To Dine or not To Dine

So the latest and greatest offer out for Walt Disney World has several opportunities to take advantage of their free dining offer when you book a package at a Disney Resort now through October 29, 2011.  The valid dates for this offer are between October and May.  So what if your stay dates are beyond those valid dates?  Well the good news is that as long as you arrive on one of the valid dates, even if you stay beyond the date timeframe the offer will carry through for your entire stay.

The question many people ask is "is this a good deal?" and the answers will vary from family to family or person to person.  First you have to understand that this is not an open-ended all-you-can-eat offer.  With the Disney Dining Plans you are given a bank of dining credits that can be used however you decide during the course of your stay.  The good news is that there is plenty of flexibility in doing it this way.  For example, if two adults are dining at a Disney restaurant, but one adult just wants to order an appetizer and a salad while the other wants a full meal the adult with the meal can use their dining credits to cover that portion and the other adult can pay out of pocked for the salad and appetizer, thus saving their table service meal credit to use at another time.

Many people find that the dining plan is way too much food and they feel like they are obligated to eat more on this plan, since each table service credits includes a drink, a main course and a dessert.  The counter service credits also include a dessert option, where most people ordering at a counter service would not even bother to order dessert.  A great tip regarding this is that if you have the option, package the dessert and save it for another time.  If it's a brownie or cupcake in the park at a counter service, have it wrapped up and eat it later for a snack.  Table service restaurant diners can just get their dessert to go and take it back to their room and store it in their refrigerator for a late-night snack or, even better, BREAKFAST the next day!  Who wouldn't want to eat cake for breakfast, right?

In all of our Disney trips, we have taken advantage of the dining plan only two times.  Back then, it was a little bit different and it included an appetizer as well.  Both of these trips were shorter trips, so it was more a little more affordable for us at the time.  While we enjoyed it I can't say that we have really missed having it for our other trips.  We do tend to do most of our eating on Disney property but we tend to get an annual pass and purchase the Tables in Wonderland card instead.  This gives us a 20% discounts on all of our table service restaurants, and includes any alcoholic drink purchases as well.  We find that we easily recoup the value of the card on a few table service meals and we don't feel restricted on what we eat using it.

Currently I am contemplating a few upcoming Walt Disney World trips, as usual.  While the free dining options is once again available for my dates, I've decided instead to hold off and wait for a discount on my room rate instead.  With a decent room rate discount and my Tables in Wonderland card, I think I'll do even better on my trip than to book a package with the dining plan.

May 2009 Trip - UPDATED 9/1/10 and COMPLETE NOW!

Time for our long overdue MAY 2009 DISNEY TRIP REPORT just in case you are still interested. During our trip we introduced the family to two new resorts...well new to them at least. We stayed one night at the Beach Club Resort (2 connecting rooms) and then the next day we checked into the ALL NEW Kidani Village Villas in a 2BR unit for the week. The weather in Florida was HOT HOT HOT...especially for May! To our shock, we did not experience ONE SINGLE FLORIDA RAINSTORM during our nine days there. UNBELIEVABLE!

Will we stick to the schedule I've laid out for us? Will my MIL use the wheelchair we have rented for her or will we end up convincing her to rent a power operated scooter instead? Stay tuned!

PRE-TRIP REPORT - AKA All about US!

Ok, so below you will see the PLAN for each day followed by WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!

Day 1 - Arrive at airport, pick up rental minivan, drive to Beach Club Resort for check-in. Our DVC room has never EVER been ready before 4pm but we have 2 different regular rooms this time so maybe we'll get lucky. Since we arrive around lunchtime, I'm thinking of hitting Beaches and Cream for lunch...how I'd LOVE to try a kitchen sink! Then we'll hang out at the pool for the rest of the day, have dinner that evening at Spoodles around 7pm, then if we are up for it maybe we can hit EPCOT in the evening, even if only to catch Illuminations.

What actually happened:
DAY ONE: Today's the DAY! Here we GO! (AKA We love AirTran!!)
DAY ONE Cont'd: ARRIVAL AT BEACH CLUB RESORT

Day 2: The Original Plan
Early morning checkout of our room, see if our rental stroller is ready for pickup. It's early entry for Hollywood Studios so we'll hop the boat over there and hit Toy Story Mania at rope drop. Lunch that day is at the Brown Derby. We'll catch the 3pm Block Party Bash because the kids want to see it even though DH does not enjoy parades. We'll also try to get in line for photos with the Cars characters as my youngest LOVES them (anyone know if you still have to line up a good 30 minutes for that?) We'll leave around 4pm, boat back to Beach Club, drive over to Animal Kingdom to check into Kidani Villas. Boma for dinner that night.

What Actually Happened:
Day 2: Hollywood Studios 1st Time Riders
Day 2: What a VIEW! Kidani does NOT DISAPPOINT!

Day 3 - The Original Plan
Leave hotel bright and early for breakfast at Chef Mickey's and spend the morning at the Magic Kingdom, hopefully getting there close to opening and heading to Tom Sawyer's Island first thing. Spend most of the morning there, back to the hotel for a light lunch and rest if we need it. If we can withstand, we can stay all day and go right from there to the CA Grill for dinner if we don't feel a need to clean up first. After dinner, catch Wishes from the CA Grill. If we are up for it, MK is open until 1am so we could head there for a little bit.

What Actually Happened:
Day 3: The Chef Mickey's Tradition
Day 3 Cont'd: Hello Dole Whip - Ice Cream is NOT lunch?!
Day 3 Cont'd: That is one TASTY bird...tastes just like...BEEF?


Day 4 - The Original Plan
If we aren't out too late the previous night, we can plan to hit Animal Kingdom by 8am for EMH and do the Safari first thing. Ride all we want to do here, catch Flights of Wonder and maybe Nemo; kids to the playground there if they are up for it (we never miss it). Back to the room in the early afternoon for some pool time and cleanup before dinner that evening at the Kona Cafe. Catch monorail over to MK after dinner for 9pm viewing of Spectromagic.

What Actually Happened:
Day 4 - Where they learn a HARD lesson about listening to MOM!
Day 4 Cont'd - ADRs...just a guideline right? HA!HA!

Day 5 - The Original Plan
Drive to the TTC, park and monorail over to the Poly to hit Capt Cooks and get some Tonga Toast for breakfast! I just didn't want to schedule another Kona Cafe meal for the sake of saving time. Monorail over to EPCOT afterwards and spend some time there, try the Kim Possible Mission with the kids. Leave EPCOT and back to the hotel for rest and cleanup before our dinner at 1900 Park Fare that night. I'm still worried about this one. Never done it for dinner, but reading increasingly bad reviews about it. Maybe some mini-golf this evening?

What Actually Happened:
Day 5: When Lady Tremain speaks, CHILDREN LISTEN


Day 6 - The Original Plan
Weather permitting, this will be a water park day for all. We'll spend most of the day at the water park, return to the hotel for rest, and then dinner that night at Captain's Grill. We'll drive over to the Y&BC or Boardwalk. After dinner, either walk around Boardwalk or head to EPCOT. Mini-golf if we haven't squeezed it in yet.

What Actually Happened:
Day 6: Surfin' and Adventures in All-U-Can-Eat Lobster


Day 7 - The Original Plan
Alternate water park day if the previous day was not a good one. Otherwise, return to Hollywood Studios or maybe Magic Kingdom for the morning. If choice is MK, we'll do another early entry day there and do Tom Sawyer's Island if we didn't do it before. Sometime late afternoon we'll head over to EPCOT and remain there until dinner at Tutto Italia.

What Actually Happened:
Day 7: So THAT'S why they call it SPLASH! Mountain!
Day 7 Cont'd: Yes we are the PERFECT parental examples OBVIOUSLY!


Day 8 - The Original Plan
Our last full day. Our stroller will be returned this morning. We have our choice of parks or shopping or whatever we want to do with this day. This is the day I have Garden Grill for dinner. We'll see if that sticks.

What Actually Happened:

Friday May 8, 2009: This was our designated “3P” day – park, pool and pizza! After some discussion, the best plan of action was to head to the Magic Kingdom since I had already promised Noah a ride on the Rocket Ships and that is such a low-throughput ride we’d have to get there early to not have to wait forever.

We drove to the TTC and then took a boat to the MK. We arrived just after the park opening and headed directly to those RocketShips which had a 10-minute wait, so the five of us got in line while the in-laws lagged behind and ended up doing the Stitch attraction since they had never done it before (only back when it was the Alien version) and knew that it was not something the kids would likely tolerate.

Once off the Rocketships, we headed to Buzz Lightyear, as this was the next repeat ride requested by the kids. That was another quick ride. The kids really wanted to do the Laugh Factory again so we hit that too. They were all hoping to be called on for it, and Nicolas even tried to sit in the same row as before but we forced him a few rows up from that one (center aisle, on the end, about 8 rows up). Noah kept asking before we went into the ride 'where do we live mommy' just hoping they would call on him this time too. They ended up calling on a lady 3 rows in front of us (probably our same row from the previous time) and then highlighted the man behind her and even the people behind our row, even though the kids, especially Noah,kept raising their hands to be called on.

Once the show was over, we decided to hit Haunted Mansion again at the kids’ request, then circled back to Adventureland. We were going to ride Pirates and the Jungle Cruise but Noelle had another major meltdown so I sat down with her as the rest of the gang went on Pirates. When they were finished, we joined them and got in line for Jungle Cruise…about a 20 minute wait…and I got Dibs and some snacks to share in line, which helped everybody. Noelle and I also had a chance, while the rest were in Pirates, to do a bit of shopping…that always helps too!

After Jungle Cruise, the in-laws wanted to stop for a Dole Whip again (we got them hooked on that!) and I got the kids some ice cream bars to eat as well. Then we walked out of the park, stopping to do some shopping on Main Street at the Emporium and we even caught some of the Street Party as it went down Main Street towards the castle. We caught the monorail back to the TTC and drove back to our hotel.

In the room, we changed into swimsuits and we all hit the pool and stayed there for several hours. Noah finally ventured onto the big slide, though he insisted on wearing a free vest to do so. He would put it on with his sister’s help whenever he wanted to ride the slide, then would take it off to play in the rest of the pool. Noelle and I played another game of Bingo but didn’t win. Even my FIL loved the big slide…it was a huge hit and I have to say we love the Kidani pool if only for the extra fun slide. We relaxed by the pool, Frank and I split a turkey sandwich from the bar there and had a few drinks. When the kids were hungry, I returned to the room to retrieve some Uncrustables and some yogurt for them from our refrigerator.

Around 5pm or so we finally headed back to the room to get cleaned up and start packing our stuff. Frank and I ran out to find a pizza place while Nicolas worked on some more homework. We easily located Giadonis on 192 and ordered an appetizer platter and 2 pizzas…well we thought we ordered 2 pizzas but when the order came up about 15 minutes later and we found only one pizza, we realized we had to order the cheese one for the kids again and wait. The $18 appetizer sample was HUGE with calamari, chicken fingers, mozz sticks, fried zucchini and fried mushrooms….it could have been a meal for all of us. The thin pizza was very good as well. We were back to the room about 6:30pm to finish dinner. Then I finished packing myself and the kids and around 8:30pm we headed over to Jambo House to do the Night Vision view of the animals, something we had promised Nicolas he’d see. The bugs were biting out there so we did it quickly and then returned back to our room to retire.

Day 9 - The Original Plan
Our last official day. Check out of our villa, drive to either EPCOT or Hollywood Studios since both parks make for an easy and quick exit. Leave park by 3pm at latest, drive to airport for flight back home!

What actually happened:
Saturday May 9, 2009 - Our last day…always a sad time for us. We were up early and ate some leftovers for breakfast, cleaned out the last of our food, returned the wheelchair and then hit Hollywood Studios. We were there around 8:30am, which was well before the 9am opening for the “regular” folks so we had to show our keys to enter the park for early entry.

We sent the boys to Toy Story Mania to check on Fastpasses for all of us, but the return time was after 2pm and we didn’t plan to be there that long. The girls then hit Tower of Terror while the boys were there and as we came out Noah finally got his Tower of Terror tshirt in the store there. Then the men and Nicolas hit Rock N Roller Coaster while the girls (and Noah) headed over to Animation. Unfortunately, it did not open until 10am but there was a showing of Playhouse Disney and as there was no line I asked Noah if he wanted to go to see it. He said yes, so I took him into that while MIL waited with Noelle outside Animation. The show ended after about 20 minutes and when we came out it looked like everybody was inside Animation but instead of going into the show first we entered the gift shop and headed to the studio bypassing the show and Noah did some interactive stuff there as we waited for the rest of the gang.

The kids had wanted photos with Bolt and the Hamster but we learned they would not be out for another 30 minutes or more and there was already a line forming, so we bypassed that and headed out of the park instead. We drove over to EPCOT.

First for EPCOT was Spaceship Earth (AKA The Big Ball) so the 20 minute wait for that went quickly. When we got ouf of that, we thought about hitting Soarin' but return Fastpass times for that, at just after noon, were up to 4:30pm so that wasn’t happening. We had some lunch then headed to Finding Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush. During the show they called on a girl in a purple 'shell' with a butterfly on it and brown fur and it ended up being Noelle! She asked him "What do turtles eat?" And was quite happy that she got to talk to the turtle. At this point Noah is the only one who has not had an interactive experience at Walt Disney World and so far two out three kids have had the chance to talk to Crush there...pretty amazing considering he generally only talks to about 4 or 5 kids MAYBE per show and we've only seen it two or three times! Hopefully he’ll get his turn soon enough.

After that, we just walked through Mousegear and did some shopping, after Noelle stopped for her photo with Chip and Dale. We left the park around 2:45pm, arrived at the airport around 3:30pm and checkin wasn’t as smooth as possible due to some kind of accounting glitch on our account that took a while for them to clear up. The security line was HUGE as well, and once again the alarms were set off for MIL’s hip so she was ushered into a back room to be wanded and Frank stayed with his dad while I took the kids off to the gate. We stopped at Burger King on the way to the gate for for some dinner, since I knew they would not get food on the flight, and as I’m in line waiting with the three kids for chicken tenders that I paid for to be cooked Frank is constantly calling me to find out where I am, they are seating us, they may give up our seats, etc. I finally get there about 25 minutes prior to our flight time, we don’t’ get upgraded to Business Class, Frank is in a mood because I was so late and did not get him food (or food for myself because I didn’t want to have to wait longer) but the flight went well and we arrived in Baltimore on time. We then waited nearly 30 minutes for the luggage, so long that I took the kids on the shuttle to get the car and everybody else stayed behind to get the luggage we checked…including the carseats. We were home by about 8:30pm and then put the kids to bed as Frank headed to Subway to get us dinner and we chilled at home with a movie to wind down.

9 Days to Go - Dining Plan Here We Come!

So it's been a while, but not too much has changed.

Ok, so it's me, and you know I have made changes.

First of all, I finally broke down and decided to schedule Noelle for some princess pampering at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. I figured since each of the boys had their very first "professional" haircut at the Main Street Barber Shop in Disney, why shouldn't Noelle get a chance for a professional style at Disney. The prices ranged from $44.95 to (get ready for it) $179.95. Now, that last package would include a costume and accessories and her very own photo session with photos. Well, she has a perfectly good Snow White costume from Halloween and I have plenty of camera power, we opted for the middle package, because that includes nails at a price of $49.95. I think she'll be thrilled. We're having this done just a few hours before a planned dinner at 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella, so even better. I can't wait to see her face when she is being pampered by the Fairy Godmothers at Disney!

Next, after going back and forth many times I decided to bite the bullet and get the Disney Dining Plan for the first part of our stay. I know it will be way too much food, but it will still save us money based on the meals we have already scheduled for the first part of our trip. I am sure just having it to use for our meal at LeCellier steakhouse will be worth it. It will be nice to not have to really worry about buying food for the most part for those first five days of the trip. Plus, I have the Disney Dining Experience card on it's way to me as well, which will save us 20% off the rest of our restaurant meals, and includes the alcohol which I know we'll have a few times. I will be sure to save my receipts later so I can really calculate the true "savings" from our trip and share them here.

37 Days to Go - Character Meals

We've had the fortune of being able to eat at many different character buffets during our visits at Disney. Even when we go without the kids, there are still some meals that I insist on attending.

My favorite character dinner buffet is the Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends at the Magic Kingdom. First of all, you are eating at the Magic Kingdom and some tables even have a view of the castle. What could be better? However, the food there is really quite good for buffet and I especially enjoy the prime rib and the shrimp, but everything is always good. I think we've done this particular buffet for at least our last 3 or 4 trips.

We've had breakfast at the Crystal Palace also, but I'm not a huge breakfast eater anyway so I can do without it. It's still good though.

My next favorite character meal has to be Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary, if only for the fun atmosphere that takes over the place. Most of the time we've had breakfast there and really enjoyed it. We had dinner once and I wasn't as impressed with it, but for our upcoming trip we'll try dinner again just because he fits better into our schedule and I figured we should give it another shot. We always have our photo taken there and purchase it too.

Another favorite breakfast character meal is O'Hana at the Polynesian. I love the pineapple bread they serve here. This is a family-style meal, meaning they just bring the food in a big plate to your table and pick and choose what you want to eat and can order more of anything. It's now been changed to include Lilo and Stitch, so we have plans to do this one again for our upcoming trip to see the new characters. I guess this means we may not see Chip, Dale or Goofy now, but we'll have to wait and see.

One other character meal we've done a few times in the past is the Garden Grill for dinner. This is located at EPCOT and the entire restaurant rotates with great views of some of the fish tanks. This is another family style meal, and it's not recommended for larger parties because the seating isn't made to accommodate them, but we've enjoyed a few meals there and the character interraction has been great. This is also where the perform the re-hitching ceremony so if you are celebrating an anniversary you should have that done there. It's cute.

Of course, the other character meal that is worth doing at least one time is eating in the castle at Cinderella's Royal Table. We've had the good fortune of securing this for breakfast about 3 or 4 times in the past, though the prices continue to increase so much there that even though I had a reservation this time around I just couldn't bring myself to pay that kind of money for BREAKFAST. Yes, it is truly wonderful to be eating in the castle and looking out over Fantasyland. You will most likely get a visit from a few princesses too. It used to be that Peter Pan would also show up and a few others, but we didn't see him on our last visit there. The food was really good. It's all-you-can-eat but it's preplated so they bring each person a plate full of food and you can have more of anything. If you only get to Disney one time, it's worth it to try to get this meal experience. However, you ABSOLUTELY have to book this one exactly 180 days in advance of the day you want to attend. You need to call the number for Disney dining (407-WDW-DINE) beginning just before 7am at the 180 day point and be quick about telling the person that finally answers that you want Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast at this date and time. I'm not sure if we'll do it again in the future with the prices so high now, but I'm glad each of our kids have had the chance to experience it once.

For our upcoming trip next month, we're trying out a few new buffets mixed with our old favorites. In addtion to Chef Mickey's for dinner, Crystal Palace for dinner and O'Hana's for breakfast, we're also going to attempt the Princess Storybook Lunch at Akershus in EPCOT one day and Cinderella's Gala Feast at 1900 Park Fare for dinner.

One of the highlights of any Disney trip for us is the meals. Yes, they are pricey but we always enjoy them and having the opportunity to sit down and relax at a table meal every so often after spending all day on your feet roaming the parks is well worth it.