For our stay at Disney World, CB and I both decided to get the basic dining plan (1 snack, 1 quick service, 1 table service credit per day, for about $40 per person, per day). Apparently, some restaurants at Disney World fill up so quickly that reservations are needed 90 to 180 days in advance. *blink* I didn’t even know I was going to Disney World three months ago!
Fortunately, I was able to quickly book a few dinners for two. Our times are a bit late, but I was pleasantly surprised that not everyone was as gung-ho as I’d thought and so there are still spots open for us latecomers! So far, I’ve made reservations at Les Chefs de France in Epcot, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater at Hollywood Studios, and Crystal Place at Magic Kingdom. Still have to make a reservation for Animal Kingdom and our second night at Epcot.
We decided that we will be using our table service credit for dinner to get the most bang for our buck. We also decided to forgo signature dining experiences or character dining (two types of dining / restaurants that would require 2 table service credits per dinner per person). If we want to do character dining, i.e. having dinner with Mickey, we’d have to spend 2 table service credits per dinner, per person. I love Mickey, but… no thanks!
I am really glad we decided to get the dining plan. This takes a lot of the pressure off for trying to figure out where to eat and what our dining budget is. For breakfast and lunch we’ll be relying on the quick service and snack credits – I also plan on bringing crackers and some non-perishables (canned tuna, anyone?) to make quick and easy snacks in the hotel room.
P.S. Learning how to plan a vacation at Disney World is like learning another language. Disney World must be special – instead of calling reservations plain ol’ “reservations”, it must be called “Advanced Dining Reservations” (ADRs).
P.P.S. My post on Disney World is up at the 230th Carnival of Personal Finance. Thank you to host Canadian Finance Blog for including it.
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