Dining plan or not?

[mdeee]

I need help!!! Leaving in 11 days and have yet to decide on the dining plan or not. Me DH DD9, DS8,DS3, FIL (?) , Have ADR at
Yacthman, Brown Derby, 50's Prime time, mama melrose, 1900 park fare, whispering canyon, chef mickey, beach club bfast buffet, plus various lunches on various days.
My 3 yr old only eats pizza, chichen fingers and peanut butter, my 2 older ones have good appitites, my huband loves to eat, my FIL is watching the $$$ so does not want to do it. Me i could care less. I dont want the kids to over eat because the food is there.

Or have I over done the sit down dinners? That is what I think I have done.
So I need help deciding? Thanks in advance

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

based on the places you are going, i personally would go on the dining plan. in the end you will have saved some dough, and less worrying about whether you have the money left in the trip budget. this way its prepaid, tips and tax done, and one less worry. assuming you are going for 7 nights, you would each have 7 credits. yachtman i think is 1, 50s prime time is 1, mama melrose is 1, 1900 park fare is 1, whipering canyon is 1 and then i would use the last two on brown derby. then you still have 7 counter services for lunch, and you can pay out of pocket for chef mickey and beach club buffet.

or, as its been suggested here, if this is something you would have no problems doing, some have said that disney doesn't keep track of whether a child uses a TS or an adult. So u can do you and your hubby with the kids TS at chef mickey and beach club buffet, and pay for them out of pocket which is cheaper than an adult fee for breakfast.

but even if u just keep it how i originally said, u should be able to save money! esp if u want to do dessert or appetizers. and again, no hastle with worrying about the daily budget for meals, tax and tips. have an AWESOME trip!

 

[Julylady]

I would agree that the Dining Plan sounds like a good idea for you! If your FIL is a hearty eater (likes both appetizers and desserts), I think the plan would actually save him money. Check out the menus on allearsnet.com and you can get an estimate of how much you would spend. Then compare it against the dining plan costs. I suspect that given the places you plan to eat, you will come out ahead.

Have a great trip!

Donna

 

[Hockeymommy]

Absolutly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With the ages of your kids it would be a shame not to. The kids are only $11 per day, per child. We did it last year and saved a bunch! A lot of the CS places (i.e. Caseys Corner) don't have kids meals so it's even more savings. We did Caseys Corner last year and the bill came to $44 for hotdogs, fries, drinks and brownies. We just used our dining and smiled the whole lunch long. Another nice thing now is that the snack options have expanded, your kids will be able to try so many things that maybe would have put a bind in the budget without the plan.

Bottom line, do what's best for your family and your wallet. IMO the dining plan is great, it's a stress free way of eating @ WDW.

Have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[matt&jakesmom]

Definately add on for the dining plan For the resturants you are going, you will save a lot of money by the dining plan. Have fun and enjoy eating!!!

 

[MeLaNie9]

We leave tomorrow and will be on the DDP for the first time. We really think its a good idea and that we will save money. Our DS2 is at that stage when some meals he eats a ton, and some meals he eats virtually nothing. With us on the DDP, he can eat as much or little as he wants off our plates at the character buffets (we are doing 3 - Crystal Palace dinner, Garden Grill dinner, Chef Mickey's breakfast). And he can eat off of our plates at TS/CS restaurants, and since DH and I will each get appetizer, entree, and dessert at TS restaurants we will have a lot to share with him. We also like the idea of the included tip and the snacks since I am 13 weeks pregnant and still need to snack every 2-3 hours or so to avoid nausea. Any way we calculated, we thought it was a great deal.