Do you do the dining plan? Why or why not?

[cn123]

the issue I had with the DDP, is that it just was never easy to get a cs, not all restaurants accept the DDP. but I have a question about TIW..isn't it pretty much accepted at the same restaurants as DDP? my point being if I were to get the TIW instead of DDP, I would be in the same boat looking for the same list of restaurants?

 

[hakepb]

the issue I had with the DDP, is that it just was never easy to get a cs, not all restaurants accept the DDP. but I have a question about TIW..isn't it pretty much accepted at the same restaurants as DDP? my point being if I were to get the TIW instead of DDP, I would be in the same boat looking for the same list of restaurants?

Pretty much the same TS list, very few CS on TiW
What I like about TiW/DDE is I do not feel locked in. With DDP I think I prepaid for all my food, and thus it is a waste to go off plan. With TiW I just think I'm losing one discount, but I'm not blowing the plan. Plus TiW is good for up to 10 at your table (If you ever get together with friends/family...)

 

[crisi]

We did the DDP once - it wasn't good for us. We are also TiWers. (AP holders can buy a TiW card for $60 - and that provides a 20% discount at MOST table service restaurants and a FEW counter service places - including alcohol - and adds an 18% tip)

We eat a few signature meals each trip which makes it a less good deal, plus the discount on alcohol on the TiW makes a big difference to us.

 

[sparkyboy]

We do not DDP as just too much food for DGH and me. Generally, we have coffee/tea and muffin in room for breakfast. We'll split meal for lunch and then do appetizer/salad and dessert for dinner. We too have AP and DDE so think that this is a better option for us.

 

[eliza61]

What is DDE? It sounds like that is only for DVC members?

I know that the rules could have changed since then, but my sister did an exchange like ours (WorldMark through Interval Internation into DVC) and they were able to do the DDP. That was when it included gratuity, though.

Don't most of the character meals include gratuity? I like the idea of getting to eat at all those places mostly because we are always too cheap to eat more than one shared meal (or none) per day when we are at the parks, but I'd have to prove its value to DH. I fear that I would waste a lot of park time eating, though. Hmmm.... Realistically we've never, ever spent $100 per day eating on vacation, so maybe we shouldn't do it. But I would love to not cook! A week on the cruise and a week of DDP could easily result in 10 lbs or more of extra me, though

The DDE card is a discount card offered to annual pass holders and Florida residents. It gives you 10% off your meals including alcohol.
If I remember correctly the character meals did include gratuity but it's been a while since I've done one.
From the way you guys generally go I would probably skip the DDP.
If it would make you anxious doing a TS every day than you lose those credits.

 

[DaveH]

We usually use the DDP. We looked at our meals cost when we ate only over the counter. DDP is a little more, but then we eat sit down meals. It is alot of food. Some folks eating habits is such that DDE is better. We do not see a need for us to use the deluxe DDP.

 

[crisi]

The DDE card is a discount card offered to annual pass holders and Florida residents. It gives you 10% off your meals including alcohol.
If I remember correctly the character meals did include gratuity but it's been a while since I've done one.
From the way you guys generally go I would probably skip the DDP.
If it would make you anxious doing a TS every day than you lose those credits.

20%, but adds in a 18% tip all the time now - even on bar tabs and buffets - if you are a pretty good tipper to start with, its still quite a deal.

 

[Kmango]

The DDE card is a discount card offered to annual pass holders and Florida residents. It gives you 10% off your meals including alcohol.
If I remember correctly the character meals did include gratuity but it's been a while since I've done one.
From the way you guys generally go I would probably skip the DDP.
If it would make you anxious doing a TS every day than you lose those credits.

Actually, it gives you 20% off your meals, including alcohol.

 

[hellerjw]

We did the Deluxe plan when we went this past June and did nothing but table service, character meals and dinner shows. The food was pretty good overall and we kept track of all the meal costs and the dining plan saved us about $400 over paying cash. The refillable mug was nice but we only used it twice since we ate most meals away from the resort.

However, it did take a lot of advanced planning to squeeze in all those reservations and keep on top of them while we were there. I felt like we were doing nothing but killing time between meals. We made maximum use of all the meal credits, but did end up with 18 unused snack credits at the end of our stay (2 per day per person is a lot on top of the other credits), which we did use by buying up a bunch of stuff the last day for the drive home.

You will save money with the Deluxe plan but to get the most benefit from it (and the biggest cost savings) you have to plan nothing but table service, character meals and dinner shows. Using it on a counter service meal is a waste in my opinion.

We have done the dining plan in one form or another the last 4 trips we have made. We went back again in October and we went "old school" and tried eating a little in the room and paying cash for the rest to see how we came out. We only did a few TS meals and the costs were high for 2 adults and 2 kids (around $130 with tip). Being on the dining plan always made me feel like we were obligated to use every credit, often times when we weren't even hungry, just to get my money's worth. However, the food prices at Disney can be on the high side so you can save money with a dining plan.

It isn't a bad thing, it just requires a lot of planning to get your money's worth. This planning and keeping on top of all the reservations can sometimes come at the expense of the leisurely vacation you came to Disney for in the first place.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I think whether or not you use the DDP makes very little difference. Allearsnet.com has a list of menu items for the restaurants with prices.

Whatever you do...be informed about Disney prices. Disney can provide an enormous sticker shock, and that shock has ruined many trips for first timers.

Some folks go completely unprepared. So while their head is still swimming over paying $1000 for theme park tickets, they are hit with paying $100 bucks just to have lunch. So by 1pm on the 1st day...Dad hates Disney! Instead of having a good time, the family is constantly told that they have just spent their life savings to go to WDW. This does tend to be a guy thing too.

Last year, some friends from church asked us for some last minute advice. They had taken someone's suggestion and rented a house off-property, and then asked us about the dining plan that yet another person had recommended. My advice to them was that the DDP did not really save any money, but to go to allears and be prepared for the prices so that it wouldn't ruin the trip.

My advice to them was...make peace with the prices.

If you go without DDP, it doesn't matter if you do all CS, share meals or whatever...just make an informed decision.

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

I think you should do the dining plan since you have 2 children under 10 and plan on doing character meals. CRT, HDDDR, Mickeys Backyard BBQ, Room Service, Pizza Delivery and Grand Gatherings gratuities are included but cost 2 credits in 2008.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We've done it both ways....with the dining plan and without. I thought the old dining plan was marginally "worth it" if for no other reason than not having to dip into a pocket every time we went to a restaurant. It was easy with the grandkids, because they KNEW what they could get each day.

On the other hand. We found it was way too much food, and we rarely if ever eat at counter service establishments. That meant that we were often using two credits per person for each sit down meal (at the signatures). Then this year when they stopped including tip and limited you to dessert rather than a choice of dessert or appetizer, we decided it was no longer feasible for us.

Instead, we get the TIW (DDE) discount card and use that instead. It tends to pay for itself in just a couple of TS meals, and then the savings are a flat 20%. Since we usually tip around 20%, that means we don't even have to sit down and figure out the total bill. Since we might only eat at a counter or quick service place once or twice a trip, this makes more sense to us. Besides, with that full kitchen, it seems stupid not to utilize it.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We do the DDP depending on the type of vacation we are having. If its one with all the family, I use Garden Grocer and cook. I find it is too much of a hassle trying to get everybody together at one time to eat (for TS anyway). If its just the hubby and I, we do the DDP. We look forward to trying the different restaraunts, and it is about the same if we were to get groceries and go out to TS a couple of times. This way, I'm also not cooking for two. I don't mind with the family, I actually enjoy it (my spaghetti sauce is to die for!!).

 

[jlewisinsyr]

We use it for convenience, although with tips not included, it's a little more inconvenient. We don't look to save money, we don't look to get the most "bang for the buck", all we care about is that the costs are basically taken care of before we even go.

 

[Anal Annie]

We have not done the DDP as we feel we can eat cheaper w/o it. We would have to pay the adult price for DS (currently 11) but who eats more like a typical 9 yr old. He will sometimes eat a good adult size meal, but usually not. We eat a lite breakfast in our villa (doughnuts, cereal, pastries or bagels) and a CS lunch. We also do not like to be tied to many dinner ressies so we only eat TS 2 or 3 times during a week. I think we're probably done now with the character breakfasts. I would imagine once DS hits his teen years the DDP could be worth its weight in gold!!

We HAVE used the DDE card - but for a family of 3 it's a stretch to break even. Since it is percentage based and also covers alcohol it's really good for larger adult age groups. We will probably get it again for next year tho as we are planning to go with additional family so it could virtually pay for itself with dinner and drinks at Boma.

 

[Brian Noble]

We don't---we either eat fewer than 1 TS meal per day on average, or when we eat more, several of them in less expensive locations where the Plan is not a good value.

 

[shortypots]

We did the DDP in Dec last year when it was a great deal. We found for 4 adults, it saved us about $300-400. And this is even including the fact that we had the DDE as well.

This next trip in 2 weeks we are doing the Deluxe Dining plan - we figure it would actually be about $80 more expensive (based on the average prices of entrees and appetizers) but it will be paid for ahead of time and we will be able to eat what we want without worrying about how much each entree is. I will keep track of how much we spend on each one and find out if it is really worth it.

The restaurants we are trying are :
Tutto Italia
Flying fish
Artist point
Liberty Tree Tavern or Crystal Palace
coral Reef
Yachtsman's Steakhouse
Yak and Yeti
Jiko
Wolfgang Puck Café
Narcoosee's
Tusker House
California Grill
Cinderella's Royal Table
Chef's de France
Kona Café
Rose and Crown Pub

I think if we were not on the plan that we would not have chosen those particular restaurants. We would have definitely chosen cheaper places to eat without the DxDP. So that is something to keep in mind.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[Ashlotte]

Oh decisions, decisions. I approached DH about it last night and wasn't instantly shot down, which was surprising. We had already talked about doing CRT and Hoop Dee Doo, which would be 16 credits for our family right there (out of 28). Throw in Crystal Palace and Akersas and we would almost be it right there for TS meals. I totaled those four meals up and they came to $501.84, which would mean we'd only be paying $200 more for 1 more TS meal, 7 CS, and 7 snacks. It might be worth it. It's so hard to say!

We haven't been to WDW since 2001 and never with the kids, so on one hand we want to experience everything (including character meals), but on the other, we don't want to take time away from the parks to be eating all the time. Especially since we would NEVER spend $700 a week in food normally and have yet to take a vacation where we ate out every meal (isn't that the bonus of the villas? Having a kitchen?). We could just save the money for something else more fun, but then again I wouldn't have to cook anything for two full weeks. What to do? What to do?

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and advice. It has been very helpful! I guess I just need to think about it.

 

[snowbunny]

Never do it. Too much food, too many rules to keep track of.
We eat breakfast in the villa most days, light lunch wherever we happen to be, and pay out of pocket for a few table service dinners each trip.

 

[photobob]

We have never done the DDP. We thought about for the last trip but decided against it. If you compare the food you can get on the DDP and compare the OOP prices it is a good deal. When I went through and compared what we would normally order if not on the DDP it was not a great deal. We don't normally order dessert, if we do it is something we share. We don't normally order the most expensive items on the menu. Monetarily speaking after doing alot of math we would have spent more on the DDP than our normal pattern of dining, but not enough for it to be a deal breaker...until I figured in the gratuity which is no longer included and that threw it much more out of balance.

I also didn't want to plan my entire trip around eating and trying to make sure I got the most I could get to make the DDP a good deal. My DW was also concerned about us overeating, which we would have.

The reason we considered it in the first place was that I was footing the bill for the trip and my 21 yo son and his GF traveled with us and if we had been on the DDP they could order whatever was on the menu and not worry about price. I came close to doing the DDP but in the end changed my mind and I think it was the right decision for us.