Dining Plan Deal?

[bobbi565]

Is the dining plan always a good idea? Are there any drawbacks to it or instances when it's not the best bargain? We are planning to add it to our Land/Sea next June. Any suggestions/advice?

 

[yanners]

Here is why I like it: It takes the worry out of food because it is paid for before you leave. I don't have to put money aside for dining and don't give the dining a second thought.

Some people think it is a lot of food but I'm not really of that opinion. Snacks can be saved for evenings or the trip home and that only really leaves you with 2 meals a day.

That is why I like the DDP.

 

[NJ2Boardwalk]

I think the DP is good if everyone in your party will order off the menu your paying for and actually EAT the food. We have two DD 13 & 15 and my DD13 orders mostly off the kids menu. She's just a picky eater and likes the choices better. Also, my two girls eat like birds. When we did the DP last year - my DD13 is considered an "adult" in Disney so she was required to order off adult menu or I had to pay OOP for the kids menu.
That being said, now that they did away with the app, entree, dessert and drink for every meal - it's not as much food - but it's still way too much to eat everyday x the number of days you are there.
Now, on the other hand - if I had some big strappin boys that could eat us under the table - it's quite a bargain!

 

[kschafer]

It probably depends on your normal eating habits. I was very excited to have the dining plan because I loved the idea of paying 1 fee up front and not having to worry about it again. I figured it gave me permission to eat the expensive items on the menu plus dessert.

We are not likely to do it again mostly for 1 reason, it was simply too much food for us. My kids are not big eaters and rarely finished a meal and DH and I felt stuffed almost all of the time. In the heat of June, we were full with water so much of the time that we were never overly hungry yet felt like we had to eat the food.

DH particularly did not like having to schedule around ADR's. Also keep in mind that TS meals don't include tip and those add up quickly when you are eating the most expensive items and dessert to (because after all, it's already paid for!)

We felt like the CS food offered enough variety to eat most of the time (and that is a new option on the dining plan to consider) Next time I think we will skip the dining plan, eat a TS meal only a couple times (not every day) and pay OOP. We will probably come out ahead moneywise.

Lots of people around here rave about the dining plan and I can see why if your family are big eaters and you don't mind the time it takes to eat TS every day (ours never took less than 90 minutes away from touring). We tried it, I'm glad we did (and I would go during free dining in a heatbeat if I had the chance and not worry about it!!). But we will likely not invest in it a second time.

Yes, you can definitely save $$ in the long run, but only if you would eat like this anyways. You might check out the menus on www.allearsnet.com and note what you think you would normally eat and add it up to compare the cost with the dining plan.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I'm going to move this over to the Disney Dining Plan board. It's a better fit there than here on themeparks.

Thanks,

Knox

 

[bicker]

The Dining Plan isn't a discount plan (anymore). When it is a great deal, it is so because of the value of the convenience it offers.

 

[KorieDWnut]

I am not all that sure it is much a bargain for everyone.

I know for my family, on our past trips, we just ate at CS places and were very happy to do so. We were fine with that since we only really went for 4-5 days at a time.

This trip we are taking now, we decided to go with the DDP because we felt it was way easier to pay up front for meals rather than worry about how much spending money to bring for meals. It takes the worry out of that whole aspect. Also, we only have 5 days to spend in WDW this trip and I want to take out as much bickering as possible. Dh and I tend to get cranky when we are hungry and we do the "where do you want to eat, I dont care, where do you want to eat, I dont know just PICK A PLACE ALREADY!!"

I want to avoid that this time. lol.