is the dining plan worth it?

[Jeff_G]

We did the regular Disney Dining Plan for our trip, we found desert at lunch to be too much and ordered a bottle of water in its place. I calculated what our oop costs would have been for each meal and we saved $133 using the dining plan. We did two buffets which were the most expensive meals, no character or signature meals. I did like the fact that I did not worry about the prices of food, everyone ordered what they wanted.

 

[nblake05]

I would say it is totally worth it!!! At least it is for my husband and I...and we get the deluxe dining plan. But, do the math. Last trip, we really payed attention to what a meal would have cost us w/out the dining plan. We could easily have spent more on food in a day than the DP cost us for that day. With the Deluxe Dining you can eat at some really fantastic places and not have to worry about the prices on the menu. For us, even if we didn't break even on the dining plan vs. OOP costs, it is still worth it to leave on your vacation knowing everything is paid for and taken care of already!!! That way you don't have to nickle and dime yourself while on your honeymoon/vacation. Trust me, I understand the trying to save money angle! But this is your honeymoon... We went on our honeymoon and didn't get the deluxe dining plan. It kinda stressed me out more (financially, speaking) than if we had spent to extra to begin with. We learned from that. Your honeymoon isn't for a year.... you don't have pay infull the minute you book. You can save over the next 9 months or so for the extra. Also, and this is just me, but the honeymoon is so much more fun and worth it than the wedding!!! The honeymoon is truly just about the two you... make it special! See if you can't cut expenses with the wedding and apply that to your Disney honeymoon! That's my advice... I'll get off my soapbox now! Congratulations and have a great honeymoon!

 

[momH2the4th]

For a family of 6 with 4 kids that still want and enjoy the character meals, the DDP is worth it for us. We were there a few weeks ago and I decided to keep up with how much we would have spent on meals. Our TS meals consisted of 4 character meals (1 was a princess dinner in Epcot), 2 Fantasmic! dinner pkg., and a regular breakfast at Whispering Canyon. Our meals averaged around $200 or more (mostly more) except the WCC. Would we typically all have a dessert every meal? Of course not, but I never once had to tell the kids no (which is a plus when you're on vacation). For me, it's nice having our meals paid for before we get there and never having to worry about what we'll be spending when we eat. Without the DPP, I don't think we would have done as many character meals or even some of the restaurants we've done without it.

 

[networktek]

we have done both dining plans quick and sit down they are both worth it depeding on what resturants you go to if we do the sit down we try to book the more expensive ones for the quick you difentily get your moneys worth

 

[notaprincess]

Seeing what you mentioned, no it's not worth it for you. If there is a room discount out there, go ahead and take advantage of that.
If you like the idea of pre-paid, get some Disney gift cards. with the amount you'd be spending on the DP.

The food has deteriorated since free dining. nevertheless, there are still some very nice places to eat. Enjoy!

 

[Lumiere Lover]

We definitely do the more expensive restaurants with the Dining Plan sit-down. This past trip our ours was the first time we did the DP, and we absolutely loved it!

 

[CtinaDitty]

I am going on my honeymoon at the same time as you!! We are going July 23rd I believe! What date are you going? Congrats!!

 

[MHSweb79]

Just a word about sitting down with your receipts to see if the DDP is worth it, make sure you are comparing the cost of the DDP against what you would have ordered without the DDP, not the OOP cost for that exact meal. For example, don't include the cost of desserts that you wouldn't have normally ordered, include the cost of a typical meal you'd pay OOP for. And if you would have shared a meal, just count one. Does that make sense?

Again, I'm not knocking the plan- we've used it and enjoyed it. But now we've "been there, done that" and there just aren't that many TS restaurants we enjoyed so much that we need take time out to do one every day. If your touring style matches the DDP or DxDP, then it can be a very good thing indeed.

But frankly, if I were on my honeymoon, I wouldn't worry about costing out the plan vs. DDP. I'd get the plan and not have to worry about anything. You've got plenty of time ahead of you to worry about the budget....

 

[JKMJ441724]

Unless we are only going to 1 or 2 days, we get it.

 

[retlt72]

To; MHSWEB79, you are absolutely correct, we order things that we woild never order, if we we dining w/o the plan. We wouldn't order appetizers or deserts in the restaurants. Or a $42.00 entrees. But on the other hand eating this way definitely enhances our experience. So you are right but it's worth the cost of the plan!

 

[MOmousefan]

I did the DP on a solo trip '09 and probably will not do it again. My touring plan is always be at rope drop and after that just wing it. On that trip I had to be somewhere every day for a TS meal. It was a lot of food that left me full all of the time. On my latest trip (May) I had a PIN code for my room but I would have had to choose between the discount or the DP. The cheapest DP is $32/day and only covers two meals. My average daily meal cost was $27.
So I do not care for the DP, but I have read many reports of people who love it.