Dining Plan vs. No Dining Plan

[jessadavis]

This is a good site to see if a dining plan is worth it. http://www.distripplanner.com

 

[xxDisneyDancerxx]

Thank you all! This has been a lot of help. Now lets just see if they agree...

 

[JWigs]

So I am going to WDW next month (in almost exactly 30 days - whoo hoo). We are taking our almost 3 year old and her Grandpa along with us. We have opted IN to the DDP and here's why.

Our child is 'free' so she doesn't cost anything and it's a good time for us to figure out if we can save any $ with the plan. I've read so many posts where people are AGAINST it and that's ok. I think it's just personal preference.

Since I am a data person, I took every ADR we already had booked 6 mos ago and I laid it out on Excel. I then calculated what the meal would cost of OOP. I then figured in what snacks or meals we would eat as well.

For us, based on having TS every night (with or without plan), it made sense for us to get the DDP as it should save us roughly $50-75. Not a ton I know as you'll still be paying for the tax/tip regardless if you're on the plan or not.

For me, I am not a huge eater but I do like that we can now swap things out (dessert for soup/fruit/salad) or for a snack credit I think at some places (i.e. bottle of water instead of a cupcake). I think if that wasn't an option I'd be more unhappy.

Also, since the 'regular' DDP only offers 1 QS per day and some like to eat more than 1 QS per day; you could always get the plan for you both and 'share' meals. That way you won't have ANY out of pocket between your shared meals & snacks. Just something to think about.

I plan to keep receipts of what we 'would've' spent so that after March we can figure out if we did save $ or not. I think in the long run it'll be a small savings but I think easier for me to not ask Grandpa to see how much Ohana was or Fantasmic Dining.

 

[eliza61]

One last point, I can't tell you how funny it is to go to the resort gift shop and seeing guest running around trying to use up snack credits. if you don't use all your credits you lose them, if you don't use up all your money on a gc, you still have it

 

[DoingDisney]

So I am going to WDW next month (in almost exactly 30 days - whoo hoo). We are taking our almost 3 year old and her Grandpa along with us. We have opted IN to the DDP and here's why.

Our child is 'free' so she doesn't cost anything and it's a good time for us to figure out if we can save any $ with the plan. I've read so many posts where people are AGAINST it and that's ok. I think it's just personal preference.

Since I am a data person, I took every ADR we already had booked 6 mos ago and I laid it out on Excel. I then calculated what the meal would cost of OOP. I then figured in what snacks or meals we would eat as well.

For us, based on having TS every night (with or without plan), it made sense for us to get the DDP as it should save us roughly $50-75. Not a ton I know as you'll still be paying for the tax/tip regardless if you're on the plan or not.

For me, I am not a huge eater but I do like that we can now swap things out (dessert for soup/fruit/salad) or for a snack credit I think at some places (i.e. bottle of water instead of a cupcake). I think if that wasn't an option I'd be more unhappy.

Also, since the 'regular' DDP only offers 1 QS per day and some like to eat more than 1 QS per day; you could always get the plan for you both and 'share' meals. That way you won't have ANY out of pocket between your shared meals & snacks. Just something to think about.

I plan to keep receipts of what we 'would've' spent so that after March we can figure out if we did save $ or not. I think in the long run it'll be a small savings but I think easier for me to not ask Grandpa to see how much Ohana was or Fantasmic Dining.

Yes, dinners like Fantasmic and Ohana are the exact kind you have to book if you want the Dining plan to work out economically in your favour, without them it really doesn't.

When you are doing your receipt calculation (I have done this too) be sure to try and think about what you would actually have purchased, not everything the DP gives you. Ie: We wouldn't order deserts most nights, we are usually stuffed, if anything we would order one and split it. The DP gives us (my wife and I) each one, I don't include this as I wouldn't have eaten it. In fact our fridge back at the resort just kept filling up with deserts/left overs that we had to throw out. Its far more food than we would order if not on the DP.

 

[brinkley07]

Just a thought...if they like the idea of prepaying how about buying a gift card. If they put there money on the gift cards they can still feel like they pre-paid. Good luck!

 

[tlmadden73]

Agree with what prior posts have said. One year, just to prove to myself we save money not buying the dining plan, I put the same amount of money that the DP would cost on a gift card. We saved enough to pay for souvenirs.

What a great experiment.

Plus .. what a lot of people dont' realize is you can buy Disney gift card at Target with your Red Card for a 5% discount. So even more reason to use a gift card or your Magic Band to pay for meals as you go. That's what I did on my last trip.

The Dining Plan was created in the days before Magic Bands and sold as a "convenience". I don't see how it is even remotely convenient now with the existance of "pay to your room" Magic Bands. They will probably keep the plans as it is a money maker for them (as is most "pre-pay" things in today's consumer world) and as long as they can continue to use it as a promotion. (Which .. with the popularity of Disney during the "off" seasons now . .they probably don't need to do anymore).

I feel bad for the families that dont' do (or don't want to do) the math when it comes to the Disney Dining Plan.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Those that mentioned paying for tax and tip. Please explain the tax part.

The last time we were using the dining plan, I don't remember being billed, at the table, for tax on the meal.

For those that use the dining plan, it really comes down to doing the math, and seeing if you will come out ahead. Some people do. For us? It depends on the trip.

 

[sharonabe]

Those that mentioned paying for tax and tip. Please explain the tax part.

When figuring out the OOP cost, most of the menus do not include the tax, so you need to add the 6.5% to your OOP costs.

The same sort of applies to the tip. If you're on the DDP, you're probably ordering the more expensive entrees and everyone is getting dessert and drinks. If that's not how you would eat OOP, your tip amount will be different. For my family, that tip amount difference over the course of a week could easily be close to $100, so if I only have a potential savings of $100, I might think differently about getting the plan.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

When figuring out the OOP cost, most of the menus do not include the tax, so you need to add the 6.5% to your OOP costs.

That would make sense if they hadn't said it this way.

"You still have to deal with tax and tip and each meal as well. " or "Not a ton I know as you'll still be paying for the tax/tip regardless if you're on the plan or not."

If you have the plan, taxes are already paid. They are not paid when you leave the tip.

For OOP, yes, you want to add taxes to your total.

 

[DoingDisney]

That would make sense if they hadn't said it this way.

"You still have to deal with tax and tip and each meal as well. " or "Not a ton I know as you'll still be paying for the tax/tip regardless if you're on the plan or not."

If you have the plan, taxes are already paid. They are not paid when you leave the tip.

For OOP, yes, you want to add taxes to your total.

I suppose they might be suggesting you pay tax when yo purchase the DDP ? And you still have to tip at your meals ?

 

[JWigs]

Sorry if this has come off confusing. It was like 6am in Seattle!

I just mean that yes, you would have to pay tax plus the price of the meal when you pay out of pocket. The tip is the same regardless if you paid with the DDP or if you OOP. Although some would argue that you might order less food when you OOP so the tip could potentially decrease there.

Personally with my husband and how he likes to travel/eat/etc.. he is someone who is going to run out of credits within the 'snacks' because he likes to eat/drink as we go along. And I won't be one to say "don't have that coffee 'and' that pastry!" So it will save us $ in the long run and we want to at least try it once to see if it fits for us or not.

 

[mydadlife]

New user here. Glad to read the good information. We have done the dining plan in the past and really enjoyed the convenience of having everything paid for prior to the trip. With that said, for our upcoming trip, I sat down and looked at where our reservations were and the cost of meals. It ended up being a wash cost wise, and then when I factored in the fact that we don't truly eat desert with every meal, it seemed like a better bet to just go out of pocket. One thing we did decide that we will do this trip is to purchase the Tables in Wonderland card. We make a few trips a year, so it seemed like it was the way to go.