Dining plan worth it with AP

[Pdollar88]

Hello all! Is the DDP worth it if I have an AP? I think I can reach the break even point with the calculators, but I don't know if there's any benefit considering I get a discount.

My guess would be no, but I've never done the dining plan and a) am sort of curious b) have little clue about it.

 

[sharonabe]

Hello all! Is the DDP worth it if I have an AP? I think I can reach the break even point with the calculators, but I don't know if there's any benefit considering I get a discount.

My guess would be no, but I've never done the dining plan and a) am sort of curious b) have little clue about it.

What's the make up of your party (adults and Disney kids)? How many nights? How do you like to eat? Where do you want to eat?

Too many variables to answer that question with a yes or no. Best advice is to choose where you WANT to eat with or without the plan and then do the math.

 

[AFwifelife]

Use one of the DDP calculators and see if it’s worth it. For us, it’s cheaper to pay OOP with the way we eat.

 

[Pdollar88]

Thanks for the replies! I knew there were too many variables, shouldn’t have posted.

It looks like it’ll be cheaper, particularly when I factor in the AP discounts.

 

[kniquy]

Usually cheaper to pay OOP and take advantage of the annual pass dining discount which is 10% at many locations.

 

[GoofyPrincess]

I've done the math for four trips and twice the plan saved us money and twice it didn't. I really think you need to consider your trip and your group just as much as the financial cost. We tend to meet up with my parents (live in FL) and don't want to argue over the check at every restaurant, so on those trips the dining plan is definitely worth it from a sanity cost!

 

[AngiTN]

Truthfully, I don't think the Dining Plan is ever worth it. I have one thought on it, Disney wouldn't offer the Dining Plan if it cost them money. They offer it for one reason, and one reason only, they make money on it. If they make money on it, who is the one "losing money"? The guest. Enough said. There's a small percentage of guest who can truly save a lot of money. Next chunk break even. And a lot, lose money. Some simply because they change the way they eat just because of the plan.

 

[kiford]

Truthfully, I don't think the Dining Plan is ever worth it.

Some simply because they change the way they eat just because of the plan.

I have to agree - this is a major reason why we never purchase the dining plan. I'd have to change the way I eat to make it worth the cost and would not happy about it. We eat TS for breakfast and dinner so we'd have to get the deluxe plan and would probably not want/use the snack credits or the refillable mug effectively paying for what we aren't using or don't want. We've always just paid OOP. We're planning to buy AP this year because we're planning 2-3 trips. I've worked out that we will benefit even more by using it for discounts and, further, if we purchase TiW we will probably not only cover the cost of that but will do even better OOP than just using the AP discounts. And we will eat how we want and where we want.

 

[crabbygal902]

Here’s when it works for us:

When we are taking kids 9 or under

When we want lots of chatwacter experiences

When we want to really plan out our trip and actively seek the most expensive options.