Hi, Carrie!
What great selections you've made for your upcoming trip to Walt Disney World!
You're going to love Disney's Port Orleans Resort-Riverside, and the Dining Plan, for my family, is a must-do.
To help maximize your $, ship, pack or purchase (once you're at the resort) breakfast items to keep in your room. The mini-refrigerator will store juice, milk, fruit, etc., as well as being a great place to keep the beverage in your resort-refillable mugs chilled overnight. We check a box of shelf-stable liquids (chocolate milk boxes, juice pouches) and one for breakfast / snack items (breakfast bars, granola, fruit snacks, crackers) then pick up a few perishables at the resort's store (milk, cheese, fruit). A quick breakfast in your room will save your Dining entitlements for lunch and dinner, when you get the best value (these are typically more expensive than breakfast and both lunch and dinner come with dessert.)
Regarding
Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at the Polynesian Resort, many Guests enjoy this experience year after year, so it's clearly a favorite. On the other hand, if you need to skip an additional Table-Service meal to do so, or pay out of pocket, you may wish that you had stuck to a 1 TS location instead. In short, this depends on you, if there a special reason that you'd love to see this show or if you are trying to really get the most for your dining dollar.
I have
many tips for maximizing your dining experiences, starting with using your Dining Plan to book a Fantasmic! Meal Experience at Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano, at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Doing so will enable you to
each order an
appetizer in addition to your regular entitlements. Yum.!
Send another question regarding the best values and most delicious dining options, Carrie; I'd love to help!