

Ah, that's probably why the Monte Cristo has passed me by!

Yes, I noticed that a lot of the plant based options had disappeared when looking at the menus. There were some great options in 2019, so hopefully they'll bring some back before September.

That's good to know about the salads too, thank you I never have been a burger and fried chicken sort of person, as you'll have seen from my reports. I do love my veggies so I'll be hunting them down

Definitely going to take cereal (as usual) and more snacks. I need to figure out water too, so might look at a delivery service or an Uber to the closest place to buy it in bulk. I'm sure I've read that there's a nearby petrol station with a small store that's pretty reasonable, or am I imagining that?

[loldis]

Originally Posted by loves2plan

Ah, that's probably why the Monte Cristo has passed me by!

Yes, I noticed that a lot of the plant based options had disappeared when looking at the menus. There were some great options in 2019, so hopefully they'll bring some back before September.

That's good to know about the salads too, thank you I never have been a burger and fried chicken sort of person, as you'll have seen from my reports. I do love my veggies so I'll be hunting them down

Definitely going to take cereal (as usual) and more snacks. I need to figure out water too, so might look at a delivery service or an Uber to the closest place to buy it in bulk. I'm sure I've read that there's a nearby petrol station with a small store that's pretty reasonable, or am I imagining that?

See more...

There's several Speedways on property, and I think there's a Wawa nearby as well. Although you could probably just do an Amazon Fresh or Walmart delivery to bell services. I was considering doing that but decided I would go to Target for a wander round. Honestly, wish I'd done the order as the store was nothing like it was in 2019. I know there's global supply chain issues but it was the biggest disappointment of the trip.

I'm not a huge burger person either. Funnily enough I'm mostly veggie at home, you'd never tell by my food reports though since I eat whatever I want when I'm away.