Dining Plan for us? Or not worth it?

[mommy04]

We are heading to DW for our very first trip as a family in June 2012. There will be 6 of us total; 2 adults and 4 kids, ages: 6, 5, 3, and 1. The quote that I got for the base dining plan is around $930. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it or not. I've been to Disney twice before as a kid and my parents never did a dining plan or character meals. I'm thinking if we do the dining plan we would exchange our TS meals for a character meal and probably do one a day....then it would be worth it, in my opinion. If do opt to not do a dining plan, we would probably just do one, like Chef Mickey, and then do fast food or something the rest of the time. So tell me about the dining plan. What are the pros and cons? Do you think it would be worth it for our family? TIA!

 

[MHSweb79]

We've done it both ways. Off the top of my head (keeping in mind I am at work )

Dining plan pros:
-Your meals are prepaid (other than tips)
-You *may* save a little money over paying OOP
-Your kids can order anything off the menu without worrying about the prices
-You get dessert for lunch & dinner
-Character meals are included for 1TS credit
-You can experience restaurants that you otherwise would never try

Dining plan cons:
-You need to book a table-service meal for every day of your trip, up to 6 months in advance. So you need a good plan for where you'll be on each day. If you are "wing it" kind of people you will need to give up spontaneity
-You still need to pay tips on highly overpriced food
-Table service meals can eat up 2 hours (or more) that could otherwise be spent touring a park. Can your kids wait patiently to be seated (we've waited anywhere from 5 mins to 45 mins, with ADR's)? Will they sit through slow service or would they have a meltdown?
-There is a ton of food - do you eat dessert at lunch AND dinner? After about the third day, my stomach has had it and I just can't eat another big meal, especially if the weather is very hot

We're paying OOP for our next trip, simply because we don't want to be tied down to ADR's every day. But that doesn't mean we won't choose the DDP again in the future.

 

[havoc315]

I'm not a huge fan of the DDP, but it could work with your family -- you would have 3 children on the plan. The 1-year old is expected to share off your plate, though he (or she) can get their own plate of food at buffets.

If you want to do a lot of character meals, the DDP is particularly cost effective for kids under 10.
I believe you are going during peak dining season, so the dining plan would run
$53.54 per adult and $16.02 per child.
Chef Mickey's for dinner is approximately $20 per child --- So you are saving $4 for child, without even factoring in their QS meal and their snack.
It's $40 for an adult, so throw in a $15 QS meal, and a $3 snack, and the adult is still saving $5 for the day.
Crystal Palace is $43 for an adult and $21 for a child.
Hollywood and Vine is $35 and $19.

So as you can see, *if* you want to do a bunch of character meals, the DDP can save you a tidy sum.

The downside of the DDP --- You can almost always eat cheaper than the plan. You could eat quite well out-of-pocket as $53 per adult and $16 per child... but without too many character lunches or dinner. (character breakfasts are usually a bit cheaper).

For adults who prefer non-buffet TS meals, and who don't always want dessert with every meal, I do not recommend the DDP.

But for doing a ton of character meals with young kids, it is a good device.

 

[DsnyMama]

We the dining plan. For me, it isn't necessarily the money we save (and we do save alot!), I just like to be able to not worry about how much the food costs (and boy does it cost!), how much our entire meal will be, ect... It just takes the guess work and worry away for me. I pay for it ahead of time and I know that we can go to all of these nice restaurants and character meals without worrying how much something costs! I can get an appy and dessert without feeling guilty that I shouldn't be spending so much $$$ on food.

 

[no capes darling]

We've done it both ways. Off the top of my head (keeping in mind I am at work )

Dining plan pros:
-Your meals are prepaid (other than tips)
-You *may* save a little money over paying OOP
-Your kids can order anything off the menu without worrying about the prices
-You get dessert for lunch & dinner
-Character meals are included for 1TS credit
-You can experience restaurants that you otherwise would never try

Dining plan cons:
-You need to book a table-service meal for every day of your trip, up to 6 months in advance. So you need a good plan for where you'll be on each day. If you are "wing it" kind of people you will need to give up spontaneity
-You still need to pay tips on highly overpriced food
-Table service meals can eat up 2 hours (or more) that could otherwise be spent touring a park. Can your kids wait patiently to be seated (we've waited anywhere from 5 mins to 45 mins, with ADR's)? Will they sit through slow service or would they have a meltdown?
-There is a ton of food - do you eat dessert at lunch AND dinner? After about the third day, my stomach has had it and I just can't eat another big meal, especially if the weather is very hot

We're paying OOP for our next trip, simply because we don't want to be tied down to ADR's every day. But that doesn't mean we won't choose the DDP again in the future.

Not true for just the dining plan- it's even if you pay out of pocket and want to have a sit-down dinner and not be eating at a restaurant you might not like, at an undesirable time. We aren't using the dining plan, but believe me, I made our ADRS for the trip as soon as we were at the 180 day window. For our family, a sit-down meal with a server is something we do every night at WDW without fail. It's important to us and we plan accordingly. Winging it and meals only work for us with counterservice.

 

[no capes darling]

We the dining plan. For me, it isn't necessarily the money we save (and we do save alot!), I just like to be able to not worry about how much the food costs (and boy does it cost!), how much our entire meal will be, ect... It just takes the guess work and worry away for me. I pay for it ahead of time and I know that we can go to all of these nice restaurants and character meals without worrying how much something costs! I can get an appy and dessert without feeling guilty that I shouldn't be spending so much $$$ on food.

But with the standard dining plans appetizers aren't included, or has that changed?

 

[DsnyMama]

But with the standard dining plans appetizers aren't included, or has that changed?

Ah, I didn't think about that. We always do the DxDDP, so appy and dessert are always included

 

[HeatherLassell]

But with the standard dining plans appetizers aren't included

Correct. Entree, (non alcoholic) beverage and desert.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

With kids I'd do the dining plan. Dining plan for adults is not always the easiest to break even or save money. You have to plan very carefully. However, the value of kids meals on the dining plan is AWESOME! With 3 kids on the dining plan I would very much go for the dining plan.

Plus it's easier (IMO) to not have to do QS for every meal when you have to carry a billion meals to the table with little ones. Character meals also save you lots of time waiting in line to see the characters and entertain little ones while you are eating.

 

[tommygunn]

I've been going annually with my family of 4 now for longer than I care to admit. We love the dining plan. I'm not sure it saves you a ton of dough at the end of the day, but it does force you to sit down and grab a nice meal every day. It also makes you try places you normally wouldnt which is a plus. Also agree that the amount of food is a bit excessive...but heck....you're in DW. Live it up!!!!!

 

[SnipsNSnails]

Well, for 7 TS meals 2 A and 1 C, we were close to $600 and you would have 2 more C. If you want to do TS, especially buffets and character meals (I love buffets with children because you don't have to wait for the food), then I'd definately do it.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

QS meals are huge. My husband and I could have shared and our kids 6 and 4 could have shared one instead we had 4 meals b/c we had the dining plan. The drinks are huge too! We used umbrella strollers w/out cup holders and could not bring them with us so they too were wasted. We also did not eat our lunch time desserts. We did character meals, but it was very hard for our kids to eat with all of the fun going on!

Snack credits are easy to use up if you only have 4 a day. We spent most of ours on slushies and frozen drinks b/c it was so hot. We did bring water bottles to refill as needed (also used kool-aid packets).

I don't think the dining plan is necessary (especially if you are paying for it). TS meals take a lot of time out of your day, in fact on our last day we almost did not go to our lunch ADR but ended up going b/c we did not want to waste our money.

If I could redo our vacation, I would have scheduled our character meals (we did Akershus and Chef Mickey) and paid out of pocket and shared QS meals the rest of the time. The other TS meals were not that awesome for kids and they do take a very long time if not a buffet. And treat ourselves to snacks as needed.

For breakfast we packed granola bars, horizon boxed milks, and squeezable fruit. We also packed Disney gummies and gold fish and brought them into the parks. If you don't pack for breakfast you will have to use your QS or snack credits for the day first thing. We also packed waters and juicies.

 

[ejrj]

Sorry to take away from your question but can I ask the experienced crowd if they feel that the DP would be beneficial for 2 adults, 1 4 yr old, 2 x 2yr olds? We wouldn't have to pay for the little ones and am trying to figure out if we'd be able to use all the food to basically feed all three little girls? Or would it be impossible to redeem the credits to get enough food during each meal. My girls are little eaters. And to that end, DP or DxDP? Thank you for your opinions!

 

[havoc315]

Sorry to take away from your question but can I ask the experienced crowd if they feel that the DP would be beneficial for 2 adults, 1 4 yr old, 2 x 2yr olds? We wouldn't have to pay for the little ones and am trying to figure out if we'd be able to use all the food to basically feed all three little girls? Or would it be impossible to redeem the credits to get enough food during each meal. My girls are little eaters. And to that end, DP or DxDP? Thank you for your opinions!

In terms of food quantity -- The 2-year-olds can eat for "free" at any buffet restaurant. So food quantity would be plentiful if you did buffets.
At other meals, sharing 2 adult meals and 1 child's meal with 2 additional children-- it should be enough. Though you may need to supplement a little bit. Order an extra app, or 1 extra chicken nugget meal, etc.

In terms of whether it would be beneficial -- that really depends how you plan to use it. If you want to do lots of character meals and buffets, it can be worthwhile. If you want dessert at every single meal, it can be worthwhile. If you do 1 TS and 1 CS per day, then it may be worthwhile. If you want 2-3 TS meals per day, then the deluxe can be worthwhile. But it really depends on your eating habits. You need to figure out how you *want* to eat, and then plug in the numbers to see if a meal plan makes sense.

For my family, I know the DDP makes no sense, as we detest CS meals, and we often skip dessert.
I ran the numbers for the DxDP based on our advanced dining reservations-- I found that my kids "saved" about $65 apiece, my wife "lost* $65, and I saved $50-$70. So is really varies depending on your habits.

 

[ejrj]

Did I mention I more so the creative type and not really the 'run the numbers' type

My **hope** is that free dining will be available for next October and then I would pay the upgrade to deluxe. I hope my **hope** is even possible? I've just started this process but think I have read that people do this.

While we really prefer ts, it's hard to predict right now if my kids will be of the same mindset. At age one with twins/3 yr old we don't do restaurants more than once every 2 weeks, so I'm finding it a little tough to predict if a year from now we will do sit downs or if we will give into counter service out sheer convenience.

I so appreciate all of your help!

 

[havoc315]

Did I mention I more so the creative type and not really the 'run the numbers' type

My **hope** is that free dining will be available for next October and then I would pay the upgrade to deluxe. I hope my **hope** is even possible? I've just started this process but think I have read that people do this.

While we really prefer ts, it's hard to predict right now if my kids will be of the same mindset. At age one with twins/3 yr old we don't do restaurants more than once every 2 weeks, so I'm finding it a little tough to predict if a year from now we will do sit downs or if we will give into counter service out sheer convenience.

Yes, you can pay the difference to upgrade from free dining (if offered) to deluxe.

Obviously, every child and their patience differs. That said, Disney restaurants are far easier to dine with kids, than other restaurants. There are always tons of children, with child friendly wait-staffs and menus. The kids are on a bit of a "high" from the parks, and seem to be therefore better behaved in the restaurants. Just takes a bit of extra planning with little kids-- making sure not to feed them too late, etc.

Some people see young kids as a reason to opt for CS over TS.
Personally, I feel the opposite way -- Young kids at CS means carrying around their trays, it means 1 parent waiting in line while 1 parents deals with the kids. For me, young kids is an extra reason to prefer the relative peace of a TS meal, getting off your feet, and being served.

 

[umieesa]

Not sure if your kids are big eaters or not, so that may affect my answer.

If you don't mind having a "fast food" meal everyday for lunch and dinner than the dining plan may be of value, but it would have to be used "well". And by well, I mean, that you order the most expensive items and eat at pricier spots. There are "healthier" places to eat, so you don't get tired of the same burgers/chicken fingers and fries everyday, but you would just have to do some planning.

If you have a car then the dining plan may become even more valuable. This way you could get to DTD a little easier and eat at Wolfgang Puck Express (WPE) where the meals are pricier, healthier, and "sit-down" all for a counter service credit. Even without the dining plan I would recommend eating here since the food is excellent and the portions are HUGE. All four kids could easily share 1 entree! I would eat here even without the dining plan...it is our favourite CS restaurant!

I would recommend going through the menus at allears and hypothetically plan what you would eat to see if you'd get the value out of it.

For us I love the convenience of the plan and the fact that I can pretty much get anything I want since it's "included". For us, we find it a huge savings based on the way we like to eat. I haven't gotten the QSDP, but I think with the changes Disney made to the DDP I might give it a try next time.

Also keep in mind that you are given a total number of credits and they are deducted each time you order a meal, so you don't have to order a meal for each child every time you eat, but can save some credits and use them at breakfast perhaps. So for example if u went for a week (7 nights) you would be given 70 credits and so you can use them any way you want. Maybe 2 at breakfast, 4 at lunch, and 4 at dinner and then by the end of the week you would have still used all 70. Make sense? Not sure if I'm making it more confusing. Hope this helped!

 

[havoc315]

If you have a car then the dining plan may become even more valuable.

To me, having a car makes the dining plans much less valuable. As you're really not stuck eating on Disney property, with Disney inflated prices. For $50 per day, you can eat magnificently off property.
Instead of a $59 lobster at Narcoose's, a $45 lobster at Oceanaire.
Also at Oceanaire, a 16 ounce New York Strip for $37, while a 12 ounce strip at Yachtsmen is $42.

If you have a car, you will save more money going off property, then using the dining plan and staying on property.

 

[umieesa]

havoc315 I agree that if you have a car you are definitely free to eat outside of WDW at typically cheaper prices. However, even when we have a car I still like to be "in" Disney. We are huge foodies, but for some reason when we are in WDW I don't really venture off property to try other foods/restaurants since eating in WDW is part of the "magic".

We ate at Tchoup Chop this last trip and spent quite a bit of money and personally I found it quite overrated. No matter how I crunch the numbers I still find the dining plan a great deal for our family and don't feel like we are eating sub-par food. I might not eat at many of these restaurants if we weren't on the dining plan, but again, it's all a part of the Disney experience and for me it makes it that much more worth it!

 

[ejrj]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. My husband & I were there about 6 years ago and had the dining plan. Reading your comments reminded me just how much food we were given at each meal. It will be more than enough to feed my 3 little eaters and of course we can supplement where needed. So convenience and feeding them all as part of the ***hopefully** free DP while staying at a moderate (POR for our 2 ad + 3 mini bodies is what I'm thinking) is the path i'm on. THanks again everyone!!