Any opinion on the taking the dining plan at DL?

[OFF TO WDW!]

We (wife and 14 year old son) are going to DL for the first time in April and are not sure if we need the dining plan. We used it on all our trips to WDW (last trip was Feb 2010).
At the time of that trip the meal plan started to exclude appetizers with the meal. It was just dinner and dessert.When we came home we figured it out and it worked out from a dollar view that we were better if we didn't take the meal plan.

My concern with DL is we are not familiar with any of the restaurants and if we really need the plan.

Any thoughts on this for a 5 night stay?


Thanks

 

[sonnyjane]

I'm guessing you haven't read any of the recent threads on the DL board about the dining plan? It is not like the WDW plan, and therefore not worth it. I'll try to explain how the DL plan works.

At Disneyland, unlike at WDW, you simply pay for prepaid vouchers. There is no money savings. For example, the price of the "6 dining choices" plan is $104 per adult. But, what you get is two vouchers for a character meal, valued at $32 each ($64 total), two $15 vouchers for a counter service meal ($30 total), and two $5 vouchers for snacks ($10 total). That adds up to $104, you've paid exactly the same amount as you would have if you just paid cash. Make sense? It's also an inconvenience because you have to make sure you spend MORE than the amount of the voucher or you'll lose money because they don't give change. If you use a $15 voucher to pay for a $13 meal, you will lose the $2 difference.

Here on the boards we recommend that if you really want to pre-pay for meals, you just put money on a Disney gift card, but the dining plan is a waste.

 

[mama2dutchies]

From what I understand, and when I priced it all out.. the dining plan at DLR isn't worth it. AT WDW the discounts etc make it worth it but it's not the same plan at DLR..

We're a family of snackers (on Vaca) so for us the plan really wasn't worth it.. We're lighter eaters anyway and just normally one sit down meal was good for us.. I think I ended up saving at least 1/3 the cost of food without using the dining plan

 

[OFF TO WDW!]

I'm guessing you haven't read any of the recent threads on the DL board about the dining plan? It is not like the WDW plan, and therefore not worth it. I'll try to explain how the DL plan works.

At Disneyland, unlike at WDW, you simply pay for prepaid vouchers. There is no money savings. For example, the price of the "6 dining choices" plan is $104 per adult. But, what you get is two vouchers for a character meal, valued at $32 each ($64 total), two $15 vouchers for a counter service meal ($30 total), and two $5 vouchers for snacks ($10 total). That adds up to $104, you've paid exactly the same amount as you would have if you just paid cash. Make sense? It's also an inconvenience because you have to make sure you spend MORE than the amount of the voucher or you'll lose money because they don't give change. If you use a $15 voucher to pay for a $13 meal, you will lose the $2 difference.

Here on the boards we recommend that if you really want to pre-pay for meals, you just put money on a Disney gift card, but the dining plan is a waste.

No I actually didn't even think about a thread for that

Thanks for replying and giving me in the scoop on that! We'll just pay as we go.

 

[skiingfast]

From what I understand, and when I priced it all out.. the dining plan at DLR isn't worth it. AT WDW the discounts etc make it worth it but it's not the same plan at DLR..

WDW is why people coming to DLR wonder about the Disneyland Dining Plan.

Disneylany Dining Plan does not save money, usually.

WDW does not always save money and can cost more somtimes. It all depends on what you order. If you eat the cheapest items on the menu you loose money, order the expensive things on the menu and you save money.