The Dining Plan - Why don't some people like it?

[ethanwa]

The Dining Plan - Why don't some people like it?

I have heard a few people on the boards say they will never so it again and will pay cash next time. Can I ask why that is? If you have all of your reservations pre-made, how is the Dining Plan difficult?

Ethan

 

[helenk]

We were on the dining plan and did not like the fact that you basically plan your park time around your meals. To make it worth your while you need to do sit down meals. It just seems to take away from the go with the flow way we like to do the parks.
ALso, it really gets to be a waste of food, we do not eat dessert with our meals at home, it does not make sense to do this each day on vacation.
I prefer to make one or two reservations for sit down meals, I like to do the tea at the GF, which is not included in the dining plan. I eat light for breakfast, counter service is fine for lunch and my dinners the rest of the time.
The dining plan just is not for us.

 

[KJay]

I love appetizers, and I don't do dessert- makes the dining plan not really worth it for me.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

I will be doing the dining plan next month for the second time and both times were because of the free dining promotion. It's interesting to have but I would never pay for it. It's A LOT of food even at the basic level (I have no clue how people can do the deluxe dining plan). It does limit your days, you can't really fly by the seat of your pants if you will.. unless you go at a time when it's slow and can find a dining reservation without much notice. There is also the argument that the restaurants have gone downhill, especially regarding the menu, since the introduction of the dining plan.

 

[connorlevismom]

For us, it is to much food and we don't like to plan around reservations. We like to be more flexible and eat when we are hungry.

 

[MoonFaerie]

It would have been a TERRIBLE deal for us. I just added it up, and we saved hundreds by paying OOP on our most recent trip. We just don't eat enough or in a way that fits the plan.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

We paid for it once and I don't think I'd pay for it again.

The biggest reason for us is that it is more food than we would normally eat. We typically get entrees and maybe one appetizer to share, two at the most. I prefer to just pay and eat as I go.

Now, if it were "free", I'd take it, but since we're DVC members, there's not much chance of that.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

We don't like the quick service plan, but love the regular plan. We always end up saving money, and we enjoy taking the time out of the day to sit down to eat. 5pm - 6pm is usually pretty busy and hot anyway, at least when we go, so we aren't really missing anything.

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

1. Some people get the DDP and end up not using all of their credits.

2. A lot of people think that the DDP has led to a "dumbing down" of menus & a general decline in the quality of the food at WDW restaurants.

 

[sissy_ib]

I have the same reasons as other people. We rarely order dessert and when we do we split one and my fiance has a bite or two. No way he would eat a full dessert at each meal. Plus at many meals I like to get a soup and app as my meal. We also like to have an adult beverage rather than a soda with dinner. So even if the dining plan did cost less than what we order, we would not get it because it includes too much we don't want.

 

[tlenzendorf]

I don't like it for a 3-fold reason.

1. With 2 kids who are Disney "adults", it's a bad value for us since they still eat like kids.

2. It's a lot more food than we can eat at one time. I'd rather get my dessert later when I'm ready and get something I really want.

3. The tips end up being more since it's based on what you buy. I wouldn't get a soda, entree and dessert always necessarily, but on the DP I do and therefore end up tipping more.

 

[mggeary]

Bottom line is it will only save you money if you:

1) Eat at expensive table services and order expensive items
2) Tend to use your table services for dinner not lunch
3) Can fit exactly into the plan (i.e avg one table and one counter a day for the regular plan). This is our biggest issue with the plan.
4) Like desert and don't mind skipping appetizers
5) Don't have an AP (TIW card saves more money most of the time)
6) Don't leave even 1 left over credit.

That's a lot of conditions to save a little over OOP.

Biggest advantage is you don't have to "worry" about eating at expensive places since it is all pre-paid, which for many can add a lot to the vacation.

 

[bdink921]

When it first came out, we did it and loved it. It was I think $35 adult and $9 or $10 child. Tax and tip were included and the dinners had apps as well as desserts. We did alot of character dining and saved alot. The way it is now seems very pricey (especially with the recent increase), apps and tips are not included anymore. DS is 13 now and an adult in Disney's eyes and just doesn't eat enough to justify that price. We generally now just do a couple of table service dinners and the rest are lighter meals or counter service. I wouldn't pay for it again, think I'd even rather a room discount over free dining too.

 

[Belleofthehouse]

I don't like it for a 3-fold reason.

1. With 2 kids who are Disney "adults", it's a bad value for us since they still eat like kids.

2. It's a lot more food than we can eat at one time. I'd rather get my dessert later when I'm ready and get something I really want.

3. The tips end up being more since it's based on what you buy. I wouldn't get a soda, entree and dessert always necessarily, but on the DP I do and therefore end up tipping more.

While I do enjoy using the dining plan, I have not actually considered point #3!
When I am on vacation, I do not care if I eat 1 dessert or 12...its vacation. I do things differently than my normal everyday life. BUT I do not drink soft drinks; I prefer wine with dinner. And I do not eat dessert on a regular basis. I think I may recalculate my meals for our November trip. Unless free dining is offered, I may pay OOP (I would rather a room discount anyway!).

Always learning somethin on DIS...

 

[Allison]

It is not about it being difficult. It doesn't fit how we eat and has only been a good value for us on one trip over Christmas when the appetizer and tip were still included.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I don't like it for a 3-fold reason.

1. With 2 kids who are Disney "adults", it's a bad value for us since they still eat like kids.

2. It's a lot more food than we can eat at one time. I'd rather get my dessert later when I'm ready and get something I really want.

3. The tips end up being more since it's based on what you buy. I wouldn't get a soda, entree and dessert always necessarily, but on the DP I do and therefore end up tipping more.

I completely agree with the above.

When we first got the dining plan the tip was included which was great. Now even if you get it "free" you still need to allow extra $$ for the tip. For several visits we loved the regular dining plan (mainly character meals). Then they switched value resorts to the QS meal and we really discovered the 'joy' of just eating QS with no 'planned' meals. After that we started eating OOP and buying desserts/ snacks later in the day when we were really ready to eat them. And because we were no longer on the QS meal plan we could get better desserts (think Main Street Bakery and Starring Rolls) than the 'standard' desserts served in many of the QS restaurants.

 

[rosebery]

We've never done it before because:

We don't drink soda. I drink only water (free) or alcoholic beverages (not included).

We rarely order dessert with a meal.

Since I eat vegetarian, I'm usually ordering the cheapest thing on the menu anyway.

We're not big eaters and we're often splitting plates between us -- usually with the kids, who are not impressed by the meager kids menu option. (Really, why can't those be more interesting?)

Last time we saved at least 30% not being on the Dining Plan, even though we ate Table Service meals.

However, next time we go, we will be on the Dining Plan since we got the Free Dining promo . . . and since we'll be taking my almost-4-year-old to lots of the flat-price character meals.

 

[dtstampz]

Too much food for me, and I came down with a cold on that trip and had NO appetite for a couple of days. Several CS credits went to waste!

 

[dragonfly08]

I don't want to decide where, when and what I'll feel like eating six months from now. My kids don't tend to eat on a regular schedule so if they want lunch now, but our ADR isn't for an hour, that won't work for us. Same thing if it's time for our ADR but they aren't hungry yet. And if we want pizza but I've booked seafood?

We don't want to have our park time tied to an ADR...if we wake up and want to go to MK but our ADR is in Epcot, that would annoy me (we don't typically do park hoppers, and even if we did it's a pain to worry about travel time). Plus the kids don't want to sit still through a TS meal when it means taking time away from park activities.

Too much food. We don't normally eat an app., entree, and dessert. Even two of those three is a lot. Nobody drinks soda - it's all milk and water, with the occasional lemonade for DH. We'd end up either overeating because it was there, or wasting a lot.

And most importantly, the dining plan costs me more money. We bring a lot of food (DD #1, especially, has a bit of a nervous stomach when we travel...I've learned that we're all a lot happier when she's able to eat familiar foods. With what I do end up buying in the parks, I come out way ahead paying OOP even compared to the QSDP.

 

[Juliet25]

When it first came out, we did it and loved it. It was I think $35 adult and $9 or $10 child. Tax and tip were included and the dinners had apps as well as desserts. We did alot of character dining and saved alot. The way it is now seems very pricey (especially with the recent increase), apps and tips are not included anymore. DS is 13 now and an adult in Disney's eyes and just doesn't eat enough to justify that price. We generally now just do a couple of table service dinners and the rest are lighter meals or counter service. I wouldn't pay for it again, think I'd even rather a room discount rather than free dining too.

I agree; the value just isn't there any more now that the app and tip aren't included.

We also find it hard to do with three kids under 9; hungry kids=unhappy family. For this reason, the counter service plan fits our Disney vacationing pattern better. Once the "I'm hungry" whining starts, we can grab a bite and get on with our vacation. The CS plan isn't that great of a value either, but I like the convenience of it. However, since the extra snack is gone, we're considering paying OOP for our upcoming trip.