Free dining plan

[polarbear72834]

We got the free dining plan. Not the sit down one, but the other (Quick service) I think that's what it's called. Anyway , Is that like the burger and fry meals ? If so does the drinks come with it ? They said we get two meals and a snack. This is our first time at D.W. staying on site and using meal plan. So exciting !

[Tygger7]

Yes, it's any "walk up" / counter service meals. Each meal includes your meal, a side dish, dessert, & non-alcoholic beverage. There are SO many non-burger options! My favorite counter service meals are at Epcot: Sunshine Seasons is the BEST. Quite a few of the countries in World Showcase have counter service options. At MK, try Columbia Harbor House. Oh, and save one meal for Captain Cooks at the Poly! Mmmm...Tonga Toast is the best breakfast EVER. AK's Flame Tree BBQ is awesome, and the portions are huge.

Snacks are pretty easy to find and are usually well-marked. The cinnamon rolls at MK are HUGE and make a wonderful breakfast, and are only 1 snack credit.

If you look under Info Central, you can look at the counter service menus, as well as the table service menus. You'll see that you can still get your burger/chicken fingers/fries, but lots of other wonderful options too!

Have a great trip!!

[cer]

Also, if you want the regular dining plan with 1 snack, 1 counter service and 1 table service per day, you can upgrade your plan by paying the difference between the two.

[disneynarula]

Yes... you get a drink with it and it is usually any meal at a counter service location.

Wolfgang Puck Express at Downtown Disney and
Tangerine Cafe at Epcot are two of our favorite CS places.

I would also consider upgrading. IMHO it is well worth it!

[mydisneygirls]

I don't know how much it costs but if your budget allows, I would upgrade to the 1 TS dining plan. As disneynarula said, it's well worth it.

[GBBT]

And once you stay onsite,you will NEVER stay offsite again!:thumbsup::D

[buzznwoodysmom]

I see lots of people recommending to upgrade to the basic dining plan, which includes 1 Table Service (sit down) meal a day. If you decide to do that, you may want to check into upgrading your resort instead. If your staying at a moderate resort you get the basic dining plan. The difference in price going from a value to a moderate resort may equal, or come close, to the diffrence in price of upgrading the dining plan. Just wanted to make sure you were aware of that option!

[zipadeedoodah]

I see lots of people recommending to upgrade to the basic dining plan, which includes 1 Table Service (sit down) meal a day. If you decide to do that, you may want to check into upgrading your resort instead. If your staying at a moderate resort you get the basic dining plan. The difference in price going from a value to a moderate resort may equal, or come close, to the diffrence in price of upgrading the dining plan. Just wanted to make sure you were aware of that option!

We upgraded to a moderate and it was about $200 more than staying at POP and upgrading to the regular dining plan. And that is for a 5 night, 6 day trip for 2 ppl. I have a feeling it will totally be worth it for us. And I'm super excited about staying at PORiverside for the first time!

[buzznwoodysmom]

We upgraded to a moderate and it was about $200 more than staying at POP and upgrading to the regular dining plan. And that is for a 5 night, 6 day trip for 2 ppl. I have a feeling it will totally be worth it for us. And I'm super excited about staying at PORiverside for the first time!

I personally think the cost of upgrading from a value to a moderate is totally worth it. I think you'll be happy with your decision!

Doing a bit of math I figured for a family of 4 (2adults, 2 children) to upgrade the dining plan would cost around $275. That's for 7 nights on the dining plan. I didn't add tax or anything, and I just did a really quick calculation so forgive me if I'm a bit off. To upgrade to a moderate resort for a 7 night stay, using summer rates (again no tax or anything) the difference was around $375. So it would cost just around $100 more to upgrade the resort rather than stay at the value and upgrade the dining plan. Totally worth it in my book.

[zipadeedoodah]

Thanks, Buzznwoodysmom..I hope so! I've never stayed at a moderate...only value and deluxe, so I'm pretty stoked about it!

[mom2morgan]

I see lots of people recommending to upgrade to the basic dining plan, which includes 1 Table Service (sit down) meal a day. If you decide to do that, you may want to check into upgrading your resort instead. If your staying at a moderate resort you get the basic dining plan. The difference in price going from a value to a moderate resort may equal, or come close, to the diffrence in price of upgrading the dining plan. Just wanted to make sure you were aware of that option!
The food upgrade is $16.55 a day. The resort upgrade is about $70 - so for 4 people it would be a break even and I 'd definitely switch resorts. For fewer, it might not be worth it.

[buzznwoodysmom]

The food upgrade is $16.55 a day. The resort upgrade is about $70 - so for 4 people it would be a break even and I 'd definitely switch resorts. For fewer, it might not be worth it.

The food difference for adults is $16.55 a day, but for children it's only a $3.03 difference, so the upgrade of the resort still costs a bit more, but definitely worth it in my opinion.

[KatrinaJ91]

We have done both meal plans and they are both great! Actually we prefer the Quick Service one...we like the counter service and don't really want to have a sit down meal every day of our trip every time we are there.
There are tons of great options besides burgers too! Check out the list online.

[scooterca42]

don't forget Pecos Bill's - it's our favourite counter service.

[Kairi_7378]

There are a lot of great CS places... especially at Epcot.

[Alaska Disney Fan]

I agree with Katrina, we have done both and their is plenty of great food to be had with the counter service meals besides "burgers and Fries. The nice thing too is that you aren't constrained by having to go someplace for your reservations. We usually will eat a couple different places for each meal, get a little diversity. Some of our favorites are Wolfgang Pucks, Columbia harbor House, Cosmic Rays, Flame Tree, Sunshine Seasons and pretty much any of the Counter service Places at Epcot's World Showcase.