Changing my mind after our recent trip?

[wheredreamsbegin]

Prior to our visit to WDW last week, I had convinced myself that the dining plan wasn't for us for the following reasons:

1. We prefer table service to counter service.

2. We typically eat at two table service restaurants a day, but do not all eat full meals for the third meal of the day (and therefore didn't think that we would make use of the CS meal that is part of the Deluxe Dining Plan)

3. We like the flexibility of paying out of pocket (sharing meals and having our 11 year old order off the kids menu if she didn't find anything on the adult menu)

Maybe it was the addition of another "adult" (our 11 year old) or maybe it was the fact that we chose to eat at three character meal/buffets, but the cost of food on this last trip really has me reconsidering my position regarding the dining plan.

Here are the list of restaurants that we are considering for our upcoming Spring Break trip. Our party will consist of myself, DH, DD 11, DD 9, and DD7. What would you do?

Day 1
Be Our Guest (lunch)
Tony's Town Square (dinner)

Day 2
Boma (breakfast)
Yak & Yeti (lunch)
O'Hana (dinner)

Day 3
Les Halles (breakfast)
La Hacienda de San Angel (lunch)
Garden Grill (dinner)

Day 4
The Wave (breakfast)
Sci-Fi Dine-In (lunch)
Narcoossee's (dinner)

Day 5
Kona Cafe (breakfast)
Leaning Palms (lunch)
Wolfgang Puck Cafe (dinner)

Day 6
Sunshine Seasons (breakfast)
Tutto Italia (lunch)

Day 7
Grand Floridian Cafe (breakfast)
Sleepy Hollow (lunch)

No wonder we spend so much on food! We eat at a lot of restaurants! (It also explains the 5 pounds that I gain each trip in spite of walking 20,000+ steps!) I would greatly appreciate any input. This was the first trip where I felt like we were discouraged by the cost of food. The restaurants are such a huge part of the experience for us. I want to making eating the way that we like to eat as painless (financially) as possible. TIA!

 

[TDC Nala]

Deluxe Dining Plan is 3 dining credits per night, you can use them as either CS or TS. Doesn't matter which. However, to even try to get your money's worth you probably need to use the overwhelming majority for TS meals and not CS. And if you don't like to eat much with dinner, you will likely not want a full meal with appetizer, entree and dessert.

 

[sharonabe]

Okay, there is one way the DDP might work for you. I'm counting 14 TS ADRs for a 6 or 7 night stay. IF you know your 11 yr old is going to eat kid's meals at the majority of your non-buffet places, you could pay OOP for her kid's meal and SAVE her adult TS credits to be used at some of your extra TS places. This scenario will probably have you close to breaking even on the plan, but it would give you the peace of mind of not having sticker shock of OOP.

IF she's going to want more adult meals or that 9 yr old gets too big for kid's meals, you're probably better just paying OOP. You have too many meals for the DDP and not enough for the DxDDP. I would go ahead and check the prices and start buying gift cards to cover your meals so they are budgeted ahead of time.

 

[supersnoop]

Maybe it was the addition of another "adult" (our 11 year old) or maybe it was the fact that we chose to eat at three character meal/buffets, but the cost of food on this last trip really has me reconsidering my position regarding the dining plan.

Here are the list of restaurants that we are considering for our upcoming Spring Break trip. Our party will consist of myself, DH, DD 11, DD 9, and DD7. What would you do?

How much did you spend on food? Did you order the things that you would be restricted to on a dining plan; soda, dessert, no apps?

With two children, the dining plan could still make sense, but even the normal plan would be ~$1,500, so you need to know how much you'll actually spend on food.

 

[wheredreamsbegin]

How much did you spend on food? Did you order the things that you would be restricted to on a dining plan; soda, dessert, no apps?

With two children, the dining plan could still make sense, but even the normal plan would be ~$1,500, so you need to know how much you'll actually spend on food.

Unfortunately, I did not save all of our receipts. I am currently in the process of trying to tabulate the cost of everything we ate. I know that I am going to forget some of the snacks. I think having an approximate total for what we spent on food on this past trip will help me determine whether or not the dining play will be worth it for our family.

Thanks!

 

[wheredreamsbegin]

Okay, there is one way the DDP might work for you. I'm counting 14 TS ADRs for a 6 or 7 night stay. IF you know your 11 yr old is going to eat kid's meals at the majority of your non-buffet places, you could pay OOP for her kid's meal and SAVE her adult TS credits to be used at some of your extra TS places. This scenario will probably have you close to breaking even on the plan, but it would give you the peace of mind of not having sticker shock of OOP.

IF she's going to want more adult meals or that 9 yr old gets too big for kid's meals, you're probably better just paying OOP. You have too many meals for the DDP and not enough for the DxDDP. I would go ahead and check the prices and start buying gift cards to cover your meals so they are budgeted ahead of time.

Thank you for helping me to see the flexibility of the dining plan. I did not consider paying OOP for my oldest daughter if she would choose to eat off of the kids menu (and saving her credits to use for other TS places).

I have already started saving gift cards. I had $800 in gift cards with me on our last trip. It made a decent dent, but unfortunately, it didn't come close to covering all of our food expenses. If we opt not to do the dining plan, I'll just have to make sure that I have more gift cards on our next trip.

Thanks!

 

[DisneyPrncss27]

Ok, l always get the dining plan and this is how I handle it to keep the price of food down.

- If I book a 2 point restaurant, I use up two points for that night and pay for a cheaper sit down restaurant or use counter service another night.

- Breakfast is always cheaper than dinner, even if its a character breakfast. So, I always pay for breakfast unless we use a counter service.

Dinners are a very important part of out trip.. I always try to plan a Disney trip when then offer the dining plan for free.. This way I can still enjoy those signature restaurants and save money at the same time.

 

[kaybird]

There is nothing like paying OOP that can sticker shock you back to the DDP. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but we find it very flexible; and while we can sometimes eat cheaper without it, we never eat better!

 

[disneyjunkie]

We're also going during spring break~my sister, BIL, their four kids 17,16,9&8, my son 23, hopefully our parents and I.

My mom would flip if we tried to make her eat CS meals three times a day for 9 nine. My dad will lose if it when he gets a look at the disney prices. When BIL gave my sister the green light to go ahead with the trip, his
only request was to include dining.

This will be the first Disney trip for the oldest two and youngest two. My sister's birthday is during the trio and my parent's 41st anniversary is three days after. I plan to book a ton of ADRs to celebrate. So for us the deluxe plan is a no brainer.

L