I have made reservations for Sept 14-20, 2008. It includes Pop Century, 7 day park hopper tickets and the deluxe dining plan. The pkge is $2662.71 for me and my 2 kids ages 17 and 14 when we go. Of the total price a little over $1200 is for the dining. My question is-will it be worth it to do the dining plan or just wing it and eat when and where we want to eat?
Thanks. :D

In my opinion I would figure out where you want to eat.... as if you didn't have the plan. Then I would add up a rough prices for what you would eat with out the plan. Then I would compare the $1200 to that and remember tips are NOT included in that. For me if what I figures up was $1100 or even $1000 I may just go with the plan and go all out for eating (TS all the way) but if the price was $750 or $800 I wouldn't do it. It really depends on your families needs.

Thrashers09, so you're going, not this coming Sept., but a year from Sept? Okay, if you're going next year, then you'll definitely under the new plan; makes it all a bit more difficult to decide. But, if memory serves, you will have a few kids in your party; from what I've read, the dining plan doesn't work as well for kids (lack of choice, they don't eat a lot of food, etc). Read up on it, both here and at allearsnet.com to see if it's right for you. As for me, unless they reduce the new dining plans a lot more, I won't be doing it again next time. For what it's worth, I loved it this past time; I had so much food and got to try a lot of things I otherwise wouldn't have tried. Good luck deciding.

Teenagers seem to have big appetites, so if you do decide on a dining plan, the deluxe would be my choice.

The menu prices will probably increase a bit a year from now, so keep that in mind when you estimate your out of pocket expenses to compare them to the dining plan cost.

An increase of $1 on a $23 meal is a little over 4%, so adjust your estinmate accordingly. The tax is 6.5% I think (is meal tax the same as sales tax in Florida?) so include that too.

Thanks everyone. Both of my kids do eat a lot :p and I am thinking that we might get to try some different places that we might not do without the pan. But I will do what you all suggested and keep looking until the trip.
Thanks again. :D

Including the meal tax, the tax is 7.5%

Sorry, but this is an afterthought, but doesn't the Deluxe DDP include tip?

deluxe dining plan includes tax but not the tip

I traveled with teens(my boys) in May '07...the amount of food they could put away-even in the humidity and heat was amazing. Definitely figure out where you want to eat first; then do an estimate of what you'd be eating and you'll have an idea if it's "worth" it or not.

Also, since you're doing the deluxe plan, I'd definitely be doing Signature places and/or shows. Also, see if you want to take the time away from touring for 3 TS's a day-or 1 Signature and 1 regular TS-it does take time away from touring.

But....

Day 1:

Kona breakfast(1TS)

dinner-California Grill(2TS)

Day 2:

CRT lunch(2TS)
Le Cellier dinner(1TS)

Day 3

Boma breakfast(1TS)
Brown Derby -dinner(2TS)

etc...etc...

sounds like FUN to me!

And thrashersfan...."your" head coach is terrific! This Avalanche fan misses him dearly....

Hey tjrj-he is AWESOME isn't he!!! ;). I think sometimes I go to the games to see him instead of the game itself :D.
Thanks for the advice. The restaurants you gave-are those your favorites? If so why? I hardly ever do table service places-because to be honest-I could never afford them, but this trip is going to be different!! I want to do all I can and all I have never done before. There aren't too many things that I won't eat-other than sushi :p, so give me all the ideas you all have and I will write them down.
Thanks.

Hey tjrj-he is AWESOME isn't he!!! ;). I think sometimes I go to the games to see him instead of the game itself :D.
Thanks for the advice. The restaurants you gave-are those your favorites? If so why? I hardly ever do table service places-because to be honest-I could never afford them, but this trip is going to be different!! I want to do all I can and all I have never done before. There aren't too many things that I won't eat-other than sushi :p, so give me all the ideas you all have and I will write them down.
Thanks.

Yep-only...what? 6 six until opening night? Anyway...on topic...

no, I haven't done many of the restaurants I suggested-for two reasons...1-I was "outvoted" by my boys in several cases and for another, being on the regular dining plan when we went, I just couldn't justify giving up 2TS for several meals-but definitely could see doing so when with the deluxe plans you could have 3 TS meals a day.

I have done Le Cellier and Boma. Both were outstanding. Kona gets consistently good reviews as does California Grill. And if I had 2TS to spend-say for the Fantasmic! package at MGM, I'd DEFINITELY be doing so at the Brown Derby over Mama Melrose that we tried.

To get the "most" value with the deluxe plan, you'd want to be using those credits at TS places rather than counter service-though there are good counter service choices available. And if you're doing 3TS's a day-that's ALOT of food along with alot of time taken away from touring. So, it makes sense to use many of those credits up at places that take 2TS's vs. 1TS, therefore signature restuarants and shows.

There's the review section here on MP-and I know that they are working on getting menus for resturants. allears.net has a terrific dining section-as well as reviews. Because, frankly, it's best to decide what menu and atmosphere appeals the most to you and your party-because you're going to get multiple varied opinions as to which place is "best".

But, yes, I have my "wish list" for those I want to try next time-California Grill, Brown Derby, Wolfgang Puck, Kona's being among them!

My question is-will it be worth it to do the dining plan or just wing it and eat when and where we want to eat?
Thanks. :D

Get the Meal Plan and book it NOW!

I winged it and NO DINNER. Everything was booked solid. I was just there Aug 13-18,2007 at the Polynesian. That experienced killed me especially when I'm big on wine and dinners.

Had to settle for cafeteria setting, Capt. Cooks or if not park food of pizza. Trust me I was not happy nor was I warned by Disney that I should book my Meals ASAP or the hazzaeds of not being on the Meal Plan.

My dispute is in w/ AMEX about the lack of proper communications w/ guests and dining.

Get the Meal Plan and book now where you want to eat.

GL

Get the Meal Plan and book it NOW!
GL

The OP will have to wait until 6 months until her travel date, in 2008, to make AP's, but going with the Deluxe plan will mean a lot of reservations to make. If you have the option, I would call at the 6 month mark, see if you get the reservations you want, and then commit to the plan. There is no point in pre-paying for a lot of TS meals, if you can't get into any restaurants. I would include several signature (2TS) places, because it is unlikely that everyone will really want to sit down for a major meal, three times a day, especially for breakfast. No sleeping in after a late night out, if you have to get up and get to a restaurant for an early morning AR, and if you do it later, then you may not be hungry for lunch, unless you time all of your meals on the late side.

You don't have to be on a dining plan to make your ADRs at any time before you leave. I've never done the dining plan (AP since they've introduced it) and have always made any ADRs that I HAD to have prior to visiting.

In fact, I know of people that HAD booked a dining plan but hadn't made an ADR for every day a couple of weeks before their trip (in June), and we spent our lunch time discussing where else they might enjoy, so he could make the ADRs before they left.

To the OP, if your family enjoy some good meals and are somewhat big eaters, chances are, you will get more than your money's worth from the plan. You have a good amount of time to plan your trip's activities and dining should be included in that as well. Being that you are going in Sept. (my fave time to go) you will be going at a very desirable time.

Get the Meal Plan and book it NOW!

I winged it and NO DINNER. Everything was booked solid. I was just there Aug 13-18,2007 at the Polynesian. That experienced killed me especially when I'm big on wine and dinners.

Had to settle for cafeteria setting, Capt. Cooks or if not park food of pizza. Trust me I was not happy nor was I warned by Disney that I should book my Meals ASAP or the hazzaeds of not being on the Meal Plan.

My dispute is in w/ AMEX about the lack of proper communications w/ guests and dining.

Get the Meal Plan and book now where you want to eat.

For the sake of conversation, I have to ask... how far out did you plan your trip? If it was a last minute trip, you may have been out of luck to begin with when it came to certain (if not many) ADR's. If you planned it out more than four to six months out (or longer), there were some good ADR's still available. August, while not the busiest time of the year, is still rather busy. (Just came back myself.)

Like Drince mentioned - ADR's can (and should) be made regardless if you are on the dining plan. There is no correlation between having the dining plan and the availability of ADR's. Once you hit that 180 day mark (from your date of arrival) its a good idea to get ADR's for your most-desired places. That pretty much sums up the mantra around here when it comes to ADR's, the DDP, and dining in general.

As for Disney being responsible for your poor dining experience... It will be interesting to hear how that goes with your credit card. Keep us up to date with that as I am sure others will be interested as well.

I have made reservations for Sept 14-20, 2008. It includes Pop Century, 7 day park hopper tickets and the deluxe dining plan. The pkge is $2662.71 for me and my 2 kids ages 17 and 14 when we go. Of the total price a little over $1200 is for the dining. My question is-will it be worth it to do the dining plan or just wing it and eat when and where we want to eat?
Thanks. :D

You may be in luck. Right now, the resorts are offering a "bounce back" offer to guests that are still there (this started either yesterday or today). It is for the free dining plan during Aug/Sept 2008. This tells me that they will be offering this to the public again. The current offer (I think) is free basic dining plan, or you can add the deluxe plan for around $32/pp daily (I'm pretty sure that is just the adult price).

Hey Wendi, can I call now for the "bounce back" deal? That would be great if I get it for $32 instead of $69!!:eek:

Hey Wendi, can I call now for the "bounce back" deal? That would be great if I get it for $32 instead of $69!!:eek:

I don't think so, it is only available to guests currently staying at the resort and they need to book a trip with a deposit before they actually check out of the resort. It might be worth a try to call the reservations line now and see if you can book it, but I think it is a special deal that can only be booked by current guests while they are still at the resort.