One Table Service Meal a Day...Is Dining Plan Worth It?

[WaltD4Me]

A friend is going to Disney, but only has 3 1/2 days in the parks, they are getting a package and she asked me about the dining plan. With all the want to see it was tough to fit in table services dinners, so she was thinking of just doing a table service breakfast every morning, so they will only be doing one table service restaurant a day and then counter service for other meals...do you think it is worth it to get the dining plan?

 

[disneydreamin-gang]

We really enjoyed the DDP. We got to eat at restaurants we would never had eaten at before. But I guess it all depends on how much they will be spending out of pocket vs. DDP. The cheapest of buffets will be around 28.00 and the plan is 37.00 for next year I think. So maybe crunch some numbers and they will soon know.

Either way I'm sure they will have a great trip.

 

[EnnEss]

Table service in the mornings will be a much more limited affair. With the way its set up now to get the value you have to be already planning to eat 1 TS a day, but usually dinner is more expensive than lunch and that's more than breakfast.

Basically, breakfast would be a close thing depending on your choices so you'd have to pick first then add it all up.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

I think TS for breakfast is a waste of time. The parks are less crowded in the am and they could be using the time to go on rides. I would plan on a lunch or early dinner for the TS when lines for rides are long.

 

[chip 'n dale rule]

I think TS for breakfast is a waste of time. The parks are less crowded in the am and they could be using the time to go on rides. I would plan on a lunch or early dinner for the TS when lines for rides are long.

I completely agree! If they have only three days in the parks and want to see as much as possible they would be better off spending their morning touring the parks before the lines got long. You can really see a lot in the first two hours after rope drop. Also, if they were going to use their TS credits for just breakfasts it may not make financial sense to get the dining plan since breakfasts are so much cheaper (relatively speaking of course, it is still Disney prices )

 

[lynninpa]

Make sure your friend knows that DP credits are per night, not per day. The amount of credits they will have are equal to how many nights they stay.

 

[powellrj]

breakfast is the cheapest character meal of the day. If that is the only table service meal they plan to eat, they would be better off just paying out of pocket for those meals.

 

[LizinSTL]

A friend is going to Disney, but only has 3 1/2 days in the parks, they are getting a package and she asked me about the dining plan. With all the want to see it was tough to fit in table services dinners, so she was thinking of just doing a table service breakfast every morning, so they will only be doing one table service restaurant a day and then counter service for other meals...do you think it is worth it to get the dining plan?

It depends on several factors. How long they'll be staying (how many nights.) How many children 9 and under will be traveling with them. How many children under 3 will be on the trip. Are the TS breakfasts character buffets or are they a la carte? Are they late risers and late breakfast eaters (so it's more like brunch time that they prefer to eat?)

If they are going w/ a couple kids 9 and under....and planning character meals as their TS breakfasts AND they tend to eat a bit later in the AM and therefore could have an afternoon snack and a largish CS dinner later (like 6-7pm) then the DDP might still make sense for them. If they are all disney adults, they eat a big breakfast first thing in the morning and still eat full meals at lunch and dinner, they may be better off paying OOP. BUT, they should still look at the costs of the meals they are booking, crunch the numbers and then decide if they should add the DDP. Sometimes it's cheaper, even doing character breakfasts!

 

[Mickiethepooh]

Another thing to consider besides not wasting the TS credits on breakfast since it is the cheapest meal of the day is that she should be getting to the parks as early as possible EMH if she is an on site guest and can manage it, because she will get more done quicker, than if she spends that much time eating sit down breakfast.

 

[maraki527]

we are going to try it for the first time. For us I think it is a good plan because we usually eat one TS a day to begin with. So I figured lets try it out this time and see how much we saved/overspent on our food budget

 

[quiltymom]

We did the DDP for this trip, but we will not for future trips.

It's not that the DDP isn't a good value, but for us it was just too much food. And you do spend a lot of time at those table service meals. I would rather spend the time touring around the parks. And for a trip that short, if it were for my family, I would only schedule one special TS meal for lunch and use it as our daily break. We're more snackers than anything, so we're happy just noshing on things as we go.

It all just depends upon your priorities and what you want to do at the parks.

 

[Tricia1972]

I tend to agree with those who say that if the family is definitely using their credits for breakfast, they'll probably be better off paying OOP.

I also agree with the others who suggest that breakfast is prime park time and for a short trip they'll see more if they tour in the mornings.