Trying to Finalize some things and need Suggestions

toontoy

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 11, 2010
So I have the following things booked for our upcoming trip. Doing the math it seems better to purchase the dining plan, we dont drink so that new perk isnt a perk for us.

At Disneyland this past May we bought 3-4 snacks per day for the 3 of us. (For the plan we have 2 adults and a 2 yr old). We spent a pretty good chunk of change on our 5 days with extended family. (more than I had planned lol).

Should we still purchase the plan? Here is what we have booked. Which one should we pay out of pocket for we are over by 2 credits? should we pay for CRT out of pocket and book another restaurant with the package? ( Need to add we are 2 adults and a 2 year old staying 7 nights)

Crystal Palace Dinner
Norway Princess Dinner
Chef Mickey's Dinner
Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic Dinner
Tonys Parade package Lunch
CRT Dinner
Tusker House ROL Dining Dinner

and then 2 times at the BOG for breakfast, hoping for 1 lunch and a breakfast but happy we have it twice. With our 2 year old she loves characters so we kinda are heavy on those. I am hoping that way we can skip those lines, one day at Disneyland we rode small world twice and dumbo and saw the parade and characters, it was a very long day to wait for them lol. I am a WDW and DL vet but traveling with a 2 year old is very different than when it was just DW and myself.
 
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We are asking the same question right now for our upcoming trip. I love the dining plan b/c I know everything is paid for and I wont overspend. Lots of the places you are going have a preset price so its not like you can just order soup and dessert and eat light and save money. So, maybe the dining plan is a good idea. I am considering putting the amount of money I would have spent on the dining plan on a specific card and using that for all my dining in stead of buy the plan.

If most table service places are about $38 per person (including a soda or what ever, not wine / beer) and quick service places are about $16(including a soda or what ever, not wine / beer), And, a bottle of water or soda for mid day snack is $3 and another snack is on average $4 ...so you are spending about $61 on your own. The dining plan will be $75 per adult per day so is the free drink refill cup worth it to you ? Maybe it is worth the $14 extra to get the plan to ensure I dont overspend....lol...who knows...I give up!
 
Should we still purchase the plan? Here is what we have booked. Which one should we pay out of pocket for we are over by 2 credits? should we pay for CRT out of pocket and book another restaurant with the package?

Just a little more information please.

Are all of these meals for dinner or are some at other times?
How many NIGHTS are you staying?
 
We are asking the same question right now for our upcoming trip. I love the dining plan b/c I know everything is paid for and I wont overspend. Lots of the places you are going have a preset price so its not like you can just order soup and dessert and eat light and save money. So, maybe the dining plan is a good idea. I am considering putting the amount of money I would have spent on the dining plan on a specific card and using that for all my dining in stead of buy the plan.

If most table service places are about $38 per person (including a soda or what ever, not wine / beer) and quick service places are about $16(including a soda or what ever, not wine / beer), And, a bottle of water or soda for mid day snack is $3 and another snack is on average $4 ...so you are spending about $61 on your own. The dining plan will be $75 per adult per day so is the free drink refill cup worth it to you ? Maybe it is worth the $14 extra to get the plan to ensure I dont overspend....lol...who knows...I give up!

Well Its not fun to plan I can tell you that much. When I ask DW she says do what I think is best.

Actually looking at the reservations they are all prefix priced, so with them being that it may be better to do the DDP? I give up lol. I know that we spent $800 for 5 days in Disneyland and it was all snacks and counter service so I am thinking the Dining plan would come in handy.


Just a little more information please.

Are all of these meals for dinner or are some at other times?
How many NIGHTS are you staying?

These are all dinner meals, but the 2 breakfasts at BOG, we are staying for 7 nights.


Its crazy, I have a full spreadsheet for this trip and my wife laughs when she thinks I am working late at night and finds out I am trip planning.
 


I have actually done the math for our family of 4 (11 year old and 4 year old girls), including tax and tip, by listing everything we would typically order and comparing our trip total to the dining plan and we consistently come out ahead by paying out of pocket. I often share a breakfast platter with the girls but they have their own meals everywhere else. My budget is usually around $200 dollars cheaper than the dining plan and we have eaten at CRT every trip. I have also compared our final bill with the dining plan once we get home from our trip just to see how close my budget was and I have been really close every time. Fussing over those snack credits and how many table credits we have used just doesn't sound pleasant.
 
So I found this thread with pricing, is it pretty accurate?
https://www.disboards.com/threads/buffet-character-shows-aycte-pricing.3108466/


Base on that this is what these cost OOP, Ouch on some wow!

Crystal Palace Dinner $47.93 p/p
Norway Princess Dinner $60.71 p/p
Chef Mickey's Dinner $53.25 p/p
Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic Dinner $60.71 p/p
Tonys Parade package Lunch $54.00 +tax
CRT Dinner $79.10 p/p
Tusker House ROL Dining Dinner $52.19 p/p

so we are 2 credits over and it seems crystal palace we could pay for oop or add something and CRT out of pocket.

With the option of paying for Crystal Palace it seems the bill for dinner is $719.92 plus the Crystal Dinner $95.86

with paying for CRT and adding something it would be $779. ish plus the CRT bill of $158.20

With the dining plan costing $1,056.86 it would seem with either option 7 lunches and 14 snacks would need to be valued at more than $337.00 to make it cost effective. This comes out to about 24.07 per person per day for lunch and 2 snacks each. It seems almost a wash to me. If we were going to menu based I think going the gift card route would be more effective. I think when our little tike is done with character meals we will go that route.

What would be the best option do you think, paying the extra $60 and adding another table service meal or just using the 2 credits at CRT and paying for crystal palace? I am half tempted to add another meal, possibly at O'Hana's or another fun place.

hmm, still have options and ideas in my head. What are your thoughts. Is this too crazy?
 


I have actually done the math for our family of 4 (11 year old and 4 year old girls), including tax and tip, by listing everything we would typically order and comparing our trip total to the dining plan and we consistently come out ahead by paying out of pocket. I often share a breakfast platter with the girls but they have their own meals everywhere else. My budget is usually around $200 dollars cheaper than the dining plan and we have eaten at CRT every trip. I have also compared our final bill with the dining plan once we get home from our trip just to see how close my budget was and I have been really close every time. Fussing over those snack credits and how many table credits we have used just doesn't sound pleasant.

I am trying to decide if we should go that route. Even with the spendy buffets (main reason I added it to begin with) it seems that our dinners are set price wise. Lunch and snacks are open and then we wouldnt have to maximize the $24.00 per person per day to come out even with the plan. 2 snacks could be 7.00 if they are water or closer to 15, it seems. I am trying to figure that part out of our trip. What do you usually spend on snacks and lunches at the parks.
 
she turns 3 in January, the reason for our trip this fall :)

We did the same thing with my GS right before he turned 3 in January. Eating at the buffets are great because then the can easily eat off of your plate but we found that we had to order him his own kids meal at some places more for the fact that he wanted his own plate of food and would get upset when he didn't have one like everyone else. Kids meal are cheap but something to consider. I love the dining plan and with his trip we did the deluxe for the first time and loved it. I use the dining plan calculator to check and see what it shows if I am saving or not. Personally I usually come out ahead or just a few dollars behind and for me I will take the feeling of my trip paid off any day over saving a few dollars. Have a great trip and remember to get lots of pics of your little girl.
 
What would be the best option do you think, paying the extra $60 and adding another table service meal or just using the 2 credits at CRT and paying for crystal palace? I am half tempted to add another meal, possibly at O'Hana's or another fun place.

I think I would use DDP for CRT and change one of the other character dinners to a breakfast in order to save a little money. Make it a late breakfast (10:30ish) and you'll pay breakfast price and get breakfast and lunch.

Your math looks right to me and the price list you found is the most reliable out there. It may be off a dollar or two, but not on every meal. I think you're close enough to breaking even to do the DDP and have the peace of mind. Plus you can get all those fun snacks every day to treat your little princess.
 
So I found this thread with pricing, is it pretty accurate?
https://www.disboards.com/threads/buffet-character-shows-aycte-pricing.3108466/

What would be the best option do you think, paying the extra $60 and adding another table service meal or just using the 2 credits at CRT and paying for crystal palace? I am half tempted to add another meal, possibly at O'Hana's or another fun place.

hmm, still have options and ideas in my head. What are your thoughts. Is this too crazy?

It is possible, but not guaranteed to get $24 value from a quick service and two snacks without alcohol. Be our guest will help with that, as it will be in the $15-20 range. Otherwise, quick service with a soda will be around $15-16, so you’re looking at snacks > $4 in value. If starbucks drinks or the likes will be snacks then you are probably fine, otherwise it’s going to be close and may be a peace of mind call.

You can also use two credits to pay for one CRT meal, and pay out of pocket for the second adult, which is probably your best deal financially. That being said, if it’s an excuse to add another fun meal, don’t let me stop you!
 
It is possible, but not guaranteed to get $24 value from a quick service and two snacks without alcohol. Be our guest will help with that, as it will be in the $15-20 range. Otherwise, quick service with a soda will be around $15-16, so you’re looking at snacks > $4 in value. If starbucks drinks or the likes will be snacks then you are probably fine, otherwise it’s going to be close and may be a peace of mind call.

If they order anything other than a meal at BoG breakfast, they won't come close to $15-16, as the cupcakes wouldn't even be considered a QS meal. Adult meals are $24 and there's no reason to order a kid's meal when using credits.

As to other QS meals, just about all places have one or two entrees in the $13-16 range. Add in a large drink or a specialty non-alcoholic plus tax, and they are easily in the $17-21 range.
 
If they order anything other than a meal at BoG breakfast, they won't come close to $15-16, as the cupcakes wouldn't even be considered a QS meal. Adult meals are $24 and there's no reason to order a kid's meal when using credits.

As to other QS meals, just about all places have one or two entrees in the $13-16 range. Add in a large drink or a specialty non-alcoholic plus tax, and they are easily in the $17-21 range.

Yes, many places have one or two options in the upper price ranges, which is why I said it is possible, but it isn’t guaranteed. If their quick services are like Caseys and Pizzafari, the top meal is $12-13 without drink (no more expensive offerings), which is why i said an average quick service would be around $16 (obviously a maxing out the plan can be $20+). It wasn’t clear if they are soda drinkers at all - and I know some people whose snacks are < $2 refills of popcorn, so I was just spelling it out as OP asked for thoughts on their logic. I totally support Disney Math however of it allows the OP to have peace or add in another table service.
 
What will your snacks consist of? My family loves a snack, and they are not inexpensive. They use them on Venti Starbucks drinks, etc, and will often look to find the ones that will cover them for breakfast or to hold them over for a late dinner.

We also have a few who do not drink, but wil order specialty drinks at dinner, or want one at lunch. IMO, it is the snacks that can be a tipping point on the plans, so think about them. If you share a popcorn, or something like that the snacks will not be the area tha makes a plan worth while. I look at our TS meals and snacks to see if we are on track to buy a plan. UNless we are sharing a CS meal we seldom max that one.
 
our snacks are usually large and spendy. usually a baked treat, funnel cake, ice cream, or something in the $5.00 and above range. I am not a soda drinker except at meals. I was wondering about the specialty drink with meals instead of alcohol. do they have smoothies? I usually get water from the places we get snacks, the free stuff. with 3 of us I think 4 snacks per day will be fine. our 2 year old will eat a full snack, since its fun and sugary, over food at the parks. Meals are usually at sunshine seasons, pecos bill, or flame tree. we arent the pizza or burger family at the parks, too much grease for the heat.
 
I was wondering about the specialty drink with meals instead of alcohol. do they have smoothies?

Some TS restaurants have virgin versions of their cocktails, some have smoothie type drinks, some have specialty coffee. All of these should be available with a TS credit, if you so choose. Not all TS restaurants have something like this, but most do.
 
Definitely worth using the dining plan for the restaurants you selected- however, since you're a credit over with those choice, I'd recommend dropping the Tony's parade package. The place gets consistently mediocre/bad ratings (I had my own bad meal there) and the parade package includes apps plus meal and dessert which is pretty heavy for a lunch, and the parade spots they have sectioned off supposedly aren't shaded so that could be uncomfortable. Most people dont seem to have a problem going over and finding a spot for the parade unless you're going during a very heavy crowd time.
 
Definitely worth using the dining plan for the restaurants you selected- however, since you're a credit over with those choice, I'd recommend dropping the Tony's parade package. The place gets consistently mediocre/bad ratings (I had my own bad meal there) and the parade package includes apps plus meal and dessert which is pretty heavy for a lunch, and the parade spots they have sectioned off supposedly aren't shaded so that could be uncomfortable. Most people dont seem to have a problem going over and finding a spot for the parade unless you're going during a very heavy crowd time.

we are going in Sept, I am thinking we can prob find a spot. Is frontierland an easy place to find one. Shade is a good thing for our little one. I think I may cancel. After reading reviews it seems it may not be a favorite.
 
@toontoy Yes, I've heard that Frontierland is a good, less crowded area to find spots, although I didn't personally look for one over there when I was there. I'd recommend replacing Tony's with a quick service restaurant unless you'd prefer another sit-down and pay out of pocket for one.
 

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