[Crazy4Disney]

Is getting the meal plan with your package a better deal then paying for each meal ? Which is better for the pocketbook?

[BuzzLightyear]

It really depends on you.
If you enjoy a nice sit down meal each day, don't mind making the reservations, then it's a great deal.
For us the plan saved me tons. Basically, what we spent paid for our "sit down" meals, all of our lunches and snacks were a bonus on the plan.

[DisneyTeacher]

I agree, if you usually eat one sit down meal each day then it's a good deal for you. My biggest problem would be all the food you get. I would feel like I had to eat all of it and I just don't eat that much in one meal.

[karliebug]

If you usually eat a big sitdown dinner everynite then it is worth it. If you mostly do counter service meals then you are probably better off without it. They did a comparison on mousesavers.com. You should check that out. Also the price of the meal plan is going up for 2006.

[_landry]

Originally Posted by karliebug

If you usually eat a big sitdown dinner everynite then it is worth it. If you mostly do counter service meals then you are probably better off without it. They did a comparison on mousesavers.com. You should check that out. Also the price of the meal plan is going up for 2006.

What are the specifics of the plan? I can't seem to find the comparison on mousesavers.

[jedijson]

Yes. Get the meal deal. For an adult, it's $35/adult/day (although it's going up next year by a couple bucks). I don't know what the child rate is (sorry!).

You get:

1 sit-down table service
1 counter service
1 snack

every day.

Good at all WDW restaurants, except for Victoria and Edward's (I believe). If you want to use them for a dinner theater, you have to use two for that.

You get one of each service per night that you stay. You don't have to use them all every day--we saved up our snacks and got stuff for the plane on the trip home.

The snack can be anything but a frozen drink or a turkey leg, pretty much. Ice cream, Cokes, juice, a piece of fruit, lemonade, etc. are all fair game pretty much. When you check into your resort, they'll have a guide to tell you all about the dining plan, as to which restaurants are classified as what type of meal.

You can use the table services for character meals--I highly recommend that.

LOVE THIS THING!!!! We saved SO MUCH MONEY!

[_landry]

You have to purchase a package to get the dining plan right?

[mickeysaver]

For us, it's not a better deal, it's a frustrating deal. I know that it's a wonderful deal for some folks, but not us. We are both adults, but Gabby is so picky that finding enough TS meals is a real chore. There are not enough TS locations that offer food that we both like without Gabby going over to the children's menu.....not cool when you are over 30. I poured over the menus at Allearsnet.com for hours coming up with a dining plan version of our proposed December itinerary and a non-dining plan version. When you consider the extra meal that is not covered and the extra fluids that we will consume that are also not included, it still will run us about $50/person/day as we always budget for anyway. I also don't like wasting precious park time at a TS meal when I would be just as happy, if not happier with CS. There is enough variety in the CS offerings at WDW to keep us both happy and not be eating the same food all the time. Now, we will eat a couple of TS meals without a doubt, but I just didn't like being forced into trying to make the most of the money and then also feeling like a pig or being that wasteful with the food just to feel like we got our money's worth.

So, no you are not alone. Gabby and I will be doing our own thing.....for cheaper, and as always, at the end of the week, we will turn our left over meal budget into a special souvenier. Maggie

[gingles]

Originally Posted by _landry

You have to purchase a package to get the dining plan right?

Yes, everyone in the party gets the dining plan for the length of the stay. I'm pretty sure the child's plan is ten dollars a day.

If you eat some TS meals this plan saves major bucks.

[cinderbella]

I got it..and I used it..and I probaly won't again..it was TOO much food in one sitting..an appetizer, a entree and dessert for EVERYONE in your party..whoa..we would have never ordered all that everyday of our trip..we saved a total of 6 dollars with the meal plan..an had we not gotten it..we would have spent about 300 less on food I am convinced!

[BESUNNYSIDEUP]

I will have to wait to see if it is a better deal for us...but....
I tried to use the online menu's to figure out what we would eat and add up all cost such as tax and tips. We were going to eat cheap with only 2 TS and no extra appetizers, desserts, etc...
It wasn't even $40 difference in the cost of the plan. We did decide to do the plan. Now we won't have to worry about being hungry but trying to eat cheap and cut cost. We will also have the option of ordering appetizers and dessert. I have already told myself that just because we can order so much food we probably will only order what we want to eat (not 3 appetizers, 3 meals, 3 desserts and two drinks per person that is allowed). This way we will still be able to eat what we want and not over do it. Also we will get 3-4 more TS meals to cool off, relax and refresh. This seems to be the way to go for us...more relaxing and more food (plus don't have to carry the extra cash around just for the tips). Yeah!
It is really up to you and your family. As you can see for the other post it works for some and doesn't for others.

[mistikbunny]

I went with the meal plan for our trip this November. I think it will save us some money. I wanted to have atleast 1 sit down meal everyday to kind of pull everyone to together to relax and regroup. Plus I didn't want the stress of counting out money for meals and telling my teenage DSD and DSS what they could order $ wise. This way they can order what they want and we don't have to worry about the wallet. My stress free choice.

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by mistikbunny

My stress free choice.

I'm leaning toward doing the meal plan for this exact reason. It looks like the difference for me between eating on the cheap and using the plan won't be a lot. The lack of stress is definitely worth that.

The only thing I'm worried about is that with eating out all the time, I'm going to be completely sick of it and not feel like eating all that much at all (and in general, I like to eat!) And then I'll worry about the money I wasted! Oh, well, it's always something.

[BESUNNYSIDEUP]

Yeah but as you said it isn't that much difference in price. This way you will be better food and more of it. You don't have to take advantage of every piece of food your allowed to order. You will still get more "bang for your buck" with the meal plan if you are like us. I would rater eat less at a nice sit down meal with good food than to eat mostly CS meals and being worried about how much I am spending.

[jedijson]

What I've been reading is all true--it is a LOT of food. And it's also true that, if you go with the meal deal, it's so stinking easy to not have to worry about how much you're spending.

Most of the time, Carol and I didn't eat everything on our plates. it was just too much food. However, with us going to this meal plan, we were able to eat better quality food at several of the TSs, because instead of going for the junk food, we were able to eat the prime rib, etc.

When we got back home, I had kept all our receipts, just to see how much money we saved on the meal plan.

For two adults, the meal plan cost us $70/day.

The average price--per day--on the food we ordered? $160.

Our average CS was $35, the rest was the TS.

I know that a lot of it was the built in tip--something that really has always irritated me, but I'm glad it was built in to the meal plan. I didn't have to worry about having the 15% in cash to leave them.

And it was pretty awesome. I mean, I was able to order Dad's Sundae at 50s Prime Time and not worry about the cost. We got shrimp cocktail for appetizers on occasion, which is something we normally can't afford to do. Carol got a lot of cheesecake for desserts, another high-priced item.

I loved it, and will definitely use it again. but, people like Bella are right--it's not for everyone. You need to really plan what you want to eat, and then make the choice of if you want it or not based on that information.

Just wish that some adult beverages would be offered. There were a couple that I thought sounded really, really good, and I would have enjoyed trying...