Franklin51
On the Verge
Meal plan or not? We typically don't eat alot during the day on trips
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Need Disney Advice
We went last summer, and got the meal plan, the options are pretty limited in the cafeteria's and not sure i'd get it again.
Last time we went it was ok, not as good as the time we'd gone a few years before. Quality and selection has gone down over the years.
So we went in December, and found out literally a few days before we left that the package we bought didn't include the meal plan. We went down with our daughter's HS marching band, so we were with a lot of families that did get the meal plan. We did some comparisons and it turns out we spent less than they did (not by much, though), and ate at a lot more places. I'd opt for not going with it in the future.
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- #5
Depends on the amount of time you're going to be there. Break their cost down into a per day or per meal, then see if it's worth it. This time of year, you won't be offered the dining plan (which can be used anywhere btw not just the cafeterias) so it literally comes down to what makes the most amount of sense. I know that when a meal for my wife and I is around 22 bucks, it can add up.
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We didn't in November 2015 and glad we made that choice. The food sucks at the majority of Disney IMHO and I know we spent less overall doing a la carte.
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you and i are in agreement here, but i think many if not most would disagree. i've had a lot of meals at disney restaurants, and there's only one place i look forward to going back, and that's la hacienda de san angel in mexico in epcot. every other place is mediocre at best.
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I think it also depends on the age of kids you are going with. Our kids were 5 and 3 so it was hamburgers, chicken fingers and fries just about every meal. We never really got to venture out.
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Was just there for my daughters make a wish and we barely ate in the grounds. Heard alot of people commenting that it was not worth it...just a FYI
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- Moderator
- #10
I would throw Le Cellier in there at Epcot. German pavilion buffet is good too. California Grill at Contemporary, 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian, and Ohana at Polynesian. Those are all very very good in my biased opinion. Then again, I try to avoid the food court places like the plague. If I were on dining plan, I'd probably look more at sit down places, but those obviously fill up faster and might be a bigger hassle than not. I need Fupresti or Jman to come in and chime in, they're a bit more meal plan experts than I am.
SoGaDawg
Member
We go almost once a year and we never get the meal plan. It's not worth it. Especially since you can bring breakfast food and eat it in your rooms. We even bring our Kuereg. Them you only have to pay for two meals a day. We feed a family of 5 for about $100 a day and that includes nice dinners.
My family went this past December and it was great. Disclaimer that it was free as part of our package due to the time of year, but we thought it was simple and for the most part OK. We got 1 snack, 1 quick serve and 1 sit down meal per a day. We would typically eat breakfast at the hotel in the morning except for the character breakfasts. The quick serve meals were typically as good as the sit downs as they included an entree, side, drink and desert. Most parks have options that are more than just hot dogs and hamburgers if you look around. A couple that were good that I remember were the mexican food at epcot and the bbq at animal kingdom.
If you like eating dessert with every meal it breaks even. If you as you say do not eat a lot it's not worth it.
The only benefit of it is your food is prepaid so less expenses once you hit the parks.
The only benefit of it is your food is prepaid so less expenses once you hit the parks.
$100 for five people including a sit down table service meal? Not happening. My wife and I alone at a table service with two entrees and non-alcoholic beverages are $60.00 after tip easy.
You have never had pizza at Via Napoli have you?
Need Disney Advice
My family and I have been there 20 times since we used to live about 2.5 hrs away. Never got the meal plan once since the food was pretty bland in the park. We ate breakfast before, had lunch there and ate back at the hotel. We were too busy walking around to eat much. My kids ate snacks that we brought in to the park. We only did the refillable soda deal.
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My family and I have been there 20 times since we used to live about 2.5 hrs away. Never got the meal plan once since the food was pretty bland in the park. We ate breakfast before, had lunch there and ate back at the hotel. We were too busy walking around to eat much. My kids ate snacks that we brought in to the park. We only did the refillable soda deal.
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AshMan
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When I go to Disneyland here, I just bag some sandwiches and try to not eat much there. a drink here or there and a snack mostly if there. I've taken in subway sandwiches plenty of times with the kids. If they ask me about it at the entrance, my kids have allergies and I cannot risk it. Daughter deathly allergic to tree nuts and So is allergic to eggs among a few other things, so prefer to know what they are eating.
I usually grab only a few bites while there. The Bengal cafe has some amazing eats. As well the soup bowl in New Orleans square ,ie)clam chowder is unreal. Other then that no other food really stands out. I would try and bring a sandwich or find a resturant near the park. On Orange closer to the convention centre there are tons of great restaurants.
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yes. i've eaten many disney places having lived here so long, though wardy mentioned a couple i haven't been to. i've spent a lot of money on meals out there, and am consistently underwhelmed so i've kinda written off the whole area. there are some great restaurants around disney, just not many on property.
I got it when I took the family, mainly because I could budget out my food ahead of time.
Also, if you want to attend character dinners they are included so that was a really big selling point.
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Also, if you want to attend character dinners they are included so that was a really big selling point.
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The Good Dr
New member
Only if you wanna spend too much for food and be oblivious to how much you're spending.
Did it a few years ago, during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. We ate in all the parks, and hit some high-end places as well. It's convenient, but won't cover your whole meal, particularly if you want an app and a salad (covers either/or, your entree, and a dessert).
It doesn't cover alcoholic beverages, either.
If you work it right, you can theoretically save some money. I wouldn't do it again, though
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Did it a few years ago, during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. We ate in all the parks, and hit some high-end places as well. It's convenient, but won't cover your whole meal, particularly if you want an app and a salad (covers either/or, your entree, and a dessert).
It doesn't cover alcoholic beverages, either.
If you work it right, you can theoretically save some money. I wouldn't do it again, though
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The Good Dr
New member
The challenge is that some of the character meals cost 2 meal points, which impacts your overall meal planning.
It is nice to not have to think about your food budget when you're in park, though
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If you spend any $ on food there the character breakfast at Disney World is awesome. Great food but it is$$
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Need Disney Advice
When my kids were younger the plan made sense as we were in the parks for LONG days. As they got older we all wanted better dinners and outside of a few restaurants on property I'm not a big fan of the options that you can spend points on.
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When my kids were younger the plan made sense as we were in the parks for LONG days. As they got older we all wanted better dinners and outside of a few restaurants on property I'm not a big fan of the options that you can spend points on.
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- Moderator
- #25
A lot of trial and error. The ones that are good are usually the ones that never have reservations. I think of it like I-Drive and Sand Lake and all their restaurants: there are a lot of choices. They're not all good, but you can usually find something to eat at all of them when you need to. When you find something really good though, don't tell a single person or they'll screw it up for you.