Dinning Plan yay or Nay ?

[MomtoBJSF]

We just scheduled a surprised Disney trip for 5 days Nov 23rd-28, our kiddos have no idea, it was completely unexpected, now we are trying to decide if we should add the dinning plan ?, we are a family of 5 , kids ages 6,3,and 2. Now I should mention we were in Disney back in March for 7 days, we did do the dinning plan, and thought it was way too much food, well DH and I did, but we do enjoy sit down meals, at least one/day.

so far what we have schedule while we are there, are

Garden Grove dinner the firs night ( is this place any good, we've never been there)?
Hollywood and Vine
T-REx ( for Dinner)
Les Chefs the France
Biergarten
Reglan Road
we are hoping to add Ohana, and Akershus some where if we can get in.

I would appreciate any advice I can get, we are still somewhat new addicts, oops, I meant newbies .

 

[wdwloverz]

If you thought the regular dining plan was too much food than it would probably be cheaper in the long run to just order what you need, ie one CS meal and a dessert to share rather than having 1 per person. Likewise at the TS places (except for the buffets of course). Sometimes when hubbs and I are looking for a light meal we will share an app, entree and dessert. This is pretty common at WDW I think, because we have never had anyone bat an eye over it.. It is a nice way to taste a lot of things and have a great time without waddling all around the parks feeling STUFFED..

Plus, you really have to watch what you are ordering on the dining plan, if you are like me and want to make it a decent value!! You may be tempted to order the big expensive steak for dinner and a ginormous dessert, when what you would have had if you weren't on the dining plan might have been an app, a salad and a shared dessert.. know what I mean?

PS - Hope you and the kiddies HAVE A BLAST! What a fabulous surprise

 

[Zatson23]

If I were you I would go to Allears.net and check out the prices of the places you want to visit, keeping in mind that the dinning plan for adults is 55.29 a day, and 17.16 for kids (9 and under).

Also TRex and Rainforest Cafe won't be covered by the dinning plan you will have to pay out of pocket for that one.

P.S: I know this is a little too late for your trip but for a possible future trip, or if anyone else is interested.

 

[Figment_Faerie]

If I were you I would go to Allears.net and check out the prices of the places you want to visit, keeping in mind that the dinning plan for adults is 55.29 a day, and 17.16 for kids (9 and under).

Also TRex and Rainforest Cafe won't be covered by the dinning plan you will have to pay out of pocket for that one.

P.S: I know this is a little too late for your trip but for a possible future trip, or if anyone else is interested.

T-REX and RC are both covered on the DDP.

 

[PrincessMe]

No kids involved but it was definitely cheaper to skip the dining plan for DH and me. We did several table service meals, generally split an appetizer and dessert in addition to our entrees, had breakfast every morning, shared snacks, and had adult beverages every day. Still cheaper than dining plan and we had exactly what we wanted rather than what the plan decreed. I did check out menus and price a few likely days before making the final decision.

 

[goofy4prez]

The DDP is now a "NAY" for me. I don't need desserts with both my cs and ts meal, and I hate having to feel like I need to order the most expensive entree on the menu to make it seem like a value. With the last price increase from WDW, unless it's free dining and no room discount I will pass and pay oop instead.