Last week, we continued our “Either/Or” series by looking at whether to fly or drive to Disney. We learned it depended on distance, wanting your own vehicle or simply answering if the children could handle a long ride. Now that you’ve figured out location and travel, you’re going to have to think food. And oh boy does today’s article have a lot to sink your teeth into…
Welcome to our weekly Believe Vacations article where we are in Week 3 of our 5-week series on “Either/Or” topics you should consider when planning your vacation. Topics every week were chosen and sent to our agents and they were asked to send which one they would choose. Today, we will help you make that all-important food choice when planning a Disney vacation – Should we do a meal plan or not? We know you have to eat but we don’t know what the average family eats on vacation. So we’ll give our best responses and hopefully not get to hungry along the way.
No Dining
Angela Wehling – No dining. We don’t eat much as a family so we share a lot.
Amanda Braxton – No dining so we can eat as little or as much as we want.
Jessica Bouwsma – No dining because our stays are usually one or two nights.
Whitney White – I’m torn, we’ve done all and I really think we prefer no dining.
Kristi Shipp – No dining plan for us typically because we always share.
Linda Scott – No dining. I’d rather be flexible with my time.
Colette Spirer – NO Dining. We are not morning people, so we will never schedule a breakfast, but we do book and like a sit down every single night whether it be character or a nice restaurant. My kids eat nothing and we prefer to share so best out of pocket.
Becky Willis – No dining plan for us but we do a good amount of table service. We love character dining!
Christie Pownall – No dining. Too busy to eat!!
Dining
Taryn French- Disney Dining all the way! Best of both worlds! Enjoy the ease of Quick Service and the memorable dining character experiences with Table Service!!!
Amanda Wheeling – Disney dining. We love character meals and having adult beverages and smoothies/milkshakes for the kids so it pays for us. We typically do lunches too, so our little ones can break from the heat but still have fun.
Kasie Baird – Disney Dining. We love knowing our food is pretty much already paid for before we get there and it gives us a chance to check out all the character dining!
Savannah Sharp – Disney dining because character meals are life!
Kyle Holland – Dining when I do a package. I love not having to worry about how much I’m spending at each meal, and always love table service. Wouldn’t usually splurge for table service if I didn’t have dining plan.
Mary-Morning Radcliffe – What I recommend for my clients is different than what I do for myself. I usually recommend the Disney Dining Plan for newbies since they want to do a lot of character dining, and I think it’s worth it then. I also recommend it for clients who want to have everything paid for before their trip. For myself, it varies. For a typical trip with just my kids, no dining because we don’t do a sit down meal every day and because my kids don’t eat much. If we do a big trip with a lot of family, then Disney Dining Plan because we’re going for the full Disney experience and doing a sit down meal every day.
Jennifer Garthe – I love doing deluxe dining for a 3 or 4 day trip. Character late breakfast/early lunch & signature dinner, I think standard would be nice for a longer trip. With the dining plan it feels more all inclusive & relaxing. Although we do lots of trips with no dining plan too.
Hunter Anderson – Dining! One of the things I love most about the parks is trying all of the dining experiences and snacks. Having the Dining plan actually saves us money… especially since alcohol is included now!
Kerry Murdock – If I have my choice I like the dining plan because it’s easy.
So, did this make you hungry? Seriously though, did it make you consider which plan (if any) to choose at Disney? Try this exercise – What does the average cost look like for a meal for your family at breakfast, lunch and dinner? Add that total together and then multiply it by the number of days you would be at Disney. Was it more or less that the cost Disney offers you? Maybe it is a easy as pie. There I go with the food again….
