Dining Plan...Worth it??

[Calle&Jakesmom]

Help!... We've been to Disney many, many, many times- we always stay on-property, but have never done the dining plan. I've heard lots from those who say it's worth it and saves lots of money, but when I look at the cost of the plan and try to figure out the numbers for my family- it just doesn't seem to add up. Help prove me wrong and tell me how the plan has worked for you (or not). Should we do Dining Plan for our stay in February?

 

[Lintasare]

It is really up to you if the DDP is worth it for your family.

Some of the things you need to ask yourself are...are you comfortable taking time out of your park touring to sit down for a meal? Are you sure you will be able to use all or the majority of your credits? For example if you have 7 TS credits but you are only going to use maybe 3 of them then the DDP is not going to be worth it for your family.

Also you can do a cost comparison by looking up the recent menus and prices and comparing what you would order over the course of one day and comparing that total to the nightly cost of the DDP.

For my sister and I we figured even with paying OOP for tips and appetizers if we wanted them we would still come out ahead. But your mileage may vary depending on what you like to eat and so on.

I hope that helps.

 

[Calle&Jakesmom]

That's helpful, Thanks!

 

[aladams2]

I've done some research and I don't think it's worth it for my family of four, me, DH, DD5 and DD7. 3 of us are picky eaters and don't eat much. So I figured we would share meals. Plus my parents are coming so my mom and I would share a meal occasionally too. We do have some TS meals planned but we want to eat and run most of the time. So, we figured we would actually save money by paying OOP.

 

[SGMCO]

Well for the last couple of trips we have gotten FD but if
we would go to WDW at a different time I would defenatly
consider paying for the DP. I loved how easy it is to use and
that I can order anything on the menu and not worry how much
it cost. It is just the 3 of us with DS being 12yrs old now and
I can't fill him up. I keep most of my reciept from last years trip
and most of our TS meals were $125.00 for the 3 of us.
That is more than the cost of paying for the 1 day of DP ($113.97)--plus
you also get a CS meal and a snack. (add another $36.00 for those--
I would have cost us $161.00 OOP per day otherwise).
We really enjoyed our trip.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I use it when it's free, but otherwise, I don't think it's worth it. It does depend on your family, and your dining styles though.

 

[RllngRckBrw]

For us I beleive it is worth it, but you must use all of the credits and eat all of the food. If you are not ne that would not indulge in each dessert, it may not be worth it. If you would not go to a TS resturant every day it is not worth it. And even if you were to eat at the cheapest spots every meal, it may not be worth it. We came out ahead on our last trip.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=25328763#post25328763&highlight=RllngRckBrw+resturant

That is my review from our last trip so you can see what we ate. This was beneficial for us with the DDP we definitely saved money, especially since I ususally ate the most expensive thing on the menu.

 

[bsjs0708]

Well our family really enjoys good food and we enjoy table service restaurants with more pricey selections. So for us the DDP is REALLY worth it

 

[lilmrsellis]

It is so worth it! We LOVE all inclusive vactions...so simple. Plus, we would never spend nearly as much as it would cost us on food out of pocket. we went places we would never go otherwise. DH actually says he won't go without it.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Whether it is worth it and how much you actually save depends on where you eat, what you order and how you use your credits. That said, if the plan suits your dining style (that is, if you would usually eat a TS and a CS meal a day and buy a drink or a snack) I don't see how you can't save money on the plan.

Here is a link to exactly how the plan worked for us last week. We saved over $200.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1933517

 

[ahecht]

Just to give you a data point:

On my recent 10-day trip we ate breakfast in our hotel room most days (bagels, cream cheese, and lox that we brought with us), had 7 TS meals, 16 CS meals, and about 6 snacks. We never purchased sodas (water is free and caffeine leads to dehydration), although we did buy alcoholic drinks on 3 occasions. Including the price of the breakfast food and granola bars we purchased in advance, we spent about $30/person each day including tips.

The QS dining plan would've been $30/person each day but we would've had to skip the TS meals or pay for them out of pocket. The Regular dining plan would've been $38+tips/person each day (probably around $43/person each day).

For us, the dining plans were not a good deal.

 

[Juliegirl1]

When my son and I did it we saved over $300 on an eight day trip. You need to first sit down and look at where you want to eat and what you would order. Add it up and you can make a decision as to whether it will be wise for you. One additional benefit that I like is that the majority of my food is paid for and it is one less thing for me to stress over. We only purchased a few extra drinks here and there (mostly because I can't drink after him - he doesn't know how to not backwash - ick ). I also usually like to order the most expensive thing on the menu (what can I say, I have expensive tastes) and it was nice being able to order anything I wanted instead of worrying about budgeting my money to last over the whole trip.

 

[Laura]

Not worth it for me, even when tips and appetizers are included. I don't get that hungry in WDW to want a sit-down dinner with dessert every night, and I like having appetizers as a main dish if I want. Also, being a vegetarian, my meals are already typically a good bit cheaper than the meat-based ones.

 

[clutter]

We like it for our longer August trip. We'll do a sit-down meal every day for the break. But on a recent 4 day trip, it took a lot of time that could have been park time.

If you're going to do a TS meal every day, it's worth it. If you wouldn't do it anyway, then it's probably not worth it.

 

[cmesq61]

Help!... We've been to Disney many, many, many times- we always stay on-property, but have never done the dining plan. I've heard lots from those who say it's worth it and saves lots of money, but when I look at the cost of the plan and try to figure out the numbers for my family- it just doesn't seem to add up. Help prove me wrong and tell me how the plan has worked for you (or not). Should we do Dining Plan for our stay in February?

Please take my theory with a grain of salt as this is our family's first trip--well, I went the year WDW opened, but that kind of doesn't count cause all I remember is Dumbo and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (awesome!). Anyway, it's me, BF, DD 14 and DS 15. We have DxDP for 4 people. We have ADRs for 3 TS everyday and I know my BF and kids will eat more than what I am paying. I just read a recetn post where the family of 4 paid $220 at Coral Reef with no appetizers. My group will eat the entree, dessert, drink and the included appetizer. Figure 4 appetizers makes the Coral Reef meal $260 for us, plus 4 breakfast buffets at $29-$35 per person, and I'm saving money even with the tips being OOP. If your kids are younger and don't yet have the bottomless pits that mine have, then maybe they won't eat enough. Really depends.

 

[Crystal824]

As others have said, it really depends on how you want to eat.

If you like a TS everynight then it might save you a little. It really won't save you that much in the end, but I like having everything prepaid. We like it and use it almost every trip.

If you plan to eat in your room or CS at every meal, the regular dining plan won't save you anything. It will in fact cost more.

 

[ahecht]

I just read a recetn post where the family of 4 paid $220 at Coral Reef with no appetizers

$220 is the absolute worst case at Coral Sea. The most expensive entree at Coral Reef is the steak for $33 ($28 at lunch). Assuming dinner and everyone ordered the steak ($33) and dessert ($8) and a beverage ($3), that's $176. Add including 6.5% tax and 18% tip and you get $219.

However, if you go at lunch, order the Catfish ($18, and it's absolutely wonderful), get water to drink, and share a dessert ($8), your total is $80, or $97 after 6.5% tax and a 15% tip.

In other words, if you do all TS (which limits park time) and always order the most expensive menu item you will get your money's worth. However, if you order inexpensive items and do more CS restaurants you can save a LOT.

 

[DisneyKidds]

If you like a TS everynight then it might save you a little. It really won't save you that much in the end.......

I wouldn't say that. We both agree it depends on where and how you eat, but last week our family of 4 (2A2C) was on the plan and we saved more than $200. We didn't eat exclusively at the most expensive restaurants either. See the link in my prior post. Our savings amounted to 35% of what we would have spent, and all we did was eat like we would have if we'd ordered and paid out of pocket. We did try one new place (Captains Galley), but we didn't load up on food we wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

 

[leebee]

DD14 and I didn't have the plan last week, and I'm not sure but I think we about broke even. For reference, dinner for 2 at Chefs de France (shared appetizer, 2 entrees (mac/cheese and lamb shank), shared dessert, 1 orangina, 1 glass of merlot) cost $90 with tax and tip. Dinner at Boma was about $70. Counter service lunch was about $20 for two of us Pecos Bill's, one burger combo, one chicken wrap, one drink), and cs b'fast at POP was $18 for two (2 slices french toast, no meat, omelet with b'fast potatoes, one milk, one juice, one bowl of grapes). One MK day we had b'fast in the room, lunch at Casey's (2 dogs with apple slices, no drink, was about $12), 2 dole whips ($8), dinner at Kona Cafe (shared appetizer and dessert, 2 entrees, 2 coffees. 1 iced tea) was about $60. So, it looks like we would have saved money with the dining plan. However, it really depends on what your situation is. We had a free fridge (swap) and spent about $20 on breakfast foods, bottled water, and park/room snacks. I got a discount on the hotel room which saved us $21 a day over rack rate and paid $212 each for our tickets (7 day base). It really all depends on your family's eating style, and habits. If you would be buying all three meals and snacks, you'll probably save money. However, the dp is too much food for us- we eat small breakfasts, often share a meal at lunch, and do one sit down meal per day (maybe). I also personally think that if we had the meal plan, I'd be more liberal about spending money on additional snacks and souvenirs as we wouldn't be "paying" for meals!!

 

[Katiebell]

It saves DH and me a lot --even without appetizers and tip included -- and we really enjoy it. It's nice to order whatever we feel like on the menu, instead of thinking, "I really want the steak, but the chicken is so much cheaper, I'll just order that instead" which is what often happens when we order OOP.

Some of the factors to consider:

- do you usually have one TS meal and one CS meal each day on vacation? (we do; if you feel like TS meals are a waste of your park touring time, then the DDP isn't a good value for you -- but you might like the new CS plan they are offering next year, though)

- do you typically order dessert? (on vacation, you bet we do )

- do you have children under 10, and will you be going to character meals or buffets? (the daily cost for a child is less than the price of one kids' meal at a buffet or character meal, so after the CS and the snack for that day, you come out considerably ahead)

- do you have teens that eat like locusts? (the plan is probably a good deal, go to a lot of buffets and AYCE places so you fill them up, and they will probably devour all of your family's snack credits, too! )

- do you have kids over 10 who will have to pay adult price for the plan, but they are picky or eat like birds? (bad idea to get the plan, same thing for picky or light-eating adults)

- do you typically go to more Signature restaurants? (might want to reconsider the basic DDP -- the value per TS credit is a lot less at a Signature because it takes 2 credits for a meal, but the cost of entree, dessert, and beverage isn't likely to be twice what it would at a 1 TS restaurant)

We consider $25 for a TS meal (including dessert, beverage, and tax), $10 for a CS meal (including dessert, beverage, and tax), and $4 for a snack to be our "break even" point -- if our meals cost more than that, that's how much we save. And they usually cost more than that