love free dining but....

[tink1953]

we definately save a lot of money with free dining but...we also spend a lot of time watching the clock, waiting, eating.....so much eating....

maybe just picking just one special meal per visit is a good idea that way you can spend more time in the parks having fun instead of worrying weather you can make the next ADR...

We have for sure eaten at a lot of places we otherwise would not have paid for and tried, but I think we have done them all and are finsihed with this...

just my opinion

BArb

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

as we are vacation club owners and even though they now offer it as an option for to (to pay for it) we have done the math and it just wouldn't work for us.

We eat our big meal for the day (except arrival day) at lunch when prices are cheaper and have a light bite like a citrus swirl or dole whip if we need something else. The dining plan free or not do not match up wtih how we eat. Neither of us are desert people except for an occasional ice cream cone so it doesn't fit us and we would rather be RIDING RIDES than worrying about an ADR.

How we do it works for us

 

[Travelingdad]

We are a family of five and use it. I agree winds up being a lot of food but forums it is useful to get character dining done. We ever feel tied to the clock but if that is something a person focuses on I can see it being a stressor. I find the time taken for two sits downs is a lot to give up but lie a sit down and quick serve as an option.

 

[Shell91303]

as we are vacation club owners and even though they now offer it as an option for to (to pay for it) we have done the math and it just wouldn't work for us.

We eat our big meal for the day (except arrival day) at lunch when prices are cheaper and have a light bite like a citrus swirl or dole whip if we need something else. The dining plan free or not do not match up wtih how we eat. Neither of us are desert people except for an occasional ice cream cone so it doesn't fit us and we would rather be RIDING RIDES than worrying about an ADR.

How we do it works for us

This is our plan when we go mid-Sept. We are satying offsite and wont have the dining plan (obvioulsy) so we will eat our largest meal during lunch to save some $$.

Our place also has a kitchen, so we will have breakfast in our room each day to save a few bucks too!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I eat TS meals almost every day with or without a dining plan, so watching the clock has never been an issue for me. Most days I usually only have a dinner ADR anyway, so I don't even need to think about the time until late in the day, and by then I've usually done most of what I want to do in the park anyway.

 

[Nancyg56]

We like a nice meal daily so having an ADR does not inconvenience me. We always know what times the shows or Fireworks are and make a general plan around them. Dinner is just part of the plan for us.

 

[susieq76]

We ate a sit down daily even before the dining plan so its no issue for us at all.

 

[goofy4tink]

We always have at least one table meal per day. Last Oct, we had the dxddp...man, that was a ton of food. But we had a nice sit down breakfast, around 9:30-10, and then a signature table service meal after 6. But, we were also just 4 adults..no kids involved.
But, I still say that you need to have one relaxing, easy meal a day. That shouldn't have you watching the clock too much.

 

[Steakgoddess]

Part of vacation is the eating! (For us, at least)

You don't have to accept all the food on the plan. If you are too full for dessert, don't order it.

Free dining works for us. I upgrade to Deluxe. Most times I do an early lunch and a 2 TS dinner. So we can get to a park, enjoy a few rides/attractions then have lunch. When it is dinner time, we usually want to shower and clean up first, so we head to the room, then off to dinner.

If I have an ADR, then it is at the park I plan on being at that day or at a resort close by. If it is a 2 TS, then I plan it late enough to get in resort/shower time. I've never stressed about an ADR before. (except our upcoming trip. But it's more of a how am I going to get DH to MK for the dessert party-surprise!- when we are supposed to be in Epcot that day)

I know the dining plan is not for everyone. If it works for you, then GREAT! If it doesn't, then that is GREAT too! People do not vacation nor do they all eat the same.

 

[nkcca]

we have never done the dining it seems like too much for us, we don't want to waste time eating, too much to do!

 

[Geordietyke]

It's our first time on the DDP and I'm really looking forward to trying lots of different things. As PP have mentioned, we also like a nice sit down meal at the end of the day and all our 15 dinner ADR's are after 7pm so it doesn't mess with our daily plans. We have hoppers too which helps and tend not to do full park days anyway as we like to break for a swim/relax etc (and we have 14 day Disney tickets so can spread our visits out leisurely so we aren't rushing about trying to do everything in a few days)