Dinning plan is it worht it

[imlsherman]

I have been a DVD member for two years and this December I am taking the family back for seven days. In the past i have always gotten the meal plan.My questions is the meal plan really worth it or am I better off paying out of pocket? My daughters love doing all of the character dinning any feed back would be great. Thank you

 

[Missyrose]

I have been a DVD member for two years and this December I am taking the family back for seven days. In the past i have always gotten the meal plan.My questions is the meal plan really worth it or am I better off paying out of pocket? My daughters love doing all of the character dinning any feed back would be great. Thank you

The only way to tell if the plan is financially "worth it" is to price out the meals and see if the plan would save you any money over OOP. The other option is the Tables in Wonderland card. It costs $100 but gets you 20% off at most TS restaurants and a few CS. You'd have to spend at least $500 in meals to break even, but with a week's worth of character dining, you probably will sail past that mark.

 

[Checkers]

Each family is different. If you are going to do alot of character meals then I think the DDP would probably be worth it to you because they are very expensive. We just returned a few weeks ago and did not get the DDP for the first time while we were traveling with our family. We used the TIW card (which as a DVC member you can purchase for $100 or if you have an AP it is $75) and found for us it really worked this time. We only made a few ADRs and were not restricted on where or when we ate our other meals. The TIW card paid for itself almost immediately and we will be using it when my DH & I go back in Dec. Have a great vacation!

 

[disneynutz]

If it was worth it, Disney wouldn't offer it. The DDP makes Disney more money than if you paid OOP.

Bill

 

[DizBub]

The main problem I have with DDP is you must make ADRs. At this late date, unless you already have made your reservations, you may not be able to get them. If you are shut out of TS restaurants you will lose the value of the dining plan.

I would never waste a dining credit on places like the Plaza Restaurant in MK or ESPN or Big River Grille at the BW or Beaches n' Cream at BC.

Making ADRs on certain days restrict and dictate my activities so I do very few of them anymore. DDP just doesn't work for us any more. TIW is the way to go.

Another thought is that if you purchase DDP you still will be paying OOP for tips. The years we have used DDP we spent $100 to $150 in tips alone. Added expense people don't seem to consider.

 

[imlsherman]

Each family is different. If you are going to do alot of character meals then I think the DDP would probably be worth it to you because they are very expensive. We just returned a few weeks ago and did not get the DDP for the first time while we were traveling with our family. We used the TIW card (which as a DVC member you can purchase for $100 or if you have an AP it is $75) and found for us it really worked this time. We only made a few ADRs and were not restricted on where or when we ate our other meals. The TIW card paid for itself almost immediately and we will be using it when my DH & I go back in Dec. Have a great vacation!

I was looking into the TIW but I did not see that much information on it can you please explain the benefits. Thank you.

 

[Checkers]

I was looking into the TIW but I did not see that much information on it can you please explain the benefits. Thank you.

TIW is accepted at most but not all TS restaurants and I think some CS restaurants (but I always forget to use it at CS ones). You get 20% off your total order (an 18% tip is automatically added) and it includes any adult beverages you have ordered. You can use it for up to 10 people. In our group we had 11 people and they excluded one of the children's meals and then there were some that gave us the discount on all 11.

For us we felt it was well worth it. We also liked not having the restrictions of so many ADRs and had more flexibility. If you go on the Member Services website I think there is a link explaining TIW.

 

[davedmaine]

I was looking into the TIW but I did not see that much information on it can you please explain the benefits. Thank you.

Definitely get a TiW card and save yourself the aggravation of the dining plan. You'll save more money and you won't be stuck with 22 snack credits on the last day. Our card paid for itself and more just on our first trip. We usually go down 3 or 4 times a year, so it's a big savings for us.

 

[TLPL]

What about during holiday season when they charge extra ? Since as a DVC member we don't pay extra price for our DDP, will that make it worth it then?

 

[tjkraz]

What about during holiday season when they charge extra ? Since as a DVC member we don't pay extra price for our DDP, will that make it worth it then?

Same answer...price it out and see.

Every group is different and there's just no blanket answer.

I'll share several reasons why the dining plan does NOT work for us:

1) Son is 11 and a Disney "adult", but still a light eater. No way it makes sense for us to pay $50 for his DDP credits.
2) The desserts with each meal really help prop up the "value" of the Dining Plan. But we rarely eat dessert. There's pretty much zero value in us getting all of those cakes and cookies thrown at us twice a day.
3) The plans went up in price quite a bit when Disney started including refillable soft drink mugs. Hate 'em. They're a pain to fill and a bigger pain to carry around. We'll continue buying our own soft drinks from the grocery store or via someone like Garden Grocer.

TIW is a great alternative but even that needs to be investigated thoroughly to determine if it will be a money-saver or not. Passholders need to spend $375 just to break even on the $75 price tag. Non-Passhorder pay $100 for the card and would have to spend $500 to break even.

To some those are very reachable goals. Others...not so much. Be sure you examine the restaurant list carefully and take blackout dates into consideration.

 

[rocketriter]

We did the dining plan years ago, when there was only one version which covered all meals anywhere. It had a hidden expense. At an age when most kids are happy with hot dogs, our greedy little critters learned to like crab, lobster tail, and prime rib. Yikes!