My DH does NOT want to get the dining plan. Kinda Long

[Brian Noble]

For what it's worth, our family, left completely to our own devices, eats one TS maybe 2 out of every 3 days at most. I usually book one per day (and very infrequently two), but inevatably we end up being somewhere else, doing something else, and we just call and cancel about 1/3 of them and eat an extra CS meal instead. Once in a while we can snag a last-second ADR at a TS place closer to wherever we happen to be, but not often.

Saving all our receipts from our most recent trip, we spent less doing this than we would have on the dining plan.

Our philosophy about this is that we've got literally dozens of great restaurants 15 minutes from our house, but the closest Space Mountain is a two-day drive. So, the attractions often win out in the end. So, for us, the DDP just doesn't quite work.

In fact, I suspect that, for *most* guests, the DDP represents a modest upsell. There are always the exceptions---folks who always eat one TS per day. But, I don't think that *most* guests do this, left to their own devices.

 

[jtopp]

I hope your DH is not eary about saving money. Our family of 5( 3 adults, 1 teen, 1 junior) in 6 days saved over $500.00 in meals by using the Dining plan.
We ate where we wanted, when we wanted, and to use the plan to it's advantage we ate meals where we would not have eaten if paying as we went along, had full meals(appetizers and desserts) when we would have only ordered entrees, and still had complete freedom. We didn't use all of our snack allottment, but still had plenty to eat. To me, however, the biggest plus was satisfying everyone and still saving a bundle. After all, WDW is not always the most inexpensive place to eat, but the plan was fabulous. I only hope that too many people don't use it, so Disney doesn't realize how much money they are losing and discontinue the plan.

 

[The Sweetness]

You think WDW is losing $ by keeping guests on site at RACK rates, with undiscounted tix? I sincerely doubt it. Once my babe is old enough for me to feel comfy being away from the room all day, Im back to the Hojos for $60 per night, inc shuttles to parks and a full breakfast

 

[kgkmom]

My DD and I just returned from a quick MLK, Jr. weekend trip. We've used the DDP twice, but this time paid OOP. I wanted to see if there was a difference, and for us, there was, but not what you might think.

The first time we used DDP, we were staying at AKL. It was an incredible amount of food, and we ended up taking items back to the room, or throwing away food. We still had to pay OOP for some things, but I still felt it was worth the money. Why? B/c we love TS restaurants, and were able to try places I never would have tried for budgetary reasons (Le Cellier, Jiko, Flying Fish).

The second time we used DDP, we were staying at a DVC resort, so we had a mini-fridge in the room. Much better! We still took back doggie bags, but we had a place to keep them cold, and then to heat them up (there is a microwave in the room too). We had some appetizers for late-night snacks and some desserts for breakfasts . Still, I ended up having 3 CS credits left over, because we ate our leftovers as meals.

So this trip, even though we were at another DVC resort, I decided to try OOP to compare. DD and I like to eat a medium to large breakfast, so using snack credits just isn't enough for us. We don't mind a light lunch, and we love TS meals. So, we experimented with splitting some lunch meals (like at Rainforest Cafe), and foregoing appetizers and most desserts at TS times. We got our standard snacks (an ice cream something per day, and Krispie Mickey heads) and our refillable mugs for drinks.

For 5 days, I ended up spending ~$50 total for breakfasts, ~30 total for snacks, ~$75 for lunches, and ~150 for dinners. So roughly $350 for 5 days of food for two adults. It ended up being slightly less than the meal plan, but not by much. For us, it was worth paying OOP because we didn't have to worry about doggie bags or throwing away food. We did have 2 ADRs (Le Cellier and Rose & Crown), and I was able to make an ADR for RFC while I was there. But otherwise, we at at CS, which was fine for us.

I would probably do DDP if I knew that I was going to want to do a TS or character meal every day. If we were going to only do 2 or so TS during our stay, I'd go OOP again.

Just my .05! Inflation, you know!

 

[dance2874]

We got a good discounted rate on our room and paid for the DDP last Sept because we missed the cut off for the free dining. We still saved a ton over what it would have cost us OOP for the meals.

As for breakfasts, you can us a CS or TS credit for those or pay OOP. We used our snack credits. A whole box of a dozen donuts was ONE snack credit. Served us well for a few days. I also brought pop tarts, granola bars and things for us to eat in the room. We planned a character meal for almost every day. This alone saved us a ton of $$ on the plan vs. paying OOP, but it also saved us time. We got to meet all the characters while eating instead of waiting in line later to see them. It was a great way to do 2 things at once.

We definitely ate more TS than if we were not on the DDP, but it actually caused us to take a small break each day and relax a bit. Something that is hard to do when there is so much going on around you.

 

[Von Drake]

We loved the food, but weren't so thrilled with the regimentation of ADR's.
It seemed that no matter how meticulously we planned, it always seemed that we had to stop whatever we were doing and go off to eat. Not that it's a bad thing; dining is part of the WDW experience. We are just not used to so much dining.

As to the value of DDP: Well worth the money, if, for no other reason than having the ablility to read the menus from left to right. In other words, the price of the meal becomes a non-factor.

 

[ransom]

We look at it this way:

Whether we do DDP or not, we'll be buying at least one snack per person per day. And we'll be buying at least one counter service meal per person per day. So add up the likely costs of those (including tax on the CS meal), and subtract that from the DDP per person per day cost.

What's left is our total cost for one person's table service dinner - including tax and tip.

That total looked like a tremendously good deal to us! It lowered the cost of the TS meal to just about the cost of a CS meal w/ tax.

But, as others have pointed out, that leaves you with the full rack rate cost for your room and tickets...if you book through Disney. Instead, we booked through AAA and got the DDP, tickets, and a discounted room all in one package.

So it works out well for us.

If we didn't like doing TS meals on vacation, it wouldn't be worth it because of the time lost to TS restaurants.

So, if your family won't be doing table service meals - even at a potential 40% discount - then there's no way I can see that it can work out for you.

Best wishes, though!

 

[thunderbird1]

My Family and I (2 Adults and 1 child-10years old) took a 8 day 7 night stay at Disney Resort and we did not do the Dining Plan and we saved at least $300.00. I'm glad we only did one sit down because we were free eat as we pleased when we were hungry and we did not gain any additional weight because of it.

Actually, I think this is a great argument in favor of the DDP. For an extra $100 per person, this family could have upgraded 6 of their CS meals to TS meals. Each of those 6 TS meals would have only cost ~$15 more than the CS meals did--basically the cost of the appetizer and tip. I'd take that deal in a heartbeat!

Of course, this argument only works if you actually want TS meals instead of all CS. TS's do take more time out of your schedule and require a little more advance planning than just "winging it" with CS's. But I think they're so much more relaxing and enjoyable--magical, if you will. And that's one of the (many, many) things that sets Disney apart from other theme or amusement parks. If all I wanted to eat was CS meals, I may as well be at Six Flags. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but you know what I'm saying.)

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

My DH was a little hesitant to do the DDP more than once, we went this past year and used DDP. He kept saying I think we could do better ourselves. So just to prove a point to myself and him I added up all the receipts from our trip and found that the DDP was extremely cost effective. We went during the Christmas season and we attended the Candlelight Processional and we ate at Le Cellier, our meal for that dinner alone was over $125, that far exceeds the cost of DDP for the day, and that didn't even include our CS for the day nor our snacks. I do advise the DDP to anyone who I know is going to Disney that will listen, I definitely feel as though we saved money. We are using it again this year in Dec. and we will be eating at some of our favorites from the last trip.

Good Luck!!!

 

[TJ's Mom]

The one thing I like about the DDP is that I don't worry about eating what I want. Normally I would not get the most expensive item on the menu but with the DDP I feel no guilt ordering the $30 meal (and then an app and dessert). I don't feel bad telling my kids no to dessert. I felt like the coolest mom ever! Vacations are for enjoying - not worrying about money. This way I have already paid for my food and I can eat what I want to not worrying about my budget.

 

[Summer-Caitlin]

I completely understand where you're coming from. My fiance and I are getting married at WDW and this will be our first time there. We were lucky and managed to get a deal and get free DDP for the duration of our stay onsite. We will be staying for 14 nights onsite so that means having to make 14 ADR's at least, not including our CS meals or where we will eat breakfast. It seems to be alot of planning at the moment, but I really like the idea that I don't have to worry about the cost of things that I order.
My fiance wasn't fond of having to plan around our meals, but I believe that dining out is all part of our vacation experience. I am planning which park I will be at that day, and am planning my ADR's around this, so we shouldn't be park hopping at all, if I can help it.
I am really looking forward to dining at some of the nicest restaurants the WDW has to offer, I intend to use all my TS and have a wonderful and relaxing vacation while doing it

 

[MaeDaisy]

I waffled on the dining plan at first, because I'm pretty frugal, and it sounded like a lot. But I also like having stuff paid for in advance when I'm on vacation, because trying to keep myself, my 2 kids, and my big-kid-of-a-husband on a budget while we're actually there, is not my idea of a vacation. I figured it was worth it, since we would have to eat anyway.

My husband wasn't "opposed" to the DDP, so much as he just thought all my planning was silly and unnecessary. But after the very first day, and again every day during our trip, and at least once a day for a week after we got home, he thanked me for it. He was sincere too. He said it was so liberating to be able to order anything on the menu, without worrying "can we afford this?" In addition, he saw the disappointment on the faces of walk-ups who were turned away due to no availability, while we waited for our safely confirmed ADR. We ate at some great places that we would not have tried without the plan, and we did not have to worry about cash or our budget because it was already taken care of.

And it isn't that hard to plan out. If you know what park you'll be in, that narrows your choices down -- just pick whatever restaurant you like in or near that park. As far as wasting park time, you gotta eat! Our trip was the very first time ever for all 4 of us, and we only had 4 park days, so you can bet that every one of us wanted to squeeze in as much magic as possible. But it was TOTALLY worth it to sacrifice an extra 60 minutes a day to sit down at a nice restaurant and have quality food served rather than waiting in line to grab and wolf down some counter service every night.

I suggest you print out all the menus, but white-out the prices. Have him pick a few that he likes and place his order (including appetizers and dessert if he wants) then show him the bill. Don't forget to include tax and tip! Our TS meals (me, hub, daughter 9 at the time, son 7) averaged about $110 and CS for the 4 of us ran about $35. And we didn't even pick the most expensive restaurants or items!

I'm rambling now, but my point is, if you can convince him to try it he'll probably thank you afterwards.

 

[WantToGoNow]

We tried the dining plan for the first time in November. We were a group of 6 -- 4 adults a 5 y/o and a 2 y/o. Before this trip, we mainly ate CS with 1-2 character meals thrown in. This time we enjoyed several restaurants that we had not been to and had a wonderful time. We were able to order what we wanted, not what we could afford. Our checks at Coral Reef and LeCellier were both well over $200 each -- I was glad at that point that our food was prepaid. We found we had a hard time using our snack credits -- we were too full from the CS and TS meals. We brought food for breakfast (cereal, pop tarts, etc.) but could have easily used those SC for breakfast. We had something like 25 SC left on our last day. My adult dd, her friend and the kids stocked up on candy/chips for the ride home. My dh thought the dining plan was the best part of the vacation. He tolerates the parks (not a theme park person) but loves to eat. This was a good balance for everyone -- parks for the rest of us, food for him. He said when we go back to WDW, we will definitely have the dining plan.

 

[Booknut]

You could also say to your husband that the dining plan includes tax and tip so that is something else you can save on!

Could you eat 3 meals a day for under $38.99? Maybe...light breakfast, burger for lunch, burger etc again for dinner, plus drinks, snacks, dessert etc and if you do a TS meal you have to add tax and tip.