Frommer's says not to get the Disney Dining Plan

[6disneykids]

Once more of my kids are over 10, we probably won't do the DDP anymore. DDP is a deal with 'kids' (3-9) if you are doing many buffets, or all you can eat places, and it keeps both DH and me from having 'sticker shock' at the end of the meal. We are going with QSDP while not a money saver, it is a sanity saver, we know what and where DS15 &DS14 are eating when they go off on their own at the parks.

We also have TIW that we also used as a 'booze' coupon too After a day with our 6 kids we need an adult beverage, and a pint from the Rose & Crown pub, a beer from Sommerfest in Germany.....

 

[smiths02]

I don't believe he is thinking of WDW as a "full service" resort in the way a lot of us frequent visitors think of it. He's thinking like a first-and-only-time visitor, who usually wants to see as much as possible, and why would you sit around the hotel or a restaurant when you could be in the park?

Many people take vacations that are all about sitting and eating (cruises, all inclusives, etc.). Don't most people like to eat out once a day while on vacation?

When I was a first time visitor, we still wanted to sit and eat at fun or nice places (we ate at Crystal Palace, Boma, and Sci Fi).

I would want to sit around a restaurant if I wanted my kids to eat with Mickey, etc.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I don't think I would pay for DP, just based on how and what my family eats. But when it's included as a "free" option, we love it! I know about the argument that free isn't really free, but when you have a family of four, the 5%-20% (even 30% if you're super lucky!) discounts don't come close to saving us as much as the free dining plan. Let's say I lucked out and got a 30% savings on a moderate room (which is really, really stretching it!). My savings would be about $60 a night. No way I can feed a family of four at Disney for that! Especially since we're in the camp of liking to sit and have one nice, relaxing meal a day.

It really is such an individual thing. I don't think anyone, blogger or not, can say it's never a good deal or it's always a good deal. For a family that does a lot of expensive character meals and buffets, the DP might still work. If you're in the habit of always having dessert on vacation, it might still work. If you've got kids eating off the children's, menu, you're good. It's not a black and white, yes or no solution.

 

[TDC Nala]

Many people take vacations that are all about sitting and eating (cruises, all inclusives, etc.). Don't most people like to eat out once a day while on vacation?

When I was a first time visitor, we still wanted to sit and eat at fun or nice places (we ate at Crystal Palace, Boma, and Sci Fi).

I would want to sit around a restaurant if I wanted my kids to eat with Mickey, etc.

There's a bunch of telltale language in this blog. He calls WDW "a theme park." That's a clue that he doesn't see it (or he doesn't think his readers will see it) as a vacation resort with dining experiences. How often do guests of an ordinary theme park eat at park table service restaurants?

He is not writing for this audience. He is writing for an audience that knows next to nothing about WDW. And he is obviously not an expert on WDW.

 

[KeroKero]

We've only ever paid for a dining plan once, and will never again. We do however take advantage of free dining when we can.

I do prefer the QSDP over the DP as I don't like spending time sitting in restaurants and feeling obligated to get to specific places on a schedule.

 

[Cafeen]

There's a bunch of telltale language in this blog. He calls WDW "a theme park." That's a clue that he doesn't see it (or he doesn't think his readers will see it) as a vacation resort with dining experiences. How often do guests of an ordinary theme park eat at park table service restaurants?

He is not writing for this audience. He is writing for an audience that knows next to nothing about WDW. And he is obviously not an expert on WDW.

And I hope that I'm not the only one who sees this mentality as a huge hit to the integrity of the former "professional" guidebooks vs. the less traditional multi-source stuff like message boards and other internet media.

A guidebook should (imo) give objective information and help guide visitors to make the correct decision for them, not just spout off half-informed biased viewpoints to be taken as truth. But, it's Friday and this week hasn't been kind to me (I really hate August and September in my line of work), so I'm rather cynical and my tolerance with stupid people is at a pretty low point right now... so I could be looking into things wrong.

As a note, I believe the plan(s) can work, but it's situational (which, according to Chrome, isn't a word...) Finding out if/which one works for your vacation "requirements" is what is really key to making them work. If none do, that's fine too, it's why we have options.

 

[tinkrbell1437]

I like the DDP because I wouldn't normally eat at some of the places that I have eaten at because I had the Dining Plan. Yes, it's not a huge savings, but I don't think I would have gone to 1900 Park Fare or Akershus Banquet Hall or Chef Mickey's without it. Yes, we could have saved money and eaten QS meals (which is what I usually do at theme parks), but we wouldn't have great pictures and memories from some of the character and signature places we have gone to either.

Plus, not having to worry about factoring in food and snack prices while on-site on vacation means I am more able to relax. YMMV, but for me, it makes it easier for me to relax

 

[JenSop]

And his response to the post I made on his blog came from his still biased uninformed opinion. Ah well. We all know Disney is NOT just a "theme park".

 

[TDC Nala]

Not only that but he doesn't seem to have any real interest in WDW as a destination. He says most guests want to go to Universal. I agree if you're spending most of your time at Universal you don't need the Disney dining plan.

And if he's upset that it doesn't include appetizers, why does he not say that, instead of saying "there are a lot of exclusions?" He makes it sound like you can only get a couple of things on any menu.

Personally I find DDP to be a ripoff but I'm not going to assume that it is a ripoff for every single party that uses it.

 

[cinderella_mom]

Being the crazy planner that I am, I have done the math and figured the cost of DDP as it relates to the most probable TS meal that I would order (being a pescetarian I usually only have 1-2 options at each restaurant). I found I come out about even or saving a few dollars a day. We usually eat breakfast in our room (I bring cereal and a couple of cans of peaches, and buy milk in the store), have a QS meal for lunch and a TS for dinner. We usually use our snacks for late night, but always end up with left-over snack credits at the end which we use to bring back Disney candy for friends.

This blog post has many errors, but it's about figuring what works best for your family. If you want to go full-force with a "theme-park" mentality then you probably don't want to take the time for TS meals, but if you look at WDW as a vacation, then eating "fast-food" for a week or more may not cut it.

If it's free dining, there's no question about the value. I'm very happy they extended FD into December this year. We will be enjoying the DDP to it's fullest.

 

[Minniesgal]

Many people take vacations that are all about sitting and eating (cruises, all inclusives, etc.). Don't most people like to eat out once a day while on vacation?

When I was a first time visitor, we still wanted to sit and eat at fun or nice places (we ate at Crystal Palace, Boma, and Sci Fi).

I would want to sit around a restaurant if I wanted my kids to eat with Mickey, etc.

I want to eat out occasionally on holiday as a treat but we hate eating out every day it takes the special feeling out of going out for dinner and makes us feel sick of the sight of food so we don't enjoy any. We tend to eat out 3 or 4 times a week max on holiday and even the that can be too much.

 

[MomtoEmIs&Ow]

Can't really say I agree or disagree 100%.
There are somethings in the article that could be true for some families and not true for others. I will agree that he does not seem to have all his 'facts' right. And the whole thing is based on so many personally preferences....
We have happily used the dining plan 3x ..... each time it was free mind you..... didn't cost me anything extra cause I was gonna stay on-site anyway.

 

[John's Mom]

I won't even get the plan for free. To get it free I have to buy a rack rate package at a Disney resort with at least 2 night tickets. I have DVC and an annual pass. Not worth it.

Did you know that you could save the 2 park tickets and use them for a credit on your next annual pass renewal?

 

[sandhya]

JENSOP, you said you bought your DDP with DVC. Is there a discount if we buy with DVC.

 

[darnheather]

Well hopefully lots of people will stop paying for it and Disney will lower the price.

 

[mom2my3kids]

I agree

 

[maxiesmom]

Can't really say I agree or disagree 100%.
There are somethings in the article that could be true for some families and not true for others. I will agree that he does not seem to have all his 'facts' right. And the whole thing is based on so many personally preferences....
We have happily used the dining plan 3x ..... each time it was free mind you..... didn't cost me anything extra cause I was gonna stay on-site anyway.

 

[carol58]

I agree. This used to be a good deal, but not anymore at least for my family. I did like the fact that everything was paid for before we left, though. So what I am doing when I go in November is I have bought disney gift cards to use for our meals

 

[TDC Nala]

Did you know that you could save the 2 park tickets and use them for a credit on your next annual pass renewal?

Yes and it is still not worth it. No need for me to allow Disney to hold that money just to get a dining plan. I'd still have to pay rack rate for the room when I have rooms already paid for through DVC.

JENSOP, you said you bought your DDP with DVC. Is there a discount if we buy with DVC.

No discounts on the dining plans through DVC.

 

[skatalite]

My wife and I have done the dining plan once, and we won't do it again.

We've written up a budget plan for our next WDW trip, and we expect to spend $1,100 on food/alcohol/snacks/tax/tips, over the course of nine nights. This includes 12 table service meals (three of which are signatures), and seven quick service meals.

The cost for the basic dining plan is $1,055, before alcohol and tip. Plus, it'd only yield nine QS and nine TS credits, which wouldn't allow us to eat at the places we want to eat. So, it's clear where the better deal is.