Do I need a dining plan?

[kendo43]

Hey, first time poster here!! Me and my wife are going back to Disney World December 9-15 2012. We will be staying at Port Orleans Riverside and did not do any dining plans the first time we went on our honeymoon. Is it worth it? How much does it save, if any? Let me know people!

 

[tstidm1]

It depends on how much you want to eat at the Table Service Restaurants vs. Counter Service, how big of an eater you are and whether you want to spend the money or take no resort discount for it. A good calculator on this is here http://www.dadsguidetowdw.com/walt-disney-world-dining-plan.html. I chose not to because it's only two people and I think the heat will make us eat less.

 

[kendo43]

Thanks, we probably will just go without a dining plan. My wife is a picky eater and doesnt eat much so i think we would be better off. Thanks

 

[Disneylvr4]

Thanks, we probably will just go without a dining plan. My wife is a picky eater and doesnt eat much so i think we would be better off. Thanks

It's a lot of food for sure, so I'd just stick to your own thing! OR you could consider just a snack plan!?

 

[smitch425]

It's a lot of food for sure, so I'd just stick to your own thing! OR you could consider just a snack plan!?

Snack plan?

 

[solana131]

We went for our first trip in February. They were offering free dining at that point, but we got a good deal on a room-only offer that more than made up for no free dining. It would've been about $500 to add the regular dining plan on. I made an Excel spreadsheet with each meal down one side and our names across the top. Then I went over the menus on AllEars to pick out what we each might order. It wasn't exact, but it gave me a good idea of what our food bill would be. If you always get appetizers, drinks and dessert it is a great deal. We sometimes share meals and hardly ever get aps and dessert, so it didn't add up for us. Maybe once our son gets a little older and we want more table service meals....maybe not. I would rather get a cheap room-only deal than the free dining anyday.

Just figure out what meals you would want and how much it might cost and compare that to the dining plan cost. Easy, even if it is a little time consuming.

 

[MisWal]

Just returned from a trip with free dining. Unless it is free, I don't think I would go with the dining plan. And not necessarily because we could save money, but because we had to adjust the way we eat to fit into the dining plan. My DD and I can easily share a meal, but we would have ended up with leftover dining credits, so we always ordered separate meals, which resulted in a ton of wasted food. Plus, we don't often get dessert, but got (and ate it) because it was included. Don't get me wrong, I am so thrilled we got creme brulee at Wolf Gang Puck Express and the Darth Vadar cupcake at HS, but we could have easily done without the chocolate and carrot cake pots at the other QS we ate at. lol!

 

[DJFan88]

I agree with the above posters. We have done DP and without and like without better if we are paying. Free DP is a whole nother topic. Like your wife, I do not eat much and the kids are spotty too. I'd rather get what I want when I want it. I can't eat dessert with lunch, in fact I may only need that red velvet cupcake for my lunch!!! It varies by day with me. also, there are so many things I want to try -- yeah, that's right, for lunch, I may want an appetizer and a dessert, but no entree! For example, we always do The Plaza.
That said, we do make some TS reservations, but not too many, as my DH likes a good meal here and there. However, we have found some excellent QS for that too, esp. at the food courts at the resorts and things like 1/2 chickens and such.

 

[kendo43]

Yea we are just going to wing it. She is very picky anyways so we figured that we would not benefit from getting a DP. Thanks so much everyone for all of the input.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Thanks, we probably will just go without a dining plan. My wife is a picky eater and doesnt eat much so i think we would be better off. Thanks

Yea we are just going to wing it. She is very picky anyways so we figured that we would not benefit from getting a DP. Thanks so much everyone for all of the input.

If she's a picky eater, i'd highly recommend NOT using the dining plan. Definitely pay OOP.

As for the post above that indicated a "snack plan". There's no such thing. Just so you know.