Dining vs no dining

Ok so here%26#39;s the situation. We are planning a disney trip in August. We are planning on staying at the Ft. wilderness cabins. Any thoughts on that property would be appreciated. Anyway, we looked into the dining program and are just a bit hesitant. It would be an extra $1100 for my family. With times being tough I don%26#39;t know we can pull it off. I figure we can cook out at the resort and eat quick and cheap. The question I have is can we add it on later if we don%26#39;t put it on our reservation when we book and is it really worth it? Thanks so much.

Dining vs no dining

Read the back of your invoice it says the possible dates in which you need to change your reservation without a reservation change fee. Sorry I do not have mine with me right now to check.

I will say we went last April for 4 nights and did not do the dining plan and it cost us about the same as if we had the basic plan and we ate mostly counter service. That being said we are now trying the dining plan this next trip.

The other advantage is paying for it in advance 45 days prior.

If you have gone on other trips and do not mind cooking, maybe it will be easy to use the kitchen you will have. I have booked suites with kitchens and never used more then the microwave to heat up leftovers.

Dining vs no dining

I agree. I always have the best intentions to cook and save money but I never do. But with 4 kids and one being a 16 yr old boy. It may be cheaper to do pizza some nights, hamburgers on the grill another. I don%26#39;t know. I just know that we are trying to make this dream of going this year a reality and we have very little funds to do so. I just was hoping that if we didn%26#39;t add it now but if for some reason came into some extra money we could add it later.

Hi smyersi,

which plan did you go for?

The Quick service

or the regular plan with 1 table service 1 quick service and 1 snack?

How long are you going for?

It always seems to me I spend more money that I anticipated. I can see you get away with cooking breakfasts in the cabin to start out the day but once you are at the parks would it work?

Do you see yourself going back to the cabin each night to cook? (or afternoon)

Did you sign on for the buy 4 get three free deal? (assuming you stay for 7 nights)

Sorry so many questions.

Disney is expensive no matter what but, it is worth it! Hope you have a wonderul time no matter what you decide to do.

We always do a big breakfast in before going to the parks. It%26#39;s nice to eat in for breakfast. I prefer that to going out. And then, I usually make 10 sandwiches or so and bring cheese cracker / peanut butter cracker snacks to whatever Disney park I go to. What this does for us is allow us to have light lunch or have people who are in our group who are hungry get a snack while we%26#39;re in line for one of the rides. They allow you to bring food to the parks. Then we%26#39;ll usually go for a Disney meal at the theme park around 4 p.m. or so -- typically not an expensive place (a cafeteria / counter service place, etc.) That will take care of us for the evening -- possibily even till park closing (though we will have to have something like a Mickey Bar, pop corn, soft drinks, etc.). Then when we go back to our condo we%26#39;ll have some food -- fruit, ham, pasta, and salad. Believe me, we spend way less than a meal plan, eat healthier, and don%26#39;t gain weight.

I talked to Disney Dining this morning. You can add the dining plan up to 72 hours before your check-in date.

We used to camp at Ft. Wilderness every year back when our kids were young. It%26#39;s a great place for a family. There was no dining plan back then and I did quite a bit of meals in the camper. Breakfast and either lunch or dinner every day. We even managed a few barbeques. It%26#39;s fun to eat out but you don%26#39;t have to to have fun.

Jennifer

Just a suggestion, have a light breakfast before you go, cereal, fruit, doughnuts, whatever you like, then snack until lunch, split an entree from the counter service, there is plenty of food for two in those, snack in the afternoons on the wonderfully decadent Disney snacks, pineapple whip, frozen chocolate covered bananas, funnel cakes, whatever you fancy, then do either another counter service meal, splitting it of course or try and get a sit down supper in the park a day or two, or eat back at the resort, or stop and pick up a pizza or ???? Keeping your meals light, allows you to snack without overeating. You may take some snacks into the park with you if your want to do that to save even more. We find that with all there is to do at Disney, we don%26#39;t want to spend a lot of time sitting down, eating large meals and gaining weight. And we don%26#39;t want to miss out on the yummy snacks on vacation, so, we never do the meal plan. Good luck on whichever way you go, and post back to let us know which you did, and how it worked out for you.

Thanks for all the great replies. Hoosier2 that%26#39;s what my husband is saying He%26#39;s saying $1100 is great if we want to make this an eating trip, then that%26#39;s a good deal. However, like you said if you do eggs and toast or cereal in the cabin. Bring sandwiches and snacks into the park and just have counter service for dinner. We usually only do once character meal on our trip anyway. Thanks for all the suggestions.

This is a big decision, esp if you%26#39;re on a budget like most people. I did the dining plan this year, first time. I am anxious to try it out. I find that I would probably spend more out of pocket if we just grabbed a snack here/there. I feel like I would nickel and dime myself. I like the idea of not having to carry about tons of cash and know it%26#39;s all paid for already. If you ate a big breakfast (as suggested) you could get away with only 2 meals but your 16 yr old may need several snacks during the day. I did the basic dining. Snacks are covererd as well as one table service meal and one counter meal. I guess it%26#39;s really your choice as to what you can do or afford. If you are able to buy food and prepare it in your cabin that may be the better option.