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Disney Dining Plan, Is it Worth It?

Editor: Please welcome Chris Wood who will be sharing some of her valuable travel planning experience with us as a new guest author.

If you’re staying on property, one of the first decisions you’ll need to make is whether or not you should purchase the dining plan. While it’s certainly convenient to pre-pay for your meals, the dining plan, touted as a money-saving option, doesn’t work for everyone. Here are some things to consider before you add the plan to your vacation package.

The most popular plan is the base dining plan, which includes one table-service credit, one quick-service credit, one snack, and one refillable mug per person for each night of your stay. This means that a family of three staying four nights will have twelve quick and table-service credits and twelve snacks. There’s no order in which you have to use your credits; you just have to finish using them by midnight the day of check-out or you lose them. Credits aren’t even assigned directly to individuals on the reservation, just by age. This year, guests 10 years of age and up will pay $55.59 per night for the plan; those in the 3 – 9 age group will pay $17.16.

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A Visit to Splitsville for Dinner

Editor: Please welcome new guest author Paula Garcia!

My husband, 5 year old daughter and I recently visited Orlando. We arrived on New Year’s day settled in to our hotel. It was a nice night out and we were starving so we decided to take a walk to Downtown Disney and find a restaurant there. There were so many people it was difficult to walk around much less find a table at any of the restaurants.

We didn’t give up and kept walking all the way down to about the end of Downtown. Just when we were about to walk back to our hotel my husband walked into Splitsville Lanes and to our surprise they had open tables with no wait.

Although there were many people inside, I didn’t get an over crowded, claustrophobic feeling. We were greeted by a young lady and taken up the escalator to our table. We sat down and were handed our menus. My daughter received her own kid’s menu and some crayons. As a mom I really appreciate this. It took a little while before our order was taken. Many people were being seated in our area at the same time. Our server was right on top of it he was very attentive, fast, kind and apologetic about the delay.Read More »A Visit to Splitsville for Dinner

Splitsville Almost Ready to Bowl Strikes at Downtown Disney Orlando

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Guests of the Walt Disney World Resort’s Downtown Disney entertainment and shopping district will soon be able to rack’em up and knock them down at Splitsville Luxury Lanes. The boutique bowling venue missed its early December goal and is now targeting later this month on the 19th for a full opening. There was, however, a media preview this morning.

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The upscale, retro-style bowling venue is the largest in the bowling brand’s fleet and will offer two-levels with 30 lanes, billiards, live entertainment, a balcony bar with a wonderful vista, and upscale dining options.

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As co-founder Guy Revelle says, this is not your father’s bowling alley.

“Splitsville is a perfect fit for Downtown Disney,” said Keith Bradford, vice president of Downtown Disney. “From a new twist on a beloved sport to an impressive menu you’ve never expect to find in a bowling facility, Splitsville offers a great experience that complements our other unique offerings at Downtown Disney. I’m sure it will quickly become a guest favorite.”

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Ear of Sandwich - Downtown Disney Anaheim

Earl of Sandwich brings special brand of eats to Disneyland’s Downtown Disney

I’m a fan of the Earl of Sandwich shops, although I admit I don’t eat there very often. The reason is the long lines of others enjoying the tasty handheld lovelies. I’ve often maintained that they could open a second location at Downtown Disney and still have lines out the doors. They finally did open a 2nd Downtown Disney location, only this one is in Anaheim, so it won’t help the lines here in Orlando.

Ear of Sandwich - Downtown Disney Anaheim

A special grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, November 2nd welcomed Earl of Sandwich, created by the direct descendent of John Montagu, the Earl who invented the sandwich in 1762 to Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort. Present were “Extra” star Mario Lopez, Earl of Sandwich co-founder Robert Earl, Downtown Disney General Manager Janet Knox, and the big cheese himself Mickey Mouse.
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Be Our Guest - The Mysterious West Wing

Be Our Guest restaurant – Video Tour of All Three Dining Rooms

The Be Our Guest Dining room features two rooms out of the movie and a third inspired by great moments from the film. The two rooms from the movie, the ballroom and west wing, will be open for both lunch and dinner service, while the… Read More »Be Our Guest restaurant – Video Tour of All Three Dining Rooms

Beast's Rose in the west wing of Be Our Guest

Magical Transformation in the West Wing at Be Our Guest Restaurant

Beast's Rose in the west wing of Be Our Guest

Beast’s Rose in the west wing of Be Our Guest

Over the weekend a few guests were allowed in among the cast member previews of New Fantasyland and I managed to grab this video of the magical transformation that occurs in the mysterious West Wing of the Beauty & The Beast themed Be Our Guest restaurant. The time to pay attention is when a thunderstorm rolls in, first the rose drops a petal, then the prince’s portrait flashes to include the beast during a a bolt of lightning.

Sorry for the shakey bits there. Neither effect is all that special technology wise, but when placed within the room straight out of the movie, albeit set up for dining, the feeling is magical.

A few more photos of The West Wing below the jump:

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Mosaic

Be Our Guest Restaurant – Imagineer Video Tour

I posted my tour of Be Our Guest restaurant yesterday, and now Walt Disney Imagineers have released their video tour of the beautiful dining facility. We also get a few of our first glimpses of the mysterious West Wing. If you found that beautiful, you… Read More »Be Our Guest Restaurant – Imagineer Video Tour

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Inside Be Our Guest – New Fantasyland’s French Restaurant

Be Our Guest Marquee

Be Our Guest Sign

New Fantasyland opened for its “Dress Rehearsal” this weekend and many guests were drawn across the stone bridge to foot of Beast’s Castle. Inside the mountain is the “Be Our Guest” restaurant, which opened its lobby to allow guests a sneak peek at the ballroom and entry hall. I took a quick video and some photos, of course.

The restaurant’s spacious interior re-creates the look of the film in great detail. Lunch guests enter through the Armor Hallway, where six suits of armor stand along the wall (listen closely for an occasional whisper from the metal figures), and into the Beast’s Parlor to place lunch orders on five guest-activated terminals. For dinner, guests enter directly into the majestic Ballroom.

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