Disney Dining Plan-$1000 for a week?

[Manders77]

I was reading this thread as I'm always planning our next trip. DW and I have gotten the regular DDP the last 3 times, twice it was free and once we paid for it, having it paid before we go was a big factor, but as we looked at menus I noticed my wife would point out that with the DP she will order what she wants but when paying OOP she will consider the price and if I'm being honest I catch myself doing this also. We never tried to maximize the benefit but I also don't want to find myself ordering a cheaper meal than what I really wanted when OOP.

. I do the same thing especially when paying out of pocket. We had the dining plan once because we went to almost all character meals. The time we didn't have the plan we were very cautious about ordering certain things. I wouldn't order something even though I wanted it because it was one of the pricier items. We hardly got snacks because we thought oh we are going to eat in couple hrs so we will be ok. It's my mindset even on vacation it works like that . So we will get dining plan when we go.

 

[amos07]

I am in the minority here but the dining plan has always saved us money. We are 3 adults and 2 children and we would eat a snack, QS and TS regardless if we had the dining plan or not so using our credits is not a problem for us. We tend to eat at some of the more expensive places and we do a lot of character meals. Our TS is also always at dinner which is more expensive at the buffets than breakfast or lunch. The best way to see if it makes sense for you is to look at menus and price things out.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I booked the dining plan on my last trip because it was only about $70 more with the Stay/Play/Dine discount for a package with tickets and dining plan, than the room only I originally had booked. I was running the Dopey Challenge (48.6 miles over 4 days) so I figured there was no way I wouldn't eat all that food.

I went into it enthusiastically, but by day 4, I was standing in Sunshine Seasons in Epcot, holding my tray with a salad entree and mentally moaning that I "needed" to pick a dessert which I didn't want.

I definitely would have done better with a room discount.

 

[dalayney]

Personally, our last trip we (2 adults, 14yr old, 7yr old) stayed 10 days/with the discounted room for the ALL STAR SPORTS. (so, value resort) We still paid WAY less, paying out of pocket for food, then going the "free" dining plan/no resort discount.

Plus, we ate at T-rex, Tusker House character lunch, LeCellier, Ohana, 50's prime time, Sci Fi, Liberty Tree Tavern for our ADR's. 4 breakfasts were eaten in our room (garden grocer) and 5 were eaten at the ASSports dining hall. The rest of the meals were counter service in the parks. And LOTS of Disney snacks. LOL.

What's your secret? We like TS too, but eating at these would mean $100 for our family of three for just Ohana, Cellier….
We spent way more than I thought possible last year and we've got to make it cheaper next trip. We too pack snacks and oatmeal and such...

For the 4 of us, our three most expensive meals were (including tips):
Ohana :$120 (now that I look at it, they charged our oldest as a child)
Tusker House: $107
LeCellier: $100

And then:
50's prime time: $70
Sci Fi: $60
LibertyTree: $33 (don't remember why it was so low)

T-rex was free as I had a g.card from them and I have the landry's club card since we have a rainforest café 20 min. from us and had I think $50 credit on it?

We don't order alcoholic drinks when we dine, for some reason. A lot of times my 7yr old and I split a meal. Or I would eat an appetizer instead of a full meal. I wasn't doing it to save money, I just eat that way for some reason.For instance, I was happier than ever with the beer cheese soup and pretzel bread at LeCellier. Heck, I know a lot of people that eat the children's fried chicken meal at 50's prime time and love it! Ask first but heck yes, look at the children's menu as you can get some terrific stuff there! My oldest son, at the time, also doesn't eat adult items much. He was still eating off the kid's menu as he was picky. That could be a very big reason why it was cheaper for us. (again we were there for 10 days) Hope that helps.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Here is. Thread I did after our 2013 trip addressing just what you are asking, OP.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3113906

Hope that help!!

 

[momtosam]

We almost always do at least one day away from Disney (Universal, SeaWorld) which also lessens the value of the dining plan for us. If you leave Disney property in essence you're paying for double meals that day, once to the dining plan and once to Universal or wherever you may be. Yes, you could combine two table service credits into a character, but you still have the extra counter service and snack credits left.

 

[happymommy]

To the OP: if you are concerned with how much it is (and most of us are!) then I do agree that the dining plan probably will NOT save you money. You can definitely spend a lot less than that on meals.

Our last trip, it was just me and my two teens. Granted, we stayed off site, in a condo with a full kitchen, so I cooked many simple easy meals for us. Also, it was August and hot, so no one wants a heavy meal when it's hot and humid out! We've been many times, so have already tried several sit down restaurants at Disney.

We didn't eat one table service meal, with the exception of Macaroni Grill in Kissimmee! We enjoyed counter service while in the parks, and snacks here and there. DD and I can easily share some larger CS meals, like the chicken with veggies and mashed potatoes at Cosmic Ray's. We also don't drink soda barely - ice water works great (and I had little Crystal Light packs to add, as I'd rather have calorie-free lemonade than Coke any day).

We stayed 15 nights, and I doubt I spent more than $700 on food total. Probably a lot less really!

Also, the water parks allow you to bring fairly large soft sided coolers, so I made up sandwiches and we brought lunch along!

Even in a hotel room, you can order groceries like cereal, milk, bagels, bread, lunchmeat, chips, fresh fruit, instant oatmeal (heck some of that stuff I pack in luggage). Then you can eat breakfast on your way out, and make simple lunch or snacks to either take in a cooler or to have in the afternoon if you go back to swim and chill out.