When does the dining plan make sense?

[ladybug_ag]

My 4 year old daughter and I went to Disney last year and did not use it. We are going again (this weekend!) and I'm contemplating purchasing the simplest plan, more as a reason to control costs. She is a picky eater (read: nuggets and fries) and I've had gastric bypass, so I don't need to eat a lot, but I do need quite a bit of water. For instance, I can get by on half a hot dog...half a burger, etc.

I'm just confused about when the dining plan makes sense and when it doesn't...any quick tips? I don't feel like I have enough time to research it the way I want to.

FWIW, we will have one character meal at Arkershus.

[ancestry]

Well I think different people use the dining plan for different reasons therefore when it makes sense and when it doesn't varies greatly. We like using it for two main reasons. One is that we like having our vacation paid for in advance and not having to worry about costs onsite. The other is that we have two children (twins age 7) and feel that the cost of the dining plan for them is way less than what we would pay out of pocket.

You may want to try pricing out the meals you plan on eating at various restaurants and see if it is worth doing cost wise for you and your daughter. I have found that with children it is worth it especially if doing several character meals as one out of pocket character meal is usually more expensive than the entire day on the DDP for a child.

[disneymayz]

IMHO - (based off what you wrote) - do not get the dinning plan. You guys can go to Casey's and split a hot dog or get a 8 piece chicken nugget basket and share that. The CS meal comes with drink,entree, and dessert. If you are not going to eat all of that then you are just wasting money.
We do the dinning plan cause I eat a lot. I enjoy the 2 snacks a day and will eat 2 QS meals (dessert included) each day. My wife does not so I have to eat hers as well to feel I get my moneys worth.

This is simple break down for QSDP -
Cost-$32/night
Typical meal is 10-12 (x2) = $24
Snack is average $3 (x2) = $6
This total is only $30

Hope this helps!

[chrisw127]

I don't think it makes sense in your case. Also, I wanted to offer congrats on your weight loss! Have a great trip.

[Faldred]

The dining plan (or rather, any of the dining plans) makes sense when it is at least a fairly close fit to the way you want to eat on your vacation.

Given your description, agree with the other posters that it does not sound like any of the dining plans will fit you very well. It will probably cost you more than the value you'd receive, based on your eating habits.

[dd50]

It doesn't seem to make sense for you as you don't eat much. You and your DD would probably be able to share a meal at times. You can get free ice water any time.

[Missytara]

Usually, I go alone or with one friend my own age, so I have never done it. It just didn't make sense to me.

This past year, I took two college aged girls, who were on a strict budget.

They saved their money all year and we purchased the dining plan. I actually let them use a lot of the credits and paid for some of my meals OOP..... so they could really get the full advantage of it.

[clairemolly]

We like it for a couple of reasons. I like having it paid for (except the tips) before I get there...easier to budget.

Also, we like to do a TS meal a day...with the majority being dinners and/or character meals. For the price for DH and I alone, it practically pays for itself just with the TS meals we choose. We only do 1 character meal breakfast per trip, all the rest of our meels are dinners.

[jofo]

It doesn't sound like it would work well for you. In addition, I think you have to add it to your package at least 72 hours before arrival, so I'm not sure if you have time to add it this point anyway.

[mkleinbe]

Jumping in to say that I agree it doesn't appear to be a good fit for you and DD.

[beansmom]

i had gb 6 years ago and I still can eat only a 1/4 or a 1/3 of a 'real meal'...it makes absolutely no sense for you. I would just pay OOP and split with DD.