Dining Plan with DVC

[bthibeault]

Hello - Does anyone know if any of the dining plan deals are somehow transferrable to people staying through DVC? Also, from anyone who has used, how beneficial has it been (particularly for people without children). Thank you.

 

[JimMIA]

Not sure what your question is. If you are asking if we can buy DDP when staying at DVC, the answer is yes. If you are staying on a points reservation, you make arrangements through MS prior to arrival and pay for DDP at checkin. You do NOT have to purchase any park tickets, but other than that, the DDP is exactly the same as everyone else's - same price, same rules, same benefits.

The word "transferable" is not a good word to use with DDP, because DDP is "non-transferable," meaning the DDP meal credits can only be used by the purchaser -- no sharing, no treating. That may not be the meaning you intended, but just be aware that "transferable" is kind of a hot-button word whan speaking of DDP.

For better info on DDP itself, including whether it's "worth it," the best place to look is on the DDP board in the Restaurant section of the DIS.

 

[chalee94]

and if you're staying at a DVC resort on a points reservation, "free" dining is never an option. "free" dining requires paying full cash prices for a room and buying a ticket as part of a package.

 

[Lisa P.]

You may definitely purchase any of the dining plans when staying at a DVC resort, regardless of whether you are paying cash for your stay or got a points reservation from a DVC member or traded in through RCI or II. In fact, unless you've booked cash nights (like through CRO or a travel agency), you don't even need to purchase a park ticket, as is normally required for the MYW package.

All of the other stipulations still apply - how the plans work, the need to make advance ADRs for TS (table service) if you'll use TS, the requirement to purchase the same meal plan for all room occupants for the entire length of stay, the inability to share meal credits with others who are not on the plan, etc. Some folks say they love it because it's prepaid or it's a great value as it suits their vacation eating style so well.

For us, we'd waste a lot of food or gain a lot of weight or just feel bloated/sluggish or all three. The meal plans provide for 2 or more full meals daily, including soft drinks and daily desserts, but not alcohol, appetizers/side salads or gratuities. This doesn't suit us. We drink more ice water than anything. We start our mornings with real (!) coffee and a simple breakfast in our condo. Lunches/dinners usually consist of a shared entree, a shared appetizer and maybe a side salad. We never have room for dessert so we share one when we have it at all. We sometimes like to snack all day and skip all "meals." And we definitely prefer to decide where we feel like eating, without ADRs, though we usually avoid busy seasons. Disney's dining plans would cost us more than paying as we go. Obviously, it depends on your vacation eating style.

Look at the menus at AllEarsNet and roughly tally what you'd likely spend, by your vacation eating style, choosing from the restaurants you'll want to try, which are on the list. Include taxes, beverages and desserts if you'd enjoy them but not gratuity or alcohol since they're not included in the dining plan either. Then divide your total by the number of days you've tallied to see your averaged daily costs. That's the only way to really see if it'd be worthwhile for you. There are several threads on the Disney Restaurants forum regarding the dining plans, with plenty of first hand experience. HTH.

 

[jco_direwolf]

Hello - Does anyone know if any of the dining plan deals are somehow transferrable to people staying through DVC? Also, from anyone who has used, how beneficial has it been (particularly for people without children). Thank you.

As others have said, DVC members can do it as an add-on. You pay for it at the normal rate.

As a family without children, for the last 4 years. It's not been worth it. Too much food, doesn't suit our "style." I've never used it because we've never been down for free dining, and I can do the math. Add up what we spent at the parks on our food (that would be on the plan) wasn't more than we would have spent on the plan.

We normally do 1 or 2 table service meals per day. Buy a few drinks over the course of a day and carry snacks with us.

On the other hand the DDE/TiW is perfect. We've managed to "pay for it" in a meal or two. Most of the time we are meeting people down there so 4+ adults plus 1 or 2 children, you can hit that break even point pretty fast.

We've even had meals where we've run into the 10 person limit, us plus both inlaws, plus some brothers and sisters @Jiko. That meal alone put us in the black with the card.

johno

 

[dianeschlicht]

Hello - Does anyone know if any of the dining plan deals are somehow transferrable to people staying through DVC? Also, from anyone who has used, how beneficial has it been (particularly for people without children). Thank you.

You have heard about the costs, but I'd like to chime in about using it without children.

When we had the grandkids along, it was GREAT because they knew exactly what was available etc. and that it was all prepaid. The cost seemed high, but the convenience was worth it.

Now, for the two of us, we have learned it is more costly to do the dining plan than to pay OOP and use the TIW discount card we can buy with the AP. We did a detailed accounting for two trips (one with and one without the DDP), and we saved nearly $250 paying OOP with the TIW card over what we paid for the DDP. Part of the issue is that we don't often eat desserts and prefer appetizers, so that part of the DDP doesn't appeal to us. Also, we like the signatures, and since they take two credits each, it also makes little sense.

 

[Lisa P.]

Diane, we don't go often enough to the parks to warrant getting an AP. We're not DVC members. And we're not FL residents. Is there any way to buy that discount dining card or something similar?

 

[JimMIA]

Diane, we don't go often enough to the parks to warrant getting an AP. We're not DVC members. And we're not FL residents. Is there any way to buy that discount dining card or something similar?

I don't think there is any other way to get the TiW card, but keep in mind that you only need one AP to purchase the card. Not everyone has to have it, because with one TiW card, you can get the 20% discount for up to 10 people dining together.

You'd just have to see what the differential is between the tickets you'd normally buy and the AP, and then compare that to the savings you'd anticipate with the card to see whether it's worth it for you.

 

[robinb]

I have heard of some families who will book at one of the Value resorts under the Free Dining plan just for the meals and then stay at their DVC villa. Depending on the price of the room and the ages of the members of your family, it may end up to be a better deal than paying out of pocket for the DDP. If you have 3 or more people who are over 10-years old then it will probably come out cheaper to book a Value resort too .

Oops. I see that you don't have kids. In that case, it's not worth your while to book a Value resort room too for just 2 of you. If you want the dining plan I would just go ahead and buy it.