Saturday, July 25, 2009

Going to Disney with the FREE Dining Plan!!

You may remember that we went to Disney World in December and stayed at the Grand Floridian.

You may also remember that Rebecca started throwing up the morning of our scheduled Princess Storybook Lunch. Benjamin and I followed suit less than 48 hours later, and Robert had about two days where he felt what I call "Semi-Sick." (And he and Rachael were both "full-blown sick" after coming home.)

So you can understand why we felt gypped out of a Disney trip and driven to schedule another one.

Well, we got the perfect chance when we learned that Disney is having a special free Dining Plan offer in September when you stay at one of the Disney resorts.

So ... we are scheduled to go on September 26 and stay at Port Orleans Riverside. We don't know anything about it, but the pictures on-line look nice.

I'm very excited about this FREE Dining Plan, as I calculated that the Dining Plan would normally cost our family $565.

If you're not familiar with the Disney Dining Plan, free or otherwise, this will give you an idea what a good deal it is:

We have lunch reservations at the Biergarten in Germany in Epcot. Without the dining plan, that single meal would cost us $73. Oh, plus the cost of drinks (which are also included in the plan. Tips are not, by the way, so it's not literally completely free.)

We also have lunch reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern at Frontierland in Magic Kingdom. The pot roast (which I heard is really good) is $17.99. Plus, with the dining plan, you get dessert. Strawberry shortcake sounds good; that's $5.49; plus a drink for another three dollars. That's just for one person, mind you.

We also have reservations for the Hoop-De-Doo Musical Revue, which would normally cost (believe it or not) $190 for our whole family.

The free Dining Plan for this trip also comes with 25 snacks for our entire trip. Yes, you heard that right. Snacks include anything from popcorn, to Mickey Mouse ice cream bars, to a Napoleon at the French bakery in Epcot, to a cream cheese stuffed pretzel in Tomorrowland.

Twenty-five of them. Completely free.

So I am very excited. I have simple pleasures, I know.

Please cash in with your Disney advice and experiences, as we have never been to Biergarten, Liberty Tree Tavern, or Port Orleans Riverside before.

And please pray that we don't get sick again ...

4 comments:

Rebecca said...

We just spent the day at Disney World (no Epcot this time-- just Disney World proper) on Wednesday and Loved It. It was our first and (until we got there and saw how we loved it) only trip to Disney. We had no snacks but ate two meals. We didn't do the math; we just had a good time.

I hope you have a wonderful time, too.

Kim said...

Dinner in Japan is supposed to be a lot of fun too, it was closed when we were there in 2007. We have eaten in the Castle, but that is the equivalent of two meals.

Amy said...

Port Orleans Riverside is awesome!!! We love it there--it's the hotel of choice for our family of 5 since it's the cheapest option. We have been there twice as a family (with another trip scheduled) and once hubby and I mangaged to go alone (gasp!! Disney is a whole new experience without kids...we highly recommend both). The pools are great and the food at the foodcourt is surprisingly tastely--you can use your dining plan there too :) Have fun!!!

Amy said...

We have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside in the past and LOVED it! It is a nice resort!!

We too were at Disney last Dec and will be going again in 2 months. Seems like we are on the same "go to Disney schedule" lol

Enjoy your trip!!!

Amy (from FIAR boards)