Disney Dining Plan – threestrandswdw

Disney Dining Plan…Snack Time at WDW!

We all keep our eyes open for it! We hope and pray it happens! Sometimes it comes in time! And, sometime it doesn’t! Some pay for it! Some catch a break and get it when it is offered free! What is it, you ask? The Disney Dining Plan offered with your Walt Disney World Vacation Package!

One of the most popular plans is the Plus Dining option! With this plan you get one quick service meal, one sit-down meal, and one snack per night, for the entire length of your stay. We’ll talk about quick service and sit-down meals another time. For this article, let’s look at the Snack portion of the deal!

Did you know that there are many snacks that can be a meal? And, some are even large enough to share between two our three people. Let’s look a a few ideas, shall we?

Toluca Legs Turkey Company Sunset Blvd. Disney's Hollywood Studio — Toluca Legs Turkey Company
Sunset Blvd.
Disney’s Hollywood Studio

Turkey Legs are popular at The Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios! They are considered a snack when on DDP, and easily shared by more than one person. They can be messy, but also filling.

Another idea are Chili Cheese Fries at Pecos Bills in The Magic Kingdom! And, talk about YUMMY!! Well worth it, if you are in the area!

Many of the items on the Yak and Yeti Counter in Disney’s Animal Kingdom are considered snacks. Try the Egg Roll or Chicken Fried Rice to keep you going!

If you are attending the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, many of the samplings at the World Showcase kiosks are able to be purchased as a snack. So, you can give your mouth an international experience all in one day!

And, finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mentioning a very wise use of snack credits might be to get a taste of the world famous Walt Disney World Popcorn!! It’s filling, satisfying, and the smell fills up the parks! Easily shared, and delicious, too!

Magic Kingdom Popcorn Cart — Magic Kingdom
Popcorn Cart

These are just a few ideas, I’m sure there are many other! Please add your thoughts below in the Comments section! And, as always, have a Blessed and Magical weekend, my friends!

DDP – The Deluxe Plan

Citrico's at The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa — Citrico’s at
The Grand Floridian
Resort and Spa

If you are REALLY hungry, or just want to make your Walt Disney World adventure more appetizing, then the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan may possibly be for you! But, I must warn you, there is a lot of food to eat!

With the Deluxe Plan you will receive three meals per night per person at either a sit-down OR quick-service restaurant on the WDW property! Remember, if you need to book an Advance Dining Reservation (ADR) for your sit-down meals, you can book those up to 180 out from your first night accommodation either online or by calling 407-WDW-DINE! Quick-service meals do not require an ADR and can be exchanged on the run!

You also are entitled to two snacks per day, and the Resort Refillable Mug! As with all Dining Plans, you actually receive entitlements on your Magicband that are used for purchasing our meals! There are also some other options I would like to take a look at in this writing!

The Deluxe Plan makes it possible to really take part in some special dining experiences. Places like Citrico’s, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and Le Cellier will charge two entitlements per person. But, with the extra meals and snacks available on this plan, you could easily enjoy one of these or other two meal establishments!

Or, how about private In-Room dining at your Deluxe Resort or Deluxe Villa Resort? These are also two meal entitlements each, but it could truly add a new dimension of SPECIAL to your WDW vacation! I like this idea!

There are extras that you do need to remain aware of with the deluxe plan. Gratuities are not included! Some dining experiences offer photo opportunities that MAY not be included, but may be eligible for Memory Maker! And, of course, you will need to purchase any souvenir merchandise you may want to add to your collection!

The cost of the deluxe plan, in addition to your resort package is: $109.53 per adult per night and 29.86 for children ages 3 – 9. If this fits into your plans for experiences at Walt Disney World, it may be worth the investment! If, however, there’s no way on this side of heaven you can eat this much, it may be better to pass!

Thanks for reading! May you have a Blessed and Magical Day, my friends!!

DDP – Plus Dining

In our last post, we looked at the DDP – Quick-Service option to add to your Walt Disney World vacation, see http://wp.me/p23hiG-id if you want to get caught up!

Today we will look at the Standard Plan, or as Disney puts it the Magic Your Way Plus Dining option. With this option you get: One Sit-Down meal, One Quick-Service Meal, and one Snack per person per night, as well as the Resort Renewable Drink Mug. With this plan, the need for Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) comes into play and may be crucial to making your meals fit into your overall attack plans for your stay! You can make ADRs 180 (+ 10 days into your vacation) days prior to your arrival either by internet at http://www.mydisneyexperience.com, or by calling 407-WDW-DINE(407-939-3463).

And, with hundreds of choices to look at, there is a lot of thought that needs to be put into your vacation. As with the Quick-Service Meal we discussed in the last post, your Sit-Down Meal consists of one entree, one dessert, and one single serving, non-alcoholic beverage, or a full buffet. You can ask your server to swap the dessert for an appetizer, and most will accommodate your request. You can EVEN have a pizza delivered to your room, if you want!

For a list of participating restaurants, practically all of them, go to https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2014Dining.pdf and start checking out where you want to eat! If you are looking for menus, you can check out Deb Wills site http://www.allears.net/menus which will show you the meals and costs.

Finally, don’t forget that gratuities are NOT included in the dining plan. Your check will come with suggested amounts of 18% and 20%, groups of six or more will have 18% automatically added to their bill!

This is the most used plan when Free Dining is offered as it is available for Moderate, Deluxe, and Deluxe Villa accommodations. And, don’t forget to keep track of your entitlements so you don’t walk away with any left over at the end of your trip! Depending on the size of your group, it may be worth it!

Next time, we will look at the Deluxe Dining Plan…hope you’re hungry! Until then, have a Blessed and Magical Day, my friends!

DDP – Quick-Service Dining

We hear about it all the time! Is it free? Do I pay extra? What does it include? In this short series, we will look at each dining plan that is offered at Walt Disney World. We will attempt to get into the details about what is included and how it affects your costs, if you pay to include it on your Magic Your Way package.

Today, we look at Quick-Service Dining!

Quick-Service (or Counter) Service locations are generally places you can eat at on the run, without an Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR), and there may or may not be seating areas provided. The Disney Dining Plan offers a package that includes two quick-service meals and one snack per night of your stay. It also includes a resort-refillable mug usable at your resort food court and can be refilled as often as you like! One thing to remember about the mug is that it is RFID equipped, just sit it under the spout of the drink you desire and press the button, the display will tell you everything you need to know after that.

Your quick-service breakfast is one entree or complete combo meal and a single-serving, non-alcoholic beverage. For lunch and dinner just add a dessert! You also get one snack credit that can be used for Mickey Bars, Ice Cream, bottles of soda or water, or anything that has the official DDP logo next to it (see above).

When you check into your Walt Disney World Resort, you will receive a total number of entitlements according to the length of stay and type of meal package in which you are participating. Keep an eye on those entitlements, your receipts will show your balance, because many people end up with extras at the end of a trip, and it can be a bit overwhelming to use them all in a few short hours before your vacation ends!

A few examples of quick-service (counter-service) restaurants in the parks are: Flame Tree BBQ in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Sunshine Seasons or Tangerine Cafe in EPCOT, Starring Rolls at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Pecos Bills at The Magic Kingdom. Downtown Disney, soon to be Disney Springs, has some good offerings in this area, as well. You can try Wolfgang Puck’s Express, or (my fav) Earl Of Sandwich!

The added cost to your package, if you purchase the Quick-Service Dining Plan is $41.99 per adult per night and $16.03 per child per night ages 3 – 9. Look at the eating habits of your family, and check the menus out online at http://www.disneyworld.com to see if this would be a benefit to your trip.

The Quick-Service Dining package is often giving at Value level resorts, if a free dining or special package rate is announced by Disney. These meals are really good for those who don’t want to be strapped to a dining schedule and just want to grab on the run. And, many of these locations do offer significant seating areas in shade or air conditioning, if you need time to just chill and recover before moving on to the next attraction.

One more thing, your entitlements are connected to your MagicBands, so make sure all is well before you leave the check-in desk at your resort.

I hope this is helpful for you all, and I’ll be back soon with a look at the Plus Dining Package! For now, have a Blessed and Magical evening, my friend!

Free Dining Strategy

While I agree with most about the use of the Disney Dining Plans in terms of determining whether or not it’s a worthwhile expense, when it comes to Offers for Free Disney Dining, I’M IN!! Why? Let me explain my reasoning!

When Free Disney Dining is offered, I like to use it because it gives me an excuse to try things I wouldn’t spend a nickle for otherwise! For instance, on our 2012 visit to WDW, we had free dining and were able to eat at ‘Ohana and Le Cellier. Had we had to pay out of pocket for those meals, we probably would have skipped them! We also did a couple of character buffet meals that would have been WAY too expensive. So, now when we plan a trip, we try to hit the Free Dining windows if we want to be a bit more adventurous! Speaking of adventurous, I think Sanaa must be on our next trip! I hear great things about that one!

The current offer is out there and available, so book soon before all the good accommodations go away! Bookings are available August 8 for most arrival dates Aug. 31-Oct. 3, Oct. 26-Nov. 1, Nov. 9-20, Dec. 12-23, 2014. This is, of course, for as long as rooms remain available! Be aware that there are some restrictions involved with this offer. Art of Animation – Little Mermaid, Port Orleans French Quarter AND Riverside are excluded from this offer!

Contact your favorite Authorized Disney Travel Planner for more details and booking! If you can’t find one, send me an email at threestrandswdw@outlook.com and tell me how you linked to my blog and I’ll get your information to one of my friends!

For now, have a Blessed and Magical Day, my friends!!