Cast of Characters:
Me33 - like to try new things, but know exactly what I don't want
DH34 - meat and potatoes type guy, but willing to be a little adventurous
DS11 - has food radar constantly on, pretty adventurous, eats pretty much anything
DD10 - the picky one who really came out of her shell and tried some new stuff this time. But still does not really eat "outside the box" if you get my drift
We tried the Dining Plan for the first time this trip. As both kids are considered adults by Disney, we were curious as to how they would do with appetizer, entree and dessert.
Dec 15 - Rosie's All American Cafe for Lunch
This is a great area for counter service. There are several counter with different things to choose from. DD and DS got pizza meals, with drinks and chocolate cake. I ordered a cheeseburger meal and apple pie with iced tea. DH got a Turkey Leg from Toluca's which is right there in the same vicinity. I did go back and get 2 orders of French Fries with the snack credits because the kids were still hungry! Lots of variety here so I think this may be our new favorite CS at MGM.
If we haven't been on the dining plan, it would have cost around $60, when you factor in the extra fries on the snack credits. I don't have all the numbers handy.
Dec 15 - Cosmic Ray's for Dinner
This was our first time hitting Ray's and what a gem! The kids each got hamburger meals, with drinks, fries and cake. DH and I each got the ribs and chicken meal with carrots and mashed potatoes. Those meals were each $13+ and counted as a CS meal. So we definitely got our money's worth there. Good thing we got those, too, since the kids each ate most of our chicken. Good food, quick service, comfy area. Love that toppings bar, even though I personally didn't use it.
I didn't write down that amount either, but I'm going to guess about $60 again.
Dec 16 - Cape May Cafe Beach Bash
Our traditional final meal is at the Cape May Cafe Character Breakfast. Minnie, Goofy and Dale were around today. We all loaded up on some great breakfast food and this kids got one last load of Dsney waffles. This is another great meal in a restaurant that's never packed to the gills, which we love.
If we hadn't been on the dining plan, we would have paid $94.57
That's the last of the reviews! On the whole, we did very well with the dining plan. We broke even on Day 4 out of 7. We didn't use all the snack credits. And I think we even had 1 Counter Service meal left over that we didn't manage to use.
Even so, with my rough estimates, we saved almost $500 in food by doing the dining plan.
Overall, it probably is too much food. I think an appetizer OR dessert would be plenty. But for some places, the portions were such that I was comfortably full with all that was included.
I was sick of the minimal dessert options at the end of the week. Everyone seems to have chocolate cake. It would be nice to throw in some fruit and cheese or something. Or have something like the Beach Club Marketplace where you have anything under a certain value be an option. I loved their flexibility with the program that way.
Will we use the dining plan again? DH is a definite YES with that. I'm a little up in the air. I think we'll evaluate it when the time comes for the next trip.
Please feel free to ask any questions.
Me33 - like to try new things, but know exactly what I don't want
DH34 - meat and potatoes type guy, but willing to be a little adventurous
DS11 - has food radar constantly on, pretty adventurous, eats pretty much anything
DD10 - the picky one who really came out of her shell and tried some new stuff this time. But still does not really eat "outside the box" if you get my drift
We tried the Dining Plan for the first time this trip. As both kids are considered adults by Disney, we were curious as to how they would do with appetizer, entree and dessert.
Dec 15 - Rosie's All American Cafe for Lunch
This is a great area for counter service. There are several counter with different things to choose from. DD and DS got pizza meals, with drinks and chocolate cake. I ordered a cheeseburger meal and apple pie with iced tea. DH got a Turkey Leg from Toluca's which is right there in the same vicinity. I did go back and get 2 orders of French Fries with the snack credits because the kids were still hungry! Lots of variety here so I think this may be our new favorite CS at MGM.
If we haven't been on the dining plan, it would have cost around $60, when you factor in the extra fries on the snack credits. I don't have all the numbers handy.
Dec 15 - Cosmic Ray's for Dinner
This was our first time hitting Ray's and what a gem! The kids each got hamburger meals, with drinks, fries and cake. DH and I each got the ribs and chicken meal with carrots and mashed potatoes. Those meals were each $13+ and counted as a CS meal. So we definitely got our money's worth there. Good thing we got those, too, since the kids each ate most of our chicken. Good food, quick service, comfy area. Love that toppings bar, even though I personally didn't use it.
I didn't write down that amount either, but I'm going to guess about $60 again.
Dec 16 - Cape May Cafe Beach Bash
Our traditional final meal is at the Cape May Cafe Character Breakfast. Minnie, Goofy and Dale were around today. We all loaded up on some great breakfast food and this kids got one last load of Dsney waffles. This is another great meal in a restaurant that's never packed to the gills, which we love.
If we hadn't been on the dining plan, we would have paid $94.57
That's the last of the reviews! On the whole, we did very well with the dining plan. We broke even on Day 4 out of 7. We didn't use all the snack credits. And I think we even had 1 Counter Service meal left over that we didn't manage to use.
Even so, with my rough estimates, we saved almost $500 in food by doing the dining plan.
Overall, it probably is too much food. I think an appetizer OR dessert would be plenty. But for some places, the portions were such that I was comfortably full with all that was included.
I was sick of the minimal dessert options at the end of the week. Everyone seems to have chocolate cake. It would be nice to throw in some fruit and cheese or something. Or have something like the Beach Club Marketplace where you have anything under a certain value be an option. I loved their flexibility with the program that way.
Will we use the dining plan again? DH is a definite YES with that. I'm a little up in the air. I think we'll evaluate it when the time comes for the next trip.
Please feel free to ask any questions.
