Is Disney Dining really worth it for DVC members?

[JoRo]

our honeymoon trip we didnt have the DDP but it worked out because hurricane Wilma came through and we were able to get into any restaurant. Then last Dec we went and being from the west coast we had no idea that we had to plan 180 before hand (is 90 now I guess) for reservations it took months of getting on the phone sometimes twice a day to get our reservations and even then we ended up doing walk up to the crystal at MK and only had to wait 20 min. It was frustating to purchase the DDP and then not be able to get reservations at the shows, or character dining.

In the end we had lots of fun ate way to much food but had 2 small ones that enjoyed the breaks and we didnt buy them the extra meals.

Our next trip we will not do the delux plan and may not even do the DDP at all since we are now DVC members we can eat breakfast at the room when we are not doing character dines and we pretty much found the price of the meals to be a wash unless you want to eat like crazy.

Good luck hope this helps a little.

 

[JoRo]

Yes one last note - with the snack credits we had like 20 left over so I ended up buying caramel apples and marshmellow treats for folks at home. Purchased our last day just before our flight. That part was kind of a waste of the DX Plan - guess we should have been drinking more during the day.

 

[queenie82]

The Best thing to get with Snack credits is DoleWhip

 

[ItsMagic99]

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I just figured this out for our last trip. Just returned with my wife for 6 nights and our food cost was $320 including tips. We used to live in FL and used the 20% discount card and we have used the DDP. This time, we wanted ultimate flexibility and did not want our plans to be controlled by where we made dining reservations. We only got the base Magic Your Way ticket and went to the park we were in the mood for that morning.

We ate a few Disney meals using the DVC discount...Turf Club, Fulton's Crab House, Ghirardelli's (sp?), Nine Dragons (we walked in for late lunch one day)... but mainly we used off site places right down the road... Perkins, Dennys, Shoneys, Sweet Tomatoes, Golden COral and used coupons. We ate a ton and were pleased with everything. We also had the deep dish Chicago Pizza and had leftovers that stayed well in the fridge. Also saved a ton on water by going to Walmart getting a case for $5 vs. $2.50 per bottle in the park. Being as hot and humid as it was last week, we really were pleased with our plan. I did notice a Publix across the street from the Outlets so we will go there next time.

We love Disney dining, but have been to most places. Right now, we just wanted to save some money and not be bound to a tight schedule. Hope this helps those of you who are budget minded.

 

[CruznLexi]

We have done the dinning plan 3 times. We did the Delux in Jan when our nephews were here. It was way too much food and had so many snacks left over. We have since gone to either QS or Basic. We did the QS in April. Lunch with the muggs added for 2 people at AKL was over $50. In Oct since it is our aniv we are doing the basic plan and plan to eat a small breakfast in the villa and then use the QS for lunch and TS for diner.
Lexi