Do you think the dining plan would be worth it?

[DeezKnee]

I've never actually been to WDW but my brother is getting married there and I used this as an excuse to spend 6 days there since it has been a dream to go. So, I have been a bit confused planning the trip for a while now so you will see more of me and my noobie questions pop up here in the coming months.

In my particular case I'll be going with just me and my girlfriend and doing our thing at the parks. Staying at Pop Century and we don't think we will be having many sit down meals at the parks and mostly doing quick service. However, I know as a sort of wedding reception we will be at Be our Guest and may one or two table service meals. We will also be at Universal for a day. In this case it doesn't look like any of the dining plans would be applicable to my situation. Would you agree and if not then which would probably fit my plans the best?

Any other tips for a first timer way over his head with scheduling would be appreciated

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

With all that you have going on, I'd pay out of pocket unless there is a promotion going on, such at "free dining" or "stay, play, and dine" You can still make reservations for any sit-down meals you want. All of the menu's are available at various places online (with prices) so you can see what your out of pocket vs DDP cost would be. Finally, if you are thinking about it, there are online tools to plug in and get a cost comparison as well.

 

[bellebud]

I've had the dining plan for free a few times, and to us, it's just way too much food. I'd never pay for it.

So main tips for a first timer... download the My Disney Experience app, figure out which parks you'll go to on which days (checking extra magic hours if you want to take advantage of that, or avoid the particular park on those days), make your fastpass reservations, and any sit-down meal reservations you may want. Those are the main things I do for each trip.

 

[DeezKnee]

I've had the dining plan for free a few times, and to us, it's just way too much food. I'd never pay for it.

So main tips for a first timer... download the My Disney Experience app, figure out which parks you'll go to on which days (checking extra magic hours if you want to take advantage of that, or avoid the particular park on those days), make your fastpass reservations, and any sit-down meal reservations you may want. Those are the main things I do for each trip.

Is the dining plan there to save money on food or is it there for convience for the guest so that they pay for their food ahead of time?

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

It does not fit your situation. Skip it.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Is the dining plan there to save money on food or is it there for convience for the guest so that they pay for their food ahead of time?

Depending on where and what you eat, it could save you some $$, but it is more of a convenience tool.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Is the dining plan there to save money on food or is it there for convience for the guest so that they pay for their food ahead of time?

Well, it's kind of both. For big eaters and those who want to do a lot of sit down meals, it's a good deal. But if you're a "normal" eater and not planning to do a ton of sit down meals, it's better to pay OOP. I've had the dining plan for free many times when it was a promo (mostly in September). Now if we were talking 10 years ago when tips were included... man, yea that was a great deal haha. Now not so much. You need to tip on the cost of the food even if you have the dining plan too, and with high table service prices, that can get expensive. Nowadays I think of it as mostly just convenience and a draw for when they do the "free" promo.

 

[TeamH5]

So, for us, a family of 6, I did a cost comparison this trip just to see. We spent $1500 on food (this included 2 character meals, 2 ADR's, the rest either resort or QS meals and 1 park snack every day). We probably would have saved by doing the DDP, as even having to pay would've cost us about $1300. We wouldn't do the Free DDP, as it requires a non-discounted pkg purchase of room + tickets (or at least room) and we get a military discount of at least 20%. When I did that cost comparison (paying full price vs. military discount) it didn't make sense even with the Free DDP.

But, if you're not doing more than 1 or two ADR's and no character meals, it wouldn't pay to use the DDP. just pay OOP for everything.

 

[Judique]

I've never actually been to WDW but my brother is getting married there and I used this as an excuse to spend 6 days there since it has been a dream to go. So, I have been a bit confused planning the trip for a while now so you will see more of me and my noobie questions pop up here in the coming months.

In my particular case I'll be going with just me and my girlfriend and doing our thing at the parks. Staying at Pop Century and we don't think we will be having many sit down meals at the parks and mostly doing quick service. However, I know as a sort of wedding reception we will be at Be our Guest and may one or two table service meals. We will also be at Universal for a day. In this case it doesn't look like any of the dining plans would be applicable to my situation. Would you agree and if not then which would probably fit my plans the best?

Any other tips for a first timer way over his head with scheduling would be appreciated

Answering your title question - no - run away from the dining plan. If you do soft drinks and coffee, buy a mug.

 

[bellebud]

also about the food, we will often share a QS meal, then share a snack or 2 as we're walking around. There's always new, yummy food around every corner (our favorites are churros, popcorn, ice cream and cream cheese pretzels).

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

No unless you are able to eat all that food, appetizer for each person at your table plus entree and dessert and hope the entree does not come with soup or salad because that tacks on even more food that has to be eaten in order to get your money's worth out of the plan.
Not to mention being pinned down to a schedule because you have dinning plans even if you for some reason now don't feel interesting eating at the place you now have a reservation at.

 

[Sagginit]

I would vote no. It sounds like you have a lot going on and want to be flexible. The dining plan locks you into planning out your days down to meal times. Also while the portion sizes are not always giant, I found they are more than I would serve myself at home many times, so with the dining plan the best way I can explain it is your vacation takes on this feeling of being on a cruise where your days are activities around meals. Personally I have done the DDP 3 times but if I were in your shoes I would not do it.

You are better off by looking into other ways to save on meals such as buying discounted gift cards before your trip or having some groceries sent to your hotel for snacks/drinks/breakfast.

 

[kniquy]

The dining plan tends to be more of a convenience thing. It can save a little bit when you are traveling with disney kids and plan on doing many character meals. I agree with other posters -- way too much food!! We don't eat like the dining plan expects but I always felt that i had to eat that dessert they served. I would say in your situation -- just pay out of pocket. Plan one or two table service meals -- make your reservations at your 180 day mark -- you can always cancel up to 11:59 the night before at most places without any penalty. So with knowing that you can make dining reservations for everyday of your trip and then as you get closer you can cancel what you know you don't need.

 

[Mike_Mac]

My family just got back from WDW, and we have been 4 times in the past four years. We have done the Dining Plan twice, with two quick service meals and one snack per day each time. It's way too much food for us. The third time, we paid as we went, and we definitely saved some money because we weren't buying as much food than the Dining Plan provides (we even shared some meals). This time we went with a combination of pay-as-you-go and food delivered from gardengrocer.com, which was a great experience. Garden Grocer will purchase groceries for you from a local Publix and deliver them to the resort of your choice at whatever time you specify. If there are perishables, the resort's front desk will keep them refrigerated until you arrive and can move them to your room's mini-frige. We purchased breakfast and lunch foods, including pop and water (which at $3.50 per bottle in the park is very expensive), and saved a lot of money. Plus, we purchased snack foods that we carried into the park (along with bottled drinks) to tide us over between larger meals, and came back to the resort hotel for "homemade" lunch in our room each day. For a family of three and 5 full days at WDW, we spent $470 in food, and that number included a nice sit down dinner at the Whispering Canyon Cafe, a Candlelight Processional dinner at EPCOT, an early breakfast at Be Our Guest, plus the Garden Grocer Order. If we hadn't splurged on the two nice sit-down dinners, that number would be even less, but with the money we saved not using the Dining Plan or buying every single meal from a Disney vendor, we decided to treat ourselves.

Alternatively, you could get a Dining Plan for half the people in your party and split the meals. Unless you are a heavy eater, each quick service meal is more than enough for two adults (minus the extra drink you'll need to purchase). Children can easily share from your plate, especially breakfasts.

Garden Grocer had nice service. We got confirmation emails at the time of our order, phone text when the order was delivered to the resort, and a followup phone call to make sure everything was as we wanted. Plus, because we ordered more than 60 days out, they knocked off 10% on the order, which covered the delivery fee.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Sounds like it would probably not be a good fit for you. We used the Deluxe Dining Plan for our Honeymoon and that was perfect for us, but it is a ton of food. However, we knew that we were going to eat a lot of table service meals and were going to eat at several of the higher end restaurants (California Grill, Le Cellier, Flying Fish). Unless you're planning on order filet mignon and dessert for every meal or attending a lot of character meals, you're better off going out of pocket.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Alternatively, you could get a Dining Plan for half the people in your party and split the meals. Unless you are a heavy eater, each quick service meal is more than enough for two adults (minus the extra drink you'll need to purchase). Children can easily share from your plate, especially breakfasts.
.

When you get the dining plan, it is for everyone on your reservation, you can't just add it to certain members of your party. If that was the case, I'd do 2 quick service plans for my kids as the cost would be cheaper and the allotments are regarded as the same as an adult allotment at the QS places. Disney is too smart to leave a loophole like that open !

 

[Kaleea]

Alternatively, you could get a Dining Plan for half the people in your party and split the meals. Unless you are a heavy eater, each quick service meal is more than enough for two adults (minus the extra drink you'll need to purchase). Children can easily share from your plate, especially breakfasts.

We would do this but it is requiring us to get the DDP for all in the room or none. When the only two kids are 5 and 3 and don't eat a lot, plus of the 6 that are counted as adults 3 don't eat a lot, I am thinking it will be more expensive than paying oop

 

[preemiemama]

You will inevitably get a lot of varied opinions on this topic on these boards, as well as on other planning sites. The answer depends on what is typical for you.

There are 3 plans- a QS only (QS Plan), a one QS and one sit down (DDP), and one with 3 meals a day that can be either QS or sit down(DxDDP). The QS meals (on either plan) include a meal and a drink (no alcohol). No dessert- but there are now 2 snack credits included I believe (at least for the DDP). The sit down (on DDP) includes meal, drink, and dessert (no alcohol). The DxDDP includes appetizers and desserts, plus 2 snacks a day. I also believe that all 3 plans include a resort refillable mug.

I would look at the menus for the places you think you would eat. Menus and prices are available on the Disney website as well as others (allears is updated pretty regularly and also will have a breakdown of plan prices). A PP mentioned a calculator- you can do this, or figure it out yourself. Figure out your "break even " point. If the dining plan is less than or equal to what you calculate you would pay out of pocket, then yes it is worth it.

For example, a friend of mine took her daughters for an overnight stay. They wanted to eat in the Castle. The cost of 1 night of the DxDDP was equal to the cash price of that dinner. She got the DxDDP because they would still have a credit for a sit-down meal the following day, plus 2 snacks and the mug, in addition to their dinner in the Castle. For them, it was a deal.

On the other hand, if you are more likely to eat just QS meals, not eating at a signature (2 credit) restaurant, more likely to split an entree or a QS meal, and/or not eat desserts and appetizers- the DDP is probably not a good deal for you. The value of the plan lies in the way it gets used. And that is a decision that you need to make for yourself once you do the research.

 

[gatormom2tots]

I WISH you could only purchase it for half the group...it would easily work to split one of these with our family and make it worth it. Disney has always required you to purchase the dining plan PER person per day.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

No. The dining plan will be a huge waste of money.