It's January! Which means that I'm not at Disney anymore. However, this time away from Disneyland Paris has allowed me to think about the Disney Meal Plan, more specifically the free Disney Meal Plan.
Kelly
Taking a note from their Yankee cousins, Disneyland Paris is offering free meal plans to anybody who books a package at either one of their main 7 Disney Hotel or Village Nature Paris before a certain time.
Now it sounds simple enough, you'll get free breakfast and lunch/dinner each day of your stay. WELL... It's not actually as simple as that. If you read my basic guide that I wrote all the way back in November 2018, you'll remember that I spoke about levels. If you haven't read it yet, do so now before the rest of this entry as I'll be referring back to it quite often (or go for the good old multi-tab).
Which level of plan you get will depend on what hotel you are staying at. The 3 "value" hotels/village (Santa Fe, Cheyenne and Davy Crockett) will be entitled to a free standard plan, the 2 "moderate" hotels (Sequoia Lodge and Newport Bay) will be entitled to a free plus plan and the Disneyland Hotel will give you a free premium plan.
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| Some of the food available to you on the Plus and Premium meal plans. Picture is part of my Bistrot Chez Remy review. |
Sounds simple and logical right? Well then you get to Village Nature Paris. If you are staying at Village Nature Paris, you'll only get free meal plan vouchers on the days that you are in the parks. These vouchers will be at plus level however as Disney only give you free 2 days park tickets, this means if you're doing a Monday-Friday for example, you'll still have to find food for 3 days. A little bit naughty in my personal opinion.
What is also naughty of Disneyland Paris is that your breakfast may not be what you are expecting. Let me explain, every Disney hotel has a restaurant and said restaurant offers a buffet breakfast, so you would think that you would be able to eat your breakfast at your hotel free of charge. It unfortunately doesn't work like that, instead you are given a voucher for a counter service breakfast at Cafe Hyperion (that's the infamous place know to get SUPER CROWDED). Oh and before you ask, you still get this even if you and your family choose to upgrade to full-board because that's what my family and I did in December. Oh and you better learn to like eggs because otherwise you're just surviving on bread, jam, juice and if you're really good a pastry. Not the most filling of breakfast for a whole day at Disney, by a long shot!
I can't speak for every hotel when it comes to breakfast upgrade prices but for Newport Bay it was around 50 euros a day for 4 adults, now this food was very good and I would pay 12.50 euro again even if it meant my poor dad didn't starve but still, we paid to go full board and there's nothing on the website stating the counter service breakfast UNLESS you're staying at Village Nature Paris. That's very naughty Disney, bad Disney.
So the question then becomes, is the half board plan worth it? My honest answer is quite simply that it depends on your party.
For example, if 4 adults travelled to Disneyland Paris on the 3rd April and stayed at the Sequoia, they would pay £1044.63 or just over £261pp including the meal plan. Now given that you're paying a good £160-£240 per day depending on what level you choose, that's a good deal.
However, if you are only a couple, it is worth crunching the numbers to see if you would save more with a 40% package discount and adding the meal plan on top. Also it is worth seeing if it would be worth having an annual pass (these can provide discounted room rates) for at least one member of the family, although you do get 20% off if more than 5 of you sign up.
My personal advice? Check out a website called Mousesavers, which has a full listing of the latest Disneyland Paris deals and discounts and then crunch the numbers with your party. Also consider whether your family would prefer a grab and go bite or the actual time to sit down and enjoy their food, as the meal plans are very much designed to the later parties.
So what do you guys think of the free meal plan that Disneyland Paris are offering at the moment? Do you find it good value for money or did you find it disappointing? Do you have any hints and tips that save you money on food at Disneyland Paris? Share them in the comments section or alternatively, start a conversation on the official Facebook page.
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In the mean time readers, make a wish and lick your lips.
Kelly
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