Disney Dining Plan 2007

The Disney Dining Plan is almost like having an all inclusive package at Disney. Best of all it includes all the taxes and gratuities. A family of four (2 adults, 2 children) will spend approximately ,200 out of pocket on food and drink alone while on vacation at the Walt Disney World Resort. Yet the dining plan option in 2007 will only cost them .72. That is a savings of 42%.

With an opportunity like that you cant loose, and you certainly shouldn’t book without the dining option.

Quick Tips:

For those of you who have read my other journals you will know that the best suggestion I can make is to plan, plan, plan. Know about the vacation you are going to be taking (obviously if you are reading this you already knew that) and IgoUgo is a great place to read Walt Disney World journals.

Of course if you are more into tangible products, then may I suggest:

Simply Disney: Vacation Planning Made Easy 2007
Lulu Publishing .99
A great book written by a pretty good guy that gives you all the information you need to make planning your Disney vacation easy.

PassPorter Walt Disney World 2007
PassPorter Travel Press .95
A Spiral-bound paperback travel guide and planning system.

Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World 2007
Disney Edition .95
The Official WDW Guide

Once you have done your vacation planning make certain that you plan your meals as well, or you may be left out in the cold. With the popularity of the dining plan, advanced dining reservations are more of a necessity than a recommendation and some of the more popular restaurants have had to turn away walk up guests. The best place to research the different restaurants and their menus is All Ears Net® on the web at: www.allearsnet.com. Deb and her crew do a terrific job at providing (for free) the most current menus and pricing for all the restaurants in the Theme Parks and the Disney Resorts.

My last tip is this, if you booked your vacation through a Travel Consultant then why not ask them for some recommendations and assistance in making Advance Dining Reservations, after all that is their job.

Best Way To Get Around:

When staying on Walt Disney World property the most convenient and economic way to get around is Disney transportation. Depending upon which of the twenty-one different resort locations you are staying at, Disney transportation is offered in three modes; motor coach, water taxi, or monorail.

However, finding transportation between the resorts (especially when you have Advanced Dining Reservations) will prove to be slightly more difficult than from the resorts than it is from the theme parks. When resort guests want to travel from one resort to another, they must first take Disney transportation to one of the theme parks and then either walk or find resort transportation to their final destination. Although some may find this process to be a bit tedious, you will find that the length of time between arrivals is usually twenty minutes or less.

Of course my preferred method and for those guests who just don’t have the time or patience for Disney transportation, Alamo Rental Car is available at the Car Care Center and the Dolphin Hotel. This year I found it to be much easier renting a car for quicker transportation between reservations. The resorts are a lot easier to get to than you would think, and parking was always free when you show your room key. For the best rates available contact a Travel Consultant.

Walt Disney World is a confusing vacation to plan and no matter how many times you have visited the resort, it is still a challenge. Disney executives realized this awhile back and they created the Magic Your Way packages to make a visit to the Walt Disney World Resort affordable for everyone. What’s that you say, booking your vacation and getting to the resort is only half the cost? You say that feeding a family of four can cost just as much as the vacation itself?

Well you’re right, but guess what? Disney thought of that too and designed an add-on option called the Magic Your Way Package PLUS Dining option (and I am here to tell you just how it works).

The purpose of the Disney Dining Plan 2007 journal is to give readers an understanding of how adding the Disney Dining Plan to their Magic Your Way package will save them money. In this section I will try and give you an idea of how the plan works in the benefit of the park guest, and then in separate entries I will give you examples of my experience and how the plan worked for me.

With that being said, let's get back to business. If you don’t find the answers to your questions about the dining plan within the IgoUgo.com community, then I suggest a couple paperback books that may help:

Simply Disney: Vacation Planning Made Easy 2007
Lulu Publishing $12.99
A great book written by a pretty good guy that gives you all the information you need to make planning your Disney vacation easy.

PassPorter Walt Disney World 2007
PassPorter Travel Press $22.95
A spiral-bound paperback travel guide and planning system.

Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World 2007
Disney Edition $16.95
The Official WDW Guide

The thought behind the dining plan is relatively simple; guests staying on Disney property can add the Plus Dining option to their Magic Your Way experience. The package basically then makes their Disney vacation all-inclusive, with access to more than 100 Walt Disney World restaurants. For each night of your stay the package includes:

(1) One table-service meal –At a full service location, where you are seated and service is provided by a wait staff cast member. An appetizer, entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverages are included.

(1) One counter-service meal –At a cafeteria-style restaurant, where you order your meal from the counter and take it to the table yourself. An entree, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage are included.

(1) One snack, such as a frozen ice cream bar, box of popcorn, 20 oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Dasani water, or a medium fountain soft drink.

As an added benefit, you may exchange two table-service meals for either one Signature Dining Experience at one of the finer restaurants, such as California Grill, or for one Disney Dinner Show, such as Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue.

So what’s all this cost? Believe it or not, adults (ages 10 and up) are only $38.99 a night and children (ages 3-9) are just $10.99. For those of us who have been to Disney at least one time, we know that there is no way you can eat all that food inside the parks for that amount of money. The plan literally pays for itself in just one Table Service Meal and you can add the dining plan option at any time up to three days before your Disney vacation begins. Simply put, a family of four (two adults and two children) can spend seven nights in a Disney-owned and -operated resort and add the dining plan option for only $699.72. That’s an average savings of 43%.

When you’re ready, contact aTravel Consultant and tell them that you want to add the dining plan option to your Magic Your Way package.

Please review our other Walt Disney World journals:
Walt Disney World Vacation - 2006
Walt Disney World's Character Dining Experiences
Walt Disney World Resorts
Dining Guide - Inside Disney World

The Magic Your Way PLUS Dining option. What an incredible way to save a ton of money during your Disney vacation. Whether you are staying in a value, moderate, or a deluxe resort, the Disney Dining Plan is a MUST!

When you add the dining option to your Magic Your Way package each person in your party will receive a snack option, a quick service option, and a table service option.

What is a table service option you ask? Simply put you will dine at a full service restaurant. You will have a wait-staff available throughout your meal, just as you would if you were dining at any other full service restaurant around the world. Each individual seating of your Table Service options will include (1) one service of:

Juice

(during breakfast)

Appetizer (during lunch & dinner)

Entrée

Dessert (during lunch & dinner)

Non-alcoholic beverage

OR

(1) One full buffet

Sounds pretty easy, right? It is. The key to the plan is to know how to utilize the options to your advantage and make the dining plan pay for itself in just one meal. However there are a couple twists to how you can use your table service options:

Disney Signature Dining –
Currently there are (8) eight different Signature Dining Restaurants and a meal at any of these will absorb (2) two of your table service options. The good thing is that when you look at the average cost for a complete meal at any of the Signature Dining locations you can expect to spend an average of $45 out of pocket per person without wine or alcohol. Then add the local taxes and a 18% gratuity and you have yourself a hefty bill. The key here is to save a table service option and one night "double up" to experience the very best of what Disney Chefs have to offer.

Private In Room Dining –
A select few of the Disney Deluxe Resorts will offer Private In Room Dining; a nice way to say room service. Again this option will absorb (2) two of your table service options. In my opinion, why sacrifice the whole Signature experience just to eat in your room. It isn’t worth it.

Character Dining Experience –
These experiences are the best way to curb your hunger cravings while meeting some of your favorite characters. The Character Dining Experiences are all you can eat buffet or family style meals and most of them cost an average of $27.99 for dinner. There is one exception to the (1) option point: Cinderella’s Royal Table, which will use (2) two options. In my opinion, this experience will be better utilized by paying out of pocket and save your options for a Signature experience.

Dinner Shows –
There is no better time to see a great show than to be entertained while eating. Disney World currently offers three different Dinner Shows and each of them will utilize (2) two of your table service options. The Dining Plan will only allow you to obtain category two seating (out of pocket cost $54.99) or category three seating (out of pocket cost $50.99). So again which way will be more cost effective? Two table service options essentially cost $77.98. If you ask me, using your table service options for these shows is like flushing $22.99 down the toilet.

To wrap this all up, there are over one hundred different participating restaurants on the Disney Dining Plan, so attempting to list all of the table service locations would take forever. However the official 2007 Disney Dining Brochure will give you a complete list of all the different locations. I recommend using this list of restaurants and pairing that information with the menus from All Ears Net® and selecting the restaurants and menus which you will be able to ensure you get the most bang for your buck.

OK, now that you have read about what a Table Service Option is we need to cover the QUICK SERVICE option.

What set a quick service option aside from the table service is the fact you will be dining in a cafeteria style restaurant. This is a restaurant where you will give your order to the cashier while ordering from the menu board, just like at Wendy’s, Burger King or McDonald's. Each individual seating of your Quick Service options will include (1) one service of :

Entrée

Dessert

(during lunch & dinner)

Non-alcoholic beverage

OR

(1) Combo meal plus one (1) dessert

Unlike the table service options, the quick service options are pretty straight forward and easy to use. Options can be used at any of the food courts eateries located inside the resorts and throughout the theme parks. They are, in my opinion best utilized for lunches or if you had a Character Dining Experience buffet of family style lunch, use one for a light dinner.

The best place that I found to utilize your counter service options is at the Pepper Market, located in Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. With the large selection and diversity of foods available at this quick service location you certainly feel as though you are eating a full service meal. The Pepper Market Menu offers gastronomical selections from the American Grill, Italian, Mexican and Oriental kitchens. The easiest way to get the most for your $38.99 and really take advantage of the savings of the dining plan is to order the rib-eye steak from the grille. This steak is prepared to order and comes with a potato and vegetables. If you were paying out of pocket the entrée would cost $18.99, but since you made the right choice and added the Disney Dining Plan, it’s included in your price.

To conclude my experiences with Disney’s Quick Service Meal options, I can tell you that there are over one hundred different participating restaurants on the Disney Dining Plan, so attempting to list all of the locations would take forever and wouldn’t be much use on line. However the official 2007 Disney Dining Brochure will give you a complete list of all the different locations. I recommend using this list of restaurants and pairing that information with the menus from All Ears Net® and selecting the restaurants and menus so you can ensure that you get the most bang for your buck while dining at Disney.

OK, now that you have read about what a Table Service Option is and the differences from the Quick Service option, we can conclude the three dining components of the Magic Your Way PLUS Dining option by reviewing the Snack options.

Unlike the table service and the quick service options, the snack options are exactly that, snacks. These options are extremely easy to use and are found inside many of the Disney resorts and throughout the theme parks. They are, in my opinion best saved and utilized while touring the International Food and Wine Festival, as these options can be used to taste the many different culinary treats that are found throughout the Market Place booths in the World Showcase in EPCOT.

However if you are not visiting Disney World in the fall season the most common places to utilize your snack options are inside the theme parks. Most of the vendor carts and merchandise locations selling frozen ice cream products or drinks will honor the Snack options.

What constitutes a snack option you ask? There are several different selections that are available to you. Some of these items are:

Frozen Ice-Cream Novelty (Mickey Ice Cream on a stick)

A single piece of whole fruit

A single serving box of popcorn

20oz. Bottle of Coca Cola® products

A single service bag of snacks (chips, pretzels, etc.)

A medium fountain drink

12oz. Cup of coffee

A single serving pre-packaged milk or juice

One of my personal favorites was found in the Pepper Market at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort; the rice crispy big block treat. This was not your average rice crispy treat; the thing was bigger than a building brick. Although it was so delicious I brought two of them home, what made this snack even better was the price, FREE! It was a single snack option on the Disney Dining Plan.

To wrap things up, the Snack options as well as the rest of the Disney Dining Plan is a great way to keep your hard earned money where it belongs; in your pocket instead of Mickey’s. For a list of all the different vendor cart locations that accommodate the Snack options, review the official 2007 Disney Dining Brochure.

Please review our other Walt Disney World journals:
Walt Disney World Vacation - 2006
Walt Disney World Resorts
How To Save Money at Disney World
An Orlando Vacation At Orange Lake.

Please review our other Disney World Dining journals:
Dining Guide – Inside Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World’s Character Dining Experiences