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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
**Aerorea** We need to talk WDW planning
I'm planning my 30th Birthday trip to WDW for the fall. We're not cruising because I may not be ABLE to cruise by then (pg? I hope...) and I don't mind going to WDW and doin' it right.
How much is it worth it IYO to add the "deluxe" dining plan over the "plus" plan? Besides a couple $$$, is it worth it to go over and above? I'm only turning 30 once, and obviously MrB is giving me the hairy eyeball over the added expense of the upgraded hotel as it is. We're going with this offer here:
What say you?
Meet Beyonce Jr.
Call me Kat =^..^=
Re: **Aerorea** We need to talk WDW planning
Woohoo! That's a great way to spend your 30th. Where are you staying?
From what I understand, there are 3 dining plans - Quick Service, Basic, and Deluxe. DH and I have always done the Basic plan. With it, you get 1 sit-down, 1 counter-service meal/day, and 1 snack/day/person via a bank system. If you want to go to a signature restaurant (like Le Cellier for dinner now) or "special" experience, those cost 2 sit-down credits/person. Some character dining restaurants are 1 credit, while others are 2. Lunch and dinner meals usually include a dessert, both counter-service or a table-service.
The Deluxe plan gives you 3 meals/day in any combination of table-service and counter-service restaurants, plus 2 snack credits. So instead of having separate table- or counter-service credits, you'd have just general "meal" credits. Table-service meals under this plan include an appetizer too. Again, if you went to a 2-credit restaurant, you'd lose one of your other meals.
It really all depends on how much you think you'll eat and/or where. I recommend trying to plan out which restaurants you want to go to. If you want to go to more than 1 or 2 of the 2-credit restaurants, then the Deluxe plan might be worth it. Keep in mind that it's a ton of food though. DH & I have always been perfectly happy with the Basic plan. It's enough food and a snack credit usually covers breakfast for me. If not, buying (or even splitting) a counter-service breakfast is cheaper than the difference to the Deluxe plan. We also try to time our meals with our credits. For instance, if we did a 2-credit meal, we might eat a little earlier or have breakfast later to skip lunch that day, and use that quick-service credit later to replace the table-service dinner. We also figure that even if we pay for one nice dinner out-of-pocket, it's still cheaper than buying the upgraded dining plan.
All that said, if you are the type that want to sit down to enjoy every meal or just want to splurge, by all means get the Deluxe!
ETA - If given the choice between a hotel upgrade or dining upgrade, I'd take the hotel upgrade in a heartbeat. I am now spoiled and will always try to stay at the Yacht Club. I know you love that Epcot area too! I'd give up the dining plan all together if it saved me from going back to a moderate. That's just me though...
I think this is one time I want to splurge, so I'm going to push him for Deluxe! I'm sure the basic would cover our wants/needs for the trip... I just wanna be spoiled on my birthday.
$$$ - wise: Its a $200 deposit NOW and then you pay off the balance before 45-days of your departure, is that right?
Call me Kat =^..^=
Yep, it's $200 now, the rest later. If you happen to have the Disney Visa from Chase, you also get 6 mos. no interest on vacation packages, plus some discounts in the park.
Wooohooo for the splurge!
ETA - don't forget to get your reservations ASAP! It's available 180 days out now and can be done all online.
::totally butting in::
YAYYYY FOR BABIES!!!!
::butting back out::
My Shopping Blog
Can I start booking NOW without a reservation in place yet?
I KNOW!!! Isn't it so exciting?!?!
Call me Kat =^..^=
Yep! It doesn't have to be tied to your booking, and each reservation gives an individual confirmation number.
Showing still too far out for us - good thing too! I don't want to miss out on our go-to places. We love Canada and the Contemporary's California Grill.
What are your go-to spots?
Call me Kat =^..^=
If you know your dates, you should find a date calculator and mark it on your calendar to do it 180-days out (online or phone). With an on-site booking, you can reserve all your dining for 10 days of your trip. They call it 180+10. You can check out most of the menus on wdw.com and allears.net.
Tip: There's a dirty little trick you can do sometimes when it is hard to find a table for 2. Search for a table for 3 and let the CM know that one couldn't make so it's just the two of you. I've never done this, but it seems to be fairly common due to the way their new reservations system works.
Our favorite by far is Le Cellier in Canada. It is now 1 credit for lunch and 2 for dinner. We always get the filet and it is on both menus. And, OMG, the cheddar cheese soup. mmmm! We ate there twice last year! If I were on Deluxe, I'd go there for lunch most days! Their lunch menu had several sandwiches that looked good too.
We try to change things up and go to a mix of repeats and new restaurants each time. I'm still pissed they closed Alfredo's in Italy. PISSED. Some people like the restaurant that replaced it, Tutto Italia, but the menu didn't interest me (hello, where my !@#$ fetuccine alfredo, hmm??), so we've never been. There's a new restaurant in Italy they just built that might be good. I don't recall the name, but they advertise their 3 brick ovens. Skip Nine Dragons in China. It used to be good, but it sucks now. Japanese hibachi is the same as anywhere else. We enjoy Rose & Crown in England. The au-gratin potatoes are little bits of creamy heaven. Skip the Yachtsmen's Steakhouse at YC. It's 2 credits and we weren't impressed. It is fancier than Le Cellier, but not nearly as good. We tried the Captain's Grille at YC and enjoyed it. We'll eat there again. We tried Mama Melrose's in MGM and hated it. Don't go to Hollywood & Vine either.
Sadly, I hate to say it, but in general all of the dining in WDW has gone downhill (with the exception of Le Cellier). I blame the dining plans - especially all the free dining offers. It swamps the restaurants and they cut back on options and portions to make up for it. There's still plenty of food, don't get me wrong, but for instance, the Basic plan used to include an appetizer too. They dropped it when they started these free dining offers. I also don't like how now you have to plan all your meals so far in advance to get the reservations. Gone are the days of just walking up to a restaurant with little wait. Now, even with a reservation, you can wind up waiting an hr to be seated.
If you haven't been, you need to go to Jelly Rolls. We had a freaking blast at this dueling piano bar. The guys are hilarious and they take requests (and the higher the tip, the more likely your request will be played). There's all the Billy Joel staples, but they also did "Baby Got Back" and Usher. Yeah, on a piano. We had heard that you needed to go early to get a table, but it all depends on the night. We missed out on going to Jelly Rolls in 2009, so we made it a priority last year. We did an early dinner at the YC (Captain's Grille) and headed over to the club at Boardwalk. It was slow at first, but it became more lively as the night went on. We had so much fun that we stayed until closing at 1am! Yeah, it's cheesy, but it's vacation. We had so much fun singing along and laughing with the musicians. DH is a stick in the mud and he raved about it. It's a must on every future trip!
Thanks! We always do Le Cellier. We honestly never tried it until... '05? We have NO CLUE why we kept skipping it. Very odd thing, indeed.
I was wondering about the Yachtsmen's. That's good to know. We'll def check out the Pleasure Island area this time. We're booking 7 days but only hitting the parks for 5. We might go back to Unervisal for a day. We did that in 2004 and had a great time riding the roller coasters, plus Harry Potter is now there.
Call me Kat =^..^=
Dammit. Nest ate my post.
We don't spend much time Downtown, just 1/2 day usually. We ate at Earl of Sandwich last time and were surprised. It's a much higher quality offering than any other counter-service meal. One of these days we'll try some of the other restaurants - Wolfgang's, House of Blues, etc. Not all the restaurants in Downtown are on the plan, so keep that in mind. There's a list on the WDW site.
Other good stuff:
"school bread" in Norway bakery = coconutty and creamy yum and 1 snack credit
cupcakes at Starring Rolls in MGM - I've heard these are divine and 1 snack credit
Italian margaritas in Italy and the Grey Goose lemon and Gran Marnier slushies in France = alcoholic goodness (if you're not pg, of course!)
whoa. whoa. whoa. Margaritas in Italy, you say? I may just have to have one of those!!!
oh, and Starring Rolls has a really great (and huuuuuuuuge) turkey sandwich.
Call me Kat =^..^=