Tips for making the Dining Plan stretch to all 3 meals?

[Travel Mum]

We are going to WDW for our first time for 9 nights Sept 29 - October 8 and we will have free regular dining for our family. Our children are aged 13, 10 and 6 so that means we will have 4 adult dining plans and 1 child dining plan. Since I booked our holiday, times have got tough financially here in N.Z. and so we now cannot spend as much money once in the U.S. as I'd originally planned. Therefore I'm keen to know if and how I can make these dining plans of ours stretch to cover breakfast, lunch and dinner? Any tips?

Many thanks

 

[Mrs D]

I like to have breakfast in our room before we leave for the parks. I bring dry cereal, granola bars, cereal bars etc in my suitcase then buy a half gallon of milk at the resort; you might do well ordering from garden grocer for delivery. You could use your snack credits for muffins & Danishes if that appeals to you. I then do a CS lunch and a TS dinner.

 

[Homesick for Disney]

We've done both the regular plan and the QSDP a few times and find that we can stretch both out without having to spend hardly any extra money.

We often use our snack to get a pastry for breakfast...if you're big breakfast eaters, this may not work for you. There are also several places that offer larger meals (i.e. Cosmic Ray's) that you could easily share. The counter service meals are pretty large. You can also save CS desserts to eat as snacks.

Also, get the most from the snacks on your plan. Get bigger snacks like pastries, funnel cakes, ham & cheese croissants in France and these will seem like mini-meals.

Hope you guys have a great trip!

 

[poohsdoodle]

Just back from five days on the regular dining plan (1TS, 1CS, 1 snack daily) and we were STUFFED! We never eat that much food and I have a 16yr old son who can eat a lot. We typically did not eat desserts, but chose something we would eat for breakfast (fruit, etc). I had bagels and cereal for my son in the room but neither of us were really hungry in the mornings. We also rarely bought snacks but ran around the last day purchasing things we could eat later. I think we ended up loosing two snack credits. If your family are not 'big eaters' you will have no trouble stretching your credits because you will be very full.

 

[TDC Nala]

The OP won't be able to bring food from New Zealand, and I don't know what the odds are of their being able to use a grocery delivery service as that would require arrangements ahead of time which will be tough to make from New Zealand.

Use snacks for breakfast, or if you want a TS breakfast book a big buffet breakfast late and use snacks for lunch. Or select TS/CS desserts you can take with you, and eat them for breakfast. Unfortunately you don't get a refillable mug with the basic plan, so you don't have that option for beverages at the resort.

 

[brymolmom]

We do it every time with very few issues....We have 2 adults and 2 kids. Now we bring cereal in our luggage for a quick/light breakfast on some days which does help - not sure if you can do that internationally. If not, you could get some groceries delivered to have breakfasts in your room.

We share almost all CS meals. We get 2 or 3 to split. And we use snack credits for some breakfast supplements (cinnamon rolls from Main St. bakery - we split them with a bowl of cereal for breakfast).

We get the 2 CS pizza meal at our food court one or two nights. This gets you a large pizza, 2 drinks and 2 desserts - and it feeds our whole family and 'saves' two of the CS credits to use another time.

On our sleep in days, we get a CS breakfast as late as possible in the food court....then have ice cream for lunch at the park around 2:00pm...then schedule a big buffet dinner at 5:00pm. Similarly, we have our big meal of the day as a 'brunch' at Chef Mickey's at 11:00am (we have a banana or something in the room before leaving using snack credit)...then just use CS credits later in the afternoon.

We are going for 9 nights in August and doing two 2 credit meals/shows...and I still don't expect to have to pay for any OOP based on all of the above.

 

[mb_uh]

1. Buy the mugs or at least 2-3 if you drink coffee or sodas instead or water.

2. Eating at resort for BK 2-3 CS meals plus a may 2 snacks use mugs for coffee and let kids have juice or milk.

3. Snacks for breakfast

4. Split CS at places with larger meals.

Most people do not seem to do a lot of oop when doing ddp so you should be okay.

 

[devonsmommy]

Dh and I often share counter service meals, and just use 1 credit between the 2 of us.

We also used snack credits for bagels for breakfast, or cereal, etc. We found in years past we would save our snack credits for "really good" valued things, but then ended up with 12 left a the end of the trip! On this last trip we used them whenever we wanted and still had a few left.

Just keep in mind that you won't be able to share any table service meals that are buffets.

some of our favorite counter service meals (that are larger!) are:
Magic Kingdom--Cosmic Ray's chicken and ribs combo. It also came with mashed potatoes and a veggie. I always ask for the large size soda and we share that too. Pecos Bill has huge burgers with a great topping bar.

 

[catne]

if you all have small-to-average appetites, many counter service meals can be split...look for the "platter" or "combo" entrees for the bigger portions. An example would be the Ribs & Chicken platter at Cosmic Ray's in the Magic Kingdom...two adults with average appetites could easily split this meal. In Epcot, Sunshine Seasons has many meal combos that can be split...there's the Asian Station where you'll get a full plate of food (and go to the bakey counter for dessert---huge pieces of cake or pie that easily feed two. At DHS, Rosie's burger platter can be split, as can the Pizza Planet meals. At Animal Kingdom...the ribs or chicken meal at Flametree BBQ can be split. At your resort, there are usually several different "platter" or "combo" meals that are adequately large to split...and you choose your own dessert, so again, choose bigger desserts that can be split (or saved for breakfast or a later snack)

We always use the snack credit for a pastry for breakfast (we make coffee in the room) Then we use the counter service for lunch, and table service for supper. If you prefer bigger breakfasts, then do order the bigger platters or combos & split your counter service meals between you, then you may be able to use 1/2 your counter service for breakfasts to split & then the other 1/2 for lunches to split.

In the parks, besides using the water fountains for drinks...you can ask for free ice water at counter service places. Sometimes it's just a small glass, but sometimes they'll give you a full-size glass. that will save you having to spend $2.50 for a bottle of water.

If you do want to use some of your snack cedits for snacks, again, choose large snacks that can be split (like ice cream sundaes and giant cupcakes.)

Another tip is to choose a dessert at lunch counter service that will "travel well" in your backpack (you'll often be too full to eat the desserts right away anyhow!) Then you'll have a snack for later (or even a treat for breakfast the next day.) Just pick an item that won't melt in Florida heat (and avoid the no-sugar-added desserts at counter service...NOT good!)

 

[ajleone]

I would see if you can move down to the QSDP as this give you 2 snacks per person per day and the resort mugs. Then you can either do a QS breakfast and snack during the day and then a QS dinner, or eat breakfast in the room and use the meal plan throughout the rest of the day. Either way you can stretch your meals farther this way.

 

[jacob123]

as a CS you can eat downtown dis and go to wolfgang pucks you get great portions and you can go to DT everyday by bus,enjoy there and have great food. enjoy yourselfs

 

[jacob123]

also another thing my DH and i do is we bring a backpack(he carries it) and we order water from garden grocers its delivered to your room and we carry it with us instead of buying. we also get bananas and apples for breakfast.each meal you already get soda so we just bring water and pack sometimes granola or nut mixtures for inbetween with our snack credits.
enjoy
darlene from canada

 

[GMU MOM]

We do it every time with very few issues....We have 2 adults and 2 kids. Now we bring cereal in our luggage for a quick/light breakfast on some days which does help - not sure if you can do that internationally. If not, you could get some groceries delivered to have breakfasts in your room.

Bringing cereal or any snack bars from overseas should not be a problem. Whenever we travel overseas to visit family, I take my kids' favorite cereals and snacks with me in the luggage b/c one they don't have the same snacks there and two, everything is expensive where we visit. So I prefer taking everything with me.

 

[pooch]

adult DD and I split EVERY CS meal. Try getting 2 Breakfast platters from the Food Court in the morning - eggs, hash brown potatoes, bacon, sausage & a biscuit. See how far those take you. If its not enough, add a few snack credit items. For lunch, order 2 adult & 1 childs cs. If its not enough, supplement with snack credits or another CS if necessary. Always order the largest whatever you can (drinks for instance, always order a large).

The CS meals at WDW can be huge. Underorder, you can always get more if you need to, but you won't waste credits by throwing away food!!

Also, use all your credits before paying for anything out of pocket. There's bound to be a day (probably more than 1) where little Suzy just isn't hungry and doesn't use her credits that day. And by the last day, nobody will be hungry!!!

 

[2Tiggies]

The OP won't be able to bring food from New Zealand, and I don't know what the odds are of their being able to use a grocery delivery service as that would require arrangements ahead of time which will be tough to make from New Zealand.

I dont know if there are different restrictions on bringing food in from New Zealand but I have always brought cereal with us and a few snacks (my DD was on a strictly GF diet until very recently) - except last year when I bought some chocolates on the plane. I always check the US customs and immigration lists of permitted and prohibited foods just before we leave, as they do update it and change things from time to time.

Just be aware that if you find you can bring the cereals/snacks in that you want to, you MUST declare them on the white form. Unfortunately it lists food and insects under the same category and you won't get away with smiling and showing them your chocolate when they ask what it is. YOu will have to go thorugh the red line for additional scans but the security staff are really pleasant and it only takes a minute.

Use snacks for breakfast, or if you want a TS breakfast book a big buffet breakfast late and use snacks for lunch. Or select TS/CS desserts you can take with you, and eat them for breakfast. Unfortunately you don't get a refillable mug with the basic plan, so you don't have that option for beverages at the resort.

Regarding the refillable mug, if you are staying more than a few days, it honestly pays itself off very quickly. I would think, unless you are strictly water/juice/milk drinkers, you will save a considerable amount over 9 nights over paying OOP for your extra beverages.

I am not one to eat dessert with a meal. I would normally order one as a snack on its own so whenever we eat a meal at the resort or shortly before returning to our resort, I try and order a fruit bowl or something that I can keep for breakfast. If you like muffins and pastries then this is another option. The key is to pick where you eat when you are likely to be able to put the dessert into your room fridge without carrying it around too long.

 

[Travel Mum]

WOW, Thanks so much to everyone for all your great suggestions and advice !!

It does make sense to split CS meals where possible so I'd better start preparing my children to do that. The trick will be getting them to agree on ordering the same thing!

We will be happy to have quick breakfasts in our rooms as we plan to be there for RD on our park days which means we will have to get up early enough without also needing to allow time to eat in the food court! I like the idea of a light breakfast with either using saved desserts, snack credits or getting Garden Grocer and then using the CS and TS for lunch/dinner. However, I've stuffed that plan up a bit by booking pre park-opening breakfasts at Tusker House on our AK day and Crystal Palace on our MK day. I'm happy to be doing those breakfasts but using the TS credit at breakfasts does make the rest of the day harder to stretch out the dining plan. Therefore I think we will have to start off by splitting our CS meals so that we have enough to cover us on those days where we use the TS for breakfasts.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

Here are a few links about gettin ghte most of our snack credits:

http://www.onlywdworld.com/2010/04/best-disney-dining-plan-snacks.html

http://dismarks.com/DisneyWorld/The_Five_Best_Uses_for_Disney_Dining_Plan_Snack_Credits

one my favorites is the ham and cheese croissant at the French Bakery in Epcot and the HUGE cinnamon rolls at the Main Street Bakery in the MK

 

[dawnball]

I travel with a group of six, this is what our meals tend to look like:

Two adult CS, one child CS, a snack credit and $3 OOP at sunshine seasons becomes:
A green salad topped with chicken breast for me.
A bowl of black bean soup with rice and a side of broccoli for grandpa.
Cashew chicken and stir-fried vegetables for my sister
Dark meat chicken and veggie of the day for Grandma.
a bowl of fruit or other dessert that gets shared around, or another salad for anyone who wants it.
Enough milk that two kids and four adults have more than they want.
Macaroni and cheese for the one kid who can eat it.
Two hardboiled eggs, rice with butter, carrot sticks with dip and a pudding cup for the other child.

That's a half-chicken meal with plain rice and veggies, salad for dessert and milk for the drink. A cashew chicken meal, stir-fried veggie and broccoli for the sides, fruit/dessert/salad for the dessert, milk for the drink.
A kid's meal mac and cheese, with carrot sticks and pudding cup, milk for the drink.
A snack credit of soup.
OOP hardboiled eggs.

Ask for a couple of extra plates, get cups of water for everyone, and some empty cups to split the milk.
At the table, the green salad gets topped with chicken breast. The rice gets split between a child's plate and grandpa's plate (with his soup), leaving a chicken dark quarter and a veggie for grandma.
The cashew chicken meal donates the broccoli to grandpa.
The kid's meal donates the carrot sticks and pudding cup to go with the child's plate of rice and hardboiled eggs.
Milk into cups for those that want it (the kids usually split a big milk, grandma drinks a small low-fat, grandpa drinks half the other big milk and then we try to entice the kids to finish it.)

It's about thinking creatively. And I suppose, not being offended by the idea of taking 2-3 minutes to replate food so that everyone gets what they want.

 

[Travel Mum]

I travel with a group of six, this is what our meals tend to look like:

Two adult CS, one child CS, a snack credit and $3 OOP at sunshine seasons becomes:
A green salad topped with chicken breast for me.
A bowl of black bean soup with rice and a side of broccoli for grandpa.
Cashew chicken and stir-fried vegetables for my sister
Dark meat chicken and veggie of the day for Grandma.
a bowl of fruit or other dessert that gets shared around, or another salad for anyone who wants it.
Enough milk that two kids and four adults have more than they want.
Macaroni and cheese for the one kid who can eat it.
Two hardboiled eggs, rice with butter, carrot sticks with dip and a pudding cup for the other child.

That's a half-chicken meal with plain rice and veggies, salad for dessert and milk for the drink. A cashew chicken meal, stir-fried veggie and broccoli for the sides, fruit/dessert/salad for the dessert, milk for the drink.
A kid's meal mac and cheese, with carrot sticks and pudding cup, milk for the drink.
A snack credit of soup.
OOP hardboiled eggs.

Ask for a couple of extra plates, get cups of water for everyone, and some empty cups to split the milk.
At the table, the green salad gets topped with chicken breast. The rice gets split between a child's plate and grandpa's plate (with his soup), leaving a chicken dark quarter and a veggie for grandma.
The cashew chicken meal donates the broccoli to grandpa.
The kid's meal donates the carrot sticks and pudding cup to go with the child's plate of rice and hardboiled eggs.
Milk into cups for those that want it (the kids usually split a big milk, grandma drinks a small low-fat, grandpa drinks half the other big milk and then we try to entice the kids to finish it.)

It's about thinking creatively. And I suppose, not being offended by the idea of taking 2-3 minutes to replate food so that everyone gets what they want.

WOW, that's very clever!!!!

 

[tortoni]

I don't think you will have too much out of pocket. We are a family of 5 with 3 teens (including 2 very hungry boys). We don't have too much out of pocket; it is usually just for things that we love to do that don't really fit into the DDP, i.e., ice cream sundaes at Beaches and Cream with no meal. We typically are trying to figure out how to spend those last CS credits on the last day, which seem to be the hardest to use up. Remember that Disney gives you a lot of food. One TS per day is pretty filling and if you have a huge meal at Tusker/CP, then you will likely only want a snack mid-day and your CS will easily get you through dinner. Also, some of the CS give you very large plates and would easily substitute for a TS on a day when you use TS for breakfast. For example, WPE in DD has very nice meals (chicken, meatloaf, salmon, pasta) that would make a great dinner on a day when you use your TS for breakfast. Also remember that you can use your credits whenever you want so if you need extra CS or S on any day, that is no problem. Enjoy planning!