Meal Plans

[kgroganmills]

Trying to plan our 1st trip to Disney -- way to many choices!!
Are the meal plans worth it? It will be me, my husband, 18 year old stepson & 4-1/2 year old daughter.

 

[Mom2JPL]

Trying to plan our 1st trip to Disney -- way to many choices!!
Are the meal plans worth it? It will be me, my husband, 18 year old stepson & 4-1/2 year old daughter.

I think the meal plan is definitely worth it if you're willing to spend about 1 1/2, 2 hours each day at a sit down meal (this is a rough estimate, buffets will be quicker, it all depends on the time you're waiting once you check in, etc.). With your 4 1/2 year old daughter, I think it is worth it for the break during the day. She's probably not taking naps anymore and the sit down during the day to relax will be good for everyone. We did the plan last year and are doing it again this year. We planned a lot of character meals last year and are doing the same for this year (our kids will be 4, 3 and 2 at time of trip, dd will be turning 5 during trip!). It's wonderful to see the characters without having to wait in lines (saves a lot of time in the parks). You'll have to plan though if you want the dining plan. Check out the menus on www.allears.net and see if anything is appealing to you.

Good luck planning!

 

[Ellester]

I think it really depends on how much you usually eat. We ate at some places we wouldn't have normally, but it was SO much food. It's not quite such a good deal now since tip is not included and no appetizer at the sit-downs. Our oldest dd is now considered an adult and there is NO WAY she would eat an adult sized meal, she's only 72 pounds! That rules it out for us next trip. But, if you want to do a bunch of character meals and your stepson eats like a normal 18yo boy, it may be worth it for you! Our biggest problem was with scheduling. We had two days where my son was sick and we had to skip a few sit-downs because of that so we had several at the end of the trip to make up. Our last night we ate at Kona and the kids were so tired they literally fell asleep at the table. I would have canceled it, but it was the last night to use the plan. We still had extra credits and ended up eating breakfast at Boma before we drove home to use them up. It was good, but I wouldn't have done it without those extra credits.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

The DDP is worth it...even if it's just for the convenience of it. Moneywise it was a better deal when it included the tip but you would still at least break even using it now. The convenience is that your meals are pre-paid and it's one last thing to budget into your "spending money" when you arrive. We have used the DDP for several years now and love it. However since you said "dining PLANS" I would personally never do the Deluxe plan with young children. No child is going to want to stop having fun at the parks 3 times a day for a sit down meal. Not to mention that the meals are inclusive of a lot of food. If we eat a sit down breakfast, I never eat lunch because I'm still stuffed. I can't imagine eating all the food that's included on the DXDDP.

 

[Darcy03231]

I booked the dining plan for our October trip simply due to conveniece. When everything is said and done I expect I'll break even. Usually I'm not one for sit down meals but I'm taking my niece (4) for her first trip and I want to be able to do a lot of character meals and I think at that age she's going to need a few breaks during the day.

 

[james'mommy]

i think the meal plan is definately worth it. we are dvc so when we stay on points we always get it. recently we took a quick trip and stayed at CSR since we have ap's we weren't able to get the dining plan because we weren't buying tixs. we did the math and we spent $42 more on food than we would have if we had gotten the meal plan. plus we ended up eating alot less than we normally do on the meal plan. which may or may not be a good thing

 

[stopher1]

Trying to plan our 1st trip to Disney -- way to many choices!!
Are the meal plans worth it? It will be me, my husband, 18 year old stepson & 4-1/2 year old daughter.

As you see there are/will be numerous opinions on this... it really depends on what you feel "worth it" means to you. IF you regularly would eat at table service meals throughout your trip, and IF you don't mind sitting down for an hour or two per day, and IF you plan to spend more than $20-25 per adult for your ts meal, and IF you prefer to have everything PRE-PAID and not have to worry about constantly forking over money than it could be worth it to you. (Be forewarned, though, that tips are NOT included for the ts meals, so you'll either have to provide a cc or cash for that portion of the meal...and they are not shriking violets about letting you know it's not included either - I was just there in Jan, and it was on the sales slip (twice), and the servers were sure to announce that fact to me numerous times).

HOWEVER, IF you are more counter service/fast food folks, and IF you tend to go for the lower end menu items, and IF you prefer to "eat on the run" or grab a bite and then as quickly as possible get back to some attractions, or IF you simply want to use the plan to fill up on buffets then it might NOT be worth it to you. No matter what you choose, the plan includes a LOT of food on the Basic Plan - the Deluxe Plan is even more food!

We have used the plan 3 years in a row, and I can say that it USED to be more "worth it" than the current version is based on what was vs. what currently is included. (Tip and an appetizer used to be included on the table service meals but no more). Our family does like to do a sit down most days or our trip, and we do mix them up between full-service and character buffets - but we tend to do more regular sit down and only a couple of the character meals. We also try to avoid the counter services on a "regular" basis and definitely try to mix it up. For example, in Epcot we'll do 2 TS meals that day with NO counter service that day (simply because of all of the awesome restaurants in World Showcase).

When you book it, you have to book it for every member of your group for the entire duration of your trip. I would recommend looking at the restaurant section of the DIS (under Theme Parks) and take a look at some of the menu info and prices and then compare that to $37.99 per adult per night of your trip and $9.99 per child per night. If you think based on the total cost per person vs the menu information that you would end up spending less - I would forego buying it...but if you feel you'll spend close to the amount or more, definitely get it. My son and I enjoyed lobster at Captain Jack's last September with the entire family walking away from the table with a $215+ bill - and all I did was sign the slip to charge it against our plan... it definitely felt GOOD!!!

 

[katybugsmom]

We are using it for the first time in June as well, but I feel it's worth it already! We have ADR's for character meals everyday for 5 days! We would never experienced more than one character meal if we had to pay outright for it each time! I also agree it's so much easier to have the meal plan included in the price of the trip-you know your food needs are taken care of before you ever arrive! I have been told by many to try it once and if you see it's not for you and your family, then you know not to use it ever again, but you'll never know if you don't try! Good luck and have a great trip!!!!