Disney Dining Plan vs. Paying out of Pocket

[letsgoreds]

We're not a big fan of the dining plan, and it has never really made sense for us...even when it is 'free.' I often enjoy eating an appetizer and salad for dinner, sometimes want a soft drink, sometimes a 'mommy' drink, and really don't enjoy the pressure that comes with making sure I am getting the biggest bang for my buck (self-imposed).

Most people that have done actual comparisons, break about even, maybe a little less $$$ with OOP...the big difference is that they were able to eat/drink as they chose, vs. feeling tied down to what was covered by DDP.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Hello...

DH and I were wondering how good of a value the DDP is. We are trying to figure out which is the better bargain. Most morning we will be character dining and we have 2 signature restaurants planned. Is it possible to enjoy 2 sit down meals per day, at a cheaper rate paying OOP vs. paying for DDP.

Thanks!

Poly

DDP is not a bargain, especially not with this years price increases. We are barely breaking even, and wouldn't normally eat desserts if we didn't have DDP. Why I am still choosing to use it is for the convienence of the pre-paid meals. We are traveling with extended family and it will alleviate splitting up the bill, which to me, is worth it. I have done spreadsheets, calculators, etc. and the DDP really saves only about $50 for our family max. But as others have said, each family and spending is different.

 

[Minniesgal]

We would always go OOP and save money.

 

[cmclaura]

Thank you for the helpful insights in this thread. I'm facing a deal because our daughter is a Cast Member and we're being offered DDP at $33.99 pp/night which included 1 Table Service, 1 Quick Serve, 1 Snack and the Refillable Mug. It drops to $19.99 with 2 Quick Serve and the rest but I still can't make it seem to be really worthwhile both due to the hassle of using it and the fact that she will get 20% off all our meals just by showing her CM card.

Or am I missing something? I do like a deal but I don't like the hassle that this promises to present.

 

[Q-man]

I didn't see a linked spread sheet either. Here is one. http://www.distripplanner.com/

I'm also in the dining plan has been so stripped down that you're no longer saving with it, and it is even likely costing you more than OOP, category of folks. When you see that saves you up to 15% advertisement they aren't telling you the only way to reach those saving is by eating at the most expensive qualifying restaurants and ordering the most expensive entree and other items every single time. Disney spent years training people to the dining plan and then took the value out of it for the vast majority of guests. Get a salad, some grilled chicken, and skip the dessert and you've paid Disney more for that meal via the dining plan than it would have been OOP. IMO most guests are paying more by getting the dining plan than they would paying OOP.

If it isn't a free dining offer we no longer do the dining plan. Even then we always crunch the room discount vs free dining numbers.

 

[Goldilocks07]

I have done the math time and time again, and for us, it makes no sense.

IF you order exactly as the DDP dictates, then it comes to about 20 percent less, if you order the more expensive meals on the menu.

For us, we don't need or necessarily want a soda, entree and dessert. We drink water at the table (or alcohol ) and rarely, if ever, order dessert.
This goes for lunch and dinner.

Also, we prefer appetizers, which we'd have to pay out of pocket for (though I heard in past years you were able to get apps on the DDP.).

And let's not forget that 3 meals a day aren't included, it's 2 meals and a snack. Yes, I know that you can move your meal points around, but the bottom line is that you get 2 meals a day and a snack.

We don't like being forced to eat/order things we don't want, and find that by ordering as we would, we actually save money.

I hope this helps. I know it's confusing. We (ok, I) do the math for the DDP every trip. I keep thinking I can save but we just don't.
It all depends on how you eat.

 

[wendow]

It all depends on how you eat.

This is really key and the only way you can decide is like others mentioned and actually go through menus and add up the cost for a sample meal for your family. I did that prior to our trip last September and knew the DDP would not be a savings for us.

I saved every receipt from last year's trip and every bit of food we purchased including food at the airport, added it all up and we saved about $600 over what the DDP would have cost us. And that wouldn't even have been everything like airport meals and tips. The reason we saved is I have one Disney "adult" who eats like a bird and prefers a kid's meal, my other dd and I occasionally shared a meal, sometimes I wanted an appetizer rather than an entree, we rarely order anything to drink but water and we aren't much on desserts. We brought snacks in and once or twice snacked our way through lunch and topped it off with a Mickey bar. We were never hungry and always ordered exactly as we wanted. We just don't fit the mold of who the DDP is designed for. So, like others have said, it just depends on how you eat.

 

[lisaross]

i think if your kids are 10 and under the ddp is definitly worth it.

That being said, we've done disney 2x and had the free ddp which was great - especially the 1st time in 2006 when it included appetizer and tips. the last time we went in 09 was still worth it as my kids were under 10.

I am now debating - as we are planning a summer trip in 2015 - probably middle of summer so free dining won't be offered - if it was free i would definitly take it. Both my boys will be over 10 and like someone else mentioned my younger son will be eating kids meals anyway - so paying adult prices will be crazy.

I do love the convenience of it - but for this trip i will really have to think about it - and if i can get a room discount that will probably work better for my family.

 

[one sweet world]

I would rather take the room discount. I can control how much I spend on food, so it makes sense to me to take the discount on the room.

 

[lisaross]

if you are not on the ddp and go to a buffett and your kid is a disney adult (13) BUT eats like a kid...can u pay a child price for them?

 

[maxiesmom]

if you are not on the ddp and go to a buffett and your kid is a disney adult (13) BUT eats like a kid...can u pay a child price for them?

Nope. And that is one thing they are very strict about. Ten and over you pay the adult price, or use an adult credit for the meal.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

and we are the opposite of ohmari. I don't like having to keep track of credits and feel like I have to 'get my money's worth'. We generally share a meal and snacks so we end up eating way too much food.

if we can get a room only discount and pay OOP for our food, we come out ahead. We also have APs so we really don't want to have to buy tickets to qualify for free dining.

This how we leaned after two trips with dining plan and two trips without. The only way the math works for my family is if the dining plan is "free" as that tends to be a bigger bonus for us over the room discount.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[hsmamato2]

We've done both.....the DDP is fun (when it's included in a deal) but I kind of like the freedom of choice that comes with oop.... there are so many good qs choices,and when we did DDP my family got sick of all the extra sodas,and icky desserts included, not to mention the steaks...oh,the steaks! They actually begged to NOT get the steaks after a couple of days....(got to maximize that plan LOL) I think we'll be just as happy oop this next trip.....

 

[huskies90]

Remember, Disney makes money on the dining plan (something like $10-$12 per day per person) which is why they are always pushing it. Yes, it is certainly possible to make a value out of it depending on where you dine and what you order. But the majority of people do not and on average, most folks will spend more on the dining plan than what they get which is how Disney makes money. As a PP mentioned, even “free” dining is not necessarily a great deal if you can get a good room only discount – depending on where you stay and your traveling party.

There is a convenience factor of having your meals pre-paid and not worrying about it. One suggestion that I have heard others do to offset the convenience is take the money that you would pay for the dining plan and stick it on a gift card and then use it for all your sit downs, counter service and snacks your whole trip. This way, whatever you have left over goes to you instead of Disney.

 

[maxiesmom]

I would rather take the room discount. I can control how much I spend on food, so it makes sense to me to take the discount on the room.

I just posted this on another thread, but after running the numbers for my upcoming trip, the trip with the free dining plan only costs $50 more than the trip with the room discount. My 22 year old nephew and I will certainly eat more than $50 worth of food over 5 days. So taking the free dining was a no brainer. But you have to run the numbers each trip to see what works out the best.

 

[nalajms]

We combine the TIW with DxDP since we do split stays. I have the DDP for the first half, then use it for the first day of the second half, then switch to TIW. I also get in all the more pricey reservations in with the DDP. We end up with lots of leftover desserts for the second half, which works out great for us

Don't forget that DDP includes tax. We usually break even just on meals, not even adding in the mugs and snacks.

 

[luvmy3]

I just added up all the receipts from our trip and we spent about $300 less OOP than we would have on the DDP. That total also included our tips and several alcoholic drinks that would have been xtra on the DDP. We did stay club level so we didn't have to purchase any breakfasts the entire week except the one at Ohana.
We did not carefully budget our meals to eat cheap, we ate where we wanted and ordered what we wanted.

 

[gorkt]

I have compared the last two trips and have always spent less OOP. It also doesn't fit the way we eat. We tend to split desserts and even meals. I also don't like the "pressure" of feeling like I have to get my money's worth.

If you like having everything pre-paid, I'd suggest getting a gift card.

 

[Minniesgal]

We can come out ahead with the DDP if we have a QS with dessert for lunch and a TS for dinner but that's not how we want to eat. The only time we did DDP we consumed food with a cost higher than we paid but it was getting to the point where we were only eating it because it was paid and not because we actually wanted to we just ate too much. We would have loved to cancel a couple of TS and just have toast in the room but it was paid for.

This most recent trip we did TIW and we saved a bit not massively but a bit. We didn't eat QS for lunch we did breakfast, drinks and lunch in the room and only ate out for dinner. Even then we cancelled one TS as we felt we had been eating too much. This way we only paid for what we consumed and we spent about $20 per person less per day than we would have paid for DDP. We won't ever do DDP again.

 

[minerva78]

I'm just in the planning stages for our Disney trip, but to help me figure out costs I sat down and calculated and estimated total OOP amounts and compared it to the dining plan, as others have mentioned to do. I came out about $150 ahead with the dining plan than OOP and that was without adding tax or including desserts. We are a family of 2 adults and 2 children, and I estimated about $45 per QS meal since most of my calculations were around $42 - $43 based on what I think we'd eat - this estimate may be a little high, but I know $45 would definitely cover the tax as well. I estimated about $80 for a non-buffet TS meal, since I know DH would likely be ordering something expensive, like steak. And I estimated about $4 for snacks, only including 5 days worth of snacks even though the dining plan would entitle us to 6.

I admit that I was a bit shocked to see that the dining plan saved us money. But I think the big reason it did was because we had quite a few character meals or other buffets. Since my girls will be 5 and 6 and this will be our first trip, I want to do quite a few of these. DH and I also want to check out Ohana. 5 buffet meals took a little over half of what I "thought" my OOP expenses would be, so I ended up having to up my OOP cost by about $200 to cover all we wanted to do. I think I just held true to what most people have said, that if you have young children and do a lot of character meals, the dining plan may save you money, and we definitely fall into that category. Since I'm leaning towards staying onsite, I figure we would try this once. But I would likely pay OOP for future trips when my girls are older, are considered Disney adults, and would no longer care about character meals. If you fall into that category, I don't see how the dining plan would save you money.