Dinning Plan: Deal or No Deal

[miamimama]

I signed up for the DDP - we are at BWI for the first time and wanted to try some of the great restaurants in the Epcot area without worrying about the cost. We stayed at POFQ and the and the value resorts before that and I got tired of food court and CS for every meal to save money. Also, my DD14 is becoming much more of an adventurous eater, and this will give her a chance to try out different types of food. I am worried about the weight gain issue for me and DH, but even if we order deserts, it will be fun to try a bite or two of different things - and I'm sure DD14 with her high metabolism won't let much go to waste! We leave next week, so I'll see if we save money!

 

[DeirdreTours]

We used it last fall for "free" (catch was that you had to pay rack rate on the room). Post trip, DH and I agreed that although we got good value for the price we paid for the room/tickets/meals we would not be willing to pay $130 (me, DH, 13yo, 7yo, 2yo) for the value we received. Yes, the receipts add up to much more than that, but we felt the compromises in time/place/menu choices that we had to make to use the plan offset much of that "savings". Also, we were very disappointed in how terribly the service and general atmosphere of Disney restaurants had declined. In the future, we would eat many meals offsite.

 

[Briar Rose's Mom]

I have been debating whether or not to get the dinning plan for our upcoming vacation. I seem to remember reading on some other post that you can add it on up to 48hrs in advance of your stay. I've made several ADR. When I do a cost comparison, if we order an appetizer, entree and dessert for all the Table Service meals then yes it would definitely save us money. However, as many people have pointed out, portion sizes are huge at Disney. When we're not at a buffet/all you care to eat restaurant, my husband and I ususally split an entre and one appetizer or dessert, but not both. Our 2 kids also split something. I've got to crunch more numbers to see if what we would actually order vs the dining plan is worth it. The other issue is that we prefer Table Service restaurants to Counter Service. Arrrgh!

 

[dabute]

I’ve had the dining plan once. It was nice not to have to worry about the cost of everything. However, there is just too much food. I don’t know anybody who orders an appetizer AND desert for each member of their party .

I never overate. I would just have a little bit of everything. I did feel very wasteful. But I had the mentality that “I have to get my moneys worth”

This September we are staying at the Swan, so the dining plan is not an option. I was a little disappointed a first. But I couldn’t turn down $129 a night for a deluxe.

Anyhow, I have all our meals planned. I decided to add them up with the aid of allears. We are very picky, so it’s easy to estimate what we might order. Well, it turns out we will be spending less than using the dining plan. And we are only eating at two counter service locations! And one off site dinner. We will also be using our DDE card. We will share some meals, not to save but to leave room for desert!!

We are staying for nine nights.

Our dining list includes:
L'Originale Alfredo di Roma
The Grand Tea
Beaches and Cream (twice)
San Angel Inn
Cape May Café
Crystal Palace
Brown Derby
The Garden Grill
Le Cellier
Rainforest Café
Liberty Tree Tavern
Fresh

 

[PaulaSB12]

I am going solo,so sharing isn't an option. Also I wanted to be able to choose a meal on what I fancy not just stick to counter meals because they are cheap.

 

[DaisyD]

I think it is a decent deal if you are used to counter service. We like to eat in the signature restaurants at WDW and it would be nothing but a big hassle trying to save credits for this and that. It is much easier for us to just pay for what we want and not worry about what credits you need or what food you are allowed. I imagine if you were on a strict budget it works out well but we aren't.