Why I love the dining plan.

[tinkerbella16]

Load the amount you would pay for the DDP on a gift card. That way the money is spent- splurge as you wish (or don't). Any left over apply to shopping or another trip.

This is what I do every trip. I came home with over $400 on the gift card on our last trip in Sept and it went right to the deposit for this years trip. I keep a gift card for spending and a gift card for food/snacks.

 

[Lumpy1106]

It took me years to convince my DW that DDP was a bad idea costing us money. She likes the "all inclusive" nature of it, but from the start I've always though that it was driving us to have expensive meals we really either didn't want or could go without. The final straw for her was the time we were on the last day of our trip and trying to use up credits. We had a quick service meal that included a cookie, but my daughter wanted a fancy cupcake. We had the snack credit for it, so my DW said sure, but "you have to finish your cookie before you can have your cupcake". That's been an inside joke with us ever since.

 

[Orion Nebula]

I love it due to not having to worry about what everyone (including me) is ordering. If I want a steak I get it, dessert and beer? Yep. But if I don't have it I make a ton of sacrifices and scan through the menu shaking my head. With it I pay zero attention on how expensive things are and it makes me less stressed.

This trip however we are paying cash obviously and set aside a certain amount. Now I have to be more careful and probably tell the kids no on some things, way less snacks also.

 

[yaksack]

We pick one restaurant per person per trip. All other meals are eaten at the room (we are DVC). The food is too expensive. $11 for a burger is over the top.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I just don't understand this. If your kids don't like the food, don't order it. Get them a side of fries or share an appetizer. Ordering them something knowing they aren't going to eat it?

Disney makes money on the plans. End of. That's why they sell them. Knowing this, it should be easy to realize that it's not hard to do better financially by paying by the meal. Different if you get one of those 'free' plans by paying rack at a value or moderate with a fully packed room. I get that you can probably do a little better in that case.

It's not about the cost for me and I know Disney makes money. It's about ease and not having to think about it. I don't worry about wasted food when it's pre-payed. When I go on vacation, I don't really like worrying about anything. Without the plans, it makes me think more, which isn't really my vacationing style. Even if we order something my kids do like, it's like a 50-50 chance of them eating it. So should I just stop feeding them? Do I stop the adults in our group from enjoying a good meal? It's my understanding that if you have TS, everyone has to order something. And they don't all have fries or an appetizer they'd eat. Plus, I don't typically feed my kids fries every day. That's really unhealthy. I say to each their own. Some people spent money on deluxe hotels. I don't. You don't want to spend money on a dining plan? Don't get one. I'd rather have the dining plan. So yeah, I do hope they come back. Disney, take my money!

 

[Eastern]

It's not about the cost for me and I know Disney makes money. It's about ease and not having to think about it. I don't worry about wasted food when it's pre-payed. When I go on vacation, I don't really like worrying about anything. Without the plans, it makes me think more, which isn't really my vacationing style. Even if we order something my kids do like, it's like a 50-50 chance of them eating it. So should I just stop feeding them? Do I stop the adults in our group from enjoying a good meal? It's my understanding that if you have TS, everyone has to order something. And they don't all have fries or an appetizer they'd eat. Plus, I don't typically feed my kids fries every day. That's really unhealthy. I say to each their own. Some people spent money on deluxe hotels. I don't. You don't want to spend money on a dining plan? Don't get one. I'd rather have the dining plan. So yeah, I do hope they come back. Disney, take my money!

No, if you have TS you can use one credit for a dinner and people can split it. If you are at a buffet or character meal then everyone has to pay.

And I'm not saying to feed your kids fries every day, but yes, some kids will eat only a certain thing that is on the menu that is not a full meal. It was just an example.

The point that people are trying to make is that you are probably paying more for dining plan even if you did go out and order whatever. So order for your kids, they can waste their food, and you will still pay less. But if they might only eat one thing at the TS, you can just pay for that, instead of using a full dining credit.

Then you can just take out your cc and pay! So easy.

 

[Eastern]

I love it due to not having to worry about what everyone (including me) is ordering. If I want a steak I get it, dessert and beer? Yep. But if I don't have it I make a ton of sacrifices and scan through the menu shaking my head. With it I pay zero attention on how expensive things are and it makes me less stressed.

This trip however we are paying cash obviously and set aside a certain amount. Now I have to be more careful and probably tell the kids no on some things, way less snacks also.

It is hard to spend more money paying cash than you would spend on the dining plan. The dining plan is priced figuring that you order the most expensive things and eat every entitlement they have given you. You don't have to look at the prices. Cover them up and order whatever. You will most likely still pay less than the dining plan.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

I was the biggest proponent of DDP in the past. We got Deluxe without fail. ( We also have 50 giant lollipops in our pantry as ghosts of snack credits past. ) I argued and still do that my time and less worry was worth any overpayment. I still believe all of those things BUT, here me out. I've been on 3 trips since reopening- SEPT, OCT, JAN- and I have to say that the food quality is waaaaay up. With reduced seating and no dining plans , it's almost like they have the time to give a care about what goes on the plate. I'm not sure what we'll do when DDP returns, and it will but I hate to admit- I hope they don't.

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

I can go either way, sometimes we get the dining plan and sometimes we do not. We definitely come out spending less money when paying OOP and eat more "normally" too. This last trip in November we average about 100-150 per day for my daughter and I. that was getting what we wanted and when we wanted something, including an alcoholic beverage (cha ching) here and there. I do like the dining plan also. I do hope it comes back as I like the option and also for the people that love it. I do agree with PP that said the quality of food seems better, don't know if we were just thrilled to be on vacation and it tasted better????

 

[Uncle Coaster]

While I’ve only ever gotten the plan when it was part of a package, I totally understand the convenience part of it.

One time I gave myself a separate food budget that was meant to encourage me to eat at nicer restaurants and it failed miserably. It wouldn’t have mattered if I had put that extra money on a gift card, carried it in cash, or whatever other option...I still spent the vacation thinking about what else I could do with those funds besides food.

Next time, if I want to encourage myself to eat nicer meals at WDW I would get the plan if offered.

 

[Pyxie]

I'm in the camp of pre-paying so I don't have to worry about it. And I realize not everyone is going to understand that which is fine. We are all different. I struggle with splurging on things that I really want if I am focused on what everything costs. My DH is even worse with this. We might WANT that extra drink with our meal, but are less likely to actually order it when we think about what it costs. My family are also pretty big eaters with the exception of my daughter. I did the math with our last trip and we did actually save a little bit (less than $100 so not much but it's something) and no one was ordering the most expensive entrees just to "get our money's worth."

There is also the fact that if you like to make payments on your vacation package, the dining plan is rolled right into that so it doesn't sting as much as paying for everything at once. (And, again, I know that not everyone is going to understand the benefit of that but it's huge for us.)

I am going to try the gift card thing this time since we can't buy a dining plan, but will for sure get them again if they come back in the future.

 

[Yinn]

It is hard to spend more money paying cash than you would spend on the dining plan. The dining plan is priced figuring that you order the most expensive things and eat every entitlement they have given you. You don't have to look at the prices. Cover them up and order whatever. You will most likely still pay less than the dining plan.

It's difficult but not really that difficult if you follow the rules. We kept a spreadsheet and found the easiest way to get your money's worth...

1. Everyone uses their mugs in the morning, and at night.
2. Get a mimosa with your breakfast.
3. No signature meals, 2 credits is generally more expensive than paying cash.
4. I don't care if you don't drink alcohol, you're having alcohol with your lunch.
5. Snacks should be above $5. Preferably $7+
6. Yes that grapefruit beer will go wonderfully with your dinner.
7. Dinner? Garden grill. Why? Chip and Dale. The kids don't know it? We'll download it, they can watch it while we walk. We're only doing character meals.
8. Yes, I asked. We're allowed to substitute the alcoholic smoothie as our drink.
9. SO: "I can't decide between the Steak or the Chicken." Me: "Which costs more?"
10. Just grab that alcoholic milkshilk for desert. I've got a bottle of water and we'll deal with AA later if we have to.

Granted that approach does not lead to a peace of mind/stress free eating either.

 

[ashley0139]

We pick one restaurant per person per trip. All other meals are eaten at the room (we are DVC). The food is too expensive. $11 for a burger is over the top.

Where do you live that $11 for a burger is over the top? I find the meals at Disney to be reasonably priced. Snacks are insane to me price-wise, but the meals I've mostly found to be a good value.

 

[Cabius]

It's difficult but not really that difficult if you follow the rules. We kept a spreadsheet and found the easiest way to get your money's worth...

1. Everyone uses their mugs in the morning, and at night.
2. Get a mimosa with your breakfast.
3. No signature meals, 2 credits is generally more expensive than paying cash.
4. I don't care if you don't drink alcohol, you're having alcohol with your lunch.
5. Snacks should be above $5. Preferably $7+
6. Yes that grapefruit beer will go wonderfully with your dinner.
7. Dinner? Garden grill. Why? Chip and Dale. The kids don't know it? We'll download it, they can watch it while we walk. We're only doing character meals.
8. Yes, I asked. We're allowed to substitute the alcoholic smoothie as our drink.
9. SO: "I can't decide between the Steak or the Chicken." Me: "Which costs more?"
10. Just grab that alcoholic milkshilk for desert. I've got a bottle of water and we'll deal with AA later if we have to.

Granted that approach does not lead to a peace of mind/stress free eating either.

Ah, so you're saying that if I eat (and drink) like I normally do anyway, the DDP is a good value?? Interesting...

 

[MomOTwins]

Ah, so you're saying that if I eat (and drink) like I normally do anyway, the DDP is a good value?? Interesting...

Haha, I had the exact same thought. I’m on vacation—I’m definitely having a mimosa at breakfast, a nice steak at dinner, an overpriced snack from an epcot booth, and dessert!

As for signatures, we love em! It’s called the deluxe dining plan and last time we used it we saved $1,700 (I itemized every meal not including tips.)

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We love the dining plan too. This will be our first trip without it, and I am stressing about food costs. We are amateur foodies who enjoy a good meal, and that equals expensive at Disney. We always come out ahead using the DP, and I a, honestly hating not having it.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

It's difficult but not really that difficult if you follow the rules. We kept a spreadsheet and found the easiest way to get your money's worth...

1. Everyone uses their mugs in the morning, and at night.
2. Get a mimosa with your breakfast.
3. No signature meals, 2 credits is generally more expensive than paying cash.
4. I don't care if you don't drink alcohol, you're having alcohol with your lunch.
5. Snacks should be above $5. Preferably $7+
6. Yes that grapefruit beer will go wonderfully with your dinner.
7. Dinner? Garden grill. Why? Chip and Dale. The kids don't know it? We'll download it, they can watch it while we walk. We're only doing character meals.
8. Yes, I asked. We're allowed to substitute the alcoholic smoothie as our drink.
9. SO: "I can't decide between the Steak or the Chicken." Me: "Which costs more?"
10. Just grab that alcoholic milkshilk for desert. I've got a bottle of water and we'll deal with AA later if we have to.

Granted that approach does not lead to a peace of mind/stress free eating either.

We don’t follow any of these and still come out ahead on the DP. I keep our receipts and add it up and the worst I ever did was less than $50 less than what we paid for DP, most of the time we come in about $200 ahead. We just eat what we want. The DP fits the way we would order anyway.

 

[Ariel620]

We love the Dining plan too. But I enjoyed doing things differently last week. We tried some different places and ordered a bit different too and it was fun.

In addition to your list, consider some signatures that would normally be 2 credits but can end up way cheaper (ie we enjoyed Brown Derby for the first time)

Others
Sci Fi
Mama Mel rose

Also consider one person getting appy and one person getting meal, which we don’t usuydo on the dining plan. This was great at skippers canteen which has great appys. Sanaa bread service is also good for that.

 

[Heather07438]

We've done many 'free' DDP, paid DDP and out of pocket trips. Closely followed DDP changes over the last 6 years (always doing the regular 1TS/1QS DDP). We found during DDP's best era a few years ago that since we normally spend a decent chunk on WDW food regardless, the bit extra spent for DDP can get us A LOT more. But the constant changes made it hard to keep up with making it work. Coming out ahead requires an investment in forethought and it became harder to achieve in recent years until it stopped being worth the effort.

Take BoG. A couple years ago you could still use QS for lunch, now it's morphed into 2 TS credits all day. The $30-40 QS breakfast has gone away too, along with French Onion or Leek Soup for a snack credit.

We used to go to Brown Derby for 1 TS credit lunch... gone as well. We used to get appetizers. We used to have a better selection of entrees to choose from. We loved what was included for snack credits, before Epcot festivals chipped away at what's offered. They moved a bunch of the best TS options into 2 credit signatures and equally messed with other stuff. I think now it only makes sense for people who regularly buy $15 tearfully sweet drinks and character buffets everyday.

It'll be interesting to see what it becomes if it returns for 2022.

 

[frannn]

We gravitate to the more expensive restaurants and items on the menu so the DP usually worked out for us. I did a spreadsheet for our upcoming trip and found that we will end up paying about the same as the DP would be, but without the included snacks and desserts. So, we will likely not indulge as much. It was nice to have them included in the past when we did want something, so hopefully the DP comes back at a price that makes it worth purchasing.