Is the dining plan worth it??

[Darklord77]

With the DP if you don't use any credits then you just lose them. I buy one or two $500 Disney gift cards (depending on length of stay) and anything left over we can use on merchandise. If you have kids under 10 the DP might save some money. Once you get into that "Disney Adult" range (10-14), not many kids can eat $55+ worth of food per day. Not much difference in using a gift card or scanning your Band so the piece of mind or convenience theories don't hold water with me. There are other factors that go into DP vs. OOP, but I tend to try and keep decision making simple.

 

[mickeynut1]

We are in our early stages of planning our WDW vacation. What are the benefits on the dining plans

As others have said, benefits of the DDP vary as the DDP works for some, but not for others. We've done both the DDP and DlxDDP and have enjoyed both (we've also paid OOP). We love the convenience of the DDP as it's great having everything paid for ahead of time, but we have also saved money on it. As a pp posted, some suggest buying gift cards ahead of time and using those for meals to get the "prepaid" option, but since it's technically the same as paying cash, some might rethink their choices and possibly choose something less expensive than what they would order if they had the DDP, so that (in my mind) is not saving money because you aren't ordering what you really want. With that said, a good way to get an idea of whether or not to get the DDP is to look at menus of the places you want to eat and figure out what you might order and compare the cost of paying OOP vs having the DDP. Good luck.

 

[robinb]

It's not worth it for us and given the age of your oldest child it way not be worth it to you. When my DD was 11-12 she ate like a bird and was perfectly happy with the children's menu (which is available for anyone, not just 9 and under). It would be silly for us to pay $60+ for her to eat adult meals when she was perfectly happy with a $10 adult CS and a $10 kids meal TS.

You will have to run the numbers when you get ready to book. If you will be doing a lot of character meals because of the younger child then it may be worth it for you. If your older child eats like a horse and enjoys adult entrees then it also may be worth it to you.

 

[ChicagoMom]

We just got back from our first trip on the DDP (QS was free and we upgraded to the DDP) and it was way too much food for us. We ended up losing 3 QS table credits because we could not force ourselves to eat another meal. We didn't even touch our desserts during our last QS dinner.

Upgrading the dining plan was worth it to us because we did a lot of character meals but there is no way I would pay for the full dining plan.

So for us it is definitely not worth it.

 

[Sarahbelle341]

For our family it is. My husband is eats a lot and we like good food especially on vacation. My DS is 5 now and eats like a teenager. We love doing the character meals since he always wants to see as many as characters as humanly possible on a Disney vacation. We did the deluxe plan and thoroughly enjoyed it. It actually saved us quite a bit of money too! Buffets or restaurants with a variety of kids choices are a priority for us since most counter service kids meals (Disney mac n cheese, uncrustables, processed chicken nuggets) my son wouldn't even eat. We are going for the regular plan this time since its a longer trip and we don't want to be tied to so many dining reservations.

 

[bob_bldr]

Just ran the numbers this weekend for 4 days at WDW in February for the 2 of us, plus 2 in college, 2 high schoolers and 1 in middle school. QS lunch at Via Napoli, Studio Catering, Flame Tree and BOG and TS dinner at Teppan Edo, Turf Club, Ohana and the Wave. OOP cost, with dessert only some of the time, was $1,669 vs. dining plan cost of $1,698. For us, the added $29 for the dining plan gives all 7 of us a snack each day, a refillable mug and desserts at each meal. Another major advantage for us is that the 5 kids have the flexibility to pick snacks and lunch on their own and nearly anything off the menu without worrying about price.

 

[supersnoop]

Just ran the numbers this weekend for 4 days at WDW in February for the 2 of us, plus 2 in college, 2 high schoolers and 1 in middle school. QS lunch at Via Napoli, Studio Catering, Flame Tree and BOG and TS dinner at Teppan Edo, Turf Club, Ohana and the Wave. OOP cost, with dessert only some of the time, was $1,669 vs. dining plan cost of $1,698. For us, the added $29 for the dining plan gives all 7 of us a snack each day, a refillable mug and desserts at each meal. Another major advantage for us is that the 5 kids have the flexibility to pick snacks and lunch on their own and nearly anything off the menu without worrying about price.

You might want to redo your math. Via Napoli is not counter service. You're paying over $60 day for the dining plan. You need to average $35/TS and $15/CS plus $5/snack while accounting $5/day for the mug. Without doing it myself, I'm pretty confident your math is wrong.

 

[bob_bldr]

We usually do the walk-up window at Via Napoli which was still Quick Service the last time we were there in June.

Our kids all enjoy the Dining Plan and will pick filet or tenderloin at every meal if available. They will also never pass up a good dessert.

As I stated previously, the Dining Plan works for us, and the math is good too.

 

[lauradis]

The dining plan is not meant to be a savings so much as it is meant to be a convenience. You buy the dining plan because you want the convenience of pre-payment and that "all inclusive" type feeling. It CAN be a slight savings if you intend to order the most expensive entrees, but most people will break even or lose money as it would have come out cheaper paying out of pocket.

A lot of anti-dining plan folks will advise to just add your credit card to your magic band, or purchase gift cards ahead of your trip and use those for dining so you can still have it be convenient and semi-prepaid. For us, we'd still be watching what we order, checking our balances, possibly skipping dessert, etc. I want to order that steak and have dessert already included and not think twice about it.

We will always pay for convenience when we can, so we have no qualms about buying the dining plan. But if you are concerned about costs, you can probably do better paying out of pocket. If you're bad at saving, the dining plan forces you to pay ahead of time so that is good too.

This is why I have started to make up my own pre-payed disney dinning plan.

go to http://allears.net/dining/menu/
pick the places and what your family will eat normally if there where no prices
add tax
add tip
add 10% buffer
add water and snacks

Buy gift cards, charge to room, pay with gift cards.

I still get the "free" dinning plan if offered. I love the dxddp best.

 

[MrInfinity]

Hi Ruthie,
Given your mix of 3 Disney adults and 1 Disney child, the DDP will not likely save you money. Even if you ordered the most expensive thing all the time.

If paying out of pocket you'd worry about not buying something like a steak cuz it costs $33... look at it this way. This applies mostly to your 10-. When you get the DDP, you are prepaying for the most expensive item for everyone, then choosing whether to eat that or eat some $12 pasta (but you've still paid for the steak).

I got the DDP on our last three trips (see sig) and it really is great, and I recommend it for families that are 2/2, or have more kids than adults (we were 2/3 plus a baby). Mainly because kids eat for really cheap on the dining plan, and you can get sodas and stuff that you'd otherwise skip out on.

This coming trip, we're *not* doing DDP, and here's why... out last two trips we did lots of buffets and character meals, so we're kind of fooded out on big Disney meals. I think we'll go lighter, having less than 1 TS meal per day, and where we do a TS meal, get appetizers and things we wouldn't get on the DDP. So the change will be nice to do Disney from another perspective.

If you haven't gone before, it is nice because you get more of the immersion experience. You're spending points then, not dollars (even tho you pay for the points) so it allows you to prepay, then enjoy it more when you're there. It also allows you to disconnect from the prices. When you go to a snack counter you don't think "should I get this for $4 or that for $3" you just look at the snacks and get the one your kid wants and it doesn't matter which one it is.

There are lots of things you can do via micromanaging what you spend points on, like if you want a $2 water, don't spend a snack point on that. Just pay with $2. Save your snack points for snacks that are $3 or $4.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

We usually do the walk-up window at Via Napoli which was still Quick Service the last time we were there in June.

depending on when you are traveling it may not be open. It is not likely to be open before Presidents Day weekend.

 

[GregShiner]

I think the "out of sight out of mind" factor is significant and would recommend perusing menus and using online calculators to see if the dining plan is a good financial choice. Generally, having kids who actually eat combined with expensive buffet meals makes the dining plan a decent choice. The more you eliminate beverages, desserts, or choose cheaper menu locations, the less you stand to save.

This is the biggest thing for me is being able to get whatever I want to eat! I always hate pinching pennies on vacation. I love to just relax and know that it is taken care of.

 

[missbrooke06]

This is the biggest thing for me is being able to get whatever I want to eat! I always hate pinching pennies on vacation. I love to just relax and know that it is taken care of.

Us too. My husband is terrible about staying on a vacation budget. Paying upfront means that I'm not stressed when he orders the most expensive thing. Disney vacations are the only ones that we escape without a money fight.