How many DVC'ers use the Dining Plan?? IF so.....

[edk35]

are you a couple using it or a family? Just curious.......because we have never used it and I always think of trying it for when we do a split stay and have a few nights at one resort. Like this summer we are staying 7 at BCV and 2 at AKV. I might try it at AKV. It seems a good deal in way but then sometimes a pain in the .....well you know what I mean.

 

[Chuck S]

We do not use the DDP. We prefer appetizers rather than desserts, and occasionally may split an entree. We also prefer our table service meal at lunch, rather than dinner.

It really depends upon your normal dining habits as to whether the DDP is a value for you or not. We actually ate 2 more TS meals on our last 9 night trip, and spent about $150 less than the DDP would have cost us.

 

[edk35]

We do not use the DDP. We prefer appetizers rather than desserts, and occasionally may split an entree. We also prefer our table service meal at lunch, rather than dinner.

It really depends upon your normal dining habits as to whether the DDP is a value for you or not. We actually ate 2 more TS meals on our last 9 day trip, and spent about $150 less than the DDP would have cost us.

yeah see I feel that way too. We do tend to eat our bigger meal at lunch and therefore it is usually cheaper than if we went at dinner. I think the value of the DP was back when it included the gratuity and the appetizer.

 

[figmentfan0724]

we are a couple and we use the dining plan. for us its better. we also have the TIW, so if we want an apetizer we pay OOP for it. I enjoy the dining plan, but i also agree its not for everyone.

 

[DebbieB]

I've used it a couple times. The first time was when I took my then 12 year old niece and we did alot of character dinners. I actually regretted that later because she eats like a bird. If I did it all over again, I would have not done the dining plan, only did a couple of character dinners and the rest counter service. The other time was on a trip with friends, we ate at nice places and it was more convenient not having to worry about splitting the check.

 

[spiceycat]

done it a couple of times. have a problem with my food allergies.

that say thinking about the counter service (if we can) this time. only going for 3 days - but celebrating my birthday.

already know which counter service places to use.

 

[permavac]

yeah see I feel that way too. We do tend to eat our bigger meal at lunch and therefore it is usually cheaper than if we went at dinner. I think the value of the DP was back when it included the gratuity and the appetizer.

Same here and YES! The DP was only worthwhile with the gratuity and appetizer included (for us anyway - 2 adults only). The way I've worked it out, we will nearly always save money by paying out of pocket EXCEPT for a few specific situations based on the restaurant (for us it's if we want to eat at Akershus dinner, Cape May dinner, O'Hana and Le Cellier-where we both order the filet). I crunched the numbers for all of the places we like to eat the sit down meals and added the tip and compared it to the DDP plus the tip and those are the only restaurants where we would pay about the same for a day. So my idea was to get the DDP ONLY if we ever do a split stay where we could get it for one to two days maximum. It's certainly fun to be on the plan but it also takes so much coordinating (for me) to try to get what you really want to eat by using a table service here and counter service there (it's rare that we want our dessert at the same restaurant we ate our meal at). I would rather not deal with the hassle of it all but, that said, I would still probably give it another go with a split stay.

Terri

 

[ChelleinNC]

I think the value of the DP was back when it included the gratuity and the appetizer.

ITA! The only time we used DDP was Dec 07 when it included everything. Even then, the big reason we did it was because my Dad & Stepmom were coming with us and we didn't want my Dad to have sticker shock at the restaurants We all knew that he would decide he "wasn't hungry" or "let's just grab something quick" and we didn't want him ruining everyone elses trip It worked really well for that, and he ate better than he ever would have if he'd been paying OOP.

We almost booked it for this last trip, but I'm really glad we didn't! DD15 came down with a stomach bug and didn't eat much for 2 days and then DH came down with strep throat and was sick for most of the trip and didn't eat much. We would have lost money because of credits that would have gone unused.

 

[DeeCee735]

We have used it in the past, and I left thinking it wasn't really such a savings, more like a break even, prepaid dining thing. I still feel that way, but for this upcoming trip (next week - WOO HOO ), we'll use it again. This time we are a party of 5, (bringing DD's BF). I do feel the best way to get the most out of it is to utilize all TS meals, and take the desserts. We too prefer appetizers over desserts, but we really can go either way. I think with the desserts it's too much food, so even if we don't finish them, we at least "taste" them.

Mostly, we're using DDP this trip because it's a prepaid way of dining. Our kids are 19, and my DD's beau is 20, so they really won't be with us outside of our sit down dinners. I figure this way, when they are out and about they don't have to worry about pulling money out for their CS or snacks, and I don't have to worry about them charging everything they put in their mouths to the room . They are old enough to understand they get a snack and and counter service with a beverage and a dessert on the DP. I also bought the DDE/TIW with my AP for this trip, because we are having a large celebration dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse, so instead of using our DDP credits for that meal, we'll just use the 20% discount from the DDE/TIW card.

Again, I'm not so sure we'll really be saving any money, but I do think it's a more convenient way of feeding the troops without dishing out the cash or credit card or room charges. We don't tend to eat in the room at all while on vacation, although we will stop at Publix and pick up some fruit and snacks and coffee for mornings or evenings on the balcony.

Just our two cents......enjoy all the planning and vacations!

 

[CarolA]

I have done it with both my boyfriend (couple) and a friend's family (Family)

All of us agree that for us it's not worth it. Now if I am only going for a VERY short stay I may do it, but otherwise. Too much food!

 

[vandy]

I'm thinking of using the Quick-Service DP on our next trip. It will just be the two of us in March and although it won't save us any money, it really won't be that much more than what we would spend normally. We plan on staying at the park most of the day and would be eating there anyway so I thought I'd try it. I would not use it if it was the full DP or if our entire family was going.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I'm thinking of using the Quick-Service DP on our next trip. It will just be the two of us in March and although it won't save us any money, it really won't be that much more than what we would spend normally. We plan on staying at the park most of the day and would be eating there anyway so I thought I'd try it. I would not use it if it was the full DP or if our entire family was going.

I have the TiW and will use it in Jan 09, but for my solo March 09 trip I was thinking about getting the QSDDP. I can and do eat solo at nice restaurants at WDW but do not have to. I went solo this past Decmber and ate a lot of QS so I'm thinking that QS might work for this particular trip.

 

[tgropp]

I have done it with both my boyfriend (couple) and a friend's family (Family)

All of us agree that for us it's not worth it. Now if I am only going for a VERY short stay I may do it, but otherwise. Too much food!

We ,as a family love the meal plan and find it a great deal but........ after 4 or five days it is not worth it to us as we are so tired of eating so much. Four to five days is ideal though

 

[NSL]

We always use it. It was a better deal before, but I still prefer the plan for convenience purposes. For one, I will not cook when I am on vacation so we don't save money by eating in the room. I also like it because I know from the beginning how much we will be spending and my husband doesn't go nuts when he sees the bill. Otherwise, it is likely I would have to eat CS each day of our trip.

It is always too much CS credits and food because we tend to share the CS meals. We can never eat that much food, I have two birds for kids. Also, when you travel with others I think it makes it so much easier rather than always having to split the bill up. Our next trip we are moving from SSR after 5 days to AKV for 2 days. We are only going to do the DDP for the first 5 because that really gives us 6 days, as the credits are good until midnight of checkout. We will only have 1 day OOP.

 

[florep1]

We are a family of 5 with 1 under 9 so it wasn't cheap but we used it for our Christmas trip. I kept going back and forth about it and I wasn't really sure it was a good deal but I figured we'd try it one time and if we didn't like it, we'd never do it again. My goal was to at least break even. Our family loves desserts. It probably wasn't as bad for us because we've never used the DDP back when it included appetizers and tips so I didn't really feel like I was missing out on anything. I considered it more of a prepaid ding plan and it gave the 2 teenagers more leeway. They could go off on their own and I didn't have to worry about their meals. I knew they had credits to use if they needed it. Having said that, we used all our credits and I only had to pay OOP for 1 TS meal(T-Rex). When we got home, I added up all our receipts and we broke even just after just adding all the TS and snacks, so yes we basically got all our CS meals for free.
For our next trip, I may or may not use it again. I'll probably go back and forth again and I'll probably add it again at the last minute, just for my own peace of mind.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

We are a family of 3, with a DD 8. DD has been eating off of the adult menu more often than not when we go out so the DDP with the kid's option is not practical. Also, we tend to have appetizers and refreshing adult beverages with our meals vice dessert so TIW is our choice.

 

[jamstew]

We do not use the DDP. We prefer appetizers rather than desserts, and occasionally may split an entree. We also prefer our table service meal at lunch, rather than dinner.

It really depends upon your normal dining habits as to whether the DDP is a value for you or not. We actually ate 2 more TS meals on our last 9 night trip, and spent about $150 less than the DDP would have cost us.

These are my exact reasons for not using the DDP (well, since I mostly travel solo I don't split entrees ). I do save money without it, especially with TiW.

 

[Anal Annie]

I don't like that they make you get it for everybody in your party so it's not for us right now. DS is 11 so they charge for him as an adult yet he rarely eats off the adult menu. I refuse to pay $38 or $39 / day or whatever it is for him to eat Mac & Cheese & Jr. Cheeseburgers!!! Now maybe when he's 15 or so and he hopefully develops that teenage boy appetite....but for now....he's all of 65 Lbs (in the bottom 5th percentile for his age ) so we'll pass!!

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

We've just looked at the DDP vs. OOP for our December 2009 trip (in planning at the moment). Since it's a short trip (four nights) we are only planning on breakfasts in our room. As such, we're looking for four diners at TS restaurants. The four we're considering are: OHana, Kona Cafe, Le Cellier & Turf Club. We're also looking at CS on for occasions. When we priced both, the DDP saved us about $175, which is fantastic.

Now, if we were doing a long stay in a 1BR or larger DVC room, we'd NOT choose DDP - the math just doesn't work for us then (we like to "do" dinners out every other night).

If it's a short-ish trip, consider DDP, unless you're willing to leave the parks early and dine back in the room.

 

[BillyBuckner]

I'm not a DVC'er (yet?) so I don't know if my answer is valid. However, I did use the Dining Plan last February with two kids under 5 and we did a lot of character meals. If memory serves the kids only cost about $10 on the DDP, and each character meal would be about $20+ OOP.

I have not done a detailed (spreadsheet) analysis, but when I do I expect to find that I don't save very much on the adults, but I may save a good bit on the children.

I don't know enough about other discounts available to DVC or AP holders to know if they could swing the pendulum. (That analysis needs to be part of my upcoming purchase decision).