Dining plan for 2 adults, 11 nights, yes or no??

[Disneyfun1]

We are arriving on thursday and staying 11 nights at bay lake tower. we are dvc members and will be getting our annual passes. we had planned on buying the disney dining card as well for $100 for 20% off all meals. Now im wondering if we should buy the disney dining plan. we have used it in the past with the kids, but im just not sure. the dvc website says it would cost us $1222.98. Thats seems high just looking at the grand total, but then im sure we will end up spending near that being there, but i dont know exactly how much. I already planned on buying the mugs it comes with since we are there so long, but not sure if it all works out or it 20% is a better deal. we do have sit down dinners booked at Via Nopali, T-Rex, Chef Mickeys, Liberty Tree, Rose & Crown, Be Our Guest, Narcoossee's, Ohana, Cape May and Crystal Palace, all for dinner, and have a few booked for lunch like sci-fi, plaza rest, and some of the others for lunch we would just play by ear. Plus there is food and wine fest, so some days we may not eat lunch since we will be snacking all day. Do you think its better to just pay cash for it all and bypass the dining plan or is the dining plan a better deal?

 

[elric186]

It's a hard call for only 2 people. I don't think I would spend 1230.00 for 2 people in 11 nights on food.

 

[bmr2454]

Well the Disney Dining Plan is great for convenience, but not necessarily the best bang for your buck. Some restaurants, like Narcoossee's require two table service credits rather than the one that is standard per night with your basic dining plan. Also, the normal Disney dining plan comes with one quick service meal per day, which won't benefit you if you have sit down lunches booked. You would end up paying for the lunches out of pocket and then having some quick service credits left over. dining plan you get the one sit down credit per night which includes a non-alcoholic drink, entree and dessert (at non-buffet restaurants). I've found that more often than not you don't really want dessert, but since its included you end up getting it anyway and being overfull! IMHO, I think the 20% would benefit you more since you are doing some sit down lunches! Have a good trip!

 

[sharonabe]

Will you both want your own dessert at every meal or are you more likely to share? Will you both want the more expensive entrees at every meal or will you sometimes want something that is more in the middle? Do you always drink soda, tea, or coffee or are you water and/or alcohol drinkers? Do you both want your own meals or do you sometimes share?

If you answer yes to the first half of above questions, then DDP will serve you well. If you answer yes to the second half, then TiW will be a better fit.

 

[davedmaine]

Stick with your initial thought and get the TiW card. Don't screw things up by getting the dining plan. If it's either/or, TiW is always a better value. For one, you're not a slave to the dining plan -- feeling pressure to order the most expensive thing on the menu to maximize the plan's value, etc. We've used TiW for years and have never regretted it.

The dining plan is for convenience only; if you're looking to save money, you won't do it with the plan.

 

[smiths02]

It is hard to save money with the plan for adults. Your savings will dwindle when you do things like 2 credit meals or skip a beverage or dessert or prefer to order an appetizer. Also, you seem to have extra TS planned for lunch, in which case, some of your CS may go to waste. Do you drink alcohol? TiW will save you money on alcohol and DDP won't.

 

[cluvsdisney]

For DH & I, it would be no. We don't eat desserts all the time. We barely eat at counter service places. We like to go off property for some of our meals. We don't like making ADRs. Etc.

 

[sapdaddy2]

In Aug 2014 we are going for a 12 night stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort. One night we (DW, DS16, DS13 & myself) went thru our stay at WDW using the Dis Boards menu's to pretend what we would order for our meals using the dining plan. To our surprise if I pay out of pocket for the same items it would come out to $439.00 cheaper that getting the DDP.

 

[sharonabe]

In Aug 2014 we are going for a 12 night stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort. One night we (DW, DS16, DS13 & myself) went thru our stay at WDW using the Dis Boards menu's to pretend what we would order for our meals using the dining plan. To our surprise if I pay out of pocket for the same items it would come out to $439.00 cheaper that getting the DDP.

And I bet you come out even cheaper than that. I know my family of four Disney adults would not/could not eat four desserts at every TS meal, so paying OOP, we only order one or two.

 

[cluvsdisney]

In Aug 2014 we are going for a 12 night stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort. One night we (DW, DS16, DS13 & myself) went thru our stay at WDW using the Dis Boards menu's to pretend what we would order for our meals using the dining plan. To our surprise if I pay out of pocket for the same items it would come out to $439.00 cheaper that getting the DDP.

I'm not surprised at all. I did cost comparison of our OOP expense to the cost of the dining plan from a 4 night trip we made last year. In total we spent $390 on food, drinks (soft drinks & alcohol), tax and tips for 3CS & 5TS meals. The meal plan at the time would have cost $412 + $45 for tips for a total of $457. We would have had to swap one of our TS meals for a less expensive CS meal plus the bar bill. We saved over $200 in just 4 nights/5 days. The best part was that we ate what, where, & when we wanted.

We are 2 people for which this plan does not work at all but I do think it's a great option for people who can eat within the food plan guidelines for some savings.