Dining plan or no?

[kwyn]

So, we are going June 15th-22nd.

We did not get a dining plan. 4 adults and 2 kids (7 and 3 years old). The only reservations we made is for Cinderella's Royal Table Breakfast and Tusker House breakfast.

The rest of the time we plan on eating some sort of cereal/oatmeal in our room for breakfast, maybe sandwiches at the room for lunch, occasional lunch in the parks, and most likely dinners out at various places, but we don't really need fine dining or any other character meals for dinner.

Did we make the right choice not getting the dining plan? Does it actually save money or is it more of a convenience thing (and a way for Disney to make sure you spend your food $$ with them)?

Thanks!

Kwyn

 

[Heidi Lou]

I really think that everyone is going to have their own personal opinion on this. We try to go during free dining...it is so convenient to us to have the dining plan. We always upgrade to disney dining to have the sit down meals and we have enjoyed it very much and i think it is worth the money. Last august however, we were there during a non-free dining period and did not buy in. We planned to eat sandwiches and such but that just didnt end up being the case. whoopsy! haha So personally i think it is well worth the money. I always thought it was wasteful....then we experienced it!!! I guess if you havent had it, you dont realize what you are missing if that makes sense. Kinda wish we hadnt gotten it bc now we feel we NEED it!

 

[kwyn]

I really think that everyone is going to have their own personal opinion on this. We try to go during free dining...it is so convenient to us to have the dining plan. We always upgrade to disney dining to have the sit down meals and we have enjoyed it very much and i think it is worth the money. Last august however, we were there during a non-free dining period and did not buy in. We planned to eat sandwiches and such but that just didnt end up being the case. whoopsy! haha So personally i think it is well worth the money. I always thought it was wasteful....then we experienced it!!! I guess if you havent had it, you dont realize what you are missing if that makes sense. Kinda wish we hadnt gotten it bc now we feel we NEED it!

So does the dining plan save money actually? Meaning if we paid for the same meals out of pocket would it cost about the same as the dining plan anyway?

 

[Heidi Lou]

It saves money, if you got the same amount of food i am pretty sure. With the dining plan, you get dessert with everything so if you arent a dessert person, it may be wasted money if that makes sense. It depends on what you eat.

 

[kwyn]

It saves money, if you got the same amount of food i am pretty sure. With the dining plan, you get dessert with everything so if you arent a dessert person, it may be wasted money if that makes sense. It depends on what you eat.

Yes. Thanks. It does make sense. We are not really dessert people. 1 or 2 times a week tops. The kids may get desserts more than that since they'll be on vacation though.

Seems like paying out of pocket is prob. best for us.

Thanks!

Kwyn

 

[Cafeen]

The dining plan (well, any of them) can save money. But it can also cost you more money. It's all in how you use it, how you plan ahead for it, and how closely you're already intending to stick to dining in a similar fashion.

For your plans, it looks like you made the right decision and a plan would not likely fit your vacation.

 

[havoc315]

The quick summary is for whether the standard ddp is a value:
Do you plan on eating a qs lunch and TS dinner every day?
If yes, then:
Do you plan on drinking 2-3 soda refills at your resort, per day, apart from meals? (mug value)
If yes, then:
Do you plan on having beverage and dessert with every lunch and dinner?
If yes, then:
Do you plan on having steak or character meal for every dinner?

If you answered yes to all of the above, the ddp can save you a decent amount. The more nos and maybes... The savings disappear quickly. Skip a few desserts, eat a sandwich instead of steak a couple of times, and it becomes cheaper to skip the ddp.

 

[Mrs D]

Here's my take: if you plan on eating a table serve meal for dinner each night of your trip and a counter serve lunch then the DDP (Plus meal plan) will probably save you money or at least break even. For me the dessert and refillable mugs are just bonuses.