Do you get the dining plan

[kohlby]

It depends on how you eat. If you crunch the numbers and come out close to even, then I wouldn't do it - so you can increase your flexibility. But for some, they save a lot of money with it. We would spend a lot more money with the dining plan so we don't do it. We also love our flexibility! We don't do many table service at all and don't do any character meals, so that probably makes a huge difference. Plus, we have a car and sometimes eat dinner off-site. We also don't mind QS - it's not all burgers and pizza. Actually, we need to actively seek those out if we want those!

 

[xipetotec]

Yes or no. I can't decide. I've made a guesstimate on food/menus and wondering how many people feel it's worth it to do it.

First of all, it always depends on your eating habits.

We go about every two years, and every time we have done the calculations and in 2012, it was at a point where it was sort of even budget-wise for us. *BUT* because we travel in a big group, we liked how it allowed us to "allocate" to our various age groups "this is what you get" and let them go.

Now in 2014, we did our budget with what we *typically* eat, what the dining plan costs, and what it would cost out of pocket. but THIS year we also had the Tables in Wonderland option. Which was hands down the best. HOWEVER, we found that even if we were paying out of pocket, the dining plan was STILL way more expensive.

DW and I are going on a "just us" trip in October, but we've booked Free Dining, so obviously there we are getting the dining plan.

I would suggest this. Google "See ya real soon Calculator". It's someone who has compiled an Excel spreadsheet that takes into account number of days, ages in the party, and restaurants you plan to eat at. And it will give you an estimate of what it would cost dining plan vs out of pocket. It really helps make the decision.

 

[puffkin]

We do Tables in Wonderland. The Dining plan does not fit how we eat at all. If we go in hot weather, we typically do a lot less meals and more snacks or just skip meals altogether. Once I got pretty sick on a trip and we ended up cancelling a few ADR's. We just don't feel the dining plan adds any value for us.

I have our meals prepaid in an account at home or with Disney gift cards. Then I can just pay off the balance of the room charge every few days. We pretty much only charge food so it is easy to track.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We never get the Disney Dining Plan. My husband says he wants to eat what he wants to eat and where he wants to eat. We were at Animal Kingdom in April and I was buying a snack at one of the carts. A family of four was trying to purchase some snacks using the dining plan and was extremely frustrated with what was allowed and now allowed. Of course, the ones they first picked were not on the plan. The Mom even commented that all the good snacks weren't on the plan.

 

[AinsleyLM]

I have never been with it. Mainly because we don't always do sit down restaurants everyday. This past trip we did everyday, but we chose not to for two reasons. First, I love dessert but rarely eat one at a restaurant. Give me a mickey bar, and I'm happy. Number two, my sister and I took her three year old. We only bought him meals at the sit down restaurants. Any other time, we bought two adult meals or one adult and one child's meals and shared them. That was plenty of food for us. No point in buying the dining plan for a three year old that doesn't eat much. At least, in our point of view.

 

[monorailsilver]

Never have, never will unless it gets cheaper and more snacks!

My oldest is a Disney adult but doesn't always eat like one so right there that was a budget buster!

I went thru the menus and prices and figured out about how much we were going to spend on meals. I budgeted $40 for lunch and dinner. We had breakfast in out room that I shipped from home.

We didn't buy soda with our meals and just drank our water which was from water bottles so we actually drank it.

One meal was close to $50 because my girls got slushies. We did 2 table service meals on our non park days as well but I knew they'd be over the $50 mark.

I refuse to do sit downs on park days because it takes time away from the park. We go back to our room for a mid day break so sitting in a restaurant would not allow us as long of a break.

I did buy the resort mugs for our pool days and the kids could drink as much soda as they wanted!

I saw some of the dessert that was offered with some meals and I wasn't impressed. I mean I would rather save the calories for a pretzel, dole whip or Mickey ice cream sandwich which we did. That was also our snack.

We have a friend who dies it because he doesn't have to think about it but if he did think about it he would realize he was spending more but to each his own.

Oh and I use my Disney visa rewards and various gift cards from rewards sites for food.

 

[eglsmama]

This is my family's first trip, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but we're not doing the plan. It is DH, DD6 and myself. We drink mostly water. And while we love dessert I am certain there will be times when we'd prefer an appetizer or a beer (or, nothing additional!). Or, we might eat our meal and then want dessert an hour later from somewhere else. I am also fairly certain that I might sometimes go for a kid's portion, or that DD and I might split an adult portion.

I found this calculator very helpful:
http://www.distripplanner.com/

Take note of the assumptions they make when figuring costs and you may find you come out even more ahead than the numbers show.

Once you get your totals, click on them for a complete breakdown.

Hope this helps!

 

[Momloveshockey]

we get the QS dining. It is easier to not worry about spending a ton of money on food. It was all paid for when we booked the trip. Thus the cost isn't an over and above when we think the vacation is paid for. The meals are lots big. We usually get the fruit as a desert and save it for breakfast the next morning. We eat breakfast in our room. I usually pack some muffins and cheese strings to bring with us. When we add up the price of what we would typically order for meals...the DDP is a break even deal, but the convenience puts it over the top!

 

[Momloveshockey]

we get the QS dining. It is easier to not worry about spending a ton of money on food. It was all paid for when we booked the trip. Thus the cost isn't an over and above when we think the vacation is paid for. The meals are lots big. We usually get the fruit as a desert and save it for breakfast the next morning. We eat breakfast in our room. I usually pack some muffins and cheese strings to bring with us. When we add up the price of what we would typically order for meals...the DDP is a break even deal, but the convenience puts it over the top!
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[jtopp]

since we always eat in the parks for the experience, we love the dining plan. When we all go, we save a ton of money by using it.

 

[jawa7400]

We have always purchased the DDP. In the past it's only been DH and myself and we found it to be a great deal because we could order/"spend" whatever we wanted to on the menu without worrying about price (no one wants to do that on vacation). This time we will have 2 children with us (DS1 won't have a DDP). Our plan is to just share the 2 adult meals and 1 child meal. DD4 is pretty picky anyway, so she might just be happy with the PB&J I pack for her and let DH1 eat the kids meal!

 

[boltfan]

We always get the dining plan because I like not having to worry if I have enough money for food. And we usually come out on the plus side when we use it (we would have spent more if we didn't get it).

 

[JillShari]

When we went about 5 years ago, we had free dining and it was a ton of food including apps and desert which was fine. But this time we had a very picky eater joining us and for someone who only eats a side of rice or pasta... it didn't make sense since everyone in the party needs to be on the same plan. It would have costed us considerably more. We got food delivered to our room from a local grocer and ate breakfast in our room every morning... faster and I'm sure it ended up being cheaper.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Have never gotten the dining plan. Eat breakfast in the room. Have Tables in Wonderland card for dinner and some lunches. 20% off for most table service restaurants. The discount includes alcohol.

 

[MandiC]

We have always purchased the DDP. In the past it's only been DH and myself and we found it to be a great deal because we could order/"spend" whatever we wanted to on the menu without worrying about price (no one wants to do that on vacation). This time we will have 2 children with us (DS1 won't have a DDP). Our plan is to just share the 2 adult meals and 1 child meal. DD4 is pretty picky anyway, so she might just be happy with the PB&J I pack for her and let DH1 eat the kids meal!

Unfortunately you must buy the dining plan as part of the package for everyone in your reservation

"1. If you are a non-Disney Vacation Club member, you must purchase a Magic Your Way vacation package at a Disney resort for your entire party with at least one day's park admission. The number of days for the Dining Plan will equal the number of nights you have reserved your room on the package. It has nothing to do with the number of days of park admission you have.

2. If you are a Disney Vacation Club member staying at a DVC resort on points, you may purchase the Dining Plan. You must purchase the Dining Plan for everyone in your party. No purchase of park admission is necessary. The number of dining plan days will equal the number of nights of your stay."

http://allears.net/din/basic-disney-dining-plan.htm

 

[harrowgirl]

Unfortunately you must buy the dining plan as part of the package for everyone in your reservation

"1. If you are a non-Disney Vacation Club member, you must purchase a Magic Your Way vacation package at a Disney resort for your entire party with at least one day's park admission. The number of days for the Dining Plan will equal the number of nights you have reserved your room on the package. It has nothing to do with the number of days of park admission you have.

2. If you are a Disney Vacation Club member staying at a DVC resort on points, you may purchase the Dining Plan. You must purchase the Dining Plan for everyone in your party. No purchase of park admission is necessary. The number of dining plan days will equal the number of nights of your stay."

http://allears.net/din/basic-disney-dining-plan.htm

Her son is 1 - no ticket, no DDP

 

[mahrens77]

We did. It's our first trip with kids and it was "free" so we went for it.

 

[katriscari]

We did last year on our first trip to disney because we did so many character meals. There is value in pricing it out if you are planning a lot of those. Next May we will not. For us it is too much food, and we don't need 2 desserts a day plus snack. I also intended to snack and drink around the world, but I didn't even want to think about eating. Not sure if it is just me, but when it is hot i tend to want to eat less...not more. I was also a little nutty about making sure we used all of our credits so we didn't waste what we paid for...ended up bringing 11 snacks home! I suggest a couple of things...1. Get a grocery delivery for breakfast and snack items. We did this the first time, and it was well worth the delivery charge. We used we go shop and loved them. 2. When you are out and have the extra cash to grab a disney giftcard grab one. Put those away to pay for your out of pocket meals. If you buy a couple a month for 8 months you can save several hundred dollars for meals that way. Then it won't feel like such a hit when you are paying OOP.

 

[amyren]

We have done the dining plan in the past but next trip we aren't getting it even though it's "free dining". We're opting for the room only discount instead. For us 30% off our resort is a better savings than free dining. We tend to eat 1 big meal a day and we often share entrees anyway. Another factor is that we have no expiration tickets and to qualify for free dining we'd have to purchase 2 day tickets.

 

[vettegirl]

Yes we love having everything paid for and the freedom to order whatever we want

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