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Heatherlee3
03-23-2003, 06:22 AM
Is the dining plan worth it? Where can I find which eating establishments are my best bet with them?

Anyone have an alternate idea of how to save money on food?
:confused:

tjrj
03-23-2003, 08:07 AM
We used the dining vouchers for our December 2001 trip. I don't know if the plan has changed since then. And, from my experience, Disney castmembers weren't much help on the phone explaining how the plan worked. We also upgraded the plan to include dining at Goofy's Kitchen character breakfast. The Tomorrowland breakfast that is offered is just terrible in our experience. If you want to dine exclusively in the Parks(DL or DCA) then the plan could work for you. If you want to dine at DD then the plan won't work because the vouchers aren't honored. On the whole, I liked the convience of having food paid for in advance-easier to budget-but I found the plan restrictive in the venues that it was offered.

Techie7
03-23-2003, 10:22 AM
Here (http://www.mouseplanet.com/chef/disney-dining.htm) is an older article from Kevin Yee about the voucher program.

DisneyFan25863
03-23-2003, 10:48 AM
Originally posted by Heatherlee3
Is the dining plan worth it? Where can I find which eating establishments are my best bet with them?

Anyone have an alternate idea of how to save money on food?
:confused:

We did that in WDW, and I will tell you, they are great. We always went to really expensive restrants at the GF and when we get the bill, we just slid that right the in the envelope. Havn't done it at DL, but it really saved alot at WDW.

Heatherlee3
03-23-2003, 12:32 PM
Thanks:)

roberts1398
03-23-2003, 03:47 PM
Heather ... I did the plan on our trip in Sept. and it was great! A few things tho...

What you get is a stack of vouchers, in denominations as set forth in the plan for the # of days you're buying. These are just like Gift Certificates in a set $ amount. Doesn't matter who uses them ... an adult can use a child's, etc. It's just worth the amount stated on the voucher. They're good at all the restaurants and snack carts in DL, and I think all at DCA (used to be not good at the Mondavi and Puck's restaurants, but I suspect now that they're no longer "private" those are good too), and at the Resort Hotel restaurants. NOT at Downtown Disney.

If you like to eat and snack a lot, and plan to eat all or most meals at the park, the plan is great, and I'd get the # of days you're going (ie: the 5 day plan for a 5 day visit). But if you don't eat that much and/or you plan to eat a number of meals outside the park, then many people get less days worth of plan than they'll be staying (ie: the 3 or 4 day plan for a 5 day visit).

Know that they DON'T give change. So, if you don't have a voucher under the amount of your meal, add a dessert or a bottle of water of something. So this means if you meal comes to $11.99 and you have a $10.50 voucher or a $15.50 voucher, use the $10.50 and pay the $1.50 difference in cash, or buy other things to take it up to the $15.50 amount.

While I agree the Breakfast in the Park at Club Buzz was very mediocre, what most people don't know is those vouchers can be used at ANY restaurant at the face value of the voucher ... ie: 8.75 at any restaurant in the parks. Including at least the Character Breakfast at Plaza Inn (I've never heard confirmation of anyone doing this at one of the hotel character meals, but I'm betting you can).

I don't know if you save money this way or not. I found I tended to order more things than I did on my next trip, where we didn't have it. But nonetheless, I thought this was a wonderful and convenient way to go! And frankly, I found it really relaxing to have the excuse to order more spendy things than if I was counting my pennies!

Heatherlee3
03-23-2003, 06:26 PM
Do the vouchers for the character meals cover the tip and tax amounts too?

PARK_HOPPER
03-24-2003, 07:07 AM
The agent at Walt Disney Travel Company has all the information regarding Dining Plans you're asking about right at their finger tips!

Each year, the dining plans are modified.

For 2003, the minimum dining plan offers one Character Breakfast and one Breakfast In The Park.

All Character meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) include tax and tip. Nothing extra out of pocket, or the use of your additional dollar denominated dining vouchers is required.

Breakfast In The Park is a full breakfast, with choice of entree and beverage, tax included. No tip for this one as you carry it yourself to the table.

The vouchers can be used at ANY location that sells food within Disneyland Park and Disney's California Adventure Park and all Resort Hotel restaurants. You can order any menu item you desire, and are not limited to certain items, locations or times of day. In fact, the castmember has no idea you have dining vuchers until you are ready to pay!

You can even use them at the food carts inside the parks.

The vouchers CANNOT be used at ANY location within Downtown Disney, including ESPN Zone.

Also, no alcohol can be purchased with the vouchers.

You can mix and match the vouchers among the members of your family, as they do not have names or dates printed on them.

You may also order a dining plan for 3, 4, 5 or 6 days. The number of days does not have to match the number of nights you are stauing at a hotel.

Some will order more days of dining plans than the number of days of their stay as they may want to enjoy a more expensive meal at Blue Bayou or Golden Vine Winery.

You do save money using the dining plans over spending the same amount of money without buying the vouchers. The agent at Walt Disney Travel Company can tell you the amount you will save.

You may also use the vouchers to pay for gratuity at the sit-down restaurants that offer table service.

As you DO NOT receive change back from the vouchers, it's important to maximize the use of them. If something costs $18, it's best to use $15 in vouchers and make-up the remainder with cash or credit card.

You or your travel agent can call (714) 520-5050 for more information on the dining plans.

Heatherlee3
03-24-2003, 07:50 AM
THANK YOU :)

THAT IS A BIG HELP

julia
03-25-2003, 01:41 PM
You do not have to buy a dining plan that is the same length as your trip - you can buy as many or as few meals as you want, within a few loose guidelines. Basically, you are given vouchers for an amount of money for a selection of meals - you can use the vouchers at most restaurants, except for those in Downtown Disney, at any time during your stay. You simply order your meal, non-alcoholic drinks and dessert and give the cast member your voucher instead of payment towards the meal. The vouchers are for a set amount, and you do not getting change if you don't use the entire value of your voucher with your meal, so it is an excuse to splurge. Meals can be expensive at Disneyland, so these dining options tend to be a great value!

Have a great trip!

Polar33
03-25-2003, 11:39 PM
I've noticed that due to the no change given aspect to the vouchers a lot of people tend to buy over the face value of the voucher so they will not be "wasting money".

Looking over Kevin's article leads me to wonder if people are actually spending more money then they would have if they didn't have the vouchers. Although the information in the article is a little dated and prices and voucher amounts have changed slightly, if the savings haven't increased dramatically I don't believe it is worth it.

According to the article the 5-day plan would save you ten bucks. For most vouchers that I have accepted people usually spend one or two dollars over the voucher amount. There are 12 vouchers in that plan, hypothetically if each voucher was accompanied by only an extra dollar, that is $12 extra that was spent. Balance that out with the $10 that was "saved" and you lost two bucks.

I think to save money using vouchers you would have to do a whole lot more math then anyone would want to do on their vacation.

Heatherlee3
03-26-2003, 06:19 AM
Very True. Thanks :p