To get a meal plan? And if not, food / meal ideas?

[magnoliaparadise]

Hi,

We are going to Disney very soon.
We still haven't decided whether to do a meal plan. We need to decide before we leave or lose that option.

Would you give me your views? I am totally new at this and a bit overwhelmed!

There will be 3 adults (myself and my parents) and 2 kids (3 and 7). We are under one room (ie one reservation) so can't split our group or number of days. So if if we get the meal plan, it will be all 5 of us, all 7 days, no options to decrease that.

We are going 'club' level on Disney so have no kitchenette, but a small fridge in our room and access to a shared microwave in club area. (Villas were all sold out by the time we signed up, but my parents wanted to stay on Disney property).

Pros of a meal plan:
- we won't have to worry about eating and paying out of pocket;
- we might save some money

Cons of a meal plan:
- we may not use every meal, so it might turn out to be more expensive than just going to eat whenever we want;
- my parents won't be with us for one day anyway, so we will lose those meals. Also, they are going off Disney so will bring us back food!
- because we are doing the club level at the hotel, we have a continental (cold) breakfast and fruits and snacks all day long there. There will also be snacks midday (cookies, chips, veggies or cheese) and hot item appetizers in the early evening and assorted desserts in the later evening.

**** Would you do a meal plan or no in my shoes?
**** Also, if you wouldn't, and had no kitchen, what would you suggest I do for the kids? I could bring stuff to put in the microwave like meatballs, etc?

Thanks!
Just in case this is helpful, here are meal plan costs (with our info):

1. Quick Service Dining
2 quick service meals and 1 snack each day
A quick service meal is a counter service (you go to front of restaurant and place your order and get your food)
$44 per adult per night inc tax
$18 per kid per night inc tax
= $168 per night
x 7 nights =
******************** $1,176 in total

2. Disney Dining
1 quick service meal, 1 table service meal, 1 snack per day
$63 per adult per night inc tax
$21 per child per night inc tax
= $231 per night
x 7 =
******************* $ 1,617 in total

3. Delux Dining
(This is way too much food for my family, even if we were interested in the high cost, especially because we have food in our hotel already, but I include it in case others in the future are reading this):
3 table service meals, 2 snacks
$112 per adult per night inc tax
$32 per child per night inc tax
= $400 per night
******************x 7 = $2,800

[WatchingThemGrow]

I wouldn't! The club level offerings seem might generous already. Pair that with maybe a character meal and a couple counter services if you don't make it back to the room for some down time and hot appetizers.


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[KrisM]

We did not do the prepaid plan last April. I'm very glad. We had 2 Character meals, 2 dinner shows, and 1 other sit down meal. But, we did not need an actual meal for all meals. Much of the rest was a snack or two, or a shared pizza. I kept track and the plan would have cost us money, mostly on unused child credits and using too many snacks. I think if you buy it it is for the convenience of paying ahead and not getting a big bill at the end.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Do you really think you'd spend a minimum of $44/ day for food for yourself everyday? I know I wouldn't. I don't eat that much. You really just need 2 meals worth of food. Because my appetite isn't huge nor is ds2's, we often share.
On a trip, I'm sure we'd have a few nicer meals that cost $$ but the rest of the days we just wouldn't spend that much. And that's the cheapest plan you list. Knowing how we eat, the plan wouldn't work for us. But I know everyone is different.

[nfceagles]

No way I would do it in your case, staying club level. I would just book a few meals and eat what you want. You're bound to come out ahead.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

Plus w your parents not being there every day, you're wasting money paying for meals you won't use.

[egoldber]

No, don't do it, not with the continental breakfast.

We also always bring in snacks and drinks into the park with us. Granola bars, Clif bars, apples, applesauce pouches/cups, trail mix, etc. For $20 at the grocery store, you'll have enough snacks for a week. Also, you are going to want/need to split up. Your 7 year old is probably going to want to do things that the 3 year old can't do or doesn't want to do.

Also, it's entirely possible that your parents are going to get tired more quickly than the kids and want to go back to the room before they are ready to leave.

Where are you staying?

[Cam&Clay]

We are fans of both club level and the dining plan, but we decided during our last trip that we don't need both. We loved the breakfast offerings for club level and having the extra drinks and snacks were great. DH loves the dining plan even though we know we save little if anything at all. He just likes not having to think about paying for food (because I've already planned every meal).

In your situation, I would skip the dining plan because you are staying club level.

[123LuckyMom]

If I were staying Club level, I definitely wouldn't. I wouldn't anyway, because we get groceries delivered so we can do breakfast in the room and bring snacks. Often the kids just ate the snacks (fruit, cheese, nuts, Greek yogurt) or brought PB&Js, and all they ordered at lunch was a milk! I think the way we eat we spend less without the meal plan.

[magnoliaparadise]

Hi,
OP here - thank you SO MUCH for this advice.

A couple of questions - these are realllllly newbie questions!

1) A few of you mentioned that you bring snacks. We are flying into Disney from out of state.
Can we buy at local super markets there or do I need to buy at home and put in my suitcase?
I mean... I know I'm sounding like Disney is MARS, but I don't really 'get' how I could find a super market on Disney property without a car!

2) A related question. 123LuckyMom mentioned getting groceries delivered. Do supermarkets DELIVER on Disney Property? Calgo, take me away, that would be PERFECT! I am imaging a guy with grocery bags in the lobby? Something about that seems so ludicrous, but if possible, great! Please let me know if this is what you mean! :)

We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge, if that helps in anyone's thoughts about this (ie so a mere boat ride away to a grocery store?)

[KrisM]

My SIL uses Garden Grocer and the deliver to Disney.

I wasn't sure what we'd want, so I packed somethings from home, but then shopped in the store at Port Orleans. It was pricey, but it worked out fine.

[egoldber]

Usually we have a car, so go to the grocery store. There is delivery, but personally I think it is too expensive, and not worth it unless you have a full kitchen. But obviously, many people do it and are very happy. Without a car, usually I pack a box of non-perishable snacks from home and check it with my luggage.

Almost all the resorts have some type of store on property and while it is more expensive than a grocery store, it's less expensive than eating in the parks. Since Wilderness Lodge has some DVC rooms (rooms with kitchens) they probably have a decent sized store.

[hellokitty]

We used a grocery service before and it was great. Yes, pack your suitcase with snacks if you want. We just got back last wknd from wdw and rented DVC points this time and I had one suitcase that was was just food and supplies. TSA did check it, but no problems. We had to get a rental, since we did legoland this time, and went grocery shopping, but if not, I would've just ordered groceries again. I cannot remember who, but we ordered from the other service, not garden grocer.

[klwa]

I'd lean towards those who say don't get it in your case, BUT with the caveat that it depends on how YOU & your family generally eat/where you want to eat. With the Club Level offerings, you'll be able to get by without needing breakfast, at least most days. (This review from the Disboards kind of goes through what you can actually expect from Club Level breakfast options: http://www.disboards.com/threads/wilderness-lodge-club-level-review-with-photos.2909892/ ) If you're planning on doing a sit down meal a day (especially the character meals/buffets), I'd say, check your math to see if it works out in your favor. It might. If you don't want to do a sit down or don't usually get dessert with every meal, then it probably won't. From what I've seen, the Quick Service almost never comes out in your favor, especially if you wouldn't automatically get dessert.

For pricing of the meals to check against the price, I usually use the menus at allears.net . They seem to be fairly up to date.

(Just so you know, I've always used the dining plan and always saved based on what we get, BUT we're probably not getting it the next time. The continual drop in perks on the plan, combined with the continued increase in price and the fact that DS will be a Disney adult the next time we go, makes it less desirable. But, I'll run the numbers beforehand to see.)

ETA: this last trip, DH & DS spent a day at Universal, leaving me at MK with both girls. So, I used their table service dining credits at lunch and ours at supper that day, so I wasn't having to deal with both girls, a tray of food, etc. And there was one day we all went to Legoland, so we had extra credits for CRT. Then, the CS meals for those days went to our breakfasts. That's why we were able to justify the plan. It wouldn't always work that way.

[SummerBaby]

We did a split stay when we went in 2013. We used the dining plan for the first half of our stay. I think it's only worth it if you are doing a lot of character meals. Otherwise, it's too much food- and you still have to pay for alcoholic beverages and tip so it's not like it's truly all inclusive.

I definitely recommend Garden Grocer. Yes, their prices are more expensive than what you pay at home. But it's still cheaper than buying in the hotel stores or at the parks. We bought a case of water, juice boxes, milk, cereal, etc.

[belovedgandp]

We just went to WDW and loved doing the dining plan, but for what you described I would not.

Losing adults for part of the stay definitely increases the actual cost.

We LOVE the character meals, so those were a bit factor in our decision making. I was right on my reservations 180 days out to get the places and times I really wanted. If you'd just be doing any table service that was available and not excited about it but trying to use your credit it would be disappointing.

We were in a regular hotel room, so I only brought basic snacks. I put them in my checked bags - fruit leather, applesauce, granola bars, trail mix. We typically did two meals a day and snacked our way in between.

[MSWR0319]

We stayed at a villa a few weeks ago. I took a full suitcase full of food and then ordered from strollersandgroceries.com, which was cheaper than Garden Grocer and had more of the brands we wanted. I had a coupon to waive the delivery fee, so you would need to consider that when comparing. They were wonderful and had our groceries delivered hours before our allotted time. I was very impressed and will use them again. So, you could do either, take groceries with you or have them delivered. There will be a store at the resort that has basics like bread, bologna, etc so that's something to consider too if you don't need a lot.

[anonomom]

One note to consider if you plan to use the store at the resort -- some basics are ridiculously expensive. We bought a case of water at the Grand Floridian, and paid over $2/bottle. IIRC, bread was reasonably priced (though still expensive) and so were some breakfast options.


Food-wise, CL provides a lot of convenience. You can bring refillable water bottles and ask the concierge to fill them with filtered water in the kitchen so you can have water in the parks, and there are drinks available to you all day in the lounge. If it works with your touring style, you can also have afternoon snack in the lounge and often, the appetizer options are hearty enough that you can split 1-2 quick service meals among you to round out dinner. When we stay CL, we can usually get away with bringing 1-2 packages of snacks in our luggage (we like the pre-portioned trail mixes from Trader Joe's and single serve bags of cookies/crackers).

[egoldber]

I guess I've never bought bottled water at WDW. The meals often come with a bottle of water as an option and I just refill them at the water fountains. Or you can ask for a glass of water with your meal and use that to refill your water bottle.

[gatorsmom]

Just wanted to add that I think you could get away without the meal plan too, unless you plan on a lot of character dinners. I brought half a duffle full of protein bars, trail mix, dried fruit, etc, from home and just bought the fresh stuff like bananas, oranges bottled water when we got there. And we used that empty space in my duffle for souvenirs on the way home!

[anonomom]

I guess I've never bought bottled water at WDW. The meals often come with a bottle of water as an option and I just refill them at the water fountains. Or you can ask for a glass of water with your meal and use that to refill your water bottle.

Good point, but I find the tap water in Orlando unpalatable. It tastes swampy to me. I could be a snob, though... :-)

[egoldber]

I do think it has an after taste, but nothing I couldn't drink. And my kids thought it was fine. :)

[brittone2]

I wouldn't. We went last Feb and it was during a Stay, Play, Dine promotion, so while that promotion isn't as much of a deal as free dining, adults could do the mealplan (and park tickets) for kid prices. My oldest was about to turn 10, and they allowed us to bump him to adult dining, and then we just paid kid prices anyway for all of us.

It was way too much food for us. By the last few days, my kids were even just grossed out by the amount of junk and were using snack credits for things like a ham and cheese croissant vs. a cupcake. We did character meals, enjoyed dinner at California Grill, etc. but honestly, I can't imagine we would have gotten real value out of it had we paid full price. And with club level offerings, there's no way I'd do a meal plan at full price, just based on my own experience. Another thing we've considered is that our kids like the adult types of dishes anyway, and my younger two would rather split an adult entree in many instances vs. being limited to the kid menu. Paying out of pocket would have made that much easier to accommodate. Your experience may be totally different.

We had two cases of water delivered to our room at POR.