Are we the only family who does NOT do the Dining Plan?

[DeluxePrincess]

Reading up on dining reviews it seems like EVERYONE is on the Dining Plan. I consider myself a Disney veteran, but the DDP does not excite me. I enjoy the restaurants and usually eat at one sit down meal per day, but never order appitizers and dessert for everyone. That's a lot of food. We usually purchase snacks that are not covered on DDP so we would be spending extra money on that. Maybe someday we will give it a try to see if we actually saved money. We never go during free dining time so hopefully they will bring that back next year and try it then.

 

[LindaR]

I'm not interested in the plan either. I don't want to worry about whether this place or that place is part of the plan, having to keep track of credits, etc. Granted, I'm sure you really do save money, but when I'm on vacation I don't want any hassles. We eat when and where WE want, order exactly what WE want (which never includes appetizers and dessert) and don't snack in between meals.

 

[scoolover]

I planned my trip before I heard about the "free" dining. I don't feel like I am missing out. I have done it before without and will do it again without. Besides it is not really free. If it was actually free, I might feel worse.

 

[Dodie]

When you have to pay for it - NO!
When it's free - ABSOLUTELY!

 

[LisaRN]

Nope..if I weren't getting it for free..I wouldn't be doing it either. We never order this much food..or do a TS everyday..mostly cuz we don't like to be tied down to ADR's. You're not alone

 

[ciera321]

No, not us...We are light eaters and we do much better, moneywise, if we get an AP discount on our room and use the DDE card for dining discounts. I realize I don't have to order everything I am allowed on the DDP, but it's just better for us to order what we want and pay OOP..

 

[bluejasmine]

I got the DP free last Aug and I have it again this yr but my family has done WDW without the plan many times.. It is great when you get it for free, but I dont know that I would pay for it, not that its not worth it but normally when we go to WDW we will just do mostly CS with two maybe three at the most TS meals..Getting the DP for free is a huge savings if you plan on eatting like that. My family feels pampered and spoiled when we do get it but none of us normally eat like that..

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

No, we don't do it. I have a DDE card and save 20% with that and it suits us better. We eat at too many signature restaurants and too few counter service places to make it work for us.

Also, we very rarely order that much food. True, you don't have too .. but then you are not getting your money's worth.

 

[JulyGirl]

.

 

[sistertrip]

The only reason we're doing it is because we got in on the free dining. I hadn't considered the plan before, so I'm not sure if we'd go for it if we were paying.

 

[mickeyfan2]

We have never done it. Have never been when it is free, but I suspect we would pass then too. Our reasons are too much planning, too much food and more TS than we normally do (we do 1 every 3 -4 days). To me the comparison is not how much food we had to buy but how much food we would have bought when comparing the price saved.

 

[CathrynRose]

When you have to pay for it - NO!
When it's free - ABSOLUTELY!

Wouldnt be doing it either, if it wasnt free.

 

[LizinSTL]

Oh I would never do the dining plan, unless it were free. Appetizers for everyone? I would never order that! It would be such a waste of food for me. I like to eat, but goodness, that is a ton of food. I would feel like I would have to order it because it was included. If Disney stopped the dining plan, it would not bother me one bit. I think they will keep it though because it is a big money maker.

You don't HAVE to order it just because it's allowed. Salads or a cup of soup would be considered an appetizer. We didnt' order desserts at one restaurant because we just didn't want them (though we did take a kid's fruit plate to go). I think because the dining plan includes tax and tip AND if you are going to be doing at least 4 TS meals in a week, it's worth it. You can't. We didn't get many between meal snacks for the adults and fruit is available as a snack option anyway. We used snacks for breakfast, we shared meals, etc.

If you don't do TS meals, it's not worth it. If you won't share any meals, it's not worth it.

For our family, it was wonderful. We would pay for it again in a heartbeat. We didn't stress about maximizing the plan. We didn't worry about whether a meal was the best use of a CS credit or TS credit or snack credit. When we wanted something, we used the applicable credit for it. If we didn't want something that was included, we either "gifted" it to a neighbor in line or we just didn't order it.

I wouldn't enjoy my trip if I had to get out a spreadsheet to choose my next meal. I also wouldn't enjoy it if I had to see the $45 total for each CS lunch we ordered! LOL Or the $100 bill for the mediocre buffet.

We stayed, played and ate for under $80/per person/per night. That's not too bad, IMO.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

We don't normally do the dining plan, but this time it's FREE, so we just couldn't pass it up!

 

[durango kid]

I would love to take advantage, However...I have a wife and three daughters, I weigh more than any two of them combined, almost more the the three girls (ages 23,18,12) combined, and I'm 6'2" and don't weigh two bills. Everyone of us splits an entree with someone else in the group. It would be a big time money looser for us. Heck, we don't break even on the all you can eat breakfasts.

 

[scanne]

Even with the "free" dining, I don't see what the deal is. You're still paying rack rate for your hotel room and then, like other posters have stated, if you don't "maximize" your DP credits, how much are you really saving?

I like having my annual pass - which sometimes gets me a deeper discount at my hotel, this time it's not but I still got my AAA rate. We have the DDE which gets 20% off most meals and alcoholic beverages (that savings adds up fast! ) plus my mom and I usually share an entree when we do a sit down meal. I never, EVER can finish everything on my plate, let alone add in an appetizer and dessert. Too much food! We also eat light in our room for breakfast and grab fruit for a snack mid day.

We like doing things our way and don't really ever feel the need to even try the dining plan. JMHO.

To all the others who like it - ENJOY!!!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Not me.. I have an annual pass so I do have the Disney Dining Experience card that gives me a 20% discount on my food and alcohol at certain restaurants, but that is it....

 

[catheren]

We didn't do the DDP in April. Too much food!! Who wants to keep track of the credits -- I am on vacation!!

 

[Cinders Mum]

DDP would actually cost me money compared to the restaurants I actually would eat at, not counting my DDE discount, so thanks but no thanks this year ....

that being said, IF they offer free dining next year and IF we are staying Value then yes I probably would do DDP .....

Val
xx

 

[grinningghost]

We don't do it either. I can't be bothered with figuring out credits and having to eat all that food - what if I'm not hungry?

We make a few ADR's and wing the rest. I truly think we save more money doing that way than the DDP.