Just curious - Disney Dining Plan

[Mom2six]

In the beginning the DDP was worth it. As the price increases every year I find myself wondering how you could possibly save money on it anymore. It's nice for the convenience but not much of a money saver. On split stays we usually do the QS plan on the first part of the trip, mostly for the mugs.

I'm sure as the DDP price increases, they raise the prices in the restaurants.

 

[elfbo]

I really preferred the meal tickets you could buy, several years ago. You only had to buy enough to cover the meals you wanted to. You weren't forced to buy for every day of your trip, and you could pay a lower price for a breakfast buffet than a dinner buffet, instead of having to use the same credit.

If they do away with free dining, thats going to be my trigger to buy in to DVC. I just cant justify it right now, with the "savings" you get from the free dining plan.

 

[aubriee]

The 'free' dining plan isn't really free. It's a trade off with having to pay rack rate for your room. In evaluating the dining plan vs paying out of pocket, we determined that we would have money saved by paying OOP.

I hear this a lot but I think I'm missing something.

I checked into a trip in December where they are having "free dining." The difference in price for us was about $500. If I get a pin, of which there is no guarantee, than I *might* be doing better than with the "free" dining. Otherwise, my dining is free, right?

Again, maybe I'm missing something.

I go to WDW 4-6 times a year and used to be a big proponent of both the basic DDP and DxDDP (never was interested in the counter service plan). However, about a year ago I changed my mind. The TiW card works better for me. I eat alot TS restaurants and don't care for very many CS restaurants. I like to eat an early TS lunch then a later TS dinner and usually skip breakfast. I am also not a snacker. The basic DDP just does not work for me (too many CS and not enough TS credits), but the DxDDP is too many credits, unless I want to dine at a Signature restaurant every single night. But then I have tons of snack credits to get rid of at the end of the week. To get free dining, you have to pay rack rate plus buy at least two days park tickets. As an AP holder, I don't want or need those tickets, so have to figure those into the total price. Of course, you can use one of those two day park tickets towards your next AP, but since I go several times a year and more than one of those trips are during the free dining periods I'd accumulate two day tickets faster than I could use one a year. I also hate the idea of paying rate for the room in order to get free dining. For example my trip is Sept is booked with an AP discount. I'm saving over $700.00 over rack rate at AKL. I'm taking my mom with me and belive me, even though we are doing alot of TS restaurants, we can eat for alot less than $700.00, using my TiW card and eat exactly what we want, whether it be several appetizers, an appetizer and entree, or all three courses. The main rdraw of the DDPs was having everything prepaid. When they did away with the appetizer and tip, I still stuck with them and just got a Disney gift card to cover items not covered with the DDP. However, during a trip last May on the DDP, I realized I was unconsiously ordering the most expensive items on the menu in order to get the best value out of the DDP (when I would have actually preferred something else). My trips in Sept and Nov/Dec I used the TiW card and ate exactly what I was in the mood for (incuding just appetizers at several restaurants) and came out cheaper than the DDP and by using Disney gift cards everything was still prepaid (including tips and appetizers) and both trips I had money left on on the card to use for my next trip. I refuse to skimp on vacation and always order exactly what I am in the mood for now, whether it be steak or chicken, three appetizers, an appetizer and an entree, or all three courses. TiW comes out cheaper, especially when you consider room discounts and not having to buy two day park tickets.

 

[Mickeyrella]

People that were traditionally Disney foodies believe that it has resulted in the homogenization of the dining experiences and a general dumbing down of dining in the World. There is quite a bit of truth to that, I think. It also is what drives the 180 days out reservations, which many don't like, especially locals.

Exactly! When you take the Dining plan you find yourself compelled to maximize your money, tending to overeating. The quality of the food available as suffered, as well as the variety. .

Couldn't have said it better! Exactly this!

 

[CaliKT]

To each his own, but we did the DP last year and aren't planning on doing it again this year. With two small children, we don't necessarily like sitting down to a table service every day and need more flexibility than the plan allows, especially because we have one with special needs.

Last trip, one of my kids woke up throwing up in the middle of the night, and I shouldn't have had to worry, "Oh no, I hope we don't get dinged for no-showing our character meal breakfast reservation!" Similarly, my son with special needs was just DONE the day we went to Chef Mickey's. Had it not been for the no-show fee, we probably would have no-showed. He had a pretty miserable time and still talks about how he didn't like that place. (My other son, on the other hand, still does the Napkin Dance. ) We had a similar experience with Biergarten. I get that there are people who love making their ADRs 180 days in advance, but it just really doesn't work for us.

I should add we got the DP at a significant discount thanks to a CM friend. It most definitely saved us money on paying OOP for food. But if we're this "meh" on the plan after it saved us money, I just can't imagine doing the plan when the savings are much more questionable.

And again, to each her own: I'm only speaking about the value to my particular family.

 

[Sheaboys]

We loved the Dining Plan in 2005 and are doing the dining plan again this August. We are a family of 7, a room discount is not good enough (if there was one) compared to the food discount.

Many will say, you will overeat, I don't see this...no one is making you eat, the only person putting the fork to your mouth is you. Many will say, I don't know what I want to eat 180 days before my vacation...the reality is every single restaurant serves a chicken, steak, fish, pasta or salad, not matter what. It just depends on how you want it, Italian, Japanese, American etc.

Room discounts are not guaranteed, Pins are not guaranteed, so if FREE Dining is offered, take it! If it is offered and any of the above is offered, see which discount works for you. Keep in mind, no matter what you will have to eat. So add, how you will normally eat along with a room discount and see if you will still come ahead. If so, go for it.

We eat a sit down every night at home, and do so on vacation as well. We will also eat a counter service meal every day for lunch, maybe breakfast too, who knows. So the FREE dining totally out weighs the room discount for us (and that would be 2 room discounts because we get 2 rooms at a moderate).

 

[Daisy-J&D]

I hear this a lot but I think I'm missing something.

I checked into a trip in December where they are having "free dining." The difference in price for us was about $500. If I get a pin, of which there is no guarantee, than I *might* be doing better than with the "free" dining. Otherwise, my dining is free, right?

Again, maybe I'm missing something.

I think it comes done to "doing the math" and comparing offers when they present themselves. Last year we had either a Room Only discount (POP $64) or Free dining. We roughly calculated that Free Dining would probably only be "free snacks" for us but at least that was a bonus! We also had already booked CRT, Ohana and Hollywood and Vine character meals. We felt it made sense to upgrade to DDP for another $250 so that we could have more than just 3 TS meals.

Was free dining cheaper? We certainly had more TS meals than we would have ever booked otherwise but with the tips we paid it was like we were paying OOP for QS! So it wasn't really cheaper, just a better experience IMO. We're doing the same again this year but I didn't even bother "doing the math". We had too much fun.

 

[larryz]

Contrary to some of the opinions here on the thread (and is anyone surprised?), we found that the greatest advantage of using DDP was convenience. You could order what you wanted (except lobster, of course) without worrying about the cost -- your food bill was pre-determined and you didn't have to count your change.

That said, we used to go before DDP, and paid OOP on several trips after they started DDP, and used "free" dining on our last trip -- and based on calculations, we'll take the room/package discount over DDP the next time we go. In our experience, the food is still good, but not edging into spectacular like it used to be (TS venues, of course). The prices are without doubt much higher. The crowding and demand force a diminished experience.

The "value" of the DDP, since the elimination of the appetizer, gratuity, and one snack, and the widespread availability of "free" dining has, in my considered opinion, declined considerably.

 

[aubreysmom09]

I went to Disney for the first time since 2004 in April, and felt that the food quality has went way down. Just seem like all the places had similar items, and some of the uniqueness of places really isn't there. On that note though we only ate at 2 Disney restaurants since we rented a house off property. When we go in November I decided to give the DDP a chance. So far it has seemed a bit overwhelming to make reservations so far out. I may not want to go to the park that I picked 4 months out, or DD2 might be having a bad day. I am going to give DDP a chance, and see if it is really worth it. Since it seems to be getting more pricey it seems in the future you may just break even.

 

[disneyjunkie]

We love the dining plan for what it is, a way to prepay our meals.

We don't try to max the plan out. I don't need to come up with a spreadsheet to figure out if I should go with the DDp or OOP.


I book our ADRs when the window opens and that is it. When we get there, if someone wants a salad and a drink for dinner, fine. If someone wants lobster, fine. We don't order based on what will give us the biggest bang for our buck.

We don't worry about the amount of food since we only order what we want to eat at the time. There isn't a food Nazi keeping eye to force you to order and eat everything that is included.


If people weren't so hell bent on running a jumbo jet through every loop hole they find at disney, the 2005 version of the dining plan might still be around.

 

[deegack]

It works for us but it may not work for others. We did price out getting an annual pass and using tiw but that didn't make sense for us. Dh had a big appetite an often I only eat half of my entree so we share. There is an added benefit of me having room for dessert!

 

[jvptravels]

You could order what you wanted (except lobster, of course) without worrying about the cost

Can you clarify this? Are there restrictions as to what you order on these plans? I'm going next month, and just shelled-out a bunch of money for the Premium Plan. I don't want to be told what I can and can't order.

When we get there, if someone wants a salad and a drink for dinner, fine. If someone wants lobster, fine. We don't order based on what will give us the biggest bang for our buck.

We don't worry about the amount of food since we only order what we want to eat at the time. There isn't a food Nazi keeping eye to force you to order and eat everything that is included.

I'm with you, disneyjunkie. I want the freedom to ordeer what I want and the convenience of knowing that it's already paid for. Furthermore, I don't want to waste two dining credits on one meal. Hence going with the Premium Plan.

What's funny though is every time I have spoken with a Disney rep regarding my reservatons at "Signature Restaurants" they have said "this meal will use 2 of your dining credits". I have to correct them and tell them that I have the Premium plan. Then they apologize. Perhaps this plan is not very popular among guests.

 

[Dan Murphy]

The dining plans and the 'free' dining have significantly hurt the dining experience at WDW over the past several years.

Disney raises the 'rack' rate on the meals, people are driven to the plans, thinking they are getting a deal. Disney has more and more people locked into eating all day long, so Disney reduces the quality and choices available on the menu. More and more venues serve the same food choices, another scale of economy to Disney, once they know people have to eat there regardless.

Overall, a severe dumbing down of dining at Disney, at a significantly increased cost.

 

[larryz]

Can you clarify this? Are there restrictions as to what you order on these plans? I'm going next month, and just shelled-out a bunch of money for the Premium Plan. I don't want to be told what I can and can't order.

I don't know that there's a restriction on the Premium Plan. On regular DDP, however, as we used in 2010 for two special events (CPP and F!DP)... no lobster.

 

[mom2rtk]

Sorry folks. As long as the restaurants stay full........ the dining plan...... and the high restaurant prices......... are here to stay. In fact, as long as the restaurants stay full, we can expect nothing but price increases.

It is what it is. Supply and demand.

 

[starrPA]

Can you clarify this? Are there restrictions as to what you order on these plans? I'm going next month, and just shelled-out a bunch of money for the Premium Plan. I don't want to be told what I can and can't order.

I used the DxDP in March, and am using it again (with free dining, just paid a little upgrade charge) in August.
There weren't any restrictions on any food that we ordered.
We had an appetizer, entrée, dessert and soft drink with each meal and dined at many signature restaurants as well.

The only thing that got sticky was the "app for 2 people"' if only one person wanted it, but the wait staff worked with us on that one at 2 different restaurants.
One brought a single portion of it which was awesome.
It's been my experience that these folks really try to accommodate and will answer any questions that you have while ordering.
We also experienced many random acts of "upgrade" LOL.

Worth mentioning, the BEST advice I ever found regarding the DDP was here on these boards about how to use those snack credits wisely.
Basically we pay OOP if we want something that is under 3.00 and use the credits for anything closer to 4.00 and above.
Worked like a charm!

Hope this helped clarify and have a great time!!

 

[LilGMom]

The dining plans and the 'free' dining have significantly hurt the dining experience at WDW over the past several years.

Disney raises the 'rack' rate on the meals, people are driven to the plans, thinking they are getting a deal. Disney has more and more people locked into eating all day long, so Disney reduces the quality and choices available on the menu. More and more venues serve the same food choices, another scale of economy to Disney, once they know people have to eat there regardless.

Overall, a severe dumbing down of dining at Disney, at a significantly increased cost.

Well said. We go a couple of times a year and have been for years so we've seen the decline in the quality & quantity of the food as well as the cut-back on the DDP while the price continues to go up. When it was $38 for an adult and include appetizer, entree, dessert & gratuity for your TS, a CS, and a snack it was a deal but now at $51-54 (depending on the "season") for an adult and you've lost the appetizer and gratuity, it might be a break even for most versus paying OOP. We have friends that love it because it is a pre-paid dining plan. We figure out where we want to eat, estimate what all of our meals will cost and then put that aside and budget for it prior to vacation. I know my family, of four (three adults - in WDW's eyes since DS is 11 and one child), can eat in WDW for less than $170 + tips per day.

We love to get Le Cellier once a trip for lunch but now that Le Cellier is going to be a two TS credit lunch in 2013 I'm wondering how much the prices will be going up. Unfortunately the DDP keeps the restaurants full, people buy it and sometimes don't use all of their credits so that is even more money for WDW, and the FD "deal" will continue to get people to book packages so WDW will keep the DDP.

 

[havoc315]

I'd like to see the DDP go for a simple reason -- It's a rip off.
I don't feel that it is necessarily responsible for any change in food quality (overall I like the quality of Disney restaurants). It may make it a bit more difficult to get reservations, but I find even this difficulty to be exaggerated. Right now, at 11:30...During summer peak --
I can still get a 1:30 lunch reservation at tons of restaurants including 50's Prime Time Cafe, Chefs De France, Coral Reef, Tony's Town Square and many others.

And go back in time 4-6 years, and the DDP was a good deal. Go back in time 1-2 years, and the DxDP was a good deal, if you liked a lot of signature and a lot of table service.

But now, the plan is simply becoming a rip off, that actually encourages bad eating habits. (Dessert portions at every meal, steering people to expensive steaks, mugs that are refillable with soda but not really healthier beverages).
Yes, can still opt out of the plan.
Nobody is forced to take the plan. But it is annoying that Disney actively misleads people about the cost of the plan, taking advantage of consumers' naivete, trust and ignorance.
So I'd be happy for them to get rid of the plan, and bring back a plan that actually made sense for consumers and for Disney. (TiW card eligibility for all!)

 

[mom2rtk]

I'd like to see the DDP go for a simple reason -- It's a rip off.
I don't feel that it is necessarily responsible for any change in food quality (overall I like the quality of Disney restaurants). It may make it a bit more difficult to get reservations, but I find even this difficulty to be exaggerated. Right now, at 11:30...During summer peak --
I can still get a 1:30 lunch reservation at tons of restaurants including 50's Prime Time Cafe, Chefs De France, Coral Reef, Tony's Town Square and many others.

And go back in time 4-6 years, and the DDP was a good deal. Go back in time 1-2 years, and the DxDP was a good deal, if you liked a lot of signature and a lot of table service.

But now, the plan is simply becoming a rip off, that actually encourages bad eating habits. (Dessert portions at every meal, steering people to expensive steaks, mugs that are refillable with soda but not really healthier beverages).
Yes, can still opt out of the plan.
Nobody is forced to take the plan. But it is annoying that Disney actively misleads people about the cost of the plan, taking advantage of consumers' naivete, trust and ignorance.
So I'd be happy for them to get rid of the plan, and bring back a plan that actually made sense for consumers and for Disney. (TiW card eligibility for all!)

I get what you're saying. But some people actually buy it for a variety of very valid reasons, not just because they are naive. I get that there are 2 sides to this discussion. But it really sounds like a marketing success to me. As long as it works for us, we'll get it. When it doesn't, we won't. We travel in slow times though, stay at a value and get free dining. So for us it's the best deal we will get at a value resort. It's a slam dunk. When we have to pay for it, we'll put pencil t paper and make a informed decision. If others aren't doing that, then they really have nobody to blame but themselves.

I do agree it would be great to add TiW eligibility for all. I don't think I really understand why a FL resident can get it but I can't. They might in fact have a much higher profit margin on me since I can't get there to use it as much.

 

[Claudine877]

My understanding is that you are only allowed to have one discount; so it's either the free dining or the pin for the room; not both. So it's a trade off, but you need to do your homework to see whether it's worth it. If you have big eaters and they're ok with a sit down a day, then that might be a better value that a room discount; however, with a party of 6 or greater, there's the 18% gratituity plus tips to consider. If you have a party with people who barely eat, then the free dining is somewhat wasted. It's up to the individual consumer to evaluate the free dining deal with their family eating habits and see which discount suits you best.