been asked 1000x

[davedmaine]

If you're a newbie, it seems to take a little stress off. The reality though is you very rarely save money on the dining plan. And if you're not ordering the most expensive items on the menu (which you'll feel obligated to do), you're really going to come out behind. I'd go OOP.

[1stvisit0909]

Originally Posted by pasofan

For our family, the DP is worth it--only for my DH's peace of mind. We have been to WDW twice with the DP and one of those was 13 days with the deluxe plan. It does take a little planning, but that is fun for me! DH was able to just enjoy our time.

We just went to DL in October and even though I budgeted for food and we had more than enough to cover whatever we wanted to eat, he cringed every time we paid for food. Seeing the dollar amount every time we ate really affected his mood and ability to just relax and enjoy the trip.

Same here. Just knowing its paid for o now one nickels and dimes is why it's "worth" it for us.

[Majik9]

Originally Posted by pasofan

For our family, the DP is worth it--only for my DH's peace of mind. We have been to WDW twice with the DP and one of those was 13 days with the deluxe plan. It does take a little planning, but that is fun for me! DH was able to just enjoy our time.

We just went to DL in October and even though I budgeted for food and we had more than enough to cover whatever we wanted to eat, he cringed every time we paid for food. Seeing the dollar amount every time we ate really affected his mood and ability to just relax and enjoy the trip.

Agree with this.

As for me I just did the price comparison. The Regular Dining plan cost $727.50. Our Hoop De Doo, 2 Character buffets (1 in park pre park opening!) alone would be $420.80. We also will be eating at T-Rex and this would be $100+. so thats roughly $527.50. That leaves us with 10 Quick Service meals and 10 kids Quick service meals and 20 snacks at a price of $200. Each one of the Adult QS meals would be roughly $12.50 and the kids $6. Thats $185.

Which means 20 snacks for $15.

Do we save money? Maybe a little. Do I save peace of mind... YES!

[Alesia]

For those of you who are willing to pay more for the convenience factor: How much are you willing to overpay? We saved $600 over 9 days by not using the DDP. I can't imagine paying that much for convenience.

[Majik9]

That's a good question.
We actually got the SD&P package. Thus the dinning portion or difference then booking with the 30% discount, cost an additional $480.
With the dinner show and character meals it will be well worth it, without it would be close.
If we had no plans on dinner shows or character meals I would say if it was within $100 of break even then I would be willing to pay for the convenience factor, to answer your question.

[WIDisneyFan]

We did the dining plan last summer and will be doing it again this summer. For us it works, with 3 kids and a number of character meals last years math had us saving money and I expect this year will be the same.

I don't have the exact numbers at hand but I do remember we effectively "lost" money on the adults, and were ahead on the kids, and ahead overall. Once our oldest becomes an "adult" in terms of dining plan I would guess we will go back to paying out of pocket.

[SLamott1973]

We always get the DDP with DH, DS 16 and DS 6 my men can eat all day long. We usually start the day with character breakfast for youngest, and TS for dinner lunch can either be CS or TS. We went yo food and wine festival this year we had enough snack credits that we used those ate our way around Epcot we had 2 signature meals during our stay with 28 snack credits we used those for treats on the drive home. You have to figure out what will be worth it for you.

[Crystal824]

It depends on what and where you are going to eat. I would figure out where you want to eat and then what you might order and try to determine if it is worth it. For us, we saved about $300 not getting it. We shared some CS meals. At a couple of TS meals, I would get an app and dessert and DH would get an entree and we would split.

[Gmouse]

Originally Posted by Gooshy

In your opinion, is the dinning plan worth it? We will be there for 7days 6nights. This for a family of 4.

I see you have 2 small children, 8 yr old is still in the children's plan (LUCKY you!) It would absolutely be worth it. Your 2 yr old can share with the 8 yr old and/or parents. So no need to order off menu for her. They give the kids an appetizer and I've never seen an 8 yr old that could eat as much as they give them! My son is 13 now, daughter is 3, so the DPs are way too expensive for us anymore. We buy gift cards now instead so we can see how much money we have left every time we go eat! It just keeps us "in line" and not spend too much when we see how much we have spent!!!
Another thing to consider- being there fro 4 days is not alot of time at all. If it were me, I would choose ONE, or two, favorite TS meals and eat QS the rest of the time. You'll be waisting alot of your time doing TS meals, when you could be in the park. They generally take up about an hour and a half to 2 hrs of your day, depending on if you have to travel from one park to another to eat, and how busy the restaurant is. I can take longer. You might be better off to not do DP so you aren't tied down to it. We'll never use DP again, unless the prices come down...wait a minute...prices come down?? It was perfect while our sone was on the childrens' plan Have fun though!

[Gmouse]

Originally Posted by Alesia

For those of you who are willing to pay more for the convenience factor: How much are you willing to overpay? We saved $600 over 9 days by not using the DDP. I can't imagine paying that much for convenience.

AMEN to that!! Our last trip we spent right at $800 OOP for 11 DAYS worth of meals, chose several of our favorite TS places we wanted to eat. QSs in between time. Snacks here and there. We were NEVER hungry...trust me We figured it up for this trip coming and it was going to be OVER $2,000 for all 4 of us for the regular dining plan. Mind you, my 3 yr old can eat, my 13 yr old can EAT...but not that much!! I can buy groceries for us for 6 months off that. The DP was GREAT in 09 for us when DS was 9, and DD wasn't even thought of yet But now that she would be on the plan and he would be on an adult plan.....nope....not good at all. Convenience is wonderful for many other things, but really....how hard is it to pull out the debit card vs your DP card???? Some people have more money than sense....

[Stbissell]

If you go during FD it's great and is always a great option for a family of four. If not I think it comes down to two things 1) do you plan on eating at a table service restaurant every day. If so which ones and what do you normally eat. 2) do you want to have the convenience of having prepaid meals.

We get the DP. It's worth the convenience to us and we like a sit down meal every night. We actually end up paying for a couple of the cheaper meals OOP bc we usually go to at least one character breakfast and one two credit meal. We may evaluate again when my DSD is not considered a child anymore and the price really jumps.
Also, we do typically like apps when when go out and they are not included in the DP. However, you will get a QS that gives you more than enough food for lunch and you are less hungry at dinner and apps slow down dinner. For us, an hour break is enough. No need to stretch it out longer.

Good luck in figuring out works for you.

[bpesch]

IMHO it's worth it if you can get it free, not so much if you have to pay for it.

[chartle]

Originally Posted by bpesch

IMHO it's worth it if you can get it free, not so much if you have to pay for it.

But you still have to do the math. Free Dining is not always cheaper.

It depends on how you eat and the ages and make up of your family.

[shell8558]

We are considered 4 adults . (My kids are 11 and 13) So for us it can be expensive to eat- but we have always been lucky enough to get free dining pins and for us it is totally worth it!

[tracydeech]

I have not been to Disney in years but..... If your staying at a Disney resort can't you just charge your meals to "room card"? If you can that is what I would do. That would be convenient. Then you could save $ by sharing-not wasting-and you can order an appetizer if you want and you don't have to be tied down to an eating schedule.