Dinning plan vs. Cooking

[webbmom]

I dont cook a whole 7 days in a row at home why would I do that while at Disney on vacation? DH is wondering if its worth it to get a DP. I am thinking the one with 1 TS and 1 QS per day. So that we can double up some of our TS for things like Aloha, and Mickeys BBQ. I would still need to cook a couple of meals and that is not a huge deal. Just looking at the $$$ of it all.

Any thoughts?

I guess you sould know that we are seasoned Pop-up campers. but the longest we have ever camped it 4 nights in a row.

 

[ElementCamper]

Used wisely, the dining plan can save you money over paying out of pocket for meals. I've heard a figure of 30% average when looking at other posts. I've always enjoyed using it as I don't normally cook when camping either. You do have to take into consideration making reservations ahead of time, especially for the more popular restaurants.

I've found the best use of my dollars while staying at FW is to pay out of pocket for breakfast at Trails End (if not eating something quick at the campsite before heading out) and then use the dining plan for the remaining meals/snacks of the day. You will end up WELL fed!

 

[CampingBandit]

I think a person could easily spend a minimum of $40 on meals. Per person, per day.

So multiply that times the number of days and decide if the dp is cheaper.

Obviously the type of meals will affect cost, I'm talking just counter-type meals. Sit down will be twice that.

If you can cook some meals at the camper that's the cheapest option of course....when I priced the QDP for a friend recently I recommended she do it because she didn't want to cook. So doing breakfast in the cabin and then counter meals and she'd likely save more than 30-40% over out of pocket.

If you know you want to do the character 2meal type deals than sure it would be cheaper than paying out of pocket.

 

[ms_missy66]

We have done hte dining plan maaaaaaaany times and it will definitely save you money if you plan to use it for all it's worth. For example, it's roughly $40 per day per adult. Entrees at Le Cellier in the Canadian Pavillion can be $35 per person. Add the drink and dessert that comes with it and in that one meal, you've "made money" on your dining plan because you still get a quick service meal and snack (roughly a $10 - $15 value total). It is easy, however, to not get all you can out of it.

We're heading down in June and are not doing the dining plan. Our trip is 12 nights and I believe that will be $1500. No. Frickin'. Way. When I think about how i have the ability to cook and each cheap the nights I don't want too, I just can't spend that money. We will, however, be dining in a few table service restaurants, just to break it up a bit. Even if we spent $1000 (*cringe*) on food, I'm still up $500.

If I just wanted to have a cooking-free vacay, though, I wouldn't hesitate to get the DDP. I've definitely enjoyed it in the past.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

I for one , like the dine plan.
Your on vacation,,unless you are strapped for $$,,
I say "Go For It" !!

 

[Pickens native]

We did the dp last year and had meals left on our last day my DW bought a family of 4 breakfast and we traded the last ones in for snacks.we have plans to do it again this year.Have Fun

 

[ataylorrdh]

My family did not do the dining plan until last year. My husband wants to go back just for the dining! This year will be the first year we are staying in Fort Wilderness in our fifth wheel where I would have the means to cook but I sure can't cook a meal like Le Cellier. I would not do Disney without the dining plan now.

Make sure you make your ressies for table service ASAP (6 months) because great places like Le Cellier fills up quick.

 

[jriae2000]

In Oct we used the cs ts plan. On the last day we used our snacks for the large and incredible brownies at the main st bakery. We got 6 or 7 and they made great snacks on the road home. The only bad thing about the ts plan is you have to plan your days around a res. Next trip its only cs plan for us. No matter what plan you get, if you actually use all your credits it will help. To make you feel better about the dinning plan just keep the reciepts they give you and add up what you would have spent. You'll feel a lot better. What ever you choose have a great time and dont forget the trip report.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

For those of you who may not know,,we like to do the dine plan during the F&W Fest,,you can use your snacks at the food kiosks at Epcot around World Showcase,,we save our snacks til Epcot and spend the day eating our way around the World,

 

[disney4dan]

We did the dining plan a few times during the free promotion when we could not have afforded the vacation otherwise (stayed at the Pop Century) - we thought it was a great deal, but toward the end of each of those trips I had been "burnt out" on the heavy meals, the two hours spent getting to and sitting in the reservation for places that were in the park, never mind the time it took to go to places like Ohana in time for your meal. Of course, we are a family of 5 and we went with other families on those trips. I thought that I was eating way more than I was comfortable with and felt sluggish toward the end of the trip, all in the name of getting the most value for the plan.

When we went back to the Fort, I thought it was more relaxing in many ways, and we ate better. I cooked some, and we had a lot of healthier choices, easier to prepare items.

 

[soccermomof3]

We stayed at Fort Wilderness 3 years ago and did the dining plan. LOVED IT!!! It was very nice not having to worry about leaving the parks to go back to the campsite to eat. Being strapped down to a time to eat either lunch or supper was a small price to pay for the enjoyment of being in the parks. We will be back in June for 9 days and the dining plan was the first thing we put in the budget. We called for ressies and the very nice lady took 20 minutes to book 1 ressies for us. We went online and booked our other ressies and it was AWESOME!!!!! Can't wait to get to the Fort and start feeling the magic.

 

[liv luvs disney]

We did the dining plan a few times during the free promotion when we could not have afforded the vacation otherwise (stayed at the Pop Century) - we thought it was a great deal, but toward the end of each of those trips I had been "burnt out" on the heavy meals, the two hours spent getting to and sitting in the reservation for places that were in the park, never mind the time it took to go to places like Ohana in time for your meal. Of course, we are a family of 5 and we went with other families on those trips. I thought that I was eating way more than I was comfortable with and felt sluggish toward the end of the trip, all in the name of getting the most value for the plan.

When we went back to the Fort, I thought it was more relaxing in many ways, and we ate better. I cooked some, and we had a lot of healthier choices, easier to prepare items.

I know what you mean! If you do the DP, even with the 50 miles you walk a day, you will come home heavier than you were when you left!!

 

[stacktester]

We did the dining plan a couple Thanksgivings ago and since it's a 3 night stay for us I liked doing it. I think we did Boma, Cape May and Trails End. Will never do TE again because there's better places to burn a TS. We may try it again for a short weekend because IMO it's not worth cooking meals for short trips unless you prepare them in advance.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

We did the dining plan a couple Thanksgivings ago and since it's a 3 night stay for us I liked doing it. I think we did Boma, Cape May and Trails End. Will never do TE again because there's better places to burn a TS. We may try it again for a short weekend because IMO it's not worth cooking meals for short trips unless you prepare them in advance.

Boma and Cape May are two of my favorites.

People complain about eat'n too much, gain'n weight,it messes with their schedule, etc.
Let me say that for us the dine plan is very much a "Convenience Thingy" for us.
You don't HAVE to eat everything thats placed in front of you,, you don't HAVE to let it rule your schedule,,you don't HAVE to make eating a issue,,it sounds more like a mind thingy when I hear folk say things like that. I mean, when it gets to that point,,then I would agree, you shouldn't get the dine plan.
But again, for us , we don't seem to have those problems, so the dine plan works out very well as a convenience,

 

[liv luvs disney]

Boma and Cape May are two of my favorites.

People complain about eat'n too much, gain'n weight,it messes with their schedule, etc.
Let me say that for us the dine plan is very much a "Convenience Thingy" for us.
You don't HAVE to eat everything thats placed in front of you,, you don't HAVE to let it rule your schedule,,you don't HAVE to make eating a issue,,it sounds more like a mind thingy when I hear folk say things like that. I mean, when it gets to that point,,then I would agree, you shouldn't get the dine plan.
But again, for us , we don't seem to have those problems, so the dine plan works out very well as a convenience,

Agreed Frank. The DP will not make you gain weight; eating too many calories will. But, because I've paid for all that food, I tend to eat it. Hence, I come home with added pounds.

Personally, I like the DP. We didn't do it when we camped last September because of $. Going to Disney is a vacation for us and I prefer not to cook on vacation, but if given the choice of cooking and being at WDW versus not being at WDW, I'll cook. I don't mind slowing down to eat, even if it means setting aside up to a couple of hours for a TS meal. It breaks up the craziness the parks can sometimes bring. Being a planner, it doesn't bother me in the least to plan our meals either. I do that whether we purchase the DP or not. I agree the DP is extremely convenient and that's one of the things I love about it, but that convenience is pricey. In the end, for my family, it's whether or not the price fits in the budget.

 

[Renosiris]

I think the amount of food one eats while on the dining plan is burnt off with all the walking, sweating, swimming and kid rangling!

 

[dmr19]

With your two boys, one thing to be aware of is that some restaurants require kids to choose only from the kids menu. My son (age 7) would eat all of his food in a minute and still be hungry (and he's a skinny little guy). Be prepared to share.

Dianne
Back from our FW vacation: Feb 15 - 19

 

[gillenkl]

We love the dining plan. We used it twice - but the last time we were there 14 days and couldn't swing the cost. We decided to pay out-of-pocket and eat 1 CS per day and then a total of 4 sit down meals (not character meals). I'm hoping next year to get the meal plan 2 CS per day if my ship comes in We have a popup and cooking is a bit of work.

 

[LarryJ]

I dont cook a whole 7 days in a row at home why would I do that while at Disney on vacation? DH is wondering if its worth it to get a DP. I am thinking the one with 1 TS and 1 QS per day. So that we can double up some of our TS for things like Aloha, and Mickeys BBQ. I would still need to cook a couple of meals and that is not a huge deal. Just looking at the $$$ of it all.

Any thoughts?

I guess you sould know that we are seasoned Pop-up campers. but the longest we have ever camped it 4 nights in a row.

Well with the one QS and TS per day and doubling up to get some of the two TS meals you are still facing at least one meal for 4 either cooked for paid for with you two and your two little ones along with one or two more major TS meals again either paid for or cooked by you and if only for 5 or 6 days I question if the DP you are looking at is cost effective. Taking an 8 and 6 YO to something like ALOHA seems like a waste of money.

Now back in the 85 to 88 time frame we got a couple of package deals with the actual paper coupons you turned in for dining, but back then it had an appitizer, main course, dessert and drink included and covered all restaurants and all meals including Lobster, but back then in my 30's I could eat that much, but no more.

Larry

 

[Topo Bella]

I'm a big fan of the DP and we've gotten it every time we've stayed on-site. However, I'm actually considering not doing it this time because as much as the DP makes it easier on you because you don't have to plan meals/cook, etc., I also find that there is some "stress" in having to hit reservations on time. Let's face it, for what you pay, you don't want to skip a table service meal.

Having said that, I figured out what the cost of "Dining Plan" versus "No Plan". With doing quick service meals while in the parks and a few character meals for the kids, those amounts were pretty darn close.

We'll see how I feel about cooking as my trip gets closer ...