Is The Disney Dining Plan Worth It To You?

[jodifla]

Not worth it for us. The DDP is ruining Disney Dining, so we no longer want to eat as many meals there.


We get the DDE and use our DVC kitchen. That way we can pick and choose what we want, trying to get the remaining good meals out of WDW, before the Dining Plan has WDW serving gruel at all the 2 TS restaurants, with exited bargain hunters exclaiming..."I would have spent $500 on a week's worth of gruel at Disney, but with the DDP it was only $499!".

 

[Bete]

Not worth it for us. The DDP is ruining Disney Dining, so we no longer want to eat as many meals there.


We get the DDE and use our DVC kitchen. That way we can pick and choose what we want, trying to get the remaining good meals out of WDW, before the Dining Plan has WDW serving gruel at all the 2 TS restaurants, with exited bargain hunters exclaiming..."I would have spent $500 on a week's worth of gruel at Disney, but with the DDP it was only $499!".

You are fortunate that you have options for meals. The dining plan makes it more affordable for most to stay and dine at Disney. I'm a total fan of the plan. Trekking in and out of Disney to afford a better meal is no longer an issue with the plan. For those who don't enjoy TS they can skip the plan. It fills restaurants that may not have enough business without the plan. If it helps Disney on their bottom line to fill restaurants more then it probably helps all of us get a better vacation; because, Disney has more revenue this way that can help towards making better restaurants, rides, etc.

 

[PaulaSB12]

I did the ddp for the first time last year, I had my snacks for breakfast and the rest paid for my lunch and dinner. I did once buy some popcorn but I wanted change to buy a phone card so didn't mind that. When you are solo you can't share and spread the ts credits so I just enjoyed buying what I wanted to, this year I got the free dining with the uk offer and I can't wait for it again.

 

[bookgirl2632]

I will never go to Disney without the DDP as long as they offer it. For me, it's worth is just to keep things hassle free. I like the idea that it's all paid for upfront, including tax and tip. I also love that I can order whatever I want off the menu without worrying about the price. With the DDP, I've been able to try restaurants that I previously never would have, due to price considerations. And the price is reasonable, in my estimation. Yes, I'm a definite fan of the DDP!

 

[Laura]

It's not for me. We don't see the need for it.

 

[KKB]

I haven't experienced it yet....but I gotta tell ya....

THE PLANNING IS A BLAST!!! I TOTALLY dig all the research & planning for every trip I take...the DDP opens up a whole new level of planning for me

I know I will enjoy eating WHEREVER I want...WHATEVER I want (for the most part) AND rarely having to say no to the kids! (well, regarding their meals anyway! )

I am SO excited!!!!

 

[iluvdisnee]

We Saved over $500 for our party of 4 adults and 2 Children when we went over Easter.

 

[DLo]

We have used it twice and liked it . We tried TS that w/o it we would have never tried. The first year we did the plan exactly like the credits are allocated - 1 snack, 1 CS, and 1 TS each day . I am not sure why we did this - I think we knew the "rules" . The next year, we mixed it up and ended up having several snack credits left (part of this was because I had everyones "tickets" because I was the Fast Pass "getter" and they might not have had it when they needed it) but we just bought items for our ride home. I think it is worth the money but it is a lot of food that many would not order other wise. This year we have decided to not get it but that is only because my dad got a great deal at the Swan.

 

[Princessbaby]

I think the DDP is worth it even if you have to buy it-for my family anyway. We are unable to take advantage of the free dining , so I went ahead and bought the dining plan for us. I like the fact that I don't need to budget money for the meals and tip because it is already paid for! We did not use it the last time we were there and we ate CS most of the time-my kids were sick of chicken and burgers by the time we were done! The character meals seem to be so expensive that we would not do more than 1-this time we have 3 scheduled! So, for us, it is worth the money. I can't wait to try a variety of food this time around!!

 

[Scornelius]

After our honeymoon trip, Dh said he'd never go without the DDP again! We absolutely loved it!! Yes, we could have spent less on food than the DDP cost, but we wouldn't have had nearly as much fun. We felt like total VIPs, getting to eat whatever we wanted without looking at the price. It was awsome! We're going back in august for free dining- I can't wait to see how much money we save!!

 

[Helpmate]

My DH was not at all interested in going to Disney World. I had been trying to sell him on the idea for a few years. Finally, out of a need for a break from work and everyday life, he actually desired to go .

So we went a couple of months ago with our 4 DDs in tow.

Almost every week now, my DH looks at me and says, "I miss Disney!". He was wowed by the measures that Disney World has taken to make our vacation there as stress free as possible. As a family of 6 who confesses often to being real foodies, we like to eat good food. The dining plan allowed us to do just that whenever and wherever we chose without having to make a fuss over the prices or the bill. There were many really good options on the DDP list. Yes, there were places that would not have worked for us. The solution was simple;We simply chose the places that would work for us. The key here is having plenty of reasonable choices.

The memory of one of our youngest DDs, sitting in Le Cellier slurping away at her very own milkshake in a fancy grownup glass was priceless. She kept looking up at us as if she thought we had mistakenly given it to her. She was pleased and so were the rest of us.

We made ADRs. For us, it's the only way to do the DDP right. We had several snack credits left over and so we used them at gift shops and candy shops to get some Disney goodies to bring home as gifts for our loved ones.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I voted for No, it doesn't work out for us. and here is why. Since my family and I like to stay in Concierge while at WDW the DDP does make sense for us since we get breakafst in the morning, afternoon snacks and hors d'ouvres in the evening. We also don't like to make any ADR's at 180 days out so with the DDP we would be forced to and finally there are restaurants outside of WDW like the Golden Corral (location on 8707 VINELAND AVENUE) the Cheese Cake Factory (in the Mall at the Millenia), Shells and other locations, so by going on the DDP we would not be able to eat at those locations.

 

[Barbers2005]

there are restaurants outside of WDW like the Golden Corral (location on 8707 VINELAND AVENUE) the Cheese Cake Factory (in the Mall at the Millenia), Shells and other locations, so by going on the DDP we would not be able to eat at those locations.

That is one downside to eating on the DDP- I wanted to go to Emeril's restaurant over at Citywalk on our next trip, but we've already got the dining plan, so we choose to skip it (that, and I'm spoiled by WDW transportation...too much hassle to get a taxi ).

 

[thunderbird1]

That is one downside to eating on the DDP- I wanted to go to Emeril's restaurant over at Citywalk on our next trip, but we've already got the dining plan, so we choose to skip it (that, and I'm spoiled by WDW transportation...too much hassle to get a taxi ).

Us, too. We've been wanting to try Margaritaville, but couldn't justify it with all the great food we were already getting for free (or prepaid, however you want to look at it).

After our honeymoon trip, Dh said he'd never go without the DDP again! We absolutely loved it!! Yes, we could have spent less on food than the DDP cost, but we wouldn't have had nearly as much fun. We felt like total VIPs, getting to eat whatever we wanted without looking at the price. It was awsome! We're going back in august for free dining- I can't wait to see how much money we save!!

But we were perfectly happy to give up Margaritaville to get that VIP feeling. Not just the free (or prepaid) food, but the Disney transportation mentioned above. I LOVE not having to drive (or, more accurately, navigate) for our entire trip. It really transforms the vacation into something more like a cruise, or all-inclusive resort, where they take care of everything for you. Someday, we'll have a reason to stay offsite again or skip the DDP, but for now, we're lovin' the deluxe feel of total WDW immersion.

 

[bookgirl2632]

Us, too. We've been wanting to try Margaritaville, but couldn't justify it with all the great food we were already getting for free (or prepaid, however you want to look at it).

We spent a day at Seaworld last September and went over to Margaritaville for dinner that evening. We just can't pass up a chance to have those margaritas! Anyway, it worked out great for us since we had at least one night where we wouldn't have a TS. We had gone to a Signature, thus using 2 TS credits. So, we would have had to pay OOP for a TS anyway. We chose to make it OOP at Margaritaville!

 

[thelionqueen]

Nope. Disney dining no longer offers us anything we can't usually find at home for half the price. Plus the headache of having to determine where we want to eat months in advance makes the whole deal very un-appetizing.

Of course, when it's free that's a different question.

How long and how much does it cost for you you go all the way back home for cheaper food? Sorry, that comment just made me laugh. Are you talking about cooking in your room or restaurants in your home town? You can't really compare the two in my opinion.

I can find superb food here and 1/4 of the price, but don't have that luxury on vacation @ the World. Since I am an obsessive overplanner, planning months in advance is the only thing that keeps me going

 

[TheDisneyClan]

The Dining Plan is well worth it for us. September will be our third trip with the Dining Plan, though its our first time getting it for free - and who thought it couldn't get better!

Both other trips we saved every receipt for every item on the dining plan and added everything up and compared it to what we pay for the DP. First trip we saved over $800.00 and second trip we saved in excess of $900.00. If you like to eat and do it on property without worrying about what it will cost while you are there, the DP is a must.

We can not imagine EVER making a trip to WDW without it!

 

[tiki23]

We are definitely DDP fans! We paid for it last year and are paying for it again this year.

With 5 of us we were able to eat more TS meals then we ever would have paying OOP. The kids - teenagers - could go off on their own and I didn't need to worry about where they would eat and if they had $.

Hands down though, the best part is that it's paid up-front so I wasn't trying to do math in my head to figure out how much the bill would be!

The only time I can see us not doing the DDP is in the summer when we just might not want all that food in the heat - but even then it might be worth it to sit down and relax over a meal in the A/C.

 

[traycie2201]

we are going on DDP for the first time in september, we're paying for it but the exchange rate in the UK at the moment is so great that we already saved money, we will be getting to eat in restaurants that we would normally only pick one of due to cost and figure that the snack and cs are free for us based on the type of evening meal we would pick, I love that I won't be driving to TGI's , Red Lobster etc every night for dinner and can relax and have a drink with a meal if i fancy it. The best bit is it will be prepaid and therefore I won't have to think if i have enough money left or if i overspend on gifts will we have to have a lower priced meal that night, I plan to keep receipts to see if it's worth it but i think so already, my only downside is planning where to eat before i'm there .

 

[jjms97]

DDP is the only way to go for us. Especially DH. He would get jittery everytime we had to pay for our meals because it is just so expensive. Now, all of our meals are paid for in advance so it takes away that anxiety for him and lets him enjoy WDW even more, and by extension us too!

I think the only thing he would like better is if we could travel there when the DDP was free. Too bad we can't go in the Fall!!

We love it!