OK guys, time to tackle a wopper – the dining at Disney World monster.
I mean, a day in the Theme parks is absolutely wonderful, but there’s no way you can get through the day without food.
It is possible, for those who prefer, to BYOF (bring your own food), especially when staying off site. It would work out cheaper than any other option. Even staying on site, especially when staying in a villa, equipped with a full functioning kitchen, you can get through the holiday without ‘eating out’. There is an option for grocery purchase and delivery, that makes it quite easy, with the Garden Grocer – https://www.gardengrocer.com/.- order the supplies and they will be delivered to your hotel room/suit/villa.
But I, for one, wouldn’t want to be chained to the oven when on holiday. Besides, part of the fun is getting to try all the different and interesting options of food and snacks offered up at the parks and resorts.
For food lovers, like me, there is so much up for grabs at Disney World. In the Theme parks, the resorts and Disney Springs, you can find an abundance of options, from quick service restaurants, through sweet shops, snack bars and up the high end fine dining restaurants. And there are so many ‘musts’ to try, things you would regret not trying, if you’re already there.
As with anything regarding Disney, there are so many useful sites and sources to rely on when researching dining at Disney. I can recommend a few that I like to work with:
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/ – here you can find everything Disney dining related.
http://allears.net/dining/ Рgreat place to find information about Disney dining, including menus for all Disney restaurants and caf̩s.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-food-pictures-part-v.3261913/- great place to see Disney World food pics. This is the latest thread.
https://www.disboards.com/forums/disney-restaurants.14/ – where you can post any kind of query you might have about Disney dining and food.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining.htm – lots of great information.
Disney dining plan
Well, as I established, we like to stay on site. And as such, also established, we find that we really enjoy the dining options within the parks and resorts. For our last trips we went with the Disney dining plan. Loved it, especially when we got it almost for free on our last trip.
We always went with the regular dining plan, it had the right balance for us between quick service food and table service. We are fans of fine dining, but the deluxe dining plan was just too much – way too much food and too expensive.
Saying that, after our last trip, we found that although it’s a really good option, for us it was just too much food, and at the end of the day, we had quick service meal and snack credits left over, not to mention how much weight we gained (even with the amount of walking we did every day) – OMG!!!
So, this time, after crunching the numbers, having a big think about, and many sleepless nights (nah😉 ), we came to a dramatic decision (😎 ) – we will skip the dining plan this time. We feel it will give us more flexibility with our dining options (where to eat and how much to eat – sharing desserts, for example), and to top it up, it will, most likely also save us money.🤑
There is another upside to our decision. To take the dining plan, we would have to split the park ticket purchase. Meaning that to be eligible for the dining plan you need to stay at a Disney resort on a package (including park tickets), so ticket purchase would have to be split too (for example: 5 days with the first resort and 4 with the second).
What I didn’t know, and that’s what I actually learnt just lately, was that buying the park tickets as one purchase, without splitting, would save me money. I mean, I knew it would save some money, it’s only logical, but I was shocked by the difference – we are talking about approx. 1500 US$. No, I’m not kidding, it’s true. Purchasing all of our park tickets with the one resort, and booking ‘room only’ for the second will actually save us 1500 dollars. And if you don’t believe me, you can check it out yourselves (go onto the Disney site and try the options and you’ll see).
Reservations
Now, although not taking the dining plan, we will want to enjoy our favourite Disney restaurants, and to be able to do that, we will need to make our dining reservations – ADR’s. For most Disney popular table service restaurants, you need to make reservations, otherwise, you may find they are booked out. I recommend that you make the reservation as soon as possible, which is six months ahead, and if staying on site, then six months before your check in date. Reservations can be make by phone or through the Disney World site.
So, when I’m planning our trip, I allocate our park days, and create a timetable for our stay. After deciding how many times and when to visit the different parks, I then make up a list of our favourite restaurants, restaurants we would like to try this time, and snacks we don’t want to miss out on. Of course, sadly, I have to narrow the list down. I’m left with a number of restaurants that need booking, and I make myself a note at the six month point (I will already have my Disney resort reservations) to call up and get my ADR’s. I find it easier by phone, you can get it done all at once with no fuss.
Although not all restaurants need ADR’s, especially if you are visiting Disney off season, I recommend not to take the risk. We have, in the past, changed ADR’s while at Disney, so it is possible, but if it’s a popular restaurant that you’re after, the chances are that you won’t be able to find a table. Restaurants that are usually booked out even at the six month mark are: Be Our Guest, Cinderella’s Royal Table, for example.
Character dining
There are also great options at Disney for character dining. We, for one, love it and greatly recommend it. You get to enjoy good food, usually, and also get to meet the different characters. On the pros and cons for character dining you can read up at:
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2017/05/08/tips-from-the-dfb-guide-should-i-book-a-character-meal/
https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/disney-world-character-dining-photo-tips/
After much consideration and weighing, I narrowed our list down to these restaurants that need ADR’s:
Ohana – breakfast + dinner
Kona Cafe – breakfast + dinner
Be Our Guest – lunch
Crystal Palace – dinner
Yak & Yetti – dinner
Tusker House – dinner
50’s Prime Cafe – dinner
Biergarten
Liberty tree tavern – lunch
1900 park – breakfast
Raglan Road – lunch
Garden Grill – breakfast
We also don’t want to miss out on some of the quick service options available, such as Satu’li Canteen at Pandora (a must), and snacks from Star Rolls Café and Karamell Kuche, for example. I’ll have to find the time to fit those in too.😋
You have no idea how hard it was to narrow it down to this list. And it must be said, that at this point, it’s definitely not a closed or final list, no sir.
There is so much more for me to plan and share, but I don’t want to overload , so i think that’s enough for today. Hope to see you again soon guys.
