Is the dining plan worth it.

[hanncam]

Its me, husband and two children. Is it worth it to pay for the dining plan with the package or not worry about it?

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We can't answer that question for you. But here's a quick way to answer it for yourself short of predeterminging every thing you plan to eat and adding it up (a daunting task)

Financial considerations.
I'll boil it down to its simplist in a nutshell. The whole key to the thing is the sit down meals. In general figure anything about $27 or more gets you full value or more out of the plan. Most dinners meet this amount. About half the lunches do, and Breakfasts usually don't. At places that cost you two credits of course, $54 get's you full value.

1. How many sit down meals to you have planned?
a. If it's one or two and they're both character breakfasts for a 7 day trip, stop. you're obviously better off not getting it.
b. If it's 5 and they're dinners, stop. just fill in the rest of the em and get the plan.
c. If you're sort of in the middle at say 3 or 4 for a 7 day trip, you're sort of on the bubble.

2. How much do you like to eat?
a. If you're light eaters, the portions are well big enough to share and you might be better off not getting the plan. If you're not, and you fit under C, you're probably better off getting it.

How old are the kids? They pay Kids rate until age 9. If they're 10 or 11, they might not get the full adult value out of the plan and might be able to share some of the platters at the counters with the adults. If they're 7-9, they'll get their value out of it easily.

Non-financial considerations.
Notwithstanding the above, you may want to go ahead and get the plan anyway. Character meals are fun and do save you time in line to see the main characters. And we found that taking a break for a full meal really was rejuvenating over just stopping at the counter. Plus, you don't have to worry about what you're spending. You've already budgeted it and paid for it.

 

[loveDmouse]

I have been trying to figure out the same thing (for husband and I)for a little while now. Still haven't made up my mind yet. Sometimes sounds good, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it sounds like a hassle and it may be easier to just go and eat what you want and enjoy your vacation. I just don't know. I too have sat down and tried to figure out what we might eat each day, which is really a pain.
Good luck.

 

[mickeymousemom]

I love the DP! DP or not, you still should probably make ADR's for TS meals, depending on the time of year you're going. I can't find anything about the plan I don't like. I loved being able to eat at so many of the TS restaurants we never had before(we can normally not afford more than one or two a stay). When we went to LeCellier, the total cost was about $205 ...but not for us. Yes, we took advantage of the free dining plan last year, but will definitely pay for it this year! Unless you plan on sharing CS meals or bringing your own food into the parks and maybe only doing a couple TS meals the whole time you're there, then I can't see how it couldn't be worth it. You have to decide yourself, esp if most of you are light eaters, or usually share at restaurants at home. Whatever you decide, have a good time!

 

[jtlover]

We have just returned and used the dining plan. I would say it would depend on where you want to eat.

We ate at Le Cellier (totally recommend), Spoodles, Boma and Nacoosees.

We definitely saved money on the dining plan. You dont have to worry about the cost of the meal and you just relax and enjoy it, even if you come back a few pounds heavier

 

[Hopefully]

In October, I saved all of our receipts from our TS meals and added them up when we got home. We (3 Adults) saved over $450 on the Dining Plan. You have been given good advice by other posters. I would add one additional thing for you to consider as you decide.
In my opinion, the best way to get the most value from the Dining Plan is to use your TS credits for a nice sit down dinner. We found that these dinners averaged between 1 to 1 1/2 hours to complete. This will be time out of park touring. Will this work for you?
We found the time to sit and relax rejuvenating, but we have been to WDW many times and we no longer feel a need to do the parks "commando style".
Only you can decide what works for your family.
Good luck in your decision.

 

[loveDmouse]

I have decided to go for it. We would like to do some of the nicer sit down rest. We have been there before and will be there enough time that we can get what we want done in a relaxing way.
I have decided several times to go for it then I will read something else that will make me question my choice.
I will be calling soon and adding.
I appreciate all the information eveyone has given. Very helpful.
Have a great day!!!!

 

[mom2my3kids]

I am on the bubble trying to decide if this will be worth it for us. I thought about it in the beginning but then decided not to. My children will be 13,9 and 3 when we go. I really dont think we can eat all of the food. I just dont know,,,,,,,,so hard to decide..

 

[sanjoe]

Our family DH,kids 14 & 9 and myself have decided to not include the DP this trip. I know I am in the minority but we are trying to lose weight and we don't like to waste so I feel we would be too tempted to eat more than necessary and indulge in too many fattening desserts. 9yr. old is sooo picky anyway. ( Dessert would be his main meal if we let him)We will just pay for the food we choose to eat and there will be no pressure to eat too much or waste. Maybe next trip....


Counting down...till March 5th!!

 

[twinsmamma]

I am on the bubble trying to decide if this will be worth it for us. I thought about it in the beginning but then decided not to. My children will be 13,9 and 3 when we go. I really dont think we can eat all of the food. I just dont know,,,,,,,,so hard to decide..

i had the same dillemma when i took my 12 yr old boys in december. We usually jsut get counter service meals for all meals and i thought that it would be nice to have some sit down meals. Wehn i sat and figured that we would spend at least 10 each at every meal for fast food it was worth it to me to pay 35 for the plan and get 1 cs 1 ts and one snack( which are from 2-3 dollars) it may take a bit of planning and you must make reservations becasue other wise you may not get into the places you want. I felt that we would not have enough food becasue my boys like to eat but in the end we had cs left over, used the last day for food to take to airport. In all if we would have paid for the food at disney and not had the plan i would have spent over 400.00 more than i spent on the plan including the things i bounght oop. If you find theat you do not want all the food then dont get the dessert or app this is what we did. We usually did not get breakfast and had c/s for lunch and t/s for dinner it worked out great I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE PLAN IT ALLOW YOU TO ENJOY YOUR MEAL WITHOUT WORRING ABOUT COST> ALSO CAN TRY PLACES YOU MIGHT NOT TRY OTHERWISE.

 

[Piglet42]

I was able to use the dinning plan back in September when they had the free special. I was myself and DH, I saved our reciepts and I found out we actually only saved around $50. This was probably due to the fact, we did not have 2 appitizers or 2 desserts with each meal. So we saved money without even taking advantage of all the food, even though we enjoyed a great California Grill meal. We also did not use all the snack options, I ended up getting some Rice Krispie Mickey Ears on the last day.

I will proabably purchase the dinning plan again in the future. Only because, even if we were to break even, it is worth it not having to carry extra cash around with you. It was nice to only hand over your room key/tickets.

Plus- it's vacation and you are walking a lot, so you can enjoy a little more if you like

 

[gregger77]

I am on the bubble trying to decide if this will be worth it for us. I thought about it in the beginning but then decided not to. My children will be 13,9 and 3 when we go. I really dont think we can eat all of the food. I just dont know,,,,,,,,so hard to decide..

Just returned from 4 days and the Dining Plan

I think you are making the right choice "against", based on ages of the kids. As "Can't Wait" said above, the adult portions are huge and you are better off letting kids either buy and eat the kids portions, or splitting an entree either with a sibling or an adult.

My big-eating 12 year old spent four days throwing away vast amounts of food, and feeling guilty about it. (For that matter, my wife and I--not HUGE eaters--also threw away a good deal of food, and felt guilty about it. Remember the Disney motto: TOO MUCH FOOD FOR TOO MUCH MONEY.)

The only person truly happy with the plan was my 9 year old, for whom the child's portions and choices were just right (except for Epcot/Morocco...but that was a choice made stricly for Mom and Dad...)

We did not save money because, had we a chance to do it over, we would simply not have ordered so much food.

Meanwhile, we were constantly frustrated by the very arbitrary limitation on what the daily snack allowance gives you. There are many interesting and appetizing snacks you CANNOT get even though they are about the same or lower price than the "allowed" ones...making the youngsters a bit unhappy and making the adults question the wisdom of the plan.

The good thing about the plan is never reaching for your wallet...but think hard about true "savings" before allowing yourself that luxury. I will rethink this whole thing in about six years, though, when I expect to have two teen boys with massive appetites....REVENGE! LOL...

 

[Bride2Be0705]

We had the Dining Plan on our honeymoon, and we've made a vow not to go to Disney without a DP ever! It saved us a ton of money, and we ate at some FABULOUS restaurants that you don't get every day.

Our dinners EVERY NIGHT were AT LEAST $80. The first night we were there, we ate at Narcoossee's, and it was $125. The next day, we ate at Wilderness Lodge for breakfast ($40), Cosmic Ray's for lunch ($25) and Cinderella's Royal Table, which was $130. The third day of our trip we ate at BOTH San Angel Inn and The Coral Reef Restaurant and spent $50 and $145 respectively. On the day we spent at MGM, we ate at 50's Prime Time & Mama Melrose's, again we dropped AT LEAST $35 and $100 respectively. The only dinner meal that we ate that was UNDER $100 was Rainforest Cafe, and it was $90.

It was worth it to us. And if you're doing a lot of character dining or table service restaurants, I would go for it. Plus, I liked the fact that I didn't have to carry ANY cash or credit cards on me, because everything went through our room key. It was a geat experience, and everyone we've told about it thinks it's awesome. I kept the reciepts and figured up the savings once we were home and we just couldn't believe it.

Good luck!!

 

[PlutosFriend]

Our family DH,kids 14 & 9 and myself have decided to not include the DP this trip. I know I am in the minority but we are trying to lose weight and we don't like to waste so I feel we would be too tempted to eat more than necessary and indulge in too many fattening desserts. 9yr. old is sooo picky anyway. ( Dessert would be his main meal if we let him)We will just pay for the food we choose to eat and there will be no pressure to eat too much or waste. Maybe next trip....


Counting down...till March 5th!!

You make a very valid point here! I am on the fence about the DP too. I love the idea of having all the meals paid for ahead of time. We never order appetizers or dessert at any other restaurants we go to, and I bet I will feel obligated and find myself 10 pounds heavier when I get home!

 

[G. Fite]

You make a very valid point here! I am on the fence about the DP too. I love the idea of having all the meals paid for ahead of time. We never order appetizers or dessert at any other restaurants we go to, and I bet I will feel obligated and find myself 10 pounds heavier when I get home!

My family and I are thinking of the DP and we have figured we would sample several of the TS restaurants and share credits. I would love to eat a bit of everything in EPCOT. So we will all 5 share 2 or 3 credits and then go do it somewhere else a few hours later! The major part is the planning. It is hard to decide when and where to eat in 3 months but since I am crazy when it comes to planning it is right up my alley!

 

[sl_underwood]

We were on the fence about the dining plan too. I actually sat down and looked at the menus at allears,net and picked the resturants we would want to eat at. The choices at counter service restaurants are minimal and we decided we wanted to do atleast 3 character meals. I added up the total cost for me, dh, dd 12, and dd 9 and it was about $50 more for us to eat at ts places and that was without ordering an appetizer or dessert. When figuring this, I added a 15% tip, which is included with the dining plan. Plus, it will take the worry of spending more than we budgeted on food. This, for me, makes it worth it even if we break even.
Lora

 

[golden1]

I considered it but with two kids that will be 4 and 2, I would rather remain flexible. I think we will be eating more CS meals than TS meals. I wish they had this plan when DH and I had no children. If we ever go without the kids or when the kids are older, I'll probably do it.

 

[aunt kelly]

We (myself, husband, son-13 and daughter - 11 ) haven't made our final decision but we're leaning towards not getting the plan for four reasons:

1) We will be staying seven nights (and therefore must pay for seven days, right?), but our plane doesn't arrive on the first night until 4pm and we leave very early on our last day. We'd have to pay for that first night even though we wouldn't be eating the first or last day. (We're planning on grabbing something fast the first night and then heading to Disneyquest);

2) Rainforest at AK is a family favorite and my understanding is that it is not on the plan;

3) We generally order four entrees and only one appetizer. The kids occassionally order dessert, the parents rarely do; and

4) The "dining experience" is a low priority to my kids. We generally eat at casual and less expensive TS restaurants (like Sci Fi) because the kids would rather ride rides than spend a lot of time in a nice restaurant. (Now if my husband and I were travelling w/out kids we would probably enjoy more leisurely meals at nice restaurants.

As I said above I'm still debating and I appreciate reading everyone's comments on this thread.

 

[DebIreland]

The decision as to whether to get the DP or not depends largely on the following issues, in my opinion:
• The ages of your children - if they're under 10 that makes a huge difference to the overall cost
• The times you arrive at WDW on your first day and leave on your last day - if you arrive early on day 1 and leave late on the final day you can easily spread the plan out to last an 'extra' day by sharing some meals. This also helps if you're planning on being offsite one day - you can save the unused credits from that day and use them on your 'extra day'
• Your level of interest in TS restaurants - if you love to do a character meal or general TS meal every day, the DP could be for you
• The time you want to devote to eating i.e. do you want to be tied to a TS meal once a day (or thereabouts)? Will you have time for it? Or will you end up feeling disappointed that you've committed time to a sit-down meal when you'd rather be touring the parks, swimming, chilling out in your room or shopping with a quick stop for a sandwich en route?

Just some things I've been thinking about..... I still haven't decided on it myself.

 

[DebIreland]

We (myself, husband, son-13 and daughter - 11 ) haven't made our final decision but we're leaning towards not getting the plan for four reasons:

1) We will be staying seven nights (and therefore must pay for seven days, right?), but our plane doesn't arrive on the first night until 4pm and we leave very early on our last day. We'd have to pay for that first night even though we wouldn't be eating the first or last day. (We're planning on grabbing something fast the first night and then heading to Disneyquest);

2) Rainforest at AK is a family favorite and my understanding is that it is not on the plan;

3) We generally order four entrees and only one appetizer. The kids occassionally order dessert, the parents rarely do; and

4) The "dining experience" is a low priority to my kids. We generally eat at casual and less expensive TS restaurants (like Sci Fi) because the kids would rather ride rides than spend a lot of time in a nice restaurant. (Now if my husband and I were travelling w/out kids we would probably enjoy more leisurely meals at nice restaurants.

As I said above I'm still debating and I appreciate reading everyone's comments on this thread.

Your thinking is similar to mine. The fact that you wouldn't be using it on the first or last day would put me right off it and the ages of your children is a mark against it too. 76 dollars is a lot of money to feed an 11 year old and 13 year old.