Dining Plan Dilema

[msr709]

Maybe someone here can help me out with this. I've never done the Dining Plan before and I'm trying to figure out if it is worth it for us in our upcoming trip. We (DSis, DNce - 7, DNph 10) and I will be going in August. Now my problem is that DNph will be paying as an adult in the plan but he eats like a child, very, very picky eater. On the other hand, DNce eats more like a grown-up and we will be paying for her as a child. Would it be cost effective to get the DP? My DSis isn't a big eater either, specially in the heat but we would want to do some sit down dinners but not sure it will be EVERYDAY. I'm very confused on how this works, if I get the DP, there will be times both children will want the Adult Menu because the children's one is so very limited at most places. Is there an alternative to get some food discount another way? Maybe getting an AP would be better? I was planning on getting our tickets from the undercovertourist through Mousesavers, they have such good prices. Do I get a discount with the AP? TiA

 

[hematite153]

It could be worthwhile and it could be a waste of money. I would say that if you plan well it could work out.

Your DNph can order his sisters food and she can order his. That way, she gets adult food, he gets kid food and you use the right credits. (Btw, you could also do this if paying OOP instead).

You can plan to use desserts and snack credits for things that you bring back to the room and use for breakfast or late evening snacks. You can eat 2-3 CS meals at a time and share them around instead of ordering 4. That way, you get to sit down in an airconditioned space more than twice a day.

Plan out where you think you'd eat if you were doing it all OOP and if you were using the DDP. Then, ask people what they'd order. Do a cost comparison and ask them all about their preferences.

In other words, those of us who've figured out if it's worthwhile are a little bit crazy and have spent a lot of time reading menus and running numbers.

 

[Rinderoo]

You will still come out ahead with the DDP--but you're going to have to shuffle the food on the table so your picky eater gets the kids meal while the healthy eater gets the adult entree.

With the summer trip plan on a HDDR--you won't have a problem using up all of the credit.

With the AP you can purchase the DDE card. Then you buy what you want for food.

There are no other food discounts at Disney.

 

[kgibbler20]

I would follow the above suggestions with the food shuffling and get the DDP. The savings is amazing. My mom and I saved all the reciepts from the first trip for food and with all you get we would have spent about $200 more than we did buying the plan. We did the counter service sharing idea too. I love the DDP and couldn't imagine going without it.

 

[pumba]

we get the DDE card because we are AP ......we use it when we want it. Breakfast is usually in the food court or once at a sit down character breakfast. We are usually going back to the resort to cool off and go swimming so we eat at their or at a counter service in the parks......for a week at the parks we try to get three sit down meals for supper too.....we tried to figure out if we wanted to have the DDP but for us it was not worth it. I can manage my diabetes and my food plan better if I do it with the DDE card instead.........BUT that is not to say that the DDP for others is not a good deal.....I have heard alot of people like it and then some dont like it because they are required to be at that park for that meal ......

 

[Pakey]

We are also DDE users rather than DDP. We have done DDP twice, once a deluxe plan and once a regular plan. Both times, we felt it was too much food for us and had a bunch of leftover credits. And no, I don't want to doggie-bag desserts just to use up credits.

The meals at WDW are just too huge. DH and I only want to eat a meal once a day and maybe a snack of some sort.

I realize we are in the minority and it's not so much what is the better deal money-wise; it's more what works best for us and how we want to spend our vacations. Not having any children, I cannot venture an opinion on what is the best route to take.

 

[byoung]

It will save you, but not as good a deal as this year.

 

[mdoc]

DDP is not a deal for everyone. It would not be for us. We tend to eat CS more than TS, and we usually share CS meals. My kids are grazers - they tend to snack throughout the day at the parks and not be all that hungry at mealtime. We also don't eat dessert and don't like to give up flexibility in order to make the ADRs that will result in the DDP being worthwhile. You'll just have to do the math for your group. It sounds like at least 2 of you aren't big eaters, so I suspect DDP might be too much food for you. We have DDE, which gives us a 20% discount at TS restaurants. I think you need to have an AP or be a Florida resident to get DDE - I was on the fence about getting an AP and it was the DDE that made up my mind - we saved enough using DDE last month (we had a party of 8, so the discount added up) to pay for DDEand justify the AP even if I end up using it a few days less than I'm expecting to.

 

[Deb & Bill]

No discount on AP unless you are a DVC member or FL resident.