Dining Plan vs. Paying for Character Dining

[houseofprincesses]

We (me, husband, 4 & 6 yr olds) will be in Disney in December and have purchased the dining plan. Is it more beneficial to use the DP for character dining or should we use the "sit down meals" at nicer restaurants and order off the menu?

Any tips on getting the most out of our DP would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[marlynnp]

IMO, to get the most out of the plan you should eat where you want to eat and not just eat somewhere because it costs the most.

 

[Tam1067]

We (me, husband, 4 & 6 yr olds) will be in Disney in December and have purchased the dining plan. Is it more beneficial to use the DP for character dining or should we use the "sit down meals" at nicer restaurants and order off the menu?

Any tips on getting the most out of our DP would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

Really this is only a factor if you plan to do more than 1 TS a day. I would choose restaurants I want to eat at and then make reservations there. If you do a few character meals in that mix, that's great. We've used our DDP for dinners at Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, and Akershus and came out ahead in the long run with the DDP overall. Now if you plan to do more than one TS a day, you'll most likely get the better value by paying OOP for the character meals (breakfast is the cheapest of those) and using the DDP for more expensive meals at places like Spoodles, Kona, Coral Reef, etc., where you'll get an appetizer, entree, and dessert.

 

[daisyduck123]

We do the Dining Plan every trip & have dinner at a different character meal almost every night. For our upcoming 8 night trip in May, we have 4 character dinners planned & 1 character breakfast...each is 1 TS credit on the Dining Plan.

For our upcoming summer trip (right now it's 5 nights, we may extend it) we have 5 character dinners planned & 1 character breakfast. (The breakfast is CRT & we will pay oop and use DDE for that).

 

[Lizzybear]

IMO, to get the most out of the plan you should eat where you want to eat and not just eat somewhere because it costs the most.

I agree. I guess to some i'd be doing some 'no nos' (in terms of value) on the dining plan like using a TS credit on Beaches and Cream and also 3 signature meals but I see it as i'd rather enjoy the meals we do have than make ADRs for the sake of it and possibly waste food because we can't finish or don't like it. I think we'll get much better value out of it this way

 

[goofy4tink]

I usually do a TS meal, on the DDP, for dinner. If I have a TS meal for dinner, but want a TS breakfast that same day, I will pay OOP for the breakfast. Otherwise, I eat TS for dinner, counter service for lunch. There are a few times where we have a character breakfast late morning, and then eat counter service for dinner, thereby only using on TS credit for that day. We seldom have a TS breakfast and a TS dinner in the same day...just too much food for us.

 

[kimberh]

I usually do a TS meal, on the DDP, for dinner. If I have a TS meal for dinner, but want a TS breakfast that same day, I will pay OOP for the breakfast. Otherwise, I eat TS for dinner, counter service for lunch. There are a few times where we have a character breakfast late morning, and then eat counter service for dinner, thereby only using on TS credit for that day. We seldom have a TS breakfast and a TS dinner in the same day...just too much food for us.

This is how we do it too. The breakfast are much cheaper and a better value, The savings come at dinner with the DDP. If you are a AP holder get the DDE card. You will save 20% on the out of pocket meals and drinks.

 

[TDC Nala]

It's also a factor if you plan on CRT or 2 credit signature dining.