We usually get a dining plan when we go to Disney. It's just easier…..and if you catch it at the right time, it's free! However we usually waste the desserts, and you can get a cup of water for free (since soft drinks are only included with the meals purchased on a dining plan) and water is probably a better bet when you're out walking in a hot amusement park anyway.
Basically, unless I can get the plan for free, it's not worth paying full price for it because I think you can pay a la carte and save more money.
During the time period that we would be at Disney they were offering free dining plans, but sadly we learned that being Disney Vacation Club members is negative on this offer because we aren't eligible for the free plans. We can still purchase a plan at full price, but we can't take advantage of the free plans offered. BOOO.
However, we do get 10% off at most restaurants and at ALL the merchandise locations in the parks.
I also learned about the Tables in Wonderland Card a few months ago and we decided to give that a whirl this time and to skip the dining plans. Basically if you are a DVC member or Annual Passholder (of which I am both this year), you can purchase the card for $100 and it saves you 20% at most restaurants. However they DO check your ID to make sure you are the cardholder so that nobody else can use it (you have to be the one paying for the food)…even if they're traveling with you.
Ry and I discovered these mac n cheese hot dogs at Hollywood Studios on our date night this past Feb…so I had to get another one! I also got Aidan a side of mac n cheese and he actually said "I have an idea…how about you put all the bacon on my mac n cheese?"So I obliged :)
The only downside was it didn't work for ANY of the quick service restaurants at Magic Kingdom. Grrrrr. Or at any of the stands at the Food & Wine festival at EPCOT…..where we ate a ton while Ry & Krysta were there with me.
We went on this trip with a reservation at Le Cellier (our absolute favorite place to eat at the parks) and a character buffet for me and the boys at Animal Kingdom. We didn't plan on doing much sitting down for meals.
After going every year since Aidan was one, I've learned that I don't like being held to a dinner reservation time. I want to enjoy the parks and do what I want to do as we walk around. I don't like saying…oh we can't watch this parade because we're going to be sitting down for lunch/dinner at that time.
I am very thankful that we didn't do a dining plan or make a reservation for each day. It allowed us to eat dinner whenever/wherever we felt like it and to grab something from a quick service restaurant and to keep playing.
I also ate at the hotel's quick service location a ton while I was alone with the boys. It was easy to just grab something "to go" and bring it back to the room at the end of the day and to help the boys wind down. We even had a dining table and chairs in our Villa so it was very convenient.
Kid's Mickey Waffles from The Artist's Palette, the quick service at our hotel
Our last night with Krysta we went to Downtown Disney and ate at T-Rex (WAY overpriced and food was just OK….)
The boys enjoying some fine dining at Le Cellier. Aidan even ordered the kids' Salmon! The tables in wonderland card sure came in handy here ;)
We had lunch at Donald's Tusker House
If you like a good buffet that gets away from your normal "american" cuisine, like Chef Mickey's, then The Tusker House is for you! It was African themed and I found it to be very tasty. The boys however ate nothing but Mickey Waffles (since they were still serving some breakfast items at the time of our 11:25 reservation) and fruit.
The other thing that I must rave about was the attention that was given to us as customers with food allergies. When I made the reservation online I decided to fill out the food allergy section (for sh*ts and giggles) and when we were seated the hostess informed me that the Chef would be out to go over the menu with me. Shortly after she took our drink order the Chef came out and walked me around the entire buffet, pointing out the items Mason could NOT have. He was very friendly and super helpful. After we were seated he even came back to our table with some "allergy safe" treats on a special plate just for Mason.
I give it high marks, even though it is in Animal Kingdom, which is my least favorite park. I totally intend on going back there next trip with Ryan, because I know he'll love it too, and at Dinner there are no characters so it's much easier to get a reservation.
The boys have a thing for Daisy & Minnie so they were very excited to see Daisy at our lunch! (We also saw Mickey & Goofy too).
Mickey Noodle Soup from Tomorrowland
Overall I think for this trip the Tables in Wonderland card didn't even save us the $100 we spent on it since we ended up eating mostly at places it wasn't accepted. We are not planning a 2014 trip because we are planning on going in February 2015 for the Disney Princess Half Marathon, but if we were, the card is good for 13 months after purchase, so if we went again before the fall next year the dining card, plus mine and Aidan's annual passes, would still be valid…making them totally worth their money.
No comments:
Post a Comment