Considering NO dining plan feedback needed

[happy2go2wdwmom]

Now that my DS is 10 and we need to pay for adult portions for him and since they've changed the DDP to not include tips and ets., I am thinking that we may be better off b/c it would be cheaper to go w/o the DDP!

We are either doing a last minute trip mid-July, or have been considering the August Free Dining (8-26-9-1). I'm looking for Pros and Cons from posters.

We are happy to have burgers...cheapy stuff for CS lunches.

 

[gracie1]

I am going in October for 11 days and I am not doing the dining plan either. I have went back and forth with is so much. I started at the basic, then went to deluxe, then went to none, then started over again (do you see a pattern?) So after someone on the boards shared their spreadsheet I decided to put everything in, and it saved me maybe $100 (and that was on deluxe going to all 2ts dinners!) So really I was saving nothing. It is cheaper for us to do the ts that we want and pay oop. Hope this helps you. I agree with other posters that its nice to have everything prepaid, but you can also take the money you were paying for the ddp and put on a gift card or something

 

[singnring]

I agree w/ gracie1.
You should run the numbers.

Even when it's FD, I actually pay more because of tips and the room being full rate in the package.

Unless you will eat at the more expensive TS meals whether on the plan or not, it may not be worth the money and being tied to the plan itself.

I've never paid for DDP, but if I did, I would feel the need to utilize it fully to get my money's worth.

Then I'm really planning my meals according to the plan, rather than necessarily where we want to eat.

I would figure out your meal plans, then try to figure out what it would cost OOP and compare to DDP cost.

 

[dd50]

If you don't usually do a TS lunch or dinner and always do CS then it isn't worth it. If you do a TS every day then I think that it would be worth it depending on where you eat. In my case I have three girls over nine and we don't usually eat at TS but this time we will try it out. From my calculations I will be about even with the things I have picked. We are doing mostly character meals.

 

[DCDisney]

It really depends on what your 10 year old eats. If they will eat all the adult food ir you are doing lots of buffets where they pay the expensive price it generally works out that you don't lose money. If you just go OOP and eat mainly at menu places where the 10 year may often choose to order off the kids menu you'll save a lot by going OOP. At 8 and 10 kids we did the DDP but just paid for the 10 yr old OOP to get kids meals at a few TS places. Mostly the kids would share 1 adult CS meal as it was too much for just the older one especially with the desserts.

 

[Alesia]

When we went in March, we spent $200 less than we would have spend on the DDP.

We shared meals and only did 3 TS meals during the 9 day trip. We ate what we wanted when we wanted. The main reason we didn't get the DDP is that we felt it would be too restrictive.

 

[5boyz]

Putting the food money on a gift card sounds like a great idea....We are trying the QSDP this year and we seem to spend $100. a day on food for 4 of us, so when I put in the dining plan it was a tiny bit less. Then it dawned on my aabout 2 weeks ago...that my $100. a day was with 4 adult meals. The dining plan has 1 child meal as DD is 9. So I have been going back and forth with it. I have to pay tomorrow so I better really think this thru...any suggestions? thanks

 

[snykymom]

And it's not just whether you eat at TS places. It's also how you eat at TS places, even 2TS places. Do you like appetizers? Not on the DDP. Do you ever eat an appetizer and a dessert at the same meal? If not, DxDP's not worth it. Do you (like I do) ever want 2 appetizers instead of an entree? Can't do that on any dining plan.

So consider if the DP follows your eating habits or whether you need to change your habits to follow the plan. And if you're willing to do that!

 

[Plasticletters]

In my eyes it comes down to how picky of an eater you are. I personally would never to the Dining Plan unless I was getting it for free (in which case, it's a no brainer for me). I always try to eat as inexpensively as possible. My frugal nature towards food has never lessened my enjoyment of a vacation and saved me LOTS of money. There is no possible way I would spend the amount of money they charge for the Dining Plan if left to my own devices, there are just too many other options to feed yourself for much less.

That said, I'm going in August when the Dining Plan is offered for free.
Why? You guessed it. You can't beat free. I know you will still be paying for tips, but I would recommend going in Aug/Sept like you mentioned as a possibility. This will give you more time to plan AND get you the free dining.
If you decide you absolutely must go in July, I'd say forget the Dining Plan entirely - not just because of the monetary issue, but even more due to the fact that you will have difficulty getting the ADRs you want with such short notice.

 

[MOM POPPINS]

We just returned and we loved the new Quick Service Plan!!! It worked really well for our family. I loved not having the stress of making the ADR" in advance. We were just able to "wing" it all week. We have decided to do the regular dining plan once a year and the quick service on our other trip for the year.

 

[MOM POPPINS]

I got a pm that asked if on the Quick Service Plan the credits are still "pooled" yes they are still pooled just a total amount still at the bottom of the receipt not seperated into "adult" and "children" credits.

 

[happy2go2wdwmom]

Thank you for all of these replies---for some reason I didn't get notices of these in on inbox.

 

[jessieroo]

This will be my third trip using the dining plan. I like the piece of mind knowing my food is paid for upfront. My family likes to do one table service meal a day so it works out for us. I have set aside tip money for our meals also so that is taken care of.