Doing Disney without meal plan?

[jondvl]

Just wondering if anyone has gone without using a meal plan.

The reason I ask. We have 3 kids .1 Eats like a normal kid. 1 has Autism and is very picky and does not like sitting in one place for a long period of time. The other does not eat that much to justify buying her a full meal. She could just eat of our plates.

We also really do not like sit down restaraunts.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you don't like sit down restaurants, there's the quick service plan.

I do not use the plan (I did use it a couple of times back when the tip and appetizer were included because it was a no brainer back then). I have several reasons.

Don't want to be tied to restaurant reservations.
Don't want to be absolutely sure I have restaurant reservations or risk losing credits.
Don't want to have to worry about using up all credits.
I eat at the bars and lounges if I'm by myself. They don't take DDP.
Have a Tables in Wonderland card, 20% off at most table service, includes booze.
Would like to order appetizers sometimes. Sometimes I don't order anything BUT appetizers.
I like restaurants that don't accept the dining plan (Bluezoo, Victoria & Albert's, House of Blues, Kimonos, etc)
I prefer the signature restaurants. They are not a good value on the dining plan.
I don't have any children. If you have a lot of children in the 3-9 category the plan can be a tremendous deal if used correctly.
(Your oldest, the 10 year old, is a dining adult - the other two would have the child's dining plan, so the QS plan may be something you want to look into. I would not recommend the regular or deluxe since you are not interested in table service meals)

 

[Sandy321]

either go the quick service plan - or wing it - definately easy to pack (or ship) breakfast items to the resort (granola bars, oatmeal bars) or pick them up at the resort shop (we have a collapsible cooler we keep ice in for milk and juice) That way eat in the room as you are heading out to the parks -

and with your autistic child - the sit down meals, and character meals easily take 2 hours! (from check in to checking out! some are longer!)

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Well it would be about $140.00 per day for ya'll to get the basic dining plan, which is excellent if you are doing one sit down or character meal per day, but if you don't do sit down meals and are planning on doing fast food the entire trip, then the DDP would be a waste of your money.

I did want to mention that I have never spent 2 hours at a character meal and we have done every character meal in WDW. It's usually about an hour for buffet character meals and about an hour and a half for table service character meals.

 

[Hootch]

the meal plan in the past, but haven't done it the last couple of trips. The main reason is we have adjusted our dining plans with the lesser reason that the DDP plan was changed.

We now do some TS meals but not one for every night we're there. Additionally the kids are at the age (son my be growing out of it but daughter still very much there) where RFC and T-Rex are high on their lists. I looked at both the regular DDP plan the QS plan a few different ways for our upcoming trip an neither works for us. I'm still not convinced the QS plan would ever work for us based on our dining habits.

 

[jondvl]

Thanks everyone..everyday I get more helpful information.

 

[Get me to Disney!]

I am convinced that we could have eaten more cheaply w/o the plan. The only reason we are doing is bc it's free during our stay. I would think you could be more frugal including sandwiches in the room - to me - Disney is more about being in Disney and less about the food - although, don't get me wrong, I could change my tune after a trip there with fine quisine

 

[brymolmom]

We've gone plenty of times without the dining plan. And we usually don't spend as much without it. This is because we usually buy 1 meal per day when not on the dining plan. We eat breakfast in the room and bring lunch plus lots of snacks and drinks in a soft-sided cooler to the park. Then we buy 1 CS meal in the parks. We usually have 1 - 2 character sit-down breakfasts during the trip too.

This might work with you since the one eats so little and the other might better prefer specific foods??? If that's the case - -you can bring all their favorites.

We usually do this when stayign offsite and have a car to use. But it could be done staying onsite with grocery delivery.

 

[Allison]

Thousands of people go without the meal plan. We have only used it once during our trips.

 

[disneymom06]

I really like the convenience of having the DDP all paid before vacation, that being said, I think that next trip I will try pay as we go. While I like to have a sit down meal each day, (4 kids), there were one or two days when the kids just wanted to go back to the room grab something at the food court and go to the pool. I then had to use those TS credits just to use the money that I had already spent.

So, don't think that the DDP works for everyone, you know your family and what works for you. A sit down meal is not in your schedule for a daily event so I would pay as you go. You eat what, when and where you want, no reservations to worry about and I have to admit, no cost comparing to see if you broke even yet.

Good luck and have a great vacation,

 

[Jitzy]

We are going this summer and this is the first time I am even Considering any kind of dining plan! We have Annual Passes and the TIW card. This time, we are staying concierge for the military deal. There is food available for us, but we have two TEENAGE BOYS! So, I think the QSDP is the way to go!

Do the plan that works for you!

 

[La2kw]

We have never done the DDP mainly because it would cost us more than we have ever spent on food and we like to eat at HOB, RFC, Picabu, BlueZoo, Ghiradelli's, and Bongo's which are not on the DDP.

 

[La2kw]

I am convinced that we could have eaten more cheaply w/o the plan.

We always have. The DDP would cost us more than we have ever spent on food during any of our trips.

 

[Sandy321]

Well it would be about $140.00 per day for ya'll to get the basic dining plan, which is excellent if you are doing one sit down or character meal per day, but if you don't do sit down meals and are planning on doing fast food the entire trip, then the DDP would be a waste of your money.

I did want to mention that I have never spent 2 hours at a character meal and we have done every character meal in WDW. It's usually about an hour for buffet character meals and about an hour and a half for table service character meals.

we've gone 5 or 6 times all using the DP - and it takes close to 2 hours from the time you get to the podium (we've waited from 10 - 45 min to get seated!) to the time we walk out (getting a check can take from 10 - 30 min - 30 min at Tony's but that included the time I waited for the manager to voice my displeasure - also at Rose and Crown 1 time - sometimes it takes a long time when you give your card and when they bring it back - )

I dont usually pay attention to the time when we do TS - except at rope drops - 8am breakfast we are out and make it to rope drop so yep, 1 hour - but some places (esp the 2TS ) they take their time!

and LeCellier is one of the worst places we've eaten at for waiting beyond your adr time...

 

[food4me]

We never use a dining plan. We're not the type to plan out our vacations hour-by-hour, so we wouldn't be able to get reservations anywhere. Plus, it's a lot cheaper to buy breakfasts and snacks at the grocery store than to buy them in the park, dining plan or no dining plan. I think they're a good choice for families who are very set on getting everything they can out of the trip, and want to go to lots of the sit down restaurants or character meals. Since your kids don't want sit-down meals, it doesn't seem like a wise choice for you. Even though many people on here choose the dining plans, keep in mind that thousands of people each year do not.

 

[maggiew]

I know it seems like EVERYONE does the dining plan if you read these boards. But there are many people who don't!

We are a family of 4 with 2 DDs who are young teens. They don't eat much and so we have always shared meals at Disney. Many times we get 2 entrees for the 4 of us (with maybe an appetizer or dessert,but not always).

We like to go to Beaches and Cream which is not a great deal on the DDP and also RFC (and now TRex) which isn't on the plan.

I tried my hardest to "make the plan work for us" and have just given up. I find it funny that I am trying so hard to make the plan work. Now I figure we will just go and order what we want when we want and not worry about credits, etc. Some days we go to 2 Table Service places and some days counter service (depends on the park). We also prefer character breakfasts (not dinners) because my girls are better breakfast eaters and those just aren't a good deal on the DDP.

And luckily for us, no one has gotten sick while at Disney, but what if they did and we had the DDP? We'd lose a lot of money.

Maggie

 

[Faldred]

Just wondering if anyone has gone without using a meal plan.

Millions upon millions have, I'm sure. I've only done it once myself in three trips this decade.

Personally, I found being on plan massively more convenient than going out-of-pocket, especially without the attendant worries of "should I order this item, or is it too expensive?". But I was also staying on-site and making it a Disney-only vacation for the first time, two factors that play into making a dining plan more worthwhile.

In general, it's a good idea if and only if it fits in with your ow personal "style". Given your specific concerns, QSDP or no plan at all may make more sense.

 

[JulieEck]

I know it seems like EVERYONE does the dining plan if you read these boards. But there are many people who don't!

I agree. It also seems like EVERYONE eats at TS meals every day. There's always the comments when someone makes a last minute trip - Oh, they'll never get an ADR for anywhere! They won't be able to eat!

We had always done CS all the time and definitely spend less than if I purchased a dining plan, even a QS one. We did do free dining last fall, and was excited to try some of the TS places since it was our first time on a plan, but they do take a chunk out of park time and do require planning. We found we didn't really like the "we HAVE to be xxx place at x time". All that being said, I am trying the QS plan on our next trip. It's a short trip (4 nights) and I estimate that we'll spend about $50 more than we would normally. Now, we'll get a lot for the extra $50 I'm spending (desserts, extra drink, lots of snacks), but it is extra money that I'm spending. You know what I mean?

You may want to check the QS plan and see if it would work for you. Check the menus on Allearsnet.com and estimate what you would spend per day in food. You will also receive a refillable mug per person on the QS plan. Even with sharing, you could use the extra credits for a third meal in the day, etc. Extra snack credits at the end are good for treats to take home.

Good luck trying to decide!

 

[Lynne G]

We went last year without the meal plan and went during FD. There are lots of CS places that have nice entrees with side/s that are usually large enough to share. We did one character meal and ate bfast in our hotel, it was part of the package there, and only did CS for any other needed meals in the parks. I am sure we saved money vs. what we would have paid for the plan or nondiscounted FD hotel rate. We are not big sweet eaters, and my DS is very heavy, so we try to limit him, and we only paid for what we wanted. We also carried lots of snacks and water purchased at a Sam's Club that we stopped at before going to the hotel.

You are certainly not alone in not having a dining plan. What should dictate your final decision is your family's eating habits. With all the dining plans, it includes desserts and snacks. Compare pricing of the menus to see what interests you, add up the prices, including tax, and then see if any of the plans make more sense.