Walt Disney World

[Brianfo]

My wife and I will be taking 2 small children to Walt Disney World in Florida in 2 weeks. I get to go as a bonus thru my work. We are staying at the Hilton. My question is what is the weather like down there in January? Any good ideas on what to see and do with twins that are 2 years old? I am kind of looking forward to it. A chance to get out of Iowa in January. Oh well, enought blabbing. Any responses are greatly appreciated.

[morphius]

For those dogging the meal plan, were you doing the character sit down meals, or just the food around the park. The character meals are expensive!

[Ebolapox]

I always did the meal plan and felt like I was stealing money, but I never did a full cost-benefit analysis.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by morphius

For those dogging the meal plan, were you doing the character sit down meals, or just the food around the park. The character meals are expensive!

The grandmothers took care of our trips, but I will say that the meal plan was REALLY nice to have when we were at the parks. I have no idea of the economics of it, but I know we were able to eat and snack like kings with zero concern for running out of meals on our meal plans.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by morphius

For those dogging the meal plan, were you doing the character sit down meals, or just the food around the park. The character meals are expensive!

Yeah, we did Mickey's Breakfast for our character meal, then we also did the Hoop-De-Doo, which was a double meal voucher as well. Like I said, the grandmas took care of it, but we were happy to not be shelling out cash/cards are every single meal and snack time.

We could have easily rented a locker and taken a picnic for our days at the parks as well, though.

[morphius]

Originally Posted by NewChief

The grandmothers took care of our trips, but I will say that the meal plan was REALLY nice to have when we were at the parks. I have no idea of the economics of it, but I know we were able to eat and snack like kings with zero concern for running out of meals on our meal plans.

Yeah, we had the regular dining plan:
Regular Dining
1 table-service meal
1 quick-service meal
1 snack
1 refillable mug

I could see the one below it not being worth the money, but this one might be. Seems that the sit down meals just for my 2 adults and 2 kids were at $200 some days.

[007]

Originally Posted by Mr. Plow

The one thing I wish is that it was more cost effective for my family to stay on property. With 6 in the family & the oldest bringing a friend, it is too expensive to stay on property. We are driving it as well because flying all of us down is just to much.

Yeah, once you exceed 5 people the cost doubles for on property stays because they have very few options for families larger than 5 unless you want to camp or fork over the big bucks. That said, I really do love the on property experience. Never having to drive a vehicle the entire time you are there really makes a difference.

[007]

Originally Posted by morphius

Yeah, we had the regular dining plan:
Regular Dining
1 table-service meal
1 quick-service meal
1 snack
1 refillable mug

I could see the one below it not being worth the money, but this one might be. Seems that the sit down meals just for my 2 adults and 2 kids were at $200 some days.

WE did the meal plan once because it was free dining promo. I did enjoy that but when I did a cost analysis had I paid for it, it is cheaper to just buy as you go. One thing I picked up on quickly is that we never wasted time on the snacks. Also, the younger kids are generally stuck with the kids meals everywhere you go and they do get sick of the same 3-4 options at every meal.

I also feel that the refillable mug is a rip off unless you plan on spending a LOT of time at your hotel room. That is the only place you can use it.

[morphius]

Originally Posted by Guru

WE did the meal plan once because it was free dining promo. I did enjoy that but when I did a cost analysis had I paid for it, it is cheaper to just buy as you go. One thing I picked up on quickly is that we never wasted time on the snacks. Also, the younger kids are generally stuck with the kids meals everywhere you go and they do get sick of the same 3-4 options at every meal.

I also feel that the refillable mug is a rip off unless you plan on spending a LOT of time at your hotel room. That is the only place you can use it.

Yeah, the cup was a bit of a bummer, but it was nice to fill it up a few times at the end of the day without worrying about it. My Mom paid for it last year and said we came ahead. It looks like the quick meal plan screws you over pretty good though, because those are not very expensive at all. Of course my kids are picky, so they are used to eating the same few things over and over again, lol.

[007]

Originally Posted by morphius

Yeah, the cup was a bit of a bummer, but it was nice to fill it up a few times at the end of the day without worrying about it. My Mom paid for it last year and said we came ahead. It looks like the quick meal plan screws you over pretty good though, because those are not very expensive at all. Of course my kids are picky, so they are used to eating the same few things over and over again, lol.

My kids were always upset they couldn't eat what I was eating. I eventually just purchased some adult meals for them to make them happy. Fortunately, I hadn't paid outright for the meal plan so I didn't feel like I wasted money.

The only time I would ever do the meal plan is if it is the free dining promo based on my experience. Other than that, it just isn't worth it. I feel the same about the park hopper pass as well. I find it very easy to do one park per day and never get bored. We did the PH the second time we went and found we only used it one single time because the kids were happy with the park they were in and didn't want to waste time getting to a different park.

[Silock]

Free dining usually means you're paying more for your room than usual. Or you're paying rack rate. It's just not a good deal all around. There are websites that give you a cost benefit analysis for the dining plans. I haven't ever seen it be worth it.

[007]

Originally Posted by Silock

Free dining usually means you're paying more for your room than usual. Or you're paying rack rate. It's just not a good deal all around. There are websites that give you a cost benefit analysis for the dining plans. I haven't ever seen it be worth it.

You don't think I did that.

I definitely saved money on that particular trip. The deals they put out now are nowhere near as good as they were 3-4 years ago though.

[Silock]

No, not you. I'm just saying that you don't ever get something for FREE at Disney. They're still gouging you somewhere, whether it's on the room or the meal plan.

[morphius]

Originally Posted by Guru

My kids were always upset they couldn't eat what I was eating. I eventually just purchased some adult meals for them to make them happy. Fortunately, I hadn't paid outright for the meal plan so I didn't feel like I wasted money.

The only time I would ever do the meal plan is if it is the free dining promo based on my experience. Other than that, it just isn't worth it. I feel the same about the park hopper pass as well. I find it very easy to do one park per day and never get bored. We did the PH the second time we went and found we only used it one single time because the kids were happy with the park they were in and didn't want to waste time getting to a different park.

We did a few hops. But it was little kids, or kids afraid to ride anything too big. But I could see not using it as well.

[ThaVirus]

Epcot is the dumbest ****ing park ever. **** that place. Why go there?

[007]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Epcot is the dumbest ****ing park ever. **** that place. Why go there?

My kids absolutely LOVED Epcot.