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

[FlyingBelle]

I totally see what you are saying. But think about it this way.

I would love to be able to just "show up" at WDW and not have to plan what park to be in, on what day, for how long, what time of year???, etc. etc..

Actually - that's exactly how we like to do it! Of course - we go only with adults, so we just do whatever the mood strikes at the time. We've been known to decide at 8am to go to Disney and hop on the 2:30pm flight the same day - making hotel reservations in the car on the way to the airport (of course, having airline benefits makes that a little more economical).

I'm normally a big planner, but vacation is one time where I just want to go with the flow.

 

[brutus]

We also do not do the dining plan for the following reasons:

more than we eat in a full day..
too much thought put into every meal...
too much checking credits before and after meals...
too much concern over what you can or cannot order...
just plain ole too much hassle to me...

Esmerelda

We did the DDP for the first time this past trip and we LOVED it. To speak to a few of your points.
-We like making plans for our meals. Also, you have to make an ADR on or off the DDP, so that’s a wash.
-I never checked credits until the end of the trip. Every rec. you get has the amount of credits left, that was not an issue
-There was not one place that limited what we could order on the plan, none. We ate at Coral reef, Yachtsman, LeC, San Angel, 'Ohana, all the favs and it was no big deal
-I saw on another post about which restaurants are in the plan. I could be wrong, but I think all Disney (except V&A) are included
-Someone else stated that they heard servers don't like the plan. Actually, we experienced the opposite. The server at CR said they love the plan because it means more people are eating at Disney restaurants.

Edit-One more - folks stated that they used Disney rewards for food. I used my Disney rewards for the DDP!

To each his own and everyone has to decide for themselves, but the above points are really not a concern.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Actually - that's exactly how we like to do it! Of course - we go only with adults, so we just do whatever the mood strikes at the time. We've been known to decide at 8am to go to Disney and hop on the 2:30pm flight the same day - making hotel reservations in the car on the way to the airport (of course, having airline benefits makes that a little more economical).

I'm normally a big planner, but vacation is one time where I just want to go with the flow.

My first thought was.......why on earth are you on these boards then? But then I see you are a newbie...........just wait, the planning part will become an addiction!

 

[simzac]

We haven't used the Dining plan yet, don't plan to in the future either. We don't spend per day what the plan would cost us. I keep track of all expenses each trip just to check things like this.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

We haven't used the Dining plan yet, don't plan to in the future either. We don't spend per day what the plan would cost us. I keep track of all expenses each trip just to check things like this.

Yea, I'm wondering about that for our family. This time the DDP is free, but for the next trip, I don't know. A sit down everyday might be nice, or maybe skip a day but use the extra credit for something like HDD (we're doing that this August) or whatever 2 credit dinner we haven't tried yet, I don't know.

I know we NEVER order appt. AND dessert, even at home. So I know we will share some meals (like between me and my DD13 or DD10).

The part I think I will enjoy is not constantly looking at prices on the menus. I can be pretty frugal. I do let up a little on vacation..........but it sure will be nice not to even have to think about how much we are spending.

I really don't think we would spend the same amount on food as it would cost on the dining plan though. I think our typical day is about $100-125 a day for the 5 of us. And that's if we are not offsite............if we are offsite, it's a lot less because I cook some.

Still, it's going to be fun!

 

[FlyingBelle]

My first thought was.......why on earth are you on these boards then? But then I see you are a newbie...........just wait, the planning part will become an addiction!

Oh... don't get me wrong - I like to be educated about my trip (i.e. when we're in the park I like to know where things are and what they're about), I just don't like to be locked into a plan.

 

[mking624]

Oh... don't get me wrong - I like to be educated about my trip (i.e. when we're in the park I like to know where things are and what they're about), I just don't like to be locked into a plan.

Don't ever feel bad about not being a big vacation planner. This will be mine & my husband's 6th trip as a couple...but our first that we've ever really planned. Honestly, I love the "going with the flow" much better. The only reason why we're doing it this way this time around is because our food is free. But we LOVE not being locked into a plan. It has nothing to do with being a "newbie"...it has everything to do with your vacationing style.

 

[Tinkbell]

I debated this issue for my upcoming trip next week. Since I tend to save EVERYTHING that has touched WDW, I have many of the receipts from my previous Disney dining experiences. When I go, I order whatever I'm in the mood for. Well, I did the math and there would be no savings for me.

I've seen people who were on the plan list the prices of their meals to show how they saved money. Of course your bill will be huge if you order that much food. The question to ask is would you be ordering all of that if you weren't on the plan? If you like to experiment with appetizers and desserts every day, then it's the plan for you.

Also, the money I saved from the AAA discount was a greater value than the dining plan would be.

 

[taximomfor4]

Help, please, from those who do cheaper without the Free Dining.

There are 6 of us-- me, dh, dd13, dd8, ds6, dd3. We booked 2 value rooms with 7 day base tickets for all. Oh, and free DDP. Our trip is 8/13- 8/19 (6 nights).

I had an AP last year, but didn't renew it as the Free Dining seemed to work out cheaper. I also am a AAA member currently.

I tried to figure out the math -- Totals with AP discount, aaa discount, and rack rate. SOmewhere in the math, I messed up I guess. I want to book the cheapest way. Even if I ordered tickets from online brokers (about $1100 for all of us, same tickets that we ordered from WDW) and got room discounts, I don't think the savings would equal the $100/day it would take to feed us all on a budget. DId I mess up the math somewhere?

Beth

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

We are another family that likes to be spontaneous during our visits to WDW. We have gone too many times to count and have never decided ahead of time what park we will go to on what day, or where we will eat (actually there was one exception to this last October when we had ressies @ Sci Fi). We will be using the DDP for the first time during an upcoming visit and the planning is actually taking away some of the enjoyment for me. I have been laying awake at night going thru my ADR's, wondering if I've picked the right restaurants/right days/right times. What's really bad is that I know once we actually get there...we will discover that there are conflicts with viewing parades, fireworks, etc. The whole thing is giving me a headache!!!

 

[mom2aba]

This is our first Disney trip and we decided to go without the DDP. When we saw we'd have to pay $900 for a family of 4 (almost as much as our park tickets for 5 days), DH figured it would be lest costly to eat breakfast in our room and run out to fast food places for dinner every night. However, when I looked at the CS offerings in the park I worried we'd be eating burgers, dogs and pizza twice a day. So I got access to the menus and started cruching numbers and convinced him to do 3 1/2 TS (one night the kids will get CS and we will go out to TS alone). DH and I usually just drink water with meals, but all the buffets say that non-alcholic drinks are included. We also won't eat dessert every night. We'll see how it really pans out.

Also, I agree with an earlier poster about the age kids become an adult at Disney. My 12 year old is also not a bigger eater and it kills me that I would have to pay $38 a day for him.

I'm glad I found this thread, though, because I never would have thought about there being enough in Disney meals to share - that might have us coming out even further ahead than I first thought.

 

[WendyMichaelJohn]

I would never do the dining plan. Why?

1. Because restaurants are a hassle with our young children. Fun once or twice on the trip, but that's about it.

2. Because I would rather be on Space Mountain than waiting on a check/figuring out credits/reading a menu/waiting for my party to finish.

3. Because my first three days of a trip I am still so excited that the only thing I can manage to eat are half a turkey leg and a Mickey Bar.

4. Because for breakfast we usually only eat oatmeal, toast, coffee, etc. Can have those in the villa. Once or twice a trip we'll scramble eggs and have bacon too. But we're still fed and out the door well before park opening time if need be.

5. This goes with #2, but one thing I figured into the equation is the amount of time a full-service restaurant takes. With my kids, that's actually probably longer than the average family (and no offense to my mom and sister, they add a good deal of time on there too as they are pokey.) We'd literally lose hours of park time. And I love the parks. I love food too, but I just can't bring myself to eat that much.

6. I'm an epicurean at home. I cook absolutely wonderful foods, and we eat NO junk food at all. When I'm at WDW, I want my Mickey bars, coconut patties, turkey legs, and pizza on the Boardwalk. I never get those things at home.

7. I'd rather spend $38 a day on walk-up margaritas in Mexico and an eggroll in China. Down that margarita, head to Soarin again, and I'm good to go.

To each his own. For us, dining plan=too much time, too much food for our appetites.

 

[punch57]

Nope !!! we are not doing the DDP. we are doing 8 days in the parks and it would be $1200 for my family of 4. YIKES !!! Plus DD 14 does not eat much of anything hotdogs, fried shrimp, fried catfish, & McD's chicken nuggets.

 

[momomonster]

Just as a heads up. At places like Cali. Grill most apps. and entrees are on the small side (very good though). You each may want to get an app. and share the two. I just wanted to let you know.
No matter what you decide is best for you I am sure you will have a magical trip.

I appreciate your advice and well wishes, Cruz Family. I did crunch the numbers using the menus/prices on allears and it looks like we would do well to stick with the DDP, even if we do only order one dessert and appetizer (or two salads).

DH loves steak, and those run $20-$35, depending on the TS restaurant. I love seafood, so those scallops or fish dishes tend to run $20-$30, so it looks like even if we just get salads and split dessert we come out ahead or even with the plan. If someone was a big chicken or pasta eater (less expensive entree items), then they probably wouldn't do as well with the plan.

Thanks, again, and you can just call me "waffles" from now on!

 

[eliza61]

We are another family that does not do the dining plan. One reason we don't do it is because we rarely use the CS credit. We love to eat and usually do at least 2 TS a day (we can never understand how people say it is way too much food). I won't even get into how ridiculous and totally usless we found the snack credits to be. I have 3 teenage sons who eat like professional linebackers so when we tried the DP last year we ended up spending alot OOP anyway. This year I purchased a DDE card that will give me 20% off every meal including adult beverages (we do like an occasional beer with lunch or dinner). That works much better for my family.

 

[huey578]

My husband and I typically eat one, MAYBE two TS each trip. We typically stick to CS food. And a day on CS food for us is about $30 total. So yes, for us, paying OOP is considerably cheaper than the dining plan if were were actually paying for the dining plan. Just because you don't understand doesn't mean people don't make it happen...because we sure do!

I think the dining plan is a great value!! If you eat like birds like you do, I agree dining plan is not for you. But for me and ds, just buying lunch is around $30 so we can a great value out of dining plan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mking624]

I think the dining plan is a great value!! If you eat like birds like you do, I agree dining plan is not for you. But for me and ds, just buying lunch is around $30 so we can a great value out of dining plan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't consider not eating all that TS food to be eating like birds...we're simply not opposed to eating a lot of CS. Hey it's more money to do other things. To each his own.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

The question to ask is would you be ordering all of that if you weren't on the plan? If you like to experiment with appetizers and desserts every day, then it's the plan for you.
.

Hi. OP here. Thanks for sharing your experiences both pro and con dining plan. The quote above pretty much sums up the plan for me.

Happy dining everyone!

 

[Dina]

I don't understand. Are you saying that you don't need to make ADR's if you are not on the DDP? We were there in Dec (not on the DDP) and we made all of our dinner ADR's before we left home. We saw lots, and lots of people being turned away at restaurants that didn't have ADR's. This was not during free dining either.

What I was saying is I don't have to make (many) ADRs because I dont' eat that many table service restaurants-- because I prefer not to. I don't care if I get turned away, because I dont' mind eating Counter Service. Now on the Free Dining, if I don't use a table service-- I lose it, so I have to use it. I'm not really complaining-- its free, so its cheaper than eating all counter service, however, I won't pay for Dining plan.

We really love burgers and hot dogs (casey's) and not having to sit for a long time with the kids. Normally without the dining plan, I'll just make an ADR or two for a character meal, and one for 'Ohana and we're set. Everywhere else, I can pretty much take or leave. We have really great restaurants here in Philadelphia-- I really don't go to Disney for the restaurants (not yet, but that will probably change as my kids get older and can sit longer.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Sounds like a bargain from the posts but for some reason we have never done this plan. I now am hooked on renting a villa and cooking a nice big breakfast every morning, lite lunch and total splurge on dinner. I may have to consider this in the future though.