Disneyland 'Dine in the Magic' Meal Plans

[joyfulDisneytears]

Can someone a little more knowledgable in the workings of DLR clue me in? I'm used to the idea of the WDW dining plan, and obviously these are different.

I searched here, the unofficial guide I checked out from the library, and the disney.go site...I'm not finding a whole lot of additional information on this other than what is provided when you make a reservation (or mock reservation in my case) on the Disney site.

The 5-day plan, for example, says you get 4 Resort Dining, 1 Premium Character Dining, 5 $15 dining certificates, and 5 snack vouchers for one adult.

Are these *all* distributed in the form of vouchers for a set amount of money? It seems to be implied because it separately lists Premium Character Dining - $38.00 & Resort Dining - $31.00 for adults. If this is the case, what is the benefit of purchasing a plan, other than having vouchers to carry around rather than cash/credit cards?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

There is no advantage. It can even cost you money if you aren't careful. For example if you use a $15 voucher on a $12.99 meal you won't get change, and if you go over $15 you pay out of pocket.

 

[MomToOne]

I'm a seasoned vet of the WDW dining plan. Love it! But the DL plan isn't worth it for the reasons mentioned by the PP. It does not save you any money unlike the WDW plan. For DL, I concentrate on finding ways to save on restaurants outside of the parks (incl. DTD) like online coupons, restaurant.com certificates, places with cheap or free kids meals, places that will give me a discount with my AAA card, etc. When we are in the parks, we just typically eat counter service.

 

[joyfulDisneytears]

Alrighty...so basically it's a hot inconvenient mess in the guise of convenience. Got it.

I'll assume the cash-value voucher applies for the Resort Dining as well, it's not just a meal credit?