Dining plan yes or no?

[Ndusmama]

so first solo trip coming up during a half marathon weekend and flower and garden. All three new experiences. Do I do the dining plan or just kinda go with the flow and eat when hungry. I know after a race I get a box of snacks and before race I won't be hungry so I am not sure it would be worth it. But the price for a week of dining plan seems like less then what I might spend on my own just wandering. Seriously solo planning is harder then planning with babies and toddlers.

 

[ludari]

I would suggest you go with the flow. I've done numerous solo trips to WDW and DLR and in my opinion the dining plan is way too much food. I would suggest that you have some food in your room that you can snack on and just eat when you are hungry. As someone who has completed at least 30 or more runDisney races plus several others I typically have a bagel with peanut butter spread on it before the half and full marathons. Now if you are used to running half marathons without doing this I would suggest you stick with your plan.

 

[samsteele]

It really depends on your eating habits. I've had the Fall free dining for the past few years (upgraded to Table Service) & found it a real mixed bag. It is always a huge, huge amount of food for me but the snack credits on the plan were an excellent value at Food & Wine and I loved being able to choose the most $ entree on the menu for meals. To get the most bang for buck, (at least for me), meant not skipping any meals & using all of my credits. There's always a risk that if you fall ill that you loose a huge amount of the value/investment you made in the plan. To squeeze all those credits in, it also means a highly regimented/planned out vacation with a large number of reservations. Not everyone wants their vacation planned out down to the last minute and studded with ADRs. Ultimately, it worked for me because of the snack credits at F&W, ordering the most $ entree on the menu & with the Canadian dollar being low, I wasn't always looking for the least or less $ option on the menu. I valued eating at WDW at least as important as rides, shows & attractions so it was worth the effort & time. It really is a personal decision. Perhaps start by looking at menus on eg allears to see if the most $ entrees actually appeal to you. Tom Bricker also has a great list of the most bang for your buck WDW restaurants when on the meal plan.

 

[Ndusmama]

I would suggest you go with the flow. I've done numerous solo trips to WDW and DLR and in my opinion the dining plan is way too much food. I would suggest that you have some food in your room that you can snack on and just eat when you are hungry. As someone who has completed at least 30 or more runDisney races plus several others I typically have a bagel with peanut butter spread on it before the half and full marathons. Now if you are used to running half marathons without doing this I would suggest you stick with your plan.

Yeah bagel with peanut butter is too heavy for me before a run. I usually have a protein bar or something lighter before a run.

It really depends on your eating habits. I've had the Fall free dining for the past few years (upgraded to Table Service) & found it a real mixed bag. It is always a huge, huge amount of food for me but the snack credits on the plan were an excellent value at Food & Wine and I loved being able to choose the most $ entree on the menu for meals. To get the most bang for buck, (at least for me), meant not skipping any meals & using all of my credits. There's always a risk that if you fall ill that you loose a huge amount of the value/investment you made in the plan. To squeeze all those credits in, it also means a highly regimented/planned out vacation with a large number of reservations. Not everyone wants their vacation planned out down to the last minute and studded with ADRs. Ultimately, it worked for me because of the snack credits at F&W, ordering the most $ entree on the menu & with the Canadian dollar being low, I wasn't always looking for the least or less $ option on the menu. I valued eating at WDW at least as important as rides, shows & attractions so it was worth the effort & time. It really is a personal decision. Perhaps start by looking at menus on eg allears to see if the most $ entrees actually appeal to you. Tom Bricker also has a great list of the most bang for your buck WDW restaurants when on the meal plan.

I've been to wdw during food and wine and loved the snacks. I ended up using all my snack credits there but the people didn't know how to convert the meals to snack credits. I'm thinking gift cards might be more of an option with filling a suitcase with my before race meals and WATER! Lots of water. I not really an ADR person. I just can't plan that far out. I only decided two weeks ago to even go in April. I really am more of a last minute go with the flow what am I in the mood for person. And I tend to snack. Maybe I just answered my own question.

 

[thepicklebee]

On my solo trip, I loved being able to have the flexibility to eat where/when I wanted. I also don't eat much - and much more likely to eat 5 small meals a day than two or three giant ones. I loved having an app in a lounge for a meal and then getting a snack somewhere a bit later. I also don't choose to eat at buffets solo - simply because I really don't get my money's worth - and those a big bang for the buck so to speak on the dining plan.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

No dining plan for me; I prefer freedom to make all my own decisions. I do make a lot of ADRs, but would not want to have to base my choices on the constraints of a dining plan.

 

[loves to dive]

I don't do the dining plan any more, we are more go with the flow type people. Either solo or with my son, we've found that we have no problems getting an ADR same day if we want to eat at a TS restaurant. I'm not a huge meal eater, I tend to eat an appetizer and a salad or soup or what would count as a snack on the meal plan, works as a meal for me. During F&G and F&W, 85 % of our meals are at the booths. We will eat breakfast at the resort or a park and maybe once or twice book a late TS meal but other than that, it's the booths.

 

[Stefecatzz]

I found it too much food for me. I also tend to eat in smaller quantities throughout the day so getting smaller meals/snacks is what works best.

 

[Bete]

Dining plan only when it's free.

 

[RADOPT]

I don't do the dinning plan and won't unless it is free. I tend to eat less on vacation than at home so it would be a waste of food and money. I aso don't tend to penny pinch so I eat what and when I want.
Have a great trip

 

[mamamelody2]

We've had the dining plan the two times we've gone, but only because it was free. I'm crunching numbers on our upcoming trip, and there's pretty much no way the dining plan is a good value if you have to pay for it.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

It's a heck of a lot of food. If you are the type of person who eats a full meal plus dessert at least 2x per day (with a drink) plus two snacks and you tend to like the most expensive foods on the menu, then it's a good value. If you don't eat that much or just have a preference for foods which happen to not be as expensive (vegetarians, for example, will have a very hard time finding good value on the DDP) then just go where your stomach leads you!

 

[melana]

I am doing the dining plan when I go SOLO in October. I am going to do a few signature places and I like the convienence of having it "paid" for before I go. Of course I know there will be some OOP food too. I know there are valid agruments for and against it, but I think it will work well for me. I have always gotten it when my sister, niece and I go. So I just figured I would do it this time SOLO as well. As for the snacks if I have any left over (as I have in the past with my sister and niece) I get goodies for gifts to bring home for people. They like that a lot better than another coffee mug or t-shirt.

 

[Ndusmama]

I am doing the dining plan when I go SOLO in October. I am going to do a few signature places and I like the convienence of having it "paid" for before I go. Of course I know there will be some OOP food too. I know there are valid agruments for and against it, but I think it will work well for me. I have always gotten it when my sister, niece and I go. So I just figured I would do it this time SOLO as well. As for the snacks if I have any left over (as I have in the past with my sister and niece) I get goodies for gifts to bring home for people. They like that a lot better than another coffee mug or t-shirt.

October+ food and wine= no more snack credits! At least that's always my experience. But October is typically free meal plan anyway isn't it. .

 

[RADOPT]

If the dining plan is free, I assume that you have to pay rack for the room - is this correct?

Thank you.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

If the dining plan is free, I assume that you have to pay rack for the room - is this correct?

Thank you.

Yes, you must pay rack rate and also buy tickets.

 

[bryanb]

If the dining plan is free, I assume that you have to pay rack for the room - is this correct?

Thank you.

Yes, you must pay rack rate and also buy tickets.

And... if you're going to pay rack rate, free dining is a much better value when you have 4 people staying in your room -- instead of 1.

 

[rstevens333]

I went solo this past January and got the quick service plan. It wound up being a good value because I got my butt up early two mornings for 8am Be Our Guest breakfasts- one quick serve credit or $24 if you paid cash.

Granted, it was a quiet week and I got really lucky getting those ADRs the night before, but it made it a good value. (especially since I managed to get right on the Mine Train at open both times.)

 

[Shellyred8]

We did the dining plan the first time we stayed on site. It was fun to have it that first time, but as others have mentioned, it is a lot of food. Much more than we normally eat. We found we tried more expensive things when we had the DDP (trying to get the most for our money!), but I always felt like I was over-full. So, we just go with the flow now.

Even that one time that we did the DDP, we came out about even for what we paid for the DDP vs. what we would've paid out of pocket.

Have a great trip!

 

[hermhogwarts55]

It depends on how much you eat. To do the Deluxe you need to spend a minimum of $30 on a meal and $5 on snacks or about $106 a day on food to get your moneys worth. I did a meal plan for my future trip to Disney World and I came out to about $400 saved with the dining plan, but I'm still not sure if it's a good idea since most of the food I put down was Buffets. It's up to you and how much you eat... if you eat a little I would not recommend it, but you'll also be walking around a lot too so take that into account when you make your decision.