Anyone gone/going to Disney WITHOUT dining plan?

[herbg]

Seems that everyone going to Disney is purchasing one of the dining plans available, from Counter Service to Deluxe.
Has anyone gone there without dining plan (as was the case years ago) just paying for food as you go? Did you feel you made the right move or were you sorry that you didn't purchase one of the plans?

 

[TDC Nala]

Absolutely. I used the plan twice in 2007 and will not be using it again. I vastly prefer not to have my order restricted to entree and dessert, and I like 2 credit restaurants and restaurants that don't accept the plan. Therefore the dining plans are of no value to me.

 

[Tricia1972]

Absolutely. I used the plan twice in 2007 and will not be using it again. I vastly prefer not to have my order restricted to entree and dessert, and I like 2 credit restaurants and restaurants that don't accept the plan. Therefore the dining plans are of no value to me.

This is our exact experience, right down to using it twice in 2007.

If you are changing what you want to do and what feels 'normal' for you on vacation - just to make a plan work for your group - then I think the plan may not be for you.

This is not to discredit those that use the plan. There are MANY who do and many who love them. It's all up to the individual group to figure out what will work best for them.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've used the DDP several times now. I also have an AP, so I have the DDE (soon to be TiW..tables in wonderland). I did just return from a short trip with free dining. But, I actually prefer to use my DDE card. The DDP works for a lot of people. But, I don't see myself using it again. I have no problem at all with going to WDW and just paying for each meal, as I go. If I can use my DDE card, so much the better.

 

[patsal]

My experieinces are pretty similiar ot those listed already. For my family the DDP is just not what we want, and I do not like planning around the credits. No plan works better than the DDP for us and No plan plus DDE works even better! I save more money this way as well.

 

[secretpantssam]

I went in february without the dining plan and was fine. I like being able to order whatever I want where ever I want. I'm trying the dining plan for the first time next week because of free dining. I just don't like the idea of paying extra for it because then I would feel like I had to order certain things just to get my money's worth. I'd rather pay as I go.

 

[tink771]

Yes, we have never used the DDP. Now if they would give AP holders free dining it would nice to try.

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes, we have never used the DDP. Now if they would give AP holders free dining it would nice to try.

They WILL give AP holders free dining if you buy a one day base ticket for everyone on your reservation.

The one-day tickets do not expire and can be used to upgrade or toward your AP renewal.

When I used the dining plan, one of these trips was on free dining with a 1 day base ticket. That ticket was saved and applied toward the renewal of my annual pass when I renewed it.

Personally, I will no longer use any Disney dining plan, even for free dining.

 

[bamata2]

We are going in 3 weeks My mother (small and eats like a bird), DW, DS(9 & eats like a man), DD (5, small and eats like her Grandma) and I make up the group. B/c everyone (in your room) has to be on the plan, we didn't think it would be worth it. My son would HAVE to eat from the child's menu and would not be satisfied, my daughter would waste most of the $ spent on her meals and my mother would NEVER eat her $'s worth. We have set aside the approximate amount of money we would have spent on the plan and will do it like this:
Wife and I will order/eat as we normally would.
Grandma and DS will share entrees most of the time.
DD will eat (pick) from the kids menu and/or our plates.
It's one of those "put it on paper" kind of decisions for us and DDP just was not going to be worth our hard-saved money. Hope this helps.

 

[hill6]

Didn't have it Christmas 2006 and spent a lot on dinner. Used it Christmas 2007 and it was well worth it. We were a group of 3 adults (18+) in 06 and 4 adults in 07. We definitely figured out it was worth it for us. We kept track of what we ate and added it up at the end. We made our snacks count. We definitely saved money using it.

Booked it again for our upcoming trip once I found a code that gave us a few hundred dollars off the regular price.

 

[wdwluver]

we didn't use the dining plan for either of our trips last year. I used my DDE card for our trip in June. We had a mixture of on-site meals that I used my card for and off-site meals. It just worked out better for us. When we stayed in the cabins last Christmas, we had most of our meals in the room and only had a couple of meals in Disney restaurants. In that instance, it would have been a waste of money. I found it much more relaxing to return to our cabin after a long day in the park, kick off the shoes and enjoy a ""home-cooked" meal.

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

we've never used the plan, we always use our DDE card for 20% off food and drinks. I find it to be a better deal for us given how we eat at disney

 

[herbg]

Thanks so much to all who have so far replied. Hoping more will chime in

quick question... what is "AP holder" and what is "DDE card" ??

 

[Cinderella2006]

Thanks so much to all who have so far replied. Hoping more will chime in

quick question... what is "AP holder" and what is "DDE card" ??

DDE Disney Dining Experience is a discount card for WDW restaurants. You get 20% off food and beverages at participating Disney restaurants. It is valid for a year and for up to 10 guests on each card. You also get free valet parking when dining at Deluxe resorts.

You need to be either a Florida resident or Disney AP holder to order one.

AP holder is someone who has an annual pass to the parks, there are many perks with this such as discounted rooms.


We have never used the dining plan but are trying the free dining plan next year. For us it has not been worth it as we don't snack in between meals that often, we only ever order main meal and we very rarely have dessert.

I can imagine coming home from Disney twice my size

 

[Uncleromulus]

Wouldn't even consider the DDP. Much prefer the DDE.

 

[Quacktatty]

I used it once 5 years ago when the DxDDP was the Silver Plan. It was way too much for me.

I need the freedom to be able to have two appetizers and a dessert, or just an entree, or 7 snacks in one day. I'd much rather pay OOP because I will ALWAYS save money with the way I eat, even if the DDP is free (thanks to AAA room only discounts)

 

[miprender]

When it was just DH & I, we never ate at Disney. We always rented a car and went off site for dinner. That worked fine for us.

But when we went in 2006 and again in 2009 with the kiddies we will be using the DDP only because we will be eating at alot of character buffets which almost equal to the price of the DDP.

 

[fortheboys]

We have gone both with and without the DDP. The 1st time I had the dining(in 2001), it was equivilent to the deluxe dining, and after a few days we weren't eating enough to make it worth the $$ becuase we were stuffed silly - we were skipping appetizers and desserts!! It was too much food, and we weren't accustomed to eating like that! The last time we went, we didn't get even the basic dining, and regretted it. We were eating CS for lunch, and having entrees and desserts at TS resturants for dinner, along with the occasional snack - we spent a small fortune! Just one nights TS dinner for the 3 of us was equivilent to the basic DDP for the entire day! So, for us, the dining plan works with how we choose to eat. I also have no problems paying OOP for a appetizer or additional snack if need be. So, we booked the basic DP for our upcoming trip, knowing the deluxe would be too much food, and if we paid OOP that we would spend more...

 

[Dopey's twin Dippy]

we have never used it on all of our trips. we have not gone during the free dining dates, but i dont think we would.

 

[Monica20039]

I may be in the minority, but we just went during free dining, and DH and I will never go to WDW without being on the DDP. We kept track of our meals and compared it to what we would have paid OOP vs. on the DDP and the savings for us was huge! This doesn't work for everyone though, but we feel the DDP is a good value for us.