Dining Plan Price Increase 2017

[dmunsil]

I didn't see a thread on this, so thought I'd start one. New prices for Dining Plans for 2017:

All prices with tax, per person per night. Adult/Child. Prices might round differently by a penny or two on some bookings.

QS: $48.20/$20.99
Regular: $69.37/$24.94
Deluxe: $106.69/$38.74

QS and regular went up by about $2 for adults and $0.70 for children. Deluxe went up about $3 for adults and $1.10 for children.

 

[sharonabe]

For adults, negating the refill mug since it's just difficult to do that math for me, if you consider each snack credit at $5, that now makes each QS on the QSDP break even point at $19. If you then take that $19 and the $5 per snack to the DDP, that puts a TS break even at $40 per meal. DxDDP meals go to $32 each.

Breaking it down this way just makes it easier for me to determine if paying for any dining plan is going to save me money, break even, or cost me more.

 

[jon18uk]

It doesn't look like any of the plans offer any great value anymore. As you say at $19 per QS and $5 per snack and Its hard to get to $19 on QS, you then need to get entrees at $15+ every single time! Even if you divide out the mug as being worth $2.50 a day over a 7 day trip it is very very hard to get the value.

 

[eeyoresmom]

I totally agree. Obviously Disney is smarter than me but I can't understand how they are selling enough dining plans at these prices. The DxDDP and DDP can be tweaked with a lot of knowledge and planning (sharing credits, etc.) , but the QSDDP ????? I have 4 rooms booked next month and DD has qs plan to her room (paid for just before the increase). She has BOG, FlameTree, Wolfgang Puck Express, Tangerine Cafe and a few other high priced cs meals planned. I still think she may break even or save a just few dollars, and that's because we are frequent visitors and have the menus memorized!

 

[quandrea]

People buy it for convenience. They don't care that Disney is reaching into their pockets and stealing their hard earned cash.

 

[Lisa F]

I can't believe how expensive it is getting. DxDDP is still a good deal, $32 for a TS with appetizer is so easy to exceed. but regular DDP? crazy. You have to REALLY try just to break even.

We did very well on the DxDDP though and I think the prices were a bit higher (pricing dropped last round and we had DVC so we paid higher prices actually).

I think looking at the adult prices you are never going to save money but with kids you do... if you use your TS on a character meal instead of a $9.99 plated meal then you will get the entire value from the kid credit at the TS and still have a QS (which you can use for an adult meal) and snacks.

I am STILL considering this when I go with my son as we'd end up doing things like Flame Tree lunch and Tusker House RoL package dinner, PPO BoG Breakfast and maybe 'Ohana dinner (or maybe CP) and not sure what we'd do at Epcot... the flexibility breaks down as I'd like to do a PPO GG breakfast and then biergarten for dinner. So I'm thinking maybe oop would be better just because we can share at flame tree and BoG. Or maybe we'll just do deluxe and treat my parents to dinner on our last night. We really worked it last time but might just be too hard with our plans.

 

[Elle23]

People buy it for convenience. They don't care that Disney is reaching into their pockets and stealing their hard earned cash.

I honestly do not understand the whole convenience thing. It was literally the exact same procedure to use the dining plan as it was to charge something to my room.

What am I missing?

 

[sharonabe]

I totally agree. Obviously Disney is smarter than me but I can't understand how they are selling enough dining plans at these prices. The DxDDP and DDP can be tweaked with a lot of knowledge and planning (sharing credits, etc.) , but the QSDDP ?

People who still have Disney kids will still save money with the plan because the kid's plan is priced to do so. And as long as they continue to let kids get adult QS meals, those families will save even more when they do that.

I honestly do not understand the whole convenience thing. It was literally the exact same procedure to use the dining plan as it was to charge something to my room.

What am I missing?

I am NOT one of the convenience people, but I do understand them. It has nothing to do with how you pay while at Disney. The two convenience points are usually that it's ALREADY paid for; they don't go home with a credit card bill. Yes, they could do gift cards and still be "prepaid." But that negates the second point which is they don't worry about the prices. They eat all the desserts and snacks and get steak every night (I'm generalizing, here) and don't have to look at what it costs. These are the people who would never eat everything they want if they "saw" the prices. My family is not like them; I do the research and know we can eat whatever we want and never spend what the plans would cost us. But I get where they are coming from, and it's just a reminder that God made us all unique.

 

[quandrea]

I honestly do not understand the whole convenience thing. It was literally the exact same procedure to use the dining plan as it was to charge something to my room.

What am I missing?

No idea. I don't understand the convenience thing either. It's convenient for me to save money.

I don't mind the credit card bill. Paying ahead would not trick my mind into thinking I could eat whatever I wanted. On some level I see what the pp said about how people would never pick the steak or have dessert but honestly I think you could very well eat anything you chose and still come out ahead.

It would grate on me knowing that Disney was getting more money from me than necessary.

 

[DisneyQueen1320]

Maybe they want to phase it out by having these high prices.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We definitely get value out of the $67 regular DDP. Our counter service bills with a drink are close to $20 per person most places ( rarely do I have a counter service total under $55 for 3 people) , 2 5$ snacks leaves $37 for drink, entree, and dessert at a TS. We would easily spend that anyway (more some places). We might lose a few dollars sometimes, but its worth it to me to prepay and not worry about who is spending what.

I we had light eaters in the group, or didn't like our snacks, I wouldn't be using it.

 

[James Yang]

With this increase, I'm starting to rethink if I should get dining plans for our trip in August. We have four ppl: me, wife and a 4 year old and a to-be 10 year old (by the time we travel he'll be ten). I'd rather not have to purchase an adult plan for the 10-year old as he won't eat that much. Also our 4-year old is a picky eater and doesn't eat much. Would it be possible for us to buy two adult plans and one child plan and share among the four of us (or even just two adult plans and simply pay OOP for the two kids for whatever they happen to order at the time)? Or does each of us have to have individual plans?

 

[Lesverts]

Everyone in the same room has to be on the same plan.

 

[sharonabe]

We definitely get value out of the $67 regular DDP. Our counter service bills with a drink are close to $20 per person most places ( rarely do I have a counter service total under $55 for 3 people) ,

But the plan now costs $69. If you're at $55 for 3 people, that's $18 pp. Add in the two snacks, you're at $28, so your TS meal has to be around $41 to break even. I'd love to know where you're eating QS with consistently $15 entrees.

 

[Farro]

Happy I already booked before ticket and dining plan increases!

People buy it for convenience. They don't care that Disney is reaching into their pockets and stealing their hard earned cash.

Sorry you are so bothered by this. Sometimes when you don't understand the reasoning behind something you should drop it and move on. For peace of mind. Besides, they will probably raise food prices again this year so the plan may fall back in line for some!

 

[eeyoreandtink]

But the plan now costs $69. If you're at $55 for 3 people, that's $18 pp. Add in the two snacks, you're at $28, so your TS meal has to be around $41 to break even. I'd love to know where you're eating QS with consistently $15 entrees.

You have to remember to account for the tax you would be paying. Most of our meals are $12.99, plus tax that comes to about $14 plus a $3 plus tax drink. We typically go for higher value snacks too. $55 is average. We have had counter service tickets over $60.

I paid just over $1000 for the dining plan for a 5 day trip. Last time we went for 5 days and paid OOP we were well over that.

We also booked pre price increase.

 

[William Ades]

I honestly do not understand the whole convenience thing. It was literally the exact same procedure to use the dining plan as it was to charge something to my room.

What am I missing?

For me it isn't the convenience of the actual act of paying, it's knowing how much I'm going to spend. I can also pay for it several months in advance, which can help with budgeting and cut down on expenses during the trip. Sure the money is still getting spent, but over several months is much more manageable than all at once during a week.

 

[William Ades]

You have to remember to account for the tax you would be paying. Most of our meals are $12.99, plus tax that comes to about $14 plus a $3 plus tax drink. We typically go for higher value snacks too. $55 is average. We have had counter service tickets over $60.

I paid just over $1000 for the dining plan for a 5 day trip. Last time we went for 5 days and paid OOP we were well over that.

We also booked pre price increase.

In my experience the TS credit alone pays each day. I don't know the average TS meal price, but I do know I typically get a meal that is about $32+ for the entre. You add in the drink and the dessert and it's nearly $50 easy before taxes. Now factor in a QS and snack each day and it has paid for itself. Now factor in the unlimited non-alcoholic drinks (at the resort) and you are now in the green for that day. If you use your TS credit for a character meal or buffet and its not even close, the value is significantly higher, some of those are $60 before tax alone. Gratutity is the one catch, especially if you have a party of 5 or more...

 

[James Yang]

Everyone in the same room has to be on the same plan.

Thanks for this. Another question I have is: do I have to be on the plan for the entire duration of my stay at the Disney resort (in my case ASMu)? Reason I ask is we'll spend six days at WDW and then will spend the rest of the trip at Universal and other places so won't be on Disney property. Can't imagine dining plan being used for those days. So can I add a dining plan for 6 of say 11 days at the resort?

 

[sharonabe]

Thanks for this. Another question I have is: do I have to be on the plan for the entire duration of my stay at the Disney resort (in my case ASMu)? Reason I ask is we'll spend six days at WDW and then will spend the rest of the trip at Universal and other places so won't be on Disney property. Can't imagine dining plan being used for those days. So can I add a dining plan for 6 of say 11 days at the resort?

You can, but to do so you'll need to do a split stay. Book the first 6 nights with tickets and dining plan, and then book a room only for the last 5 nights. You MIGHT have to change rooms, but probably not. Your credits will expire at midnight of the day you check out/check in.