You Spent How Much On Food?!?!

[crazeedizneefinatic]

"You spent how much on food?" that is what everyone is saying when I reveal how much we didn't spend on food for 9 days. I really could not believe it myself when we added up all the receipts today, we just got back last night. Here is where we ate:
Fri 9-21: Chef Mickeys for dinner
Sat 9-22: Hollywood & Vine character lunch
Sun 9-23: Garden Grill character dinner
Mon 9-24: Chef Mickeys Breakfast
Tues 9-25: LeCellier dinner
Weds 9-26: Coral Reef dinner
Thurs 9-27: Sci-Fi dinner
Fri 9-28: Hollywood & Vine Fantasmic package
Sat 9-29: Crystal Palace character dinner

The total including all CS, TS and snacks was $1658.28! We also left 4 CS meals since we were so stuffed. If we would have used those it would have been over $1700 of free food and we did not choose all of the steller restaurants!
We choose mostly buffet since I travel with 2 very very picky eaters so buffets work best for us.

I have heard people say that the free dining plan really is not free since you pay rack rates for the rooms. There were 4 people for 9 nights and 10 days and the total for us to stay and eat and have an 8 day park hopper was $650 a person not including airfare but we got $135 RT airfare through Southwest. We stayed a CBR. I cannot imagine going anywhere for 10 days with more than enough food for that kind of money. I think the free dining plan is definately a true savings.
We already booked for next year at POR with free dining!

[AbeeNormal]

That's fantastic.... what a deal that free dining is :thumbsup:

Tell me if I'm wrong but it didn't make sense to us on our 3 day trip this coming Jan. We are doing a land/sea package. Do you think we should re-consider or is it only worth it & available for long stays.....?:spend:

[Natazu]

Yeah, we get that a lot too. I'm actually looking forward to the Deluxe Dining Plan in '08.

[vamaggie]

That's fantastic.... what a deal that free dining is :thumbsup:

Tell me if I'm wrong but it didn't make sense to us on our 3 day trip this coming Jan. We are doing a land/sea package. Do you think we should re-consider or is it only worth it & available for long stays.....?:spend:

The DDP is available to add to any package booked. I would look at the menus posted in Info Central and run the numbers. Depending on how/where you are planning on eating it may or may not make sense. Also remember that in Jan, appetizers and gratuity will NOT be included in the DDP.

[DessertDivaFL]

The DDP sounds good, but for me and my two picky eaters it isn't a good deal. I bring along their favorite snacks and we only eat one big meal and that is at lunch so for me the DDP doesn't pay. One day they will be regular eaters and then I will get on the DDP.

Saving money is ALWAYS exciting! :D

[crazeedizneefinatic]

The DDP sounds good, but for me and my two picky eaters it isn't a good deal. :D


I agree 100%! If the dining plan was not free we would never dream of purchasing it. It would be a total waste for my son who nibbles around his food, lol. My Husband and son are very pickey. My husband is meat and potatos and my son is chicken and fries. Although my Husband surprised us all and ordered the chilpolte chicken sausage and it was delivered over some kind of mush at Le Cellier and actually tried it. Shocked us all, I don't consider myself too pickey and would never have ordered it.

[JPL]

The free dining is a no brainer it's when the paid plan is dicussed that the value drop significantly when you have to pay rack rates for rooms. Here is an example from my trip last December how the paid Dining plan would not have been such a great deal for me.

Room at Pop:
Rack Rate: $89 4 nights $356
AP Rate: $59 4 night $236

Purchase of a 1 Day MYW Base Ticket $67

Dining Plan Aprrox $37 per day for 4 days $148

So In actuality The cost of the dining plan comes out to $335 for 4 Days or $83.75 a day by losing the AP discount on the room and the purchase of the MYW base it really isn't that much of a deal.

Here is the break down of what need to spend

Average CS $10 - $12
Snack $4
Dinner $67 - $69

That would be my break even point per day.

[mudpuppysmom]

We did the free DP last year and when I added up all our receipts I was pretty stunned......but we ate good!! We ate at a few pricey places and we have returned because of the food and service. When you use double TS credits at places like Narcoosses's it is way in your favor! Considering we got an appetizer, entree, dessert EACH and we were two adults and one child our bill was over $200 (including DH's wine), but sill we paid around $40 for our drinks.

Other placecs we ate included: Jiko, LeCellier, Chefs de France and Chef Mickey's. Our CS places were here and there and average $10-12 each.

Our view of the DP from a monetary standpoint was great! However, we felt like we were prisoner to ADR's all the time!

Yeah, I still think the DP is a good deal, but it's just not for us -- it's too much food and you HAVE to plan your meals without fail, or you "lose out".

[crazeedizneefinatic]

Our view of the DP from a monetary standpoint was great! However, we felt like we were prisoner to ADR's all the time!

I know exactly what you mean. There were some days we just did not want to eat. We learned alot this trip, this was the 1st time using the plan. On past trips we would schedule a breakfast or something paying OOP here and there and wing it the rest of the time. This year did feel more rigid and required a little extra planning on which park you needed to be in for your reservation.

[TBY2225]

We just got back on Sunday and also rebooked for next year with free dining again. We were a family of 4, but only 3 on the plan. 2 adults, 1 child and one infant. I totalled my recepits as well and for 8 days and nights grand total was
$ 1031.06!!!!

[readytogo2]

we just got back sat sept 29. 3 adults -saved almost $1300.

[MickeyandTink]

"You spent how much on food?" that is what everyone is saying when I reveal how much we didn't spend on food for 9 days. I really could not believe it myself when we added up all the receipts today, we just got back last night. Here is where we ate:
Fri 9-21: Chef Mickeys for dinner
Sat 9-22: Hollywood & Vine character lunch
Sun 9-23: Garden Grill character dinner
Mon 9-24: Chef Mickeys Breakfast
Tues 9-25: LeCellier dinner
Weds 9-26: Coral Reef dinner
Thurs 9-27: Sci-Fi dinner
Fri 9-28: Hollywood & Vine Fantasmic package
Sat 9-29: Crystal Palace character dinner

The total including all CS, TS and snacks was $1658.28! We also left 4 CS meals since we were so stuffed. If we would have used those it would have been over $1700 of free food and we did not choose all of the steller restaurants!
We choose mostly buffet since I travel with 2 very very picky eaters so buffets work best for us.

I have heard people say that the free dining plan really is not free since you pay rack rates for the rooms. There were 4 people for 9 nights and 10 days and the total for us to stay and eat and have an 8 day park hopper was $650 a person not including airfare but we got $135 RT airfare through Southwest. We stayed a CBR. I cannot imagine going anywhere for 10 days with more than enough food for that kind of money. I think the free dining plan is definately a true savings.
We already booked for next year at POR with free dining!

:ditto:

I haven't totaled up our receipts yet from last weeks trip, but I'm willing to bet it is close to $1000 for DW, DD and I. CS meals ran about $35/day and dinners were anywhere from $80 - $120. Including snacks, about $130 - $150 day for 8 days. For us, even a free room at Pop wouldn't have been as good a deal. We ate at many of the same restaurants you did and although there's a couple I probably won't go to again for awhile, we did not have a single bad TS meal and had a couple of great ones. One change I will make is to either get very early or very late ADR's. Most of ours were around 6:30 and by the time we got seated, ate and checked out we ended up missing the fireworks. :sad:

We've tentatively booked September 27th next year. May have to change the date a bit depending on school and work schedules, but I didn't want to miss out on free dining again.

[crltkcagle]

you got it. our bill from ohana was a whopping 180 bucks! thank God for free dining plan!