" More Bang for your Buck" or Dinning Experience?

[stoudt6]

Which of these is your WDW Dining philosophy? A Co-Worker and I have different opinions about what our WDW dining experience should be. My philosophy is that some of the restraunts and experiences there are as good if not better then alot of the attractions, and are not to be missed. My Co-Worker's belief is I'm there to experience the Park and attractions and why spend extra $$$ on something I can do for less or elsewhere. A prime example of this is his thoughts that why should he spend 20+ Dollars a person on a Character Breakfast, when he can eat for less then $10 at resort or CS and then go to Judges Tent or wherever the characters are and have same time and experience. His philosophy on O'hana is why should I spend $30 and feel like I have to gorge my self full of food to feel it was worth it when I can eat for half of that and then get a snack later. his thoughts on theme Restraunts like say Coral Reef and San Angel Inn is I can eat the same food (Seafood and mexican) back home for half-price. I know $$ does play a role in what people can afford to eat, but in this case it doesn't.This is a guy who has to have almost everything that is new/hot item. So I ask everyone 2 things #1 what is your philosphy and #2 Am I nuts for believing that the Dining and Experiences doing it are better then experiences in the parks and attractions.

 

[ntsammy5]

I think I agree with your friend on this one. We eat at some TS restaurants, but usually only a couple each trip. I do not go to WDW for the food -- I can get better food for less money off site or at home. Having said that, character meals are definitely part of the experience and are worth the extra $$.

 

[barndweller]

It was the dining that enticed us back in 1986 for our first trip. And it is the dining that has driven us away.

Disney vacations mean different things to everyone. For some it is all about the rides. For others, it's a resort vacation with their family enjoying the nice hotels and pool. As older adults without children in tow, we don't focus on the amusement park aspect but more on the resort atmosphere with particular emphasis on food & drink. The rising cost I can understand & I would happily pay for good menu choices, prepared well & presented with outstanding service as that is what we expect from Disney. But sadly, that is no longer what we get. Unfortunately, in our opinion, the great variety of dining choices no longer exists at WDW. The service is unpredictable. To dine (not just grab a burger & dash to the next ride) has become a chore requiring advance reservations 6 months in advance. And the reservation isn't even a "real" reservation but just puts your name on a list of hundreds of others waiting for the next available table. We will be visiting WDW later this year but we have chosen to sleep and eat off-site. The dining at Disney is no longer enjoyable enough to entice us to spend our whole vacation there.

 

[burberryplaid]

Right now, it's just DH and I so we go for the experience. We love to eat out so we really research to find places with good food and atmosphere. When we have kids, I'm sure it will be a combination of both. I'm sure we'll love taking the kids to character meals, but they'll eat at the food court most of the time to make it easy on the budget. While we enjoy the rides and attractions, we are not commando type people and never will be. We figure, we can always come back if we miss something so why not take it easy and enjoy everything around us.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Before our 2006 trip, I would have probably leaned more towards your friend's point of view. After having the Disney Dining Plan, I would have to agree with your point of view.

I know that the Dining plan changes are a hot topic here on the boards but I have done the math and it looks as if it will still work well for us during our 2008 upcoming trip.

Prior to the dining plan, we would eat just one, maybe two, table service meals and everything else was counter service meals. Our vacations are 10 days/9 nights so you can well imagine how many burgers, chicken strips and pizza we ate. We were fine with that until we started doing a sit-down meal every evening. It was just so much more relaxing and, in all honesty, we were really finished with all of the rides and attractions by dinner time any way.

Now, we plan our ADRs way ahead of time but we also plan them for the theme park we are in for that particular day. That way, we can still tour the park efficiently during the day and we don't have to travel to our restaurant.

Because we have a 10 year old, we like to book a couple of character meals (even though he knows that they are just people in costume) and we always like to try new restaurants and new foods.

At home, we aren't that into food. Just so long as it is tasty and fills us up we are fine.

 

[MickeyNicki]

I think character meals are part of the WDW experience. In the past (about 10-15 years ago) dining was never a big deal for us, we just grabbed whatever or ate outside of the WDW area. In the last 5 years it is a huge deal to us (we go all the time) and we look forward to nice dining experiences and foods that we never tried before or cuisine that we do not have near where we live.

 

[DVC Mike]

Dining at WDW is just as much part of our vacation experience as the parks and the resort. We love dining at WDW.

 

[Tiger926]

Dining at WDW is just as much part of our vacation experience as the parks and the resort. We love dining at WDW.

ITA!!! Tiger

 

[Quiksilvr]

Several of the Signature restaurants are definitely worth the money for the food and for the experience. I know this isn't the same for everyone, but for my wife and I, eating out at Disney is at the very least comparable in expense (and often cheaper) than eating out at home. We live in downtown DC and going out, even for "cheap table service" like Ruby Tuesday's or some other awful chain restaurant costs more than it does elsewhere. The Signature restaurants at WDW are similar in quality to many of the great restaurants in DC, and cost the same or less. So, we are all about it.

As far as the standard table service restaurants go, they can be fun for atmosphere (e.g., Morocco, Coral Reef, 'Ohana, Cape May) but at the end of the day the food isn't usually all that much better than what you could get elsewhere. It's still good though, which makes the entire experience (setting + service + food - cost) a win. I generally avoid the american food-heavy TS restaurants at WDW because it often really is just like eating at Applebee's except more expensive.

My wife and I like to do lunch at a CS and dinner at a Signature or TS, but I gotta say...after two weeks of Disney burgers and chicken strips, we were pretty worn out.

 

[LSchrow]

we're with you
our idea of a vacation includes little park time, & more relaxing, swimming, people watching, ending the day with a delicious meal & spectactular show (illuminations)
btw, we do always have a car, but have found a number of restaurants in wdw that are excellent (food & atmosphere) & definately worthy of returning to

 

[dreamer17555]

I agree with your thinking. We are doing the DxDDP because so many meals are experinces (Prime Time, HDDR, Coral Reef) and I love character meals. Frankly I like to pay a little more to be able to sit and eat and still meet the characters than the stand in line and live off hamburgers.

-Becca-

 

[Mike N Kathy]

Dining is just as important as everything else for our trip

 

[angelmav]

Before our 2006 trip, I would have probably leaned more towards your friend's point of view. After having the Disney Dining Plan, I would have to agree with your point of view.

I know that the Dining plan changes are a hot topic here on the boards but I have done the math and it looks as if it will still work well for us during our 2008 upcoming trip.

Prior to the dining plan, we would eat just one, maybe two, table service meals and everything else was counter service meals. Our vacations are 10 days/9 nights so you can well imagine how many burgers, chicken strips and pizza we ate. We were fine with that until we started doing a sit-down meal every evening. It was just so much more relaxing and, in all honesty, we were really finished with all of the rides and attractions by dinner time any way.

Now, we plan our ADRs way ahead of time but we also plan them for the theme park we are in for that particular day. That way, we can still tour the park efficiently during the day and we don't have to travel to our restaurant.

Because we have a 10 year old, we like to book a couple of character meals (even though he knows that they are just people in costume) and we always like to try new restaurants and new foods.

At home, we aren't that into food. Just so long as it is tasty and fills us up we are fine.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this post. Pre-dining plan, probably very few people ate more than a couple of TS meals per trip. It completely changed how people veiwed a Disney vacation. (Pay THAT marketing guy/gal a bonus!!!) But this is also where these changes have caused so much strife. The math no longer works for everyone, the food has declined/become homogenized and the service has become spotty. While all those issue's could be overlooked because of the slam-dunk great deal the old plan was, take that away, and you have alot of previously hooked disney vacationers scratching their heads wondering if its still for them.

 

[gigi1313]

Dining at WDW is just as much part of our vacation experience as the parks and the resort. We love dining at WDW.

BIG DITTO THERE!!!

another interesting thing... ds is a super-picky eater (and has food allergies) and *he* is always willing and eager to try new things at WDW that he would *never* try at home... he has expanded his horizons a dozen fold since our WDW vacations have become annual events

 

[Tricia1972]

I tend to agree with your friend. In 2007 we ate at: (Dinner unless otherwise noted)

Victoria & Albert's, LeCellier, Jiko, Narcoosee's, Cap'n Jack's, Liberty Tree Tavern, Crystal Palace, Kona (breakfast), Chef Mickey's (breakfast and dinner), Whispering Canyon Cafe, Boma (breakfast and dinner), Spoodles, Les Chefs de France, Mama Melrose, and 50's Prime Time Cafe.

Of all of those, the first three are the ones that I would consider dining at solely based on food/atmosphere if they were not located in Disney World.

Not that I had bad food or service at all of the others, but based on their pricing and the quality of food that they serve, there is no way I would pay to eat at them in my hometown. There are better choices for me in my small town in Wisconsin where the food is better and cheaper and also where the service is much friendlier. The exception to service is 50's Prime time - AMAZING service and I'd pay to eat there outside of Disney if the food was better.

 

[myladyisatramp]

We did the dining plan last trip. It was great to all sit together and enjoy a good meal at the end of the day. We will be doing it again this vacation in Nov. The only decision to make is reg DDP or DDDP...thinking DDDP this way we can do a few signiture dining places...

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Which of these is your WDW Dining philosophy? A Co-Worker and I have different opinions about what our WDW dining experience should be. My philosophy is that some of the restraunts and experiences there are as good if not better then alot of the attractions, and are not to be missed. My Co-Worker's belief is I'm there to experience the Park and attractions and why spend extra $$$ on something I can do for less or elsewhere. A prime example of this is his thoughts that why should he spend 20+ Dollars a person on a Character Breakfast, when he can eat for less then $10 at resort or CS and then go to Judges Tent or wherever the characters are and have same time and experience. His philosophy on O'hana is why should I spend $30 and feel like I have to gorge my self full of food to feel it was worth it when I can eat for half of that and then get a snack later. his thoughts on theme Restraunts like say Coral Reef and San Angel Inn is I can eat the same food (Seafood and mexican) back home for half-price. I know $$ does play a role in what people can afford to eat, but in this case it doesn't.This is a guy who has to have almost everything that is new/hot item. So I ask everyone 2 things #1 what is your philosphy and #2 Am I nuts for believing that the Dining and Experiences doing it are better then experiences in the parks and attractions.

Perhaps one year you should skip Disney, and take a vacation where you specifically go to nice places to eat. Make sure they are actually good restaurants.

After that you'll know that Disney restaurants really are nothing special.