MousePlanet staff writer Steve Russo returns with a bag full of letters this week on trip reports, dining plans, and things we’ve learned. Up first, reader Gloria H. writes:
I totally agree with you about submitting completed trip reports all at once. I’m also seeing an increase in “pre-trip” reports that is vexing to me as well (not that I mind the preplanning sections of actual trip reports). While we’re on the subject of trip report peeves; I also don’t care for the use of “DH, DW, DS, DD, MIL, SIL, BIL,” etc. The use of real names makes them much more interesting (and easier) to read, in my opinion.
Next, a few readers share their thoughts on the value of the Walt Disney World dining plan.
Jessica writes:
We are Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members and have used the dining plan (deluxe) twice so far. It was well worth it! We ate a lot and used all of our meals, with some planning. We used a lot of our table service meals for breakfast and even used some snacks for breakfast. We saved counter service for late lunches or early dinners. We even used it for room service one night!
The problem is that DVC is not letting you reserve the dining plan for 2009 yet! This is a problem for us since we are going at the end of January and had to put a lunch at Cinderella’s Castle on a credit card 180 days in advance to be sure we would get a table for a party of eight. Disney will credit the money to my card once reservations open for DVC members for the 2009 Dining Plan, but for a little over one month now Disney has my $300. The dining plan is still worth it, but is seems like Disney may be playing some games with when exactly you can make reservations for it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Dining Plan and I’m glad it worked for you and your family.
John writes:
I’ve been enjoying your commentary on the Disney Dining Plan and wanted to weigh in with my thoughts. My family of four visited Walt Disney World from August 26-31. As we booked with a significant room discount, we were not eligible for the free dining plan (the net cost was about the same anyway) but found ourselves at Walt Disney World during the heart of it. We had the Basic Plan. While I don’t necessarily want to book all of my meals 180 days in advance, we did want to ensure our first day lunch at Tony’s Town Square and two character meals. Even though we had two more table service meals available, we decide to roll the dice.
For my family of four (me, my wife, son age 9, daughter age 7) , the basic plan worked out great. We can’t imagine having the time or appetite for the deluxe plan, so that was never an option for us. While I never did a full break-even analysis, I believe the plan (at approximately $100 per day) worked for us. Two meals stand out as examples. Lunch one day at Wolfgang Puck Express came to about $60. Add a typical character meal at about $30 per adult and $15 per child, and you’ve got a 50 percent discount right there.
However, I learned some disconcerting news about the advance dining reservation system which I hesitate to share with the general public. On our last night, we had no dinner plans, opting to try our luck at whatever park we might be at. During the afternoon, there was a torrential downpour which I thought would bode well for us. We waited out the storm at the Polynesian while many folks fled for the day.
I decided to walk to the lobby concierge to book dinner at the Magic Kingdom; we would have been happy with Tony’s, Crystal Palace or the Plaza Restaurant. As I expected, no reservations were available, but it was at that moment I learned the disconcerting news: the cast member at the desk shared with me that it is possible to make several reservations for the same day at overlapping times, in different restaurants! She relayed a story to me of a guest who asked her to cancel four different reservations at four different parks for that evening.
So it seems that some folks are beating the system, and not worrying about planning months ahead of time. Instead, they have a fallback through the entire resort. I am hesitant to share this information because while I suspect that most people would share my disdain, there is also a set of folks that will take the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach. I hope Disney catches on to this and can modify their system to catch these instances.
So, despite the inability to make a reservation, we trekked over to Magic Kingdom and split up. We were told at both Crystal Palace and Tony’s that it was about a 10-15 minute wait at 6:30 PM on a Saturday! Yes, the rain was a factor, but it’s still surprising. We were also able to sit down at the Kona Cafe twice for breakfast without reservations.
Moral of the story (for me at least): If you have any “must do” restaurants, by all means book them. But even at a so-called busy time, we were fine. Our longest wait for a table was the Cinderella Dinner at the Grand Floridian, about 40 minutes past our reservation time.
Yes, I am aware that it’s possible to make multiple reservations for the same meal. I’m also aware that some do this, months in advance, to allow themselves the flexibility of dining at Magic Kingdom or Epcot (as an example) when they really don’t know where they’ll be six months in advance. That’s exactly the scenario that I rail against but there’s not much we can do about it. Tying a dining reservation to a resort reservation won’t handle the off-site guests, and tying it to a phone number would just mean some people would make one reservation under their home number, one under their mobile number, etc.
I would just ask people to be considerate—don’t make more than one for a single meal and, if you’re not going to make it, call and cancel. That would make it a bit easier for the rest of us.
Finally, several readers respond to Steve’s things he’s learned with a few of their own.
Stephan M. writes:
Regarding the explosion after closing at Epcot: actually, if you’re on the side of the International Gateway at Epcot instead of the main entrance after closing, you can see a bit of the fireball from the incendiary barge! It’s true!
We stayed at the Beach Club Villas back in 2006, and had an Epcot view. I had taken my oldest son to Epcot until closing, and my wife (who didn’t know they did this) stayed behind because she wasn’t feeling well. You can imagine her state of panic when she knew we were at Epcot (by then walking back to our resort) and a giant fire ball rose up out of the park…
Mike W. writes:
Great list. The Goofy statue does speak. It scared the heck out of my wife one night as we were leaving. She decided to sit down and let some of the crowd leave. After about 20 seconds, Goofy said something and she jumped about three feet in the air off the bench. I didn’t stop laughing until we got on the bus.
Jeff H. writes:
Regarding your article: “In the Market House, on Main Street, there was an antique phone. You could pick up the receiver and listen in on a mock 1890s party-line conversation between a mother and daughter. First, you must be of a certain age to remember what a “party line” is. Secondly, it’s been removed. I recall reading somewhere that the phone had been moved but I can’t find where. Maybe we should just scratch this one.”
This phone has been relocated to the Chapeau Shop on Main Street, Walt Disney World, in the back of the shop, mounted on the wall. My wife and I listened in a few months ago.
Thanks, Jeff. You saved me some hunting.
Linda N. writes:
One thing that I know—at Disneyland, when you’re on the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride, when you’re past the Heffalumps and Woozles room, if you turn around to the back wall, you can see the animal heads from the Country Bear Jamboree.
You mentioned Dole Whip (which I get quite frequently at Disneyland) – but the last time I was at Walt Disney World in 2007, the Polynesian had a self serve Dole Whip—all you can try to pile on in a little plastic cup! Imagine!
Rhonda L. writes:
Yes the Kermit is there! We were in line in March 2008 and I found it! He is made out of metal. I have a picture if you want to see it. They also still have the party line phones in Disneyland. My daughter loves to listen to them.
I’d love to see the photo—just so I know what to look for. If you would, send it to me (link). Thanks a bunch!
The Disney Chick writes:
If you’re staying at the Saratoga Springs Resort, get up early and scope out the ponds on the property. You have a good chance of seeing some otter families playing and eating on the banks. So cute!
