Is the dining plan worth it for us?

[renae3]

Hi everyone! I am driving myself crazy deciding whether to the dining plan or not. Maybe someone out there can give me some advice! We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids and an infant! We like to eat at at least 3 character meals and all inclusive meals like ohana and whispering canyon. Is it worth it for us? Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[KennesawNemo]

Hi everyone! I am driving myself crazy deciding whether to the dining plan or not. Maybe someone out there can give me some advice! We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids and an infant! We like to eat at at least 3 character meals and all inclusive meals like ohana and whispering canyon. Is it worth it for us? Any help is greatly appreciated!

I think depends on how long will you stay. Say you are going to stay for 3-4 days and have 3 character meal planned, then I think DDP definitely worth it. If you are going to stay 7-10 days, but only plan for 3 character meals and will eat CS for the rest meals,then it doesn't worth it.

 

[lovndisney12]

I justed posted the below in response to someone who had the same question:

I struggled over this too as I am very frugal when it comes to eating out. (Share meals, order water, etc.). So, I sat down and priced out what our family of four would probably spend (DS 7 - child price and DS 10 - adult price). So I figured if I was paying OOP I would buy mainly CS except for a couple TS I considered a "splurge" because I really wanted to do them. For our family of four for 7 nights I figured OOP to be $885 and the plan was only $870. With the DDP we would get a lot more food including beverages and dessert (something I wouldn't do much OOP - I would have water bottles, etc.) Also, we would get to have 7 TS meals!!! This was a no brainer.

I suggest you take a look at the menus on allears.net and price out what you "think" you would order. This really helped me make the decision. (It ended up we got free dining through my Disney Visa but this was well after I had booked and paid for the trip - we got a credit on our visa)

One last note - By choosing DDP I felt I would get to enjoy my vacation more because it would all be paid for and I wouldn't have to be pinching pennies and I could order what I really wanted like the $26.99 steak rather than the $18.99 chicken sandwich!

The only catch would be the ages of your kids. If you are doing character meals you will pay for them no matter what so the DDP would certainly be worth it. But if they are picky eaters and don't eat much and are planning CS meals - you might not want to and just let them share with you and pay OOP.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I justed posted the below in response to someone who had the same question:

I struggled over this too as I am very frugal when it comes to eating out. (Share meals, order water, etc.). So, I sat down and priced out what our family of four would probably spend (DS 7 - child price and DS 10 - adult price). So I figured if I was paying OOP I would buy mainly CS except for a couple TS I considered a "splurge" because I really wanted to do them. For our family of four for 7 nights I figured OOP to be $885 and the plan was only $870. With the DDP we would get a lot more food including beverages and dessert (something I wouldn't do much OOP - I would have water bottles, etc.) Also, we would get to have 7 TS meals!!! This was a no brainer.

I suggest you take a look at the menus on allears.net and price out what you "think" you would order. This really helped me make the decision. (It ended up we got free dining through my Disney Visa but this was well after I had booked and paid for the trip - we got a credit on our visa)

One last note - By choosing DDP I felt I would get to enjoy my vacation more because it would all be paid for and I wouldn't have to be pinching pennies and I could order what I really wanted like the $26.99 steak rather than the $18.99 chicken sandwich!

The only catch would be the ages of your kids. If you are doing character meals you will pay for them no matter what so the DDP would certainly be worth it. But if they are picky eaters and don't eat much and are planning CS meals - you might not want to and just let them share with you and pay OOP.

Have to agree, it's also a no brainer for us too. We were lucky enough to get to apply the Disney Visa Code for free dining to our December trip, but even if we had not gotten that code, the DDP would have saved us $500.00 vs. paying out-of-pocket.

 

[tinkerbellmichelle]

We started adding up what we would spend on dining.... I ended up giving each family member a 'magic number' for each meal after looking at the menus. And each meal, we would definately all be looking at the lower spectrum of prices.... there would be no dessert, and little snacking. We'd eat breakfast in the hotel, and pack stuff for lunch.

All the planning was stressing me out... having to be the $money police was not something I wanted to be doing in the happiest place on earth... so we thought about it and decided that peace of mind, and more choice was worth something!

So we signed on! Now we don't have to worry about how much we can/can't spend, packing snacks and lunch, and filling up on yogurt and poptarts for breakfast. That's worth a lot to me!

Now that we have our ADR's, for what we'll NOW get to eat, our family (me, dh, ds14, dd5, and ds3) will be saving money vs. not having it. And we'll have more than enough food!

 

[taliategan]

For adults the dining plan is definitely worth it unless you are very light eaters or would tend to order less expensive items off of the menu because of preference rather than price. For kids 9 and under, the dining plan is definitely worth it although selections can be limited from the kids menu especially at the CS locations in the parks. If one of our kids did not like one of the two or three selections, I would order them an adult meal and myself a kids meal and our family would then just share all the food. Now, if you have kids 10 or over, it will depend a lot on their eating habits. If they are light meal eaters or still prefer items like chicken nuggets, pizza, hamburgers, etc., it is a lot to pay the per day adult price for them on the dining plan. Also, if you prefer buffets for TS meals, the dining plan is a good value. For value purposes on the dining plan, it is also better to use your TS meals for dinners rather than breakfast as the dinners to be higher priced.

 

[bangzoom6877]

We went for 5 nights in July and had planned on 5 character meals anyway, with a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. So the plan made sense. The 2008 plan cost $37.99 per adult, and $9.99 per child. The little one was not on the plan but was free at all you can eat meals (all our TS were all you can eat). A character dinner that is 1 TS credit typically would run you between $25 and $30 per adult (not including tax and the DDP does include tax) and between $13 and $15 per child under 10 (more than a day on the DDP for a child!!). So it was a no-brainer for us since we knew exactly what each TS meal would cost. We saved a few dollars on my older son just by doing our planned character meals anyway, plus he got a CS lunch and a snack each day included. Made sense since we planned to do CS for lunch at the parks each day.

We ended up saving over $100 when all was said and done. And there was plenty of food given at CS meals for us to share with DS1. I never had to purchase him his own meal (and he loves to eat and there was still plenty for him!). Dessert at each meal did not bother us either. At CS restaurants we had the option of fruit or yogurt, which we did a couple of times when we did not want ice cream or cake or cookies. So there are always healthier choices around, and those (like fruit) which you can save for a snack a little later on.

Now, if we were not doing all you can eat meals and strictly doing a la carte restaurants, I am not sure how much we would actually save with the DDP in comparison to character dinners. So as the years pass and my kids get older, DH and I will decide whether or not we need the DDP on each individual trip. Right now when they are little, we feel that a great way to meet the characters is at a restaurant while enjoying a meal, rather than wait in line at the parks when we could be enjoying the rides and attractions.

 

[tlriv5]

We went to disney two years ago and had never heard of the dining plan and didn't know about all of the restaurants (I know it's hard to believe, we'd only been to MK in visits prior). Anyway, that trip we were offered the dining plan for free and we so enjoyed eating at the TS meals that we knew the next trip we went on that we'd pay for the dining plan. This past Oct. we planned to go again and were blessed once again to get the free dining after I'd already paid for it. With that said I think the dining plan would have to save us money in the end. NOW, if we didnt want to do do TS meals then we could save money by not using the dining plan. We could bring food for breakfast to eat in our rooms, but that isn't what we want in our disney vacation. We are spoiled now and we really enjoy eating at the disney restaurants and enjoy not having to see the bill (since it's already been paid for). I think you have to decide if you want to do a TS meal each day of your trip or if you only want to do a few and eat CS meals the rest of the week. THere are a lot of great places to eat! Good luck deciding!!

 

[kwlewis10]

Hi everyone! I am driving myself crazy deciding whether to the dining plan or not. Maybe someone out there can give me some advice! We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids and an infant! We like to eat at at least 3 character meals and all inclusive meals like ohana and whispering canyon. Is it worth it for us? Any help is greatly appreciated!

You sound like my family, but we will be 6 with the add-on of my MIL. And especially with the choices. We are doing OHana, Whispering Canyon, Kona Cafe, 2 Candelight Processionals (LeCellier & Chefs de France) and 5 characters (tho I'm paying OOP for CRT).

I like to use spreadsheets so got the dollars for meals off of allears.net and put them in. The tough meals were a-la-carte so I just made a guess. When I added it all up, I am eating more at TS than I would be paying OOP plus I didn't even account for the CS or snack credits. Granted, I may not take DD to all the princess meals if it wasn't for the DDP. But since I'm getting a "deal", we'll do them

HTH!

 

[My2Angels]

It also depends on the time of year you are going. We are going for Thanksgiving week and all of the prices for character buffets are increased. For example, Chef Mickey's on Thanksgiving $33.99 adult, $16.99 child. For the DDP, I paid $36.99 per adult and $9.99 per child for the whole DAY! I still get a CS and snack for less than that one meal would have cost me.
*Luckily, I got the DDP for free with my Disney Visa, now THAT is a DEAL!*

 

[edamethyst]

We definetly think its worth it. We wouldn't eat at the better restaurants without it. I like going and sitting down and having a nice meal but if it was out of pocket we'd do alot more counter services.

 

[Superspectral]

If you are planning to eat what the dining plan offers anyway (1TS, 1CS, 1 snack per day) or more per person, the dining plan will almost certainly save you money. The "game" a lot of people sweat is to see if they can save the most money possible. A more relaxed view is that odds are if you use all your credits you will at least break even.

Now it is quite possible to not use all your credits and then loose money. Don't skip out onTS reservations on the DDP. I speculate that a lot of people try to "save" snack credits for the more expensive snacks, pay some OOP, and then have too many at the end of the trip. A conservative approach is to pay using credits at each first opportunity and not pay OOP until you run out.

If you schedule enough TS to make it worthwhile, the DxDDP is worth a look. The DxDDP is actually more forgiving of last minute dining changes than the DDP because you can, for example, miss a TS meal and eat CS and at least get some value for a credit, where under the DDP you may end up with an unusable credit.

 

[tonilea]

Could we eat cheaper, sure. But, for us, one of the benefits of the DDP is trying new restaurants and foods we wouldn't have otherwise tried. We will save money based on what we will get, but like I said - we could eat cheaper (just not as well) without it.

 

[Mrs D]

.

Now, if we were not doing all you can eat meals and strictly doing a la carte restaurants, I am not sure how much we would actually save with the DDP in comparison to character dinners.

In what I have calculated you get more bang for your buck eating ala carte meals versus buffet or family serve meals - at least price wise.

When we went in Sept. we chose mostly buffets so my DD 14months could eat as much as she needed (we weren't on DDP).

I'm going again in Feb. with 3 adults and we've opted for the DDP and will eat 1 ala carte dinner each night. The average price of an higher end entree, dessert and beverage is pretty close to the daily price of the DDP. I was planning on paying OOP and doing mostly CS meals with one slurpge TS at Cali Grill. When I compared my OOP pocket cost and scrimping versus buying the DDP and having 1 nice meal a night (not to mention the desserts and snacks) I felt we'd at the very least break even. I'd rather have the nice sit down meal.

 

[disneydorkasaurus]

Have to agree, it's also a no brainer for us too. We were lucky enough to get to apply the Disney Visa Code for free dining to our December trip, but even if we had not gotten that code, the DDP would have saved us $500.00 vs. paying out-of-pocket.

Did you apply for your VISA card and purchase your trip with it or did you just get to get the dining plan because you applied for the card? We booked our trip through a different agency and have been shut out of the dining plan. I really would like to get it for our trip!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Did you apply for your VISA card and purchase your trip with it or did you just get to get the dining plan because you applied for the card? We booked our trip through a different agency and have been shut out of the dining plan. I really would like to get it for our trip!

I've had a Chase/Disney Visa for about 5 years. I booked our December trip back in May, so when I got the Disney Visa Free Dining email in September, I just called WDW reservations and had the code applied, along with another $200.00 payment, to my exisiting reservation.

Can you cancel your reservation with the agency you used and rebook with Disney reservations?

 

[Mrs D]

Did you apply for your VISA card and purchase your trip with it or did you just get to get the dining plan because you applied for the card? We booked our trip through a different agency and have been shut out of the dining plan. I really would like to get it for our trip!

Here are the details of the offer I believe PrincessTiffany is using:

4 nights/5 days
At a select Disney Value Resort. Only $631 per person, per day.
Total package price of $1,253 is based on 2 adults, 1 junior and 1 child in a standard room, for stays most nights 9/28-10/11, 11/9-11/22, 12/14-12/20/08.

The number of packages allocated for this offer is limited. See important details.1

For Cardmembers looking for both a magical vacation and a way to save money, this Walt Disney World® Resort vacation package is the perfect opportunity.

This 4 night, 5 day Magic Your Way vacation package includes Walt Disney World® Resort hotel accommodations, Walt Disney World® Theme Park tickets, and the Disney Dining Plan, which provides one quick service meal, a select snack, and one table service meal per person, per night of your package. Excludes gratuities and alcoholic beverages. Children ages 3-9 must choose from children’s menu, if available. Choose from over 100 select Disney restaurants, including Disney Character dining.

Call 407-939-7635 or your travel agent. Ask for offer QXZ.
Ask about packages for other resorts and lengths of stays.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Here are the details of the offer I believe PrincessTiffany is using:

4 nights/5 days
At a select Disney Value Resort. Only $631 per person, per day.
Total package price of $1,253 is based on 2 adults, 1 junior and 1 child in a standard room, for stays most nights 9/28-10/11, 11/9-11/22, 12/14-12/20/08.

This is just a sample quote though, you can book with any number of family members at any resort with availability. We are taking our 4 kids and my Mother-in-law and have two connecting rooms at All-Star Movies. The code saved us about $1,600.00 on our 8 night stay.

 

[Mrs D]

This is just a sample quote though, you can book with any number of family members at any resort with availability. We are taking our 4 kids and my Mother-in-law and have two connecting rooms at All-Star Movies. The code saved us about $1,600.00 on our 8 night stay.

Right! I should have included the link from the Disney Rewards Visa site that I copied this from.

http://disneyrewards.disney.go.com/newsandoffers/offer-wdwseptember08freedine.html