Is the dining plan worth it?

[Jessbaby]

We are a.family of 6. We got a quote with the basic dining plan. How do u know if it's worth it? Seems expensive

 

[sharonabe]

We are a.family of 6. We got a quote with the basic dining plan. How do u know if it's worth it? Seems expensive

We need a little more info from you, specifically how old the kiddos are.

Even with that info, the "worth" factor is subjective.

The thing that makes it NOT worth it for me is my family does not drink sodas nor do we all want dessert at every meal. We can eat what we want to eat for a lot less than the DDP and not feel like we are skimping at all.
We also do not do character meals. If your family will be doing character DINNERS, then the plan will probably work for you. If you can get by with some character breakfasts, the value will go down.

The biggest advice for you is to determine how you would like to eat while on vacation, go to allearsnet.com and browse the menus to see what it would cost and compare to the price of the DDP.

 

[Cafeen]

The answer is long, tedious, drawn out, and very subjective. In trying to keep my answers less than novels (I've already failed at that once today), I'm going to give you the quick version!

The "Short" Version
Basically, if you're going to follow the below guidelines, it might be worth it from a savings perspective:

• You already plan to eat the way the plan is structured
  • This includes the 1TS, 1QS, 1 Snack per night and...
  • An entree, dessert, and drink at every meal (except breakfast, where you don't get a dessert)
• You aren't going to be sharing/splitting meals (now, some sharing/splitting in order to extend credits is ok, but just in general, you know)
• You're looking at TS dinners and QS lunches (breakfasts, outside of a very few cases, are generally not going to save you money)
• You tend to order from the higher end of the menu
• You're more interested in the higher end of the single credit restaurant list
• You're not very interested in any 2 credit experiences

If your trip fits all of those, then there's a good chance it will save you money.

The Long Version
This link takes you to a post on a thread I made just today, while it may be geared to a specific poster, it's actually a pretty decent generalized post that goes into the various considerations and methods to determine if it's really worth it.

You also will want to weigh the subjective cost of the prepaid nature and the having to stick to the structure itself when looking at any savings or loss. For example, due to me being horrible at saving money, even if the overall plan was "losing" me $50 or less (or maybe even up to $75-$100, depending on how I feel that day), it would be worthwhile. This is because I assign a rough value to the prepaid nature to help me with my budgeting issues. Others, may not get the plan if the savings is less than 10-15%, as they feel the structure of the plan inhibits their desire for flexibility and such. Neither of us is wrong, as it's an extremely personal decision.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Cafeen says it all. But I will also add my 2cents. It depends on your family and the way you eat. For my son and I, we definitely think its worth it. We can order whatever we want on the menu, if i paid OOP i'd know myself, i'd be constantly looking at ways to save money by picking the least expensive item on the menu. With the DP, I pick what i want. peace of mind knowing my meals are covered. We always travel during the free dining period, so thats another bonus. We also dont share meals, we enjoy desserts (not appetizers). So the reg DP works very well for us. Plus my son loooooves to snack. All of our snack credits get used. Lol.

However if your the type of family that likes to split meals, if you have very picky eaters or if you dont eat a lot, then this might not be for you. Its best to pay OOP in this case.

All depends.

The answer is long, tedious, drawn out, and very subjective. In trying to keep my answers less than novels (I've already failed at that once today), I'm going to give you the quick version!

The "Short" Version
Basically, if you're going to follow the below guidelines, it might be worth it from a savings perspective:

• You already plan to eat the way the plan is structured
  • This includes the 1TS, 1QS, 1 Snack per night and...
  • An entree, dessert, and drink at every meal (except breakfast, where you don't get a dessert)
• You aren't going to be sharing/splitting meals (now, some sharing/splitting in order to extend credits is ok, but just in general, you know)
• You're looking at TS dinners and QS lunches (breakfasts, outside of a very few cases, are generally not going to save you money)
• You tend to order from the higher end of the menu
• You're more interested in the higher end of the single credit restaurant list
• You're not very interested in any 2 credit experiences

If your trip fits all of those, then there's a good chance it will save you money.

The Long Version
This link takes you to a post on a thread I made just today, while it may be geared to a specific posted, it's actually a pretty decent generalized post that goes into the various considerations and methods to determine if it's really worth it.

You also will want to weigh the subjective cost of the prepaid nature and the having to stick to the structure itself when looking at any savings or loss. For example, due to me being horrible at saving money, even if the overall plan was "losing" me $50 or less (or maybe even up to $75-$100, depending on how I feel that day), it would be worthwhile. This is because I assign a rough value to the prepaid nature to help me with my budgeting issues. Others, may not get the plan if the savings is less than 10-15%, as they feel the structure of the plan inhibits their desire for flexibility and such. Neither of us is wrong, as it's an extremely personal decision.

 

[TDC Nala]

Where are you planning to eat, and would your group generally spend more than the dining plan costs? If so, how much more? How much would the convenience of having your meals prepaid mean to you? Take a look at Cafeen's guidelines, which will help. also if you have a lot of children under age 10 and you plan on doing tons of buffets and character meals, this type of plan usually comes out somewhat ahead (although with the price increases on the plans next year, it will shave a little off the savings.)

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Value is subjective, but no, I personally don't think it's worth it anymore.

 

[cajunprincess]

I've picked out the restaurants we are going to go and taken their prices based on the types of food I know my DH and I enjoy. I then figured out whether we would break even or not. We are eating a one restaurant that would be considered "cheaper." We would lose between $10-15 on the DDP. I'm deciding whether it is worth the convenience to lose $10.

For your family, it may be different. If you do dinner buffets, you would easily get your $s worth I would say. I, however, do not like dinner buffets. There are a lot of different scenarios, and then factoring if the convenience is worth it. Good luck!!!

 

[Koivu]

It may be different from family to family. But my family of 8 went with the DDP and it worked out fantastic. We actually ended up saving sommuch money. And we were so full after each meal. Its not like it was a little snack here and there. They were big meals. I hope it works out for you.

 

[sassysuejones]

I found it definitly worth it, because I added up the receipts from our trip...and we definitly saved money. Plus if I was paying out of pocket as we went along, I definitly wouldn't have tried the places that we did...hence same ol hamburgers,etc...with the plan,I made reservations of wide variety,plus character experiences,etc....We have used it 3 times now, and never disappointed.

 

[newdeal]

I am assuming basic means quick service. The average snack is $4, the average meal is $14, the average dessert is $3.50 and a drink is probobly $2.75. Depends on if you want pop and dessert at every meal and a snack everyday. For the average person who drinks water and doesnt get dessert with every meal I would say no it isnt worth it

 

[sharonabe]

I am assuming basic means quick service. The average snack is $4, the average meal is $14, the average dessert is $3.50 and a drink is probobly $2.75. Depends on if you want pop and dessert at every meal and a snack everyday. For the average person who drinks water and doesnt get dessert with every meal I would say no it isnt worth it

The average QS meal is NOT $14. In fact the only places you'll find a QS meal for that much are Tangeriene in Epcot and Wolfgang Puck. The average QS meal is closer to $9.

 

[Goofy24/7]

I think it's worth it. You get alot of food for the money.

 

[tinkerbella16]

Everyones way of eating when they are at WDW is different. I personally do not use the dining plan unless its offered for free. So this year and the last few times I went it was, so I used it. I honestly only think the DDP is worth it if its free. Luckily I visit during the fall months, during "value season" so they usually always offer it for free when we go. If we do not use the DDP at all, we seem to save a lot more money because we typically would not eat so much food. But because the dessert is included (which is something we do not usually order because we are full), then we order it because it comes with it. Everyones opinions on this are different.

It has become so different since it first came out years ago. Now, in 2013 Le Cellier Lunch is going to cost 2 credits, which is really a bad move. The dinner there is not even worth 2 credits, let alone lunch. Menu prices will now probably go up, but portions will get smaller. The whole dining plan has kind of ruined it for a lot of really good restaurants and once hidden gems that are not so hidden anymore.

 

[Cafeen]

The average QS meal is NOT $14. In fact the only places you'll find a QS meal for that much are Tangeriene in Epcot and Wolfgang Puck. The average QS meal is closer to $9.

Well, the average QS meal INCLUDING drink and dessert is pretty close to $14-15 ($9 entree/combo + $3 dessert + $3 drink).

Though, yes, I am aware of what you were referring to since the other person did add drink and dessert on top of that number.

Though, I did have a $19.10 QS meal at Cantina 2 years ago. I only know it was that much because they flubbed up on my DxDDP credits (it was freshly reopened) and said I had none left. It was the first meal of the trip!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Though, I did have a $19.10 QS meal at Cantina 2 years ago. I only know it was that much because they flubbed up on my DxDDP credits (it was freshly reopened) and said I had none left. It was the first meal of the trip!

La Cantina is an excellent use of CS credits....too bad we went there on the week we DIDN'T have the dining plan. But we did end up sharing meals so I guess it worked out anyways.

 

[TDC Nala]

I am assuming basic means quick service.

On the boards, "basic" generally refers to the regular dining plan with 1TS, 1 CS and 1 snack per night (which originally was the only dining plan), not the quick service.

Now, in 2013 Le Cellier Lunch is going to cost 2 credits, which is really a bad move.

I don't consider that confirmed yet.

 

[Casperina]

Don't know if it was brought up in this thread (just read the first couple posts), but for the free dining vs. 30% off...

*Add up how much dining would be (using one of the sites) at the cheapest and most expensive restaurants for each member, snack, etc on the dining plan (1xadult, 1xkid then multiply by party).
*Multiply by days you will be in the parks.

*Add up total of room expenses before tax, take 30% off, remember this number (30%).


Pick the higher number for the discount (dining more than 30% off room - pick dining).

Good luck!
(hope I did that right - I read it somewhere a couple days ago!)