Dining plan or not

[rtaylor0830]

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

[Jebby14]

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]

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]

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]

We have gotten the dining plan every time we went, and will again if we go again.

[CampingN_C_]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[dodge_guy]

The dining plan worked for us. With the sitdown restaurants you have to make reservations. So you need to work that into your day at the park. It want too hard and I actually enjoyed that part of it!

With that said I was disappointed with Disney and the fort. Everything is overrated, site was small, not that we were there all day. Parks were nice, but nothing that made me go ooh ahh!

I was more impressed with Cedar Point!

[rwbradley]

Dining plan is often free during Hurricane season...

To get it or not to get it is well debated. Generally it depends on the person, but in many cases it is not worth it, but in many cases it is. A few things that may help make up your mind:
1) Sit down restaurants are quite busy, having 6 months to get a reservation for the top pick restaurants can help a lot, especially if you must eat during prime time and during prime season.
2) Character dining is a unique opportunity for a little more "Disney" for little kids and the best way for them to meet the characters without a huge line or crowd. They often require reservations during prime season.
3) Some dining has quite generous portions and you only need one meal credit to feed two adults, the pasta bar at the cafeteria at Port Orleans Riverside is an example. Research is required to figure out how to beat the bank though.
4) It is easy, just swipe your band.
5) Its worked into your budget when you pay for your trip.
6) There are no age police for kids, the kids meal plan is much cheaper and kids may prefer the menu options, they will not ask if your kid is really 9 or not (unless maybe he looks 15).
7) Some sit down/ character meals can be quite expensive when paying cash, expect to pay $200-$300 for a family of 4 for dinner. Five nights of character meals at $200 each is $1000, that goes a long way toward breaking even
😎 If you are the PB&J type, the meal plan will likely not be worth it, just pack a lunch and avoid all the long lines.

[bass_n_bob]

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.

[BB_TX]

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.