Planning Ahead: Dining Plan, y/n?

[Disneylover99]

Paying for the dining plan would not be worth it for my family of four.

We never eat dessert or do table service.
We never buy beverages (just ask for ice water) it's free.
We often share entrees because most portions are large.
If we fly down we order cereal, milk and snacks from the garden grocer.

We are kind of a snacky family and love to have a little nibble of something every hour so we bring lots of snacks.

I know I sound cheap. But really I'm not. It's just the way we eat.
And when hubby or kids want to eat their own entrees or buy special snacks we do it without thinking of the price and it still works out better not paying for the dining plan.

That being said, we still go for free dining whenever possible rather then a room discount since we usually stay in value resorts.

 

[Pakey]

The dining plan has never worked for us, whether we go just my husband and I or whether we take the kids/grandkids.

We have tried it 3 times and always left unused credits. We only eat one meal a day, we prefer an appetizer over an entree (Disney portions are huge) and we only eat dessert on special occasions.

We prefer having freedom/flexibility more than we care about saving on a dining plan.

 

[butsy113]

We are not getting the DDP for the first time in May 2013. My son is now a "Disney" adult, but still wants nuggets and mac n cheese. It no longer makes any sense for us. If you are staying at a mod or deluxe resort you will save more money taking any available room discounts. Then you can use the money that you saved to pay OOP for your meals.

Have a great trip!