Magic Your Way Package Plus Dining Reader Comments

MAGIC YOUR WAY PACKAGES | DINING PLAN PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS | DINING PLAN READER COMMENTS

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Jonathan Young – January 2006

My fiancee and I just got back from a wonderful week at the World and I just had to write and rave about the Disney Dining Plan. It was wonderful. We got to eat at restaurants we normally wouldn't eat at and, more importantly, eat way more than we ever would because we never would spend the money on appetizers and dessert. The dining plan was about $400 for the two of us. Just for the heck of it, I totaled up what all of our table service and counter service meals would have cost us if we had paid out of pocket – $725! And that is not counting our snacks. Each day, each of us grabbed a bottle of pop, a bottle of water, a popcorn, an ice cream bar and it was all already paid for! This is an amazing savings. I know some people say they can't possibly eat all the food that the Dining Plan gives them. I say "so what?" You're still getting WAY more than your money's worth.

Just to give people some examples. Our dinner at Yachtsman's Steakhouse (which does take two meals) would've been $129! Our dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table would've been $98. Nine Dragons would've been $85 and Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater would've cost $80! This is just an amazing moneysaver for anyone in my opinion.

*****

Cindy – January 2006

We took our trip on December 18-28, 2005. We cannot say enough about staying on site and having the Disney Dining Plan. The thought of ever going again with out it makes us shudder. It made our trip so hassle-free when all we had to do was give them our card and they gave us how many meals we had left! We barely used our snack ones but at the end we asked a Disney Cast Member if we could use what we had left for the trip home and they told us CERTAINLY! We had a total of 10 left so we racked up on waters, Mickey rice krispy treats, assorted fruits, and chips for our loooong ride home. What better way to spend our ride home than with the magic of Disney Snacks! If you are choosing to go to Disney do not I repeat do not go without the AWESOME DISNEY DINING PLAN!

*****

Kevin Hayward – December 2005

We tried the meal plan for the first time and it was fair to good. I felt like I was eating all of the time and did not use some of the snacks due to eating a big dinner most nights to get the most from the plan. A down side to the meal plan is that not all cart locations accept the plan for snacks and if you use a sit down meal as a character breakfast, you still have to purchase dinner out of pocket. Our lunches were great using the plan and once you got dessert, you were not hungry any time soon. Overall the meal plan was good and once you visit during the holiday season you will not want to go any other time.

*****

Bill & Lee Ann – December 2005

We just completed our first trip to WDW with our children – ages 13, 11 and 8. Our overall experience was great. We did quite a bit of advance planning, which helped immensely. But I wanted to submit a word or two about the Disney Dining Plan. We purchased the Dining Plan and I can say without reservation that it's Disney's biggest rip-off. After six days and nights, we had more than half of our counter service meals left and 12 of our 30 snacks – all because there are so many things you CANNOT use your "plan" for that aren't spelled out in the details. Much of this you don't discover until you're at the counter with your food items. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where the "Mara" counter-service (fast food) restaurant was the biggest example of this. Our last morning, we could have used a counter-service meal to get an $11 breakfast entree, but to get a croissant and a small bottle of orange juice? $4.50, either cash or charged to your room. Ask a Mara employee what's covered under the plan, and you get a range of answers – from "pretty much everything" (from a very helpful employee) to "well, it depends" (from a very impatient cashier who after several questions on my part finally refused to answer any more questions about what constituted a "dessert" and what constituted a "snack." Best advice: recognize that eating at Disney is a very expensive proposition. Book meals far in advance and buy your own snacks locally (even if you have to rent a taxi to go off-property to do so).

*****

Julie Morgan – December 2005

A comment in the Dec. 6 newsletter issue about the "Magic Your Way" Dining Plan indicated that using the plan takes some spontaneity out of your trip. While it does require some planning, we found that it opened up a whole new world of dining experiences that would have otherwise never tried, mostly because of cost. While we did have three advance reservations made prior to arriving, we simply called the Disney Dining line from our Pop Century room and asked for other available reservations. By doing this, we were able to try three restaurants we had never been to before. A birthday dinner at Tony's Town Square was delicious! Cinderella's Gala Feast at 1900 Park Fare was a magical experience. And Donald's Breakfastosaurus in the Animal Kingdom was loads of fun! The Cast Members I spoke to were eager to help me find just the right dining choices for our times/dates. We saved a considerable amount of money with the dining plan and highly recommend it.

*****

Bill Ainsworth – November 2005

We just returned from a one week trip to Disneyworld. We participated in the Disney Dining Package which was a pretty good deal relative to the inflated costs at the restaurants. We generally mentioned that we had the dining package to all of our servers up front. I would recommend not doing that. When the servers know you are using the dining package, they know that they will automatically get their 15% gratuity and generally do not try very hard. Worse yet is it usually takes a lot longer to get your food for the same reason – they know they are getting their automatic 15%. When time is a precious commodity, this was troublesome.

*****

Karen – November 2005

We just got back from a wonderful dining experience at Disney. Our last visit two years ago resulted in a lot of counter service dining options that turned us off and the table services we did opt to use hurt our wallet. So when we booked this trip, the reservationist offered us the dining plan – $34.99 per adult per night and $9.99 per child under 9 per night. For our family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children), we had a total of 28 table services, 28 counter services and 28 snacks to use before our 7 day/night trip was complete (we brought cereal and ate breakfast in our room). The total
bill for all of this was $629 on top of our resort reservations. The table service included an appetizer, entree, and dessert with a non-alcoholic beverage. The counter service included an entree, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage. We also found out we could use our snacks for the Epcot food and wine festival (only on the food), so we were really excited to try different foods from around the world! I made a point to record how much each meal would have cost us if we were not on the plan. If we didn't have the plan, it would have cost us $1079 to eat for the week, saving us over $450! I hope Disney continues to offer this plan. The list of restaurants that participate is large and we never felt like we missed out. The best part of it is that it takes the stress out of the cost — we found ourselves having fun ordering, without worry! I highly recommend this dining plan!

*****

Kurt Cazayoux – May 2005

This dining plan was awsome and so well worth it. I figured we saved well over $200 by taking advantage of this option. We went to restaurants that we would not have normally gone to. We did not have to nickle and dime the dining experience, which allowed us to choose from anything on the menu we wanted. We went to the following restaurants: Concourse Steak House (great ribeye), Whispering Canyon (great food-buffet – kids loved it), SciFi Dine In (horrible food and service), 'Ohana (the most awsome restaurant ever!), Crystal Palace (very good food – buffet – kids loved it), ESPN Club (good food – I loved it – wife and kids put up with it), Chef Mickey's (breakfast was awsome – kids got to meet 1 on 1 with a bunch of characters, especially Mickey!) I will always get the dining plan from now on.

*****

Mary Davison – May 2005

We stayed at Contemporary Resort (Mom, Dad, and 14 yr old son). We purchased the dining plan with our 'Magic Your Way' package. The deal was a BARGAIN. We ate well, and everywhere we wanted to.

The Table Service meals provided filling breakfasts and dinners, at a huge savings from the menu price: Ohana at Polynesian, and Le Cellier in Canada were great food and value. The Counter Service meals were good, AND included a side dish and delicious dessert, which were bonuses that we would never have ordered if we were paying. We saved some of the packaged dessert cakes and fruits for breakfasts. We got by with two great meals each day. We only spent cash for our favorite treat, the Dole Whips in Adventureland. We used the Snack allowance drinks and icecream, and still had leftover, so we bought drinks for our drive home.

The $12.99 refillable drink cup at the resort was a great deal. We helped ourselves many times each day. I hope this info will help someone choose the dining plan. Good luck and happy vacation.

*****

Kristen D. – April 2005

When planing our trip to Disney (April 20th to the 25th), our travel agent (AAA) suggested getting the "Magic Your Way with Dining" option. We were a little hesitant at first, as the $35 a day sounded steep, until I realized that my trip there 2 years ago cost me a fortune in food, and at the very least, paying in advance would *feel* cheaper.

Let me tell you, it was the best thing we ever did. For $35 a day you get one counter service meal (entree, drink and desert), a snack (soda, water, popcorn, ice cream) and one sit down meal (appetizer, entree, desert, drink and tip) a day. You can use them in any way you want and you can even "trade" in 2 sit down meals for a dinner show like Hoop De Doo or the Spirit of Aloha. Every restaurant we encountered took the plan, and we never had a problem using it.

An example of the value of the plan is when we went to dinner at our hotel (The Polynesian) to the casual restaurant, the "Kona Cafe." I had crab cake appetizer (approximately $6), prime rib with the option of shrimp (the prime rib is listed at $21.99-I don't know how much extra the shrimp was), a soda, and the most delicious cheese cake (approximately $6). So you see, that was the $35 right there, and it only "cost" me one sit down meal coupon. The server assured me he gets a 15% tip, and I saw that listed on our bill. The total bill that night came to $225 and we all ate like kings.

I wouldn't go to Disney again without getting this option. And, if you feel that it might be "too much" food, or you know you aren't a "lunch" eater, you can use your coupons for breakfast, too. (even Character breakfasts!) The plan is kept track of on your room key or "Key to the Kingdom" so you don't have to worry about actual coupons.

*****

Larry Callicutt – April 2005

Just returned from a week in the parks and can confirm Nine Dragons in EPCOT is participating in the Disney Dining Plan. It was not considered a "signature" meal and we were only charged one meal per person.

One word of caution about using the dining plan though. Make your priority seating in advance for your table service meals. We failed to do the the first day and were unable to get seated at any of the participating restaurants in the Magic Kingdom. (We heard similar complaints from other guests, including one person who had been there for three days and still had not been able to redeem a table service meal.) After that we either picked our restaurant the night before or did so before lunch that day and did not have any further problems.

Overall, we were pleased with the dinning package. It is flexible in that it allows you to use your meal and snack allowances in any order you choose. You just need to plan those sit down meals in advance.

*****

Louise – April 2005

We recently used the Magic Your Way dining plan for a four day visit to WDW. I would say that the "snack" feature was the least usable. We got one soda, one box of popcorn, and one water over the course of four days. We never used the other 3 snacks. The table service and counter service meals were a good value. We ate at Cinderella's Royal Table for dinner one night. With all that the dining plan allowed (appetizer, entree, dessert, beverage, and tip) the meal total was approximately $85.00. The dining plan alone for one entire day was only $60 (for both of us). This was also the case at Chef Mickey's where the total bill was approximately $65 for dinner. We also had a good counter service lunch in the Magic Kingdom of chicken sandwich, chips, beverage, and dessert. I would say it is worth the money, if you don't mind being somewhat restricted as to restaurants.

*****

The Barker-Parece Family – April 2005

I wanted to send you some information from our recent trip to WDW using the Disney Magic Your Way meal plan. When you check in, they will give you a one-page brochure listing all restaurants participating in the meal program, as well as a graphic organizer that tells you which kinds of meals each place offers. I'm sure this brochure will change each time they add or change restaurants. Looking at my list, it appears that the most 'upscale' restaurants are for Signature dining, using up two (2) sit downs/dinner, or the dinner shows can use up 2. As for counter service stops that also offer snacks, I can tell you that they are listed on the chart supplied by WDW, and from our experience, each resort counter service establishment offered snacks…and our particular resort Caribbean Beach, was ver-r-r-r-y lenient with what constituted a snack. They allowed cookies, and would substitute other baked goods if they were out of cookies.

Unless you are a first-time visitor, I would wonder why you wouldn't choose the Magic Your Way Meal Plan. If you know the restaurants you like, and you know how much money you would likely spend, it's easy to let the numbers speak for themselves. Let me explain: For approximately $40.00/day per person, we were able to eat at clean, set tables, with someone waiting on us, instead of us waiting in line, EVERY night. In addition, most of our table service dinners ended up being character meals! Our table service meals would have cost us between $120.00-$190.00/evening for our family of four (we know because we tracked it carefully). Our counter service meals ran between $38-$45/day, and our snacks were approximately $10-$12/day. As a matter of fact, the evening before we left, we had to use up double snacks as we had arrived late in the afternoon on our first day and had a snack left over.

The only table service lunch we had was at Sci-Fi Dine In, and we left so much food behind, it was sinful. Table service allows you an appetizer, entree, drink and dessert!!! We left almost a whole order of beer-battered onion rings at Sci-Fi, and we aren't light eaters.

According to our budget from last July, we spent more then and ate fewer 'good' meals than we did this April. We also brought many of our own snack foods last July, and bought groceries upon our arrival. Because we bought the refillable mugs, we didn't really need a beverage if we were eating in our resort-but we took a bottled beverage anyway, or a milk, and stuck it in our fridge for later. By bringing our Brita refillable water bottles from last summer we never had to use our snack allotment for water, we could enjoy Mickey ice creams, instead! When ordering hamburgers, which kids tend to like, we always ordered the bacon double cheeseburgers instead of singles, and gave the 'extra' burger to whomever was hungriest. The same goes for desserts that weren't loved by all, I happen to really like the apple-brown-betty from the Liberty Inn in Epcot, but my daughter dislikes apples. The day we lunched in Epcot, I got an extra dessert, and she got my extra burger. If you know what your family likes, and you already know where in 'the World' you like to eat, the meal plan can actually save you money.

I will say that counter service and table service establishments are harder to find in Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney, but this gave us an excuse to schedule dinner at the AK Lodge…very impressive place, although the Boma buffet did not bowl us over. In addition, this did get us to travel all the way to the AK Lodge, which we probably would never have done otherwise…another bonus for us.

Comparing our two budgets, it's clear that the Magic Your Way Dining Plan paid for itelf each night at dinner!

*****

Kelly Petrucci – April 2005

We just returned from Disney and used the Magic Your Way Dining Package. Overall, we felt it was convenient, flexible and very economical. Our first night at Disney World, we found the plan very confusing. We stayed at the Pop Century and were overwhelmed with all the meal choices as well as questions about what qualifies for the meal plan and what doesn't. After a couple days of asking questions, we felt more comfortable with the plan.

The plan includes A LOT of food–more than we could eat at any one meal! We planned ahead and made priority seating for at least one meal a day. We used the meal plan for the more expensive options like the Hoop Dee Doo dinner show and dinner at the Coral Reef. More bang for the buck!

The only down side was that kids had to order off the kids menu if there was one. This was a challenge as we ate several meals at our resort and our kids (3,6,8) didn't like many of the kids' meal choices. To get around this we just ordered them the regular meals–the cashiers didn't ask any questions and it worked out fine. Because some meal options we chose were two table service meals, we paid out-of-pocket for two meals during our stay. It would be nice if Disney would allow you to purchase additional meals on an a-la-carte basis. Again, overall, we found the dining package very worthwhile and very cost effective!

*****

Angela Morin – April 2005

On our last evening, we still had 3 snack coupons left. Our Concierge recommended we go to Captain Cooks Snack Company, (we stayed at the Polynesian), and the cashier pulled out a list of about 10 – 12 items that are now considered a snack. I got a bag of Doritos, a chocolate coated Mickey rice crispies treat and grapes. It was perfect for our flight home the next day. It retailed at about $12.00.

*****

Pauline – April 2005

We just returned from a wonderful Disney vacation in which we purchased the dining plan. The plan provides more than enough food and most of the time more than we could eat. Our disappointment was the selection of restaurants at the time. I called on 4/21/05 from our resort hotel to see if any had been added and the only one at that time was the Maya Grill at the Coronardo Springs resort. We love the Teppanyaki and San Angel but could not use the dining plan at either. Our favorite snack is the chocolate covered banana which was considered a snack on the plan. The best deal was when we ate at the Concourse Streak House. The bill for two adults and two teenagers would have been 184.00 with out a tip. The counted as one sit down meal each. What a deal.

*****

Jody – March 2005

We used the MYW Dining Plan in March and, while it can be a bit confusing at times, overall we had a positive experience. I guess the main thing is to PLAN IN ADVANCE!! We had priority seatings for all our character meals and sit down dinners before we left home and never had any problems with those. I know I've read people complaining that you can't get any snack you want, only those on the list. This was not a problem for us. If one day we wanted an ice cream cone, we bought one and saved that day's snack for the next day–we could get popcorn AND a soda or water. WE used up all our sitdown dinners and snacks–just had some counter meals unused. IT would be very helpful to us if you could exchange two counter meals for a sit down meal. We also found the snack bar in our hotel (AKL) more flexible with what was included than restaurants in the parks. The only problems we had were from using the dining plan for snacks in the parks–the ! salesperson SAID they were using our dining plan, but in reality they were charging them to our room. The front desk of our hotel had to correct this problem for us more than once. This may have been because the plan was fairly new at the time. Glad to hear they are adding more options and more restaurants to the plan. Overall it worked great for us (2 adults and 2 6-year-olds) and we would definitely get it again next time.

*****

Ross DiEdoardo – March 2005

We had a recent trip to WDW in March over Easter weekend. We were there for 6 nights and we tried the Disney Magic Your Way Dining Plan. While skeptical at first, by the end of our trip we were thrilled that we had done it and will probably never do Disney again without doing it. We ran into no kinks at all. Everyone from popcorn vendors to all of the restaurants were all very familiar with the plan and how it worked. It was a breeze.

We ate much better than we would have had we not used the plan. We ended up having 3 character meals, a wonderful meal at Cape May Cafe and several other places we probably wouldn't have gone to otherwise. The amount of food provided was incredible. Meals always came with dessert which was great for the kids. This was everything from brownies to frozen lemonade (which was great when it was hot) We often had leftovers to save as snacks for later. The snacks in the park were also plenty. You could get the large sport size water bottle which was huge. It was nice at parades to go get drinks and snacks and not plop down $30.

We added up our total at the end of what we would have spent had we paid for all of our meals and we definitely saved a lot by using the prepaid plan. To make it work, you do have to be organized and really plan your meals out. If you don't, I could see where you could end up not using all of your meals. But if you're organized and plan ahead and do priority seating for all of your full service meals, you will find it works great. This is a good perk that they came up with and we will definitely use it again.

*****

Chris and Melissa Roberts – February 2005

We visited Disney World in Feb 2005 and purchased the new Magic Your Way package with Disney Dining. The meal plan had one counter service, one sit down meal and one snack for each day. The sit down meals worked out great, and we probably saved money, as we ate at the more expensive restaurants, and much more food than we would have paying on our own. The counter service meals were okay too, but at each restaurant, including the different resorts, what was included seemed to change from day to day, depending on the cashier. One day we were allowed bagels and chocolate milk for breakfast, and another day we were told only the small half pint of white milk was included and the bagel did not count toward a meal. The meal was supposed to include, drink, meal and dessert. It seemed each place had different ideas of what we could order. It would have been helpful if on the shelf maybe, especially at self-service, such as Everything Pop, there were signs that indicated which foods were part of the meal plan.

We also had many problems with the snack part of the plan. None of the carts knew how to apply the plan, our room was charged instead, numerous times ,and we had to fix these with the front desk each day. The snack selections were too limited, such as only ice cream on a stick, not an ice cream sandwich, even though they were the same price. It also included only coke, but not ice tea or juices. There needs to be more of a selection on snacks, maybe limited to a dollar amount, instead of only popcorn, ice cream sticks and coke. Not everyone can eat popcorn and ice cream every day.

Overall the dining plan was convenient, in that we never needed cash, and in the long run, it did seem to save us money, and enable us to try new restaurants, that we may have skipped before.

*****

Kristen Dunphy – February 2005

We did the Magic Your Way package (hotel, tickets and dining) and I cannot say enough about how WONDERFUL the entire package was and how much money it saved us. Both our kids are under 3 so we used the dining plan for my husband and myself only. It was $35 a day for each of us and it more than paid for itself.

First off it was MORE than enough food. It was 1 counter meal – which was a drink, meal and dessert. We ended up eating about 15 times more desserts than we normally would because they were free. The sit down meal was an appetizer, main course, and dessert. It was an amazing deal because there was no $$ limit to what you could spend at the sit down meals. And a snack which is either an ice cream or popcorn or bottle of water or soda.

We found it to be extremely flexible. I would say 85%-90% of the dining establishments participate in the plan. It was a little rocky at first using the plan only because it was so new and the cast members were still a little unsure. For example on our first night, we went to Chef Mickey's dinner buffet and they deducted 4 sit down meals from our plan even though our kids were supposed to eat free. (when you receive your receipt from the meal it shows all your balances at the bottom so it is important that you pay attention to it!) But one phone call to the dining line and they added the 2 meals back on. I think that actually happened to us a couple times, but they fixed it quick enough.

Using the snacks was a little more of a problem. Not every snack counter has the machine to swipe your card. And if you get, say 2 ice creams and 2 bottles of water, they have to swipe your card and have you sign the slip 4 times. People behind us in line were not thrilled, needless to say.

I would say the majority of the cast members knew how to use the plan correctly. We only encountered 1 place that had no idea what to do (it was for a snack). The plan is very specific about snacks. It has to be either an ice cream – popcorn – water – or soda. And I don't think every snack stand accepts it.We actually ended up with 9 unused snacks just because sometimes it was quicker and easier to pay out of pocket.

When you check in, they do give you a great brochure with a spreadsheet that has all the participating restaurants and snack places that you can use it broken down by category and value. It makes it very easy to use.

We absolutely saved money AND it was a wonderful convience. Other than a quick breakfast, we knew that all our dining was covered for our entire vacation. And honestly with the prices at all the parks' eateries, $35.00 a day to eat well is a huge value. At MANY sit down places it would be tough to just get dinner for $35.00!!

In closing I would say I would NEVER go to Disney World without adding the meal plan to our package!!

*****

Joanne Hinz – December 2004

I think the dining option sounds great. Last time, my husband and I spent a little under $500 for 10 days, and we had three sitdown lunches, the rest counter service. To spend $700 and know we can have a sitdown dinner everyday would be wonderful. There are lots of places we would like to eat but we can't afford to spend $60, $70 or more for dinner every day. I was really wondering about the meal vouchers I've read about but this is even a better deal.