Dining plan - worth it?

[Susan555]

We had similar thoughts. My kids and I eat 5 small meals a day, so right there the DDP is not a good fit. Dh eats two larger meals a day, so it's perfect for him, though. Also, I didn't want the "pressure" of all those TS meals and all that food. I would like this trip to be about the attractions, etc, rather than about eating. I've told the kids I'm bringing granola bars, animal crackers, etc with us, and they are not going to be getting Disney snacks every day - it's just not necessary. I don't know the nutritional content of anything at Disney, so I'd rather keep the Disney eating to a minimum. We originally planned for 10 days at Pop Century on the DDP, and now we're doing 3 days at Pop on the DDP and 7 days off site at a villa with a kitchen. I've planned our 3 DDP days already, and we'll be doing buffets for TS meals so we can pick and choose some healthier options. When we're staying off site we'll probably end up splitting some CS meals at the parks, and I'm really not even looking forward to that, as healthy adult meals are few and far between (and one of the few healthy options - sashimi - won't be available b/c Epcot is refurbing the Japan pavillion). I've found some off site restaurants we'll try, but mostly we'll be eating quick meals at the villa. I don't intend to "cook" much, but just having the kitchen makes it so much easier to make the kids a sandwich, have a quick salad, etc.

I wouldn't plan a trip around free DDP, and I doubt after this 3 days with the DDP we would ever do it again.

 

[ReggieB]

It really boils down to how you eat while you're there. If you normally eat a sit down every day at a table service place, then I think it's worth it. You can order apps and desert and not feel guilty about the cost! My family of four used it last time and ate like royalty! And for about $38 bucks a day. Tip included, too. With the snack, CS and TS included, we were always full and didn't buy any extra food.

If you don't usually eat TS meals everyday, then the consensus seems to be that you can do better paying out of pocket. As usual, you're mileage may vary.

I second that. My DH was pretty anti it, until I broke the cost down. We would usually splurge on the TS at WDW, as we don't eat out much at home. So I found that we are able to break even most days on the cost of our TS choices alone. Add in the CS and snacks and it really worked out for us. It did require some planning to make sure we maximized it (actually I think that was just an excuse on my part for some obsessive planning!!! )

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

We used the DDP on our trip in June and despite that fact that we are NOT big eaters, we still found that it was worth it for us.

The amount of food that we received was just unreal, AND it was delicious! It gave us the chance to sit down, relax and enjoy meal that we would not have otherwise.

Our DS was not quite 2 at the time and is a very, very picky eater. We weren't able to share our meals with him, because he only likes certain things, so we had to pay for his meal OOP. He's too young for the DDP.