Dining help

[alleycat]

We might be going to Disney world this summer. The last time we went DD1 was 4 yrs old, DD2 was 4 yrs old and I was five weeks pregnant with DD3. They will be 10, 8 and 5 when we go.

If we go, we plan on getting the dining plan. We'll have five table service credits. We're definitely doing Cinderella's Royal Table. Which restaurants should we go to with the remaining three credits? And what's your top five quick service places?

Also, do you think the quick service meals are big enough to share? I'm thinking maybe the five of us can share two quick service breakfasts and three quick service lunches/dinners.

Disney planning is so overwhelming.


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[jren]

Our quick service meals weren't that big. Maybe two light eaters could share though. But for the dining plan, I'd think you have to buy the plan for all anyway to get everyone in the table service character dining where sharing isn't allowed?

One of our favorite table service restaurants was the beasts castle. Our favorite quick service was the seafood restaurant in Magic Kingdom. I can't remember the names.


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[alleycat]

Our quick service meals weren't that big. Maybe two light eaters could share though. But for the dining plan, I'd think you have to buy the plan for all anyway to get everyone in the table service character dining where sharing isn't allowed?

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We're all getting the dining plan, the one with one table service credit and one quick service credit. I was hoping five quick service credits would cover two meals for the five of us. I know some people use the snack credit for breakfast but I know my kids would rather have treats and snacks. I guess if the quick service meals aren't that big, I'll bring cereal for breakfast.

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[KrisM]

When we were there a few years ago, my kids were 5, 7, and 9. We did not do the dining plan. But, we often split a large pizza at the POR food court and that is listed for 2 quick service credits. We added breadsticks if we needed a little more, and I think those were a snack credit. The pizza is $15 or so, which we thought was a great price for a dinner!

We also had lunch at the pizza place in Animal Kingdom. The meals come with a personal pizza, salad, drink and cookie. We split 3 of those for the 5 of us. I ate all 3 salads, and the kids plus DH split the pizzas, and the kids had a cookie each.

At other places, we'd each get part of a meal, like a hot dog, burger, chicken sandwich, and then split 1-2 orders of fries.

ETA: We bought drinks and snacks as needed. I kept track of all the food and receipt to compare to the dining plan after the trip. We ended up paying nearly exactly the same as we would have for the dining plan, but we would have run out of snack credits so would have added on another 14 credits worth, so maybe $40 more? Anyway, it was super close to break-even. We had Hoop de Doo, Spirit of Aloha, Biergarten, Akershus, and Sci Fi for sit down meals.

[jren]

We're all getting the dining plan, the one with one table service credit and one quick service credit. I was hoping five quick service credits would cover two meals for the five of us. I know some people use the snack credit for breakfast but I know my kids would rather have treats and snacks. I guess if the quick service meals aren't that big, I'll bring cereal for breakfast.

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Oh, well that could work then. I found that I really didn't need a big breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I usually ate either a bigger lunch or no lunch and a bigger dinner. All of that walking around kills my appetite. And the snacks were way to much for me, so I gave many of those to my kids. For the sake of time, we usually just ate a quick breakfast from the room except when we did a character breakfast.


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[belovedgandp]

We went two years ago with 11, 8, and 5. We did the dining plan with one table and one quick service meal per day. When we vacation we typically only eat two meals a day. The table service were our big meals (lots of buffets). There's a lot of snacking all day long. We brought breakfast items to put something in our stomachs each morning before leaving the room. Except the morning we had a before park opening table service meal.

We did not do any two credit table service meals and left first thing in the morning our last day, so we truly had the two meals per day for each person in our group. I think we had one evening when part of the family was still hungry. Used two quick service meals at the resort and then did a couple of meals with only four orders for the five of us. That was plenty depending on where we were.

[klwa]

If we go, we plan on getting the dining plan. We'll have five table service credits. We're definitely doing Cinderella's Royal Table. Which restaurants should we go to with the remaining three credits? And what's your top five quick service places?


Are you wanting to do other character meals? If so, our favorite is Garden Grill at Epcot. Family style, so you don't have to worry about being up from your seat when the characters come around, and in our experience, the characters usually make it around more than once.


Also, do you think the quick service meals are big enough to share? I'm thinking maybe the five of us can share two quick service breakfasts and three quick service lunches/dinners.

This is going to depend. The last time we were there, DS was 8, DD1 was 5 and DD2 was 4. We would often get a single bounty platter for breakfast with a snack item (danish, etc.) to supplement for the four of us. We'd also split two milks between the four of us. But, DH doesn't do breakfast, and the kids were all in the "I'll eat two bites so I can get out of here" mode.

[kdeunc]

If you eat breakfast at your resort you can use your refillable mug for a drink (coffee, cocoa, soda, water no milk) and use the drink "credit" from the meal for a snack. We drank coffee and got a snack for later in the day.

[newnana]

If you are wanting to do a character meal, our favorite was the 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. It's Cinderella, her stepsisters, stepmother, and Prince Charming. DD dressed as Drizella. Super interactive characters (DD got to dance with Prince Charming!) and the food was great, it's a buffet.

Here's somebody's review of it with pics of food and characters. I highly recommend!

http://wdwprepschool.com/dining-with-the-character-queen-1900-park-fare-dinner/

[abh5e8]

I would put in a grocery delivery order, to arrive on your first day. Shelf stable milk boxes, juice, fruit, snacks all go a long way in keeping my kiddos happy. I actually plan to pack one suitcase full of snacks, PB, drinks and then place an order for fresh things. So with that in mind, I would be fine with your dining plan.

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[bnme]

I think sharing can work if people don't mind eating the same things and maybe a little less. You can always buy (or spend an extra credit) if needed. We often share - not on dinning plan, but just because we want to. In the summer we definitely eat less due to the heat, and if you have a small lunch there is more room for ice cream to cool off in the afternoon. We usually eat breakfast in the room a few days (cereal, granola bars, yogurt, etc) becasue it is just easier then finding a QS place to eat near what we want to do and it also allows us to get up and out quicker.

[megs4413]

Actually, i think you'd be much better off paying out of pocket for CRT than using two TS credits. You can price it out yourself and see, but that's my strong opinion.

ETA: I forgot to address the other questions!

Which resort will you be staying at?

I'm not sure whether you realize this already (forgive me if you do) but your 10 year old is "disney adult" for the meal plan, so that child will receive adult sized meals with the dining plan (you CAN order off of the kids menu for that child, but then you're paying the adult price for less food, so it's not really helping you any.) Those meals will be large enough to share some for sure, if your 10 yo isn't used to eating those portions.

Also, have you made a CRT reservation already? you say "summer" so I'm thinking you may be inside your 180 day window. If you don't, make sure you get one asap!

Will you be relying on disney transportation or will you have a car? That influences my dining recommendations some.

My favorite counter service restaurants by park:
MK: Columbia Harbor House
AK: Flame Tree Barbecue
DHS: ABC Commissary
EPCOT: Boulangerie Patisserie Les Halles (france pavillion in world showcase)

We actually REALLY love some of the counter service places at the resorts enough to make a special stop there...my kids don't nap anymore, but it is still nice to leave a park for a little while for a quiet spot, so we like to do late lunches or early dinners at quick service locations near parks. My favorites:

1. Gasparilla Grill at the Grand Floridian
2. Captain Cook's at the Polynesian
3. Roaring Fork at Wilderness Lodge (though it's closing for refurbishment in february. i don't know when it will reopen)

If you do decide to try a quick service at another resort, remember to bring your refillable mug for drinks there!

I think I've lost track of your original questions. Obviously, I could go on and on. We've been twice this past year and I'm already planning a trip next year. LOL