How much do the different plans save you?

[HHSTigerFan]

We are doing a quick 3 night trip to AKL, only doing 1 park day and the rest we are completely up in the air on, maybe 3 pool days, maybe Sea World, maybe a water park day...

Anyway, we have NO idea what we want to do for dining, at some point we have decided on OOP, QSP, DDP and Deluxe...

If we decide to just go OOP so we aren't locked into anything, are we going to spend a lot more than if we just pick a plan and make plans around it?

 

[sharonabe]

That totally depends on how you like to eat on vacation.

Do you want to sit down and be waited on for every meal? Do you like apps with every meal? Do you want dessert at every meal? Do you drink sodas/tea/coffee with your meals? Do you want to plan your time around eating?

If yes, to most of those, than DDP or DxDP is probably the way to go.

Do you like to have apps AS your meal? Can you take or leave dessert? Are you water drinkers? Do you sometimes share meals? Do you want to feel free to go offsite to eat? (Your possible Sea World day would throw a wrench in to a DDP).

Are there any children in your party. With children, getting a dining plan will almost always save you money.

 

[THEJOEL]

For us it wasn't about the cost or even saving money. It was honestly about the experience and the feeling like it was more of an all inclusive vacation. Being on the DDP reduced the stress of our vacation since our food was already paid for(Minus tips) when we check in.
With all that being said we plan on doing the QSDP on our second trip, just because we don't want to plan our day around our ADRs. As much fun as we had on at the character meals we feel we can have more fun with QS, plus there are SO MANY yummy snacks to try still!!

 

[HHSTigerFan]

We usually do 10-14 day trips, but we have a wedding in Tampa and the kids talked us into doing 1 day at MK, rented some DVC points and it worked well to do 3 nights, so here we are..

Last time we did deluxe for 13 nights, it was too much food by about day 6...

Now I have ADR's made because our initial plan was deluxe, but now have second thoughts because we aren't sure what we want to do the other 3 days.. If we do 3 pool days, I think the deluxe would be a great idea, but if the kids decided they want to do a day at Sea World then it won't be so much..

We have 2 adults and two children (8 and 5), we do like to eat and for 3 nights the deluxe wouldn't be too much.. Also thinking about adding the QSP and paying OOP for a TS or 2, though you start doing that and the price difference closes real quick between that and the deluxe..

 

[clanmcculloch]

The plans don't save us anything unless we're ordering things we really don't want at just because we have the entitlement. When we use dining plans we always have a bunch of snack credits to use up on our last day and get a bunch of treats to take home with us. We wouldn't normally spend that money. We also typically wouldn't get desserts for everybody every single meal just because most days I'm too full for dessert or the desserts just don't look interesting at some restaurants. If I have a dining plan I will order a dessert just because I'm entitled to it.

For people who eat exactly the way the dining plans dictate, Disney states that you'll save up to 20% but it really varies by your group and preferences. Families with children 3-9 can save a lot more than groups with all adults. People who eat a lot of fixed price meals will save a lot more than groups who order of menus, especially at the less expensive restaurants or who don't eat much steak or seafood. People who like ordering drinks and desserts every meal will save more money than people who would prefer to drink water or alcoholic beverages or specialty drinks that come with souvenirs (not included in DDP so you have to pay OOP for these) or to skip desserts.

You really have to examine your own preferences and group configuration to determine if financially a dining plan will save you money.

For many people who love the dining plans, it's not just about the money but rather about intangibles. Are you the kind of person who will order the cheapest meal when paying OOP or will you feel free to order whatever you want? If you'll always order from among the cheapest options even if you want steak, then the DDP might be freeing to you. If you're the kind of person who really wants dessert but generally skips it because of the price then the DDP might be freeing to you. If you're the kind of person who would look at the price of a buffet and not book it because it's so expensive then the DDP might be freeing to you. Do you see how these kinds of intangibles might make a dining plan attractive even if it won't save you money?

I'd book the ADRs you want and look at what CS you'll eat as well. Then look at the dining plans and see if any of them fit your vacation. If there is one that fits your vacation then do the math to see if it's a good financial fit. If it's close then decide if then intangibles swing the decision one way or the other.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Very well written, thank you...


And to complicate even more, this is what I would really like to do, but have sort of stayed away from it because it seems complicated in addition to perhaps not possible..

We are doing 3 nights at WDW, quickie stop after a beach wedding...

I have 3 nights booked at AKV, night 1 is in a SV studio, nights 2 and 3 are in a Value Studio (worked out perfect for 49 points I had to work with)..

What I am wanting do to is book the deluxe dining plan for the first 2 nights and then no dining plan for the last night as that final day we are doing Sea World..

So 3 nights

#1- SV studio /DP
#2- Value Studio/ DP
#3- Value Studio w/ no DP

Can I do that?? Will I now need to "check-in" each morning?

 

[clanmcculloch]

Because you're staying on DVC point I believe this can be done. You'll have to check in between days 1 and 2 just because you're changing rooms but my understanding is that between days 2 and 3 it's still one reservation so no checking out or checking in will be required.

 

[sjs314]

I do not look at the DP as a way to save money but rather a means of having a more relaxed time at Disney knowing my meals will all be paid for in advance(except for tips) and I will not be looking at the prices when I go to order, just order what I want and enjoy myself. I think if you buy a DP as a way to save or get the most value from it you will be stressing over the cost of everything you order.

Eating at Disney can get quite expensive if you eat like DH and myself, we prefer a sitdown breakfast, a nice lunch and dinner which can easily cost the two of us between $150-$200 before tips. For us the DXDP works with its 3TS and 2 snacks a day(which we will use at F&W Fest this Oct)

I did do a cost analysis based on where we are eating and what we might order. Factered in the 20% tip based on the meal costs. Took into consideration the refillable mug and the snack credits and came out with a 38.75% savings over paying OOP. An that was not ordering the "most expensive" menu items, just what we thought we would like.

 

[ccgirl]

We are doing a quick 3 night trip to AKL, only doing 1 park day and the rest we are completely up in the air on, maybe 3 pool days, maybe Sea World, maybe a water park day...

Anyway, we have NO idea what we want to do for dining, at some point we have decided on OOP, QSP, DDP and Deluxe...

If we decide to just go OOP so we aren't locked into anything, are we going to spend a lot more than if we just pick a plan and make plans around it?

Totally depends on what you want to eat. If you are thinking of going to Sea World or off site I wouldn't get a dining plan. We tend to spend less money on food when we pay OOP. There are some good, and inexpensive, restaurants off site as well. Since you are just winging it I would pay OOP.

 

[ccgirl]

Very well written, thank you...


And to complicate even more, this is what I would really like to do, but have sort of stayed away from it because it seems complicated in addition to perhaps not possible..

We are doing 3 nights at WDW, quickie stop after a beach wedding...

I have 3 nights booked at AKV, night 1 is in a SV studio, nights 2 and 3 are in a Value Studio (worked out perfect for 49 points I had to work with)..

What I am wanting do to is book the deluxe dining plan for the first 2 nights and then no dining plan for the last night as that final day we are doing Sea World..

So 3 nights

#1- SV studio /DP
#2- Value Studio/ DP
#3- Value Studio w/ no DP

Can I do that?? Will I now need to "check-in" each morning?

Sorry, just read this post. Yes, you can do this. Since you are using DVC points you can book a DDP ( or different dining plans) for portions of your reservation. Since you would need to get the key re-coded for your room you will have to check out/check in I believe.

 

[Faldred]

In pretty much every case, a dining plan will cost more money than what you could spend, if you're willing to economize.

In many cases, a dining plan may cost more than what you would spend without one, due to skipping some things that would otherwise be covered by entitlements or scheduling fewer meals altogether.

However, one of the dining plans can be a good value if allows you to dine in the style you would prefer to -- this is only true when one of the plans' entitlements matches closely to how you would prefer to dine.

In general, the dining plans are an extra cost to a vacation that may add a subjective value to the overall experience that makes the extra cost worthwhile. I don't look at is as a savings at all, but rather evaluate it as whether or not it is a good price for what you get out of it.

 

[sharonabe]

It sounds like you've come up with the perfect plan for your family. Go for it!

 

[nrpofp]

In pretty much every case, a dining plan will cost more money than what you could spend, if you're willing to economize.

In many cases, a dining plan may cost more than what you would spend without one, due to skipping some things that would otherwise be covered by entitlements or scheduling fewer meals altogether.

However, one of the dining plans can be a good value if allows you to dine in the style you would prefer to -- this is only true when one of the plans' entitlements matches closely to how you would prefer to dine.

In general, the dining plans are an extra cost to a vacation that may add a subjective value to the overall experience that makes the extra cost worthwhile. I don't look at is as a savings at all, but rather evaluate it as whether or not it is a good price for what you get out of it.

Well said. I never would eat the way we had if we had not been on the dxdp. The dining plan saved us about 1000 dollars vs paying out of pocket. We felt that eating at a signature restaurant every night is what made our vacation special. The parks are ok, but we are into the total vacation experience. For us that includes good food. Not fast food. I despise disney fast food. I think its a personal descision on what kind of vacation you want and how much you want to pay for food. If I was trying to do a cheap vacation and limit the amount of money I spent on food. I would not do the dining plan.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

In pretty much every case, a dining plan will cost more money than what you could spend, if you're willing to economize.

In many cases, a dining plan may cost more than what you would spend without one, due to skipping some things that would otherwise be covered by entitlements or scheduling fewer meals altogether.

However, one of the dining plans can be a good value if allows you to dine in the style you would prefer to -- this is only true when one of the plans' entitlements matches closely to how you would prefer to dine.

In general, the dining plans are an extra cost to a vacation that may add a subjective value to the overall experience that makes the extra cost worthwhile. I don't look at is as a savings at all, but rather evaluate it as whether or not it is a good price for what you get out of it.

Very true. But how I want to eat (4-5 TS meals over 2 weeks) is only about $200 less than what I would be paying getting the regular DDP for 2 weeks (including tips and any OOP meals like T-Rex and Afternoon Tea). I have honestly tried to see if I could eat cheaper by only eating the MUST TS places and having the kids share adult CS meals or pretzels for lunch here and there, but with 4 kids the dining plan isn't any more expensive so why not eat a nice meal almost every day?

 

[Faldred]

Very true. But how I want to eat (4-5 TS meals over 2 weeks) is only about $200 less than what I would be paying getting the regular DDP for 2 weeks (including tips and any OOP meals like T-Rex and Afternoon Tea). I have honestly tried to see if I could eat cheaper by only eating the MUST TS places and having the kids share adult CS meals or pretzels for lunch here and there, but with 4 kids the dining plan isn't any more expensive so why not eat a nice meal almost every day?

And therefore, the plan is a good value for you. Personally, I can't imagine not doing DxDP the next time we go, for a variety of reasons. Other people find that the plans don't work for them. It's very subjective.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

And therefore, the plan is a good value for you. Personally, I can't imagine not doing DxDP the next time we go, for a variety of reasons. Other people find that the plans don't work for them. It's very subjective.

I would love to do Deluxe, but with 2A/3C and 2 weeks, it just got too pricey. For a shorter trip and maybe an adult only one I'd rather go Deluxe.

 

[whacked]

I we follow our normal eating habits, the CS dining plan costs slightly more than we would spend, as we can share some items, and my 11 y.o. daughter does not eat that much. The other DP would cost much more as we don't really feel the need for a TS or multiple TS meals per day.

We get dining if it's during the "free" dining, as it does save us some money. I would imagine that the "free dining costs us about $20-30 per day for our family (in increased room costs) and saves about $50 per day over booking cheaper rooms at the same time and paying OOP.

If we did not have the dining plan, we would pay OOP and probably dine out of the parks on occasion, as we always get a cheap car rental.

I live in a great restaurant city, Portland Oregon, so it's hard for me not to compare to my local cuisine. I don't really go to Disney for dining experiences.

If we weren't going with the kids, we might book a mod for some additional table services, but I'd rather have two rooms at the vaules so everyone has their own bed at this point.

We've done quite a few TS meals and had the TS meal plans in the past, but as the price continues to go up and the plans continue to get degraded, we just don't really see as much value.

(edit) If you are the type of person who always orders the most expensive entree, and eats a lot, the DP's may make more sense than they do for our family. We don't tend to order the most expensive things, as they are usually large portion meals that are just too big for us, and often not what we want.

 

[sheila <3 WDW]

We love the Deluxe dining plan. We eat 3 meals each day normally, and we know with DD we'll have to because she will need to eat. We also love the 2 snacks/person/day - we use those for lots of stuff: pastries, frozen coke type drinks, ice cream, dole whips, pretzels, etc. We love appetizers and desserts, especially on vacation. Even if we don't finish every bite of our meal, we still think it's worth it. On our last trip I figured out that we saved at least $150 and we didn't have any credits left over.

We also love having the TS meals as our breaks in the parks. We are not the type of people who want to go back to the hotel in the afternoons (I just think it's a waste with the travel time and everything), but we still want to rest and sit in the air conditioning for a while. TS meals allow us that ability.

DH said next time he doesn't think he wants to do the deluxe plan, but I am going to try to convince him otherwise. We even ate at least one CS each day on our last trip and we still saved money. Next time we go we will have a second child, under age three, to share with us so we'll probably have even less food that ends up wasted.

 

[ilovecoasters]

Sorry, just read this post. Yes, you can do this. Since you are using DVC points you can book a DDP ( or different dining plans) for portions of your reservation. Since you would need to get the key re-coded for your room you will have to check out/check in I believe.

We just did this - DDP one night, QSDP the second. We did not have to have the key re-coded or check out. It was fantastic!

 

[Misty89]

That totally depends on how you like to eat on vacation.

Do you want to sit down and be waited on for every meal? Do you like apps with every meal? Do you want dessert at every meal? Do you drink sodas/tea/coffee with your meals? Do you want to plan your time around eating?

If yes, to most of those, than DDP or DxDP is probably the way to go.

Do you like to have apps AS your meal? Can you take or leave dessert? Are you water drinkers? Do you sometimes share meals? Do you want to feel free to go offsite to eat? (Your possible Sea World day would throw a wrench in to a DDP).

Are there any children in your party. With children, getting a dining plan will almost always save you money.

I love this explanation - the best answer yet all of the above for ddp's - i would eat dessert with breakfast if i could

we are trying tp put together a trip for next fall, and the it will be the first time using a dining plan. we are going to go dxddp - for the fact we want to eat what we want when we want, to try some places we would never pay OOP for, and to try places we never have before. too many times we have been at disney and saw some places we wanted to eat - but then cringed at the price and skipped it - by purchasing the dining plan we will be free to eat where we want.
the number one place on my list is 1900 pf as a special breakfast for me & my daughter