Love the convenience of the Dining Plan? Really?

[bdklein]

For those who priase the Dining Plan (regular and deluxe) for its convenience, can you please explain to me how it is convenient?

1. You still have to show/swipe your card for meals, snacks, drinks, tips, etc. Just like you will have to do with the new wristbands (I think).
2. For those who are budget conscious, you now need to track your TS, QS (if not deluxe), snancks, etc. to make sure you don't overspend. And possibly not order different foods choices (from a health, desire, and taste standpoint) because it's not part of the plan.
3. 2. For those who are budget conscious, you now need to track your TS, QS (if not deluxe), snancks, etc. to make sure you don't underspend and don't get your full value. Make sure you eat those 2 desserts per day. And make sure you keep filling up the refillable mug with lots of soda or coffee.
4. Months ago you knew you were going to order the steak every day to get the maximum value. But now you just want a salad. What should you do? Or your Disney "adult" child who proimised to order the seafood but now wants mac and cheese?
5. And how convenientr can it be to have to track how many credits you spent so far and how many you have left?

Am I missing something??

 

[3boys4me]

Your receipt will show credits left. If you get a snack with the plan your receipt will show XX snack entitlements left. Same with meals. It was this way until at least last November.

 

[3boys4me]

We have only ever done the dining plan when it is free, but we have used it many times. It appears that most people who figure it out say that if you are paying, you will be lucky to break even. It doesn't seem like it is a great deal anymore.

 

[Hooves]

We love the dining plan because it gives us the opportunity to try Disney restaurants that we would never have otherwise been able to go to because we simply couldn't afford 21 days of OOP table service.
We actually enjoy planning our dining and we've never had an issue with deciding we feel like something entirely different on the day. That being said we have just implemented a 7 day meal plan at home :O
I'm not sure about convenience, for us having free food is the main convenience. We've always said we would never pay for the dining plan because we think we could eat cheaper outside of Disney and we want to eat what we enjoy not what we feel is value for money. I am neither a lover of steak or seafood so that approach would never work for me. Maybe the convenience to some is knowing when you're going to eat, where and that it's already payed for. I know with our counter service credits we sometimes wasted half an hour trying to decide where to eat and bickering between us.
As for tracking credits, it's on the receipts. It's very simple.

 

[emsstacey]

This will be our first trip at Disney and we are doing the ddp. For me... if I am completely paying OOP, then I will be always thinking about what I really want vs. what is most affordable. I will likely "sacrifice" and never get what I want. I would also never make an ADR for Chef Mickey because I wouldn't want to pay $160 for the 4 of us to eat there. Paying for the DDP in advance takes the stress off of me. Whether we "get our monies worth or not"... I get to order what I want and not worry about trying to split with the kids or order a sandwich instead of the steak that I want. I just know how I am.

It's a splurge but we don't do this often and it will make it way more relaxing for me.

 

[BattyKoda]

The only thing I see that you are missing is that the plan isn't for everyone.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I wouldn't pay for DDP now that even my youngest is considered an adult. With the little he eats, it doesn't make sense.

But when it's free, why not??? Free food? Yes, I'm paying rack rate for my room and people would argue that's not a good deal. But I look at this way. We have a family of four and stay in Values usually. Giving me 15% or 20% off the room rate saves me maybe $25 or $30 a night. Having free dining gives my family 4 TS meals, 4 QS meals, and 4 snacks. I certainly couldn't do that for $30!

So for our family, the FD is almost a deal breaker!

 

[TheDisney411]

1. You still have to show/swipe your card for meals, snacks, drinks, tips, etc. Just like you will have to do with the new wristbands (I think).
2. For those who are budget conscious, you now need to track your TS, QS (if not deluxe), snancks, etc. to make sure you don't overspend. And possibly not order different foods choices (from a health, desire, and taste standpoint) because it's not part of the plan.
3. 2. For those who are budget conscious, you now need to track your TS, QS (if not deluxe), snancks, etc. to make sure you don't underspend and don't get your full value. Make sure you eat those 2 desserts per day. And make sure you keep filling up the refillable mug with lots of soda or coffee.
4. Months ago you knew you were going to order the steak every day to get the maximum value. But now you just want a salad. What should you do? Or your Disney "adult" child who proimised to order the seafood but now wants mac and cheese?
5. And how convenientr can it be to have to track how many credits you spent so far and how many you have ?

Clearly, you are missing something. Question, have YOU ever used the Disney Dining Plan? Because it doesn't appear so.

It's not exactly brain surgery to track dining credits. Most people have their ADRs planned way in advance which is going to use up 1 TS credit and then you simply have 1 CS credit and 1 snack to use the rest of the day. My small children have had no problem keeping up with that simple math.

There really aren't restrictions on the menus or what you can order, so I guess that doesn't play into my decision to get or not to get the DDP. Also, people with dining restrictions or food allergies who are on the DDP are accommodated the same way as people who are not.

You don't actually have to eat 2 desserts per day. At CS you can trade your dessert for a bottle of water or a piece of fruit and most TS restaurants have a fruit plate option as dessert also.

And as expensive as soda is out-of-pocket, if your refill your mugs just a few times, they are paid for.

As for the analogy about what your kid promises to eat, that just sounds ridiculous. No one makes their child promise to eat anything on vacation.

If you plan to eat at least 1 TS meal per day, the DDP can save you a little money. Or, if you are like us, only travel during free dining weeks and all of your Disney food is FREE.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't find it convenient at all, mostly because I'd have to make ADRs, order certain courses (I look at is as yes, there are restrictions on the menu - if I want 2 appetizers instead of an entree and no dessert, no can do) and almost never wing it, and yes, I used it back when it was a great deal for even somebody like me to use (pre 2008).

So I don't use it anymore. To each their own. Disney doesn't require you to get the dining plan. I don't do free dining either. I'm DVC and we can't get it anyway.

 

[TheDisney411]

I don't find it convenient at all, mostly because I'd have to make ADRs, order certain courses (I look at is as yes, there are restrictions on the menu - if I want 2 appetizers instead of an entree and no dessert, no can do) and almost never wing it, and yes, I used it back when it was a great deal for even somebody like me to use (pre 2008).

So I don't use it anymore. To each their own. Disney doesn't require you to get the dining plan. I don't do free dining either. I'm DVC and we can't get it anyway.

I have read these boards for many years and I don't recall you ever liking the dining plan and if I recall correctly, you indicated that you only used it one time for one or two nights. Also, I believe you are a single DVC owner with no children who goes to Disney quite a bit - so not exactly your typical Disney Dining Plan user, or someone who would get any value out of it. The OP is simply just one of those DDP haters who troll these boards looking to start trouble. His post was condescending and rude in nature and was really a veiled accusation that people are too stupid to use the DDP or to know if it is a value or not. Seems like you would just shut this thread down in stead of contributing to it. I completely respect your opinion not to like the DDP or to use it, because it certainly doesn't work for every person in every situation - yours for example, but I think there should be at least one Mod on the dining board who utilizes the DDP and can see the value that it offers for a lot of families. Sorry to sound so harsh, but there are WAY too many of these kinds of dining plan and free dining bashing threads on the dining board and it just starts arguments and makes people angry.

 

[BattyKoda]

Sorry to sound so harsh, but there are WAY too many of these kinds of dining plan and free dining bashing threads on the dining board and it just starts arguments and makes people angry.

I agree 100% with this sentiment.

Limit the bashing to the threads that are asking for opinions, as the OP has done multiple times. It's completely unnecessary to start a new thread to state the same.

 

[Cafeen]

For those who priase the Dining Plan (regular and deluxe) for its convenience, can you please explain to me how it is convenient?

1. You still have to show/swipe your card for meals, snacks, drinks, tips, etc. Just like you will have to do with the new wristbands (I think).
2. For those who are budget conscious, you now need to track your TS, QS (if not deluxe), snancks, etc. to make sure you don't overspend. And possibly not order different foods choices (from a health, desire, and taste standpoint) because it's not part of the plan.
3. 2. For those who are budget conscious, you now need to track your TS, QS (if not deluxe), snancks, etc. to make sure you don't underspend and don't get your full value. Make sure you eat those 2 desserts per day. And make sure you keep filling up the refillable mug with lots of soda or coffee.
4. Months ago you knew you were going to order the steak every day to get the maximum value. But now you just want a salad. What should you do? Or your Disney "adult" child who proimised to order the seafood but now wants mac and cheese?
5. And how convenientr can it be to have to track how many credits you spent so far and how many you have left?

Am I missing something??

1) Agreed. (As well as carry cash, CC, charging privs to pay for stuff not covered)
2-3) Mugs: Mugs are basically a wash. If you'd normally get them, you've saved ~$15pp. If you normally wouldn't get one, it's a bonus. Not something that I take into account when planning.

Budget: Not sure how you can "overspend" on the plan, since most everything at "on plan" restaurants is already covered. Unless you're talking about entitlements that aren't? Underspending can be an issue. Both of these, however, can be combated in the planning stage rather than the vacation stage (front-loaded). You can plan out your dining to take advantage of the plan based on restaurant choices rather than based on individual menu choices. This means that once you are on your trip, you've got the restaurants planned and it doesn't matter nearly as much what you actually order.

4) This can also be front-loaded to an extent. A bit more difficult with the normal DDP, but in previous years, it was easy with DxDDP. I had built my trips so that I was saving ~$200-400 over the trip (solo) and still had a few credits remaining unused. This $200-$400 savings was basically a buffer. If I skipped an entitlement or even a whole meal, I knew that I wouldn't be cutting into the bottom line, but only into the amount saved.

However, if you're margin of savings is going to be blown away by one or two meals ordering cheaper (or skipping an entitlement), then chances are OOP is a better choice for you.

5) Partially front-loaded at well. You typically know going in where you're using credits, so there's little tracking that's needed on the TS/QS side. For snacks (as well as meal credits), the remaining number is always printed on the receipt, and you can go to any guest relations or concierge and get a print out of current/used credits.

6) Prepayment. For some, it works well as one less thing to worry about at trip time. This is absolutely not true for everyone, but it's certainly a consideration for those who enjoy and utilize the plans.

7) My typical "Experience vs Savings" balance. Even if you are spending more on a dining plan, is what you're receiving in value worth the extra cost? This is highly subjective! Even with the same EXACT numbers, for some they'll see it as highly worth it, others will see it as highly unworth it. This doesn't really fall under the "convenience" umbrella, but is something else that can (should!) be taken into consideration during the planning stages, and is thus one less thing to think about during the trip itself.

The way I see it, most of the convenience comes in play by front-loading the majority of decision-making and budgeting hassle onto the planning-stages while I'm at home daydreaming, rather than the vacation stage where I'm out there having fun.

In the end, it's about finding out what works best for you and the rest of the people on your trip. If a plan doesn't work, so be it, OOP will always be an option. If a plan does, then great, it's an option for you. (The answer even for the same person may also vary trip to trip, depending on that particular trip's requirements!)

 

[smiths02]

I tend to agree with OP that I see it as less convenient than just say saving the price of the dining plan in my bank account and paying for food as we go.

HOWEVER, OP, I can offer you a scenario where we paid for the DDP for 4 adults and it was convenient and saved money. On our trip in 2009, we stayed in a room with my ILs. It was convenient for ME not to have to "argue" about who would be paying for what when the check came at meal time (instead we had paid about 60% of the package cost, ILs 40% and then they agreed to pay the charges to the room of tips and incidentals). It was also convenient for me that FIL only had one heart attack when paying the package price vs. a stroke everytime the bill came due at a restaurant (we did a lot of the buffet meals)

Convenience-wise, it was also a bit easier to budget. Since ILs are teetotalers and we were eating mostly buffets, we didn't really need to worry about drinks or apps not included in the plan...so we just had to budget tips and souvenirs. Tips and souvenirs are pretty easy to estimate. (Much easier than estimating the cost of each meal, snacks, etc.)


That being said, unless it were discounted/free...DDP will not be in our future simply b/c it is not a good deal. If we went with ILs again, I would just let FIL think it was already paid for

 

[bdklein]

Clearly, you are missing something. Question, have YOU ever used the Disney Dining Plan?

Yes I did, back in 2006 when it had some value (appetizer and tip included at TS). But I'm not debating the economic value-that's a whole other story and clearly works for some (especially with kids) and not for most (especially if you don't want to be regimented)

I just don't get the "it's so convenient" concept.

 

[ReneeA]

Yes I did, back in 2006 when it had some value (appetizer and tip included at TS). But I'm not debating the economic value-that's a whole other story and clearly works for some (especially with kids) and not for most (especially if you don't want to be regimented)

I just don't get the "it's so convenient" concept.

To me, "it's so convenient" because your meals are prepaid. We have always gone during free dining (every year since its inception in 2005) because that is the most convenient time for us to go. We typically pay off our vacation in full about 3 months prior to leaving. Last year we went for 9 days and my total spent OOP was just under $300. I don't want to get done with vacation and be faced with thousand dollar + bill at the end of it. Not only that, but I would be the type to not order what I want due to the cost...so while the fish of the day might sound great to me, I would probably go with a side salad and cup of soup. Just cause I'm cheap like that.

Would I pay for the DDP? Not sure...I'd really have to crunch the numbers. Free dining really is a great deal for us (and yes, I have also figured out how much a room discount would save, and it's not even close).

 

[MarieA]

In past years my DH and I have done the Deluxe Dining Plan but for the last 2 trips we decided to pay OOP. The price of the DDP has gone up tremendously in the last couple of years. It is now 99.97 per person or $199.94 for the two of us and it doesn't include gratuities. It cost us much less paying OOP with the Tables in Wonderland card this year (we were there from May 4 to May 14).

An example of 1 day - we dined at Captains Grille (1 TS) for breakfast and our bill was $36 including the tip ($6.50). For dinner we ate at Bluezoo (2TS). Our bill was $180 which included a $36 tip and $20 in alcohol (which are extra on the DDP). We each had an appetizer, entree, alcoholic beverage, coffee and dessert. The total for our day was $216 without the DDP. If we would have used the DDP our total for the day would have been $199.94 + $6.50 (tip for breakfast) + $36 (tip for dinner) + $20 (alcohol) = $262.44. Our breakfasts ranged from $36 to $40 per day and our dinner prices including alcoholic beverages ranged from $150 - $180 (signature restaurants). Even if I add 4 snacks or $16 my total for the day would have been $232.

I have found that in the past 2 years due to the price increases as well as the tip being excluded, the DDP isn't worth it anymore.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

We paid for it in 2011 with 4 adults, 3 kids (ages 4-9) and 1 toddler. We were there for 2 weeks on a split stay so we did 1 week of DDP and one without. We did all our "big meals" ('Ohana, HDDR, CRT, Cape May, Garden Grill) on the plan and did our cheaper meals (T-Rex and Capt Grille) on our off week. We saved quite a bit of money and the only thing I would've changed about our plan was to do the plan both weeks and spread out our AYCE meals and saved a smaller amount of money.

We would pay for it again because it works for us, and we like the convenience of prepaying for it and not worrying about ordering what we want vs. what is cheaper. This is ALWAYS a consideration for me no matter how much is put aside for food. I guess it's from being so broke for so many years.

 

[meredith1]

It's all prepaid and we can get whatever we want to.

We do character breakfast prepark opening and siganture dinner every evening with the Deluxe. we absolutely love it!

 

[TDC Nala]

you indicated that you only used it one time for one or two nights.

That refers to the quick service dining plan. I only used that once for one night in 2009.

I used the regular dining plan a number of times between 2005 and 2007. I used free dining twice. The rest of the time I was purchasing it through DVC as if you have DVC points available, it made more sense to stay at the DVC deluxe and purchase the plan than it did to pay rack rate and get the dining free. Back then, when the basic DDP was under 40 bucks a night and included appetizers and tip, it was silly not to buy it.

I don't use it anymore. It's not a good deal for me. For every party that the plan works for, there is someone that it doesn't work for. We have some posters who are single, and they like to use the dining plan.

As for the OP, it's not against board guidelines to say you don't like the dining plan, or why you don't like it. If you believe a poster is violating board guidelines, then it should be reported via the report button. I haven't seen any violation of guidelines here.

 

[amomma23]

The DDP is very convenient for my family. We have 3 kids. Without the plan there would be constant arguments about having to agree on a snack or drink to share. We would be splitting meals just to avoid the sticker shock of feeding 5 people OOP. When we use DDP the kids are free to choose their own options and know that they only have "x" credits to use. In that way, It works for us.