Dining Plan

[msmama]

At what point does it become worth it for your family?

I thought I was going to go without, but then I got reservations at CRT AND Le Cellier so that has me doubting. (I'd do the 1TS, 1 QS and snack/day - so just those 2 reservations are 4 TS/pp already). Plus 2 other character meals (Garden Grill & H&V) and DS still gets to pick where he wants to have his birthday dinner (we have 7 day hoppers).

The thing I DON'T like about the DP is that I don't want to feel restricted as to what I order. And I really hate the desserts that come with the CS meals, lol. My guess is that we will eat more than the dining plan cost/day, but perhaps not in

I feel like TS we'd come out on top, but maybe not snack/CS wise. And paying for extra stuff (like an appetizer) negates the convenience of it.

Thoughts?

(To get the DP does it have to cover the entire length of your stay? We are actually there 9 days but only got 7 park passes because of other plans so that may give me an answer there). And, I've already started collecting Disney GC's from Target with my Red card to pay for meals, etc, so I am saving a bit there.

 

[smitch425]

At what point does it become worth it for your family?

I thought I was going to go without, but then I got reservations at CRT AND Le Cellier so that has me doubting. (I'd do the 1TS, 1 QS and snack/day - so just those 2 reservations are 4 TS/pp already). Plus 2 other character meals (Garden Grill & H&V) and DS still gets to pick where he wants to have his birthday dinner (we have 7 day hoppers).

The thing I DON'T like about the DP is that I don't want to feel restricted as to what I order. And I really hate the desserts that come with the CS meals, lol. My guess is that we will eat more than the dining plan cost/day, but perhaps not in

I feel like TS we'd come out on top, but maybe not snack/CS wise. And paying for extra stuff (like an appetizer) negates the convenience of it.

Thoughts?


(To get the DP does it have to cover the entire length of your stay? We are actually there 9 days but only got 7 park passes because of other plans so that may give me an answer there). And, I've already started collecting Disney GC's from Target with my Red card to pay for meals, etc, so I am saving a bit there.

I can only address the last question. You must have the dining plan for your entire stay unless you break the stay down into two separate reservations--which could result in having to change rooms during your stay.

 

[cluvsdisney]

At what point does it become worth it for your family?

I thought I was going to go without, but then I got reservations at CRT AND Le Cellier so that has me doubting. (I'd do the 1TS, 1 QS and snack/day - so just those 2 reservations are 4 TS/pp already). Plus 2 other character meals (Garden Grill & H&V) and DS still gets to pick where he wants to have his birthday dinner (we have 7 day hoppers).

The thing I DON'T like about the DP is that I don't want to feel restricted as to what I order. And I really hate the desserts that come with the CS meals, lol. My guess is that we will eat more than the dining plan cost/day, but perhaps not in

I feel like TS we'd come out on top, but maybe not snack/CS wise. And paying for extra stuff (like an appetizer) negates the convenience of it.

Thoughts?

(To get the DP does it have to cover the entire length of your stay? We are actually there 9 days but only got 7 park passes because of other plans so that may give me an answer there). And, I've already started collecting Disney GC's from Target with my Red card to pay for meals, etc, so I am saving a bit there.

I can't see ever purchasing the DP again. It doesn't suit our dining preferences at all - we are not big fans of the CS places, we would never want that much dessert, we don't want to make all of our ADRs in advance, we frequently eat more then one TS a day and we also go off sight for some meals.

As for your last question, the DP must be for your entire length of stay but Le Cellier and CRT are both 2 credit meals and if you have a sit down meal on your other Disney days you will use all of your TS entitlements. You'll each have 2 extra CS credits which you can use for breakfast or lunch on different days of your trip.

 

[bwolfe]

For our family, the DP is not worth it anymore. We've done several trips using it and always felt like it was too much food. We use TIW and save a lot of money v/s the dining plan.

 

[eliza61]

I think you answered your own question.

You don't like it. enough said.

The DDP is not that big of a money saver anymore so why bother?

Here's a peek into my famil dining.

Family of 4, all considered is disney adults. DDP would cost my family 208 dollars a night. NOT INCLUDING TIPS.

last year over the 6 nights we stayed we averaged ~ 175 dollars a night. that is with 2 very expensive nights included and tips includes.

If I went to le Cellier (we don't particularly care for it but I used it because you said you do have an adr there) which I think is 2 TS credit

We would probably order

2 cheese soups 16.00
2 rib eye steak 92.00
1 filet mignon 43.00
1 chicken 34.00
2 lobster mac/cheese to share 20.00
soft drinks 8.00 (that's on the high side)
total 197.00

Now the tips I would have to pay either way. So even on my most expensive day at Le Cellier with tips included I'd spend ~240 bucks. ON the ddp it would cost me 2 TS for each person + I would have to pay oop for the appertizers. On the ddp I'd be wasting the desserts because like you we don't eat them.

It becomes even worst on the days when we eat ts and one of us (usually me) wants to eat light. Just a salad and an appertizer. Then there are days we simply don't feel like doing a ts meal at all. we go in the summer and some times at the end of the day we just want a sandwich an cool drink and a pastry or mickey ice cream. I can't tell you how many times I see people running around the resort store trying to use up cs points. literally just buying any thing to use up the credits.

Lastly vacations are for me supposed to be easy. I don't want to go to eat and then "stress" about having to order some thing to make the credits "worth" it. I want to order simply what i feel like eating.

 

[Ginny Favers]

I used to be a die-hard fan of the DP, just for the convenience of it, but I no longer am. I ran the numbers and found I wasn't saving anything.

The only time it was worth it to us was when my daughter was under 3 and could eat off my plate at the buffet rather than having to pay a child's admission.

 

[fitzy819]

Check out this thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3050182

Someone posted a Dining Plan Calculator. It is awesome. You input the information and it will tell you what dining plan, if any, will work best for you and your family.

 

[jmartinez1895]

We have managed to always get the DP free, but if they do not offer it for our upcoming trip we will pay out of pocket. I used the calculator in the link about and figured we would spend about 3 hundred more on the plan than OOP.

 

[Marionnette]

Check out this thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3050182

Someone posted a Dining Plan Calculator. It is awesome. You input the information and it will tell you what dining plan, if any, will work best for you and your family.

That dining plan calculator is awesome! I've posted about it a few times. It did confirm that I will be better off without it on our upcoming trip. But a number of people find that it is break-even for them.

You may also want to read this article. It shows how the dining plan isn't all it is cracked up to be.
The Disney Dining Plan: Exposed

 

[4HppyCamprs]

We went sans dining plan for our last trip and will be doing so again this next trip because although we ended up spending nearly the same OOP as we would have to purchase the DDP (no free dining offered) we were able to purchase just exactly what we wanted without feeling like we had to accept what they allowed.

We like sit down meals so the QS plan would not have worked for us. Some meals we split because there was a lot of food. We didnt want to feel like we had to eat everything included in the DDP because we already paid for it.

I personally had a hard time tying the money up in food. It is a use it or lose it with the DDP.

If it was offered "free" we might have used it but only if it were offered at a moderate for the reg DDP because otherwise the room discount was a better offer (which we took last time because we were at POLY).

So there is my .02

 

[trinchick]

We've used the dining plan twice. The first time we paid for the standard dining plan, and the second time was free dining, but we paid to upgrade to the deluxe plan.

Having experienced both, I'd say that I wouldn't do the dining plan again unless it was free. As the pp said, the counter service desserts aren't appetizing (with the exception of Sunshine Seasons) yet because I paid for them I felt like I should eat them, which is just dumb and unhealthy. Also, I felt like I was constantly making mental tradeoffs and calculations the whole week. If our plans changed and we skipped an ADR (yes, we called to cancel) or had a snack instead of cs lunch, I felt I needed to scramble to make another ADR or account for a CS meal to make sure that the meal credit didn't go to waste.

That wasn't the case when we had the deluxe plan, though. I felt completely at ease to eat wherever, whenever we wanted. We had downgraded our hotel to a value when we decided to upgrade our dining plan, so we didn't spend much more on on the trip overall. We ate at least one character meal every day, which helped us to save a considerable amount of time by bypassing most character meet & greets. Also went to the HDDR and Cinderellas' Royal Table, which I don't think I'd splurge on OOP. It was a delight to tell DD yes whenever she wanted a Mickey pop and not feel my heart sink if it landed on the ground.

If we go again when free dining isn't an option, our new plan is to stay off site at a condo, and eat most breakfasts in the unit, with the exception of a couple character breakfasts. Then we'll have a counter service lunch and dinner outside the park. I think this will be far more budget-friendly, and I expect we'll like the food better as well.

 

[GMU MOM]

For our party of 4 : 3 Disney adults and 1 child, the only way I would get the DP is if it's free. Since we tend to stay value or moderate, the free dining discount comes out even better than my 50% TA discount.
We find that the regular DDP is just enough food for us and we usually tend to split some of the CS meals to stretch them so that we have enough for breakfast and lunch.
However, if I have to pay for the dining plan, then I would decide where we're going to be eating and compare the numbers.

 

[okeydokey]

It would never be worth if for my family. We hate to have a dinner reservation, except maybe one time per trip. We eat when we want and do counter service. We also share meals or share a meal and an app. We would not be able to eat all the food offered on the dining plan, soit would be a waste.

Even when it is "free" it would not be a deal, we usually stay at Fort Wilderness.

 

[Jenny3]

We purchased the DDP last year and for us, it was worth it. We rented points through a DVC member, so already had a deal on our resort vs going through Disney.

For our family, this was our first real vacation in 7 years and we wanted to enjoy ourselves as we had saved for a long time. We are not fans of CS meals and prefer to sit down to eat at least once a day. We also wanted a few character dining experiences. If we didn't have the DDP, I would have been hesitant to spend that much on mediocre food just to eat with Mickey, LOL. In addition, we liked that we could get an appetizer and dessert (a splurge for us). For me, I liked that everything was paid for in advance and I didn't have to worry about counting my pennies throughout our trip. It was more convenience for me vs value.

Our family at the time was DH and I, DD16, DD8 and DS3 (free). The food was just enough for all of us. It worked out very well for us and I would totally do it again!

Good luck in your decision!

 

[Meetmeinmontauk]

DBF & I love the dining plan! It is a lot of food though. I calculated my savings on each trip and I always came out better with the dining plan.

I, personally, think you have to really like dessert if you are going to get the plan. The extra savings was pretty much what it would cost to get dessert with every meal.

We love dessert & end up eating all of our food. DBF loves the convenience too, so on top of everything we love the ddp!

 

[sillylily]

We will only do the DDP if it is offered free during our time frames. I am a post bariatric surgery patient, and eat next to nothing. I've run our numbers, literally, six differet ways, and never come out remotely close to the cost for either QSDP or DDP. In all actuality, I figured up four TS in our next eight day trip, including LeCellier and two character buffets, and even QSDP cost more than going OOP for that trip. I am a big fan of having it paid in advance, but not when I incur a couple of hundred dollars in loss.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

We will only do the DDP if it is offered free during our time frames. I am a post bariatric surgery patient, and eat next to nothing. I've run our numbers, literally, six differet ways, and never come out remotely close to the cost for either QSDP or DDP. In all actuality, I figured up four TS in our next eight day trip, including LeCellier and two character buffets, and even QSDP cost more than going OOP for that trip. I am a big fan of having it paid in advance, but not when I incur a couple of hundred dollars in loss.

Speaking of paid in advance, there is nothing stopping people from buying Disney gift cards in advance for the exact same dollar amount as the dining plan and whipping that out as needed. The great thing about this method is the money isn't tied up in food or even in that particular trip although it would be tied to Disney/Disney store/Disney cruise

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Marionnette]

Speaking of paid in advance, there is nothing stopping people from buying Disney gift cards in advance for the exact same dollar amount as the dining plan and whipping that out as needed. The great thing about this method is the money isn't tied up in food or even in that particular trip although it would be tied to Disney/Disney store/Disney cruise

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Better yet, this is how I plan to do it:

Buy Disney GCs at Target using my RedCard before I leave (estimating the amount I will spend on food). That's a 5% discount right there.
Then, purchase the TiW card (using my DVC membership to get it for $100 and then paying with GCs to get it for only $95). This will get me a 20% discount on almost all TS meals and some CS locations. Charge back to the room.
Pay for all room charges using the GCs.​

I have to sit down and do some real math but it would look something like this:
For easier math, let's say that a meal cost $100 before tax.

With the TiW, the meal costs $80 + $5.20 in tax + $18 tip (18% of the original pre-tax price). Total cost = $103.20
Pay with GCs that were at a 5% discount. Real OOP cost = $98.04​

Compare that to the cost for the same meal without the TiW or discounted GCs.

Cost of meal ($100) + tax ($6.50) + tip ($18) = $124.50
​

Even if you can't get or don't need a TiW card, you can still shave 5% off the cost of all of your food - even Mickey bars and Dole Whips! - by just using the GCs bought with the Target discount. And you don't even need to stay onsite to do it.

 

[msmama]

You guys are awesome!

I love that the Dis can always do my thinking for me when my brain gets confused! No DP for us!

 

[hsmamato2]

At what point does it become worth it for your family?

I thought I was going to go without, but then I got reservations at CRT AND Le Cellier so that has me doubting.

The thing I DON'T like about the DP is that I don't want to feel restricted as to what I order. And I really hate the desserts that come with the CS meals, lol.

this right here.... getting a reservation to a restaurant is not really a reason to get the ddp.... anyone can get a reservation to just about any disney restaurant...the question is, where do you WANT to eat? If I had a 9 day trip,and only 2 places I really wanted to eat TS,Id pay oop,and wing it the rest of the time,thus saving money. Unless it is truly your desire to spend more than 55.00 per person per day on food,then why get it?
It was worth it our last trip b/c it was included in the price of our room. Otherwise, I wouldn't do it.