To get the meal plan or not

[imlsherman]

So my family and I are going to disney is February for six day and we are not sure if we are going to get the meal plan or not. We have always gotten it in the past but not sure this time. There is myself the wife and to little princess 5 & 3 and like all kids it is hit or miss if they are going to eat that much. We have three ADR made Already chief Mickeys, Be our guest, and Hollywood and vine. Other then that we are planning to eat quick services and maybe one more sit down meal. So here are my two questions. 1) are we better with the meal plan or not? 2) What quick services do you all recommend? Thank you in advance for all your input.

 

[jdkdorn]

I created a spreadsheet that I plugged in my OOP costs and the dining plan costs taking into account the purchase of a TIW card, gratuities & sales tax. We found that for an 8 day stay we were better with the TIW and would save $800 by not taking the dining pkan. We are still having a table service nightly

PM me if you would like the spreadsheet

Judy

 

[rkold]

So my family and I are going to disney is February for six day and we are not sure if we are going to get the meal plan or not. We have always gotten it in the past but not sure this time. There is myself the wife and to little princess 5 & 3 and like all kids it is hit or miss if they are going to eat that much. We have three ADR made Already chief Mickeys, Be our guest, and Hollywood and vine. Other then that we are planning to eat quick services and maybe one more sit down meal. So here are my two questions. 1) are we better with the meal plan or not? 2) What quick services do you all recommend? Thank you in advance for all your input.

Which Dinning Plan were you thinking of getting?

Personally, I find it hard to break even on the cost of the dinning plans. For adults, I think the basic plan is 1 Table Service, 1 QS, 1 snack and the resort mug, and costs about $57. For us the resort mug is a wash because we don't drink a lot of soda or fruit juice that is mostly sugar and no fruit. ^_^; So that's now $57 for a snack, QS and TS a day. QS usually runs us $10 a person, so $47 for the TS and a snack. We don't always get snacks, but even if you estimate a $4 snack a day, that leaves you with $43 per person for a TS. Yes, some character meals are expensive, but I'm pretty sure only 2 credit Cinderella's and Akershus, are close to that $43. So for us, we no longer do the plan. Instead, since we go to WDW more than 1x a year we do Tables in Wonderland.

As for places to eat, my DD just turned 3 and is a picky eater. She loves Akershus, not just for the princesses, but also for their mini pizzas. She liked Restaurantosaurus in AK because the kids meals come in a pail with a shovel. She also liked Pizzafari, though I'm only so fond of it. We've done Be Our Guest for lunch, the lines were insane in Oct and if we hadn't had FP+ for it, I wouldn't have done it. I found the food disappointing. I think DD picked at her food there. We've done QS in the Studios as well but DD just ate the french fries. Like you, we're trying Hollywood and Vine in February because Sofia and Doc McStuffins are now there.

 

[jdkdorn]

Duplicate post

 

[Dean]

So my family and I are going to disney is February for six day and we are not sure if we are going to get the meal plan or not. We have always gotten it in the past but not sure this time. There is myself the wife and to little princess 5 & 3 and like all kids it is hit or miss if they are going to eat that much. We have three ADR made Already chief Mickeys, Be our guest, and Hollywood and vine. Other then that we are planning to eat quick services and maybe one more sit down meal. So here are my two questions. 1) are we better with the meal plan or not? 2) What quick services do you all recommend? Thank you in advance for all your input.

You should look at the menu's, my guess is you will be about break even because you'd have to pay for the kids at the buffet location. Ultimately it likely depends on what additional reservations you get.

 

[karebear06]

One of my favorite QS meals is at Boardwalk Bakery.
Lobster Roll-$15.99, Cupcake-$3.99, and drink-$2.59. =$22.57
For TS, we love Cape May Cafe =$39.99
Misc snack in park $3.50
Grand Total= $66.06 plus tax (not sure the rate)

So for us it's well worth it. We've tried it both ways and I like the DP for the convenience and being able to splurge on dessert every meal.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Did the price of the dining plan go up for 2014 or stay the same as 2013?

 

[karebear06]

Also, if you plan to eat somewhere that is around the cost of say Earl of Sandwich it will not benefit you at all. But in our case, the meals we like always have us coming out ahead.

 

[imlsherman]

Thank you all for your input. In the past we always used the meal plan but now with my youngest being 3 I am rethinking it. Still not sure what to do I have always liked having one sit down a day it was a nice break from the crowds. However for only a short period I am not sure still.

 

[NicoleLarson]

We are doing tables in wonderland for the first time (previously done ddp) and are loving it. I still get what I want but don't feel like I must get dessert if I don't want to. However what we are really loving is the free valet! With a 1 & 4 yr old it has been great. For instance this morning we were running a bit behind for our 1900 park fair reservation, however we were able to drive up to the door and run in so we were right on time. And tonight for dinner at beaches and cream it was pouring the rain. Once again pulled right up to the door and easy peasy. So long story short I would seriously consider TIW!

 

[Disneyaddictz]

Google see you real soon. It's a spreadsheet someone created to help you figure out if it's worth it! So awesome , plug in your meal plan and it will calculate oop, dining and tiw

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[quandrea]

What type of unit will you have? Even in a studio you could do your own breakfasts, snacks and simple lunches to save money. I find my three little ones prefer our food over restaurants. It's healthier too. We keep water in the villa. All these thing make the dining plan a poor value. I have no desire for dessert with every meal plus what would surely be an unhealthy snack. I love sweets but the dining plan is too much. Disney offers dessert as an option because it is cheap for them. We have a few treats per trip and they are savoured. I'd look into a grocery order. I bet your girls would enjoy familiar foods.

 

[rkold]

If like Karebear06 you always get the most expensive option for QS, only eat dinner buffets, or pick the most expensive main course for dinner, then you can turn out ahead with a plan.

In our case, we're a family of vegetarians. We always tend to get the cheapest main course. I prefer doing my buffets for breakfast or lunch, and if given a choice I don't want dessert with every meal. I love cupcakes, but I can't eat 1 every day. I'm not blessed with that sort of metabolism. If the dining plan gave a choice between an appetizer/salad/soup or dessert, I might be more tempted, but I just really can't do dessert that often. The most expensive snacks are the desserty ones, so if you want to get your money's worth on snack credits you find yourself getting extra sweets.

I prefer TiW. It gives me the option to order two appetizers for dinner, or share an appetizer and just have a salad. We also tend to do either buffets or Signature Restaurants and unless you do the Deluxe Dinning Plan, you blow through credits fast on Signatures. We've also tried the Deluxe Dinning Plan back when DD was under 3 and free. It was too much food. I've not tried the valet feature of TiW yet, but maybe will in February!

 

[bakerworld]

First I really like the DDP and then it just became another planning issue. If you're someone who really really likes to plan and schedule, it can be a fun puzzle to figure out the best use of your DDP $$$$.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

We did the DDP the first few trips we went on because it made financial sense. Now, it no longer does. We don't use the mugs because we mostly drink water. When I do the spreadsheet, I save MAYBE $30 and I wouldn't normally eat dessert. I vote no to DDP.

 

[Kwaschitz]

I agree with karebear06. We *like* to have appetizers and dessert in the TS, but we wouldn't necessarily order them if paying out of pocket. (Ridiculous distinction since we're paying it either way, but when we spend the money physically at the time, I feel guilty ordering them and while I might order an app, would never order dessert because "it's a waste when I won't eat it all")

We tend to get the deluxe dining plan because we do like some of the signatures/multi-credit character/dinner shows and use extra snack credits for a meal on those days. In the end, we make sure we've used all our meal credits and will usually buy snacks to take home (either for us or to give to the nieces/nephews)

I also like the flexibility of not having to think about my budget while I'm there - I might save money with TIW or simply paying out of pocket, but to this point, that has involved more thought than I'm willing/capable of while on vacation - I like to go and shut off that side of things during my stay. I feel like paying for everything in advance gives me the freedom to "be a kid" while I'm there.

 

[permavac]

I would say no to the dining plan too. It doesn't work me and DH for the same reasons already given: we don't eat dessert with every meal and rarely drink anything but water. That said, it usually is a better value for people with kids but only if you do buffets everyday. I did a spreadsheet for my SIL who is coming with us with her family on our next trip and, since we are not doing a table service everyday, it did not make sense for them to buy the dining plan. I know it's hard to pass up but you will probably find that you saved money and will be surprised by the lower weight gain this trip without all those "forced" desserts

Terri

 

[nd43]

We did the DDP for all of our trips until the last one (we purchased TIW).

Frankly, we liked not having the DDP. Outside of the money, it felt we were always "forcing" snacks and meals on the DDP. With TIW, we just ate what we wanted, when we wanted, and let the money fall where it did.

It turns out we spent less and enjoyed the food more because we only ate what we wanted. A good example, for 5 people, splitting 2 or 3 desserts always worked for us. On DDP, we would force 5 desserts on every meal. It was nice just getting a snack when you wanted one instead of saying "wow, we still have 10 snacks left and it is the last day... lets get lots of snacks today"

If we wanted a sit down for lunch, we did it. If we wanted a QS for dinner, we did it. We never had to "fit" our preference into a specific allocation.

I just liked the freedom even more then the savings. You just have to be comfortable with the "unknown" of exactly how much food will cost. If you fixate on it at every step, the DDP might be a less stressful experience. My wife used to calculate a running bill in her head every day in our early trips and I think it caused more stress then it was worth and the DDP removed that issue.

On our last trip, we decided not to worry about it and just see where the money landed. For us, it came out less and we enjoyed the freedom more.

 

[kristenrice]

Whenever I'm planning our dining (which is a big component to our vacation), I look at the restaurants/meals we want to eat at. Then, I make an educated guess at what might be ordered at each meal and total up the cost. Then, I see if a meal plan would cover our meals and what the cost would be. Now that we can get the TIW card without an AP, I factor that into the OOP calculation as well. If the OOP option comes out better, then I still "pre-pay" for my meals by buying gift cards ahead of time. This way, I can save money by buying what I will actually consume and still have the convenience of pre-paying.

Sometimes, when we need to conserve points, we book our first two nights in a studio before moving to a 1BR. I will sometimes add the DxDDP to the 2-night reservation because it essentially provides us with three days worth of food. We typically arrive in the late afternoon or early evening so the DxDDP gives us dinner on our arrival night plus 2 meals for the next 2 days, including a signature. This is when we do the expensive meals and buffets. The remaining days, we stick to the cheaper TS places where we can share meals, or we eat CS meals or even just eat in the villa.

When it comes to dining at Disney, there is no one best way to do it. Each family and each trip is different so there is research and calculations to be done every time. It's enough to make your head spin!

 

[bobbiwoz]

DH & I do not find the dining plan to be good for us, but my DCuz, his wife & 5 year old son just came back from a 4 night AKV stay and they loved having the plan. They raved to me about how much food, the quality of the food and the convenience. They did eat at 4 character meals, 2 of them with us. We used TIW for our meals.

I am happy they were happy!