Dining Plan Not Worth the Money!

[Ryansdad0727]

Does anyone else feel that Disney has prices themselves out of people getting the dining plan? On one hand it is very convienent to pay with the KTTW card but it's also, at this price, difficult to get your money back unless you do a lot of research and order the most expensive thing. Just wondering what everyone else thinks. I would also rather have an appetizer than a dessert, or at least the choice.

 

[JKMJ441724]

I'm beginning to lean that way. We are only getting the counter service dining plan this trip. Our daughter will be 11 this year and we would have to pay the adult price for her. She eats like a bird. We are just going to pay OOP. We considered sharing meals (so we would not be wasting so much food) and going to breakfast and dinner but we feel like this would take so much of our time away from the parks.

It was well worth it when you got the appetizer and the tip included.

 

[Lanie]

Last trip we did a split stay, and we only got the dining plan for half of our stay... There are only a few sit-downs and CS where the dining plan makes it worth our money and I made sure to schedule them for the part of the trip where we had the DP.

I find you pay for the convenience, because you get a bill at the end for the tip and taxes anyways... And with having to choose between the appy or the dessert, I find the convenience goes right out the window!

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

I think it's only worth it if you get it for free. We can eat much more cheaply just paying out of pocket.

 

[klawso@att.net]

I think it's only worth it if you get it for free. We can eat much more cheaply just paying out of pocket.

Agree...only worth it if it is free.

 

[goofyintoronto]

For us, we usually get the DP free. Only once did I have to pay for it. I find the DP worth it for us, whether if its free or not. I paid OOP for two days last trip, (due to split stay), and OMG I couldnt believe how much $$$ I spent on food for those two days! Wow! (My son sure as heck can eat Lol!). So the DP really saves us money. But its not for everyone/every family.

 

[ttintagel]

Every family needs to do the math - it works out for some, but not others. It depends on what you like to eat, how much you'd be spending OOP if you didn't get it, etc.

Also, for some, the convenience may outweigh a lack of money-saving.

 

[jdb in AZ]

When the dining plan is free, doesn't that mean your hotel room isn't discounted as much?

 

[Ryansdad0727]

Yea, you have to pay full price for the room. I'm a DVC owner so i never get free dining. I like doing split stays and getting the plan for the first 3 days. I then have 4 days to use the credits and can plan a little better.

 

[lpizzuro123]

When the dining plan is free, doesn't that mean your hotel room isn't discounted as much?

Yeah - I was thinking the same thing. We have gotten some great room discounts. I don't like the fact that you can only get dessert and the tip is not included.

We have never done the dining plan - I keep wanting to do it sometime but it just never seems to work out for us.

Linda

 

[TDC Nala]

I was priced out of the dining plan as of 2008, if it's not a major deal resulting in significant savings it just does not interest me.

Free dining packages don't work for me either. (for those who asked, if you get a free dining package it means your room is not discounted at all and you are required to buy at least 2 day tickets for all party members age 3 and over. The only discount you get is a dining plan thrown in at no extra cost. For some, it's a great deal, for others it isn't.)

And with having to choose between the appy or the dessert

On the regular plan, there's no choice involved, for the most part dessert is included, appetizers are not, and no substituting. There are a few ways where an appetizer can be included on the regular plan, but not many.

 

[jeepwreck]

last time we were they we got the Deluxe DP and it was well worth it, you just have to me wise with what you do, we did a lot of sit down dinners and only 1 quick servers

the average price of one of ouw sit down meals was aound $180 normaly we would never pay that much for dinner but why not if you already pre paid and want to get your moneys worth

we like it because it was so simple to use all you had to worry about was a tip in the end and not having to carry alot of cash is a nice.

 

[Ashlander]

I priced out all of our meals and my family of 5 saves $200 by doing the dining plan this trip - I think most of the savings come in the price of the dining plan for kids versus what we would pay out of pocket. We have 2 kids on the dining plan this year.

We were lucky enough to get free dining this year so we are even happier. I do like having all major expenses paid for before we get there.

 

[cmcadoo66]

We love the DDP! We find that we at least break even if not make out better than paying OOP. I do wish that they would let you choose between an appetizer or a dessert because my husband is not a huge dessert fan but, other than that, it really works great for us! I love that all we need is our KTTW cards and do not have to worry about cash or credit cards.

 

[TavieP]

Almost always do the DP (standard/original/prime, whatever it's called) and it's still worth it - if barely. Every year the price goes up and they seem to take away a little less. (First they came for my appetizers, then my desserts, then they came for me... heh heh heh)

Now at $53 per person per day it's still worth it, but only because we do like to enjoy sit-down meals, and always use the 2-sitdowns As the price continues to rise throughout the years, we may no longer use it. Losing the tip was a low blow - although, on the other hand, I tip more out of pocket than what the DP was allotting, so I was throwing extra cash down anyway.

 

[visitingapril09]

We have never used dining but I am thinking about it for our girls trip next year. Although, I will have to do the math if a free dining/room discount comes along at the same time. Do you pay taxes and tip at the end of each meal?

 

[TDC Nala]

We have never used dining but I am thinking about it for our girls trip next year. Although, I will have to do the math if a free dining/room discount comes along at the same time. Do you pay taxes and tip at the end of each meal?

Taxes are included. You pay the tip.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

I know we aren't suppose to discuss tipping so I won't, but I just wanted to point out to anybody who didn't know, you have to keep in mind how much you will pay out in tips per day and count that as part of the expense of having the dining plan.

We plan on trying the deluxe dining plan when my husband and I go on our adults only trip in 2013 and it is incredible just how much you can spend on tips if you do more than one sit down meal per day. So keep that in mind also.

We plan on trying to do 2 or 3 TS meals per day! OUCH!

 

[Cafeen]

I'm sure some of you who've been around here for a while already know what I'm going to type below

It's all in how you use it. (Yes, I harp on this point quite a bit , but at least I'm nice about it!)

The question of it being "worth it" is a very subjective one that needs to be taken seriously. There are many variables that go into determining if it's worth it for you that makes an overall generalization impossible (for now, they very well could reach a point where it's not generally worth it at all, but that hasn't happened yet).

Now, personally, for the styles of trips that I've been taking (mostly solo in low crowd times), the standard DDP does not work well for me. I prefer TS to QS, and I like the signatures. However, DxDDP does work well due to this, and me liking food enough to eat 3 courses at most meals . It still saves me quite a bit of money (~$350 or so for my upcoming trip). I also recognize that I'm investing more (both time and money) to get that higher return in the form of savings. This touring is my preference though, and that's why it works out. If I were to do a trip with others, and potentially little ones, I'd again look at the plans to see how things come out, and decide if DDP or OOP would be the best solution.

I'm a huge advocate of finding out what's the best for your own situation, as such, I certainly recognize that DDP (or any variation of it) is certainly not the answer for everyone. The more people realize this, and that can sit down and work it out to find their own correct answer, the better it is for everyone (except, maybe Disney ). For the OP, just keep in mind, just because it doesn't work for you doesn't mean that it doesn't work for anyone (and the same goes for those who it does work for )

Edit: Since I'm a nerd, I also do calculate with Tips, Taxes (when comparing vs. OOP/TiW) and other covered and non-covered costs. I got a huge, multi-tab spreadsheet that I programmed up to keep everything straight

 

[KELLY]

I know we aren't suppose to discuss tipping so I won't, but I just wanted to point out to anybody who didn't know, you have to keep in mind how much you will pay out in tips per day and count that as part of the expense of having the dining plan.

We plan on trying the deluxe dining plan when my husband and I go on our adults only trip in 2013 and it is incredible just how much you can spend on tips if you do more than one sit down meal per day. So keep that in mind also.

We plan on trying to do 2 or 3 TS meals per day! OUCH!

That is why we prefer the QSDP. We just pay OP for a couple of ts meals. Still comes out a lot cheaper than the upgrade and tips. We have done the RDP 2 times but prefer everything about the QSDP. This will be our 3rd year.