"limits" on Disney dining plan?

[beth_cam]

I went to teppanyaki and for my meal I got the fruit plate desert which I gave my kids as an appetizer, We were sharing meals so I was trying to order enough to share with the kids. My server SUGGESTED I get the lobster and steak. Then told me that the upgrade (extra $5 charge) in meat came with the plan. She had heard me trying to decide about shrimp. She told me I could get the shrimp add on as well. Somehow I also had a salad but I had ordered one kids meal so maybe it was their salad. Anyway, when the fact that I had lobster was questioned on another post I pulled out the receipt to make sure...I did indeed get the lobster/steak combo filet upgrade, shrimp add on rang up as shrimp appetizer, and a desert. This was back in May though and every place we went people were trying to figure out the plan. The Mara (AKL Food Court) tried not to let me have desert with breakfast. But at the time that limitation was not included in the plan information, and they had nothing to show me and so I insisted. But now it clearly states in the dining plan that there is no desert at breakfast (I'll miss that this year since one breakfast would feed my family hubbie and I would eat the food I'd get fruit as a desert for my ds and choc milk for my dd). At earl of sandwhich we were limited on desert and I dont know if they were short on stuff but I'm not sure we really even got a choice It may have been between just 2 kinds of cookie. Both 1900 park fare and Crystal palace encouraged us to order specialty drinks as a separate of some sort - we all got soft drinks then the specialty drinks. Pretty much we were encouraged to get all they could possibly give us. I would think that as the plan has been used for a year now things will probably be a bit stricter. I am so hoping that I will be able to get lobster at atleast one of my meals. It is something I never order when I am paying specifically for it.

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

I have a question. We didn't try it last time, but I was thinking of doing it this time. In the dining plan the only thing it states is that the drink has to be non-alcoholic, so wouldn't that include the "fancy" drinks? Just curious.

 

[TLPL]

Several of the appetizers and all the lobster entrees are off limits at Teppanyaki.

Dixiedizfan: Do you know which appeizers are off limit? i love japanese food and thinking about Teppanyaki for dinner on dining plan. Thanks.

 

[theostwalts]

There are certain things you can't get on the dining plan, like the Surf-turf at Le Cellier, or the slipper dessert at CRT....

We are thinking about Le Cellier for our next trip. I saw on thier menu that you can add a lobster tail to any Entrée. If you are on the dining plan can you order the Entrée on the plan and pay opp for the add ons?

 

[dixiedizfan]

Dixiedizfan: Do you know which appeizers are off limit? i love japanese food and thinking about Teppanyaki for dinner on dining plan. Thanks.

On the dinner menu under the appetizer section, the server pointed out that only the top three appetizers were included in the dining plan. These were either a salad, soup, or some kind of bean dish. I noticed these were all in the three dollar range. The rest of the appetizers included sushi and tuna rolls, which were in the seven to eight dollar range, and were not included in the plan.

 

[kutchyone]

You can pay OOP of any add ons and even use your DDE discount or AP discount (if the meal falls under those discounts) to pay for them.

 

[Groucho]

Doesn anyone know what Wolfgang Pucks Cafe limits you to on the dining plan?
We have ADR's already made, but if they limit you to certain items, we will rethink our plans.
Thanks,

I'm not sure about the Cafe, but there were restrictions at Wolfgang Puck Express (as a counter service) - we ate there in mid-January and weren't allowed to order a couple of the highest-price (~$10) entrees - which was a shame as they were the ones we wanted!

I can offer my observations on specialty drinks. We had a group of six adults (January 7th-15th) and we were told at our first restaurant (Le Cellier) that we could order speciality drinks on the DDP, and we did. (And they were great!) We got them from probably six different table service restaurants, including Liberty Tree Tavern's in the "take-home" glass - of course, we weren't able to keep the glass.

The problem came on our last meal, at Cinderella's for dinner. We hadn't mentioned that we were on the dining plan when we started ordering - which apparently was a mistake, but we hadn't mentioned it for most of our meals and it was never a problem. We all got the Bibbiddy Bobbiddy Brew (the grape was yummy!) and then when it came time to get the check, we were told that the drinks weren't covered and that we'd have to pay out of pocket. The waitress, who had been pretty nice beforehand, obviously had a sore spot about this, and insisted that no one should give speciality drinks, they're not covered, it wasn't possible that we got them at such-and-such a restaurant as they've got the same manager and he won't allow it, that servers are padding the checks to make more money, and that anyone caught OKing a specialty drink would be fired. (!!!) She did check with the manager and got him fix it so we wouldn't get the mugs, but then found that we'd still have to pay for the drinks - at around $6 each (vs $8.20 with the mug)! I might have made a bigger stink about this but we were running late for a DVC appointment plus had a baby who needed a diaper change.

I generally don't like making a big deal about things but it did kind of bother me that we were being charged for $32 of drinks (only four adults for this meal) that really should have been covered, judging by our experiences at everywhere else we ate. Had I more time, I would have done my best to persuade the manager that we should have to pay nothing OOP.

The moral of the story is... mention you're on the DDP and make sure it's OK before ordering a specialty drink. You'll probably be fine but you might find the occasional stubborn server.

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

I still think that if the drinks were not covered then it needs to say so in the brochure for the dining plan. It only states non alcoholic, I think if they want everyone to know what that means then they need to say so.

 

[DisneyConvert]

Goodness, there is confusion about the Dining plan.
We just got back and it sort of worked for us -- maybe a little too much food, given we ended up not utilizing the concierge snacks as much.

We had 3 adults and 1 child for 6 nights (over 7 days) and did:
Crystal Palace (Used 4 TS credits)
Alfredo's (paid for child separately and only used 2 TS credits for 3 adults)
Hoop-de-Doo (paid for child separately and used 6 TS credits for 3 adults)
Garden Grill (4 TS credits, by this time we needed to use them!)
Boma (5 TS credits for 5 adults -- took out our cousins)
Chef Mickey's (3 remaining TS credits and paid for child separately)

Interestingly, at Boma's the regular buffet meal includes a "smoothie". The extra non-alcoholic drink is also included under the TS.

We made a good dent (20 out of 24) on the snacks (water, soda's, popcorns and too many Mickey bars!)

Miserable failures at utilizing only 15 of the 24 Counter Services, even after treating some DIS'ers for Exp.Everest "assistance". My wife doesn't do Counter Services and, except for Flame Tree, I found them difficult to add to a very full eating schedule. Earl of Sandwich worked out ok. They can do chips instead of a dessert.

We found that most places will work with you a bit as long as you're not taking advantage of the situation. Rosie's in DS gave me soup instead of a dessert.

But still, too much food, a little too much work. Still, the $750 we paid probably saved us a little money.

I would do again if
1) we could use 3 days of dining plan over 4 days (vs. 6 over 7)
2) we had 2 adults instead of 3 (my mother-in-law mostly eats desserts)
3) we weren't staying concierge

 

[Goobergal99]

I am bringing this back to life. Has anyone else had any restrictions. We were on free dining last year and we experienced none at all. Here is a list of the resturaunts we went to:

Chef Mickeys
Donalds Breakfastsaraus
Ohana
1900 Park Fare
Mamma Melroses
Sci Fi Dine in
Nine Dragons

Pecos Bills
Cosmic Rays
Sassagoula Food and Floatworks (many times)

 

[lowie]

I see a few conflicting posts on this....so can anyone clarify for me:

Are there certain items that you cannot order from the menu when you are on the disney dining plan??

the only small things that we noticed were at WCC the skillet was only offered with the green salad, no other appetizer was allowed (fine by us) and my 5 year old son was never offered an appetizer, only when we asked at Kona was he allowed the chicken noodle soup. also at earl of sandwich, they were very rushed and not very friendly, we asked what desserts were allowed and our cashier told us only what was by the baskets at the register, which were big cookies, brownies and cupcakes. after we chose and paid, i heard another cashier tell someone they could pick from any dessert.

 

[kaybird]

We had no problems, always asked before ordering, and spent a lot of time reading the available restaurants list. Never understand the confusion about the specialty drinks, the plan advises they are not included, so I consider it a bonus when they are granted, not an entitlement. Most of our waitstaff has been most helpful, and we have enjoyed many incarnations of the dining plan over the years!

 

[Conservative Hippie]

We used the ddp last August, and when we ate in Germany at Epcot, we had to pay oop for alcohol.

Alcohol is never included in the DDP.

 

[DawnDelion]

Alcohol is never included in the DDP.

What about the dinner shows where it says beer is included in the price? I was hoping it was included with the dining plan too, because you are using 2 credits.

 

[paulh]

What about the dinner shows where it says beer is included in the price? I was hoping it was included with the dining plan too, because you are using 2 credits.

the beer is included in dinner shows where its included if you paid cash for show
Paulh

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

Does anybody know about the Lobster at Capt Jacks and also are the Flame Tree BBQ coupons included?