disney dining plan

Affordable Disney Dining: Tables in Wonderland and Other Discounts

Nancy Saving Money on Food , , , , , 3 Comments

The past several blog posts have been devoted to explaining the variations of the Disney Dining Plan. For many folks, free or not, the Dining Plan is the best way to save money on their meal budget. But what if you have determined that none of the Disney Dining Plans are right for your family: are there any other ways to save money on meals at Disney World?

The short answer is, yes. The long answer (as often happens when discussing saving money at Disney World) is that it depends. *What* it all depends on, is the subject of today’s post. 🙂 Let’s take a look at the other discount options.

Tables in Wonderland

Probably the most popular dining discount program that Disney offers, after the Dining Plan, is the Tables in Wonderland program. Offered only to Florida residents and Annual Passholders, it provides guests with a 20% discount on food, beverages, and alcohol at most table-service restaurants throughout the Disney World parks and resort hotels. So if you do not have a Florida resident pass or Annual pass, you are not eligible. But if this DOES apply to you, then you may want to consider this program. Here is an overview of the specifics of this program:

  • Cost for a Tables in Wonderland membership is $100 per year for Florida residents and $75 for Annual and Seasonal Passholders.
  • The benefit is valid for a party of up to 10 people. Only one discount card can be used per table. The member must be present and must present the card when ordering.
  • The membership card is not accepted on holidays, including Mothers Day, Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
  • In addition to the 20% discount on food and beverages, membership includes benefits such as complimentary resort/hotel parking (including valet parking) and reimbursement for theme park parking when dining in a theme park restaurant, invitations to special member-only events, free admission to Atlantic Dance Hall on the BoardWalk  and more.
  • An 18% gratuity will be added to all transactions at table service restaurants and lounges, regardless of party size. 20% gratuity will be added at Victoria & Albert’s.
  • Purchasing a Tables in Wonderland membership is easy: simply call (407) 566-5858, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, or visit any of the Disney World Guest Services locations or call. Proof of eligibility is required.

So, if you are eligible, will the Tables in Wonderland program be a savings for you? And will it be MORE of a savings than the Disney Dining Plan? To answer this, you are going to have to get your calculator out and do a little math. Sorry.

First, consider the cost of membership to see if you will use it enough to save more than the cost of the membership. Second, look at the restaurants that accept the Tables in Wonderland program: you can find a full list of all of the current restaurants over at the Disney Food Blog. While there are a lot of restaurants that participate, are the ones that you are interested in on the list? Third, are you traveling on any of the excluded holidays? If so, then consider carefully, because there is no savings on those days. Lastly, if it were me, I would do some sample estimates of meal costs, using the 20% Tables in Wonderland discount PLUS the cost of the membership, and compare to the cost per day that the Dining Plan will cost me. Which is cheaper? The answer won’t be the same for everyone!

I do want to say we have not used this program, so I asked for some thoughts over on our Facebook page. Here are a couple of the responses I received:

From Rebecca: I used to have one, but not any longer. The cost of the card exceeds the savings for a single person. It may be beneficial to a family who dines on table service frequently

From Angela: I have had the tables in Wonderland card in the past. A few years ago you had to spend around $300 a year in food to pay for the card. So anything over that is cost effective. Drawbacks are that any sitdown you get an automatic 18% tip added to the bill and it is only good at hotel CS if there is no sit down restaurant at that hotel.

My thoughts about this program are that it probably benefits local and/or frequent guests the most: those for whom the Dining Plan is not available. It also may be worth a look for a family who is interested in one or two table service meals per trip, but not the full table service/day offering of the Dining Plan. Do the math though to make sure your savings will be greater than the cost of the membership for you.

Annual Pass, DVC, and Other Discounts

Additionally, there are a few other ways to get *some* discounts on Disney World dining….if you are eligible. Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club members, and AAA members all receive discounts to some Walt Disney World restaurants, typically 10% although a few restaurants do offer 20% discounts. The thing to keep in mind is that the list of restaurants offering discounts for these promotions is quite a bit smaller than the Tables in Wonderland list, so you really need to check the websites or promotion list that you received to see what is available, and if it will really be a savings for your circumstances.

Other potential discounts on Disney restaurants may be available through the Entertainment Book, coupons found in Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World 2010 guidebook, and Restaurant.com which offers gift certificates for up to 60% off for the following Disney World restaurants: Todd English’s bluezoo, House of Blues,  Garden Grove,   Kimonos,  Shula’s Steak House, and Il Mulino New York Trattoria. (When you go to the Restaurant.com site and enter “Lake Buena Vista, FL” into the search field, you will find the Disney property restaurants that participate.) I do want to say that I have personally used Restaurant.com locally on a number of occasions and am becoming a huge fan: often gift certificates can be purchased for up to 80% off which is a HUGE savings if you are interested in eating at any of the above restaurants.

So there you have it: how you *may* be able to receive discounts on your Disney dining, without the Dining Plan. Now, I would love to hear your experiences with some of these Disney discount dining programs. What has worked for you? What tips can you share? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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Affordable Disney World Dining: Quick Service Dining Plan

Nancy Disney Dining Plans, Saving Money on Food , , , , 0 Comment

Continuing our discussion about the Disney Dining Plans, today’s post is about the Quick Service Dining Plan. The Quick Service Dining Plan is the least expensive Dining Plan choice, and as such is the easiest way to plan affordable meals while at Walt Disney World. This plan provides for each person in your room the following items:

  • 2 Quick Service Meals (counter service or “fast food”) per night. Choose one entrée/combo meal, one single non-alcoholic beverage, and either dessert (lunch/dinner) or juice (breakfast).
  • 2 Snacks per night. There are a large number of snack items throughout the Walt Disney World resort theme parks and hotels. What is available as a snack item is easily identified on the menu at all snack shops and counter service restaurants by the DDP snack item logo. Examples of the kinds of things you can get for a snack credit are ice cream (including Dole Whips and Mickey bars!), fruit, popcorn, chips, muffins, baked items, as well as a number of hot and cold drink items. It has been my experience that more items ARE snack credits on the DDP than not, but when in doubt, just ask the castmember at the register.
  • One refillable resort drink mug. With this mug you get unlimited drink refills at any RESORT HOTEL only.

You can read more information about counter service meal choices and snack choices at Disney World here.

What Does the Quick Service Dining Plan Cost?

The Quick Service Dining Plan prices for 2010 are: Adults $31.99 per person per night; children 3-9 are $9.99 per person per night. This fee is added on to the cost for the Magic Your Way package (if not already included), or to the room cost for Annual Passholders or Disney Vacation Club members.

You can download the 2010 Quick-Service Dining Plan brochure here.

You can download the 2011 Quick-Service Dining Plan brochure here.

As already mentioned in Disney Dining Plan 101, everyone in the room must be on the same package. In addition, there is no charge for children under 3: they may share an adult meal, or you may pay separately for them. Children ages 3-9 must order from a kid’s menu when available. All dining credits must be used by midnight the last day of your stay, otherwise they expire.

Tips for Using the Quick Service Dining Plan

It’s important to realize that while each person has the above noted credits for each night, you are by no means REQUIRED to use them that way. In other words, if on one day you want to have 3 counter service meals, and the next day just have 1 counter service meal and 4 snacks each, you can. You can also, of course, supplement the food options in the Quick Service Dining Plan with other meals/food that you pay out of pocket for (say you want to eat at a table service meal one night). Just be careful and think about this first, as a lot of supplemental meals can make this not such an affordable choice.

You can also feel free to be creative, and consider sharing meals, as you will find that it is a lot of food for many folks. Consider also getting dessert to go, or getting fresh fruit or a muffin as a healthy snack for later, or for breakfast the next day.

And if you find you have leftover snack credits, use them for non-perishable treats like Mickey Krispie treats that you can take home with you…or to snack on during your journey home. 🙂

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Disney Fun From Around the World: Week of March 22, 2010

Nancy Disney Fun From Around the "World" , , , , 0 Comment

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There was some great information shared on Disney World blogs this week.  Here are a few of our favorites:

From our friends at the Disney Food Blog, some delicious and helpful dining ideas:

Top Ten Disney Dining Tips

Chocolate Desserts You Might Have Missed

Meltdown Free Disney shares with us The Other Kids Big Day

Disney Every Day uncovers a Main Street USA Hidden Treasure: The Glassblowing Studio

Chip and Co. offers the following great information:

Disneyworld Dining Options – To Meal Plan or Not To Meal Plan

Easter 2010 activities available at Walt Disney World

And the folks at Everything Walt Disney World provide some great guidance: Should You Buy an Annual Pass?

That’s it for this week! Hope you found some fun and helpful information. Have a magical weekend!

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Affordable Disney Vacations Step by Step. Part Thirteen: Decide if the Disney Dining Plan is Right For You

Nancy Affordable Disney Vacations, Disney Vacation Planning, Saving Money on Food , , , 3 Comments

This is part thirteen in my blog series: Affordable Disney Vacations Step by Step. You can read the rest of the posts here.

I get many questions from people who are thinking about visiting Walt Disney World and want Disney World vacation tips and suggestions. Disney vacation planning can be very involved and confusing as well, so the goal of this series is to start at the beginning, and look at everything you need to think about, in the general order you need to think about it. Each week’s post will be numbered and link to all the others so that, when complete, you will have a guide with all the steps and information you need to plan your own Disney magic.

food-797785Now that we have covered some of the major and most expensive portions of your trip…lodging and transportation…let’s talk about food.

One of the best ways to help have a truly affordable Disney vacation is to plan your meals economically. This post will discuss one of the most popular ways to get the most out of your food budget: using the Disney Dining Plan.

On the Disney Dining Plan (DDP), if you have reserved a Disney package, you can have the option of pre-paying for most, if not all of your meals, by choosing one of several plans. (Please note that having a Disney package is a requirement, unless you have Annual Passes or are Disney Vacation Club members.)

With the Quick Service Dining Plan, you get two quick service meals and two snacks per person, per day, and one resort refillable mug per person, per package. With the basic Dining Plan, you will have one table service, one quick service, and one snack per person, per day. And finally, there is the Deluxe Dining Plan, offering 3 table or quick service meals and two snacks per person, per day, plus a refillable mug for each person per package.

So basically, there is a Plan for whatever your budget is. 🙂

Since we enjoy a table service meal each night, our family has purchased the basic Dining Plan on each of our last several trips and it is a huge saving for us. We use the counter service meal (entrée, drink, and dessert) for lunch, the table service meal (entrée, drink, dessert) for dinner, and we use the snack credits for either breakfast…or eat light in our room. For us, it is usually way more food than we can usually eat, and so often get our dessert at dinner “to go” since we are so full. Other times we choose fruit and/or muffins for our lunch or dinner desserts and use these for snacks later or breakfast. We have experimented with the plan a number of different ways, and no matter how we do it, we eat very well, have food left over to bring home (snack credits purchase great edible “souvenirs” J), and we save money.

How then does the Dining Plan help us have an affordable Disney vacation?

Currently, the basic plan costs from $41.99 to $46.99 (depending on the time of year) per adult/per day, which for our family of 3 is usually less than we would have spent out of pocket just for dinner itself. So clearly, it is a huge cost-saver for us.

Will it be for your family? Possibly, depending on your family size, eating habits, time of year etc. In other words, like most other things related to planning an affordable Disney vacation, you’ll need to do the research and then do the math. J Compare all levels of the Dining Plan: if you have small children, you may find the Quick Service Plan to be more suited to your family’s needs than the basic or Deluxe Plan.

Related to the Dining Plan, there are a few additional things you should know:

  1. Disney has offered for the past few years, a package promotion in late summer/early fall that includes the Disney Dining Plan for FREE. Yup, you have that right: FREE FOOD. This is seriously a huge cost-saver, and if your schedule allows traveling at that time of year, you should really consider it. Now there are no guarantees, but in the current economic climate, and since Disney has offered this the past several years now, it is reasonable to think that they MAY offer it again this year. Stay tuned.
  2. While you don’t have to pay for the Dining Plan when you reserve your package, and so technically it is not something you need to decide early in the planning process…..this is so important…..IF you are planning to get the Basic Plan and so have table service meals…you absolutely need to think about what restaurants you will want to eat in, and make your reservations (Advanced Dining Reservations) well in advance. Disney currently starts accepting  ADRs 6 months in advance, and if you are visiting during any of the busy seasons…or during Free Dining…if you don’t reserve well in advance, you risk not eating where you want.  I just can’t stress this part enough…when it comes to Disney table service restaurants during high-traffic seasons, the early bird definitely gets the worm.

So your action plan for this week for planning an affordable Disney vacation: look at the Disney Dining Plan and see if it can save you money!

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