Am I thinking about the dining plan wrong?

[eliza61]

I'm planning a Disney trip in 2014 in which I decided we will spend about 6 nights in a rental house with extended family for the first part of our trip and stay onsite for 3 nights with just my DH and 2 DDs. Since I'm going to purchase tickets through Undercover Tourist, I calculated it would likely be cheaper to rent points to stay at a DVC villa and add the dining plan than to stay at AoA then add a one day ticket and the dining plan. . I still have quite a while to decide, but I'm trying to wrap my mind around possible costs as early as possible since we're saving up for this trip.

So...I know a big debate of the dining plan is "is it worth it?" And I know people tell you to calculate based on how you would normally eat, but for frugal people like me, isn't the reality that your dining habits would probably change if you prepay your meals? Or is it just me? I'm starting to sound like a person who would try to maximize their meals on the dining plan to get the best value, and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing!

Nope. when I'm on vacation I want above all is to be comfortable and relaxed.
The great thing about disney is that with all the information out there we can know way ahead of time how much we plan on spending ahead of time.

Imo the last sentence is one of the reasons why we stopped doing the dining plan. There were days when I really wasnt hungry, just wanted an appertizer but God forbid I did not get my monies worth so low and behold I forced myself to eat a big meal.

I come from a restaurant family, I grew up with siblings, cousins and family working in the restaurant. Dining is supposed to be pleasurable. It supposed to be about enjoying your meal and your dining companions. not about whether you ate XXX dollars worth of food

Every trip we've taken we see the same thing almost every day. some poor family in the gift shop trying their best to use up remaining snack points. I hear mothers yelling "just pick any thing" so no points go wasted. sorry so not my idea of a stressless vacation.

We no longer do the ddp. we eat how we want, when we want. we make a realistic budget on how we really eat,