gsmith0113
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 7, 2015
We are a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 kids). question number 1 above is the most important. Our kids love the character meals. on our 7 night trip coming up, I have run the numbers and we are going to come out $400 ahead by using the dining plan (and that is without including any alcohol). We enjoy not paying OOP as well, but if the savings were in the other direction by more than $100, we would not do the plan."I have a simple batch of questions I ask to determine if the plan will save you money, or just be more convenient...
1) Are you trying to get at least 1-2 Character Meals a day out of your trip?
2) Do you have at least ONE child guest that will want to eat off the adult menu? And do you have an adult guest that may want to order from the kids' menu?
3) Do you have party members who will just not survive without massive quantities of food?
The #1 question is really the most important one. Near as I can tell, Disney's restaurants/credits and the Dining Plan system are supposed to work in conjunction to provide Guests with more themed experiences. If you don't care about Character Meals, and you order breakfast food for your hotel room and you eat Snacks and Quick Service only, yeah please do not try to "save money" by using the Dining Plan. If you're eating appetizer-sized portions at Table Service, and you cannot or do not want to bag up the rest in take-away boxes and nibble on it for the next three hours, don't do Dining Plan. Assuredly, if the situation for your family LOOKS complicated in conjunction with the Dining Plan, really, don't get it! Just manage yourself on giftcards or the room account, or OOP."
Each character meal, lunch or dinner mostly, will pay the majority of the kids portion of the dining plan, so the more Disney kids, the more the plan makes sense...
To each his/her own in the end.