Dining plan or paying out of pocket?

[Nebraska_Disney]

With the Feb/March time frame, I know we have enjoyed larger meals that time of year. One year it was hot, and we really noticed we were not in the mood to eat (that was Mid March in 2009). I'd say budget for what the dining plan would cost you, but pay OOP and let the family know they can get what they want (soda/desserts/snacks). If you look at the menu prices on the various web pages where they are available, I'd guess that you would pay less OOP vs using the DDP. I have done it both ways, and now that my 2 kids are disney adults, OOP is the way to go, as my daughter would rather have a kids meal and a snack later (she is a grazer too) vs a big meal all at once. For the table service places you have mentioned, they are not too pricey compared to others. One way the DDP really works is when you do a lot of buffets or family style meals (character meals too), but even then, we have come close to break even if we were on DDP.

The last time we did OOP, I budgeted what the DDP would have cost us, and we were about $300 less at the end of our trip. We also get water/breakfast food delivered via grocery service, which has helped save $$ too.

 

[mikeyg1479]

I recently thought about this and reasoned it this way.

Standard table service on dining plan now cost $63 and change.

So, if you buy:

$30 entrée at dinner, $3 soda or other non-alcoholic drink
$15 lunch combo
$5 snack

You paid $53- with tax- $56- throw in a desert or two you hit dining plan cost- EXCEPT if you don't eat desert, or don't always eat a $30 entrée- then you SAVE. Look at the menus at allears.net and plan what you will likely eat. I don't need desert with a quick service lunch. I also might not order desert at dinner, or perhaps just share one with wife. I will also probably only eat a $20 entrée instead of a $30 one. We also probably aren't all buying $5 snack items between these very filling meals every day.

Ultimately, you know what your wants/needs/and habits are. For me, I know I will come in under the cost of the DDP easily. But if your plans include character dining every day at $40+ per person at lunch/dinner, then the dining plan starts to become a good deal. It just all depends.

 

[emsstacey]

We do the dining plan because if we don't... I will order water and no dessert and will not order what I really want because I will try to be frugal like I usually am. Yes, I would save us money and I would heavily suggest the kids do the same thing and it wouldn't really seem that special anymore. It is SUCH a treat to get dessert with every meal and so indulgent! It is also nice to order drinks and not worry that they are $3 each... plus, when the kids want snacks... they have their credits! Instead of trying to give them a granola bar out of my purse, I'm offering they order the most expensive snack they can! It is completely different than our normal life and I absolutely would never do that if we were paying OOP.

Just my .02, but if you can afford the DDP, it makes it so much more enjoyable!

 

[TeamH5]

So wow. I was just quoted $1310 for the DDP for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids aged 9,9 and 8, and a 2 yr old who doesn't have to pay) for 7 days. I'm going to do what a PP said and load that money onto a GC and see if we actually spend that much on food. I don't think we'll even come close. I was going to do the Free DDP, but we can't use our military discount, stay at Shades of Green or use SALUTE tix if we do that. I'm really more curious to see exactly how much we will spend on food. This thread got me thinking! Lol

 

[TeamH5]

We do the dining plan because if we don't... I will order water and no dessert and will not order what I really want because I will try to be frugal like I usually am. Yes, I would save us money and I would heavily suggest the kids do the same thing and it wouldn't really seem that special anymore. It is SUCH a treat to get dessert with every meal and so indulgent! It is also nice to order drinks and not worry that they are $3 each... plus, when the kids want snacks... they have their credits! Instead of trying to give them a granola bar out of my purse, I'm offering they order the most expensive snack they can! It is completely different than our normal life and I absolutely would never do that if we were paying OOP.

Just my .02, but if you can afford the DDP, it makes it so much more enjoyable!

I could agree with that, as that's how I am. Sandwiches in the cooler, snacks from the purse.. Lol But after seeing how much the DDP costs, I'm going to try this trip and put the cost on a GC, not watch our budget (I'll let that be our budget) and see where we end up at the end.. If they want snacks, we'll buy snacks, etc.

 

[maltdizzy]

We do the dining plan because if we don't... I will order water and no dessert and will not order what I really want because I will try to be frugal like I usually am. Yes, I would save us money and I would heavily suggest the kids do the same thing and it wouldn't really seem that special anymore. It is SUCH a treat to get dessert with every meal and so indulgent! It is also nice to order drinks and not worry that they are $3 each... plus, when the kids want snacks... they have their credits! Instead of trying to give them a granola bar out of my purse, I'm offering they order the most expensive snack they can! It is completely different than our normal life and I absolutely would never do that if we were paying OOP.

Just my .02, but if you can afford the DDP, it makes it so much more enjoyable!

But...and this is hypothetical...what if you still ordered everything you wanted OOP and paid less than DDP? The DDP doesn't offer a discount or bargain over OOP prices unless you really maximize the high-ticket items. Those snacks and desserts aren't free, you've just paid upfront for them (even if you skip one).

For us, it's an easy choice, the 3 of us eat everything we want (and skip everything we don't want) and last I looked we save more than $300 vs DDP (plus, no guilt at ordering a lot of wine). This won't be the case for everyone, but I do urge people to keep tabs on everything om a trip and find out which is best.

 

[nco91590]

My kids are not at a fun age for sit down dinners. At 5 and 3, despite bringing them to lots of restaurants to practice and get used to behaving, it's just kinda stressful. If we add a full day at MK before dinner, it will be meltdown city lol.

We're skipping the ddp next year and just going to wing it with some CS, breakfast in the room and maybe a few lounge meals. I'm interested to see which works best for us.

 

[bumbershoot]

When we run the numbers we can usually save almost 1/3 of the total cost - but my husband is a vegetarian which are the cheapest entrees and neither of us are "dessert/soda" people.

Sounds familiar. But all 3 of us are vegetarians. 2/3 can't drink normal American soda. And with the same ingredient issues, most desserts aren't possible. We *love* dessert. But WDW desserts are bad-tasting (I can have them but I choose not to anymore) or make DH and DS crazy. So we use our rental car to go to Publix and Whole Foods and get tasty treats that we enjoy and don't hurt the guys in my family.

Definitely decreases the appeal of the dining plan.

Because I am always doubting myself, we sat down and looked at what food we will eat at Disney World. Pretty much planned every meal because my kids seem to eat at the same places every time, never the same place twice though. And we decided to add another table service meal. So yeah we decided to go without the meal plan. We just couldn't make it work, it ended up realistically being about $200 more. My 16 year old sons only concern was that if we didn't get the meal plan was that he could still order a soda with his meals. haha! He has his priorities. With the online calculators it said $100 but going into each menu and actually choosing the meals we would eat the cost difference was even larger. I think we will be safe budgeting $1500 for 7 full days at Disney World for the 5 of us, that is 3 TS meals and quick service for lunch and dinner, except on the days we are doing TS. Plus a snack everyday for each person. We never eat breakfast in the parks, always at our campsite.

I take it you mean just ONE TS meal? Not enough to make the basic not-just-QS plan worth it?

Assuming you don't have the ingredient issues my family does, if that's your son's priority, just make sure he has a budget for it. Perhaps they could each have their own drink&snack giftcard that allows them to get those as they wish?

I would OVERbudget so that you don't start worrying.

My kids are not at a fun age for sit down dinners. At 5 and 3, despite bringing them to lots of restaurants to practice and get used to behaving, it's just kinda stressful. If we add a full day at MK before dinner, it will be meltdown city lol.

We're skipping the ddp next year and just going to wing it with some CS, breakfast in the room and maybe a few lounge meals. I'm interested to see which works best for us.

Remember that there's the QS meal plan; the one the OP was thinking about doing.

With littles, having a big lunch at themeparks is often so much better than a big dinner.

 

[Lisa F]

Because I am always doubting myself, we sat down and looked at what food we will eat at Disney World. Pretty much planned every meal because my kids seem to eat at the same places every time, never the same place twice though. And we decided to add another table service meal. So yeah we decided to go without the meal plan. We just couldn't make it work, it ended up realistically being about $200 more. My 16 year old sons only concern was that if we didn't get the meal plan was that he could still order a soda with his meals. haha! He has his priorities. With the online calculators it said $100 but going into each menu and actually choosing the meals we would eat the cost difference was even larger. I think we will be safe budgeting $1500 for 7 full days at Disney World for the 5 of us, that is 3 TS meals and quick service for lunch and dinner, except on the days we are doing TS. Plus a snack everyday for each person. We never eat breakfast in the parks, always at our campsite.

Thanks for all the advice. You'd think I was a Disney noob and I'm not, just not a regular dining plan user.

I did not use the calculator at all. I put in exactly what I would be having for the DxDDP and when it was a TS with a menu rather than aycte I took a guess at the lower priced items. I am coming out ahead because of my situation but did not find the calculator helpful at all!

 

[Lisa F]

So wow. I was just quoted $1310 for the DDP for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids aged 9,9 and 8, and a 2 yr old who doesn't have to pay) for 7 days. I'm going to do what a PP said and load that money onto a GC and see if we actually spend that much on food. I don't think we'll even come close. I was going to do the Free DDP, but we can't use our military discount, stay at Shades of Green or use SALUTE tix if we do that. I'm really more curious to see exactly how much we will spend on food. This thread got me thinking! Lol

If you're doing lots of character meals with that many disney kids you will come out ahead. If you're not going to do lots of character meals, probably not. Another benefit of the kiddos on the ddp is you can order adult qs for them. It is a huge value when you consider a single character TS is the entire cost of the plan for kids, plus then you can order an adult QS and a snack for them. Regular kid meals at a menu restaurant are quite a bit cheaper.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I have a family of four (me, DW, DD19, DS16). I like to get the QS plan because it is so much more relaxing to just have everybody order what they want instead of trying to parse out each meal and figure out how to split meals, get water when what you really want is a Diet Coke, etc. Our practice while at WDW is simply this... whenever you are hungry eat whatever you want. We usually wind up with a snack credit or two left over at the end I have sprung for the TS plan (and had it free a couple times), but I'm not sure it was worth paying for.

Sure we could save $100+, but if $100 is going to be a burden then I probably should have just stayed home.

 

[emsstacey]

Luckily, I paid much less than rack rate and even with the dining plan... basically got a deal that was like getting it free. I will keep up with what we spend this fall and compare so that we can make the best decision for us next year.

 

[bumbershoot]

I like to get the QS plan because it is so much more relaxing to just have everybody order what they want instead of trying to parse out each meal and figure out how to split meals, get water when what you really want is a Diet Coke, etc. Our practice while at WDW is simply this... whenever you are hungry eat whatever you want.

Do what you want to do; I'm not saying to not do this, I'm just asking questions.

If people eat what they want, what happens if they want something that's not on the dining plan? Don't you have to work that out ahead of time? And if they want to order something that's not on the plan, you just pay for it? What if they are hungry more often than the plan allows?

To me it seems easier to overbudget so that people can do exactly what you're saying, but not have to learn the ins and outs of the plan to make sure you're not spending over it. Unless you're cool with paying OOP sometimes. But in that case, do you *need* the mental "order what you want" help that the plan gives?

 

[disneychristmasx3]

I can say for $100 difference I would 100% do it. We go when its free dining and no other discounts are available to us and the dining plan changed our whole experience. Normally we order water and definitely never order dessert because just soda and dessert can double the cost of your meal. With the dining plan dining became part of the fun for my husband and then teens (now 20's) who were all college athletes and could seriously consume some food. Do you know how much a 6'2" swimmer can eat?? My middle son took it upon himself to try steak at as many restaurants as humanly possible. He had a blast and I didn't care what he ordered as long as everyone was having a good time. And the restaurants become attractions for the day and were looked forward to almost as much as the rides. Now I paid a few dollars more in tips but everyone was relaxed and happy. My husband and I didnt even look at the prices so we certainly didn't try to maximize by ordering the most expensive items. And trust me normally we would both be looking at prices. I can assure you if we had been paying out of pocket we would have eaten QS only, shared meals, and ordered free ice water. So yes if you were already willing to spend up to within $100 for dining then go for it and let the family really enjoy it

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We spent a lot less paying OOP than with the plan. The kids are both over 10, so for the 4 of us it would be around $240/day for the plan - when I add up the meals we would be eating, the cost is under that, so I prefer paying OOP.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Since you asked, I will let you know that I would pay out of pocket. I don't like wasting money. At all. I budget (very, very generously) for food, and have never had a worry or a problem. I always budget for about twice as much as I think we'll spend on food, so there is no worry about dish prices or getting something extra.

I don't like tallying credits in my head on vacation, either, asking myself what I'm "allowed" to eat with them. Instead, we eat what we want, not what we're being told we can eat by Disney.

It helps to pay with your debit or credit card at the restaurants rather than using your magic band, so you can track your spending like you would in daily life, and not have a large bill waiting for you at the end of your stay. Either way, the key is to budget very generously up front, then be pleasantly surprised afterwards with how much you have left.

There are a lot of people who don't mind paying Disney extra as long as they get a dining plan, but I'm not one of them. To each his own.

It paying OOP saves so much money, why would you need to be worried about the large bill waiting at the end of the stay. Wouldn't the total be a really happy surprise?

I've said before, we calculate how much we will spend each trip. And each trip we decide whether or not to get the plan. Sometimes it is cheaper to get the plan, sometimes not.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

wow this makes me second guess my want for the ddp. maybe the gift card thing would work best. I do not know. I need to do a bunch of math I guess. Unless its free.

 

[zebsterama]

We have always done DDP in the past, but now that the kids are both over 9, I did the math, and for us (and we do, and will do, a lot of 2 credit restaurants) it just didn't make a lot of sense. There was too much food! With deluxe we found ourselves ordering and eating more because we had the plan.

I'm the cost worry wart. I too hate looking at the menu and choosing less expensive dishes; I'm guilty of this practice.

The trick for me on this trip will be as follows: 'look everyone in the eye at the table and tell them honestly, "order what you want."

WHY?

Because at the end of the trip, at worst, it will be a financial wash had we chosen Deluxe anyway. In all likelihood, we will save some money OOP, and come home a few pounds lighter -- we can eat --- but that's a heck of a lot of food.

Now the REAL REAL trick will be seeing if I'm able to follow my own advice, and practice what I preach! Haha!

 

[Luvamouse]

For us, I agonized the first 3 trips over OOP vs DDP, and after running the numbers went with OOP. We always saved at least a couple of hundred $$ going OOP for our family of 4 (me, DH and DDs who varied what they eat regardless of age over the years); even got a few beers and all the tips factored in when reviewing all of our slips, so it's truly a win for us. In the end, even when they offered Free Dining, we came out ahead by getting the room discount which was a better deal for us at the time.

I think it so depends on your family and your peace of mind. If you relax and the kids get what they want, then it is worth it, even if you don't quite save. Enjoying your trip is the #1 thing!

 

[Lisa F]

wow this makes me second guess my want for the ddp. maybe the gift card thing would work best. I do not know. I need to do a bunch of math I guess. Unless its free.

it's never really "free" - it is an alternative to other kinds of discounts, so you should look at how much the "free" ddp is saving you vs. any room only discount you can get for the same time period. Sometimes it is a home run, sometimes not.