Dining plan or out of pocket?

[Nebraska_Disney]

I was going to add that there are several online tools to calculate oop costs vs the DDP. You can also look up menus, get an idea of what you would order and then price it compared to the DDP.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would do out of pocket. This way you have the freedom to eat what you want. By getting the plan it is way too much food to eat.

 

[monorailsilver]

I haven't done the dining plan yet and don't plan to.

We are a family of 5, last trip it was 3 Disney adults (dh, me dd12) and 2 kids. I priced out meals before we went knowing where we like to eat-pizzafari, the lands food court, the resort on pool days, etc.... I averaged about $40/meal so that is what I stuck with. We didn't buy soda during meal time on park days and drank bottled water from our refillable containers that kept it cold. I told dh and the kids on our pool days they could drink all the soda they wanted which they did and that nasty blue Powerade! We had 5 pool days. The mugs were included in me figuring out which is cheaper.

I almost did the QSDP when the TA gave me her initial quote but she goofed and I said forget it.

I want to say even with snacks we saved $200. We really saved more because around $1000 or so was free money from the Disney visa and websites I have earned money thru for free.

I also saw the desserts at the QSDP and I am not one to pass up food that I paid for but the desserts were not something I would chose. So I would eat that dessert plus get something else that I wanted like a pretzel from Germany.

Oh and the best part, I lost 5 lbs at Disney in 2013. I have never lost weight on a trip before. I always drank soda for all our meals because we had previously used tap water vs bottled and we didn't buy soda in the parks.

 

[Smbmoyers]

For dh and myself the only debate for our upcoming trip is which dinning plan, not dinning plan or not.

We live frugal. And when I say frugal, I mean we bought our house knowing it was a bit too small for us because our payment would be less than $500. We don't have credit cards and typically we cook every meal at home.

When we go on vacation we typically stay somewhere with a kitchen and cook as well. But disney, it's the trip of my dreams.

I like to think that by prepaying for everything I won't feel pressured to live in the frugal habits that we've set for our daily lives. Now it's not is the steak worth the extra $10 over the cheeseburger it's what do I want to eat today. I know that sounds silly but when you have tuned yourself into that way of thinking habitually for your daily life it's hard to turn it off rather than prepaying and knowing you have full access to the menu.

With that being said I crunched the numbers and the regular dinning plan we'll save close to $500. Deluxe wed break even.
I'm willing to leave a bit of money sitting on the table to know that we're 100 percent covered.

 

[1sttimedisneymama]

Thanks for the input! My husband thinks we should just take whatever room discount they offer (if they do) and pay for food out of pocket. Or pay rack rate and no dining plan. I think we should move up to a Mod if they offer free dining and just pay for any extra meals we have.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

For dh and myself the only debate for our upcoming trip is which dinning plan, not dinning plan or not.

We live frugal. And when I say frugal, I mean we bought our house knowing it was a bit too small for us because our payment would be less than $500. We don't have credit cards and typically we cook every meal at home.

When we go on vacation we typically stay somewhere with a kitchen and cook as well. But disney, it's the trip of my dreams.

I like to think that by prepaying for everything I won't feel pressured to live in the frugal habits that we've set for our daily lives. Now it's not is the steak worth the extra $10 over the cheeseburger it's what do I want to eat today. I know that sounds silly but when you have tuned yourself into that way of thinking habitually for your daily life it's hard to turn it off rather than prepaying and knowing you have full access to the menu.

With that being said I crunched the numbers and the regular dinning plan we'll save close to $500. Deluxe wed break even.
I'm willing to leave a bit of money sitting on the table to know that we're 100 percent covered.

I like the 1 TS, 1 QS, 1 snack. if you do the deluxe and are planing to do signature restaurants then it makes it worth it otherwise I would do the DDP and just pay for the extras

 

[Smbmoyers]

I t

I like the 1 TS, 1 QS, 1 snack. if you do the deluxe and are planing to do signature restaurants then it makes it worth it otherwise I would do the DDP and just pay for the extras

I think you're 100 percent right. My husband's concerned he's going to get to Florida and "starve" on the regular dining plan. I keep assuring the "meat and potato man" that's not the case. I think my plan is to sit him down, show him the park menus and be like if you starve it's your own darn fault.

 

[hulagirl87]

I just priced out the dining plan and with doing all the character meals we want to do, it works out to be a good deal for us. DD is a very picky eater and I hate having to get the dining plan for her, but DS will be free and I know he will eat whatever she doesn't. He's a chowhound! If it was just me and DH with no kids, we probably wouldn't do the dining plan. The kids will love the snacks so that's worth it for us too.

 

[Marionnette]

For dh and myself the only debate for our upcoming trip is which dinning plan, not dinning plan or not.

We live frugal. And when I say frugal, I mean we bought our house knowing it was a bit too small for us because our payment would be less than $500. We don't have credit cards and typically we cook every meal at home.

When we go on vacation we typically stay somewhere with a kitchen and cook as well. But disney, it's the trip of my dreams.

I like to think that by prepaying for everything I won't feel pressured to live in the frugal habits that we've set for our daily lives. Now it's not is the steak worth the extra $10 over the cheeseburger it's what do I want to eat today. I know that sounds silly but when you have tuned yourself into that way of thinking habitually for your daily life it's hard to turn it off rather than prepaying and knowing you have full access to the menu.

With that being said I crunched the numbers and the regular dinning plan we'll save close to $500. Deluxe wed break even.
I'm willing to leave a bit of money sitting on the table to know that we're 100 percent covered.

And I think that this pretty much sums up why everyone needs to make an informed decision when it comes to the DDPs. There aren't any absolutes when it comes to the value it has to everyone. It is very much an individual decision.

I understand what you mean about not being able to turn off that frugal mindset. But when it comes to the DDPs, my mind would wander to "am I getting enough value for my money" and I would cringe every time that one of the kids or my husband would order the cheapest thing on the menu. Hence, no DDP for me!

 

[JWigs]

It is just DH and I and we have only gotten the dining plan once and honestly it wasn't worth it. It usually doesn't save you money unless you each order dessert every meal. Tips are not included and some restaurants have a separate menu for dinning plan so you can't order anything you want. I would check you ADR and add them up and then add up what the dinning plan is going to cost you or the difference in room price.

We used the DDP 2 weeks ago and we found swapping out the dessert and getting a side or fruit, salad or soup was a great option. So you don't always have to do the dessert. Also, not sure what you mean by a limited dining plan menu. That is not true as I mapped out every TS and QS and we did not get an altered menu when on DDP.

 

[ellie05]

We used the DDP 2 weeks ago and we found swapping out the dessert and getting a side or fruit, salad or soup was a great option. So you don't always have to do the dessert. Also, not sure what you mean by a limited dining plan menu. That is not true as I mapped out every TS and QS and we did not get an altered menu when on DDP.

I still don't think extra fruit or soup bowl would work for us just too much food and most likely money wise is still more. We haven't done it in a couple of years, but in certain restaurants we got a different menus. One that comes to mind was chefs de France you were giving a separate menu if you had a dinning plan. I still see the pre-fix menu there. Just because you didn't experience it doesn't mean it is not true.

 

[Smbmoyers]

And I think that this pretty much sums up why everyone needs to make an informed decision when it comes to the DDPs. There aren't any absolutes when it comes to the value it has to everyone. It is very much an individual decision.

I understand what you mean about not being able to turn off that frugal mindset. But when it comes to the DDPs, my mind would wander to "am I getting enough value for my money" and I would cringe every time that one of the kids or my husband would order the cheapest thing on the menu. Hence, no DDP for me!

That makes allot of sense. Since we use cash for everything and tend to overspend when we use a card I'm hoping that disconnect will help me out when I go to Disney. Not the healthiest mindset but hey, at least I'd not worry. Besides, brining snacks home is ALWAYS a good thing in my book! Makes Disney last a bit longer now if I could only find a way to keep a Mickey bar from melting on my journey home

 

[MandiC]

For us, I love the dining plan. My husband is the frugal one, and I enjoy the fact that everyone can order whatever they want and dh won't be cringing that it isn't the cheapest thing on the menu. That said, I did the math before our last trip, we did save money on the regular dining plan but would not have with the deluxe...and that was with signature dining. We ate at Le Cellier, CRT and California Grill...all 2 credit meals and we paid out of pocket for California Grill (and I ordered the chicken because it was the cheapest...see what I mean, not that the chicken wasn't fabulous but it wouldn't have been my choice if money weren't on the table).
One, big, reason we prefer the regular dining plan to the deluxe is actually our frugality LOL. We like sit down, table service meals...but 1 a day is plenty...partly due to time...and mostly due to the fact that table service = tips. Tips are not included on the dining plan, so you lose some of that stress free dining plan thing right there. The counter service meals we had were all excellent, in fact if we could make our own dining plan it would include MORE counter service to the regular plan. Probably more snacks too We didn't bring any food with us to disney nor did we order groceries, the regular dining plan fed us for the entire trip apart from the one meal we paid for out of pocket.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

Most people like it because of the Pre paid convenience factor, which is also why I like it. However I think next time I will put the exact amount of the DDP onto a gift card. Still Pre paid and convenient and if there is any left, we can spend it on souvenirs.

 

[5kidsmommy]

For me just paying oop and putting it on the magic band feels all inclusive, I just want my family to be able eat what they want and not worry about getting a drink or a dessert, so no meal plan for us. Plus we don't do character meals so it's not a big deal to not be on it.

 

[juliebee70]

We've used the dining plan in the past and it was a big savings for us because my oldest son and husband always go for the seafood/steak options which tend to be the most expensive. However, I'm typically drawn to things that are on the cheaper side of the menu. This time it doesn't make financial sense for us to do the dining plan because I've calculated out our meals at the various restaurants. I'm also considering sharing meals with my youngest son sometimes. In all, it's best to calculate your expected meals and figure out what works best for your particular situation and likes.

 

[mommycrawford]

Use www.distripplanner.com to give you a rough idea.

thanks for providing this tool!

 

[tehniqi]

We're planning on doing the club level contemporary resort for our big trip so we hope to eat a lot of the provided free food that way. Honestly I count calories and even when I'm not I have a light appetite, and my son takes after me. At this point I can't justify a meal plan because I eat 2 meals a day and some light snacks, my son eats 3 light meals and one snack, and my husband eats like me just his meals are way heavier. We're also planning taking turns while our son is asleep at night watching him while the other goes out alone and has "me time" in the parks, including snacking.

 

[hsmamato2]

without even looking I say OOP unless the ddp is given as a great deal (like no charge with rack rate value room,4-5 people included) I wouldn't bother.

 

[dpswift]

If you plan on a character meal for every dinner the DP is the way to go. Otherwise look over the menus and prices of what you WANT to eat. That being said I do not order a steak off the menu because of the cost however I would if on the DP. My family easily gets by on 2 meals at Disney