Is this something that can be done? I believe I’ve seen that you can swap a dessert for a soup or salad but I was wondering if you could exchange two desserts for a single appetizer. Seems reasonable in my head but I don’t know if they will allow it.
it may be on a case by case basis - but I wouldn’t count on it. That is why we don’t do the meal plan. We aren’t big eaters. Usually we just want the entree. But sometimes we want two appetizers instead. The meal plan used to be UNREAL - but now - I don’t think it is worth it
Yeah - the last time I was there they included an appetizer and dessert each! We always had so much food. Once my wife and I were celebrating an anniversary at Le Cellier and they gave us a dessert for that. So we had three desserts on our little table - it was crazy! The DDP certainly isn’t what it used to be.
I assume the deluxe ddp which offers appetizers, is not an option?
No - just have the regular plan. Deluxe would have been too much I think.
Fair enough. Figured I would just check to make sure you had at least considered it. Have you priced out your meals to try and figure out if the regular dining plan is a good deal for you? Sounds like you may be better without the dining plan and having more freedom to pick what you eat.
I cannot imagine they would allow this.
Here’s the article of what a dessert can be traded for at a Table Service, http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/05/29/changes-coming-to-the-disney-dining-plan-beginning-may-31/
we have never found the dining plan “worth it”. The ONLY time it was worth it was when we were doing a lot of CHARACTER DINING
If it’s free, it’s definitely worth it. We used the dining plans a few times when we got it free. We found setting aside time for TS meals to be relaxing and improved our park experience as it gave us some non-rush times and some fun experiences between character meals and other relatively unique dining experiences. This past trip we didn’t purchase the meal plan which gave us some flexibility (we didn’t have to eat dessert if we were stuffed or didn’t find anything that looked marvelous for example) but we still toured like we had the meal plan so we scheduled a lot of TS meals which allowed for some relaxation and interesting meals.
In general, I agree if you’re paying full price the meal plan isn’t going to save you much, if any money unless you maximize every meal precisely and even then you’ll be very close to break even.
Never hurts to ask!
During our trip last week, we made several substitutions and were even offered some modifications. For example, we used Quick Service credits twice for lunch at Contemporary. Because we didn’t need drinks (we had our refillable mugs), the cashier told us to go grab an extra dessert or some other snack. So, instead of drinks, we got extra cupcakes, fruit cups, etc. (BTW, two thumbs up for the lobster roll!)
First off NOTHING is FREE - especially at WDW. You have to crunch the numbers. We went during a “free dining” promotion - it was MUCH better to take advantage of the room discount than it was to take the “free” dining. Each resort / promotion is different so you have to crunch the numbers. If you are in a Moderate / Deluxe - the room discount almost always outweighs the “free” dining. At a Value the opposite is usually true.
Agreed - even “free dining” may not be the best deal. It varies a lot based on the year, what resort discounts are available on just a room and also what resort you’re staying at. My impression is it was a better deal 5 years ago or more than lately.
Yeah - it’s really pretty much a wash though I think being there during Flower and Garden will make it worth it since we can use snack credits at the booths there.
If you want to eat TS each night or do character/signature dining it really can be. I priced my adult-only trip with my husband using off-season room discounts stacked with possible Orbitz discounts and STILL came out $1,000 cheaper paying rack price with free dining. Plus, we’re going during F&W and all those snack and CS credits will let us graze with no money worries.