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View Full Version : Anyone used a meal plan this year?



Goosegirl
07-10-2006, 07:57 AM
Countdown is on. We are leaving in 13 days for Disneyland and I still have not finished booking the trip. I have read posts about the meal plan and the few post I have found are not that positive about it. We are considering it mainly for budgeting purposes.

I am trying to figure how how the vouchers can be used and am not understanding much. Can any of the vouchers be used at restaurants in the hotels? I see that you can use the charactor breakfast in the hotel restaurants but can the $5.00, $10.00, and $15.00 vouchers be used at the hotel restaurants too?

I also read that 3 years ago someone had a hard time using the vouchers because the servers did not understand them. Has anyone used them this year?

I would appreciate any info or experience. Thank you so much.

hlbtimes2
07-10-2006, 09:52 AM
We used them last Oct. Most of the vouchers can be used at the onsite hotels. There are a few ($5 snack) vouchers in each book that can not be used at the hotels. They say on them that they are only good in the park. For some strange reason they are the only ones that have tax included. So, the $5 is really like $5.32 or something crazy like that. Those $5 vouchers can be used anywhere in the park, not just at snack carts.

It is not the speediest way to pay, I will say that. Each voucher has to be entered manually into the register. So, if you have a lot of vouchers for one meal it does make them a few minutes to process the payment. We did not run into any cm's that didnt know what they were.

We like them for budgeting, and having that part of our trip prepaid. But, they can kind of be a pain.

Nancy7355
07-10-2006, 01:23 PM
Hello, We always buy the meal vouchers, Its nice to not worried about the meals, only had trouble one time. There were 10 of us, all had vouchers,went to the Plaza Inn for breakfast and you have to pay first, they charged us way to much money. We got our money and the vouchers back and ate at the Carnation Café , and had a very nice time. We went back to the Plaza Inn the next day and everything was fine. They told us that they had someone new working the day before. I am a big fan of the meal vouchers its nice to know that you have your meals if you spend to much on souvenirs ...LOL... I do that alot..:D ..LOL

annieb727
07-10-2006, 02:25 PM
One thing I've heard about the meal vouchers is you have to make sure you spend MORE than what is on it...if you only spend $13 on a $15 voucher, you lose the $2...they do not give change...I could be wrong...


Another idea - and this is what I like to do...I get the Disney Gift cards and Disney dollars and have envelopes to put them in each day - and budget it that way...and with Disney Dollars they DO give change back...so you have a $10 Disney Dollar bill, and you spend $5, you get $5 back...you can't use the Gift cards at the carts, but you can use disney dollars - that's why i like to get BOTH.

Goosegirl
07-10-2006, 02:41 PM
So does each voucher only apply to one meal? Or can you total up the amount of your familie's meal and just add the amount of vouchers? Like if the total for the family is $25.00, would that be a $15.00 and a $10.00 to make $25.00? Or do you have to use one voucher per meal per person?

annieb727
07-10-2006, 02:54 PM
here's what i found doing a search on vouchers...

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=57228&highlight=vouchers

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=56933&highlight=vouchers

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=55086&highlight=vouchers

Quinten27
07-10-2006, 03:20 PM
The best way to use them is like they are gift certificates for the amount written on them. Though I know when we used them we frequently would order something extra due to the fact we didn't get change back. Like if the total was $18.00, we'd add a dessert, making it around $22, then give them 2 $10.50 vouchers and a dollar cash.

The biggest problem we had with our vouchers is that we are fairly light eaters, and we ate outside Dinseyland enough that we had $40 in vouchers left on the day we were leaving. Thank god you can use them for the little mickey shaped lollypops. We spent all our leftover vouchers on those and used them as gifts when we got back. But really..........unless you WANT $40 worth of lollypops, make sure you use the vouchers before its time to leave! Or if you'll be there for 4-5 days, only get the three deal meal plan..........that way you have a choice of eating elsewhere somedays if you want.

hlbtimes2
07-11-2006, 08:44 AM
So does each voucher only apply to one meal? Or can you total up the amount of your familie's meal and just add the amount of vouchers? Like if the total for the family is $25.00, would that be a $15.00 and a $10.00 to make $25.00? Or do you have to use one voucher per meal per person?

Yes, you can combine them that way. Just dont pull them out of the book before you get to the cashier.

We typically get a 3 day plan for a 4-5 day trip. It gives us the freedom to eat out side the park.

Hakuna Makarla
07-11-2006, 02:45 PM
I always get the vouchers, I love them and will continue to get them. they make it easy since I have them included in my package. when the package is paid for our meals are included.
I have never had a problem using them . Just remember that if you buy something for under 5.00 you will not get change back. I alsways go over a few cents to a dollar, that way I am not loosing out. You can by anything off the carts with them and in the resturants.

Goosegirl
07-11-2006, 10:33 PM
Thanks everyone for the info. I ordered my vacation package today and included the Donald's 3 Day Plan. Dh really liked the idea of the food budget being included in the package. So it is all purchased and we are gonna be there in 12 days!!!!!! YIPPPPPYYYYY!!!!!!!

celtmaidn
07-13-2006, 08:02 AM
We use the vouchers each time we go. They are great, and make eating in the Park easier than out of the Park.
We ran into a problem with consistency at the Plaza while attempting to have our "Breakfast In The Park". We went one day, and were told the voucher marked "Breakfast In The Park" was only worth $8.00 and the meal was something like $25.00. With 10 people in the party, that was a little steep. We decided to use out vouchers at the Carnation bakery. A few days later, we tried again, and for some reason, the meal was covered. I think it was a matter of someone not WANTING to let us use the vouchers, but I could be wrong.
The only other time we had a problem was at the candy shop in California Adventure (the big one that sells the fudge). The vouchers were not accepted there. But they are in all the other food venues. It could have been like the "Breakfast In The Park", where if we had waited and gone back, maybe they would have been accepted.
There was something else I wanted to add, but I'll be darned if I can remember what it was. :confused: That's what I get for letting people side track me.

hlbtimes2
07-13-2006, 10:43 AM
We ran into a problem with consistency at the Plaza while attempting to have our "Breakfast In The Park". We went one day, and were told the voucher marked "Breakfast In The Park" was only worth $8.00 and the meal was something like $25.00. With 10 people in the party, that was a little steep. We decided to use out vouchers at the Carnation bakery. A few days later, we tried again, and for some reason, the meal was covered. I think it was a matter of someone not WANTING to let us use the vouchers, but I could be wrong.
.

The books have two vouchers- one for a character meal and one for breakfast in the park. Breakfast in the park is good at Carnation cafe, Club Buzz or Riverbell. The $8 value would cover a meal there. The Character breakfast voucher is worth roughly $25. I'm guessing the first day you tried to use the in park, then the 2nd day you used the character breakfast. They go buy the stated value and code on the voucher. Its not a matter of the choosing to let you or not.

Goosegirl
07-13-2006, 11:04 AM
Yesterday I called to talk to the dining reservation line and was told that "Breakfast in the park" is only being accepted at the "Riverbelle Terrace" right now and that I do not need a reservation. Is this bogus info?

hlbtimes2
07-13-2006, 12:29 PM
Yesterday I called to talk to the dining reservation line and was told that "Breakfast in the park" is only being accepted at the "Riverbelle Terrace" right now and that I do not need a reservation. Is this bogus info?

You'll have to see what the fine print on the voucher says. Ours just listed a dollar value, and a bit of other fine print. It didnt say exactly where it could be used. We used it at Carnation cafe. As for the Riverbell, no you dont need PS to eat there. Club buzz is sort of hit and miss as to when its open.

Goosegirl
07-13-2006, 01:43 PM
Can I use my AAA discount with the meal plan vouchers?

Malcon10t
07-13-2006, 06:05 PM
Can I use my AAA discount with the meal plan vouchers?
I was told no. The voucher for the Character Meal costs $27, with the AP discount it only costs me $23. Multiply that by 5 is $20 it costs me to use the voucher system since you can't use discounts. I prefer the Disney dollars instead.

Karen256
07-13-2006, 06:12 PM
You may also want to keep in mind that you can't use the vouchers at Downtown Disney restaurants.

We won't be getting the meal plan again. If it saved money, then we might consider it, but I thought it was just enough of a hassle to make it not worth it.

annieb727
07-15-2006, 07:44 AM
I was told no. The voucher for the Character Meal costs $27, with the AP discount it only costs me $23. Multiply that by 5 is $20 it costs me to use the voucher system since you can't use discounts. I prefer the Disney dollars instead.

that is definitely another reason to stick w/ Disney Dollars!!! If you figure over the course of your stay you might spend $500 on food - that's a $50 savings (10% discount)...that's a lot of money just for the convenience of vouchers - not to mention sometimes having to buy more that what you really want just so you don't waste the value of a voucher