Info on Disney

There was just an artice about this yesterday on MSN money and it broke down all of the plans, the cost, and the pros and cons. It was very informative and well written, it may help you make a decision. Just go to www.msn.com and click on the money section and it should be fairly easy to find. Good Luck and have a geat vacation!

We just went in Aug 08 with 3 girls 4 and under and didn't use the plan. However the week after us the meals were included with the hotel. They apparantly do this the last 2 weeks of Aug. If the date doesn't matter free is always good.

Have fun,
L.

The dinning plans are great for adults, it's difficult to eat all the food that you can get. My husband and I cashed in what we had left at the end of our visit and had snacks for the road. BUT for children, the menu can be restrictive. My niece, age 6, liked more grown up food and alot of times I would trade what I got with her so she could get something that she liked to eat. When you call you might want to ask if they have changed the menu for the children. They told us when we were there 2 yrs ago that there was plans to do so. The meal plan is great for getting those reservations at the Character dining and do make that part of the adventure more affordable. (book any reservation for character dining as soon as you get your confirmation #, the good dining times book up fast) I do know that you can't buy the meal plans for just the adults if you have children with you. My son just booked a vacation for he and his family and was told that. Either way you all decide to go, just have fun. Disney makes you feel like a kid again, enjoy it.

I went last August and I got a lot of my information from www.mousesavers.com it gives information on food, hotel, air, codes to get better discounts and just all around tips for Disneyland and Disneyworld. Also gives tips on all the surrounding amusement parks in the area. Good luck.

I went last April and I will the restaurants do book early and they are busy. We opted to buy food from the "fast-food" style pavilions. That way we were not locked into being in a certain park at a certain time. These "fast-food" pavilions are not cheap, but the food is good and well portioned. In Epcot, I HIGHLY recommend Germany if you love a good hot dog, France, if you love cheeses and Noway for the pastries! The food in Disney is excellent considering it is an amusement park. I will say we did eat a late lunch at one restaurant in Hollywood studios and it was not as good as the food in Epcot. It seems to me I spent about 30-50 dollars a day feeding myself and two teens - everything except breakfast. One other note: use FAST PASS. This is a must! Any ride that is popular will have a FAST PASS. You simply put in your tickets and it spits out another ticket for a later time - with little to no wait. Be forewarned popular rides go quick if it is busy say before noon - so get to the park early - as in be there when the gates open! Last April when we went was pretty crowded and the Dumbo ride lines were so long we never even bothered to wait, it does not have a FAST PASS! Since your kids are young you will spend a lot of time in Magic Kingdom - but Epcot has some great rides, too. Like the others said - research it all, it does help!

About me: SAHM of 5, 2 in service, homeshooling high school for last 3!

I agree with the previous poster - planning ahead is key because you can get nickled and dimed so easily - a bottled water here and there a snack here and there and before you know it youhave spent $200. We just went in December and we belong to DVC (Disney Vacation Club). We stayed at Saratoga Springs Resort and the place had a kitchen. My husband got on line with one of the businesses down there (if you need to know specifics - email me) and ordered groceries that were delivered to our room that we were staying at. He planned for us to eat most of the meals at the place in which we were staying. We ate out a couple of times but it was on our terms not because we had to. We also purchased disney cups for like $10, you can refill at any of the parks for free - I think that is a good investment. Hope this info helps and email me if you have any questions I can help with.

Hi N.,
I went to Disney in Oct of 07 and we have a family of 4. We stayed right in the park also at the All Star Sport Resort. It was the best thing ever! I had the DDP also. We had it right before they changed it though. I would advise anyone to get it. The only change they made to it was our gratutity was included in the price I paid so we didnt have to pay no tips at all when we had our sit down dinners. Now you have too. I paid for a family of 4 a little over $800 for 8 days 7 nights, for the plan. Which you figure isnt bad because they give you breakfast, a snack(which you could use for lunch) and dinner. One thing I would advise you to do is make any reservations if you know any restaurants you want to eat at now because they do fill up quick. If you know you want to eat with the characters I would call and make those now too. Just watch because they normally take like 2 meal tickets a piece, so what we did was eat breakfast with them one day and then that night we would just get a quick dinner instead of a sit down. I know this is a lot of info but I hope this helps. We really had a blast and I have a 15 and 8 year old and they loved it. I hope you have a GREAT time too!!!
~T.

Can't help you with info on the dining plans, but did want to put a word in about meals.

I highly recommend bringing a soft cooler with you and bringing sandwiches with you for lunches at the parks. My family of 6 did this at Disney and some days we bought drinks there, others we partially froze the drinks and used them as the chillpacks for the cooler.

Big benefits to this, not only of saving $$, but also no need to wait in lines (even if you get drinks, that is pretty quick), can sit and picnic anywhere, no need to brave the crowds in the food courts, and healthier food than the hotdogs and fried foods available on most of the kids menus.

Besides, if you're bringing a stroller for the little one, you've got built-in transport for the cooler.

Oh, another thing we found out the hard way on our last trip to Disney - the restaurants tend to book up *months* early, so if you want to go somewhere specific (like the Emerils restaurant, for example), make your reservation as soon as you can.

Hope this helps - Have a fun trip!

You will spend at least $200 a day. I would have to say each meal will about that. Just figure meals will cost about double what they normally would be. So if normal meals cost $10 here they will be $20. It all depends on the place you go so some could be more. What i would do is call ahead and ask or goto the website. I'm going to tell you you should def. make in as many meals as you can. It's going to cost a bundle and your going to regret it after you get there. I've been to Disney land several times and it's costed at the top end of $1000 not counting the tickets each time.

Hi, we went to DisneyWorld last June. We only have a 5 year old daughter. We didn't get the dining plan. We went to Wal-Mart to get breakfast food, bread, milk, fruit, carrot sticks and other snacks. We also bought a case of bottled water instead of buying water at the parks. We ate breakfast in our room, and packed some snacks and water in the backpack. Since Disney lets you bring in food, (we thought they didn't)you could pack some sandwiches, too. We did learn a lesson though, it just makes sense to share food. I use this technigue when we go out to dinner. I order something that I know my daughter will like then share it with her. Often, the children's meals aren't that healthy and can be expensive for what you get or what your child eats.

For example, we got chicken strips for our daughter, and my husband and I split a salad at one restaurant. Our DD couldn't eat all of the chicken strips, so we had a very refreshing chicken ceasar salad. Another time, we went to to a restaurant that had Mexican food. My husband and I split a two taco platter. Since lettuce and tomatoes were offered free, my husband ended up making a very nice taco salad for himself(I wasn't that creative). Our DD couldn't eat all of her meal, so we finished off bits of her quesadilla .

I saw a lot of parents getting complete meals for their young kids, then yelling at them for taking a bite or two of the hamburgers or whatever. The portions are very generous. Know your kids' appetites. If the seven year old has a healthy appetite, let her have her own meal, but the 6 and 3 year old may need to share (if they can agree on the food; you may need to decide for them). Let the baby eat from what you buy yourself, it does't make sense to buy a whole meal for the baby. Remember, heat and excitement really take a toll on appetites. We ended up eating breakfast and one other meal each day, with a few snacks and lots of water. By the end of the day, everyone may be just too tired for a big dinner.

We just got back from Disney a few weeks ago. We did not use the Disney Dining Plan, and we were glad we didn't. We didn't spend anything close to the amount of money of food that the Dining Plan would have cost. Our kids are 5 and 2 and by the time we were in the parks all day everyone was too cranky and zonked to enjoy (parents) or behave at (kids) a nicer sit-down place for dinner. Although we had planned several reservations at sit-down places for dinner, after the first one, we ended up canceling the rest. We for the most part did counter-service meals. For lunch, we found that we didn't want to lose the time we could be going on rides to sit down at a table service restaurant.

We were fine with having a big breakfast, grabbing some snacks throughout the day, and having a decent dinner every night. We too had a kitchenette in our hotel room at a Disney resort, but we didn't bring or make anything in it the whole time we were there (except coffee and using the refrigerator to keep some drinks cold). I might use the kitchen more if we go back, because we found it challenging to find things aside from double cheeseburgers and chicken fingers in the parks. They do have lots of fresh fruit stands, which is great, but sometimes we were just looking for something simple like a ham sandwich and they were nowhere to be found.

We did do a character breakfast at Hollywood Studios, and honestly, the one "nice" place we went to, Citricos at the Grand Floridian, I didn't think was all that great menu-wise or atmosphere-wise. The only great thing about Citricos was that we could see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from our table.

I know a lot of people like the Disney Dining Plan, I think mostly for knowing that everything's paid for before you go. I saw a lot of people struggling with the DDP at the cashier stations trying to figure out what's a snack, what's a meal, etc. etc. I can't say for sure, because I didn't use it, but it looks all the people in your party's meal plans are on a separate card...so if the dad or whatever would go get the food and bring it back, everything would hit against his snacks/dinners/etc. and then everything gets kind of uneven and confusing and then it gets confusing about how many meals are left, what to charge to whose card, etc.. That's the sense I got from standing in line behind people with the Disney Dining Plan. I can't judge too much because I haven't used it myself though. I think it's probably great for people who have older kids along who can go off on their own in the parks for part of the day.

Also, another option is, since you're staying in a Disney resort, your room key is your park ticket and you can charge almost everything back to your room if you want to (food and/or souvenirs), and check it at the end of each day to make sure you're staying in budget. That prevents you from having to carry a bunch of cash or your credit cards around.

Sorry so long...just my two cents. What works best is different for every family. Just for some perspective--we stayed for 6 days and 5 nights and spent a total of about $1,600 (apart from the hotel and flight and park tickets) while we there for food, drinks, souvenirs, entertainment extras, etc., for 2 adults and 2 kids.

Hope you have a great time!!! We had a blast!

Hi N.! I'm a former cast member and used to sell this dining plan to all my guests on the phone! I can tell you, honestly now that I no longer work for Disney, that this is the best way to go for your vacation! Having the kitchen in you room is great for breakfast and maybe a latenight snack. You'll be so busy during the days and enjoying relaxing by the pools that the last thing you'll want to do is pack a lunch for the next day (let alone a dinner!) Plus, you'll have to then cart it to and from the parks. Ugh! Another thing to consider is that Disneyworld is about 46 square miles and the resorts are not even CLOSE to a grocery store. You'd have to get a taxi to bring you over (unless you rent a car or drive down.) Please trust me--the dining plan ROCKS and you'll be eating some of the best food you'll ever have on vacation. Plus, you'll probably order items that you would have never ordered because you don't have to worry about cost of entrees or appetizers...and tips are included!!! Another plus is that you'll have all your sit-down meals planned ahead so you won't be that family of 6 looking for a table and be told that all restaurants in the park are booked for the night--except for the 9pm seating of course. That's always available. Please plan ahead and have fun! And if you still have concerns call the vacation planners at Disney to chat. I'm so excited for you!!

I used to live near Orlando and my husband's family came down to Disney. They got the DDP and we actually met them for dinner one night and they were able to use part of the plan for our meals as well. Our dinner (3 kids & 4 adults) originally would have been $200+ and they ended up paying just $25. I would highly recommend it--they really thought it saved a lot of money (and no, you will NOT want to cook on your vacation!!!) Hope this helps!

Hi N.,

I was just in Disney from March 6-11, 2009 (Coronado Springs Resort) for a conference, and although I had a great time the dining was pretty spendy. I had read that the price of meals had increased slightly since last year, and I was truly glad I had done my research. As a matter of fact, we went off the Disney properties for a couple of meals, because the meals in Downtown Disney are more expensive than they are at the resorts, but the restaurants are fancy, i.e. The House of Blues, The Crab House, etc.. So if you have a car at your disposal, I would suggest doing that perhaps once a day. Otherwise, the best bet would be to plan to skip some meals, because even for children 10 and over you are looking at adult meal prices of approximately $40/day. Children 3 and above are about $10.00/day. But don't take my word for it, to be on the safe side visit the following Disney website to see the family meal plans offered at Disney. http://www.mousemisers.com/2008/2009-disney-world-dining-...
You should probably cut and paste the site in your browser.
Anyway, it is a wonderful place to visit, and I had an absolutely stunning time. Just remember that pre-planning is the key. Make sure you purchase tickets to the attractions in advance, because the rates are better. The highlights of my trip were: the "Behind the Scenes" Tour of Walt Disney World, the Disney Parade and the Fireworks show at Epcot Center. That's not to mention the shopping trip we went on in Downtown Disney...it has more restaurants and shops than you can imagine. Indeed we had a lovely time. So good luck on your trip, and remember, the best planning for Disney is done in advance.

R.

CAN SHOW ANYONE HOW TO PLAN A TRIP ON A BUDGET AND IT BE LUXURY.

I can definitely assist with this. I've been so many times and have learned some trick along the way. People don't ever believe me when I tell them how much we spend on a trip and where we stay. Last year we stayed at Disney Deluxe Resort for 4 nights, had 5 day park hopper tickets, and dinning and paid only $250 for 2 round trip plane tickets for 2 and that was with tax. I was floored at that deal myself. Total we spent last year was $1100.

I am not sure of the price for the plan we had ours as a package plan it included the hotel,hopper passes for all parks and the dining plan but I highly recommend it.It pays for 1 sit down meal,1 counter service and 1 snack for each person per day.we were shocked that when our bills came it also included 18% gratuity on the sit down service.Just 1 bit of advice if you do go with the dining plan make reservations for your sit down service early, they book up quickly.You can make resevation up to six months in advance and some places were already booked up because i only called about 2 months ahead of time.But we ate at a lot of nice restaurants and when we go back will definetly go with the dining plan again.Tony's town square(magic kingdom) and the tuskerhouse(animal kingdom) were fantastic. have a great time I can't wait to go back.

We used the Dining plan last yr and liked it. We got to eat in some really nice restaurants thanks to the dining plan. We would usually use the "snack" for our breakfast, then have lunch and dinner. It can be a little confusing to keep track of but I think it saved us lots. We didnt get anything for our 1 yr old, he ate off our plates and Disney doesn't mind. We just paid for his drink. I think you could do the same for the 3 yo also. The portions are big, so 2 kids could share a meal if they like the same thing. several of my friends have saved this way. One tip about the restaurants for dinner, with our without the meal plan, make your reservations early, if possible before you go, if not then the first morning of the trip. The good ones book fast!

I went to Disney when my kids were close to your kid's ages. I don't know the cost of the dining plan but I know people who were happy with it. The kitchen is a great idea though because you might find that your little ones are too tired to be sweet and still through sit down meals. We did breakfast (cereal or sandwiches or leftovers from meals out) in the room, lunch out, and dinners out whenever possible because the inlaws really enjoyed that. We chased the little one most dinners though or he fell asleep. I found that protein bars were a huge help, as were water bottles, for waiting on line for rides and also to allow meal time to be a little late so we could avoid the crowds. And the kitchen was a huge help when we had to split up so one child could have a day off with a stomach bug. I always pack crackers, soup, applesauce, and powdered gaterade for those times. At Disney, we ordered chicken noodle soup from room service for my sick 7 year old and they brought a can of Campbells soup on a fancy tray. We had to order a can opener next. It was funny then and still makes the kids laugh.

Have fun!

Like on of the previous posters, I am also a DVC member. The dining plan is a great idea if you plan on eating out all the time. There are 3 different tiers to it, so you can choose if you will do more of the quick-service counter style meals or more of the sit down restaurant meals. When we go with my in-laws, we move at a bit of a slower pace, and we do a higher-level plan with more sit-down table-service meals that will also include appetizers and desserts and things like that...lots of character meals to keep the kids entertained while we get to sit and relax, enjoying a meal. Those book up fast, so definitely call ahead to schedule any specific meals/restaurants you guys are interested in, so you aren't left waiting with hungry and cranky kiddos. We do the 'preferred seating' as they call it, (they dont' do 'reservations', but every time we have been seated within 5 minutes of arrival at the restaurants. Now, we are going again (actually this weekend) and we are doing a lower-cost dining plan b/c it's just the 4 of us, no in-laws. We don't want to be tied to many sit-down meals with active toddlers who want to go, go, go! Plus, without in-laws, though they are so incredibly helpful when they come, I think there will be a lot less down-time and a lot more on-the-go time for us. We factor that in when deciding on a meal plan. So we'll be doing lots of snacks and counter-services, which is much cheaper. It makes paying for meals, etc. much quicker. We also don't eat at peak-meal times while we are there, as we can avoid long waits and thus avoid many tantrums (i.e. we'll do lunch right at 11, well before the restaurants get busy :) We bring a huge cooler that fits in the bottom of our stroller full of drinks and snacks, so that if and when our kids decide they are hungry/thirsty, we dont' have to wait in line....keeping those bellies full and happy helps keep the whole group happy! We freeze bottled water and capri sun bags at the hotel, and use them as 'ice packs' to keep our fruits and snacks cold throughout the day, and have an icy beverage at hand when we need it. The $10 souvenior cups as the other poster mentioned are also a great idea....fun for the kids to have to remember the trip, and a cheap and easy way for you to get your coffee/soda/joice fix for no additional cost throughout the day! Have Fun!!

We went with our 3 girls in January. We did not do the dining plan, but we did bring breakfast food (cereal, cereal bars) and other snacks with us. We ate some breakfast in our room. The parks let you bring as much food as you want in, so I always loaded up my backpack with snacks (granola bars, fruit, popcorn) and water. We also bought some peanut butter and jelly and bread and made sandwiches. I think the dining plan works out well if you are going to eat out all of your meals. We found that by eating breakfast in the room and bringing sandwiches and snacks (which are great to pass the time when you are waiting in line!) we only ate out one real meal a day, and also weren't waiting in line in crowded restaurants, so we had more time for fun. We loved our trip; hope you do too.

Hi N.,
This is both a simple and complicated question to answer :) As a Disney nut (have been 3 times in the past year and have 1 planned for this sept) and a person who LOVES the dinning plan (even though, like you, we now own the Disney Timeshare and have a kitchen every trip) it can get complicated... esp this year with Disney adding dinning plan options. my first question is, are you staying on property? my second question is did the in-laws pay cash for your room or using the Disney Timeshare (DVC members?) or a trade in with another timeshare company (RCI does trade-ins with DVC) These will make a difference to how you book. For example, if they booked using cash then you will need to make this a "package" and have to pay for your park tickets at the same time... if it's booked through a timeshare source then you can just get the dinning plans.. and if you are off property then you cannot get a dinning plan. Next, Disney currently has 3 dinning plans it offers- The Quick Service dinning plan is $29.99 per night for Adults and $8.99 per night for children (9 and under) this will include 2 fast food types of meals per night and 2 snacks per night and 1 refillable mug (for your resort) per person. This is a good deal if you don't like to sit down at a table and take time out of your park time in order to eat.
The Basic Dinning Plan is $39.99/Night for Adults and $10.99/Night for kids. This includes one sit-down meal, 1 fast food meal, and 1 snack per person per night. GREAT deal if you can use it to full advantage, but you have to plan your days a little more (you HAVE to make advance reservations at the restaraunts for each day of your trip) and it can be a lot of food for some people, and it no longer includes tips with the sit down meal.
The Deluxe Dinning plan is approx $70/Night for Adults and I'm not sure the kids price, as I don't have it written down.. but this includes 3 sit down meals a day, 2 snacks and 1 refillable mug. I Don't reccomended for you because you will be spending a LOT of time eating and won't get to experience all of disney (not that you can in 1 trip anyway). and it's a TON of food

Now if that isn't confusing enough :)
This is my first post on these boards, but I saw yours and wanted to help out (I LOVE all things Disney). Let me know if you have any questions or just need some more info... feel free to send me an e-mail.

Hi N., we just came back from Disney World at the end of February. We have 2 kids, 3 and 6 yrs old. It was the best vacation ever, you will have a blast. As far as meals, the prices are definitely hefty on the resorts. What we did was bought breakfast and lunch foods. We ate breakfast in our room, before we left, we too had a full kitchen. We bought a carry along cooler and packed a lunch. Each resort has lockers available for only $5. They are when you first come into the resorts. We rented a locker and put our lunch in it. When we got hungry we went to the locket to get our lunch. That way you don't have to carry it around with you all day. The lockers were the best $5 we ever spent. Having saved on Breakfast and lunches, we were able to eat dinner wherever we wanted and didn't feel so bad about spending a little more on it. Buying Breakfast and lunch at the grocery store was a big help. Hope all this makes sense. Have a wonderful vacation. L.

I read this blog on MSN yesterday about the Disney dining plan, and it might help you make a decision.

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2...

N. - you got a lot of good advice! My only two cents is MAKE RESERVATIONS!! If you arrive at Disney with no reservations it will be very difficult to get the restaurant you want with the time you want. I swear, people book this stuff months in advance. Very annoying. Also, if you haven't done so already, make a breakfast reservation at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom. It's a great breakfast, has all the Pooh Bear characters, and if you book it for 8am you get into Magic Kingdom an hour before everyone else (who isn't eating breakfast there!) We've done this a few times and it works out great. Hope you have a fabulous time!

K.