Given the profile of the average WDW guest, I would not say that they are being overly paranoid, rather they are being clear-mindedly realistic…
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I believe that we are talking about the days of the wireless…
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So I’ve come up with a list of 18 restaurants for breakfast / brunch and dinner. The numbers in parentheses refer to which of my three trips I’ve already visited that restaurant on. As you can see, eight are entirely new to me. And only three featured on my most recent trip. I will have 27 dining credits and these add up to . . . 27 dining credits.
Breakfast / brunch
1900PF (2,3)
GG (-)
Boma (-)
CG brunch (-)
Ohana (2)
Tusker House (-)
GF Cafe (-)
H&V (2)
LC (1)
Dinner
Satu’li (1,2,3)
CG (1)
MP (3)
Tiffins (1)
Narcoossee’s (-)
CRT (1)
Jiko (-)
HBD (1,2)
FF (-)
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That is a rather fabulous list of restaurants.
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As regards tickets and passes . . . both my Christmas trip this year and next year’s trip are packages which include tickets at some sort of discount, so it didn’t make sense to buy an annual pass for WDW.
It may make sense to buy one for UOR, though the current pricing I’m seeing on the site appears to only be for tickets activated before I actually arrive in July. It would be convenient to be able to visit UOR on any day of my trip rather than committing to specific days before I go. I’ll decide nearer the time if this makes sense in practice.
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Nice line up!
I’m not sure why you mean about having to decide what days to go to US. Are you buying USA tickets? UK ones are valid for 14 days from first use and you don’t have to specify when you’re going. Though if I can get an AP room discount, I’m getting one just for me.
The deluxe dining plan add-on was about $800, which is about $45 per dining credit, ignoring the 18 snack credits and the stupid resort mug. At that price I break even, for example, on CRT dinner, brunch at CG, breakfast at 1900PF, lunch at LC (if I order the filet mignon, which I will) and dinner at MP. So I’m OK with the finances of it.
Edit
Actually, the news is much better than this. The $45 is per meal (= $800/18) not per credit, which is $30 (= $800/27)
So I actually make a “profit” on many of my meals and break even on the rest. With the 18 snack credits, the plan is a no-brainer. (These are all restaurants I would have wanted to have booked in any event. I didn’t choose them because I’m on the DDP and went nuts shopping for high-end restaurants.)
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I’m mixing up the Express Passes, where you do have to commit to specific days, and the admissions tickets. Though, as you say, you do have to commit to a first day with the admissions ticket.
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Epic miscalculation on the cost of the dining plan — I’ll correct. (Have now done so.)
The $45 is per meal, not per credit. Per credit it’s $30. So I make a profit on a lot of my meals. Actually, probably all of them.
Ah I forgot about the Express Passes, that’s something we never buy.
It’s a luxury, but it just makes life so much easier. Plus I’ll be there in mid-July, so I’m thinking EPs will be “necessary”.
Depends on your definition of necessary. We always go in July/August and haven’t felt we needed them. But they’re nice to have. But we probably tour a lot differently to you.
So the idea is that my days will be structured thus:
11am Breakfast
12.30pm Park
7pm Dinner
Park allocations:
MK 2 days
EP 1.5 days (to include departure day)
HS 1 day
AK 1.5 days (to include arrival night)
UOR 3 days
To make optimum use of FPPs, the UOR days will all start at a WDW park for a primo FPP, e.g. breakfast at H&V, FPP SDD, Lyft to UOR, tour UOR, Lyft back to BW for (late) dinner at FF — so I’ll actually be visiting HS twice, but only once for a full day.
This way I get two bites at FOP, SDD, 7DMT.
I’ve never used a touring plan. At WDW I do my three FPPs, shoot for a fourth or fifth, then satisfy myself with wandering around — animal trails at AK, WS at Epcot, and so on. At UOR I like to be (shock!) completely spontaneous — do whatever I want when I want as the mood takes me: EPs make this very easy.
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Do we have to start calling you “profitmatt” now?
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Yes. Yes, you do.
Well it’s better than calling me a sucker — or whatever it was — when I kept saying all my food at WDW was free 
We like rides, we’re quite happy to follow a plan as long as we get lots of rides on our favourites and we do - we use single rider lines a lot at UOR, it’s probably not quite as fast as EP but you know, it’s free so… And you’re a single anyway! You could be as spontaneous as you wanted, for most rides anyway.
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In addition to all that lot, I’m allowing myself the HEA dessert party at TT, which I’m genuinely doing for research purposes — I want to be able to definitively answer the question: just how bad is the view at TT compared with Plaza Gardens.
I may get involved in F! possibly via dessert package or dining package — but the latter is difficult because they tend to make you eat early for the dining packages and I don’t want to do that.
I didn’t particularly care for the Star Wars dessert party or the subsequent fireworks. I can live without any of that.
Now that I’ve seen how easy it is to get a good spot for IllumiNations (and now that I’ve seen that FEA really isn’t worth getting excited about) I won’t be doing the FEA dessert party.
I may shoot for an FPP for ROL.
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I’ll look into that 
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I’ve looked into it.
I found this (click for complete list):
That actually includes quite a few of my primo rides: Spider-Man and Kong, for example. Plus RRR, which I still haven’t done but really want to. If it’s true they take you straight to the loading area, it’s especially good for Kong, because the EP line is actually pretty long and boring.
What I might do is this. Because you have to commit to a first day anyway with regular admission, and because you have to commit to a specific day with EP, I might get an EP in advance just for my first day. On the subsequent trips I’ll try living without it by using SR, and buy on the day if necessary. But Diagon Alley + SR rides could easily fill one of my days.
So I think you’ve saved me some money! Thanks 
.
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