Disney Dining Plan vs. Paying out of Pocket

[ScottOKW2K]

I don't think you can say that other people have to force themselves to eat the most expensive menu choices in order to make the plan work for them. Maybe they are doing a few character meals. Maybe they really love steak and seafood. Any of those things will make having the dining plan worth it.

As far as what ifs go, so??? What if someone didn't get the plan, and then was bummed because they really liked steak, but now couldn't afford it? What if they really wanted desserts, but didn't want to pay out of pocket for them? You can play what if for many things. We each have to decide for ourselves what works, as we all know our own family the best.

Many have said that in order to make the dining plan worthwhile financially one has to order the most expensive menu items, which are usually the steak entrees. Having the Dining Plan only means you prepaid for that steak you wanted instead of paying at the time you consumed it. And to further complicate the math many of the more popular "steak" choices at WDW are 2 TS credits, which almost guarantees that you will not get the best value out of the plan.

I have only found the dining plan useful a very few times. It has to be a short trip where all our meals will be onsite, and most likely in the theme parks themselves.

On our last trip we had supper at BOG, lunch 2X at Chefs de France, and supper at Beaches 'N Cream, with one or two trips to Earl of Sandwich thrown in. Under the plan we would have significantly overpaid, as most of those choices are a poor value for the plan credit required.

 

[kristinradico]

We haven't gone yet, but when I added everything out we will probably save a few dollars and have the convienence of the Dining Plan. We plan to go to a character meal 5 of the 7 days we are there. We normally avoid the expensive platters at restaurants at home. So it'll be nice to enjoy that steak/surf and turf type meals without worrying about over spending at dinner time.

 

[Carriemel]

Wow, my kid and I used the DDP for a 2 night stay last month. We came out about 60 bucks to the good.

Went to Norway's princess breakfast - 64.95
Went to the Clambake at Beach Club - 56.43
2 refillable mugs 23.98
Electric Umbrella meal 19.86
Boardwalk pizza window meal 20.86
Slushy 3.99
Popcorn 3.50
Candy 3.49
Candy 4.29

For a grand total of 201.35

We spent 145.00 on the dining plan.

I'd say if you know how to use it to your advantage, it's a GREAT deal.

 

[MissouriPrincess]

It really does vary from family to family. We went last year for my family's first trip. I hadn't been in 20 some years, and I had never eaten in a table service restaurant in Disney. We had a two-year-old, so we definitely wanted to do character meals. We rented points to stay at Kidani and didn't have any APs, so no TIW for us.

Really, after we paid for the plan, I didn't think about the cost of things again. We did Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, Hollywood and Vine (character breakfast), and Garden Grill, so those were one price anyway. The only other table service credit we used was Si-Fi, and I'm sure that wasn't the best use of a credit, but we wanted to go. I probably wouldn't have ordered my tasty shake if I weren't on the plan, though.

We did have a toddler with us, so eating at buffets was free for her. She shared with me most of the time when it wasn't a buffet. We also had little snacks for her with us. We brought in frozen flavored water bottles each time we entered a park, but sometimes I wanted a Coke, so the snacks were good for that. It was nice to know that so much was pre-paid, and my free Disney Dollars and gift cards I earned on Sunshine Rewards covered the tips and souvenirs, so we spent very little actual money for those.

 

[GotLabradors]

My mom swears by the dining plan, but I'm a "sit down and map out your meals to see if it's worth it" kind of person. That's what I'll be doing in the next few weeks. My question is if you get the DDP and you want an appetizer or god forbid a glass wine/beer, can you just pay for it OOP?

ETA: If you rent points from a DVC member are eligible for the free dining plan they usually offer in the fall months?

 

[Meshell2002]

My mom swears by the dining plan, but I'm a "sit down and map out your meals to see if it's worth it" kind of person. That's what I'll be doing in the next few weeks. My question is if you get the DDP and you want an appetizer or god forbid a glass wine/beer, can you just pay for it OOP?

ETA: If you rent points from a DVC member are eligible for the free dining plan they usually offer in the fall months?

you can pay oop for extra items all you want

If you rent you must book dining at the time of reservation, and you aren't eligible for free dining....at least that's been my experience.

because we usually rent points, and my 4 & 6 year old would much rather eat a PB&J sandwich.....we pay OOP. I'm not paying 60 bucks a day for my two kids to eat PB&Js.....but because we rent a 1BR....we make more meals in room (at least one, sometimes 2 in one day).....and pay oop for the 2-3 TS we may use our whole trip....and I've got Disney Visa rewards to spend on our oop food......its just what works for us based on our kids ages and how much they eat....another thing is plate sharing....not encouraged with DDP, but if you are OOP you can share with you older child your adult plate....and its no biggie.

 

[mom2my3kids]

Getting it for free was awesome, I mean hello its free!!!! But for our family its not worth purchasing..We dont like as many table service, we like a few but like to just grab something when ready..It would be great if they had a half and half package We are doing three table service meals and the rest will be counter service meals..You know your family, I would go to Debs Disney and look at menus and prices and see what best works for you..Have fun

 

[chimilady]

When we first went last year, we did the dining plan, only because my best friend is a Cast Member and we got the severely discounted CM dining plan. That being said, when you factored in the tips, I was still looking at a pretty penny every day for a family of 4.

This time around, they eliminated the CM dining plan, and with a 10 day trip, even one dinner at the castle, it was STILL cheaper for me to pay out of pocket with a TIW card than it was for me to get the full price dining plan. And we ate at CRT for dinner, Chefs de France and Rose and Crown for lunch and a ton of counter service and a ton of snacks. It's cheaper ordering what you want. Sometimes, especially at BOG, I wanted to try appetizers and it was cheaper to pay what I want than getting a terrible cupcake at a counter service place, when I would rather not get it, wait 20 or 30 minutes and then walk over and get a Dole Whip Float, which is what I really wanted. We had no budget this trip, and I spent LESS this trip (10 days) than I did last trip (8 days) that that includes a severely discounted dinning plan! I dont' know how everyone who pays full price thinks it's a bargain!