Anyone not using Disney Dining?

[jeanyusjean]

How much do you really end up spending when paying out of pocket? DH, DD4 and myself will be staying offsite Oct 22- Oct 29 & have military discounted tickets so Dining Plan wasn't an option. I have all my ADR's and have an idea how much it's gonna cost(www.allearsnet.com) but I cringe at the thought of the actual amount. Since DH & DD4 aren't real picky eater they don't have expensive taste buds either. This is our first trip to WDW since our first scheduled trip in July 05 was ruined by a car accident 8 hrs into our drive in GA ( 4 hours away from the Happiest Place on Earth). I hadn't done any planning or research so maybe it was a sign that we weren't ready to go. Everything happens for a reason. Needless to say we're going all out this time and I have three Character Meals: LTT, PSB and CP & we'll be attending MNSSHP on Oct 25. I've mentioned to DH that the character meals are little expensive but he doesn't seem to mind. I don't imagine that WDW would be a yearly vacation ( it would be nice though) so why not spurgle while on vacation right? I really appreciate some of the recent reviews where they actually listed the amount of the meal. Of course some of the reviews seem more like resort TS on the dining plan.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Have you looked at the menu's? They have prices - www.allearsnet.com under dining. You can see all the pricing there to get a good idea for what it will cost you.

Prices vary SO much - we often eat cheaply because we share meals and have a CM discount. Others order full appetizer, entree, dessert, drinks, and coffee each and every meal for each person. Other than buffets, everyones price will vary greatly.

I would look over the menu's to get an idea! =)

 

[utahkennedys]

We can't have the dining plan b/c we are staying at DVC as members, and I was kind of bummed. On the plus side, I plan to mostly eat b'fast in the room, and then I won't "overeat" b/c it's "free". WDW meals can be expensive, but don't have to be. DH and I often share lunch and then have a snack later. Of course you can spend a LOT, but honestly, you don't have to.

 

[baileybelle]

We're not on the dining plan because we're staying at Shades of Green. We're saving a lot of money by staying there . If we were to stay at a deluxe, I would be paying over $200 a night. I'm paying $109. (includes parking garage fee and no tax) per night. I also got two 7- day MYW base tickets for $380. (no tax) at our MWR office. So the money I'm saving can be used for dining.

DH and I usually eat our big meal at lunch and do CS for dinner. I have ADR's for lunch at LTT, Sci Fi, Primetime, Plaza Restaurant, Le Cellier and Rose&Crown. The dining plan has way to much food for us. We're also going during F&W and want to eat around the world. When I crunched the numbers it came out that I saved money by doing it my way.

 

[GailT]

I'm not doing it, I hope that it works out ok for me. I am staying concierge so I figure breakfast in the lounge, oh brother, that does not cost for what I am paying for conciege but I love BWI CL the people are great, helpful and always make my vacation special

 

[Kaycee]

I'm not doing the dining plan because I'm staying at the Swan, where I can get a great deal for a beautiful resort, and the Swan doesn't participate in the dining plan. But even if I could get the plan, I doubt that I would. It just doesn't suit our eating habits.

We usually have breakfast in the room, eat a lot of counter service and quick snacks (many of which, like Dole Whips and pretzels, aren't on the plan) in the parks, and enjoy just a few sit-down meals each trip. We choose our TS meals more for the theming of the restaurant than for fine dining. Fine dining is just not what a WDW vacation is all about for us. When we do have TS meals, we never order appetizers and rarely have dessert. In short, we just aren't big foodies. For all these reasons, the dining plan isn't a good deal for us.

Dining at WDW can be expensive, no doubt. But when you're dining at character meals and restaurants with a fun theme, you're paying for more than just food, and for us the extra fun is worth the cost. That's why we are at WDW! If you want to cut back some on your spending, plan to have a few counter service meals and a few meals either in your room or offsite to balance out the more expensive meals.

As Aimeedyan said, you can look over the menus to get a general idea of what you may be spending.

 

[jeanyusjean]

We definitely plan on eating breakfast in our room. We have a 2 BR villas w/ a full kitchen so I intend on making breakfast. I have ADR's at LTT (D), PSB (B), CP(D), 50's Prime Time (D), and Rain Forest Cafe (L). Now I don't feel so bad paying out of pocket. Since this is our first trip the CM are gonna priceless for us!!!

 

[kelleigh1]

We're not doing the dining plan either. We just figure it won't really be worth it for us. We just don't eat enough to justify the plan. And we're going to rent a car so we can go off-site to buy snacks and beverages to keep in our room. We're also getting some gift cards to Rainforest Cafe, Landry's and will probably go off-site to eat also. We are planning a character breakfast at Crystal Palace, however. We can't miss out on all of the Disney magic!

 

[jjohnson]

We didn't do the dining plan because I have an AP & DDE. When I did the math it worked out alot less for us doing it this way instead. We stayed for 1 week did 16 sitdown meals & spent $1150 on food for a family of 5. We saved $75 a night for the room with AP rate & $195 with the DDE card. We also had $75 in RFC gift cards & $120 on our disney rewards card.

You really need to do a spreadsheet & compare prices both ways to figure out what works best for you.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

We also can't use dining b/c we're DVC members. However, in a few weeks we're going and paying cash but we still chose not to get the dining.

 

[Kaycee]

We definitely plan on eating breakfast in our room. We have a 2 BR villas w/ a full kitchen so I intend on making breakfast. I have ADR's at LTT (D), PSB (B), CP(D), 50's Prime Time (D), and Rain Forest Cafe (L). Now I don't feel so bad paying out of pocket. Since this is our first trip the CM are gonna priceless for us!!!

Just wanted to say I really like your dining choices! I think you are going to have a great time!!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We are a family of 5 and chose not to do the dining plan. In April we stayed at the Polynesian and with the AP rate we saved so much on the room and I did get the DDE card which really saved us alot of money. I usually have a plan on granola bars etc, in the room, stock up on soda, this time we bought 4 12 packs with our comp grocery run from tiffany towncar, much cheaper than the refillable mug and we usually do one good meal a day, buffet usually. I also think with planning our park days etc, it would have been too stressful to keep saying we need to get to such and such place to do our table service, we need to go to such and such place now for our counter service or you would feel like you were not getting what you already paid for etc.
Now for Nov. we are staying at the swan and that doesnt participate in the dining plan. DH will be at a conference for 4 days and gets all his food included. So I will just go with the ds to the parks and they have requested a few places already.
Good luck deciding.

 

[goodeats]

Eating on any vacation is pricey since you are eating out most of the time.

We are not doing the dining plan since we have a AAA discount on a standard room at the WL and if we wanted a package would lose discount and have to upgrade to courtyard view (big price difference).

As long as you can afford it and aren't going into debt for a character meal, don't worry about it. Live it up!

 

[cseca]

We are not on dining plan and just spent 9 fabulous days at The World.
We mixed our meals with TS, CS, and eating in the room (we're DVC member).
The 2 of us ended up spending about $350 for the 9 days I think (with DDE card of course).
We're average eaters, but bf is a picky eater. So sometimes we can't share meals.
However, I think you can save a good bit of $ by sharing bigger size meals.

At CS ordering a double cheeseburger and then getting an extra bun is a good money saver. Also bringing your own water bottles helps.
Plus some meals are a good size anyways to share if you plan to have appetizer and dessert.

We ate at Boma dinner, LTT dinner, Spoodles bfast, Beaches & Cream, and a bunch of CSs (AS Sports, Tusker House, Main Street Bakery, Boardwalk Bakery, Pecos Bill, Sunshine Season).

Have fun on your trip!

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

I did up a comparison for my friend. My AP rate of $59 a night and paying out of pocket for meals/snacks vs. the whole plan. This is for 6 nights and 4 day park tickets. 2 adults, 1 child. Here is what I found...

Hotel with AP discount $ 394.74

4 Day passes $ 599.00

4 Sit Down Meals $ 280.00

7 Counter Service $ 175.00

Snacks $ 40.00

Total $1488.74
Minus Commission $ 17.35
Grand Total $1471.39


Whole package $1387.99
5 nights hotel
5 Nghts Dining Plan
4 day Hoppers

1 Ngt Room Only AP $ 65.80

Total $1453.79
Minus Commission $ 72.92
Grand Total $1380.87


As you can see, it is less for her to do the package, adding the 6th night as a room only. Also, with the paying out of pocket, I had her eating mostly counter service and just the 4 table service....and those were all buffets, set prices. And counter service without desserts added in.

 

[tjmw2727]

I have yet to do the dining plan so this is what we do to help keep the costs in line. We always eat something in the room for breakfast except for a character breakfast. Usually breakfast is cold cereal, bagle etc with some fruit and juice, even without a kitchen this is easy. We also keep soda, water and snacks in the room as well as sandwich stuff for an occasional lunch while not in the parks.

If we do a character breakfast its a late breakfast, more like a lunch/brunch for us. All our TS meals with the exception of a character breakfast and a character dinner are late lunches. We find the menu great with smaller servings but as much variety as dinner and at a slightly lesser cost. We also find that by 1-2pm we really need the break from the parks and the sun so this works well for our family.

Dinners are usually CS with the exception of probably one character meal. We love Epcot at night and this works out well because of the great choices for CS. We also like columbia harbor house and pecos bills for cs dinners.

HTH
TJ