Maximizing the Dining Plan...Part 2

Finally, I have found five minutes to write my follow up to Maximizing the Dining Plan that I started probably a month ago! When are we going to get that extra hour in our day? I keep losing hours out of my days :)

So, you have made the decision to get the dining plan for your Disney World vacation. Maybe you were lucky enough to get it for free and it doesn't really matter where you eat (what a nice treat). However, if you had to pay for the plan and want to figure out how to make the most of it, here are a few tips. My first post talked about the sit down meals, but here are a few tips for quick service. Hope they help!

First of all, make sure you order every item that comes with the plan. For quick service meals, each person gets one entree, one drink, and one dessert. As a side note, most restaurants have combo meals where you also get a side with your entree. One exception to this is the turkey legs. They do not come with anything else, so you will only get the leg, a drink and a dessert. When you order, make sure you get a drink and dessert, even if you don't want it at the time. If you are eating at the hotel and can use your refillable mug for coffee or a soft drink, get a bottled drink and stick it in your bag for later (remember you can always get a free cup of ice at a counter service location so you can have a refreshing drink later if you don't want it with your meal). If you don't want the dessert and the restaurant doesn't have a cookie or rice krispy treat you can stick in your bag for later, see if they will let you have a bag of grapes or carrots instead. Disney is all about healthy eating so they will often let you substitute something from the healthy kids selections as a dessert. Not all will, but it doesn't hurt to ask. This makes a great snack later! Also, always ask for a large size drink. You can get either a medium or large size with the plan, and if you don't specify, they will give you a medium with your meal.

Most plans offer enough credits for two meals a day (either one table service and one quick service on the Regular Dining Plan, or two quick service meals on the Quick Service Plan). So, what do you do for the other meal? Bring your own breakfast! You get the most value money wise out of a quick service meal at lunch and dinner. These meals simply cost more. Besides, it is a whole lot cheaper to bring donuts, or bagels, pop tarts, and bread to toast in the food court than it is to pack your own sandwiches for lunch or dinner. We only use a quick service meal at breakfast when we have extra meals.

How do you get extra meals if you only are allotted enough for two a day? We share meals in a few of the restaurants where the food portions are extra large. I have written a separate blog on this in the past, but a few of the ones we share at are Yak and Yeti counter service in Animal Kingdom (sweet and sour chicken and rice), Pizza Planet at Hollywood Studios (pizza with a salad), Cosmic Rays at Magic Kingdom (BBQ chicken and rib plate) and Sunshine Seasons at Epcot (cashew chicken and rice). Sometimes we get one adult meal and one child meal, or just two adult meals. The quick service credits are lumped into one big pot, and are not broken down into a set amount of child and adult meals. Some counter service restaurants do not offer a kids meal, so they have to order off of the adult menu. We don't share every meal, but usually do two or three over the course of ten days. This allows us to get two or three meals at breakfast to break up our monotony of donuts and bagels!

So, there you have it. A few suggestions for making the most of the counter service meals. If you always order a dessert and a large drink, you will maximize your money. Also, instead of wasting food you are too stuffed to eat, get something to save for a snack later in the day. Then you can save your snack credit for a super yummy snack instead of a drink...maybe a Butterfinger cupcake at Starring Rolls in Hollywood Studios, a homemade ice cream sandwich or cinnamon roll at the Main Street Bakery in Magic Kingdom, or a truly unique treat from one of the countries of World Showcase at Epcot!

Travel Tip Tuesday

I stink at keeping up! Now that school is back in, this will be better! Anyway, today's travel tip is for all of you have someone with food allergies in your family. If someone has an allergy, or special diet that they must follow, then Disney is the vacation to take with your family. All of the chefs at Disney are wonderful and trained to deal with a plethora of dietary restrictions. Many of the menus already include vegan options, while some even have gluten free or sugar free options as well. If you don't see something on the menu that you feel comfortable with, or if your food needs to be created in a nut free zone, they can probably accomodate you. All you have to do is ask to speak to the chef and tell them you have food allergies. The chef will come to your table and work with you to create a meal that your special eater can fully enjoy.

On a side note though, Disney takes food allergies very very seriously. If you have a slight one and want to chance eating what is on the menu, don't mention the word allergy around your server. Case is point, my daughter has a slight milk allergy. In her case, her face breaks out after she is exposed to a lot of dairy. Seeing as my daughter lives on pizza and Mac and cheese at Disney, this often happens towards the end of our trip. She doesn't get sick, doesn't go into anaphylactic shock, and the spots don't bother her. They are just blemishes on her face. I have the same issue if I drink too much milk. So, a few years ago we were eating at the super expensive Cinderella castle as her special birthday meal. This was a big deal to her. As we were going over the menu and she was saying she wanted macaroni and cheese, I asked my husband if we should let her have it since she had spots on her face. The waiter walked up just as I mentioned the milk allergy. He said he would get the chef, even though I was not talking to him. I told him not to worry about it, it wasn't a big deal. He insisted that he had to get him since I "mentioned the word allergy". The chef comes out and refuses to allow her to have the macaroni. He then spent at least ten minutes at our table trying to come up with something my super picky then five year old would eat. We finally settled on plain pasta with sauce on the side. When it was time for dessert, he again said no to the birthday cupcake as it has a small amount of milk in it. I tried to explain that her allergy is not affected by milk baked into objects, only pure milk or dairy products and that she could have the cupcake. He still refused, but sent out some sorbet that I told him she wouldn't eat. My daughter was devastated and wanted the cupcake, but he wouldn't give in. While I completely understand that he was doing his job and trying to keep an allergy reaction from occurring, I wish he would have stopped when I told him about how the reaction is limited to straight dairy. At least let her have the cupcake! It was a very emotionally draining meal, and definitely not worth the price that night (we have eaten there before and totally loved it though so this was an isolated incident strictly linked to the allergy issue). I will never mention the word allergy again at Disney in regards to my daughter's milk allergy.


I told the story not to bash Disney or that Chef, but to illustrate the extreme seriousness the Chefs have in regard to food allergies. Just keep it in mind if you have someone with a milder allergy!