Disney Dining Plan or Not??

[julie222]

I was wondering your thoughts on getting the dining plan -vs- Not getting it. what are the advantages/dis-advantages........would i spend the same amoount to get the same things if i were to order on my own ? ETC..any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Thanks, Julie

 

[thunderbird1]

I was wondering your thoughts on getting the dining plan -vs- Not getting it. what are the advantages/dis-advantages........would i spend the same amoount to get the same things if i were to order on my own ? ETC..any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Thanks, Julie

You most definitely would not spend the same amount to get the same things if you were to order on your own--you would spend much more. Really, the only people that would not find it cost effective are 1) people that prefer CS to TS and wouldn't eat one TS meal per day of their stay, 2) people with kids that would eat outside the plan (ie, 3-9's who prefer adult meals or 10+'s that prefer kids meals, and 3) people that prefer TS to CS meals, and would end up paying OOP for extra TS meals while not utilizing the CS meals (and this last group is questionable--DDP may still be a good deal for them).

 

[StregaNona]

My husband & I used the dining plan last month & found it well worth it for us. It was only the two of us; usually we are with others. We picked which TS restaurants we wanted to eat at & did CS as it came along depending on where we were. We found it well worth the money we spent.

 

[GC&S]

It really depends on your eating habits, especially on vacation. DH & I have always eaten a TS everyday at WDW. We also tend to order dessert. So the dining plan made perfect sense for us. We always budgeted for food and it was a huge chunk. The DP makes is easy and we don't have to worry about the bill at each meal. You do get a lot on the DP. There are times we don't order an app, or only order one to share. But dessert we always get our own because I'm a chocoholic and I'm not sharing!!

 

[sandys]

My gang and I would never go without the DDP again-we're just waiting for Disney to add a drinking plan
We always do a TS a day, and even without trying to maxamize the plan, we felt we saved money and had great meals along the way.

 

[julie222]

thanks for all the comments , do you have to make reservations at most TS resturants?Or is it reccomended?
Usually if this is done without alot of planning we end up eating a very late dinner.

 

[thunderbird1]

It's highly recommended that you make ADR's (advanced dining reservations) for dinner, and WDW begins taking ADR's 6 months in advance. Some restaurants are very popular and are generally completely booked up weeks (maybe months) in advance (Le Cellier & MK restaurants come to mind). For lunch, you may be able to get in without an ADR to most places either right when they open or late afternoon.

I know it's a little daunting to have to plan where and when to eat months in advance, but you can always change your mind once you're down there. If you find someplace else you'd rather go, just call WDW dining or your hotel concierge and cancel your existing ADR (after making sure you can get into the new place, of course).

But by making the ADR's, you'll at least have a backup so you don't have to end up eating at times or places that are inconvenient or not to your liking. Have fun with the planning!