Need some advice on buying the dining plan or not?

[Hartbrken38]

We are wanting to go to Disney for Christmas and New Years. We are wondering if we should rent a house and pay for meals or if we should stay on sight and go with the regular dining plan. Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated. There is my dh,me, ds(14)dd(12). We usually stay at the Coronado Resort.

 

[aubriee]

I hate to answer your question about whether to buy the DDP or not, because personally I love it and can't imagine going without it. I go to WDW several times a year and have used it every trip since it first came out. I love knowing my meals are paid for ahead of time. I've always ran my numbers and save money with the DDP. However, depending on how your kiddos eat, you may or may not. Both of them would be considered adults on the DDP, of course, although I still don't think you could feed them a TS, a CS, and a snack a day for less than $39.99. I know at 14 y/o my boys were eating us out of house and home.

What concerns me more about your post is: you are going during the absolute busiest time of the year (the week between Christmas and New Years). Please tell us you already have your ADRs booked. If not, you will be lucky to find any ADRs this late.

 

[jenniferyawn]

I have to say I vote for the dining plan! We love it! Here are two great reasons why (in addition to the comfort of knowing meals are paid for)...

1. Characters - I see your kids are older, but if they want to see characters you'll be waiting in long lines in the parks to see them. Instead you can book a character meal or two (KEEP TRYING...it's possible to book now, but you may be limited in the times you can get). With a character meal, they come to your table for signatures, photographs, etc. It's a great way to save yourself the headache of waiting in line to see characters in the parks.

2. WDW is crazy busy and we find that having 1 TS per day is like a relaxing break from the walking, lines, etc, going on in the park. While it's not the same as laying down for a nap or something, we always leave our TS feeling refreshed, fed, and ready to hit the park again!

We do love the DDP very much. It also is really great that you'll spend so much less $ while you're there since almost all your food will be paid for!

Either way, you'll have a great time!

 

[tgropp]

There is no free dining over Christmas so I do not believe that you can purchase the dining plan while staying at CSR. If you were to stay at a DVC unit then you are able to purchase it.

 

[Alesia]

There is no free dining over Christmas so I do not believe that you can purchase the dining plan while staying at CSR. If you were to stay at a DVC unit then you are able to purchase it.

 

[TDC Nala]

It's basically true - at this time you cannot purchase a free dining package that encompasses Christmas. You can, however, purchase a regular package reservation at CSR that includes a dining plan or you can purchase it with a DVC reservation. The inavailability of free dining doesn't have any affect on the general availability of the dining plan itself - the plans are always available as a package add-on.

We have a lot of dining plan diehards on the DIS Restaurant Boards - they love the dining plans and won't go without them anymore. I'm the opposite. I don't like the plans at all. I don't like Disney telling me where I can eat and that I won't be able to go to Bluezoo or eat appetizers at La Cava del Tequila because I can't fit that in along with places that take the dining plan. Nor do I like having to think about exactly where I am going so I can make sure I use up the credits which equal food I've already paid for. Every credit you leave behind is money in Mickey's pocket rather than your pocket (or your stomach) - so you might have to consider that if a party member becomes sick or just doesn't want to eat at some point.

But for certain types of guests it works. For those who do not want to think about what they are paying for food, and those who like dessert with every meal, it's the greatest. In the OP's case, with a teenage boy and a preteen girl (both adults to Disney) it'll probably revolve around "how much do we eat." If the family likes to take time out for restaurants, typically eats a load of food, enjoys buffets or high-end entrees and always or almost always orders dessert, it could be well worth it to buy the basic dining plan. If the kids (or the parents) don't eat much or prefer the type of food that's on the children's menus, or like to order appetizers in lieu of entrees, it might not work out so well.

If you have a car, you might also be thinking about eating in offsite restaurants, which would mean you have access to a boost in food quality plus a decrease in prices.

You should also consider that if you are thinking about Christmas/New Years 2009, it's going to be necessary to try and make restaurant reservations ASAP, and even then you might have no access to your first choices or even your second choices.

 

[Hopefully]

I agree with the PP, if you are talking about this Christmas season, you may find that you can not get ADR's for the restaurants you want to eat in. Folks have been booking December for a while now.
If the restaurants you want are already booked and not available, then getting the basic DDP makes no sense because you may not be able to use your TS credits.
In general we are advocates of the DDOP. We too do the numbers and find we save - just a little, over paying OOP>
Good Luck

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

If you stay off property you will probably save enough money on the room to pay for any dining you do in the park. By staying on property you will get other bonuses like EMH and getting into the park even if it is "full", which would be helpful during that busy week.

I also agree with everyone that ADR's will be HARD to get, and if you do go with a dining plan the QS meals might be your best option.

 

[tony67]

Based on your entire questions I think the more important question is do you want to stay off site or on site?

I've done both and staying off site is a much better value.
For example for a business trip we got a three bedroom three bath resort condo in Orlando for around 250 per night.
It was a short drive to Disney.
They had nice restaurant on site, nice pools, a water park, golf etc..
It was a great value, but I would not take the family there if we were going to Disney.
I would take them there for a winter break.

You cannot beat the convenience of staying on site, using the ME, and access to EMH.
I would only stay offsite if I was not planning on doing mostly Disney related activities.
If you are going to do days at other parks and at pools then off site may be better.
If your off site you will also be more likely to eat off site.

I would also not stay onsite just to get the DDP, even if it is "Free".
The money you can save offsite, if that works for you, outweighs the DDP IMO.

I preferred to stay at the Dolphin in the past.
It is on site but you do not have access to the DDP or ME at the Dolphin.
Again the cost savings outweigh the DDP savings, but I would miss the ME.
The money savings on a rental car are big, so I'll stay at the CSR in future.
If you are renting a car then the ME is not an issue.

If you know for sure you will eat a TS meal every day and you are on property and your are happy with the restaurant selections on the DDP I feel you have to get the DDP.
The OOP prices are inflated to subsidize the DDP IMO.
Typically the one TS meal makes up for the entire cost of the DDP or comes very close especially once you add the taxes.

When I have gone without the DDP I really don't like paying the prices Disney Charges for the meals OOP.

The good news is there are lots of options not on the DDP.
Blue Zoo, Il Mulino, Kimonos, The Fountain, The Big River Grille, ESPN.
There are also restaurants at DTD and off property.

Even many of the chain restaurants are better than what you get on the DDP in many cases.