Disney Dining Plan

[nelscon4]

I have a question. We always go to Disney every year. We are going in July, We are thinking about doing the dinning plan. There is my husband, myself and our 13, almost 14 year old son. He is almost 6 foot and is a good eater. If we do the dinning plan, is he only to get the childrens meals, or his he in a special price range and gets adult food? I have looked for this and can't seem to figure out what he will get to eat? Is it best to just call and ask the questions or is there someplace or sites I can go to. We have booked everything through Disney, so if I decide on the plan, we will have to have it added. Then, do we have to book for the table services ahead of time, or can we do that when we are there. If anyone has answers, please help.
Thanks,
Connie

[brazen wench]

By Disney's standards, your son is considered an adult for tickets and dining, and you'll have to pay adult prices for him.

You don't have to make advance dining reservations, but it's highly recommended, especially during busy times of the year, and especially for the more popular places. That doesn't mean you won't be able to find a reservation while you're onsite, but if you're paying for the dining plan, it's nice to know in advance that you've saved a spot at the places of your choice.

[Lynn57]

As said already, your son is an adult! (by Disney billing standards...)

You can wait and just hope that you get seatings, but I would reccomend calling and making advance dinner reservations ASAP to get the best times. The dinner reservations are going be a great idea if you want to see Fantasmic at MGM. Selected restuarants have a special seating area at Fantasmic so ask for a Fantasmic dinner reservation at those restuarants (Mamma Melrose, Hollywood and Vine, The Brown Derby, and maybe another that I forgotten??)

[bradk]

those are the 3. if you use the dining plan to pay for them, H&V and MM are 1 TS credit each, BD is 2

[GusMan]

One other thing... you dont need to add the plan before you make your reservations.

Once you hit that 180 day mark, you are eligible to make ADR's and, as mentioned, would be a good idea to do so. That way, regardless if you are on the plan or not, you have things covered. If you want to change your mind later, just call up Disney Dining and add/cancel as appropriate.

[Klutch]

Your boy should be quite satisfied with the amount of chow Disney will throw at him on the dining plan. California Grill may be a bit on the lean side because it's noveau cuisine, but anywhere else is very heavy on the grub.

If your boy is a big eater, that's all the more reason to be on the dining plan. You'll save even more money.

[nelscon4]

[QUOTE=brazen wench]By Disney's standards, your son is considered an adult for tickets and dining, and you'll have to pay adult prices for him.

that is fine, I just didn't want to have him on the kids menu, because there would be no way he would like that, (you know), that age where he is not a child anymore. Thank you all for your help. Now we better get deciding on what we want to do.

[tjrj]

I'm taking both my boys-15 and 20 in May. The disney dining plan is the way to go for those two-they can EAT. We made our initial ADR's at the 180 day mark. I've called back to add and delete places several times and it's never been a problem for the CM's.

For "hot" places like Le Cellier and at times the Fantasmic Package(didn't think you were planning on taking a teen boy to CRT but I could be wrong), calling early is a good thing.

Mary at mousesavers has an excellent break down on whether the dining plan is a good value depending on your party make up.

[danyoung]

Your boy should be quite satisfied with the amount of chow Disney will throw at him on the dining plan. California Grill may be a bit on the lean side because it's noveau cuisine, but anywhere else is very heavy on the grub.

I'd just like to say from long personal experience that the California Grill indeed puts on an incredible feedbag! And with the plan, an appetizer, main course and dessert (plus delicious bread on the table) will stuff you to the gills!!!

Just cuz it's high class don't mean it ain't filling!

[julbright]

We just returned from our stay in WDW on the dining plan .... we had SEVEN counter service credits left over cuz we ended up sharing cuz there was so much food (DH, me DD8 and DD5) so my guess is there is enough food for your boys. (I did get sick the last 2 days so I didn't eat, but still we had the 7 left over!) we also went "shopping" in the Contemporary gift shop on our way out with our 16 unused snack credits....

(We needed to plan a little better but my daughters were both coming off of being sick the weekend before and I wasn't feeling well all week and ended up in bed ALL DAY on Friday so our appetites as a group were lighter than usual also... )

[danyoung]

julbright, I think you've pointed out one of the main problems I have with the plan. With your food basically pre-purchased, you now have an obligation to make use of it all. If your appetite falls off, or if you've snacked a bit too much and just aren't hungry enough for a full dinner, you still pretty much have to eat to get your money's worth. It's an obligation that I can easily do without!

[GusMan]

Dan, to go along with your comments, it also goes to show that the DDP is not really for everyone. I mean, you can really get a LOT of food for the money but at the same time if plans change during the trip or if someone just isnt hungry, some of those credits go to waste, which takes away from the value.

It has been said that getting the plan is like pre-purchasing the TS meals and getting a CS and Snack for free. (Of course, that depends on where you go for the TS as well...) So, if you dont use all the credits, try to skip the CS or snacks so you at least get at least face values worth.

[bradk]

i've had the plan for free and it was so much, that it wasn't even a persuasive argument to make me go again during the free period.

i ended up using CS credits for snacks, using up a bunch of snack credits on my last day and even buying random people lunch at electric umbrella (and still didn't use up all my credits before i had to leave).

[Chicago Wookiee]

We have gone on the plan now five times since early 2002.

We often eat a very early lunch CS and plan for BIG TS dinners. When you can get La Cellier and other top line meals the plan pays for itself in just one meal. We have eaten over $100 in food on the plan just the two of us.

With advance planning you get the best and most expensive places. If you wait until the last minute (or even day before) to plan the meals don't bother as you will not fine a nice enough place to get value from the plan.

This is why there are so many options for vacation at WDW!