Dining Plan Wasn't Worth It For Me!

[samsteele]

I've researched it and followed the confirmed snacks-swap thread. Boardwalk bakery has a soup and a salad now that are snack credits, Pecos Bill's soup is a snack credit, can swap soup for the dessert at BOG, etc. I'm not planning on doing this at EVERY location - it is vacation after all. I just don't want to end up with the Disney chocolate or carrot cake at every location. The CHH cobbler, however, is always a good dessert! If I absolutely don't want dessert and there is no substitute, I'll have to take a bottle of water. I have a feeling, though, that my son and my husband will gladly take a dessert off my hands...

A few weeks ago, FlameTree BBQ in AK also let me swap out the dessert in a cup generic stuff for my choice of onion rings or fries. The onion rings were very good & a huge portion. Definitely a great choice!

 

[amylock]

A few weeks ago, FlameTree BBQ in AK also let me swap out the dessert in a cup generic stuff for my choice of onion rings or fries. The onion rings were very good & a huge portion. Definitely a great choice!

Nice! Makes the ribs more sharable with extra onion rings!!!!!!

 

[maxiesmom]

I always run the numbers before each trip. Some trips the Dining Plan was worth it, some it wasn't. But I decide where I want to eat first, and then see. I don't tailor my eating habits to the plan.

 

[kayteekt]

For me the main value of the dining plan is to know how much you are spending in advance. You lost out on 25 bucks. What value would you place on knowing that you didn't have to worry about going over budget on food? Me, I'd say a lot more than 25 bucks.

I agree and if eating habits were just a bit different, op would easily have saved money.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We pretty much break even on the dining plan, but I just feel like it is worth it for the "all inclusive" feel it gives. I would never order the things I order if I knew I was going to be presented with a bill at the end that I was going to have to "pay".

 

[Trip planner]

I discovered (on my last trip- first paying OOP) The DP is worth it to me to not hear my hubby complain about the cost of every TS meal! We definitely spend less OOP but in his case, the ignorance was bliss!

 

[tikkipoo]

I discovered (on my last trip- first paying OOP) The DP is worth it to me to not hear my hubby complain about the cost of every TS meal! We definitely spend less OOP but in his case, the ignorance was bliss!

Exactly!

 

[GillianP1301]

I'm a dining plan fan, we always do the deluxe plan now. However, if you're talking straight financially benefit or not, I would agree with the OP that in many cases the money spent on the plan or not is usually somewhere close to being a wash. But, to me the benefit of the dining plan goes beyond whether I'm saving or spending a few extra dollars, it's about the convenience of pre-pay and knowing you don't have a large chunk of vacation to pay for after the fact. I also believe I try a lot more different foods and experience way more of the dining WDW has to offer on the plan. Do I eat 3 course meals every day at home? Definitely not, so it's a treat to have that on vacation. Is it too much food? Definitely, if I was a clean your plate type person, but I'm not. I like to get the 3 courses and eat only a comfortable amount

 

[supersnoop]

I'm a dining plan fan, we always do the deluxe plan now. However, if you're talking straight financially benefit or not, I would agree with the OP that in many cases the money spent on the plan or not is usually somewhere close to being a wash. But, to me the benefit of the dining plan goes beyond whether I'm saving or spending a few extra dollars, it's about the convenience of pre-pay and knowing you don't have a large chunk of vacation to pay for after the fact. I also believe I try a lot more different foods and experience way more of the dining WDW has to offer on the plan. Do I eat 3 course meals every day at home? Definitely not, so it's a treat to have that on vacation. Is it too much food? Definitely, if I was a clean your plate type person, but I'm not. I like to get the 3 courses and eat only a comfortable amount

In years past, the plan's cost may have been a wash, but the price has increased faster than meal prices. For adults, the $110/day price of the delux plan is rarely a wash, and the $63/day for the regular plan is even worse.

 

[smiths02]

I'm a dining plan fan, we always do the deluxe plan now. However, if you're talking straight financially benefit or not, I would agree with the OP that in many cases the money spent on the plan or not is usually somewhere close to being a wash. But, to me the benefit of the dining plan goes beyond whether I'm saving or spending a few extra dollars, it's about the convenience of pre-pay and knowing you don't have a large chunk of vacation to pay for after the fact. I also believe I try a lot more different foods and experience way more of the dining WDW has to offer on the plan. Do I eat 3 course meals every day at home? Definitely not, so it's a treat to have that on vacation. Is it too much food? Definitely, if I was a clean your plate type person, but I'm not. I like to get the 3 courses and eat only a comfortable amount

We didn't pay off a chunk after the vacation. You can just save money before the vacation and keep it in a savings/checkings account. Or you could buy Disney gift cards and "pre pay" that way.

 

[matheke]

Very seldom does the Dining plan work out in your favor.

We did a dining plan type thing at Disneyland a few years back. We got a 4 day plan for the 5 days we were there. It was flexible since it was all vouchers and we could have used it over more days if we wanted. Even with that we still had to "Burn" snack vouchers at the end.

When the Dining Plans started to be a big thing at WDW a few years back, I had commented to my wife "Look at all the leftover food on those trays/tables". People were getting food they could not even eat because "They paid for it". It just seemed like the whole thing exploded overnight. With Disney's policy on environmental issues, I have found it strange that they encourage such a waste of food.

 

[jawa7400]

June will be our first trip without the DDP. DH and I loved it and it was a no brainier when it was just the two of us. However, this time we will be taking DS3 and DD5 and they just don't eat a lot. They will probably split a meal at most places, and we will be doing more QS than TS meals. However, I still have s cond thoughts about not doing it!! I love the all-inclusive feel of the DDP and I'm afraid I will be looking at prices the whole time!

 

[maxiesmom]

June will be our first trip without the DDP. DH and I loved it and it was a no brainier when it was just the two of us. However, this time we will be taking DS3 and DD5 and they just don't eat a lot. They will probably split a meal at most places, and we will be doing more QS than TS meals. However, I still have s cond thoughts about not doing it!! I love the all-inclusive feel of the DDP and I'm afraid I will be looking at prices the whole time!

The child's price is so little I think you should still do the plan.

 

[mort1331]

Just putting the finishing numbers on our march trip, with one adult and 2 children, the ddp pays for itself when you look at the total cost. We are doing alot of buffets and the cost for the kids is almost the cost of the \TS, making the Qs a free add on. This and that the Qs can be used as an adult credit for the kids and they can share. We can make it go far.

 

[North of Mouse]

We pretty much break even on the dining plan, but I just feel like it is worth it for the "all inclusive" feel it gives. I would never order the things I order if I knew I was going to be presented with a bill at the end that I was going to have to "pay".

This! Exactly the targeted guests that Disney is counting on with the DDP option! Our DS & family feel the same way, even though they would never eat all that food, especially all the desserts.

We, on the other hand, never eat desserts or sodas with our meals, nor do we eat that much food in a day. We have saved our receipts, and the total is about 1/2 the cost for the DDP on our 10 nights there. That's eating what/where/how much we want, but paying oop, and not worrying about the cost.

Sure, for some families and their eating habits and # of children on the plan can come close to breaking even, or better, with several character meals, but with the expensive meals (even on plans) also comes the expensive tipping. So, it's definitely not one size fits all - a lot of people are in the camp of wanting 'convenience' and that's what Disney is counting on!!

I'm just too practical/logical, to trick/fool myself/whatever into accepting the fact that it's already been paid for so the price/cost of the meals really don't matter. Paying is paying, no matter when it was done.

 

[DisneyHardin]

This! Exactly the targeted guests that Disney is counting on with the DDP option! Our DS & family feel the same way, even though they would never eat all that food, especially all the desserts.

We, on the other hand, never eat desserts or sodas with our meals, nor do we eat that much food in a day. We have saved our receipts, and the total is about 1/2 the cost for the DDP on our 10 nights there. That's eating what/where/how much we want, but paying oop, and not worrying about the cost.

Sure, for some families and their eating habits and # of children on the plan can come close to breaking even, or better, with several character meals, but with the expensive meals (even on plans) also comes the expensive tipping. So, it's definitely not one size fits all - a lot of people are in the camp of wanting 'convenience' and that's what Disney is counting on!!

I'm just too practical/logical, to trick/fool myself/whatever into accepting the fact that it's already been paid for so the price/cost of the meals really don't matter. Paying is paying, no matter when it was done.

We eat similarly to the dining plan. The only thing we probably wouldn't order were the QS deserts unless they had some sort of awesome cupcakes. We do drink sodas at meals and often order desert at sit down restaurants. So, it works for us.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

DDP hasn't been worth it for me since 2007. I prefer not having it.