2011 Dining Plan Prices and Seasons

[keypooh90]

I know this information is here in many places, but I'm having a difficult time finding it. Can someone give me the costs for all three plans per adult and what the "seasons" are for the additional cost? Also, do the QSDP and DxDDP have the upcharge or just regular DDP? Thanks!

 

[keypooh90]

I have found the prices for the dining plan. However, could someone please tell me the dates for the different seasons?

Thanks!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Peak seasons:
February 17-26, 2011
March 11 - April 30, 2011
June 3 - August 13, 2011
December 21-31, 2011

 

[keypooh90]

Thanks for the information!

 

[gabyisacoolkid]

Is the DP worth it?

 

[Sandisw]

Is the DP worth it?

Depends completely on how you eat when you are at WDW. We found it to be worth it in the sense that we ate better and got more food than had we paid OOP.

However, some of the items we got with the plan would not have been bought had we been paying OOP. For example, I would never need to get a dessert with my lunch and would not necessarily get it with every dinner either. However, with the plan, I did and there were times, since it was paid for in advance, that I didn't feel bad about getting it and then eating 1 or 2 bites. Had I been paying OOP, I would never have bought it.

We did tally up receipts and we ate $1800 worth of food on the plan and we only would have paid $1100 for the plan (we were on free dining) so I put it at a $700 savings. But, in reality, some of those meals and snacks would not have been bought.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Is the DP worth it?

It depends on how you eat. We find it worth it since we have 4 kids. At $11.99/night for kids we are already ahead of the game by just eating at a character meal (at least $13/child).

 

[Maxwell42]

I agree with PP that it tends to save money vs. OOP, but that you end up getting items that you wouldn't get if paying OOP, so it may be a wash in the end.

But IMO, it's worth it even if I don't save any money, just for the peace of mind of having all of our meals prepaid and not having to worry about how much we are spending on food. The cost of food is figured into our vacation budget up front, and it's not a concern when we're there, so we can just enjoy our meals. Also, since I'm not having to worry about the cost of the meal, we can order more expensive items from the menu without having to worry about driving up the bill.

I think the question of whether it's worth it is a personal thing, but I believe there are benefits to it beyond just the $$$. We enjoy dining out and trying new restaurants, and the DDP makes it easy to make dining a big part of our vacation. I think I would do it even if it costs the same or slightly more than OOP because it takes the stress out of paying for meals while we're there - and vacation is all about reducing stress, right?

 

[pauly's girl]

I agree Maxwell...I love the peace of mind when everything is paid for before we leave. I only then have to worry about spending money....in the case that we run short we buy only things we really want and do not worry about how we will eat. Our first trip in 2003 they did not offer the dining plans and we spent more than we thought we would on meals...the last few days of our trip we ate cheap at mcdonalds or outside Disney. It was ok and worked out but I didn't like worrying while we were there. THe last three trips have been wonderful with all of our meals paid for and booked in advance. September will be our 5th trip and I have already booked with dining! I will utilize the dining plans as long as they are avaliable!!

 

[photobob]

There are very good arguments both ways. We haven't done it but have seriously considered it. If you are ones that usually buy more expensive items on the menu and have a dessert as well, it is a very good deal compared to paying OOP. If you normally buy lesser entrees and don't have a dessert it may not be a good deal.

The last time I considered it I compared what we could get with the DDP and it is a significant amount of eating, it seemed to be an excellent investment. I then however honestly compared our normal eating and ordering patterns and it didn't seem as good a bargain. If we want to splurge on the way we eat, we may do the DDP in the future.

We drive and are DVC members so we can carry a lot of food with us. Most trips we have a full kitchen at our disposal so we can eat in a great deal so we have other options to consider as well. It the coming years with my DW and me doing some "just the two us" trips and staying in a studio without a full kitchen we'd probably DDP those trips.

 

[eskgwin]

Can you tell me where you found the pricing? I can't find it. Thanks.

Allyson