Found This Rant on the Dining Plan

[Callie]

Yes, we often do Split Stays. We have DVC. Sometimes it just works out well because we stay somewhere different our first night. This time we we split it up to do it.

 

[kiford]

I think it only works if you eat the way that the plan is structured. We rarely eat dessert, always have appetizers, order 1-2 alcoholic drinks, and almost exclusively eat TS for breakfast and dinner. Rarely to never eat snacks, would never use the refillable mug. Hardly ever eat lunch. Always eat at signature restaurants, always book one dinner at V&As. Sometimes I'll order 3 appetizers instead of an entree and appetizer. I'm on vacation - I want to eat what I want when I want not have to follow some rules. We would end up eating stuff we didn't want just to make use of it and still have to pay out of pocket for the things that we want.

I don't understand the convenience argument or the paid-for-the-food already argument. Whether you pay in advance for the dining plan or pay as you eat, you can always put that money away before to pay for it so you're already paid for in advance in a sense. I'd rather take a room discount than "free" dining. But - it really depends on how you dine as to whether it works for you. You just need to take the time to analyze it in advance. For some it obviously works, for others not.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Found This Rant on the Dining Plan
From Josh at easywdw. He almost endorsed getting it after tearing is apart.

Nope. Definately not a rant. A well-considered commentary.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

I've gotten the DDP free last couple of years. I have no complaint.

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

We used the regular DDP last week and LOVED IT, I would do it again! I planned our days & meals and used all but 2 QS credits (and that's only because my IL's were late arriving and we didn't make lunch midweek). I swapped them out for snacks for the road on the way home.

 

[Lisa F]

Doing DxDDP for first 3 nights on a split stay and it is going to work out well. For me and kiddo, $432 for 3 nights and for the meals I am planning for what I'd likely eat, $623 - so nearly $200 savings. Many of the meals are fixed price aycte meals but not all. We are doing a character breakfast and either a signature or more expensive meal in the evenings. 2 meals a day for the first 4 days and second part of split stay is at the BWV so any snacks leftover will be the gift that keeps on giving as I buy croissants and pastries at the bakery for breakfast the next morning. For the second half we are paying OOP for the things that are less of a value on DDP. CP package, Tier 1 HDDR at an earlier show, sci fi dine in lunch, beaches and cream dinner etc.

I'm not sure really why people expect that disney owes them a great value by using the DDP. It is an option that is there for convenience. Some people like the all inclusive feel. For those of us who are uberplanners, we can run the numbers both ways and see if it is worth it to work the plan or not. In this case I am planning all of my good value stuff first to work the plan and work it hard. if it didn't work out, i'd pay OOP. I'm not really sure what all of the angst is about!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Some of the appeal of the dining plan is purely psychological, especially since the plan is now not so much a discount plan as it is a prepayment plan.

If there's to be a discount, it's up to the consumer to realize the discount (by using the plan to pay for the more expensive items).

 

[disneyjunkie]

I suppose if I considered scanning my magic band and keeping track of some credits to be overly labour intensive as the rant suggests, I wouldn't like the dining plan either. Personally, I find it all pretty simple, so not an issue for me.

I really don't understand the whole dining plan debate and why people always feel the need to justify having it or not. To me, those who don't like it always sound like they are trying to defend not spending money like that makes any difference at all to a person who just wants the dining plan because they do.

THANK YOU
There's nothing hard or complicated about using the dining plan. We've used for every trip since it was introduced back in 2005. It was simple to use back then and it's still simple to use today. We have never had an issue with not being able to order what we want on the plan.


I love having as much of our trip paid before we go, so the plan is perfect for us. I don't care one bit about trying to max out the plan, stretch the credits, getting the biggest bang for our buck....I just want the meals covered before we leave home. If someone feels like "wasting" a credit on a garden salad for dinner instead of order the most expensive thing on menu, FINE. If someone wants to "blow" a snack credit on a bottle of water instead of using it to get the most expensive snack that they can, FINE.


I book the plan for convince and the all-inclusive feel.


If it doesn't work for you, great. That doesn’t make it an awful plan or a waste of money.

 

[5kidsmommy]

It's not an awful plan or a waste of money (for some people) but it's just not for us. It's not how we eat. We don't get drinks, we don't get dessert, we eat breakfast in our room. Staying onsite it feels all inclusive anyhow since we just pay on the magic band and then pay at the end of our trip. We usually only spend $30-$40 max per person per day, usually closer to $30.

 

[SunnieRN]

I see the point of the dining plan if a family enjoys eating the way the plan works. When we've had it in the past, we have not lost money. Of course we had two disney children at that time, split meals with the kids and ate three meals a day for the kids, as per their regular eating schedule. This year my 10 year old grandmunchkins is a Disney adult. He would maybe occasionally enjoy a steak, but for sides, he won't eat potatoes of any kind, rice, you get the picture.

With him, paying for the adult dining plan makes no sense, so we've decided to either go without the dining plan or to go during free dining. Win-win, no matter what.

 

[chasingthtdream08]

THANK YOU
There's nothing hard or complicated about using the dining plan. We've used for every trip since it was introduced back in 2005. It was simple to use back then and it's still simple to use today. We have never had an issue with not being able to order what we want on the plan.


I love having as much of our trip paid before we go, so the plan is perfect for us. I don't care one bit about trying to max out the plan, stretch the credits, getting the biggest bang for our buck....I just want the meals covered before we leave home. If someone feels like "wasting" a credit on a garden salad for dinner instead of order the most expensive thing on menu, FINE. If someone wants to "blow" a snack credit on a bottle of water instead of using it to get the most expensive snack that they can, FINE.


I book the plan for convince and the all-inclusive feel.


If it doesn't work for you, great. That doesn’t make it an awful plan or a waste of money.

Amen!

 

[mustlovecats]

When I went with my parents and sister I November we got the DxDP for one room and the QSDP for the other. It was my father's first time and he was absolutely convinced he was going to have a horrible time. I knew this would turn in to him subconsciously looking for reasons to have a horrible time, including protesting the cost for everything, he's incredibly stubborn. I knew if we didn't add it he wouldn't eat or drink anything during the day and it turns out I was right. The first day he didn't understand how credits worked even though I explained multiple times and he refused to order anything after seeing the prices. Once we explained it again he started eating and had a great time.

He loved being able to order the most expensive thing on the menu, it's something he would never do either at Disney or at home. We also love to get salads/apps with our meals and I love trying/sharing as many desserts on the menu as possible. We also order drinks at nearly every meal. We saved over $800 using the deluxe plan and all of our meals were wonderful and everybody got exactly what they wanted.

Now, we didn't use the QSDP well, but I mostly ordered it so my dad would be able to order snacks/food by himself without giving him an excuse to look at the prices. I think we were down $250 on that plan.

Overall we had a new savings of about $550 and I would happily do it again if my parents decided to travel with us in the future. My goal was to spoil my parents on this trip as they've done so much for me and I succeeded. I don't think I would have had the same results without using the dining plans. I get people say you can do the same thing with giftcards, but the psychological effects just are not the same and it would not have worked so well.

 

[jillt2ph]

I saved money when I booked the DlxDP for one day after Thanksgiving. I used the 3 TS credits for the CP Dinner Package at Chefs de France ($77 OOP) and Minnie's Holiday Dine F! package (about $53 OOP). Add in the mug that was then good for the remaining 8 nights of my trip, and the 2 snack credits, and we saved about $45 per person. It is all about knowing how you are going to use those credits!

 

[keaster]

We just got back from a week stay at AKL (2 adults/2 children aged 12 so all Disney Adults!) To purchase the regular DDP would've cost us $1731.52.

We are DVC members so we had a 1 bedroom and ordered $100 worth of groceries for the start of the trip. We ate breakfast in the room every morning, one lunch and two dinners. Also grabbed the occasional ice cream sandwich in the store downstairs

On top of that we did TS at Be Our Guest, Teppan Edo and Sci-Fi (we get a 10% DVC discount at Teppan and Sci-Fi). We also did a few counter service meals in the parks and ate at Mara at AKL a couple times. I added up our restaurant receipts at the end and it came to around $840. So for us the DDP doesn't add up.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I always challenge those who swear by it to do the math...HONESTLY...and not playing the "this is what the plan provide" game. After they realize they are not getting the most bang for their buck b/c they're ordering chicken vs. the pricey steak, using credits on breakfast vs dinner, failing to use all TS credits on TS and burning them on lesser things, and getting snacks and desserts they normally wouldn't eat with the same regularity...they still come back and argue --> But the convenience!!! Then others argue that they probably wouldn't feel comfortable eating at these TS spots if they were actually forking over the $ for the bill at that time vs. paying a set amount in advance. I don't get it. We always come out ahead paying OOP.

You would lose that challenge for a couple of our trips.

See, that is what I do. Look at our trip. Make our plans, then calculate the price of meals.

We do, generally, eat like the plan. We eat breakfast in the room. Eat a quick service meal for lunch, then a sit down/table service for dinner. A snack around fireworks time, normally sounds good. Eating that way, never leaves a credit unused. And if there are any snack credits leftover, they make great snacks for the drive home.

We don't share meals. My husband eats a full meal, as does my 20 year old son. Even if I wanted to split with someone, which I don't, I would have to grab a passerby.

We rarely drink alcohol, and if we do, I might have one drink. My husband never drinks. So even though we are DVC members, Tables in Wonderland isn't a good choice for us.

All of that said, if the numbers don't work in our favor, we don't add the dining plan.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

For some users of the dining plan it is not about the money. Many realize that they might be actually laying out more by paying for the plan than they would using a pay as you go strategy. And they don't care. They like the way it feels to be on the dining plan.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

THANK YOU
There's nothing hard or complicated about using the dining plan. We've used for every trip since it was introduced back in 2005. It was simple to use back then and it's still simple to use today. We have never had an issue with not being able to order what we want on the plan.

I always laugh at posts that say it is hard to keep track of the plan.

If it is that hard for someone, ask one of our wonderful designers to make a punch card for you.

 

[loves to dive]

I used to get it when the regular plan was what is now the deluxe plan, back then I had a teenage boy who could eat his food, my food, the food on the next table and I swear he ate his napkin once(he denies this says it fell on the floor) so it worked for us. When they changed it to the 1 QS, 1TS and 1 snack per day, we tried it but by then he had become an adult and just didn't eat like that any more, he rarely eats the people at the next table's food any more. Like others, we prefer an appetizer and rarely eat dessert. We both enjoy a refreshing adult beverage. There are days we just prefer to snack around the world at Epcot all day and not eat a formal meal at all. I'm a light eater, maybe because he used to eat all my food before I could finish it, who knows. I get a kids meal for breakfast and lunch usually and at the TS I tend to get an appetizer and a salad and if I'm in the mood a dessert. I rarely eat snacks at all and neither does he. So, for us, we've found paying out of pocket works but it's all about the math. I never found the plan hard to manage, they show how many credits you have left on your receipt for Pete's sake. I'm one of those that doesn't even look at prices on the menu, no I'm not rich but by George (I've used Pete and George and don't know either one) when I'm on vacation I just don't care. I also don't worry about maximizing my money. I order what I want and if I only eat 2 bites of it, I'm o.k. with that.

 

[snooty3]

Help with this dilemma please: We have a reservation for family at Beach Club for week. My daughter will be leaving us on night 4 to meet her boyfriend at Boardwalk for 4 nights (which we booked using our dvc points). She cannot transfer her dining plan from the Beach Club reservation. If we want to put her on the Boardwalk reservation with her boyfriend we have to then purchase her another dining plan since everyone on each reservation must be on the plan. So I would have to pay for a whole week of Dining at BC then another dining plan for her and the boyfriend for 4 nights. What the hell. We are keeping her on our reservation. She will not be listed as a guest at Boardwalk and will not have room access without her boyfriend letting her in. Any suggestions:???

 

[supersnoop]

Help with this dilemma please: We have a reservation for family at Beach Club for week. My daughter will be leaving us on night 4 to meet her boyfriend at Boardwalk for 4 nights (which we booked using our dvc points). She cannot transfer her dining plan from the Beach Club reservation. If we want to put her on the Boardwalk reservation with her boyfriend we have to then purchase her another dining plan since everyone on each reservation must be on the plan. So I would have to pay for a whole week of Dining at BC then another dining plan for her and the boyfriend for 4 nights. What the hell. We are keeping her on our reservation. She will not be listed as a guest at Boardwalk and will not have room access without her boyfriend letting her in. Any suggestions:???

Create a second profile for her; maybe use her middle name. She can use the Beach Club profile for dining and park tickets, and the Boardwalk profile for room access. She'll have to use two different magic bands. Don't purchase the dining plan for the Boardwalk reservation.