When it comes to a runDisney weekend, you need to fuel. In fact, as runners, we may think about food more than ever! That’s why when making your race weekend plans, a common question may arise – do I add on the Disney Dining Plan or not?
During the past runDisney races, Megan has utilized the dining plan, and has also experienced the weekend without. This allowed her to compare the two and decide which is a better option for the runner. Here are her thoughts!
What is the Disney Dining Plan?
Disney offers various dining plans that make your package more all-inclusive. Each plan includes snacks, quick service and/or table service (or sit down) meals. A refillable mug is also included with each plan and can be used at your Disney resort for soft drinks and coffee throughout your stay.
There are three plans to choose from. The Quick Service Dining Plan includes 2 snacks and 2 quick service meals per person, per night of stay. The Dining Plan includes 2 snacks, 1 quick service meal and 1 table service meal per person, per night of stay. The Deluxe Dining Plan includes 2 snacks and 3 meal credits (to be used as quick service or table service) per person, per night of stay.
Race Weekend WITH the Dining Plan
The most common dining plan (and the one that Megan used) is the one that includes 1 table service meal credit, 1 counter service meal credit and 2 snacks per person, per night of stay. The quick service meals include a beverage and entree. The table service meals include a beverage, entree (or buffet) and dessert.The snacks can also be meals in and of themselves, especially if you use your credits wisely!
The nicest part of the dining plan is that basically everything is paid for upfront. No need to look at the prices on the menu to compare costs – just order! This allowed us to each try something different off the menu. The only cost we had was gratuity after the meal. (Keep in mind – it can get pricey since an 18-20% gratuity is recommended.)
While it may not appear so at first, the dining plan includes plenty of food. We found that we would save our desserts from the quick service meals because we were too full to enjoy it right after. We did bring a few granola bars to snack on during the day if needed, but for the most part – using a quick service and table service meal each day resulted in full bellies!
Another fun aspect of the dining plan is getting to enjoy many of the restaurants on Disney property. We dined with the characters, enjoyed the international cuisine in Epcot and tried restaurants we normally would have bypassed due to cost.
Race Weekend WITHOUT the Dining Plan
With many races to consider during Marathon Weekend, Megan knew that her schedule would be a lot different than their normal trips to Disney. With early mornings (which also meant early bedtimes), their time in the parks was somewhat limited.
Without the dining plan, you can be much more lax in terms of a schedule. If you don’t want to make reservations for a table service meal each day – you don’t have to! This can help free up your limited park time during a race weekend as the table service meals take at least an hour to enjoy.
Runners are very aware of what foods they should stay away from (and which will help their performance). Without the dining plan, you can bring your own food for meals and be very selective on which restaurants you will eat at. You also can look forward to the wonderful celebration meal when you have finished!
Another aspect is that without the dining plan, you can share meals. There were many instances where Megan found that the dining plan was too much food. This time when her and her husband went to a meals (both table service and quick service), they shared quite a bit. This worked out well for them during their busy race weekend!
Deciding on Dining Plan vs. No Dining Plan
Since both options can work during a race weekend, here are a few points to consider when deciding:
- How many people are in your party?
- Do you want your trip to be more all-inclusive?
- Will you be on-the-go or wanting to sit down to eat many of your meals?
- Do you tend to eat 3 meals a day or graze?
- Are you planning on multiple character or signature meals?
Regardless of which you decide, your runDisney weekend is sure to be full of magical miles and magical meals!
Frank@The Fat Runner says
March 25, 2014 at 12:09 pmDid the dining plan in 2014 and loved it. It was one less thing to worry about (and I sure was freaking out about many things during the weekend). Plus, for the first time after many trips to WDW, it gave me a chance to sit down and enjoy the sit down restaurants which I was never able to do. They even had runner specials at the resort and the mug… Being able to get coffee on demand at the resort was a big plus, especially at 2:30am the morning of the marathon.
Karen says
March 25, 2014 at 2:40 pmI’m very interested in this, as I’m spending too much time overanalyzing what’s best for my trip! So I’m curious about the remark that you could be “very selective” when not using the DDP. Does this mean that there are numerous or special meals not covered by the DDP? How does not having the plan allow you to be more selective?
Though it sounds like an awful lot of food, I’ve been leaning toward the deluxe plan actually, for what I thought was its flexibility. My family are foodies, we are looking forward to a few character or signature dining events, and I’m a little nervous about a) having to wander around a park looking for the best value snack, or b) having to rely on midday snacks like pastries, ice cream and popcorn (sounds great, but not daily for a week). I was also leaning toward this plan because it includes appetizers, and I like to be able to order those. Love the idea of sometimes saving a dessert for snack later though! Would love to hear your thoughts about nutrition and flexibility when considering a DDP. Thanks!!
admin says
April 15, 2014 at 4:59 pmKaren – We apologize for missing your question! When saying that not having the plan let us be more selective, it was in regards to not having to have a sit down meal every day. Megan and her husband only had a couple sit down meals, the rest they figured out as the day went on. In other words, we weren’t “tied” to a certain number of meal credits. However, like we said – we’ve done it both ways and you really can’t go wrong with either option!
As for snacks, those credits can be used for SO much more than ice cream and popcorn! (In fact, we usually only use one or two during our stay, then stock up on treats to take home with us on our last day!)
Sarah says
May 15, 2014 at 8:47 amWhen I did the dining plan while I was there for Wine and Dine 2012, we ended up splitting some of our quick service meals. Or if we both ordered one, we’d end up with leftovers for a second meal. We didn’t use our table credits everyday (either used at a 2 credit meal, or had 2 table credit meals in a day – though this was all planned out). The majority of our snack credits were used at the food carts in Epcot. We only had one non- credit meal, Tea at the Grand Floridian. All in all, probably too much food for us, had we ate a la carte, but the plan was also so worth it to eat our way around Epcot.