IS THE DINING PLAN WORTH THE MONEY? ($1200 for us)

[Tinkershell]

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on whether they think the dining plan is worth the money? I am also worried that it makes it so busy to have an ADR for every day of our trip. Without the dining plan I don't think we would schedule 8 sit - down meals. At this point we do have the dining plan, but we are still trying to decide whether or not to keep it.

 

[2manypets]

$1200 sounds like a lot, what we did is look at the menu's at allearsnet and the one's on this site. After calculating what we would like to order vs. what we would end up ordering (Least expensive meal) we still came out ahead. I think the dining plan is wonderful. We usually wouldn't eat at the higher end restaurants, but in the back of our mind, we'd want to.

It also helps with the stress of paying for the meal, with the DDP, it's paid for up front, no worries, no stress and I get my desserts

If you're more of the wing it, counter service is good (which there's some really good CS) kind of people, then I might reconcider the DDP.

I know, no help at all, it's really up to your dining needs. We enjoy several sit downs, so it makes sense for us.

 

[Wingedheart]

yes yes yes it's so so worth it

 

[PennieGirl]

I wouldn't do Disney without the plan, but that's just me. My logic is this:

Let's say that you're at Epcot for the day (I don't know if you're park hopping, though I would recommend it with the dining plan). You buy a counter service lunch at Sunshine Seasons - the Chicken Chile and Garlic Noodle Bowl (the cheapest adult entree), a Cookie (the cheapest dessert), and a Coke. That would total out to $9.77 before tax (and tax is included with the plan). Then you get a bottle of water for your snack for $2. Then you go to your table service dinner at Le Cellier - and again you order the cheapest options on the menu. You order the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup for your appetizer, the Free Range Chicken, The Maple Creme Brulee, and another Coke. You're at $33.16 before tax or tip is figured in, and both are included. If we add those in, you're at $44.00 (or so, since tip is 18% and I don't know what tax is, I estimated it at 8%. That means, you've hit $55.77 ordering the cheapest options for each thing, and chances are good you won't always order the cheapest thing. That means you've saved about $20 bucks for one person with the plan - add that up over the course of the vacation and multiply it by how many people are going - you can't beat the savings.

You also always have the option of doing one of the 2 Table service restaurants, and doing a couple of counter services on another day. You have to be smart with those though, as some of the 2TS's are a bit of a rip-off (for example, I love Brown Derby at MGM, but it's a 2TS - and our bill was only $2 more than at the 1TS Le Cellier. On the other hand, we had a $200 meal at Narcoossee's that was more than worth the upgrade). I hope this helps - but do keep in mind that you should book your ADR's ASAP (180+10 days in advance if possible).

 

[Chloesmom]

I think the big deciding factor is if you would normally eat at so many sit down meals. You mentioned that you probably would not so then you need to think.. is it because of how much they would cost or the time needed to eat at a sit down. there a lot of personal factors that help decide if it is worth it for you. For us I know that we like to have a sit down a day.. it makes for a nice break and we pick places that are fun for DD. So I looked at the menus of where I would eat and added up what we would actually order from each place.. of course we would not always order a dessert or an appetizer.. and frankly I may not order the filet at leCellier. What I came up with actually surprised me. We are saving about $100 using the plan off of the amount we would realistically order. With the added food and luxury of getting whatever we want it adds even more to our savings. I figure it will be about $200 for me and DD.. not bad at all.

 

[Sammie]

This is the way we figured it. We went online and got prices from the menus from the places we were going to eat. I know some will say do you really know this far in advance what you will order, with our group yes we do. So it works for us, might not work for someone that needs to make up their mind at the restaurant.

Even at the least expensive counter service and no snacks per day, the DDP for us covers the cost of the Full Service meals and snacks and CS were free.

Even when we did Signature meals we broke even and even when did not order the desserts we still broke even.

It probably does not save us a huge amount of money but if it even saves me$50, the convenience was worth it.

For some it does not save and they might not like being tied to a TS each day; but we have been to the parks so many times in 25 years that we enjoy a leisurely meal in the evenings.

 

[darlak]

We had never done the DDP before we got free dining. Before, we usually did about 4 or 5 TS meals each trip. Now, we've realized how much we enjoyed doing a TS meal each day and we haven't been back without the DDP since. I too have done the math and believe that we're saving money over the way we did it before, even considering that we didn't do a TS every single day. Knowing that everything is paid for in advance also means more to me than I realized it would. My DH loves this aspect of the DDP. $1200 is what it costs us for an average trip too. I also factor in that with the DDP, we NEVER eat breakfast. 2 meals per day, plus snack (love those Dole Whip Floats!) is almost more food than we can eat. We usually do an early lunch and then an evening meal. If we're there when it's really hot, we sometimes do our TS meal for lunch.

 

[connorsmom911]

We found if you are planning to do character meals, and especially with kids, the DDP is definitely worth it. We've done it with ds and came out quite a bit ahead (over $100 saved over 3 days). But then again, dh and I did a similar trip just the 2 of us for 3 days and found it to be way too much food, and we didn't save quite as much. This last trip we didn't opt for the dining plan because we weren't planning any table service meals, just eating on the fly. We still spent more than the dining plan would have been, but I was ok with it.

I feel that if I was on a longer trip (at least a week) and had the kids with us, the DDP is really worth it. We aren't as scared to try more expensive table service meals, and we all love the interaction with the characters at the character meals, so that is the focus without worrying about how much the bill is going to be.

 

[EeyoreFan5]

I will never do Dinsey World again without the dining plan. This was so awesome.. amount of food, different resturants we tried that we wouldn't have, didn't have to worry about spending our money on other things and ration cash for food. Food was already paid for! No worries, no concerns.

Yes you have to plan your meals however we had one ressie for Germany and decided not to go and ended up getting in to Hollywood and Vine that same day. They do have cancellations and you are sometimes able to change.

With the DDP you are able to use 1 TS for a character meal. This was a HUGE hit with my three DD's. Each one was able to pick the one she wanted and the food was great at each one too. My husband even had a hard time eating all the food that was served. This is a huge thing for him. He is always able to finish his meal and usually clean up the childrens. He is a tough cookie to please at Disney just because he is not as into it as the rest of us and even he liked it. Many new placed tried that we otherwise wouldn't have.

WORTH the $$$$

 

[rentayenta]

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on whether they think the dining plan is worth the money? I am also worried that it makes it so busy to have an ADR for every day of our trip. Without the dining plan I don't think we would schedule 8 sit - down meals. At this point we do have the dining plan, but we are still trying to decide whether or not to keep it.

We save about $1,200 doing the free DDP too. Here's my logic for what it's worth and why I think it will be worth it to us:

~ we are going to do 2 TS meals and enjoy a little more upscale places than we normally would while on a Disney vacation.

~ the price difference between doing the free DDP and using the PIN Disney sent me on the package is $800 in favor of the free DDP. We would spend at least that much on food which makes the DDP a no brainer for us.

~ and because it is free, if we don't use it all, it's no biggie. With the snack credits we can stock up on treats to bring home. Because our children still share food, due to me hating to waste food, even with 12 CS planned, we still won't have to pay OOP.

 

[bicker]

We saved about $6 per night per adult on the Dining Plan, as compared to what we would have spent for what we would have ordered if paying OOP. So there is a modest discount built into the plan.

 

[LizinSTL]

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on whether they think the dining plan is worth the money? I am also worried that it makes it so busy to have an ADR for every day of our trip. Without the dining plan I don't think we would schedule 8 sit - down meals. At this point we do have the dining plan, but we are still trying to decide whether or not to keep it.

The answer is ....it depends.

We always have an average of a sit down meal per night of a vacation. It's how our family vacations. We might do that in lieu of an afternoon "break" for example. It's cool, refreshing, relaxing and takes about 90 minutes- same as a nice rest in the room (except we ate our dinner too!)

IF you won't use all your TS credits, then do NOT buy the plan. The exception is if you are able to secure free dining by booking during the free dining dates (Aug 26-Sept 22 I think) .

You are obviously 4 adults staying 8 nights w/ that quote- but you'd need to also consider what kind of eaters your kids are and how old they are. Or is it 4 actual adults? Will you be primarily doing breakfast buffets? or do you prefer dinners? Are Character meals your priority or will you be skipping all of those? Do you prefer chicken nuggets or steak? Fish sticks or Lobster? Those questions all determine whether the plan (when paid for) is the best option.

If your trip is scheduled within the next 3-5 months, I've been suggesting people try to book their ADRS first and THEN add the plan if they get the ones that they are happy with and do the math for their projected bills using the menus posted on the internet. That's the very best way to decide if the DDP will work for your family.

We LOVE it. And will do it again in the future. I think it's really a great value for many families who visit Disney for no more than 7-10 days once a year. It's probably the best discount available to them!

 

[KKB]

I felt I could certainly feed a family of 5 for less than $140/day. BUT when I realized that would mean CS for all meals, much sharing, lots of "Nos" to the kids, and I realized at WDW prices I couldn't do it for A LOT less, I reconsidered. Additionally, I really wanted to try some of the TS restaurants.
THEN it started to make financial sense. And my mom wanted to do it!

I LOVE the freedom to eat WHEREVER I want and basically order WHATEVER I want. Additionally, being there 7 days, it will do us good to SIT DOWN and relax a couple of hours each day, and not just go go go. Plus DH & I will get a dinner alone at WPC and Mom & I will do Narcoosees together...we will only have to share CS a bit to be sure the kids have meals those nights (we are short 4CS to cover both those nights....)

I LOVE the idea of letting my kids choose whatever they want from their menu, (even share our goodies, cuz you KNOW it's a bit much food!). And I love being able to say YES to dessert for lunch & dinner everyday! And YES you may get a special snack EVERYDAY! We will do breakfast in the room w/ our swapped fridge & coffee maker...milk, juice (SNACK CREDITS!), bring pop tarts & breakfast bars for kid (I RARELY buy these at home!) and protein bars for adults.

Can you tell that I am so excited we did this>>!! I am SUCH a foodie! PLUS we will be there during F&WF, and you can use snack credits!!! WOO HOO!

Is it right for you? For me the biggest question is whether you want to do TS, daily for the most part. If you do, then it is cost effective. If you only do CS or just a couple of TS, probably not effective. Some feel guilty that there is too much food...but, hey, you don't HAVE to order everything offered. I just like the variety! (still gonna be a lot of sharing on this trip, but so we can try lots of different things. YUM!)

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We would NEVER buy the DDP. Free is a different story but would never buy. A couple of reasons:

1. We NEVER EVER eat that much food on vacation.
2. We don't like the scheduled times. Always worrying about what time it is and how we had to scramble to yet another ADR. It just seemed like the vacation was all about food and not about the fun. BUT, we don't go for special food. Counter service is all we need.

 

[tiggrsbride]

Free dining in 2005 sold us on the dining plan. During our early trips, we would eat some TS lunches and all CS dinners to keep our dining budget in check. We don't normally all order appetizers (1 to share) and desserts (1 to share). As our children have gotten older, their tastes have gotten more expensive. Kids meals with chicken fingers don't cut it any longer. DS loves a good steak. DD loves a filet. I love the freedom of not worrying about the bill, or feeling like choosing cheaply to avoid sticker shock after a meal. We are paying for the Dining Plan this time. We are all excited about browsing menus and choosing restaurants. We also really enjoy re-living our day over a nice, leisurely meal at Disney. Every family decides what is important for their vacation. For us, the Dining Plan makes the trip even better!

Have a great trip!

 

[La2kw]

Unless you usually order an appetizer, entree, and dessert every day at a TS restaurant for everyone in your party, in addition to a cs meal including dessert every day for everyone in your party, as well as a snack every day for everyone in your party, then it wouldn't be worth it, IMO. We don't eat that way, and we have no desire to. We have made many trips to WDW over the years and have never spent as much money on food as the DDP would cost us.

 

[LizinSTL]

Unless you usually order an appetizer, entree, and dessert every day at a TS restaurant for everyone in your party, in addition to a cs meal including dessert every day for everyone in your party, as well as a snack every day for everyone in your party, then it wouldn't be worth it, IMO. We don't eat that way, and we have no desire to. We have made many trips to WDW over the years and have never spent as much money on food as the DDP would cost us.

That's not necessarily true, IMO. If you are doing lots of buffets (dinner in particular or any if your kids are under 10), or if you order at least an entree and soft drink at your TS meal, you are going to break even on the DDP. The dessert on CS can be a bowl of grapes or a rice krispie bar for later. The snack can be a bottle of water.

You can eat for less at Disney but you'll be eating breakfast bars in your room, skipping TS meals (or many people will be inclined to choose the cheaper entree on the menu as they watch their disney dining totals climb during the week).

People who aren't fond of the plan make it sound like this obscene amount of food. Can it be? Sure. Does it have to be? no...not at all.

 

[tabrizia]

Unless you usually order an appetizer, entree, and dessert every day at a TS restaurant for everyone in your party, in addition to a cs meal including dessert every day for everyone in your party, as well as a snack every day for everyone in your party, then it wouldn't be worth it, IMO. We don't eat that way, and we have no desire to. We have made many trips to WDW over the years and have never spent as much money on food as the DDP would cost us.

This isn't true for us at all. I figured out where we would eat without the dining plan and what we would eat (which meant 1 shared desert total, and shared appetizers everywhere else) and we still came out even cost wise with the dining plan vs no dining plan. This included us sharing CS meals as well as one less TS in my calculations for where we would eat without the plan.

The best way to figure it out what your family will basically be eating without the plan and then compare it to the cost of the plan. It is normally a good deal if you like to do TS meals at least 4 or 5 days out of a 7 day vacation, and that is even without maxing out the plan.

When we go to the restaurants we also don't max out the plan a lot, we just get what we want to eat and comparing costs at the end it is still a good deal (though to be fair we haven't actually paid for the dining plan since this is our second year going during free dining) for us, even with us splitting appetizers about half the time and hubby not getting desert.

 

[kathyjacks]

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on whether they think the dining plan is worth the money? I am also worried that it makes it so busy to have an ADR for every day of our trip. Without the dining plan I don't think we would schedule 8 sit - down meals. At this point we do have the dining plan, but we are still trying to decide whether or not to keep it.

We went for 10 days last april . There were 4 of us, dh , me and 2 kids . We found we would have to eat fast food 3 times a day to get the same value we got with the ddp. Yes we paid alot but some of our meals were upward of 150-200 bucks a pop and we enjoyed everyone. Another thing we didn't have any out of pocket expense other then souveniers because everything was paid for up front. To me the food is part of disney and there are some really cool places to go that we wouldn't have went without ddp. I always reccomend it at least once . it isn't for everyone and if you try it once and don't like it you will know next time not to get it. I hope you have a great time.

 

[5fordisney]

You've gotten so many great opinions, I don't know if you want one more, but I'll offer it anyway!
We LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the DDP!! For us, the TS meals we had were part of the wonderful Disney experience and really a highpoint of our days. We have 3 kids and they thoroughly enjoyed each sit-down meal we went to. We planned later meals (6:30 usually) so we would head back to the hotel around 4:00, shower/change, and then head out to dinner. The value for us was fantastic. We did mostly character buffets like Chef Mickey's, Norway's princess dinner, garden grille, Liberty tree tavern, and CRT. CRT was the only one where we could have skipped appetizer and dessert to save money if we were paying OOP. We rarely go out to dinner during the rest of the year as we are always watching our finances so it was nice to really have an all-inclusive vacation with nothing to think about but enjoying each day, including the meals! Enjoy your trip whatever you decide!