Anyone else out there not use the Dining Plan?

[PersonalizedMouse]

I think the DDP has it's pros and cons.
First let me say that I just tallied what the plan costs and what we would probably would eat and the cost was close to being the same.

I think the upside to DDP is the psychological factor. It's a whole lot easier to had over that card instead of paying cash or charging it.

Another friend brought up a good point. He is treating his family to a trip and got the DDP because he didn't want people not ordering dessert or getting water because they felt bad.

It all depends on your situation...

Another choice is to buy one Annual Pass and get a Tables in Wonderland card which wlll give you 20 percent off.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

We dont use it. I can see where its nice for people trying to budget there whole trip cost though.

 

[andrea1978]

Hi,
We're not using it for our upcoming trip.
It's a little too restrictive for us- I don't like the fact that my kids have to eat off the kids menu everytime. If they want something like meatloaf or whatever I want them to be able to eat that rather than chicken fingers everyday.

Plus, for us and the way we eat, we aren't really saving a huge amount of money anyway (i.e. we rarely get desert or appetizers, might skip lunch and just get several snacks, etc.)
Kristina

 

[CynBeth]

I'm not sure I understand why a person with allergies would not have an appetizer or dessert because of the allergies. My family has multiple laundry lists of food allergies yet we're able to have appetizers and desserts at every restaurant we go to. In fact, the dining plans helped us out when there was an upcharge for some CS foods for the allergy foods because we paid 1 credit regardless but when paying OOP we have to pay the upcharge. I absolutely do believe that far more people are better off without dining plans than with but I don't understand allergies as a reason.

I did not explain the situation well. He has Crohn's Disease and as a result he has some food allergies. Depending on how he is feeling he may not have much of an appetite on a given day. One of his allergies is dairy so usually the only desserts he can get are fruit or some type of nondairy ice cream, etc and he gets tired of the same type of dessert so he would be more likely to get a few snacks from a cart during the day so he would not have dessert with a lunch or dinner.