Is Disney Dining really worth it for DVC members?

[Guinness]

I find that because I tend towards the higher end places and enjoy a cocktail or two, TIW comes out way better for me than the Dining Plan, but I have done it in the past and the convenience of the plan was very nice. I have done the deluxe plan too, and The only thing I remember is rolling away from each meal right to the next one. Far too much food, but fun at the same time.

 

[Eyore4Ever149]

i have compared and find if I get an AP and the dining experience card is better for us on long visits

 

[bangzoom6877]

Right now we feel the DDP works for us, but this could of course change as time goes on. My children are only 2 and 4. Since we like doing lots of character dinners, the DDP is a great deal for us because once we factor in what it costs for one child for a character dinner, that is already more than it costs for one child for one day of the basic DDP (the one we choose to get). DH and I are also dessert people. As for a la carte restaurants, we are the people who will not order an appetizer at a restaurant, so that we still have some room left for dessert after eating our entrees. So the basic DDP works fine for us. The only thing is that maybe we would sometimes share a dessert instead of ordering our own, but I have also read from many people that restaurants would let you take out the dessert (a la carte places only of course), so we could always put it in our fridge in the villa and enjoy it later in the evening.

In addition to what I wrote above, I will also add that last summer we spent our whole trip on property and found it very convenient not to have to leave property in order to eat. We were pre-paid and knew going into the trip how much food was going to cost. We like to budget like that. We also got to try different types of food, which we wanted to do, like Biergarten and Tangierine Cafe at Epcot (German, and Moroccan); Boma at AK Lodge (African); the food court at Pop Century (which we enjoyed very much); Cosmic Ray's at MK (the only burger I had during our trip); Crystal Palace at MK & 1900 Park Fare at GF (both character buffets where we enjoyed the food, nice variety).

We also plan on staying on property the whole trip next summer. We are only going to WDW parks, and still holding off on Sea World until the next trip after that. Next summer my boys will be 3 and 5 so we have plenty of time to enjoy other parks. We will also do Universal when they are older, and Kennedy Space Center if they want to go there as well. So at that point, I don't know how we will feel about the dining plan. But for now since we plan to stay on property for the whole trip and do lots of character dinners, it works for us. I also do not cook on vacation, but many DVC members do!

 

[backyardponder]

We don't normally eat enough to make DDP worth our while. Often we split meals. When we don't split, the left overs cover other meals.

This year we'll be doing AP + TIW. TIW works best for us if we have the AP.

 

[queenie82]

Having always previously stayed off site and done supermarket shopping at the beginning so we had cereal or oatmeal for breakfast, pre packed sandwiches for lunch and a supermarket micro dinner or takeaway or Dennys Dinner....I WANT THE DDP now I'm staying on site. It is going to allow me to go to all the wonderful restaurants people rave about and go to ALL the character meals

So...it is going to work well for us -
I am a dessert person....I never understand people who don't want dessert. But to each their own.
I also LOVE character meals (yes I'm a 20 something who really wants to eat breakfast with Dale!!!) and in the past we have done a couple OOP but now we will be able to do all of them and really enjoy ourselves.
While it is true DVC gives you a kitchen...we have made a decision to stay in studios and then do the DDP rather than a 1BR with the proper kitchen and not.
We love that DVC gets us in deluxe accommodation for less and provides a micro, fridge etc as a minimum which is useful for snacks and drinks... but we won't need the extra stuff in a 1BR if we do the DDP.

We are also splitting stays between resorts so we can chop and change between DxDP and DDP and QSDP as we see fit across the 2 weeks we are staying.

It just really depends on how you see dining out. We have only ever been to 3 WDW restaurants and they were breakfasts and I have always been pining for more. We are planning to do pretty much each restaurant at least once on this trip so it won't get boring. We also RARELY eat out at home so actually dining out will be a part of the vacation....and only Disney has this range of restaurants with that little bit of magic...

Oh and I do think time of year would be a consideration I guess. We always go in Winter so I can't tell you how I'd feel about summer. Although the main thing about proper meals in Summer I don't like is if I have to cook them

 

[disdad09]

We first used the DDP on our last trip to WDW.
With our young kids we loved it.
They loved the deserts. They loved being able to have all of the snacks.
We loved it because we did not have to worry about paying as you go for meals.
We never had a hard time eating all of the food or using all of the credits.
It is a shining example of another great invention by Disney to make vacation stress free.
When we go back to WDW this August to our first DVC trip we will be doing the Quick service DP because we love snacks and we dont want to sit with the kids at sit down table meals worrying if they will sit still that long.
Too each his own but for us the DDP is an excellent decision.

 

[bobrex]

I've used the DDP on my last 3 trips. The first trip was myself and my DW, and at that time the DP included tips. We ate the same way we always did and ended up saving over 30%. On the second trip, again just myself and my DW, we ended up saving around 15% - we had to pay tips. On the last trip (beginning of May, me, DW, brother, and 3 teen nephews) we saved a hefty chunk too.

The DDP can be an advantage if it supports your eating habits. We refuse to cook on vacation, like desserts, and enjoy the CS breakfast platters. For my family, the DDP make perfect sense.

 

[TagsMissy]

For us we get the QS plan since we don't want to tie our vacations to meals. We reserve 1-2 TS meals and pay OOP but otherwise we are satisfied with QS especially if we travel in the summer florida heat.

 

[Tiger926]

We have done regular and deluxe DP, as well as DDE and cash discounts using AP & DVC. We have done every conceivable spreadsheet, and so for us this year, we came upon a great combo plan for our cast of: 2 adults, 6 year old and 2 year old children.

13 days/nights, Split stay between 3 resorts:

- QS plan 6 nights, Dx 2 nights (spread out over 3 days) and QS for 5 nights with OOP - - AP & DVC discounts supplemented throughout on various TS meals

** This plan is the winner in regards to finances, no cooking in room, all the snacks we need and mugs. We had orginally decided upon TIW, but after more number crunching, we decided against it as this new combo plan is a couple of hundred dollars cheaper, with more food, snacks and mugs - our TIW plan was bare bones (1 dessert to share, no apps and hardly any beverages). We don't care for the mandatory 18% grat. and the price increase of $75.00, plus we don't drink alcohol, so we re-did the numbers, and came upon this new plan.

We have never cared for CS before, but we are opening our minds up as our very busy just turning 2 year old baby, is a very busy boy! Plus, we have been watching the CS meals change for the better over the past few years - some pretty good choices out there! We eat very healthily, don't drink pop, don't eat fast food, etc., so we are looking at soups, salads, wraps, etc. for dinner with fruit for dessert. Anyway, our DD is a restaurant baby, and can sit for hours, but not the boy. So, this meant that our normal 2 TS meals per day, was going to have to change. Last year on our 16 night trip in May, he was only 10 months old, so it was much easier for us - we did Dx for 11 nights and DP for 4 nights (with concierge) and it worked well, but lots of ADRs, etc. Also, even though we get 1 beds, we don't cook in our rooms - find it to be a pain, since we always do split stays (food storage and food wastage are the biggest issues). We have and will eat breakfast in our room if need be, but it is quick stuff, like dry cereal or juice, and then we need to eat again within the hour, so we'll just eat our CS meal, and be good to go!

We always go in summer (except when on maternity leave), and despite the heat, we need to eat 3 meals per day as we struggle with low blood sugar. This year we plan to us CS for breakfast at resorts, Boardwalk Bakery or Mainstreet Bakery, lunches will be mostly TS, and dinners will be CS. On Dx days, we have spread the credits out over 3 days, effectively saving us more money as all snacks and character meals are covered! Lots of snacks and water in between too! We are looking forward to it as we will be taking a midday nap/swim/rest each day, so it should be good!

It's interesting to see everyone's perspectives on this - with 2 kids, 1 of whom is still free, the dining plans are good deals for us. The Deluxe plan offers the most savings, but it is very costly over a 2 week period, plus it's so much time spent in restaurants - although during the summer, we need it for air conditioning, but that's why we have scheduled our TS for lunch.

Good luck to all making Disney dining decisions, Tiger

 

[Corinne]

We have never used the DDP. We have used the TIW card since it was first offered to AP holders. We like it because we tend to eat more TS meals, usually prefer appetizers over desserts, and also like that the discount also applies to alcohol. We never cook on vacation, although we do eat breakfast in the room every day (cereal, bagels, etc.). It works for us.

 

[worldfamous]

Hey there!

Can someone tell me more about the discount card? We just bought BLT today!! Looking forward to our first official DVC stay in October. We rented points previously.

Thanks in advance,

worldfamous

 

[TDC Nala]

It's available only to annual passholders and Florida residents. DVC members who are not annual passholders or Florida residents are not eligible.

A year's membership is $75 for AP and $100 for Florida residents who don't have AP. The membership entitles you to a 20% discount off your entire bill (including alcoholic beverages) at participating WDW restaurants and lounges. Most Disney-owned TS restaurants participate. Only a few counter service restaurants do. There are 8 blackout dates for TIW (mostly major holidays). An automatic 18% tip is added to all TS and lounge bills when the TIW discount is used.

 

[rentayenta]

I did not read all of the responses so forgive me if I am repetitive. We did the DDP because we were doing a split stay. For us, 10 days of the DDP is just too much food. 5 days on and 5 days off was perfect!

 

[Bones1389]

We don't normally eat enough to make DDP worth our while. Often we split meals. When we don't split, the left overs cover other meals.

This year we'll be doing AP + TIW. TIW works best for us if we have the AP.

What do you mean when you say you split meals? Do you just ask for an extra plate and the server accomodates this? Or do you buy the appetizer while the spouse buys the entree and you scoop off to each other's plates? This might work for us because of all the extra snacking we'll do at F&W and it would save us some money, too. Curious of your method and if you have asked for an extra plate for sharing has it ever NOT been accomodated by the server? Thanks.

 

[Chuck S]

What do you mean when you say you split meals? Do you just ask for an extra plate and the server accomodates this? Or do you buy the appetizer while the spouse buys the entree and you scoop off to each other's plates? This might work for us because of all the extra snacking we'll do at F&W and it would save us some money, too. Curious of your method and if you have asked for an extra plate for sharing has it ever NOT been accomodated by the server? Thanks.

If not on the DDP; many, but not all, table service restaurants will split a large entree for you. We've done this often, when we ordered we each order an appetizer and asked the server if it was possible to split the entree. It is better to try this at non-Epcot restaurants, so there is less of a language barrier.

I would suggest tipping pretty generously, though, as if you each ordered entrees.

 

[Bones1389]

If not on the DDP; many, but not all, table service restaurants will split a large entree for you. We've done this often, when we ordered we each order an appetizer and asked the server if it was possible to split the entree. It is better to try this at non-Epcot restaurants, so there is less of a language barrier.

I would suggest tipping pretty generously, though, as if you each ordered entrees.

I understand what you mean about the language barrier, but that said, any time we've gone to Benihana's ro similar Japanese Hibachi restaurant we've requested to split our dinners (but we do each order an entree) so we can taste everything and they understand. Anyone tried this at the Japan Pavilion as we've already decided to go there and would love to share.

 

[Pig Pen]

We tried the DDP and found it too stressful.

DH likes to graze and felt confined by the plan. I fretted over getting our money's worth and ended up feeling stuffed all the time. Generally we only eat one meal per day at WDW, which could be either CS or TS (with lots of snacks in between ) so the DDP just doesn't work for us. However I can see how it is a boon for some families!

 

[ValpoCory]

We're going for nine nights in mid-July. I am on the fence about paying for the Disney Dining plan. Is it worth it? I know that there will be a day or two of visiting the Universal parks during this stay. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

DDP used to be a good deal, barely. But since they pulled out the gratuity and kept the price the same, that added $10-15 per day at least, making it not such a good deal.

Plus, the portions are so huge, we never could finish anything and could easily have fed our daughter off of our plates, at table service places and especially at quick service places (where kid's credits are not differentiated from adult's credits).

We will never buy the DDP again. If it's free, then yes it's a good deal. But that's it.

 

[ValpoCory]

We don't normally eat enough to make DDP worth our while. Often we split meals. When we don't split, the left overs cover other meals.

This year we'll be doing AP + TIW. TIW works best for us if we have the AP.

Totally agree.

Also, what is TIW?

 

[disneynutz]

TIW is the $75, 20% off discount card for AP holders.

The DDP is a money maker for Disney or they wouldn't be doing it.

When you really look a the honest numbers, the plan is only worth it if you eat at the most expensive restaurants and order the most expensive food. Disney has tightened the program and made it more difficult for that to happen. Buffets and signature restaurants are not a good value.

After 4 or 5 days, most families are tired of eating and they grab what ever is handy and the plan really loses it's value.

Some have posted happily that they were successful in using their TS credit for QS food. WHAT?

Another post that I read here on the DIS was the family who went home with 23 snack credits unused. They were sick of eating, but they insist that they got a great deal!