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[Livvipivvi]

Hiya,


Thank you to all of the posters who take the time to answer other peoples questions.  I've been reading these forums for a while and have learnt a lot that has helped me to decide on many things.


One thing I'm stuck on though is the dining plans.


I've read that the plans are not really worth it as you don't save that much money and can be restrictive, but others say that they prefer to pay for their meals before they go.


I decide not to bother, then I change my mind again, and the cycle continues lol.


I rang disney and they told me the the current face value of the half board plus vouchers are - adult £27/33euro, child £12/15euro.


I decided to look at the menus on here and decide on where we want to eat each day of our visit and work out a rough estimate of what our food would cost.


On looking at some of the menus though I have noticed that some of the set menus that are meant for voucher holders have a higher cost than the face value of the vouchers.


Eg. The Walts menu on here has this...
Menu Carte
Starter + Main Course ... €29.49
Starter + Main Course + Dessert ... €34.49
Starter + Main Course + Dessert + Drink ... €38.28
• Half Board Plus menu


I'm confused. This shows that this option is a set menu for half board plus voucher holders, but the value of the meal on the menu is 5.28euro more than the face value of the voucher.  Will I have to pay the difference even though this is the only set menu option for the meal plan?


TIA

[loulou169]

Hi, I think you only pay the difference if you eat at a place that is not on the Standard, Plus or Premium options. For instance if you have half board plus and you ate at cafe Mickey you get the meal at no extra cost as this is within the criteria but of you ate at Inventions you would then have to make up the differnce. But if the meal is cheaper than the voucher you don't get change. Hope this help but if not I'm sorry I've confused you more. I'm full board plus when we go in march and have made a list of all the restaurants we are going to eat in, we are doing more table service meals as you get your money's worth from the voucher! Louise x

[SVioletS]

I'm not really sure if what i am saying is correct, but i think that's the price someone without the vouchers would pay...
I am one of those who prefer to get the vouchers in advance. I do not use them to save money, because we end up choosing what we want from the list e.g. if we like the set menu fine we order it, if not, we just choose a la carte even if it means paying a little more (most of the times we don0t pay extra). I just like the feeling of having everything payed for in advance!

Good luck deciding! i am still wondering if we should go full/half board in April!

[sarahh83]

you've really explained this perfectly!v its such a minefield!

my only additional question would be .... do you tell the waiter at the time of ordering that you have vouchers?

[DLRP Roundup!]

you've really explained this perfectly!v its such a minefield!

my only additional question would be .... do you tell the waiter at the time of ordering that you have vouchers?

Nope, in all the restaurants inside a building (i.e. not a cart) you can use the vouchers.


As a rule:
- You won't ever get change.
- You don't need to eat set menu's.


I didn't see the value in them initially, but when we were offered them on a package, I seen a LOT of value in them if you enjoy a good meal rather than something quick.


Annettes' Diner gives the biggest bang for your buck but does so anyway when paying.

[SVioletS]

Many times the cm/s will ask you if you have vouchers so they can indicate you the menu and what you are entitled to.
Annetes is great the portions are huge!

[Livvipivvi]

I'm not really sure if what i am saying is correct, but i think that's the price someone without the vouchers would pay...
I am one of those who prefer to get the vouchers in advance. I do not use them to save money, because we end up choosing what we want from the list e.g. if we like the set menu fine we order it, if not, we just choose a la carte even if it means paying a little more (most of the times we don0t pay extra). I just like the feeling of having everything payed for in advance!

Good luck deciding! i am still wondering if we should go full/half board in April!

Thats great, thank you very much 


Do you usually go plus or premium?  Its our first visit to dlp, we are going for 4 nights in may and we want to go to inventions, cafe mickeys and buffelo bills.  Maybe walts or another table service restaurant for our 4th evening meal.  We also fancy annettes, but thought that it may be nice to go there for lunch on the day we leave (would have to pay cash for this meal).


Do you think the plus or premium would be better value for what we want to do?


Also I've noticed that a lot of the menus say that their childrens menus are for under 11's, but I think that my 13 year old dd would prefer some of the childrens options.  Would she be able to choose from them if she wanted? What are the childrens portions like?  Although her tastes are better suited to some of the childrens menus, I would say that her appetite is that of a typical 13 year old girls.

[SVioletS]

If planning on going to Inventions, buffalo bills, and walts then it may be worth going premium (walts has a premium set menu as well as plus ones). When are you going? In April they will be doing some upgrading to the meal plans and premium will be even more expensive!
If going to cafe MIckey with premium you can order some extra drinkS, so you don't loose any money (please ckeck with the cm before! with premium you can also go to Auberge if your daughter still likes the princesses!


Another option is: you add / buy tickets in advance for buffalo bills, and go plus. When you go to Inventions you pay for the difference and use the vouchers for their face value. You will keep a set of vouchers which you can use on your last day for lunch at Annetes.


I am sure there is no problem in your daughter having kids menus, but in that case, if using the vouchers you will loose money because she will pay for the vouchers the same as an adult. Again you can try and order some extra drinks or something... In buffets you don't have this issue you can choose from everything available!


We will go plus (premium is way too expensive for us, and we are no planning on going to Auberge or buffalo bills), we will do Inventions sunday brunch for my DD 7th Birthday, and pay the extra! Also considering: cafe MIckey, walts, blue lagoon, annetes, plaza gardens... We will be there for 4/5 nights, and my ADR's are not fully decided yet

Good luck!

[Livvipivvi]

Thank you Violet, Thats a good idea about using the last voucher for Annettes instead of buffalo bills.  Will keep an eye out for a good deal for BB's before we go.


We are going in may, at the moment it costs £388 for half board plus and £672 for premium. Thats for 4 nights for 3 adults (because of age of our eldest) and 1 child.  I'm assuming that the price increase is already included in that?

[SVioletS]

If you got the quote with may dates it should reflect the increased already. I only know prices in euros, sorry... It's 384€ for hb plus for 2 adults and 2 kids, 4 nights!

[polar vixen]

You might be able to choose food for your daughter off the kids menu, but she will still have to pay for adult vouchers due to her age, if you go with a meal plan, and you won't get the difference back.  When we considered that we wanted half board standard vouchers, but wanted to eat at auberge de cendrillion ( because we spent hours to get to see princesses, and even then only got to see 1, and would get to see them all here) and at Buffalo Bill, it was actually cheaper to pay for the premium vouchers than it was to pay for half board standard and then pay the extra for the 2 meals.

[Livvipivvi]

You might be able to choose food for your daughter off the kids menu, but she will still have to pay for adult vouchers due to her age, if you go with a meal plan, and you won't get the difference back.  When we considered that we wanted half board standard vouchers, but wanted to eat at auberge de cendrillion ( because we spent hours to get to see princesses, and even then only got to see 1, and would get to see them all here) and at Buffalo Bill, it was actually cheaper to pay for the premium vouchers than it was to pay for half board standard and then pay the extra for the 2 meals.

Thank you, I know what you mean.  I've been trying to work out what would be best for us.  I've booked now and added the half board plus for now.  I may decide to upgrade to premium before we go though  .