Ditching the Dining Plan

[Svhadden]

We've never, ever paid for a meal OOP in Disney. We've been going for years, and we've received the DDP free, every time. We've paid for, ahem, a few slashes out of pocket lol. The main reason I love the DDP is because we get it free! We have run the numbers, though, and even if we paid for it, it would be a reasonably good value for our fam. And the convenience is a huge value for me. Tell them you're on the DDP, swipe the KTTWC, and done.

 

[robinb]

And the convenience is a huge value for me. Tell them you're on the DDP, swipe the KTTWC, and done.

Pssst ... when you stay onsite and pay OOP the process is exactly the same except you pay for exactly what you ate when you check out. I do admit that I miss the DDP when it's "free" but my DD is starting HS this year and even if it returns to mid-late August we won't be able to go because of swim team .

 

[Marionnette]

We've never, ever paid for a meal OOP in Disney. We've been going for years, and we've received the DDP free, every time. We've paid for, ahem, a few slashes out of pocket lol. The main reason I love the DDP is because we get it free! We have run the numbers, though, and even if we paid for it, it would be a reasonably good value for our fam. And the convenience is a huge value for me. Tell them you're on the DDP, swipe the KTTWC, and done.

Pssst...it's not really free. You're paying the rack rate for your hotel room when you could have gotten a room discount. It might still be a great deal for your family, but it wasn't actually *free* and you certainly paid for it.

 

[Srbright]

Pssst...it's not really free. You're paying the rack rate for your hotel room when you could have gotten a room discount. It might still be a great deal for your family, but it wasn't actually *free* and you certainly paid for it.

You assume that no one ever pays rack rate?

Stacy

 

[Marionnette]

You assume that no one ever pays rack rate?

Stacy

Free dining does not come for free. If there's a room discount offered and you choose to pay the full rack rate so that you can get the dining plan at no cost, then you have still paid towards that dining plan with the room discount that you forfeited.

 

[chrystalc77]

Free dining does not come for free. If there's a room discount offered and you choose to pay the full rack rate so that you can get the dining plan at no cost, then you have still paid towards that dining plan with the room discount that you forfeited.

That is true but for some families the free dining discount is greater than the room only discount. Especially for families that want their food paid for in advance.

 

[Jonathan Swift]

That is true but for some families the free dining discount is greater than the room only discount. Especially for families that want their food paid for in advance.

How does wanting to pay in advance for food magically make the discount higher?

BTW, has anyone ever done a comparison of discounts? Keep in mind the discount has to be based on the QSDP, not the DDP.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

We stay deluxe and the room only discount has always been a better value for us than the DDP. To each their own, but we prefer to pay cash and not have reservations that we have to rush to all the time.

 

[ReneeA]

How does wanting to pay in advance for food magically make the discount higher?

BTW, has anyone ever done a comparison of discounts? Keep in mind the discount has to be based on the QSDP, not the DDP.

The largest discount I've ever seen for Value resorts is 20%...but normally 15% is offered. That $$ per night off is $23.80 with 20% off. I cannot feed my family of 4 for that dollar amount per day, which is what the dining plan does (feeds my family, and we do it with no OOP $ other than $5 per day for a large iced coffee for me). So yes, we have done the math...every single year since 2005.

 

[blondietink]

We only get the DDP if it is "free". There are 4 of us, all counted as adults and it is just too expensive. We can eat a whole lot cheaper and eat what we want, when we want if we just pay out of pocket. We do like to convert our points from the Chase Disney card, but we still will pay out some cash. Sometimes I like to have just a couple of appetizers and that is enough for me.

 

[DVCJones]

The largest discount I've ever seen for Value resorts is 20%...but normally 15% is offered. That $$ per night off is $23.80 with 20% off. I cannot feed my family of 4 for that dollar amount per day, which is what the dining plan does (feeds my family, and we do it with no OOP $ other than $5 per day for a large iced coffee for me). So yes, we have done the math...every single year since 2005.

I'm curious what a 7 day WDW vacation costs for a family of 4 with the free dining offer.

Our last visit cost us $1400 for just food and hotel. We stayed at AKV for 8 days. And had at least one CS and one TS meal a day. We kept the food cost down by ordering just what we wanted, Disney Visa points and TIW. Since this was our ninth trip as DVC owners our points have already paid for itself at this point. I included my $600 in maintenance fees for the year and another $800 for food.

I think that might be better than the free dining offer... But I don't know. Maybe someone will share their info on free dining.

 

[pryncess527]

How does wanting to pay in advance for food magically make the discount higher?

BTW, has anyone ever done a comparison of discounts? Keep in mind the discount has to be based on the QSDP, not the DDP.

I used this rather complex spreadsheet to calculate where the best savings wold be for the trip I'm planning

http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon#!dining-plan-calculator/cxc0

Although since my trip is just me and DH, in almost every case a room discount was better for us, even if we still bought the dining plan. But only paying for 2 makes a difference, as does the mod resort I've been pricing. I'm sure it's less likely to work out for a family of 4 at a value resort.

Fr the ultra obsessive planner like me, that spreadsheet was so much fun.

 

[ReneeA]

I'm curious what a 7 day WDW vacation costs for a family of 4 with the free dining offer.

Our last visit cost us $1400 for just food and hotel. We stayed at AKV for 8 days. And had at least one CS and one TS meal a day. We kept the food cost down by ordering just what we wanted, Disney Visa points and TIW. Since this was our ninth trip as DVC owners our points have already paid for itself at this point. I included my $600 in maintenance fees for the year and another $800 for food.

I think that might be better than the free dining offer... But I don't know. Maybe someone will share their info on free dining.

Last year, we did WL for 8n/9d with the dining plan and 9 day water park & more tickets. My kids were all Disney adults, and our total was $3750. We paid additionally about $200 oop for tips & incidentals & drove down from Michigan.

The prior year we stayed at CSR for 9n/10d with 10 day park tix and free dining. The price for 3a/1c was $2400. Plane fare, and $200 in tips were additional.