I have been running the numbers and trying to figure out what is best for us. We tend to eat 2 TS meals a day or 1TS with breakfast in room (faster) and one CS.
We have too many ressies for the regular DP but when I add the oop to the plan price, the difference is that the plan is $75 more - but that $75 would be our snacks etc. The problem is that we aren't using most of our CS credits.
I also looked at the Deluxe DP which would more than cover our TS and give us twice the snacks (not sure we would use them) but we would have several left over meal credits. The difference in that plan and what I figured we would eat (bare bones) is $360
Any ideas suggestions?
Do any of y'all use the plan, not use all the credits and still make out or break even?
If you don't use all your credits, you're leaving money on the table - you're "spending" more in advance and not getting it back. Remember that the dining plans are money savers
only if you eat the way the plan is set up.
We are not using either of the dining plans. For us, it doesn't make sense. First, we often prefer appetizers to desserts. And I know that I rarely, if ever, eat both an appetizer and a dessert with an entree at any meal.
If we had the
DDP, we would order some appetizers OOP. But then we'd also have paid for a dessert that we probably wouldn't eat and would otherwise not have paid for. Or we'd share an appetizer & dessert.
If we do the DxDP, we'll have paid in advance for both appetizers and desserts, when we really want to pay for only one most of the time. And I could never eat both at more than one meal per day!
And sometimes we want just appetizers & desserts, no entree. None of the dining plans make provisions for that.
When you're checking out the dining plans, make sure you look at not only what you might want to eat at each restaurant, but how you
actually would order if you were paying OOP. Are the restaurants where I can see ordering both appetizers & desserts, based on the menu? Absolutely! Would I really do that? Not often.
Remember, the dining plans are
money-making propositions for Disney. They know that most people won't get their moneys' worth out of it, but will buy it anyway. It's like an "all you can eat" deal - restaurants know that most people won't eat much more than they would if it were not "all you can eat" so they'll make money on those people. Some people might eat more, but in the end, the restaurant makes more money. I know for my family, we just don't eat enough to make such deals a bargain for us.
The dining plan is also no bargain for us. I want to order what I want, when I want, and not have to worry whether it's on the plan, whether the restaurant takes the plan, whether I'm getting a $4 snack for my $4 credit when all I really want is a $2 bottle of water, how many credits I have left, etc. I think in the long run, I'll actually eat less and save money. (Food is fully paid for in my bank account, so I'll treat it as "prepaid" and not worry about the prices.)
Bottom line: Figure out, not if there's stuff on the dining plans that you'd eat, but how you would really eat if you were paying OOP. Then see what kinds of changes you would need to make to your eating habits to fit into the parameters of the plans, whether you're willing to make those changes, and whether making those changes will save you money.
The dining plans aren't for everyone.
