Dining plan....

[ge0rgette2]

Never used the dining plan before... What's the best way to take advantage of the program?

 

[jcieutat]

You could get a thousand different responses for your question. I am a planner geek so I have a wish list of restaurants before the 180 day mark. On that day, I wake up and book everything we want. You need to pay attention to the disney calendar for park hours to ensure you are not running from here and there to make your dining reservations. There are a bunch of great dining reviews on here to help you choose your TS meals.

 

[tiggerdad]

Dining plan was once a cost effective way to get your meals. At one time you could actually save 20-30% if you used the dining plan. That is pretty much not the case now. What it does give you is a guarranteed seat at your chosen meal location in and around your chosen time and paid in advance before you arrive. It kinda lifts the worry of bringing extra money for food.
It is great when you can land the meal plan on a discount or for free, then it is a truly cost effective way to go. We have used it twice, but now that we have started camping at Fort Wilderness, we won't anymore because it is way cheaper to cook for ourselves most nights, and do a few character meals for the kids instead.
It all depends on how you look at it. You do need to check the Disney calander for park times and plan meals accordingly. If you don't mind sitting down and doing some figuring, you can make it all work out smoothly and have less pressure during your stay knowing it is all taken care of. The downside of booking meals, is that you are anchored to a particular park on a particular day. You also have to plan your park activities around your reservation time.

Sent from my Desire HD using DISBoards

 

[minnie mum]

You'll probably get a lot more informed advice if you were to post this on the restaurant board. There is a DDP thread that discusses all things having to do with the dining plans. I won't get into the debate over whether or not the DDP is worthwhile anymore. It is for some. It isn't for many.

Having said that, the best thing I can advise is to use your TS plans wisely, since that's where any potential savings are to be had. Use your TS credits for those meals that will be the most expensive, especially character meals for lunch or dinner. It's kind of a waste of credits to use them for something as inexpensive as the Plaza restaurant, for instance.

Use your CS credits for lunches or dinners, since breakfast is usually the least expensive meal of the day. You can use your snacks either for snacks (duh) during the park day, or for a pastry at breakfast (along with your refillable mug of coffee).

You're still often faced with needing to pay for one meal a day- in our case, breakfast. We usually opt to bring our own breakfast foods that don't require cooking, and stop for milk, juice, water just before checking in to the resort.

 

[Praying Colonel]

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=116

 

[jcammans]

If you are able to get free dining, it's worth it. Otherwise, do your homework!! Look at the list of places that you will eat at. Check out the menus. Do the math and see how much your meal will actually cost you. Then compare the price of your meal estimates to how much the dining plan will cost. Then you will have a good idea if choosing a dining plan is right for your family or not.

 

[ge0rgette2]

Thanks. Sorry. Wrong area to post.


I guess I should have inquired about free dining.

 

[ge0rgette2]

Is it worth it?

 

[bdklein]

Totally confused by your questions and statements. What are your questions and situation/circumstances??

 

[sharonabe]

Is it worth it?

Even free dining may not be the best discount depending on the size of your party, where you want to stay, and how you like to eat.

If all of you want your own dessert at every meal, you drink soda/tea/coffee with every meal, and you want steak/more expensive entrees for most of your meals then the DDP may be the way for you to go.

If by "worth it" you mean monetary value, then you will have to look at menus, see what you might want to eat, and DO THE MATH.

If by "worth it" you mean peace of mind that it's paid for even if you don't save money, then you don't have to do anything but get the plan with your package.

 

[ge0rgette2]

I meant worth dollar for dollar. Never did the plan before.


We will be a party of 1a1c and 2a3c.

Staying moderate over Presidents Week 2014.

I should probably price hotel only as well.

 

[sharonabe]

I meant worth dollar for dollar. Never did the plan before.


We will be a party of 1a1c and 2a3c.

Staying moderate over Presidents Week 2014.

I should probably price hotel only as well.

The Stay/Play/Dine offer is valid for your dates. So I would price out a trip with the offer, then do another with room and tickets with the 25% room discount that is offered. If you can feed your families for less than the difference, go with the room discount. If not, go with the SPD offer.

One more thing just in case you don't know, a Disney child is only those kiddos aged 3-9. Under 3, they don't get any kind of dining plan, 10 and over are considered adults for tickets and dining. And kids must order from the kids' menu if there is one if you're on the plan, so be sure to check out the kids' menus when you do the math.

 

[ge0rgette2]

The Stay/Play/Dine offer is valid for your dates. So I would price out a trip with the offer, then do another with room and tickets with the 25% room discount that is offered. If you can feed your families for less than the difference, go with the room discount. If not, go with the SPD offer.

One more thing just in case you don't know, a Disney child is only those kiddos aged 3-9. Under 3, they don't get any kind of dining plan, 10 and over are considered adults for tickets and dining. And kids must order from the kids' menu if there is one if you're on the plan, so be sure to check out the kids' menus when you do the math.

Thanks - yes, I have to remember my 10yo is an adult price.

I heard there is a calculator online to see if the DP is worth it.

Thanks everyone!

 

[ge0rgette2]

Hmm - wow!!!

I used a dining calculator for the dining plan against a Non dining plan --- I'm paying 28.00 more for a plan than I would if I normally bought meals LOL

I'm so undecided...

Never did the meal plan - figured it was easier to manage budget wise, on the go, etc...

Not much of a savings with a pin code

 

[Cafeen]

Hmm - wow!!!

I used a dining calculator for the dining plan against a Non dining plan --- I'm paying 28.00 more for a plan than I would if I normally bought meals LOL

I'm so undecided...

Never did the meal plan - figured it was easier to manage budget wise, on the go, etc...

Not much of a savings with a pin code

With a $28 difference, it's pretty much a wash (which can make it more difficult of course ). You'll have to take into account the structure at this point.

• Are the allotments (number and distribution of credits) something that works for your trip? Are the entitlements (what you get for each credit) something that works for this trip? If no to either of those (or "not much" or some similar response), then it's probably best to opt for out of pocket at this point.
• Are you the type of person that sees a prepay item and thinks "Oooh, I can order what I want!" or the type of person that sees the same and thinks "Hmm, I have to order something different and more expensive to get my money's worth?" If the former, then a dining plan may work for you, if the latter, again, it may be a good point to opt out.

I'm assuming that you've been to WDW before by the tone of your post ("Never used a dining plan" vs "Never been"), so I'll spare the extra time aspect of it, but it's also something to consider if you don't usually do much (or any) table service. A single meal can take 60-120 minutes from check-in to check-out.

Weighing these far more subjective options is key to making the decision as to what works for you.

(As a note, I find it much easier to manage a dining plan than paying OOP, but that's the type of person I am. There are others on this board who are the exact opposite. Neither of us is wrong ).