Dining plan questions for 2008

[dangler]

Hi,

I was looking at the new packages for 2008 and as well priced out our trip with the dining plan. The dining plan for next year does NOT include gratuity. Is it still worth getting? Is it about 18 percent for tipping?
Also, my son would be classified as an adult and he is a very picky eatter. He does better on the kids menu. Can he still order off the kids meal even though he is considered an adult? He will be 10 then.
Thanks

 

[disyady]

Hi,

I was looking at the new packages for 2008 and as well priced out our trip with the dining plan. The dining plan for next year does NOT include gratuity. Is it still worth getting? Is it about 18 percent for tipping?
Also, my son would be classified as an adult and he is a very picky eatter. He does better on the kids menu. Can he still order off the kids meal even though he is considered an adult? He will be 10 then.
Thanks

They never minded my DD's ordering kids meals when we used the dining plan last year. Of course, this isn't a good value for your money, though. Judging by some threads I've seen on the Restaurants board most people appear to tip between 20-25% in general. Whether or not the DP is worth getting is a question only you can answer for your family, but here's why it wasn't right for ours: All 5 of us like to eat several smaller meals throughout the day so the entree, appetizer (which was included for us last year) and dessert all in one meal set-up didn't work for us. Also, my husband was sick for pretty much all of our last 2 trips and we always end up with someone not feeling well for a day or two as well, so that means if you've paid in advance for your food you're out of luck. We prefer to go to a sit down restaurant every day at lunch where we'll order 2 or 3 appetizers and 2 or 3 entrees between the 5 of us, counter service dinner and one treat each whenever the mood strikes each day. I also buy one annual pass and the Dining Experience 20% discount card which helps a little as well (especially if we're lucky enough to have 2 trips within a year!). Enjoy your trip whatever you decide!

 

[amw]

I would look at the dining menus of restaurants on your "must-go" list. You can look at :

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining.htm
http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

Try to calculate what you would spend on each meal. Add in taxes, but not gratuities since you'll be paying that no matter what. Compare to what it would cost for the plan.

My family has 2 adults and 2 children, so our daily cost for the Dining Plan would be $95.96/night including taxes. If we chose to do a couple Character meals, you recoup that cost in one meal. For us, we would spend aprox. $35 for a fast food meal at the parks, and may or may not do $10 worth of snacks. However, we don't tend to eat a sit-down meal every night so for us, it would not necessarily be a discount for us... but it would be more enjoyable food vacation. We would never otherwise order desserts.

For now I'm doing a room-only reservation, I'll decide whether or not to go with the package later.

 

[trivial]

From what I've read, the 2008 DDP still saves most people money who would normally eat a quick-service and table-service meal each day, just not nearly as much as it does currently. Your son will be considered an adult for the purposes of the plan, but I'm sure most/all restaurants would be fine if he wanted to order off the kid's menu.

 

[dangler]

Thanks for the replies! I always thought that the dining plan was not for us, we are not very big eatters. When I priced it out it was 1000 for 8 nights. We usually spend around a 100 a day on food. Usually we've 2 table services meal a trip and I thought it might be good to try the dining plan until I read that the gratuity wasn't included. We are also the types that like to come and go as we please, we don't like being on a clock knowing that we have to be somewhere at a certain time everyday. So really, I don't the dining plan is for us!

 

[trivial]

We are also the types that like to come and go as we please, we don't like being on a clock knowing that we have to be somewhere at a certain time everyday. So really, I don't the dining plan is for us!

While I generally think ADRs (reservations) are a good idea, they aren't a requirement for the dining plan. Can't fault you for skipping the 2008 plan though... glad I got to take advantage of it earlier this year though, when it was still a no-brainer.