Dining plan or not?

[duckfan78]

I know this has probably been posted before but...Can you all give me your input as to the dining plan. Is it worth it or not? I am going with my sister and 2 nephews in late Aug of this year.

They are both pretty good eaters. We would probably be eating at a nice place at least 2-3 times for dinner. Like the Steak house in canada at Epcot or the brown Derby in MGM. all input is appreciated!

 

[Brygida]

I know this has probably been posted before but...Can you all give me your input as to the dining plan. Is it worth it or not? I am going with my sister and 2 nephews in late Aug of this year.

They are both pretty good eaters. We would probably be eating at a nice place at least 2-3 times for dinner. Like the Steak house in canada at Epcot or the brown Derby in MGM. all input is appreciated!

As it is free at that time, I don't know why it wouldn't be "worth it". Call WDW, AAA, or your favority travel agent before the offer expires....

 

[aubriee]

I know this has probably been posted before but...Can you all give me your input as to the dining plan. Is it worth it or not? I am going with my sister and 2 nephews in late Aug of this year.

They are both pretty good eaters. We would probably be eating at a nice place at least 2-3 times for dinner. Like the Steak house in canada at Epcot or the brown Derby in MGM. all input is appreciated!

If you haven't already made ADRs, you may not be able to get into Le Cellier (the Canadian steak house) as it usually books up at the 180 day mark. Also the Brown Derby take 2 TS credits, so that's something you may want to consider. Since the dining plan is free during that time it's definitely worth it. (It's also worth it if you have to pay for it.) Anyway, I'd call immediately to see if you can get it for free (you may have to change your hotel choice, if all free dining pkgs are already booked at your resort of choice). Then have the CM transfer you over to dining and see what ADRs you can get at this late notice.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

Silly duckfan, he forgot to mention that since he is a DVC member and staying on points, it isn't free. At least not that I know of

 

[Brian Noble]

If you are planning to eat at least as many TS meals as nights you are staying, then the plan is probably cost-effective. If you eat fewer than one TS meal per night on average, then pay-as-you-go is probably more cost-effective.

You can get down and dirty doing the math, but the exceptions to this simple rule of thumb are relatively rare.

 

[Colleen27]

I know this has probably been posted before but...Can you all give me your input as to the dining plan. Is it worth it or not? I am going with my sister and 2 nephews in late Aug of this year.

They are both pretty good eaters. We would probably be eating at a nice place at least 2-3 times for dinner. Like the Steak house in canada at Epcot or the brown Derby in MGM. all input is appreciated!

Since I read the post about you staying on points, I'd suggest calling to make ADRs first, then deciding on whether or not to add the plan. That way, you'll be able to get an accurate idea of what you'd be spending on meals before you decide if it is worth it. At this point, it might be tough to get some ADRs so you may as well find out if you'll be able to get the ADRs you want before adding the plan.

We've gone with the DDP and really enjoyed it. It was more than enough food for all of us, we shared a lot of the CS meals and brought snacks home to share with the kids' friends. However, we decided that for this trip, since we have 3 signature meals planned, want to try 2 non-participating restaurants, and have a DS on the edge of child/adult who will be mixing and matching from the adult & kids' meals, that it just wasn't a good fit this time.

 

[duckfan78]

has anyone heard about a 40% off for the dining plan?

 

[ballarinamom]

We like to have atleast one TS per day and prefer Character meals so we won't have to wait in line to get autographs in the park. We figured we saved 50% if you figure the cost of food, tax and tip.

 

[blitzkrieg048]

After using the DP 3 times we're done with it. Way too much food. I have 3 young boys (8,6,3) and they would rather eat at Mickey D's or BK. We rent a car so can go off property. Plus I feel the kids menus are really limited at the sit down restaurants.

 

[LizinSTL]

has anyone heard about a 40% off for the dining plan?

I've seen Disney estimate that the average guest saves about 40% when they use the dining plan. Is that what you mean?

I think that if you are planning about a TS meal per night of your trip AND you have children (according to Disney), then the DDP is a great value and it's easy to save that much. Of course, you can save a lot less than that too but it's doubtful that you'll lose money on the DDP if you use all your TS credits.

 

[kcashner]

If you will be eating one TS per night, you really can't go wrong on the DDP. No, it's not free for DVC members on points. The only downside to your trip is that you are there during the free dining time, and you will find the restaurants to be quite crowded due to this promotion.

If you like the signature restaurants (which require 2 TS credits), or you don't like to do a sit down dinner/lunch each day, it may not be as cost effective for you. We LOVE it....but were dismayed when we hit the first free dining promotion--it wasn't free for us (DVC), but it sure made things crowded.