Disney World meal plans (and all things Disney at this point) (1 Viewer)

[Waymer]

It was $1300 for the meal plan for 5 people / 5 days. I decided to chance it and see how it goes.

Just booked for the week of Feb 27. Staying at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort.

If you are at Riverside, I would highly recommend spending a night at the hotel when Yehaa Bob is playing one night. It's good fun, and if you have kids going, they will usually love it. It's in the lounge at the hotel. Get some drinks, appetizers, etc. If you want there are some Youtube videos of him to make sure it's your cup of tea. But it truly is fun.

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[Waymer]

A couple additions. I've never used a meal plan during our visits, but we're FL residents, so we usually just do 1-2 days.

I think the Crystal Palace character meal for lunch is the best value. If you can use the meal plan for that, I would. You'll be there for 2 hours, buffet. Nice break from heat with kids.

Crystal Palace is fun, definitely. If the kids like Winnie the Pooh and his friends, it's a must.

Last I knew, you can bring in bottled water and food. Get a locker. We'd pack granola bars, PB&J, water. No coolers, so water won't stay cold. Nothing perishable.

Yep, can still bring food and drink into the park. Bring some bottles of water. Refill them, etc. Don't waste your money on buying bottled water.

Also, most people don't realize this, but ice water is 100% free. (It's a state law in Florida.) Ask for ice water at anywhere with a fountain machine. Ask for a big cup. Wife and I will both go get two big cups each quite often. Please, please, please DO NOT pay for water. Anyone who reads this, if nothing else comes from this thread, please don't pay for water. It kills me when I see people dropping $10 on a bottle of water when ice cold water is 100% free and unlimited.

 

[SAINTSFAN]

DP is a personal preference. We have only used it once or twice. We found ourselves eating more and spending more time on meals than we normally did just to get our money's worth. Since then, we have not done the meal plan and are fine without it.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Crystal Palace is fun, definitely. If the kids like Winnie the Pooh and his friends, it's a must.



Yep, can still bring food and drink into the park. Bring some bottles of water. Refill them, etc. Don't waste your money on buying bottled water.

Also, most people don't realize this, but ice water is 100% free. (It's a state law in Florida.) Ask for ice water at anywhere with a fountain machine. Ask for a big cup. Wife and I will both go get two big cups each quite often. Please, please, please DO NOT pay for water. Anyone who reads this, if nothing else comes from this thread, please don't pay for water. It kills me when I see people dropping $10 on a bottle of water when ice cold water is 100% free and unlimited.

I never knew you could get ice water from the places for free.

I will say the fountain water is an acquired taste. Not the best tap water out there. Perhaps bring a filter.

Disney has this down to a science. They know, even if you bring some of your own stuff, at times, you'll cave because you're tired, hot and want it now.

One year, we brought our own cereal and oatmeal for breakfast. Ate in our room, got to the park for early opening. I swear, within 15 minutes of being in the park... "I'm hungry". Well, nothing except for a few coffee stands with "muffins" and such are open. So, gotta buy that. Then, in an hour, real food opens, "I'm hungry" or "I want a snack".

If you're trying to save money and really stress about it, you'll hate your kids. lol. If you know what you're in for, it's easier.

I would recommend getting a real hot breakfast at your hotel though. It seems to hold them longer. Just make sure the kids eat enough. And I know how hard that can be.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Oh, also on Crystal Palace.. the kids didn't care for Winnie the Pooh, but ended up really enjoying it. I just think they are characters most kids aren't that familiar with.

 

[Brad Mojo]

I think this year was our last using the dining plan. We go every year too and have always had it. This year I found very often we didn't want to eat lunch because we were doing something or not hungry, but felt we had to because we didn't want to waste credits. I also felt a number of times we could have shared meals at lunch but got more than we needed because of the dining credits. Even with that we ended up with a few quick service credits we converted to snacks on our last day. thats thing thing with the dining plan, in order to not waste money you feel like you "have" to eat.

This. We did it one time and found that one of the breakfast platters could have fed us all (kids eating waffles/pancakes, Mom & Dad splitting eggs/bacon/sausage biscuits...). Instead we wee paying for 4 breakfasts. Same with lunch - 2 small kids can split certain meals, and Mom/Dad as well.

 

[NewOrleansFan]

If budget is the biggest consideration, I'd actually recommend this: get yourself a Target RedCard if you don't have one (they do debit cards, not just credit). With a Target RedCard, you can buy Disney Gift Cards online or in store at a 5% discount. So if you were buying $500 in cards, you'd only pay $475 total, etc. And you don't have to carry around a stack of $50 gift cards (you can if you want though)...Disney has an online setup that allows you to combine cards. In my experience, that 5% will exceed whatever savings a DDP would give a family.

Instead of getting the Disney Gift Cards at a 5% discount, you can also get an ebay gift card at 5% discount. Ebay usually has promotions where you can get Target Gift Cards as a discount. You can use the ebay gift cards to buy the target gift cards on ebay.

 

[Waymer]

Instead of getting the Disney Gift Cards at a 5% discount, you can also get an ebay gift card at 5% discount. Ebay usually has promotions where you can get Target Gift Cards as a discount. You can use the ebay gift cards to buy the target gift cards on ebay.

This is true. There's plenty of ways to potentially stretch it to 10% or more. If you're willing to put in the time, effort, etc.

If you live near a place with a Kroger store, etc...there are additional tactics as as well. And Sam's sells them at discounts too (about 2%). There's a lot of tactics.

 

[saintbilly25]

We go every year and we use the dining plan with one table service, one quick service and one snack. We have done the math and saved a ton by doing this. Table service meals are best in Epcot and Studio. Hit me with any questions. Looks like we will be there again for Mardi Gras with the rest on Louisiana!


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I agree with Epcot, but where do you eat at Hollywood Studios for table service that you enjoy so much? We go annually, but generally just eat quick services at HS and save the table service for another day because we aren't crazy about the options there. We've tried Hollywood and Vine, Mama Melrose, and 50's Primetime Cafe. but weren't crazy about any of them.

 

[Krodwhodat]

I agree with Epcot, but where do you eat at Hollywood Studios for table service that you enjoy so much? We go annually, but generally just eat quick services at HS and save the table service for another day because we aren't crazy about the options there. We've tried Hollywood and Vine, Mama Melrose, and 50's Primetime Cafe. but wasn't crazy about any of them.

We love 50s prime time. Great meat loaf and pot roast. Sci fi drive my kids look forward to. That's the only 2 there


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[saintbilly25]

We love 50s prime time. Great meat loaf and pot roast. Sci fi drive my kids look forward to. That's the only 2 there


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Got ya, never tried Sci Fi. We may have to give it a go. I like the options around Magic Kingdom a lot, just not in the park specifically. The hotels around them, on the "monorail loop" have wonderful places to eat IMO.

 

[Waymer]

We love 50s prime time. Great meat loaf and pot roast. Sci fi drive my kids look forward to. That's the only 2 there


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Brown Derby is there as well, but it's not worth it with kids. They don't care about "fine dining" and Hollywood's golden age.

I agree on both Prime Time and Sci Fi. I find both to be very fun.

 

[Krodwhodat]

Got ya, never tried Sci Fi. We may have to give it a go. I like the options around Magic Kingdom a lot, just not in the park specifically. The hotels around them, on the "monorail loop" have wonderful places to eat IMO.

We really like California Grill in the contemporary. My father in law did all the interiors in there when it was built. The food is great and if there for fire works it's hard to beat!


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[Krodwhodat]

We should start a thread about Disney for Mardi Gras and see how many SR people are going.


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[saintbilly25]

Brown Derby is there as well, but it's not worth it with kids. They don't care about "fine dining" and Hollywood's golden age.

I agree on both Prime Time and Sci Fi. I find both to be very fun.

I forgot about Hollywood Brown Derby. We did enjoy that, but found it not quite worth the 2 table service credits required.