Are the meal plans worth purchasing while visiting Disneyworld/Epcot?
December 24, 2009 by GroovieT
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Two adults traveling to Orlando to Disneyworld, Epcot, etc. Our travel agent is suggesting to purchase the meal plan. It seems expensive but do you think we’ll save money in the long run?
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Yes. The only complaint that I have ever had or even heard of is that it is almost too much food. It is a great money saver, I think it is a wise move. The best part about it is that you don’t have to ever leave the property to save money on your meals. You can eat at the parks or any of the resorts and not have to worry about food money. A great saver.
If you want some more advice or ideas for your trip, check out the disboards. The disboards is a free message board website where you can get advice on things like the Disney Dining plan, different resorts, restaurant reviews, tips for avoiding crowds, and much more. I put the link below.
Have a great trip!!
it’s ONLY worth it if you enjoy eating at the finer restaurants at the parks. If you’re happy eating at the other restaurants- which have plenty of great food such as 1/2 roasted chicken with 2 sides for $9 and change (and big enough for 2), a parmesan chicken sandwich big enough for 2 for $7.19, etc. then stick with your OWN plan!!!! We have never used the plan and have been very happy with the food selection in all the parks.
no i tryed it its not worth it and the food in those things arent very good.
I would have to say yes. Get the meal plan. It can be very expensive.
I was in Disney this past December and we dropped 10,000 dollars. with out the meal plan.
best money we ever spent. We had a blast…enjoy your trip.
It is not really that expensive. It is $35 a day, per adult and $10 a day per child. I think that is great for theme parks. You get one counter service, one table service, and one snack. It is like you paid for the table service and got the counter service and the snack for free, if you were to purchase it without the plan. We tried it in Feb and had it for 8 days. We will never go back and not have the plan now, especially since we have 4 kids who get something eat half then want to eat again later. $10 per child is fantastic for that amount of food. We just reserve all of our table services for buffets, and that way we get the most for our money. Almost every restaurant there is dining plan approved and if you get the plan, go to google and type in disney approved dining snacks and print off the list of snacks and take it with you so if you are hunting for a certain thing, you know where to go to use your snack points!
Yes it’s definitely worth it… if you added up what you might eat against the high quality restaurants available on the plan, you are doing more than just breaking even… you’ll be ahead.
If you’re a penny pinching couple, then I’m sure you can find lots of ways to eat out of the park, but having the meal plan was so great… we spent a lot less money day to day and never went hungry!
Absolutely! We love the Dining Plan!…As long as your the type that doesn’t mind taking some time away from going on the rides, then it’s well worth it (actually, I think it’s a nice way to break away from the heat)… We went in ’05 and everything was completely paid for, including gratuity…But last year Disney made some revisions…You no longer get an appetizer (what a bummer!) and you are responsible for paying the tip as well. But I still think it’s totally worth it…Epcot’s World Showcase has some amazing restaurants…Le Cellier (Canada) is my favorite…The Filet Mignon with mushroom risotto was to die for!…Teppan Edo (formerly Teppanyaki) in Japan is a close second for me.
I’m not sure if you’ve investigated the details yet, but if you haven’t, this is how it works…each person gets:
-1 counter service meal (entree, dessert, non-alcoholic beverage)
-1 restaurant table service meal (main entree, dessert, non-alc. bev. OR an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet with bev.)…**You are responsible for the tip**
-1 snack (ie: soda, bottle water, small popcorn, ice cream, chips, etc.)
…When you first check into the resort, you will receive a "Key to the World" card…This is not only your room key, but it has a calculation of how many food credits you and your party have…Each time you buy food with the card, the server will give you back a receipt stating how many credits you have left in total….Therefore, a party of 2 adults staying for 5 nights (for instance) will get 10 table service, 10 counter service, and 10 snack credits…You can use up your credits in any order you wish…In fact, we didn’t even use our snack credits until the last day, then we piled up on chips and coke for our trip back home.
All in all, I absolutely think you save money in the long run if you’re looking for some delicious restaurant dining while there (I also like the fact that it’s paid for ahead of time so we don’t have to worry about finances while at Disney)…Thinking about it, just 1 counter service lunch can cost up to about $15, including beverage, for just one person if paying out of pocket…Multiply that times way too many!
Check out allears.net….you can read up on Disney restaurant reviews and take a look at the menus, too!…Also, I think it has a list of the participating dining plan restaurants as well…If you do decide to get the plan, you really need to call ahead to make reservations (407) WDW-DINE…since some of the more popular restaurants can book up quickly.
It is a great bargain, and makes life so much easier on you. Your room key, entrance to the park and dinning plan are all on one key. The savings will be amazing. You did not say when you are going but I always recommend prearranging meals at 1-407-WDWDine.
It depends.
You purchase the plan for every night you are staying in WDW. Let’s say the first night you arrive at 10 p.m. and that when you leave your flight is at noon. The first night’s meals are going to be hard to use up.
Doing the math, you do save money by using the plan (the snacks are about $2.50 in value, counter service is about $15, table service about $25–you can also get better deals; this is an approximation), but it does eat up your time. A table service meal every day is going to take about an hour to two hours, depending on the restaurant; counter service meals are about 45 minutes. That’s a lot of park time to give up. Also, you will still need to carry cash, as not every place participates and gratuities are no longer included, You’re also pretty much committed to eating on-site for every meal. If you’re planning to do that anyway, that won’t be a drawback. You’ll also need to plan ahead and make advanced reservations for your table service meals.
I would guess that Disney is making money off these plans because not all the meals are eaten and, again, it locks you into eating in the resort. You definitely do save some money though; you just need to decide whether giving up some flexibility is worth it.
No not unless you eat alot but if your like me you want to do as much as possible and just eat a small snack during the day and eat big at night.
so no don’t do it
When I was there last year we considered it and decided not to – judging from the complaints from people who didn’t know that buying a bottle of water counted as a snack. It seems like folks thought they had more money and more choices than they did.
I guess how you eat will be the best determining factor and then if you are able to stick to the plan.