CarolH
Registered: November 2010
Location: Ogden, UT
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Tue June 14, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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meals are pre-paid
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Cons:
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touring of the parks dictated by dinner reservations
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When we first used the Dining Plan, it was a great deal. We were able to get an appetizer, entree and dessert AND the gratuity was included. The table service meals were all really good. The next time we used it (2008) the appetizer and gratuity had been eliminated and I think all in all the price was about the same if we had paid for all the meals without the Plan. The food was good and it's convenient that your meals are already paid for.
However, when we went in 2010, the Plan had become so popular that we had to plan our itinerary basically around when and where we could get reservations, which is a real pain, even though I made reservations 6 months in advance. Plus the food was not good anymore (with a few exceptions). So this year I am not purchasing the Dining plan because I don't want to have to plan our touring days around where our reservations are, plus I hate paying Disneys food prices for a sit down meal that is on par with Denney's in alot of cases, unless you want to spend 2 credits for a really good meal.
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Whimsiewear
Registered: June 2011
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Wed June 8, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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FREE! easy to use
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Cons:
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tired of desserts by end of stay,
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We've never purchased the dining plan before and got this free with our stay May 27-June 2. We estimated we saved $2800 for our party of 6 ranging in age from 13-78 during our 7 night stay. Our family loves to eat and we made ADRs 180 days in advance. It was easy to use, easy to track (review your receit each time to assure accuracy) and when we had questions, servers were very willing to explain our options (substitutions, sugar free dessert options for the diabetic in our party, etc.)
WE have alwyas enjoyed fine dining as part of our stay at Diseny--Formerly we've dined at Narcoosees, Calif Grille, Flying Fish, Grand FLoridina breakfast buffet,etc. but chose to use only 1 credit on each meal (since Parents were accompanying us and knew Dear Dad wouldn't want to pay out of pockey any more than necessary)
We had ADRS at the following
Coral Reefe, Rain Forest Cafe-DTD (out of pocket), Mama Melrose Fantasmic package, Ohana's, Tutto Italia, Cafe Cape May and Captains Grille and Chef Mickeys for breakfast before we headed out. We enjoyed them all to varying degrees. We were never hungry, used our snack credits for the drive home and the kids used them to buy gifts for friends at home(candy, suckers, rice krispy treats).
We Garden grocered our water and afternnon "happy hour" cheese and crackers, chips, etc. in the villa so used the snacks for packaged snacks, pastries from France, lemonade ices , popcorn and a couple of speciality chocolates at Goofys Candy Kitchen (recommend the toffee and choc covered strawberries) in DTD.
The plan is well worth it! We marveled daily at what we had saved. Obviously we bought stuff we never would have (12 desserts daily lunch/dinner).
Request a cookie for your counter service dessert, not on the menu but was always available.
IF you enjoy a good meal as part of your vacation the plan is worthwhile but you have to be willing to makde ADRs to get the restaurants you want at the times you want. If you're not a planner (I AM, big time!) I can see how this might not be a good economic value for you (especially if you have to purchase the plan). The jury is still our on whether we'd pay for this plan next timewe visit WDW. I can see how I'd want the kids to order an expensive entree instead of flatbread if I had paid for the plan.
BOttom Line-the dining plan whnn FREE is well worth it and I'll take advantage of it whenever it is offered! Thanks Disney!
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laura33185
Registered: June 2006
Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Posts: 39
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Review Date: Sun June 5, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Lots of food for a great price!
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Cons:
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Some table-service restaurants are time-consuming
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My husband and I used the dining plan from May 27 through June 3. I've used the both the regular dining plan and quick service dining plan before and I find that the regular dining plan is much better! We got ours for free on this trip, but I would gladly pay the money on future trips. I figured out that if we had paid for the dining plan, it would have cost us $741.11 (including tips). The amount of money that we actually "spent" was $803.59. So it's not quite a $100 difference, but I would still use the dining plan simply because you don't have to worry about the prices of your meals. Not once did I worry about money on this trip which was a great feeling. And we were full the whole time!
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mamandragon
Registered: May 2011
Location: Peterborough Ontario Canada
Posts: 15
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Review Date: Wed May 25, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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character meals
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Cons:
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Advanced Reservations too far in advance
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The concept is great but next time I think we'll use the counter service plan. Too restricting on your day when you want to enjoy the parks. Especially when you're in one park and have to travel over to one of the others or to a resort for your reservation
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CSchex
Registered: February 2011
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 8
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Review Date: Thu May 12, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Prepaid, great restaurants, saves money
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Cons:
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Advance planning required!
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My family and I have traveled to WDW 5 times in the last 5 years. We have used the Disney Dining plan for all of these trips. The key word here is "plan"! To optimize your dining plan you must be willing to .... plan! My family and I have enjoyed being able to eat at some great table service restaurants that we had never tried before the plan.
My absolute favorite thing about the dining plan is the ability to order any entree and dessert on the menu at most restaurants and it is included. No more discussions at the dinner table with my husband and sons about can we get this, can we order that? Everyone can order what they like without regard to the price!
We have never had trouble using the plan and never felt treated any differently than when we were paying cash. Some people do not realize you can trade your meals for 3 or 4 snacks and you can also trade your dessert at counter service meals for an extra drink. We never leave anything unused!
There are a lot of comments about having to plan meals in advance, feeling "scheduled", etc. This is a must on the dining plan! You must plan in advance to get the reservations you will want! If you take the time to view the menus on Allears, you can get a good idea of what restaurants your family will enjoy. We personally love Le Cellier, 'Ohana and The Crystal Palace. If you don't want to commit to being in a certain park that day, book a reservation at a Disney hotel restaurant. There are also lots of counter service restaurants that serve more than burgers and fries, but again, you must plan to visit them! Stopping whenever and wherever will result in limited choices, as you must eat whatever is on the menu at the closest restaurant. We always check out the counter service menus also, so we will know our options. We love Sunshine Seasons in Epcot, Columbia Harbor House and Cosmic Ray's in the Magic Kingdom. We feel the best food court (in the Value resorts, anyway) is at the Pop Century. They have a great variety! Pizza, Chinese, Fried Chicken, Salads, Wraps, etc.
Bottom line, I will purchase dining plan every time!
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pal
Registered: May 2011
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Tue May 10, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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Already Paid For
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Cons:
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Food quality, limited selection
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The only positive I found with the DDP is the fact that it's already paid for so you don't have to worry about carrying cash or looking at all the charges on your room/credit card bill down the road.
I found the food quality at the quick service options to be below average, and the selection somewhat limited. We try to avoid fast food at home to begin with, so we share some of the blame in not doing more homework on what would be available to us.
We also barely used any of our snacks. Again, our fault. I left with the feeling that I didn't get my money's worth
The table service meals we had were excellent, so I will definitely consider the Deluxe Dining plan for our next trip. I was a bit put off by the servers circling the gratuity recommendations when they brought the check. Just a pet peeve of mine. I'm sure they do it because some think gratuity is included, so I didn't let it bother me too much.
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jkkd
Registered: December 2009
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 37
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Review Date: Wed April 27, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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makes things simple
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Cons:
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It is nice to have your food already paid for before your trip. You can try some nice restaurants. PLENTY of food.
Be sure to maximize your snacks. . .that is, there are tons of places that you can use your snack credit for something much more substantial than a coke. For example, DOLE WHIP! GET IT!
Also the caramel shop in Germany had beautiful snacks that were on the dining plan. Shakes, frozen lemonade, fancy bakery items, and many, many other substantial items are on the dining plan for snacks. Check it out before you waste your snacks on minimal items.
Get the dining plan. . . you won't regret it.
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plutospals
Registered: August 2009
Location: uk
Posts: 17
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Review Date: Tue April 26, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Food costs part of vacation package
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Cons:
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We received the quick service plan with our hotel reservation and decided to upgrade to the regular dining plan. Definitely the right decision. We booked all our ADRs 180 days in advance and were able to get everything we wanted. We like to plan so this worked for us! Ate at some really nice restaurants.
There is plenty of food and choice on this plan. As there were two of us, we found it was best to split a counter service for breakfast and lunch and then have a sit down dinner. We even found plenty of choice for counter service meals, being able to have milkshakes instead of dessert at the hotel food court was very nice.
This is the first time we have used the dining plan and would definitely recommend it.
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Taran
Registered: April 2011
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Sun April 24, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Money-saver, Dining options, freedom to use credits as you like
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Cons:
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Confusing receipts on table-service meals; tied down at times
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We stayed at Disney for a week in the beginning of March and had the free dining plan. I didn't sit down and do the math, but I believe it must have saved us money for our group of 7, plus we were able to dine at restaurants we may not have chosen otherwise. The freedom of using which credits whenever you wanted was a big plus. We knew we were going outside the park a couple of days so we used a couple of 2-credit meals (like Cinderella's Royal Table). The snack credits are nice when you're just walking in the park and want a soda or a Mickey ice cream. With a little bit of planning, this is a great option to have with your package. We didn't have the park hopper option so it was a bit of a headache figuring out which park to go to on what day (figuring in extra magic hours) and then deciding on which restaurant to pick. But when you finally get all your reservations made, you can just sit back and relax and know that one item is taken care of. It does tie you down as to where you're supposed to be every day and at what time.
The worst part of the plan is trying to figure out the receipts for the table service meals. Since we had a group of 7, our tips were automatically at 18%. But then everything else just did not make sense. Since we had two rooms, our bills were separated out. There was usually two or three different receipts to sign . There was room for an optional tip (even when we didn't spend anything extra on the meal) which I thought was unnecessary. And when I did order wine and beer (which isn't included in the dining plan), once I just signed the regular receipt and it was charged to my room. Another time I thought it was charged to my room but our waiter had to chase me down outside the restaurant as it was charged on a separate receipt. It took me a few days to realize one of the receipts I was given was just the tip portion that was charged to the room. It would just be easier if they came up with a uniform way to give you a receipt for your meals.
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HiMagicFan
Registered: December 2006
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 30
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Review Date: Mon April 11, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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variety of restaurants
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Cons:
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We have gotten this twice without any promotion and I think this is the way to go. We were at DisneyWorld for three days and paying is painful when you see the bill. Having it prepaid on the Plan gives you the freedom to try restaurants and food you wouldn't normally.
I love the plan and will use it if offered at any time we go to DisneyWorld.
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gregs
Registered: April 2008
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Wed March 30, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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variety of restaurant selections
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Cons:
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cost if no free promo
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My family and I have used the Plus Dining Plan five times since 2007. The first two times we bought the plan and the last three times we got the plan for free due to a special promotion. Having the Plus Dining Plan for free is OBVIOUSLY the way to go. However, if you are going to WDW during a time that the free dining offer isn't available you might be able to save money paying for your meals out of pocket. It just depends on how much you like to eat, what types of restaurants you want to eat at and what types of foods you normally order when you eat.
If you have children who are picky eaters or if you are the type that doesn't normally order desserts or soft drinks, then paying for the Plus Dining Plan probably won't save you much money. Also, if you are paying for the Plus Dining Plan your biggest savings will come from dining at the most expensive restaurants that accept the dining plan. If you spend all your table service credits on morning breakfast meals or at the lesser expensive restaurants, then you probably won't save as much money as you would think.
You also should factor in the costs of the counter service restaurants as well if you are paying for the dining plan. Not all counter service restaurants are equal. Some of the resort food courts (such as Coronado Springs' Pepper Market) have very good food (ribeye steaks!) and are much more valuable than other counter service restaurants (like Casey's Corner). Also, some of the counter service restaurants in the parks (like Cosmic Ray's or Tangerine Cafe) offer items much more expensive than other counter service restaurants.
The last thing to consider is the costs of various snacks. Some places offer snacks that are more expensive than others. I consider using a snack credit on a bottle of soda pop a big waste when you could have used that credit on a huge pastry at Boulangerie Patisserie in the France Pavilion at EPCOT. Also, getting a huge smoothie from the smoothie station next to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is an awesome snack to have in hand while watching Fantasmic!
My suggestion would be to do a lot of research on AllEars' dining menu pages to see which table service and counter service restaurants are more valuable before you decide to purchase any of the dining plans. You might be surprised at how much money you will or won't save based on where you want to eat.
Having said all of this, my family really likes the Plus Dining Plan. We think good eating adds to the WDW experience. Having one really nice meal each day and one casual walk-up/counter meal is just about right. Also getting one sweet treat/snack can make everything great when you are watching a parade go by or watching the fireworks. Having the dining plan allows us to use restaurants that we might not normally use if we are paying regularly. Friends of ours say that your focus at WDW should be on the rides and shows only! Well, we think taking a couple hours out of the day to relax and have a nice meal keeps you refreshed, especially on the nights that Magic Kingdom stays open until 3AM.
Again; do your research of the menus, calculate how much you would spend out of pocket for each meal, add up all your findings and then compare your total to how much the Plus Dining Plan would cost you. If your actual cost is less than the cost of the dining plan, then you might want to reconsider. If your actual cost is more than the cost of the dining plan, then you might have a good value. If you have the free dining offer, then you don't have to worry about calculating anything!
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DisneyfamX5
Registered: March 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 22
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Review Date: Tue March 22, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Good value, save money, easy to plan/make ADR's
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Cons:
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We just used the DDP (1 quick, 1 snack, 1 table per person/per day) for the second time 3/12-3/19/11. It is just great. Made our table ADR's at 180 days and at every meal we were either sat early before our reservation or right on time. Lots of choices to pick from for quick svc meals. It could use some more choices on snacks, but still good. It's a good value for the money and keeps you from having to deal with paying/keeping up with it, etc. It's already paid for and you can NOT worry! Good deal!
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benchdoc
Registered: March 2011
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Tue March 15, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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good value for the amount of food
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Cons:
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waiting past reservation times, hard to change reservations
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This is the third time we have used the Disney Dining Plan (1 snack, 1 quick service, 1 table service). It does require some planning, but in the past we've found it to be totally worth it. This time at 3 of our 5 table service meals we had to wait at least 20 minutes past our reservation time, once a maximum of 40 minutes (Chefs de France in Epcot). Even though it's worth it as far as the price, we wasted so much time with a 7 year old wondering why we were just sitting and waiting when there were things we could be doing.
Also, once you make your reservations, usually 90 days or more in advance, don't even think about changing them. There was no way to change our reservations to make them later or on different days as our vacation got closer and it looked like some of our travel plans might need to change. We weren't even going during a peak season.
Next time, we'll be using the quick service plan. It will still be more than enough food, cheaper, and easier to change plans on the fly. If you don't mind sitting around and waiting, the dining plan is a good way to experience some nice restaurants, but we'll skip it next time.
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GaDisneyDad
Registered: September 2007
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Tue March 15, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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We were at WDW the week of President's Day. This was our fifth trip to WDW, but our first to try the DDP. With kids aged 9, 8 and 5, this really worked well for us. The cost of a child under this plan made it a value. I'm not sure when my eldest will qualify as an adult. If it's the same as the park ticketing (i.e. 10), then we probably won't do this again until he is apt to actually eat off of the adult menu.
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pls
Registered: November 2007
Posts: 70
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Review Date: Mon March 14, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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takes the stress out of planning and dining
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Cons:
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you must plan ahead to get the most out of it
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My friend and I used the dining plan from February 27 - March 4, 2011. It is a great way to take the stress out of dining. You know you are going to get a great value with this plan. Make sure you get reservations as soon as you can so that you are not disappointed. You can't wait until you arrive at WDW. We used the table service meal at dinner and the quick service meal for lunch. Often, my friend would order a dessert that she could take back to the room and eat for breakfast the next morning.
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