10 day stay: Food $ = Resort $

[spooky1]

I just completed our dining itinerary as tomorrow will be 180 days so we can call and do our ADRs ... I really went all out trying something different everyday.

Now for the real shocker, when I added up the approximate expenses it came out to about the same cost as the resort. Eating at Disney can clean you out really quick. My wife told me we had to cut the restaurant list(s) down, but I told her its not worth it unless we want to starve. I figure its going to cost us on average about $160 a day to feed our family of five.

In past years we never planed out our dining we just shot from the cuff and ate where ever .... I imagine we were had been spending about the same amount it just never hit us because we werent paying attention.

Ahhh well; just thought I'd vent my astonishment and say maybe those dining plans arent such a bad idea after all ... NAH! They would cost us $100 or so a day, really not going to save that much.

 

[dcgrumpy]

Over 10 days you'll save $600 using the DDP.

 

[monami7]

We thought that DDP wasn't worth it too. Unti we tried it. now we cannot go without it.

 

[Amyg]

I just completed our dining itinerary as tomorrow will be 180 days so we can call and do our ADRs ... I really went all out trying something different everyday.

Now for the real shocker, when I added up the approximate expenses it came out to about the same cost as the resort. Eating at Disney can clean you out really quick. My wife told me we had to cut the restaurant list(s) down, but I told her its not worth it unless we want to starve. I figure its going to cost us on average about $160 a day to feed our family of five.

In past years we never planed out our dining we just shot from the cuff and ate where ever .... I imagine we were had been spending about the same amount it just never hit us because we werent paying attention.

Ahhh well; just thought I'd vent my astonishment and say maybe those dining plans arent such a bad idea after all ... NAH! They would cost us $100 or so a day, really not going to save that much.

Wow! How can you think $60 a day is not much of a savings?!

 

[simonkodousek]

$60 per day is a HUGE savings once it adds up. You'll be saving an average of $600 for your entire trip!

~Simon

 

[eeyoregon]

I figure its going to cost us on average about $160 a day to feed our family of five.

For a family of 5, I would say $160 per day for 3 meals at Disney is a low-ball estimate. My family of 3 averages a $35 bill for each counter service meal (NO table service meals in our budget!) = $105 just for the 3 of us eating "cheap", not including snacks.

I say the dining plan would be extremely worth it for your family.

 

[AStamm]

Unless you're planning on doing all character meals/buffets, there's no reason why you couldn't share meals and cut down on the expense.

Yes, DDP is fabulous, but how many of us really need (or can eat) an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert every day on top of a CS meal and dessert?

I wouldn't cut down on your ADRs, I'd just try to do a little strategic planning to make it more affordable.

 

[pat fan]

I am not a fan of the DDP. Too much food and I can plan our meals out much cheaper. And before anyone jumps on that, it is not a hassle, yes it does save me money and that's my choice

If I wasn't paying attention, I'm sure we could spend a mint every day on food, but with only a little planning, it can save a lot of dough.

Keep your ADR's, it's fun to try new places! Just remember to not have big meals the rest of the day. Say you do a big meal at one of the countries in Epcot for lunch. You aren't going to want a huge breakfast before that, and you probably won't really be hungry by dinner time either. A muffin/cereal bar/bowl of cereal is more than enough to get you going in the a.m. and CS or a turkey leg is good for dinner and still leaves room for popcorn!

Happy eating!

 

[dameodie]

The only reason we're not on the dining plan is because we can stay somewhere off property for free. Since we don't have to pay to sleep, we can afford to budget in some nice meals OOP. No way I would pay resort accomidations prices and NOT be on the dining plan.

Plus it eliminates the stress of worrying about how much money you're spending on food. Certainly that's worth something!!

 

[teacher31]

We average about $100 per day for 5 over the course of the trip. That said, there are expensive days and cheap days. Cheap days include pizza from the food court. For $17 plus a salad, it's a bargain. You can watch your pennies pretty easily at WDW and come out under the DDP.

 

[DisneyAprilFool]

When we go to DisneyLand (or our one time in WDW)- I always go with the thought in my head, "We'll save money on food".

AND then- it hits me. The magic. LOL. That makes me willing to spend, spend, spend. So for US, the dining plan is the answer!

 

[disneymom06]

It would only be $76 for 2A on the dining plan. While I don't know the age of your children, if they are between 3 and 9 that is only another $36. I would really think about the dining plan.

You do not have to order the app, entree and dessert at every meal. Order only what you would like to eat. You have already budgeted $160. Between the tip and taxes being included on the plan, at TS meals alone the plan is worth a lot. Add in the counter service meals and snacks, it is a phenomenal plan. Don't eat dessert at meals, get a piece of fruit and use it for the morning breakfast. Get a bottle of water as your beverage and use it in the parks for your family. We purchase the mugs at our resort, when we eat at the resort we get the beverage of the CS meal as a juice and use it for breakfast. The snacks can be fruit or donuts for breakfast or an occasional ice cream treat in the parks.

For your family, it really would be a savings. Your family will have freedom of choice. I speak from experience. You will not have to spend one cent on any food other than what you paid for the dining plan.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Yes, DDP is fabulous, but how many of us really need (or can eat) an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert every day on top of a CS meal and dessert?

You don't have to order everything that comes with the DDP. When my son and I used the plan in 2005, we only ordered what we knew we would eat. There were many times we skipped appetizers and/or desserts.

Even without maxing out the plan, I came out ahead.

Just because you're entitled to something, doesn't mean you have to order it.

 

[cabanafrau]

We average about $100 per day for 5 over the course of the trip. That said, there are expensive days and cheap days. Cheap days include pizza from the food court. For $17 plus a salad, it's a bargain. You can watch your pennies pretty easily at WDW and come out under the DDP.

I think I need a lesson from the teacher. DDP was an awful lot of food for us & the reservation thing I can live w/o, but can we really do CS the entire trip w/o packing on the tonnage & feeling horrid because of little to no veggies? (The only thing we ordered more of @ the family-style restaurants was the veggies -- why does no one mention the snap peas when they rave about O'hana? )

 

[patsal]

I think I need a lesson from the teacher. DDP was an awful lot of food for us & the reservation thing I can live w/o, but can we really do CS the entire trip w/o packing on the tonnage & feeling horrid because of little to no veggies? (The only thing we ordered more of @ the family-style restaurants was the veggies -- why does no one mention the snap peas when they rave about O'hana? )

As a rule I do not use CS exclusively on vacation, but for a long weekend trip I often will. there are some great, healthy choices out there and you can ask for substitutions if you see them elsewhere on the menu--fries can have carrot sticks or grapes substituted for them--even way back in 1996 we could do this. Tusker house has fresh steamed veggies with many of the entrees they offer. ABC Commisary has a vegetable noodle stir fry, many places have salads with or without meats, have them prepared without the dressing to cut down on calories sometimes the dressings can add up to 500 calories . The tossed Island Chicken Salad at the ELectric Umbrella has a fat free dressing and is only $6.99! They also have a vegetarian Chili there as well. Sunshine seasnons has a good number of healthy choices. I do make an effort to seek out the healthier choices, but really it isn't that much work to read the outside menu befree entering to be sure that some veggies are available in a form you will eat! I have never gon to WDW and only eaten burger, fries and chicken planks--usually in a 14 day trip I have one burger, no chicken planks and an occasional fry that I poach form the kids--on a 3 to 4 day trip none of the above and no TS!

 

[spooky1]

I have never did a dining plan, but for some reason I feel like its going to restrict where and how we can eat ...

And yes we have several character dinings experiences planned; at least 4 - I did cut out the luau cove dinner show as I doubt the young kids will enjoy it. I also cut out a few of the character experiences - we really didnt need one every day! I always go over board ...

 

[LBelle]

Remember that your 1 year old is free...and also free to eat off your plates!!!

I could not go without the DP ever again as it has MADE our last 2 years at WDW sooooo much better than before....dining in all those places without worry of what your total bill will be, etc. Ahhhh.....heaven!!! Plus....we love the opportunity to take the time to relax!!!!

 

[MPHARJ]

I love the DDP too, will not go with out it again. However that being said everyone has their own reasons for buying it or not. Last year I did not pay OOP for any food except when we were at US. We had nice TS meals places I would not have gone to without the plan, and we used our snacks for breakfast, or saved our dessert, fruit or muffins from out CS for breakfast and also got the bottled drinks for our CS and saved them. We always buy the mugs, our only OOP expense. It works out great!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I have never did a dining plan, but for some reason I feel like its going to restrict where and how we can eat ...

And yes we have several character dinings experiences planned; at least 4 - I did cut out the luau cove dinner show as I doubt the young kids will enjoy it. I also cut out a few of the character experiences - we really didnt need one every day! I always go over board ...

If you are planning sit down meals at all, doing the DDP will not restrict you anymore than paying out of pocket will. Because frankly regardless of the DDP, if you eat full service meals you have to plan in advance, and tour the parks accordingly to make those ADR's. And remember with the DDP, that includes tax, tip and a beverage. If doing the DDP saves you $60 a day over paying OOP I think you would be crazy not to do it! Saving $600 to get more food is a win win situation to me! It is a ton of food, but as others say, you don't have to eat everything they offer. Other than the way you pay, it doens't restrict you one bit. There are very few restaurants where you can't get whatever you want off the menu (Wolfgang Pucks and their Sushi is the only restriction we encountered in 9 days of doing the DDP).

The only thing we paid out of pocket for was cocktails and two funnel cakes. We used our snack credits primarily for water bottles. We found the menus, meals and service to be as good as ever. I am not saying there aren't plenty of valid reasons to not do the DDP. But if it will save you money I am not sure I can see how you wouldn't jump on it! Typically the only reason I see people not doing it is to save money by eating primarily counter service. However, your budget lead me to think you are planning some nice meals anyway, why not eat those same meals and pay less overall?

I really advise you to reconsider the DDP. And for the record, I always budget our meals out to the penney when I am not on the DDP. And I always go over my budget. The only way I would go without it would be if I only planned to eat cs and a very few ts meals. And I like doing that too, but if I am going to eat much in the way of table service (as in more than half my days eating at least one ts meal per day) I go with the DDP.

 

[GC&S]

Now for the real shocker, when I added up the approximate expenses it came out to about the same cost as the resort. Eating at Disney can clean you out really quick. My wife told me we had to cut the restaurant list(s) down, but I told her its not worth it unless we want to starve. I figure its going to cost us on average about $160 a day to feed our family of five.

In past years we never planed out our dining we just shot from the cuff and ate where ever .... I imagine we were had been spending about the same amount it just never hit us because we werent paying attention.

Ahhh well; just thought I'd vent my astonishment and say maybe those dining plans arent such a bad idea after all ... NAH! They would cost us $100 or so a day, really not going to save that much.

The real shocker for me is that saving $600 over the week is not appealing to you. For the $160/day, does that include your tax and tip? Those tend to add up real quick. Even if you're not on the DDP, you're still kind of stuck to a schedule because of the ADR's. I don't know how old your kids are, but $10.99/day for two meals and a snack really isn't that bad (including drink, tax and tip).