Have you ever paid out of pocket for meals on a trip?

[Buffalo1987]

I've been to WDW for 7-day vacations and have always gotten the DDP for myself and my companion.

Have any of you (preferably without kids) ever done a week-long trip and paid out of pocket for all of your dining and snacks? Did you measure how much you spent vs. what the DDP cost? Did you save or lose out?

 

[lilly6]

We usually come out around even, but somehow having the dining plan and having it all paid for beforehand keeps me falling off my chair when the check for breakfast is over $100.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I have done more 7+ day trips than I can count, and have never used the DDP. I don't want any restrictions whatsoever. That's a deal breaker in and of itself.
We are drinkers, so TIW is a great way to go.

MG

 

[Lizo18]

Yes. I'm going next week by myself and this will be the first time I've ever used the dining plan. I'm still planning to pay for a few meals out of pocket, too.

 

[Uncranky Donald]

I have never used a Dining plan so I can not compare. Watching people in front of me at the registers ask questions about what they could or could not get, having to put things back in resort QS lines was enough to turn me off years ago. I don't have kids, but have just started going with my 3 & 5 year old niece and nephew and even with them the whole family (sometimes 8 of us) have never used a dining plan. Though we are also DVC members so we eat all but one (character) breakfast in our Villa and have the benefit of being able to reheat leftovers/cook meals in the room. Including several TS/SD meals,QS,alcohol, etc. I spent around $350ish for 7days last trip getting whatever I wanted. I did pretty well I thought, I have a lot more ADRs for my next trip and am going with a rowdier bunch for twice as long soooo I may not fare so well next time around Hope this helps!!

 

[joannamet]

DDP doesn't work for us unless its free and then its way too much food. We don't eat at TS restaurants very often and we don't eat 3 meals a day. The 3 of us can share 2 QS meals or 1 meal and a couple of extra items and spend much less than it would cost for the DDP. It really depends on how your family eats.

 

[ncc1701]

The one time we did the DDP it was free. When we got back I priced out what we ordered vs the cost . We would have lost money since it didn't fit how we eat. What we do is buy Disney Giftcards . It works for us. It is just DH and I , we would more likely order chicken or fish rather than steak (except for YSH). We share desserts if we get them at all .I don't want to worry if we are getting our money's worth. Plus GC can be used for . If we have GC left they can be used on our next visit or buy something online.

 

[Ratzo]

The dining plan is a sucker bet, so of course I pay out of pocket. I remember my first time in Le Cellier. The poor waitress must have been the subject of so much abuse.

Waitress: Do you have a dining plan?
Me: No.
Waitress: Because if you have the dining plan you should know this restaurant is 2 points.
Me: No, it doesn't matter. I don't have the dining plan.
Waitress: Okay, because a lot of people don't realize this restaurant is an extra point.
Me: No worries.

She probably used to tell people just once and it just flew over their heads, so she has to repeat it multiple times for it to sink in. Otherwise they complain that they were "overcharged" and "nobody told them" that would happen.

 

[lilly6]

The first time we used the dining plan, Le Cellier was 1 table service credit and included and appetizer each and the gratuity. Those were the days.

We enjoy the dining plan. If we didn't do it that way and pay ahead as part of our package we'd be very wary of budgeting and going to the better restaurants and would probably talk ourselves out if it. It's fun this way.

 

[WDW Traveler]

We have been many times for week long trips and only used the dining plan twice, once it was free and once it was paid for by my in-laws (so free for us ). We really don't care for it. We either pretty much break even using it or we come out ahead not using it. We are not big eaters, we like TS and QS, but just prefer to order and pay OOP for whatever we want and not get things we don't want. We are heading down in April for 8 days and we have 6 TS ADR's and will not be getting the dining plan.

 

[Monykalyn]

Last trip we did Star wars weekends and had more specialty-character or themed- dining than normal-no dining plan. We like to have a drink with dinner, and usually split dessert or snacks. We pretty much ate what and when we wanted-my DH doesn't like to deprive himself on vacation LOL. I got a much better deal on resorts with discounts through Orbitz, plus we bought our tickets cheaper through cheaptickets - both went through ebates for money back as well. I actually put all our meals into a spread sheet when we got back and we came out ahead with paying out of pocket, by a couple hundred dollars (regular dining plan as we generally did 1 table service daily) . That is before the money saved with ebates and discounts. I can see how DP would work for some people, especially heavy on character meals though.

 

[Beer Me]

Yes. Two 6 night trips with my family of 4 (disney) adults. I added up every dollar spent on food and drinks and saved about $300 paying oop vs dining plan. We eat as much as we want which turns out to be less than what the dining plan buys.

 

[disneyseniors]

OP, we are 2 adults who used to use the fdp and never thought about the prices. That aspect of it was great.
However, last year, we decided to try it without the dp. We were a little nervous about it, but decided go give it a try.
We found out that 1) we didn't overeat at each meal just so we could "get our money's worth out of it". 2) We always felt we had to get the most expensive item on the menu with the dp, again to get our money's worth out of it. (a trend starting here?) 3) I was always too full to try the multitude of great snacks and treats at the parks. Felt I was missing out. and 4) we don't travel with kids anymore, so no need for just the 2 of us.
I can see how families can get benefits from the ddp with all the character meals, big eaters, etc.
But for your original question: We saved money without the ddp. We don't eat 3 meals a day. We have a light breakfast, bigger lunch, and then snacks or sharing a small meal for supper. We now have room for all those amazing deserts, treats that we passed up. We don't feel so full from all that eating.
The best thing about oop, is that you are free to eat when you want and where you want. For us, that is the main reason we won't go back to ddp. Lots of times we weren't hungry for Chinese at our appointed adr, and were too tired to travel to epcot just to eat (for an example.) We cancelled many of our reservations because of just not wanting to go to another scheduled adr.
We will never go back to ddp,, even if it is free. There are too many advantages for us paying out of pocket.

 

[Nancyg56]

We usually come out around even, but somehow having the dining plan and having it all paid for beforehand keeps me falling off my chair when the check for breakfast is over $100.

We come out a little ahead, but that is because no matter how I try, I end up feeling guilty if I order the more expensive entrees if I am not on the plan. I just cannot get past the prices. If I pay OOP I feel like I am bleeding money.

The plan is subjective I know, but for muy family it allows a cushion I just would not give myself permission for. I really like BOG breakfast, and I have no problem allocating a credit for it, but no matter how much I like the meal, I would not pay OOP for it. I do understand I paid for it, I really do, however I can bring the family there and not cringe when my all paid for vacation includes a $25 per person breakfast.

 

[Buffalo1987]

OP, we are 2 adults who used to use the fdp and never thought about the prices. That aspect of it was great.
However, last year, we decided to try it without the dp. We were a little nervous about it, but decided go give it a try.
We found out that 1) we didn't overeat at each meal just so we could "get our money's worth out of it". 2) We always felt we had to get the most expensive item on the menu with the dp, again to get our money's worth out of it. (a trend starting here?) 3) I was always too full to try the multitude of great snacks and treats at the parks. Felt I was missing out. and 4) we don't travel with kids anymore, so no need for just the 2 of us.
I can see how families can get benefits from the ddp with all the character meals, big eaters, etc.
But for your original question: We saved money without the ddp. We don't eat 3 meals a day. We have a light breakfast, bigger lunch, and then snacks or sharing a small meal for supper. We now have room for all those amazing deserts, treats that we passed up. We don't feel so full from all that eating.
The best thing about oop, is that you are free to eat when you want and where you want. For us, that is the main reason we won't go back to ddp. Lots of times we weren't hungry for Chinese at our appointed adr, and were too tired to travel to epcot just to eat (for an example.) We cancelled many of our reservations because of just not wanting to go to another scheduled adr.
We will never go back to ddp,, even if it is free. There are too many advantages for us paying out of pocket.

This was an interesting answer. I also happen to get very full over the course of my trips too!

Thanks everyone for their feedback!!

 

[LindseyJo22]

We are doing the Dining Plan for the first time over Princess weekend - usually, we get gift cards through Swagbucks and use that to cover our food and random stuff. We had about $450 or so on a gift card for almost a week last May, and that covered almost all of our food and souvenirs. Now my mom did pick up a pretty hefty meal for us, but I still don't think it would be worth it for us to get the DDP for a long trip. Too much food! We're planning on doing a comparison between DDP and regular price on this weekend, though - and I'm curious to see if we can find the receipts from our January trip, which was heavy on snacks and splitting entrees, but did end up being pretty pricey for a shorter trip. So I think you just need to weigh the benefits and how you want to eat on a particular trip, if that makes sense.

 

[melanielll]

We have been over 20 times and have never used a dining plan. You know they make money on it - if not they wouldn't push it so hard. And if they make money on it - the party losing money on it is the purchaser. We have added it up - breaking even would require us to eat almost twice as much as we do when we are there. Plus - I have been in line behind people fighting about wanting snacks that aren't included. That's no vacation for me. I have also seen people in the hotel buying mountains of stuff on their last day to just burn through the snack credits.

 

[DisBuckMan]

We've done the dining plan, but I just don't see any way we'll ever do it again.

Too, too, too restrictive for us.

 

[Srbright]

All the timesame in my signature have been on the dining plan with the exception of Disneyland last month. Paying the check at Ariels Grotto was physically painful.

I don't regret using it in the past and will have it when we go again in August.

Stacy

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We typically save about $100 over the course of a week on the dining plan. Some trips not that much and we have had a few trips where we would have saved less than $100 gonig OOP. If it works for you, its a great resource. We tend to eat the way the dining plan is set up to work anyway. If that's the case for you I feel the convinence of the DDP beats trying to go OOP.