Dining decision for our family...

[itutorfortravel]

Our first dvc vacation is quickly approaching and we're trying to make some last minute decisions. One is whether we should do the meal plan or TiW card...

At first, we had thought of doing sit-down meals every day, but I'm not sure if that will be the case now. Traveling in the summer, I'm thinking we are not going to want to eat heavy with that kind of weather. We will likely do 3-4 sit down meals, one will be signature dining. The other meals will either be QS and for some breakfasts we may just eat fruit and yogurt or cereal in our room. We'll have a car, so we might even go off-site for some of our meals, though I don't know if we will want to do that or not. We typically stay off site so that off site dining works great in that scenario, but if we are settled in a resort hotel, I'm not sure how much we will want to venture off site.

So, are any of the meal plans worth it given our situation? How about the TiW card?

The other idea is to purchase Disney gift cards at Target. I know I can only get 5% off now, but I could use those for meal expenses as well as tipping so idk...

We do have annual passes so I know the TiW card could be used again, but I'm not 100% sure we will be back within the year...we got the annual passes pretty much because they were the same price as buying the kind of park tickets we wanted for the length of stay we had this time (8 nights).

Thanks for any guidance you can provide!

 

[DenLo]

You can get 10% dining discounts with your AP and DVC membership card as long as you are not traveling during block out dates--usually the holiday season.

DVC Dining Perks - https://dvc.disney.go.com/members/member-extras/perks-and-discounts

Passholder Dining Discounts - https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/p...lder-benefits-and-discounts/dining-discounts/


I would only do a DDP if you know you will eat all of the meals. The QS sounds like it might work for your family. But that is 2 QS meals and 1 Snack per person per day. If you buy cereal or breakfast items from a grocery will you need two meals a day?

You need to decide on whether you are eating off property, purchasing groceries or mainly eating QS meals. A QS could be worked out to be used with the discounts for TS meals that your AP or DVC cards would cover.

 

[kittyab]

If you know you are doing a few character meals, a dining plan is a must.

 

[daisyx3]

We are switching to TIW this time. It's good for any buffets or character meals. I find the DVC/AP discounts somewhat limited.
As for eating in the eat....you may be right, but with TIW you could split a couple of appetizers in the A/C of a sit down restaurant instead of choking down an entree and dessert. Last time we went DDP we were bloated messes by the end of the week--and that was regular DDP, not deluxe! But the respite of an hour in air conditioning is often welcome in the summer.
Daisyx3

 

[hakepb]

If you know you are doing a few character meals, a dining plan is a must.

Possibly with a character dinner buffet.
With split stays, I had a 2 night segment with a CM breakfast and a Teppan Edo (not on TIW, but on DDP) dinner and a BOG lunch, and on paper, I still couldn't make the DDP work.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We are not doing any character dining. The restaurants we are going to (for sure) are Sci-Fi Diner, Kona Café, and Yachtsman's Steakhouse.

Do you think the QS meal plan is a good deal or too expensive for what you get? That might work for us...even though we plan to eat breakfast in the room most days, maybe we could eat breakfast using QS on the days we go offsite to dinner or to the sit down meals we are planning.

Can you use QS at the Disney waterparks?

Idk, so hard to think of the most economical thing to do and also what will prevent our schedule from being controlled by dining!

 

[hakepb]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We are not doing any character dining. The restaurants we are going to (for sure) are Sci-Fi Diner, Kona Café, and Yachtsman's Steakhouse.

Do you think the QS meal plan is a good deal or too expensive for what you get? That might work for us...even though we plan to eat breakfast in the room most days, maybe we could eat breakfast using QS on the days we go offsite to dinner or to the sit down meals we are planning.

Can you use QS at the Disney waterparks?

Idk, so hard to think of the most economical thing to do and also what will prevent our schedule from being controlled by dining!

SciFi is a lot of fun, but not the best value on the DDP (especially if you enjoy the burger) and I don't think the Yachtsman is, either (if you have the normal DDP and use 2 days ($100+) worth of credits. Yachtsman is expensive, but even with the $65 porterhouse and $11 dessert it's still not a "slam dunk"

Here's one overview:
http://www.easywdw.com/worth-2/figu...ng-plans-make-sense-for-your-group/#more-2722

This is a general overview that includes links to Disney's official pamphlets (there are quick service lunch options at the water parks)
http://www.easywdw.com/worth-2/disn...egular-and-deluxe-dining-plan-introduction-2/

If you enjoy the mugs on shorter stays and order expensive QS meals (generally breakfast is not "expensive" (and like the included desserts :/ ) personally I think its more of a convenience issue vs real value.

It depends on the type of people your family is. I'm value driven, so I tend to eat too much on the DDP, but I save too much on the TIW (I'd like to get a Dole Whip float, but I'm trying to save money, so I only get the plain Dole Whip) and on the last day of the trip, I realize I saved plenty and wish I "lived it up" a bit more. I'm sure others are different and like using the DDP as a "max spend"