Disney dining plan -- is it worth it

[5DisneyNuts]

Renting points this year and did the math on what dining would cost versus the DDP. No doubt for us, paying RR and getting the DDP for free is the biggest discount we can get, but now by renting points at 2 BR BWV and paying OOP we will be paying a few hundred more than the cost of 1 standard RR room at a deluxe and free dining.

We eat at least 1 TS every day and almost everyone gets the most expensive thing. We are not soda drinkers and I would never get desserts with every meal. Many times we would share a QS.

I'm actually looking forward to the freedom of not using the plan this year. I am trying to figure out if upgrading my 7 day ticket to an AP and buying the TIW card would pay for itself.

 

[Misha72683]

It is in NO way under ANY circumstances for ANY family of ANY budget "worth it." Anyone who disagrees with that statement lacks either information or wisdom. That's not a judgment on anyone whatsoever, but this isn't a gray area, it's a black and white issue of fact.

I disagree. I've done our math a dozen times and it always comes out "worth" it for us. We would absoloutely eat at least one sit-down meal a day and we're planning on doing mostly character meals (we have small kids), so the balance of one TS meal and one QS meal a day is perfect for us (we will likely end up paying OoP for an extra TS meal). Our kids will be 4 and 2.5 and would probably split a meal anyway and the cost of the child's meal plan is pretty awesome. We were going to get refillable mugs anyway. We always order drinks with our meals. We order desert about 1/2 the time and we're on vacation, so the extra desert is a fun bonus. We're going during F&W so we'll be able to put those snack credits to good use. According to every calculator, we'll end up saving at least $100 by using the DDP and that's with not altering our normal eating patterns a lot (except for a few extra deserts).

I am a planner by nature. I dissect every choice and research it forever. I have done the math over and over and for us the DDP makes so much sense. Financially it makes sense, plus I like that our meals will be paid for ahead of time and I won't have to stress about how much we're spending on meals. Also, this way I don't have to carry a lot of cash on me or worry about crazy exchange fees from using my debit or credit card out of country.

 

[isabellea]

This summer we will take the regular DDP for the first time. My youngest is turning 3 during our trip si she's still considered free and my oldest is 5. We have many character meals planned (CP, CM, Akershus, TH) and fixed menus (Chefs and MM F!). I compared DDP vs OOP and we'll probably break even. The selling point for me? Not to have to deal with DH reaction everytime we get a check and not feeling guilty ordering a more expensive meal. My vacation will be more fun so yes it's worth it for us.

 

[Wendy5055]

I am a huge fan of the dining plans. I have learned and always get the DlxDp...but if that was not an option, I would definitely get the Dp (1cs, 1ts...and have gotten it in the past). I prefer having all our meals (and snacks) paid for before we arrive at WDW. I highly recommend doing a little prior planning for your ts meals. I just plan what park we are in on what day and decide if we will eat in the parks or in a hotel restaurant. Then make my reservations accordingly.

I don't think you can do much better and eat well for much less (considering Disney pricing). I tried an OOP trip and found we had no savings whatsoever. We eat 3 meals per day at home so 3 meals per day on vacation while running around is a no brainer for us.

All that aside, I think anyone can handle 1cs and 1ts meal per day...it's not an outrageous amount of food that you are given. I know many people use the cs meal for lunch and the ts meal for dinner and just eat breakfast in their rooms (or grab on the fly). It's really about what works for YOU and YOUR family.

 

[Wendy5055]

As I sit here with my receipts in front of me, I cannot fathom how any DP is Not worth the money.

Last year one ts lunch at Coral Reef cost $220.44 for a group of 5. Lunch at 50's Prime Time Café cost $168.76 (same trip)...Cinderella's Royal Table dinner $293.70...Liberty Tree Tavern lunch $176.44...Crystal Palace lunch buffet $135.21...Ohana family style breakfast is $121.36 and a bottle of water cost $5 at Sunshine Seasons and a PowerAde Red (drink) is $3.59...Doritos at Bayview Gifts (Contemporary) is $4.29...and should you forget your toothbrush you can purchase one at the same Bayview Gifts for a low cost of $2.95.

 

[aaarcher86]

I always get a giggle out of people getting annoyed how strangers spend their money.

I think talking in absolutes about something that has so many variables is foolish, personally.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

If we were doing Disney on the cheap ("budget") we wouldn't go to any sit down meals and then yes, paying for the plan wouldn't save us money. But, next week we are going and saving a bunch of money using the plan.

(We are staying on property for 2 nights over Easter, Sat-Mon)

When I add the cost for brunch at Chef Mickey and dinner at Cape May Cafe (prices are increased for the holiday) we are only spending $38.09 for 10 QS meals, 10 snacks, and 5 mugs. You can't beat that. In this very specific instance it works out great.

We will NOT be purchasing it in the future on our longer trips without holiday pricing as we'd have to try really hard to break even (I have a very picky 3 yr old who never finishes an entire meal).

 

[Wendy5055]

I always get a giggle out of people getting annoyed how strangers spend their money.

I think talking in absolutes about something that has so many variables is foolish, personally.

I totally agree. It is my opinion that everyone should do what best suits them, their families and their budgets as far as food. I have done the same in the past and have paid OOP as well as the basic 1TS/1CS DP.

 

[Minniesgal]

I am a huge fan of the dining plans. I have learned and always get the DlxDp...but if that was not an option, I would definitely get the Dp (1cs, 1ts...and have gotten it in the past). I prefer having all our meals (and snacks) paid for before we arrive at WDW. I highly recommend doing a little prior planning for your ts meals. I just plan what park we are in on what day and decide if we will eat in the parks or in a hotel restaurant. Then make my reservations accordingly.

I don't think you can do much better and eat well for much less (considering Disney pricing). I tried an OOP trip and found we had no savings whatsoever. We eat 3 meals per day at home so 3 meals per day on vacation while running around is a no brainer for us.

All that aside, I think anyone can handle 1cs and 1ts meal per day...it's not an outrageous amount of food that you are given. I know many people use the cs meal for lunch and the ts meal for dinner and just eat breakfast in their rooms (or grab on the fly). It's really about what works for YOU and YOUR family.

Funnily we tried it once and eat exactly like you suggest and hated it. We found it to be far too much food. We found if we did a CS lunch we didn't want a TS dinner we just were not hungry enough, so we hate the DDP. For us it isn't that you can't save money it is that you lose the flexibility to just have an appetizer or even skip a meal

 

[Wendy5055]

It is definitely personal choice for what is best suited for you and your own family/travel companions. I'm sure plenty of people prefer to leave their meals up to last minute decisions. I'm a planner at heart and prefer to know that it's all handled before I leave. I never force myself or anyone else to clean their plates or even order dessert if they do not want it. For us, it works and we love it.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

It is never worth it for us. It's always $300 more than what we actually spend and we do TS daily. I'd love to use it sometime. Maybe we will get FD at PO this September and can actually get a benefit from it.

 

[nat8199]

We do 3 TS meals a day (the only way DH and my inlaws will do Disney), with lots and lots of characters and buffets in there. We normally get appetizers and an entree with every meal, and desert at least with dinner. I also have three kids who eat a ton. I have done every calculator out there and all say that we will save ton by getting the Deluxe Plan. Add in a hopefully free dining discount and we will have even more savings. With five of us in a room, free dining comes out to a much bigger discount than a room only discount.

This type of touring Disney doesn't work for everyone, but it works for us for now.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

With five of us in a room, free dining comes out to a much bigger discount than a room only discount.

I think that's why Disney nixed Free Dining at POR last year, and I wouldn't be surprised in CBR is excluded this year -- Free Dining for a family of 5 paying rack rate at a Moderate resort is a HUGE money saver (and in turn Disney loses money).

 

[Planner2012]

We did DDP for our trip last week. There were 3 adults (one being DD who is 12) and 1 child. I just added up all of our receipts and the dining plan cost us $46.70 more than if we had paid out of pocket. I'm actually surprised as we found the prices very high, and thought we were definitely going to come out ahead with the dining plan. Oh well, we did enjoy not having to worry about prices when we were there. It was a lot of food though. Many times by the time dessert came we were not in anyway hungry. My DD also found it to be a huge amount of food for her. She would have been quite happy to eat off the kids menu at most meals. We would likely not do the dining plan again.
All of that being said, I think the value of the dining plan varies from family to family. Depends how/what/where you eat. Only you can make the decision as to whether it is worth it to you.

 

[Hoosier Dad]

For me, I don't go to Disney to save money. I go for the experience and understand it's going to cost me a lot of it. For my family the dining plan is a slight loss but I would rather spend a few hundred more dollars to make the vacation that I'm spending over $6000 on a little more enjoyable. Everyone in my family agrees that our Disney trips are so much more enjoyable when we can pick whatever restaurants we want and order any item on the menu.

For those trying to calculate the cost of the dining plan versus OOP, don't forget that the plan pays for the tax on your meal and also includes a refillable mug to use at your resort... a few items forgotten when only looking at the menu prices.

Someone mentioned that the basic plan only covered two meals. That's more than enough for my family. We pack breakfast items to keep in the room, it allows us to save time versus eating somewhere and we usually eat around 11:00 am to get ahead of the crowds and then enjoy the attractions when things slow a little when everyone else is at lunch. We never feel hungry at Disney on the dining plan (that's an understatement).

 

[tasha99]

For me, I don't go to Disney to save money. I go for the experience and understand it's going to cost me a lot of it. For my family the dining plan is a slight loss but I would rather spend a few hundred more dollars to make the vacation that I'm spending over $6000 on a little more enjoyable. Everyone in my family agrees that our Disney trips are so much more enjoyable when we can pick whatever restaurants we want and order any item on the menu.

For those trying to calculate the cost of the dining plan versus OOP, don't forget that the plan pays for the tax on your meal and also includes a refillable mug to use at your resort... a few items forgotten when only looking at the menu prices.

Someone mentioned that the basic plan only covered two meals. That's more than enough for my family. We pack breakfast items to keep in the room, it allows us to save time versus eating somewhere and we usually eat around 11:00 am to get ahead of the crowds and then enjoy the attractions when things slow a little when everyone else is at lunch. We never feel hungry at Disney on the dining plan (that's an understatement).

I agree about wanting to pick whatever restaurants you want, and being able to order anything, but that seems like an argument against the Dining Plan to me. We can order booze, apps, and eat at V&A--those are out of pocket type expenses if you're on the dining plan. We can skip dessert or (more likely) share desserts. Mostly, we can do the mix of TS, QS, and cooking in the room that we want rather than a number Disney comes up with. You don't need the dining plan in order to pick what you want; for us, the plan limits choices rather than expanding them.

 

[Hoosier Dad]

I agree about wanting to pick whatever restaurants you want, and being able to order anything, but that seems like an argument against the Dining Plan to me. We can order booze, apps, and eat at V&A--those are out of pocket type expenses if you're on the dining plan. We can skip dessert or (more likely) share desserts. Mostly, we can do the mix of TS, QS, and cooking in the room that we want rather than a number Disney comes up with. You don't need the dining plan in order to pick what you want; for us, the plan limits choices rather than expanding them.

If your cooking in the room, it's to avoid paying for a restaurant. That's what my family wants to avoid, letting the cost of the restaurants influence what we do for our meals. If you can dine OOP and not give a care about the cost, that's great. I can't do that so the dining plan makes my trip much more enjoyable.

 

[supersnoop]

If you can dine OOP and not give a care about the cost, that's great.

I can do that because I know that paying OOP will always, based on my family, be less expensive than the dining plan. I simply cannot bring myself to pay more for the dining plan when I can eat better for less without it. The cost of the dining plan influences my decision in this case.

 

[tasha99]

If your cooking in the room, it's to avoid paying for a restaurant. That's what my family wants to avoid, letting the cost of the restaurants influence what we do for our meals. If you can dine OOP and not give a care about the cost, that's great. I can't do that so the dining plan makes my trip much more enjoyable.

Nope, it's really not. It's to avoid lines and crowds, and too much time in Disney restaurants, which we tend to like okay but not love. We stay in DVC rooms with full kitchens so we can cook some meals. I find it more relaxing to do a mixture of all 3 (TS,QS, and meals at "home"). I do understand it's not for everyone, and I do see the prepayment factor as being a plus, though it does limit choices.

 

[Hoosier Dad]

Finally got around to using the dining calculator and punched in every meal my family had last week. I actually saved about $200 with the dining plan so those who say you can't save money are wrong.

It appears the calculator estimates meal prices on the low side. For some of my restaurants it was right on, for others is was on the low side by 20% so if you tend to order the more expensive entrees while on the plan, you'll save more than the calculator estimates. Also, the calculator appears to estimate snacks at around $4 which is lower than what my family did with all of our trips to Starbucks to use snack credits. It doesn't appear to include the refillable mugs which we would have bought if OOP.