Dining plan ever return?

[Erica Ladd]

Hoping it never returns. Would love to see more “ normal” food pricing instead of hyper inflating the prices to make it appear the DP saves you money......

Good luck with that

 

[AdamsMum]

Hoping it never returns. Would love to see more “ normal” food pricing instead of hyper inflating the prices to make it appear the DP saves you money......

I agree the prices are inflated, but I don't see them reducing prices if the dining plan doesn't return.

 

[NoTime42]

I agree the prices are inflated, but I don't see them reducing prices if the dining plan doesn't return.

Yep, unfortunately no reason to reduce prices if all/most ADR’s are booked...especially the character buffets that had the greatest price increases.

right now it seems most restaurants are mostly booked. If they can’t fill restaurants when they open full dining capacity, then there might be some price pressure.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Yep, unfortunately no reason to reduce prices if all/most ADR’s are booked...especially the character buffets that had the greatest price increases.

right now it seems most restaurants are mostly booked. If they can’t fill restaurants when they open full dining capacity, then there might be some price pressure.

There still are a lot of restaurants closed and indoor seating is very limited. Once they can open up the rest and open up the seating, they may have a hard time filling all the restaurants.

 

[sssteele]

I’m listening to the DVC show and Pete just said there is speculation that the dining plan won’t return? We absolutely love the dining plan and hearing this makes me so sad. Does anyone think there is any truth to this?

I hope not! The price of everything was increased substantially in order to make it look worthwhile. Small example - cinnamon nuts in paper cone were $2 -$3 a few years back; now they're $5 or $6. $30 sit-down meals became $40, etc, etc.

 

[EmilyGahr]

I am so back and forth on the dining plan. When we went in 2019, we had the Deluxe plan. It was great to be able to order a $70 steak at a signature restaurant without thinking twice. However, there were also times where I was forcing myself to order a dessert or appetizer that I didn't want, and not letting myself order a second glass of wine because it wasn't included.

Going back in 2022 and we are thinking about not using a dining plan even if they are back. This would give us the opportunity to try places like Shula's that are not on the dining plan. We could also do appetizers and drinks at a bar/lounge for lunch rather than forcing ourselves to have a table service meal. Just hoping that we don't spend way more than we would have with the deluxe dining plan!

 

[Evita_W]

Honestly since they started including alcohol in the dining plan, it has only been a good deal if you drink, otherwise you are better off paying out of pocket, especially at places that offer DVC or AP discounts.

 

[CraigInPA]

My husband and I had our first couples trip in September when the very first dining plan was offered.

I think you're referring to the "free" dining plan. The actual DDP existed in the 1980's. I recall that it wasn't well advertised, and we had to tell the server that we had it. It included the tip.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Don’t care if it ever returns!!

 

[AdamsMum]

I think what we will do is load up a Disney Gift card with our food budget and use that while there, still getting that prepaid all inclusive feel.

I was just thinking that myself. If I load a gift card with the amount I'd have spent on the dining plan I'm sure there would be plenty, and there would be more freedom to eat where I want. I don't drink alcohol at every meal, just as I would never have had dessert with every meal when that was included. I'll see how this works out in December. Hope the border is open by then.

ETA: What about tipping in TS if using a gift card? Would you just tip with cash? Credit card/magic band is hard for me, I can't stand coming back to a big credit card bill.

 

[Matty B13]

I was just thinking that myself. If I load a gift card with the amount I'd have spent on the dining plan I'm sure there would be plenty, and there would be more freedom to eat where I want. I don't drink alcohol at every meal, just as I would never have had dessert with every meal when that was included. I'll see how this works out in December. Hope the border is open by then.

ETA: What about tipping in TS if using a gift card? Would you just tip with cash? Credit card/magic band is hard for me, I can't stand coming back to a big credit card bill.

What I do is charge everything on my magic band and then pay the balance with a gift card after 2 or 3 days at the front desk, that way you don't have to bring your gift card with you in the parks and don't have to worry about losing it.

 

[igrsod]

I was just thinking that myself. If I load a gift card with the amount I'd have spent on the dining plan I'm sure there would be plenty, and there would be more freedom to eat where I want. I don't drink alcohol at every meal, just as I would never have had dessert with every meal when that was included. I'll see how this works out in December. Hope the border is open by then.

ETA: What about tipping in TS if using a gift card? Would you just tip with cash? Credit card/magic band is hard for me, I can't stand coming back to a big credit card bill.

We always tip in cash.... but I would suspect that you could use the gift card for the tip as well. It's just like cash.

 

[igrsod]

What I do is charge everything on my magic band and then pay the balance with a gift card after 2 or 3 days at the front desk, that way you don't have to bring your gift card with you in the parks and don't have to worry about losing it.

We do that too.... especially if we are splitting the expenses between families. That way we go to the front desk and ask them to take off X amount from this gift card... and Y amount from this credit card etc. Always works out. We do that each night when we are splitting.

 

[Evita_W]

I was just thinking that myself. If I load a gift card with the amount I'd have spent on the dining plan I'm sure there would be plenty, and there would be more freedom to eat where I want. I don't drink alcohol at every meal, just as I would never have had dessert with every meal when that was included. I'll see how this works out in December. Hope the border is open by then.

ETA: What about tipping in TS if using a gift card? Would you just tip with cash? Credit card/magic band is hard for me, I can't stand coming back to a big credit card bill.

You can tip with the gift card as well.

 

[Sandisw]

I was just thinking that myself. If I load a gift card with the amount I'd have spent on the dining plan I'm sure there would be plenty, and there would be more freedom to eat where I want. I don't drink alcohol at every meal, just as I would never have had dessert with every meal when that was included. I'll see how this works out in December. Hope the border is open by then.

ETA: What about tipping in TS if using a gift card? Would you just tip with cash? Credit card/magic band is hard for me, I can't stand coming back to a big credit card bill.

I have done this a few times and it always covered more. I tip in cash because when you don’t, it’s harder to keep track of balance since the receipt the give you at first is without it.

Just found it easier that way.