Dining Plan versus Tables in Wonderland

[OhioDVC]

I know this has been discussed before but I could not find it.

We are going to VWL for 8 days over Thanksgiving. I already have a Tables in Wonderland card but is the Dining Plan a better deal for four adults?

Any thoughts?

Either way we are planning on one big meal and one counter service meal per day.

Thanks

 

[Chuck S]

It depends upon your normal dining habits. We usually prefer and appetizer and no dessert, so the TiW works best for us...we never spend what the DDP would cost us.

TiW also takes a discount on alcoholic beverages. So that is certainly a consideration even if you only have a couple of adult beverages, as alcohol at WDW is pricey.

 

[Donald is #1]

For my normal eating style, TIW works out better for me. Normally, for a non-solo trip, if I am with one of my sisters and/or their kids, we tend to share appetizers and/or desserts if we get them. So TIW works out better for me.

My suggestion is to take a look at AllEars and figure out what you would be ordering. Then check the cost to see which option is better for you.

 

[Mr. Disney 652]

We have both too. We just did a comparison to what we eat versus what we would save in TIW. Once I included the 18% tip with TIW, we ended up a bit ahead with DDP. Once I added the QS with mugs, we saved $60 more on the mug totals...

Good luck!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I really enjoy having a salad or soup with no dessert and so DDP doesn't work. We did use it when the CP was included, but now that's 2 TS meals, we just don't bother with DDP. I do have TIW and it works fine for us. We also like eating at Cali Grill at least once a trip, so that's 2 TS's too.

 

[disneynutz]

Your best bet is to look up the menus of where you want to eat, then compare the prices between the two plans.

Bill

 

[hacknsuit]

something else to consider: do you drink? If you have a couple beers, mixed drinks, or a bottle of wine, TIW may be the way to go. We like all of those You get 20% off of those too. TIW works good for us

Oh! and it adds the 18% tip, which is great! We usually tip more and I don't feel bad leaving only 18% when its added automatically!

 

[IknowDoYou?]

something else to consider: do you drink? If you have a couple beers, mixed drinks, or a bottle of wine, TIW may be the way to go. We like all of those You get 20% off of those too. TIW works good for us

Oh! and it adds the 18% tip, which is great! We usually tip more and I don't feel bad leaving only 18% when its added automatically!

This is what saved us. My wife and I did an "adults only" trip in December, with us hitting a Signature restaurant every night, each of us having an entrée with wine (we shared desert), and we ended up saving a ton of money over doing a dining plan. Our numbers may have been skewed since we were eating at 2TS establishments, so your miles may vary.

 

[supersuperwendy]

My husband and I had a trip without the kids in January and for the first time we skipped the dining plan. We saved so much money by doing so! We don't eat a lot of expensive dishes so that helps and we shared a lot of CS lunches and stuff. Also, we didn't always order an entree and rarely dessert. We had dinner at La Hacienda and ordered 3 appetizers to split. One night we skipped a restaurant all together and had french onion soup at the turf club lounge at SSR. I really enjoyed not having the dining plan! Once our trip was over the total amount we spent out of pocket on food, souvenirs, etc came out to less then the cost of the dining plan!

 

[rice00]

We have been wrestling with this also lately. Over the past few years the Dining Plan has changed almost every year. Originally you received appetizer, entree, dessert and it paid the gratuity! Today you receive the dinner entree and dessert and pay the gratuity. I'm not a big dessert fan and I like to have a beer or beers when I'm vacation so i think I'm leaning towards the Tables of Wonderland.

 

[hmillerbarilla]

The DDP works for us but I also have a TIW card as well that I use for "beverages" and appetizers.

For our next trip, we're combining a night of deluxe with some nights of regular dining to maximize our savings. Once you look over the costs on the menus you can decide what days you want the plan, and what days it would make sense to just pay with TIW. We did totally OOP/TIW in December and paid much more than we would have had we gone with the DDP. But that is just how my family eats. We do buy mugs, we do get at least one or two snacks per day per person...

I love the option of adding it for part of your stay with DVC. It's great--but we'll see how I like the checking in/checking out/checking in stuff you do.

 

[bobbiwoz]

DSis and I were at DHS and I happened to mention the Cobb salad at the Brown Derby. She looked at me and said that she could go for one. We walked up and got an on the spot reservation, and each enjoyed our little lunch. That sort of spur of the moment meal is another reason we use the TIW!

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have done both DDP and just TIW, and for us TIW saves us greatly over t he DDP. As others have said, we also prefer an appetizer or salad to a dessert. Since the DDP doesn't include appetizers, but does include desserts, it doesn't work so well for us. We also do NOT eat at counter service places other than Flame Tree BBQ at AK. That means we waste all those QS credits because we have a hard time using them. We did a very detailed accounting of 3 trips... using the DDP and one using TIW. We came out $200 ahead when we did TIW, and we ate what we wanted, not what was dictated.

 

[OhioDVC]

Thanks for your replies. I really don't need to eat dessert at every dinner so I think I stay with TiW.

Flame Tree sounds good, I'll have to try it.

thanks again

 

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks for your replies. I really don't need to eat dessert at every dinner so I think I stay with TiW.

Flame Tree sounds good, I'll have to try it.

thanks again

We love flame tree, and it's almost like a sit down restaurant on a counter service budget. We love the outdoor dining areas down back where you can watch the people enjoying Expedition Everest while you dine.

 

[lugnut33]

I know this is taboo, but you can save even more money by eating off-site. Just saying... it's up to you.

 

[Pirate Granny]

I don't see anyone factoring in the cost of the TIW...yep, it pays for alcohol, but since even two persons still have the 18% gratuity (which you don't on the DDP, although we tip 20% normally)...you still need to spend enough to off-set the original $60 per card.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I don't see anyone factoring in the cost of the TIW...yep, it pays for alcohol, but since even two persons still have the 18% gratuity (which you don't on the DDP, although we tip 20% normally)...you still need to spend enough to off-set the original $60 per card.

The card is actually $75, and we did factor that cost into our totals. We STILL came out saving $200+ using TIW instead of the DDP.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I don't see anyone factoring in the cost of the TIW...yep, it pays for alcohol, but since even two persons still have the 18% gratuity (which you don't on the DDP, although we tip 20% normally)...you still need to spend enough to off-set the original $60 per card.

We're the DGP and we treat, so that $75 is well worth the price of getting the discount! My DFs appreciate the discounts they get when they're with me, too.

As far as eating off site, "off site" is something we don't like. We go offsite for church and to get to some other places we like, but we very often hit traffic and it's heavy traffic! We eat in our villa, we've been known to go to IHOP after church (if you are early enough, Sunday has no traffic, if you hit the road around 11AM when it's check out time, the traffic can be terrible), and Giordano's for their Chicago style pizza, but I don't think that off site offers such a huge improvement to most of our WDW meals and dining experiences as some here say it does for them.

Bobbi

 

[dianeschlicht]

I don't think that off site offers such a huge improvement to most of our WDW meals and dining experiences as some here say it does for them.

Bobbi

Agreed unless you go to Baham Breeze! We've been known to go there more than once a day!