Going to fort wilderness and wondering if we should get the dining plan or not. We have done it before but just getting opinions.

We made one visit there and did not have the dining plan. We made another visit there about four years later and had the dining plan. We enjoyed having the dining plan, but I gained four pounds.

We've done it twice but we're not doing it this year. It's been a debate topic between my wife and I for years. I think a lot things come in to play like types of restaurants, age of kids etc etc. We decided not to do it this year simply because our kids are small and don't eat that much. Here is a helpful website for the dining plan.

rtaylor0830 wrote:Going to fort wilderness and wondering if we should get the dining plan or not. We have done it before but just getting opinions.Sorry to sound a bit snarky, but if you've done it before then I'd expect you should already know the answer to this. IMHO, while Disney is the not the cheapest place to eat, its certainly below what you might expect at other theme parks. For lunches, we usually bring our lunch into the park. We rarely eat dinner there due to the craziness and overall exhaustion after dragging 3 young children through the park. We go by a general rule of thumb: take the RV then take the meals..

Don't know about Ft Wilderness. But they offer the dining plan for free for other Disney properties during certain times of the year. You can't beat that price. The free plan typically last about 4-6 weeks I think, and is offered 2 or 3 times a year. As long as you arrive within that window, you can include the free dining in your reservations for the duration of your stay. And you get the free dining even if your reservation runs past the window. We have stayed at a Disney hotel twice with the kids and grandkids. Both times we had specific days we wanted to be there. My son, who researches this stuff to death, found out that by scheduling our arrival on the last day of the free dining window, we would get the free dining for all of the next 5 days of our stay. And that corresponded with our preferred time there any way so it worked well.In our case, with 6 adults and 4 grandkids, the free dining was worth its weight in gold, literally. Typical dinners in a Disney restaurant run from something over $20 to over $35. With the dining plan, you just order what you want without considering costs.Paying for the dining plan is not cheap. But may be worth it if you enjoy eating. In our case, staying at a Disney hotel we did not have a rent car and was pretty much limited to Disney properties for meals.One caution. If you do go with the dining plan, read up on it carefully so that you don't use up your credits without understanding when and what credits you are using.

we go to DW/Fort Wilderness twice a year . The year we got the dining plan all of us gained weight. We save money and pounds only eating out once a day.

Dining plan or not | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

Jebby14
Explorer
May 11, 2016
im not going anywhere near Disney without a meal plan. way to much to pay to eat and just too much hassle to come back for meals. for what your spending to be there get their meal plan and enjoy max time in the parks. there is actually pretty good food to be had all over and not worrying about the price makes a huge difference.
Acampingwewillg
Explorer II
May 11, 2016
I had a feeling the Policy might not be the reality as to outside food. We use to have an annual pass to Disneyland and taking a lunch in was never an issue(minus the ice chest/cooler of course).
mgirardo
Explorer
May 11, 2016
Unless you plan to be out of the camper all day every day or you don't want to be bothered with cooking, I don't think the Dining Plan is worth it.

You can't get the free dining plan at Fort Wilderness. You will definitely put on weight if you use the entire dining plan. We have gone a few times with my wife's parents and they have gotten the dining plan. They are always scrambling at the end to try to use up all their benefits. They almost always have unused portions of the plan left over.

-Michael
Bobbo
Explorer III
May 11, 2016
We have gotten the dining plan every time we went, and will again if we go again.
CampingN_C_
Explorer
May 11, 2016
WTP-GC wrote:
Crowe wrote:
Another thought was to pack a lunch to have while in the Park??

They do not allow outside food and drink to be taken into the park, unless it's for dietary reasons and you have a doctor's note. Part of it is they want their extra bucks and part of it is liability.

Every time we've ever been to Disney as a family (at all WDW parks in FL), we've always taken our lunch, snacks and drinks in. We pack a cooler bag that's about the size of a small suitcase full of water bottles, food, ice-packs, etc. And every time we do this, we go through the bag-check line and they inspect the contents and send us along on our magical way.

IMO, Disney is very open to allowing you to bring in pretty much whatever food item you want...except alcohol.

That's been our experience as well. I've seen plenty of families sitting around eating sandwiches out of zip-locks.
WTP-GC
Explorer
May 11, 2016
Crowe wrote:
Another thought was to pack a lunch to have while in the Park??

They do not allow outside food and drink to be taken into the park, unless it's for dietary reasons and you have a doctor's note. Part of it is they want their extra bucks and part of it is liability.

Every time we've ever been to Disney as a family (at all WDW parks in FL), we've always taken our lunch, snacks and drinks in. We pack a cooler bag that's about the size of a small suitcase full of water bottles, food, ice-packs, etc. And every time we do this, we go through the bag-check line and they inspect the contents and send us along on our magical way.

IMO, Disney is very open to allowing you to bring in pretty much whatever food item you want...except alcohol.
rwbradley
Explorer
May 11, 2016
The official policy is:
water bottles
baby food
food for those with special dietary needs (like those allergic to wheat gluten)- however they can accommodate just about any allergy, dietary restriction, or religious restriction and the chef's are extremely accomodating

However I have never seen or heard of the no outside food policy being strictly enforced. Coolers are the only thing they seem to enforce strictly. As long as you do not try to bring in a cooler, I doubt you will be refused for bringing in sandwiches and drink boxes...
Crowe
Explorer
May 11, 2016
Another thought was to pack a lunch to have while in the Park??

They do not allow outside food and drink to be taken into the park, unless it's for dietary reasons and you have a doctor's note. Part of it is they want their extra bucks and part of it is liability.
Acampingwewillg
Explorer II
May 11, 2016
We're thinking of going to the Fort in Sept and we also considered the dining plan but with three small doggies, we figured we'd be back and forth between the Park and Motorhome that grabbing a bite would not be too difficult. Having the evening meal back at Camp would be good for us too, keeping the kid's happy! Another thought was to pack a lunch to have while in the Park?? We have not been back to Fort Wilderness in 20+ years.
Crowe
Explorer
May 11, 2016
Have been to Disney 4 times, tried it once, never again. Too stressful trying to use it if we have to be at a particular place at a particular time. This is where we like to "wing it". The last time we went our son was 18 and it was to celebrate his graduation. I didn't think we'd spend as much time in Magic Kingdom as we did. If we had based dinner plans on being elsewhere as a result we would have felt rushed trying to get there. If you feel you can stick to a predictable schedule and you feel it will save you money then go for it. Otherwise I wouldn't.