[akasohappy]

Anyone have any experience with this?
Is it a good idea?
What about children under 3 (infants 0-2)? I know they are free, but do they get to choose a meal and a snack or do you just share with them?
I can't seem to find that info. anywhere and I don't see my 2.5 year old neice enjoying being told that she cannot pick out a "snack".
Thanks for any input.

[GuatMommy2Be]

You pay for their meals. They are only about $5 - $7 usually.

[kirbystarcat]

We shared with DD on our trips before she was 3. If there was something she really wanted we just paid cash for it. I miss the days of getting her in the parks for free. Children's tickets are almost as expensive as adults.

[DPline]

We used the dining plan when we were there last summer. It was free when we went so it was a no-brainer to use it, but I did some figuring and even if it hadn't been free it would have been well worth it. If we go again we would do the meal plan even if we had to pay for it because it gave us the opportunity to do quite a few character meals that would have been cost prohibitive if we didn't have the meal plan.

I can speak to the under 3 part as my kids were older ( ages 4, 5, and 9 at the time) but I can say we would have had PLENTY of food with one less person one the meal plan. The first day we ordered a lunch for each of us and with an entree, side and dessert for each of us it was WAY more food than we could eat. After that we ordered two adult meals and two kids meals and it was still more than enough for the 5 of us. Then the last day we used our extra plan points (or whatever they call them) that we still had to get dinner and snacks for the road while we were driving. So if you think you can work it out with your niece as far as picking food, I would say you will have plenty of food without her on the plan.

Not sure if that helps or not, but for whatever it is worth . . .

[hbrown22]

Debbie is right. Along with the dining plan comes TONS of food! Although you would have to pay for the 2-year-old you don't really need too. There is plenty to share and it wouldn't be a big deal to let her use one of your snack credits to pick out a snack if you didn't want to pay for it. The dining plan is totally worth it! We did several character meals when we went last year that would've been too expensive for us otherwise. Good luck with your decision and have fun! I'm jealous! The best thing about is I didn't feel guilty about eating all that food because we walked soooo much. We went with a big group and Boma was our favorite restaurant, unanimously! It's at Animal Kingdom Lodge if you're interested. My mouth is watering right now.

[mountainmama]

We just got back from disney last Sunday and we used the meal plan and it was well worth it. One meal at Tutto Italian rest. in Epcot for 5 of us was $185.85. That was the best food and tons of it. My son is 4 and really enjoyed is "Basgetti"

We are already looking at going next year and we will use the dining plan again.

Amy

[kellum5]

We used it last time and will be using it again in June.
I didn't buy a meal plan for one of the younger ones last time and the one kids meal was more than enough for two.
We had so much food at each meal to choose from that it was almost like a buffet!

[LisaAnn1170]

We *just* booked an August Disney World vacation and included the dining plan. I checked into prices and some of the table dinners alone nearly make up for the cost of a day's worth of the dining plan!

Others who have used the Dining Plan told me that their little ones snacked off of their plates. It's pretty easy, particularly if you attend buffets. We did that at Disney World when DS was nearly 3, but we didn't use the Dining Plan then.

We're so jazzed to go on vacation!

[dianneemily]

It depends on what dining you want to do at Disney. We did not do the dining plan when we went because we wanted to save some $$. We still spent plenty, but not as much as if we had done the dining plan - however, we brought snacks with us - including peanut butter sandwiches a couple days. Also, we came in late the first night and left early the day of departure - so that would have been one full wasted food day on the dining plan (you pay for the # of nights you stay).

We didn't eat at a sit down restaurant every day we were there, but if that is your plan, then the disney dining is worth it for sure.

If you choose buffets or family style, your under 3 year old will eat off the buffet for free. If you eat table service non-buffet, counter-service or snacks, they have to share with you or you have to pay for what they order. I would think for the average under 3 year old, you could share and they would get enough to eat. My 5 year old and 2.5 year old shared their meals most of the time.

I had a hard time deciding about this when we went. What is boiled down to was this - my dh has a limited diet, we weren't sure the kids would stick to the food schedule based on advanced dining reservations, and we felt like we could get by cheaper by paying for our own. Another consideration is that tipping is not included in the plan.

I think most people who do the dining plan are really happy with it.

[mildredjohn]

Is very much worth it! We did it when our kids were 1 and 2. They share food with us - we did couple of nice dinners, have lunches, snacks and we also took sandwiches for the airplane. You get a lot of food for the value.
Highly recommended.