Is it possible we "beat" the meal plan? - Also, what we learned.

[Nancyg56]

But would one person have paid for all 5 adults to eat? We saved over $2500 doing a room discount at GF. We spent less than $1000 on food for 3. So I guess if one person was picking up the tab for all 5 adults to eat, free dining could be a better deal. I get that!

Yes, DH picked up the bill. He usually does.

 

[cruisingtwins]

Why not put 2000$ on a pre paid cc pretend it's all paid off and order what you want?

 

[jahber]

Why not put 2000$ on a pre paid cc pretend it's all paid off and order what you want?

Or better yet, buy Disney gift cards at a discount (I typically get them at 9-10% off)? Then if you're buying $2000 in gift cards, you just saved yourself close to $200 AND you got to eat whatever you wanted AND it was pre-paid. I really and truly don't understand why people don't just do this if they are going to drop that much on food. We go to the trouble even for $100 worth of food. $10 saved is $10 I'll have for my next trip.

 

[smiths02]

I agree with the flexibility thing. We enjoyed OOP. I ordered DH a birthday cake instead of ordering dessert for each person.

One thing that people also fail to mention is risk. If I pay for the dining plan and someone is sick or unable to eat the meal, the money is lost unless you can add another meal on the fly. (And getting sick, overheated, tummy aches, missing an ADR are common). I don't know if it is worth it to tie up $2000 of my money so I can hope to save 5%?

 

[linzjane88]

I hate that I am still in love with the 'idea' of free dining even though it makes no logical sense to me. We got back about two weeks ago and we paid for deluxe dining. It was a 3 night experiment. I don't think we would do it again. So much time in restaurants, such hugely inflated tip bills (from ordering 5x dessert and 5x appetizers).
And still, I get excited about "free dining". Logical and thinking mind goes away when I start thinking in terms of credits and not $'s in the parks. I am my own worst enemy on vacations.

 

[AngiTN]

I hate that I am still in love with the 'idea' of free dining even though it makes no logical sense to me. We got back about two weeks ago and we paid for deluxe dining. It was a 3 night experiment. I don't think we would do it again. So much time in restaurants, such hugely inflated tip bills (from ordering 5x dessert and 5x appetizers).
And still, I get excited about "free dining". Logical and thinking mind goes away when I start thinking in terms of credits and not $'s in the parks. I am my own worst enemy on vacations.

LOL... that's exactly why so many still get it, even when it's not free. They find it impossible to think in terms of $$$$ spent, only that they can eat for "free" while there.
I'm often shocked to see how many guests are on the dining plan during our trips, when I know it's not free dining time

 

[AngiTN]

I will say I'm considering the Deluxe plan for short trip for DH and I.
We are looking at just a few days and all signature meals and will use TIW to cover alcohol.
I'm still not sure it is cost effective but I plan to check the numbers once I finalize our meals

 

[linzjane88]

We were those people I HAD to do it to scratch the itch. Deluxe dining was a total bucket list thing and it was a perfect opportunity. Then again, it is also a totally different vacation. I still have a hard time comparing apples to apples.

Vacation with DDxP is fun in that I try a bunch of restaurants I never would otherwise (including desserts, appetizers, soda with every meal VS water, multiple TS per day) - I mean I would NEVER pay OOP the price for those buffet character meals. $50 pp for an upscale Izzy's ...no thank you. In fact, I wouldn't do two TS per day, either. But then again the kids loved the character interaction and it a new experience. Without the dining plan we would likely do QS for lunch and eating dinner offsite which means more time driving around, leaving the bubble, and less time in the parks. That's the part the muddies the water for me.

The dining plan is the medicine that helps me swallow the outrageous Disney restaurant prices

 

[cruisingtwins]

We were those people I HAD to do it to scratch the itch. Deluxe dining was a total bucket list thing and it was a perfect opportunity. Then again, it is also a totally different vacation. I still have a hard time comparing apples to apples.

Vacation with DDxP is fun in that I try a bunch of restaurants I never would otherwise (including desserts, appetizers, soda with every meal VS water, multiple TS per day) - I mean I would NEVER pay OOP the price for those buffet character meals. $50 pp for an upscale Izzy's ...no thank you. In fact, I wouldn't do two TS per day, either. But then again the kids loved the character interaction and it a new experience. Without the dining plan we would likely do QS for lunch and eating dinner offsite which means more time driving around, leaving the bubble, and less time in the parks. That's the part the muddies the water for me.

The dining plan is the medicine that helps me swallow the outrageous Disney restaurant prices

But you are still paying 50$ or more for those buffet breakfast is just prepaid

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I can count the # of times on one hand that my husband and I have spent more than $30-40 total (including tip for just us 2) for dinner. Recently for NYE we spent $98 plus tip on dinner for us two and in the 8 years we have been together we have never spent anything close to that on ourselves for dinner-it left a bad taste in our mouths afterwards. We spend more of our money on entertainment (like movies) than on food.

If we were on the DDP we would feel obligated to eat all the nicest food and fully utilize the plan with the snacks and all (which for maximum savings you would want to do this) but the problem is we are people who never do that to begin with so for us money-wise we would spend soooooo much less not doing the DDP and just pay OOP because of how we naturally are.

So to me it really just depends on your expectations of your time and money spent for your vacation at DDP. I agree with others in that it's hard to compare apples to apples with the DDP and paying OOP because there are just soo many variables. On our upcoming trip it will be 5 adults total with each paying their own food costs so my experience will be different than someone who has children to account for as well as normal food and expense attitudes people have.

1)Do you throw caution to the wind and get a full-bodied experience of Disney Dining or do you play it more safe while still having an enjoyable experience?

2)Do you spend a considerable chunk of time eating (either because that is your normal habit-where DDP may pay off more or because you are on DDP and want to make the most of it) or do you spend a mix of eating and park time?

3) Is this going to be your last trip for quite some time so you really want to splurge on it thereby making you more likely to do the DDP-if you really want to experience the food options.

And the list goes on an on. I don't judge anyone who does or does not do DDP because it's all relative (perceived savings, types of food one will eat, number and type of people, whether children or paying adults, days of stay, etc. It's nice though to see what people's experiences are because it can really help though who are on the fence.

 

[preemiemama]

Here's the thing for us- the price of essentially pre-paying for our food alleviates a big stressor for us: the arguing over what we want to eat vs. what we are willing to pay OOP. It makes my husband *feel* better if he pays a set amount and we follow the parameters of the plan. If we did not use the DDP we would argue and stress over every meal. "Should we get the steak, or just have pasta because it is cheaper?" "Do we really want to pay $6 for a cupcake?" "Do we really need to eat at Teppano Edo when we can just go to our local Japanese steak house for half the price when we get home?" For this reason alone, it is worth every penny to us.

We do well using our snack credits for actual substantial snacks- and the mugs for soda and coffee at the resort. We occasionally get a couple snacks to bring home (cookies or other things that are non-perishable) because we enjoy having them after our trip. We eat desert at both QS and TS (which we would not normally do, but with the cupcake selection alone I always *want* to!). We enjoy going to a TS meal every day- trying things we might not try at home, or things we know we will enjoy based on past trips. We don't order only the most expensive things on the menu just to maximize the plan, but we usually wind up paying less for the DDP than we would have for the same meals the same way OOP. That makes it "worth it" to us- and we enjoy our vacation instead of arguing over every item we order.

 

[Nancyg56]

Here's the thing for us- the price of essentially pre-paying for our food alleviates a big stressor for us: the arguing over what we want to eat vs. what we are willing to pay OOP. It makes my husband *feel* better if he pays a set amount and we follow the parameters of the plan. If we did not use the DDP we would argue and stress over every meal. "Should we get the steak, or just have pasta because it is cheaper?" "Do we really want to pay $6 for a cupcake?" "Do we really need to eat at Teppano Edo when we can just go to our local Japanese steak house for half the price when we get home?" For this reason alone, it is worth every penny to us.

We do well using our snack credits for actual substantial snacks- and the mugs for soda and coffee at the resort. We occasionally get a couple snacks to bring home (cookies or other things that are non-perishable) because we enjoy having them after our trip. We eat desert at both QS and TS (which we would not normally do, but with the cupcake selection alone I always *want* to!). We enjoy going to a TS meal every day- trying things we might not try at home, or things we know we will enjoy based on past trips. We don't order only the most expensive things on the menu just to maximize the plan, but we usually wind up paying less for the DDP than we would have for the same meals the same way OOP. That makes it "worth it" to us- and we enjoy our vacation instead of arguing over every item we order.

We are the same. I know what I want to eat, and if it was a two day trip I would order anything I wanted, but longer than that and I get price anxiety. Yes I want that $32 steak but I can't let myself get past the price. I want dessert but wiuld just gave a bite of someone else's. The issue is not that we can't afford it but that I am who I am. I will not get past 7 days of whatever I want. So we but the plan. We order anything we want. By the time I get home I'm happy for my home made chicken and no dessert., but I sure did enjoy my meals while I was away.

I know me, and I know we don't force ourselves to order anything, so when I am sipping that ginormous Starbucks extra shots venti and I would have had to pay close to 8 bucks for it, I know my snack credit was good! Lol!

 

[freshmanjs]

So we but the plan. We order anything we want.

but the plan doesn't allow you to order anything you want...

 

[Nancyg56]

but the plan doesn't allow you to order anything you want...

SOme folks have indicated that the DDP forces people to choose the most expensive items and to have desserts you really would not have ordered. I meant that we don't do that, we order what we want, and never look at prices.

 

[preemiemama]

SOme folks have indicated that the DDP forces people to choose the most expensive items and to have desserts you really would not have ordered. I meant that we don't do that, we order what we want, and never look at prices.

Exactly. We don't feel hampered by the "rules" of the DDP. It just allows us to enjoy our vacation. I know there are things we can't order on the plan- if we want them badly enough, we order them. But overall, we are happy sticking to the plan and not arguing at every meal- or feeling guilty about how much we are spending. It is already paid for, so we relax and enjoy.

Doesn't work for everyone- and in most cases I am all about deals and coupons and savings. But this is my vacation- I want to relax and enjoy it. For US, DDP allows that to happen.

 

[DizDaD7]

We also like the idea of our TiW card... Done this twice now, and both times we had 2 trips during each valid card....Roughly 19 20 days for each...We easily saved a ton of money, plus had the freedom to order what& how we ordered too. True it adds on 18% to the tip, but honestly that's our minimum of what we give anyhow....A few times wehn we had exceptional food & servie we even added on a cash tip on top of that...

The DDP worked out for us in the past, but this was always when we got to stay in a mod, with FD....

 

[JAG107]

If you were to tell people they could either a) prepay for a meal at their favorite local restaurant a month in advance, for say $50, using the argument that they could order anything from the $14 salad to the $45 filet, and get a drink and a dessert, or b) just show up and pay for whatever you ordered, I think very few people would take option a.
I really like the gift card idea, and that ddp calculator site that was posted earlier was really cool (thanks for that!). For our upcoming trip, the calculator said it would save us over $400 to eat OOP, and that's based on the regular dining plan. In reality, we will only probably eat a couple of TS meals and do some in-villa cooking for a few dinners.
It really does boil down to comfort and preference like a lot of people have said. As for us, we got FD QS once, we tried it, we felt that it was way too much food, and haven't done DDP since (also have since become DVC members). I think 8 character buffets in a week would be overkill for us, also. To each their own.

 

[oceanmarina]

Room discount at a deluxe resort is always a better savings than free dining. Not sure about mods or values.

Yep, I agree. We go every August and stay in a deluxe villa, the trip always costs less when we get a room % discount. Also this past August when we went during free dining, we felt the quality was down in most of the restaurants. I'll take a room discount over free dining anytime.

We do the deluxe dining plan, we like the feeling that the meals are all paid for/taken care of. DH and I usually skip lunch so we can do several signatures a trip. Plus we like having the drink & snack points, the kids love getting cupcakes/popcorn or ice cream in the parks.

 

[Bellanota]

Personally in my last three trips I have tried everything but the QS dining plan.
First trip we did the Regular TSdp and like most didn't feel it was worth it. We ended up running out if TS meals and forcing ourselves to eat QS meals or convert them to snacks. This stressed me cause it was like wasting money.

Second trip I did the gift card thing. Took all the money I would have used for a dining plan and bought gift cards at Target. Turns out I hated that more then wasted money I had first time around. Having to calculate how much we had for each meal and track the money over 9 days stressed me out and made me miss the plan.

This upcoming trip is a bit different. It's my honeymoon so no kids, no character meals and no wanted stress. We splurged for the deluxe plan. I have almost one signature meal a day and I have already told my husband to accept there will be more food then we can eat. We are planning on extra snacks for the ride home and this time win or loose I feel like I beat the dining plan going in. Also like the people before me we used a room discount at a deluxe which ended up covering the cost of our dining plan.

 

[hamilkm]

We booked the "free" dining bounce back for this September/October. We have done the dining plan once before when it was "free". This was before we knew about room discounts and were just happy to have some kind of discount off of the rack rate room we had booked! It was way too much food for us but my mom is so excited to try it again. She loves the idea of everything being pre-paid. With us staying in a moderate with my calculations we might save about $100 or so going with a room discount, but we are going to try it one more time. I won't have to worry about unused snack credits because we are going during food and wine! I have a feeling we will probably end up trading in some counter service credits there too if they allow it this year!