What dining plan is good for us

[MickeyDreamer]

My DF and I are going on a last minute trip and want to book a dining plan. Here is the problem that we are running into. The both of us are diabetics and need to eat often so do we choose the DxDP or the DDP. Your opinion is appreciated

[nonsmom]

Tough call, I would say depending on how much you eat, you could share most of the counter services. If you eat at a buffet, bring a piece of fruit with you when you go, and eat that in between the next meal. The breakfast counterservices can be large also, so they can be shared between two people. You also get a snack every day with the regular dining plan. You can get the grab and go containers with carrots & celery sticks or fruit from your hotel dining area and bring it along. We do that often.

It definitely is a personal choice. Our family does fine on the regular dining plan. I kind of shy away from the QS as my boys would not make healthy choices and french fries would become a major food group.

Good luck.

[no capes darling]

How about planning how you would eat without a dining plan and then deciding which one would work best for your needs. Maybe looking at the menues from allears would be a good place to start.

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Since you mentioned it was last minute, before you commit to either plan see what ADRs you can get. I'm not sure how "last minute" you are planning.


ETA: I just clicked your ticker and you are leaving in 5 days?!?! Definitely see if you can get any ADRs before you book a dining plan!!!

[MsPeggySue911]

You said because you are diabetics you both need to eat often. I am curious why you have to eat often? I have 3 diabetics in my family and they eat 3 meals a day like everyone else does. If your blood sugar is regulated by your insulin/medication you shouldn't have to eat any more often than anybody else. I do know it is advised to keep some type of candy or snack with you so if you start to feel weak or light headed you eat something right away. Just curious maybe there is something new about it that I don't know.

Otherwise any of the dining plans would work. It's a matter of how you want to eat. Mostly quick service or a combination of quick service and table service.

If you feel like you need to eat more snacks in a day the quick service would probably work better because you get 2 snacks included.

[tina.tina]

We got free dining for our first family trip that we had planned in February. We upgraded to the Deluxe plan because we wanted to go to a lot of character meals and I figured that if we had to eat, we might as well eat with Mickey & friends. I used a spreadsheet but you could do this on pen & paper. I made a list of 3 meals per day for every day we would be at WDW. I figured what days we'd be at which parks & made my ADRs for those days. We also had some interesting counter service planned. If also figured in snacks. Our tips would have been about $200- don't forget those tips! That trip didn't happen due to medical issues.

We went in April instead & decided to go with the regular dining plan. Due to increased crowds, I figured we'd have less time to spend at table service restaurants. We planned to pay OOP for breakfast each day, 3 additional table service restaurants, and extra snacks. We ended up not going to 2 of the additional table service restaurants we had planned and we didn't eat as many snacks as I thought.

Since we first came back from our trip, I was thinking that next time we would only do the QSDP since we had already done some of the character meals, but I don't think our next trip would be as fun without as many character dining experiences.

Here's what I will do to figure up what will be our best value: I will list all meals we will eat- 3 for each day we're at WDW & project snacks. I'll figure up what park we'll plan to be at for each day and schedule the ADRs we want based on that schedule. I'll look at menus & get prices for what I think we'll order. Don't forget to include tips. Then, I'll figure what we'll have to pay OOP for based on the 3 different dining plans. We'll choose the plan that is the best value based on cost and how many ADRs we want.

Just off the top of my head, I'm not sure I would pay out of pocket for the Deluxe plan. If I had free dining, I think it might be worth the price to upgrade just to ensure I wouldn't have to pay OOP for anything.

If you are leaving in 5 days, can you get a dining plan added? I thought it had to be over 1 week until your trip to add the plan. If you can add it, make sure you can get ADRs before you pick the regular or deluxe plan. You may have to pay OOP or choose the QSDP.

[Cafeen]

Originally Posted by 3Minnies1Mickey

Since you mentioned it was last minute, before you commit to either plan see what ADRs you can get. I'm not sure how "last minute" you are planning.


ETA: I just clicked your ticker and you are leaving in 5 days?!?! Definitely see if you can get any ADRs before you book a dining plan!!!

I totally agree with this. If it's only 5 days out, at this time of year, the chances of you getting good solid times at locations near where you plan to be will be pretty slim. Also keep in mind that: A) you have until 72 hours out to even add a dining plan, after that it's too late, and B) you could very well be charged a $50 change fee in addition to having to pay for the entire plan immediately.

I'd just plan to go OOP for this trip if I were in the same boat.

[smitch425]

If you do the QSDP, the two of you together would get 4 QS meals and 4 snacks per day (and a free hotel mug). Several QS meals are definitely big enough to share, and you would be able to spread them out nicely throughout the day. As a PP mentioned, you MUST add the dining plan no later than 72 hours in advance. I think the regular DDP and DxDDp would be too much food at one sitting to best suit the needs that you described. Have fun and happy planning!

[bicker]

I agree with the advice to plan-out your dining in advance, based on posted menus and what you expect to eat when, without regard to any Dining Plan, and then see if the Dining Plan would make sense. While there are cases where the Dining Plan does make sense, I believe many folks who select the Dining Plan would be better off just taking all that money and putting it on their hotel account, and then charging cash meals to their hotel account.

[Hopefully]

I strongly agree - It is too late for you to add a dining plan to this trip.
I don't believe you will be able to get ADR's to use all of your credits.
Maybe next trip

[Luv2Roam]

I would go with a quick service dining plan. That way your meals can possibly be split so you will not be eating over sized meals. Which you know is much better for you. (Smaller, more frequent meals rather than large meals.)
I am a fairly new diabetic. So I know what you mean by eating often. You feel a lot better and more even energy by eating smaller portions and more frequent.

[Cafeen]

Originally Posted by bicker

I believe many folks who select the Dining Plan would be better off just taking all that money and putting it on their hotel account, and then charging cash meals to their hotel account.

Yep, and the way that Disney upsells the dining plans without regards to informing their customers on how they actually work (or any hint of the level of planning that is required to make them work) only makes things worse.

Of course, for those that DO know how they work, and how to make them work the best, we get treated like rock-stars around these parts, so it's not all bad .