Dining plan VS no plan.

[buzz2400]

We just did the free dining plan staying at the all star where it is just counterservice. The pros is that you can order anything you want and not worry because it is already paid for. The cons is that (at least at the all star resorts) is you stand in very very long lines (ath the hotel) to get your food. We also don't much like desserts but towards the middle of vacation we realized we could get bags of trail mix instead.
I once did the dining plan where you sit down but you have to pre-plan everything and now with the new fast pass system I think it would be a pain in the neck to have to figure that as well as the fast passes. If you go to mousesavers.com they can tell you how to eat cheap. So I prefer to not use the dining plan.

 

[kathy884]

For us it wouldn't make sense to buy it. It's too much food. We often share meals. We don't do desserts. We drink water at meals. Our older kids often get kids meals. For snacks we prefer to bring along some fresh fruit and sandwiches we make ourselves. // Neither all counter service or the regular plan really make sense for us either. We're more likely on park days to do counter service vs. spending a lot of time at sit down meals. We do though like to have one or two resort days per trip and sometimes on those do a really nice sit down meal -- regular or signature place or offsite cool place. My favorite places to eat in Orlando aren't on Disney property too, so I sometimes like to go offsite for a meal. I do like the variety and theming of many of their restaurants. // A prepaid meal plan too probably too for me encourages overeating, something that I'd prefer to avoid.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

We actually saved money and ate less paying OOP. Now if it's free dinning that's another story.

 

[Disneyaddict1973]

Thanks, CSMOMMY! The calculator on the link you posted just solved my family's endless pondering of the DDP. According to the calculator, with our habits and existing ADR's we would save money by doing it OOP. Thanks for the post!

 

[JenniferTB]

I had this exact same question, so I ran the numbers using the menus and we decided to purchase gift cards to use exclusively for meals. That way, they are paid for ahead of time, but we are not tied down to the dining plan.

 

[csmommy]

Thanks, CSMOMMY! The calculator on the link you posted just solved my family's endless pondering of the DDP. According to the calculator, with our habits and existing ADR's we would save money by doing it OOP. Thanks for the post!

So welcome! For us the best bet is TIW. Enjoy your trip!

 

[glaserjm]

I've never found it to work out in our favor and wouldn't pay for the dining plan. Like an above poster, I buy Disney gift cards with my RedCard from Target and stock up on those before we go then just use it as our spending money while there. I like the convenience of having everything paid for before I get on property, and I feel this is a more cost effective way for us to do it then paying for the dining plan.

 

[lovewdwdvc]

Sometimes we do the dining plan and sometimes we do not do the plan. For us it really depends on ow much of our vacation we want to have focused on food. Sometimes we want to go down to eat and drink and sometimes it is not that important. Prioritize.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Don't forget about tips...a couple times we have talked to servers and they LOVE the dining plan customers because the tabs are much larger, which means bigger tips. We have done it ONLY when free, otherwise way more than we normally spend. I have 2 teenage boys that can eat, but we still drink water 3 out of 4 times, we all prefer apps to deserts and always feel like you need to get steak or whatever is most expansive on the menu when on the plan.

 

[isaboo]

Thanks, CSMOMMY! The calculator on the link you posted just solved my family's endless pondering of the DDP. According to the calculator, with our habits and existing ADR's we would save money by doing it OOP. Thanks for the post!

This is us. I was actually TRYING to justify the dining plan for our upcoming trip. One of the restaurants that makes it not work for us is Via Napoli. We always eat there, but only go for the pizza and we don't each need our own pizza. VN won't let you combine or share credits on the dining plan. We order the large, $41 pizza and it's enough for our whole family. According to the calculator our meal there would be worth $123.19. I just looked back at our bill from last year and we spent $80 including tip and I think my husband and I each had a sangria. Also...I don't want dessert with dinner...I usually want something later.

 

[MolonLabe]

We found the QS and reg to be... lacking. The only time we do the DIning Plan is when it's free and then we pay to upgrade to deluxe.

In that case, the plan is well worth it.

Buying without a discount? I don't see how to make it do more than break even. We've done 3 trips with the deluxe plan (upgraded from free) and had we paid out of pocket for the entire thing it, we would have come out slightly ahead but we left most of our desserts on the table with 1-2 bites out of them. Had we not been on the plan, there were many times we'd have shared an APP or not even ordered one and most dinners the 5 of us would have shared one dessert or maybe two.

On the deluxe we do one 1 credit meal a day and one 2 credit meal per day (on average) and use snacks for either breakfast or for lunch (skipping one meal or the other depending). I LOVE to eat, I can pack it away but it's too much food.

Likewise on the QS meals, I'd never order a dessert from them, I'd rather wait an hour after eating and grab a mickey bar or something.

We aren't big soda people (hate HFCS and the treats at WDW eat up what little tolerance we have for it) so we'd just order plain iced tea at the TS and at the QS locations that spigot tea from the machine sucks. So we waste a lot of drinks too.

We're going back next month, too late to book a bunch of ADR's and no free dining so I'll probably upgrade myself to an AP and get a TIW card with the hopes we come back in less than a year. Probably will and with the AP we'll have room discount and merch discounts so that should cover it.