First time going without a dining plan

[Grmnshplvr]

I am a little bit nervous about this. I kind of liked having everything prepaid and all I had to worry about was our tips. But after doing the math I just don't think we're going to save any money. Plus this time we will be staying in a moderate (always stayed in the values before) so I dont see us using the mugs often, if ever. I already ordered our groceries from Garden Grocers so we will have drinks in the room this time too. Even though financially it makes no sense for us to do the dining plan this time I guess the comfort of knowing our meals are prepaid can't really be valued by dollar amount. I still have a few weeks to make a final decision about the dining plan.


Without the dining plan we would most likely not eat a TS every day. Maybe 3 total for the 5 days we are there. We definitely wouldn't be ordering desert or appetizers, and would not buy the refillable mugs. I went through the menus and figured about a $200 savings if we don't use the dining plan. Not sure if that is enough for me to not want to buy though. Help

 

[sethschroeder]

You will love it so much freedom. My biggest thing with DDP is that your really locked down to what you should eat to make it worth it.

When your paying OOP you can share plates like at TS get a app + 1 main entre and split it all for instance between you and your sig other.

If you like the prepaid way just put it all on a gift card and anything you haven't used the last day goes towards your next trip or towards fun little things in the gift stores.

 

[tiggerunner]

We haven't used a dining plan in years and seems to work better for us. We are light eaters and only tend to eat out once a day, usually late lunch. We have snacks and fruit in the room and don't feel like we miss out at all. Some of the counter service-Rose and Crown comes to mind-use the same chef, so we get our fish and chips and enjoy a show or people watch. We always go to one place we really like and make reservations, so vacation seems special. Have fun.

 

[Disfan1968]

All sorts of people will applaud you on these boards for not using the dining plan. There is a general feeling that the DDP has caused a decline is service and quality over time at the restaurants.

That being said, I buy it for many of the reasons you have hit upon...

1. I have a group of eight going, two young men included, and I don't want to have to stress over what they are ordering at every meal.
2. We are doing several buffets and character buffets and these are expensive when not on the plan.
3. I like peace of mind that having everything paid for before I set foot in DW brings.
4. The savings of a couple hundred I might have been able to benefit from when held against items 1-3 above does not convince me, especially when I already paid like 10k, flight included, for the trip. It's just not worth worrying about for me.

 

[ericstac]

yeah I love being free'd from the DDP

We still book ADR's and enjoy whatever we want to eat just as also in the past because it is part of the experience for us.. but we prefer to eat more snacks outside of restaurants rather than a dessert.. the meal alone is filling enough.. some times the wife and I might share an app and a meal and then snack outside.. etc.. we are just free to do what we want.. plus the mugs have always been a waste for us.. especially with the dining plan because the only time we went to the QS at the resort to fill a cup up was when we were going to eat there and you get a drink included with the meal anyway lol..

we save a lot in the end...

 

[Disfan1968]

Hehe... see? As I said, people on DISBOARDS will be VERY supportive of you not using the plan. In the end, do whatever feels best/least stressful for you.

 

[ericstac]

repeat

 

[solana131]

It's all about the freedom for us. My son is 7, but he is a great eater. If we chose the dining plan...he would have very limited choices on the kids menus. We often share items, and hardly ever have dessert, so the dining plan never works out for us.

I make a spreadsheet every trip to see if maybe this time the plan would work, but so far it hasn't. Across the top I put all the names in our party. Along the side I list out each day with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I plan my days out and decide where we might want to eat. Then I can pick foods I think each person might choose. It isn't exact....obviously someone might choose a different option than I picked or we might end up in a different park, but it is close enough.

Then I get gift cards (either purchase them, or ask for birthday/Christmas/etc) to cover it all.....bingo....meals are paid for before we leave. I make sure to include the mugs, any drinks not covered by mugs, and desserts/snacks if I think we might eat them. I have NEVER had to pay OOP before. We always have leftover on the cards. One time I even found a card for $100 that I didn't even touch! We saved THAT much sharing and having snacks instead of meals.

Either way.....you know what works best for your family. This is just my way Have a great trip!

 

[disney_bob]

We've only used the DDP once. We found that we did save money for what we used it on.. but we also went to places we normally wouldn't and ate more than we normally would just to feel like we were using it to its potential. All in all, we save money (and our waistlines) by not getting it.

You're not alone in forgoing it

 

[puffkin]

Unless you are ordering a ton of alcoholic beverages and super expensive meals, you will most like come out way ahead in cost. I really wouldn't stress out about it at all. Just have the money set aside that you would have spent on the dining plan. You will most likely come out WAY ahead!

The dining plan has been a terrible value for all but a few people for many many years now. You will love the freedom to eat how you want...not how they want you to or in a way to maximize the dining plan to justify its cost.

 

[AquaDame]

The only reason we'd spend more than the DDP is because we'll have a drink and/or app with dinner... oh wait that isn't included anyway! It will be fine - set aside the $ you'd have spent in a savings account and pay off your CC with it when you get home.

 

[Jeff_G]

One of the things that frustrated me this last trip was the number of snack items that were priced just a few cents above the cutoff. You can get popcorn as a snack credit but cheese flavored or pepper was 65 cents over so you couldn't get that one..

Starbucks in Magic kingdom would take the DP but not the one at downtown Disney...

Previously you could trade the lunch desert for a bottle water no one would do that this time...

 

[kaybird]

You can nearly always eat cheaper without the DDP, but you can not always eat better. We go often with and without, and I will say that without it we ate much less, suffered tremendous sticker shock, and didn't buy extra food even when we wanted it. However, it was a cheaper trip.

Do what is best for you, and don't feel like you need to apologize to a chat board of people for enjoying the dining plan or preferring to pay OOP. There is freedom in both ways!

 

[AngiTN]

Our trip in 2 weeks if our first without the dining plan also. It does have me nervous but I have quite a bit of the money we'll need for meals already saved up and on gift cards.

In running the numbers on our past trips I know we didn't save money with the dining plan but we didn't pay more either. We pretty much broke even. But we wanted to dine differently this time. We don't want only QS and we don't want 1 TS per day either. Having most on gift cards is almost like having it prepaid.

 

[aretha30]

When we go in August it will be our first time without the DDP. When we were there 2 years ago we realized just how much money we were wasting purchasing it. Our family doesn't drink soda and we don't want dessert with every meal (we always did the QS plan). We would also have like 12-15 snack credits left on the last day of our trip so we would need to go spend them so they wouldn't be wasted. This trip we've purchased gift cards at Target using the 5% debit Red Card discount. We purchased the same amount that we would have paid for the DDP. So the food is still prepaid now we have the freedom to buy what we want. We even have a few ADR's scheduled because we don't feel like we are wasting a meal credit.

Ultimately you have to do what it best for your family. Have fun!

 

[soniam]

I have never done the plan. It seems like a hassle. I looked last time at what we ate and what it would have cost on the plan. I think we would have saved $10-$20. Definitely not worth the trouble for that.

Last trip we ate a nice dinner at Jiko with apps and dessert, did 2 character breakfasts, and ate at Brown Derby. It was 7 days. It's just me, DH, and DS. We tend to be light eaters. We snacked almost everyday in the parks, but we also brought snacks with us. We aren't big soda drinkers, so we had water in the room, refilled at fountains, and occasionally bought water in the parks.

I think what kills the plan for us is that we did rope drop and morning EMH, if available, everyday. It's hard to get breakfast that early and quickly. Plus, I don't like to waste morning time eating in the park. So we had oatmeal, cereal, fruit, and yogurt in the room before we left.

 

[Karebear]

When we go in August it will be our first time without the DDP. When we were there 2 years ago we realized just how much money we were wasting purchasing it. Our family doesn't drink soda and we don't want dessert with every meal (we always did the QS plan). We would also have like 12-15 snack credits left on the last day of our trip so we would need to go spend them so they wouldn't be wasted. This trip we've purchased gift cards at Target using the 5% debit Red Card discount. We purchased the same amount that we would have paid for the DDP. So the food is still prepaid now we have the freedom to buy what we want. We even have a few ADR's scheduled because we don't feel like we are wasting a meal credit.

Ultimately you have to do what it best for your family. Have fun!

I too purchased the gift cards from Target for our last trip and it worked out well. I am doing it for our upcoming trip too. We don't always eat the way the dining plan works. For example, last year we ate at Sci Fi Dine In at HS. I really wanted a milkshake, but could not eat a meal with it. So, I ordered a kid's meal and the milkshake By purchasing the Target gift cards, I have "prepaid" for our food and I don't stress about it while I am there. Have a great trip!

 

[isaboo]

Last August was our first time without the DDP and there's no way I would go back to the plan unless it was "free". Like others have said, you can still prepay...put it on a gift card. If you have left over $$ buy souvenirs or put it towards your next Disney vacation.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

You will love it so much freedom. My biggest thing with DDP is that your really locked down to what you should eat to make it worth it.

When your paying OOP you can share plates like at TS get a app + 1 main entre and split it all for instance between you and your sig other.

If you like the prepaid way just put it all on a gift card and anything you haven't used the last day goes towards your next trip or towards fun little things in the gift stores.

Exactly what I recommend to people. You still have that money prepaid, but if you don't use it, rather than losing it like you would with the dining plan, you can not buy some souvenirs, different treats, or just something fun for you and your family.

 

[Grmnshplvr]

Exactly what I recommend to people. You still have that money prepaid, but if you don't use it, rather than losing it like you would with the dining plan, you can not buy some souvenirs, different treats, or just something fun for you and your family.

Is there a maximum amount I can put on a gift card?