To Dining Plan or NOT?

[dtripli]

Hi Everyone

Im sure this question has been asked before....but please humor me. It's been awhile since we've used the dining plan. Our kids were little and considered "children" on the plan at the time. Now they are considered "adults", prices have risen and things have changed a bit. We will be in Disney 7 nights. It will be me, hubby, 2 of our teenage daughters and our 6 year old son. We won't have a car to go off property. We will probably have atleast one TS meal a day (not necessarily the expensive character buffets-only 2 or so of those)....Is it worth it for us the purchase the meal plan? $1800 seems like so much $60 a day per adult plus $20 a day for our little guy....(I think that is correct)

Please tell me what to do....I'd really like everyone's opinion/advice...

Thank You

 

[MillauFr]

I would skip buying the dining plan. Just pay for your meals out of pocket. The plan seems overly complicated and forces you to order food you may or may not want. I do not want multiple deserts per day for everyone at our table. The cost of these deserts are included with the dining plan and you would pay for them whether you use them or not.

 

[disney queen]

i agree w/MillauFr. it is a lot of food!!

 

[Pumbaaa]

The dining plan sounds like a great idea and is great if you love to eat and don't mind sticking to reservations! My wife and I both agree that it isn't for us. Advanced reservations seem restrict what we do everyday in the parks. We are always on the go so it just doesn't make sense for us.

 

[dtripli]

Thanks for the input everyone. I am thinking we will pass on the plan and do a little experiment....save our receipts so we can see what the difference is. I'll chime in with the outcome when we return....around June 15th...

 

[indigoxtreme]

Go to http://allears.net/dining/ and get the menus for each place you will likely eat. Prices are there and you can calculate the cost of what you would really eat compared to the Dining plan. Sounds to me as if the dining plan may be a good idea for you. It includes the meals and tax. You of couse would have to include tip for either calculation.

 

[awalker1015]

Go to http://allears.net/dining/ and get the menus for each place you will likely eat. Prices are there and you can calculate the cost of what you would really eat compared to the Dining plan. Sounds to me as if the dining plan may be a good idea for you. It includes the meals and tax. You of couse would have to include tip for either calculation.

This is what I spent last night doing! Our DD turns 10 a month before we leave and she is a professional non eater so DDP was going to cost $1470 and I could not see how on earth we would spend that in food over a week. We did DP last fall and I found I to be too much food for us. We were scrambling the last two days to use our snack credits.

So I'm thinking we may skip DP this year and see how it shakes out.

 

[Zooshoveller]

This is what I spent last night doing! Our DD turns 10 a month before we leave and she is a professional non eater so DDP was going to cost $1470 and I could not see how on earth we would spend that in food over a week. We did DP last fall and I found I to be too much food for us. We were scrambling the last two days to use our snack credits. So I'm thinking we may skip DP this year and see how it shakes out.

I've read where a lot of people put their DP cost onto a gift card/s and see how much is either left over or they spent out of pocket!

 

[jen3b]

We are also going in June and have decided to pay all OOP this trip. Another factor to consider is that the dessert and drink that you order with every meal while in the dp (that you may not have ordered if paying OOP) will also increase your total bill and therefore increase the tip amount to leave.

 

[awalker1015]

I've read where a lot of people put their DP cost onto a gift card/s and see how much is either left over or they spent out of pocket!

That's actually my plan- to buy a bunch of gc's at Kroger before we leave so I can earn fuel points and charge meals to the room, paying off the room bill every few days with gift cards.

 

[TACK]

If I can get it discounted or free, then of course I will take it. But, the cost now just doesn't make sense. I am going in a couple of weeks and paying out of pocket and working with budget. When I look at Quick Service, I'm not seeing any value - it's just a prepaid item. So again I do not think it makes a difference if I have QS or use cash. I am lucky enough to rent a car and that means I can go anywhere I want, plus I can go do grocery shops.

I agree with all who say it's convenient. I know I won't get any overpriced items because that's where the plan comes in handy (lobster roll at Boardwalk, I'm talking about you). I normally do not buy drinks with my meals, so I won't miss that. And deserts, well I will miss my ice cream but I know I will treat myself now and then.

 

[GillianP1301]

I think if price is the only thing you're basing the decision on, then very often OOP is the way to go. But it really does depend on how you eat.

We did DDP 2 years ago and skipped it last year. This year I'm trying DxDP. I figure the only way to know what's best is to try it. The year we used DDP, we did save a little, we stacked up on character buffets and that put the dining plan in our favour. Last year when we didn't do it, I found we ate differently. There was some meal sharing going on, some skipping of meals, etc... Not to save dollars, just by following our stomachs and how hungry we were.

The deciding factors for me on DxDP this year is
1) It's a DS and me only trip and he is the type who has to have his 3 meals a day or he gets cranky very easily. I find QS a pain in the butt, as far as lining up, stalking other people for an empty table, carrying trays all while trying to keep track of a young child. When DH was with is, no problem because we could divide and conquer.

2) I want to tray a lot of new restaurants and eating experiences, including a dining show, signatures, more character meals. So my costs will be pretty close to even with OOP.

3) I like having scheduled meals and knowing I'll have a nice cool place to site and rest while we eat (we're going in August), the meals become built in breaks to my touring plan.

It's obviously a very personal choice and one that is easier to make once you determine what your most important thing is, i.e. saving money, having things pre-planned or not, etc...

 

[DjdBrit]

If I can get it discounted or free, then of course I will take it. But, the cost now just doesn't make sense. I am going in a couple of weeks and paying out of pocket and working with budget. When I look at Quick Service, I'm not seeing any value - it's just a prepaid item. So again I do not think it makes a difference if I have QS or use cash. I am lucky enough to rent a car and that means I can go anywhere I want, plus I can go do grocery shops.

I agree with all who say it's convenient. I know I won't get any overpriced items because that's where the plan comes in handy (lobster roll at Boardwalk, I'm talking about you). I normally do not buy drinks with my meals, so I won't miss that. And deserts, well I will miss my ice cream but I know I will treat myself now and then.

We have done the dining plan on our last 5 visits, only once with Free Dining. This year I opted not to do it, its restrictive and I don't always want dessert with EVERY meal. I will most likely end up spend almost the same amount when you factor in drinks and snacks but I like the idea of just ordering what I want to eat.

 

[asmit4]

My plan is probably to do my own plan.....buy gift cards and have the meals 'prepaid' but eating MY own way Not the disney restrictive way.

 

[Vernie822]

Thanks for these posts!

All along our planning process, I was convinced we needed DDP for the following reasons..

1) My boyfriend eats often, and I knew he'd definitely eat the provided 2 meals/day with a snack.
2) I liked the idea of pre-paying for our meals and not having to worry about sticker shock when we wanted to order something, and feeling like maybe we should order something less expensive. (I know, I know - even though we would have paid just as much if not more for the dining plan, it's not like it would matter what we order!)
3) I want to try lots of TS restaurants!

Now I'm thinking maybe we should stray from it. We're going in September so I know the free dining frenzy might help us in getting it for free. But now, I'm starting to shy away from the dining idea.. We both like to eat, but sometimes I'm not the 2-3 meal type day person. If I have a sit down meal at a restaurant, I can live off of snacks and maybe one small meal for the remainder of the day. And my boyfriend isn't all that picky - he'd be satisfied with a QS snack/meal if and when he's hungry.

Also, we sometimes prefer to do appetizers instead of dessert. Or even in place of a meal if I'm not too hungry. I'd feel restricted getting a dessert at dinner over an appetizer, just because the dessert comes with the meal.

In all, I'm not entirely sure if I should stick with the dining plan! I'm leaning towards trying for a room discount and possibly upgrading from a moderate to a deluxe.. What's your take!?

 

[Vernie822]

OH! And if we do pay OOP, we'd get Disney gift cards at Giant Eagle (Fuel parks.. holla!)

 

[alicia080979]

My plan is probably to do my own plan.....buy gift cards and have the meals 'prepaid' but eating MY own way Not the disney restrictive way.

This is what we do. Our local grocery store has 2X-4X points on gift cards so we are loading up our gift card, getting our $1+ off each gallon of gas and going to use TIW. We are going to end up saving quite a bit.

I try to also spread my gift card purchases over the beginning/ending of the month to extend my fuel points. For our package balance I bought cards in Feb/March & April, for our tickets I bought a gift card today and then for our food and spending I will buy in June. I will do the same in July/Aug/Sept and we end up with $1 off our gas every time we fill up for almost the entire year bc we are going in June and Sept. It adds up to a lot if you fill up 2-3 times a month and save $35 each pop. You figure in gas alone we are saving $700-800.

 

[plove53]

I would skip buying the dining plan. Just pay for your meals out of pocket. The plan seems overly complicated and forces you to order food you may or may not want. I do not want multiple deserts per day for everyone at our table. The cost of these deserts are included with the dining plan and you would pay for them whether you use them or not.

AGREE!!!!

There are only a few buffets I like and go to... I don't want to tie myself down eating all that food... I like to split a meal (and have smaller portions... and try more places)....and for 9 days I would not spend that in months of eating.

MOHO
-p