Disney Dining? What did YOU do?

[Steph01002]

We did "free dining" twice and paid OOP once. The regular dining plan was too many sit down meals for us in a week, plus too much food as we don't always get a soda and rarely a dessert. We skipped a TS ADR on the second trip, which felt like a waste of money, but it was nice not to stress about getting to a meal on time and continuing to have fun in the parks. On our most recent trip, we spent nearly $500 less for the four of us than what we would have spent on the QS dining plan for an 8 night stay, and it included a trip to Biergarten and the Captains Grill, which would not have been covered by the QS dining plan anyway. We were never hungry and rarely told the kids no for any snack they asked for. Now that all four of us are Disney adults, we don't do buffets and character meals every day of the trip, we can easily eat for half the price of the regular dining plan and still do 4 days of TS restaurants. We still bring some breakfast foods and snacks, but we did that when we had the dining plan too.
Just not a value for us.

 

[tnd]

We did the deluxe dining plan once and it was fine but expensive. We did it because we knew we'd want appetizers at the table service meals and the extra snacks, but it was an awful lot of food, even for a bunch of big eaters. We decided we prefer to just pay as we go. Now that we have been there several times, we usually eat breakfast in our room, and do more snacking than sit down meals because we go in August and it's usually too hot to eat huge meals. I also like to order just appetizers at some places like California Grill, and the dinging plans don't really allow that. I did a comparison of the cost of the regular DDP versus what we were planning to spend on our last trip because we were planning a lot of character meals (used the menus from allears.net) and it was pretty close so we skipped it.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We've never done the dining plan and probably never will. We aren't big eaters, and don't want to eat nonstop park food. We eat breakfast at our condo, bring a sandwich, snacks, and water into the park. We usually get a snack or share a QS entree in the afternoon, and then have a decent dinner. I don't think we'd be able to use all our credits if we tried, and certainly wouldn't enjoy stuffing ourselves and then walking in the sun.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

WE have used the DPP the last half dozen times we have gone and never regretted it. In fact, we loved it but it can be a bit too much food if you ask me.. we tend to have a few QS and snacks left over that we are rushing to use as we are heading to the Magical Express back to the airport.

If you're over stuffing yourselves, and rushing to use up the credits on your way out the door, do you really feel like it's a value? Or do you like it for the convenience?

 

[Newsies]

My family always goes with the dining plan. While we don't try to "maximize credits" as much as others do, we do take a little bit of liberty with trying new things. I feel like the dining plan gives a lot of people courage to try new dishes and restaurants because they're not paying OOP, and if they don't like the dish, it's no biggie- cause then you get a dessert and dessert is ALWAYS tasty

 

[Cedarmom]

It worked for us this trip, but probably wouldn't in the future. We have 3 kids, two of which are still Disney kids. One of those is a hungry almost 9 year old. We scheduled two expensive characters meals we would have done anyway because we have a 5 year old girl and this was effectively her first trip. I wondered about the desserts and snacks but after breakfast in the room, the kids were starving by 10 every day. We tended to grab Mickey pretzels to share. Dh and I used snack credits for breakfast pastries sometimes, and we had a waiter offer to box up fruit for the kids one night when they refused dessert--we used that for breakfast once as well. Our only dinner at the hotel food court? Dessert was pastries that we used for breakfast. Casey's? We got cotton candy we used for quick sugar rushes waiting in line for rides until we could get to real food. I did a detailed cost analysis after we returned. If you count straight out of pocket expensives, we 'spent' $330 more on the plan than we paid for the plan. I then went back and took off the things we wouldn't have done had we been paying out of pocket. When all was said and done, we saved $100 over what we would have spent oop. Once our 9 yo ages up to adult, the plan no longer makes financial sense for us, but we are in the sweet spot right now, so it works.

Fwiw, we did not attempt to maximize credit. We never ordered the most expensive thing--we ordered to taste.

 

[Writer325]

First of all, I loved what EVERYBODY said. I think that is exactly what makes this so tricky. It is nearly impossible to determine what I am going to spend on food for seven days in Disney World. Only some of the menus provide prices, and I am pretty sure that could change at any moment. I am so thankful that everyone shared their personal experience. That was what I was looking for.

We decided to cancel our dining plan. I would be horrified if I got home from my trip and realized that I paid more for something then I would have paid out of pocket! I just can't take that risk. I think the dining plan makes sense in some situations, but it just didn't for us.

That said we are going to keep our three character meals. I am not 100% sure that DD will enjoy the experience, but it will be nice to take a break from being outside, plus since she is eating for "free" we can give her whatever she wants. All that said the six meals we have booked only totaled to $400 including tips! (I know that doesn't include qs credits or snacks, but since we may not want a dessert w/ our meals it is nearly impossible to determine the exact cost. That said I used the quick math of 14 meals x 15 and that was still only $610. Additionally, I can't imagine snacks, apps, and drinks costing us $300.) The dining plan was close to $900 w/o tips. I am not sure that we are will save money, but I like the fact that I can opt the dessert for the app. Additionally, we aren't crazy about drinking soda nonstop! So even if we don't "save" any money, at least we will be paying for exactly what we want.

One of the points that several of you mentioned that really hit home with me was the fact that I would be maximizing my credits ordering food just because I wanted to get the most bang for my buck.

I appreciated a lot of other comments as well, but that was one that really made me reconsider.

Thanks for all of the tips!

 

[rizzo0904]

We did once but won't do it again. Too much food. We will bring sandwiches in to the park for lunch so the kids can't eat at different times and not inconvenience each other.

 

[mco65]

If you're over stuffing yourselves, and rushing to use up the credits on your way out the door, do you really feel like it's a value? Or do you like it for the convenience?

Its definitely a convenience, the only value is when we get it for free which we have a couple times.

 

[rdevine10]

We did free dining several times when my kids were really young- it was mostly character meals. Worth it then when it was free, especially the first year or 2 they had free dining and it was way better than it is now (Apps were included AND tips)- and some of the now 2 table service places were just the standard.

However, now, given I have 1 child who is a disney "adult" its not worth it at all, unless it was free- which we cant travel during those free times anymore.

Honestly, we are all so over having to be committed to reservations and a time to be some place. We much prefer fly by the seat of our pants in terms of when we want to eat, etc. And my kids are old enough they dont care as much for character meals. Dont even get me started on this fast pass plus- I hate it. Vacation shouldnt have to be so darn scheduled. Its supposed to be relaxing! Next trip we are toying with 1 advance dining reservation for breakfast at Chef Mickeys- only because we are staying at the Contemporary and its right there. Other than that- it will likely be all counter service. And thats just fine by us. We dont go to Disney for the food (which isnt all its cracked up to be IMO)- we go for the attractions. Other vacations food is more important to us!

 

[jhoannam]

We would have saved more money if we had not done the dinning plan. It was just too much food, the adult meal is enough for an adult and a child, so for us it wasn't worth it. I also prefer to feed our kids from the adult menu, I didn't want our kids eating chicken nuggets and fries for 7 days, the adult meals are healthier options.

 

[MammerJammer]

My kids eat nothing and could live on snacks all day--so I don't think the DDP would really benefit us.

 

[hsmamato2]

we have done it twice over the years..... both times it was "free" with our room and tickets. (not really free,see a million other threads) but when we did we maxed it out 100% and it saved over the actual retail cost of what we ate. Would we have eaten that way without it? NEVER. Was it fun? yes....but also overfilling,and fattening (for me at least lol) Even though the 2x we did it, overall our cost was the same/lower, it still breaks even/saves money to put our own trip together,as we like it, and pay oop. If I had a list of say, 5 dis trips, 2 ddp,3 oop, overall it was the same. The big difference is we eat less TS, but more food that we actually choose....does that make sense? My last trip,we stayed for 2 full weeks (snow issues) and between 2-3 (adults) of us,eating what we wanted when we wanted, we spent about 110 per day,average.... That's averaged out over 15 days. for 3 people. We probably ate TS 6-7 times in that trip....the rest qs and snacks as we found them (and we did find them) my teens prefer oop, as they like to graze,and holding off for one HUGE meal was not their thing.... one of them would waste half of that ts meal,then be hungry in an hour and want to buy food oop....I actually brought along a pile of disney gift cards for dining this time, which saved a bit overall too,so easy to use,and it was prepaid.The app for keeping track of the gc balances was perfect,and easy to use daily.

 

[Writer325]

I feel as though I am more of a graze eater myself! Especially when it is hot outside.

What is the app for keeping up with Disney gift cards?

 

[North of Mouse]

DDP would never work for the way we dine - no desserts or drinks with our meals. We eat well, but prefer to order snacks (desserts) during the day when we see something we like - also prefer water most of the time. Have saved our receipts and never come close to the cost of the DDP - also eat when and where we want without worries about cost.

Also, as others have pointed out 'free' dining is 'not free'!! It's either DDP and rack room, or % off room, plus you have more 'tip' $$'s on higher priced meals, desserts (whether you want them or not), etc.

 

[smcabee]

We never use it. Not dessert fans for the most part and enjoy wine or other adult beverages at dinner. Would much rather use TIW since we are eligible and have apps and wine/beer/cocktail and skip dessert. As others mentioned it really depends on what you like and the makeup of your party.

 

[jnamadison]

We did the dining plan on our last trip and plan to do it on our trip in Sept. My family loves the TS meals, so it works for us. It's definitely much more about the convenience than the savings. Although with a 7yo and 2 infants(18mo ,4mo at time of trip), only paying 2A + 1C for 4 effective eaters will be nice. We're also using it to discover the places we want to make sure to hit on future trips.

I can see down the road just using gift cards to "pre-pay" meals and cooking more in the villa.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We stay offsite, so not really applicable. But, the plan holds no appeal for me. I don't like having to plan my day around a meal reservation. We'd rather fly by the seat of our pants.

 

[joannjoe]

We always do the dining plan. The main reason: We love knowing that pretty much everything is paid for and it's sort of all inclusive to us at that point. The only time we have to pay out of pocket for something is if one of us wants a snack that is not on the DDP - which is rare for our family. My kids love the character meals and I tend to not stress about how much they cost this way. Also now that my oldest is considered an adult by Disney dining standards on our last trip I didn't find us arguing about him trying to order the most expensive thing on the menu because it didn't make any difference.

For us it's more about convienence and simplyfing things.

And personally I would do a character meal with your little one at this age. My kids enjoyed the characters tons during the toddler stage and it was so fun to watch the interaction!

 

[TravelandLeisure]

We took our first family Disney trip last year and opted to do the dining plan b/c it seemed like it would be a great deal and we wanted everything to be paid for before we left. Later on I calculated what we spent b/c I was curious as to how much we actually "saved." I left out the desserts as we would never ordinarily purchase those. I did leave in the drinks. Overall, I calculated we only saved around $60, and this was with expensive venues such as Chef Mickeys and Akershus. We also ended up spending around $70 in snacks (for 3 people), however w/o the dining plan we would never have purchased most of the snacks that we did, so IMO that doesn't count for much. I liked the fact that my then 3.5 year old was able to do character meals, however both DH and I were tired of the mediocre buffet food by the end of the trip.

We will return to WDW in May and have decided NOT to do the dining plan. We will now be able to eat at places like Sci Fi w/o worrying about maximizing credits, and can go to HDDR w/o worrying about using up 2 credits. This will definitely come out cheaper (even w/ gratuity). To make up for the convenience of the dining plan, I used the idea from the DIS of estimating food costs and buying pre-paid Disney gift cards with my Target RedCard, thus saving 5%.