Dining plan or no?

[Fiveisaparty]

Get an annual pass (or if you are a DVC member) and get a Tables in Wonderland card. Savings and flexibility, including for appetizers and alcohol. Check it out on the site, there are plenty of thread.

Totally agree with this. It is nice to buy what you want and still get 20%

 

[TreasureQuest]

While I have my air fare booked, I haven't booked my resort stay yet (that's really backwards, I know). I'm still trying to decide what options work best for me. As I'm poking around the web site, I was coming to conclusion, even before stumbling on this thread, that the Dining Plan might not be in my best interest. It does seem awfully pricey, especially since I want flexibility in my schedule ... so character meals may not even be in the picture. I've definitely ruled out the deluxe plan, since the upcharge is way out of line with what I expect we'd end up spending on a few extra meals without it. What I find intriguing is that the common belief in this thread is that it's a convenience, not a savings.

That Target gift card idea is sounding like the best option at this point.

 

[courtneybeth]

Does anyone forgo the plan and still find they save money and eat where they want?

My husband and I aren't very big eaters (especially on vacation - weird right?) and the dining plan comes with a lot of food, such as an appetizer, drink, entre and dessert at every meal. We prefer the flexibility of dining on our own dime so that we can eat when we're hungry and only eat as much as we need to.


For the meals that we do have, we actually got into the Tables in Wonderland plan and it has really helped!

 

[Dis703]

For those of you worried about the "pre-paid" aspect. We put our food money on Disney gift cards ahead of our trip and use those for all of our food. So, the $$ is already spent before we leave and handing over the gift cards is so much easier than handing over the debit card.

We do this too but charge to the room and pay it off with the gift cards. The downside to the prepay aspect to me is that if you don't use it you lose it. And 2 out of the 4 trips we've taken with kids now one or more of us got sick and were unable to eat much for a chunk of time. One of those times we had free dining but still wasted a lot of credits.

 

[sbrost13]

We've done it both ways, but our family (2 adults, 2 kids) prefers no dining plan. We still do a TS meal every day, but I tend to like appetizers and not dessert so not being on the dining plan allows me to order whatever I want without stressing about it. Typically for our CS meals we end up splitting 3 meals instead of 4. For breakfast we bring our own snacks and we really like to snack throughout the day as well. I have the Disney Visa card so right before our trip I have all my reward dollars transferred to my Rewards card, and we use those reward dollars to pay for as much of our food as we can. I don't think we will do the DP again because we like to eat what we want and not be tied to certain restrictions. Just my $.02!

 

[Disneymomma0783]

Thank you for all these opinions! I am positive we are going without the plan. The more and more I look at it, it just keeps makes more and more sense to not do it!

 

[dissupermom]

I like the plan!, free or otherwise ! I may break even, or spend a few dollars left by not having the plan. but to have it prepaid is a huge relief! no worries about money, how much I spend and what I should eat based on my schedule.
the Tables in Wonderland is only for Florida residents only, right? no good for me!

 

[Skullcrusher]

We find it cheaper to user the tables in wonderland card. It saves 20% off meals and drinks. The math just never works out for the dining plans for our group.

 

[raddisneyfan]

Even free, the dining plan is no bargain.

I tend to agree with this. The only time I would consider the plan is during the busiest times--Christmas week lets say--and I would do all of the ADRs 180 days out. The reason I don't like the plan in general is because it's limited and I really don't believe that it saves you 20% as the Disney folks on the phone always seem to indicate when you call to make your original room reservations.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I like the plan!, free or otherwise ! I may break even, or spend a few dollars left by not having the plan. but to have it prepaid is a huge relief! no worries about money, how much I spend and what I should eat based on my schedule.
the Tables in Wonderland is only for Florida residents only, right? no good for me!

Nope. We have Tables in Wonderland because we are annual pass holders. DVC members can also buy them as well.

 

[CynBeth]

For those of you worried about the "pre-paid" aspect. We put our food money on Disney gift cards ahead of our trip and use those for all of our food. So, the $$ is already spent before we leave and handing over the gift cards is so much easier than handing over the debit card.

We do that as well and I have a Disney Visa card so I pay for the gift cards using that and earn reward points.